A few days later,
Dilaila spoke up.
“The Nikar Desert? Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard of that place. It’s really far away, isn’t it?”
The Nikar Desert was a cradle of life situated at quite a distance from the kingdom of Vecelli, the land of knights.
However, unlike the Kingdom of Haiel, Vecelli had not actively attempted to conquer or explore its cradles.
To be precise, it was a region they couldn’t reach.
“But that place is a complete death trap.”
“True for some, but not necessarily for everyone. It’s actually a place that contributes significantly to Vecelli’s economy.”
“Ah, right. It’s famous for its salt.”
The edge of the desert where it met the borders of Vecelli was a vast salt desert.
Scholars believed it might have once been a massive sea in ancient times.
In fact, around eighty percent of the continent’s salt production came from this salt desert.
The terrain was also fairly flat, so there was no major difficulty in moving around, and the land was even navigable by a carriage.
Since the region was almost entirely covered in salt, there were hardly any monsters, which made it appear safe at a glance… but…
“The area is massive.”
The real problem was its sheer size.
The salt desert was so vast that even riding on horseback for a week wouldn’t bring you to its end, and if a typhoon hit along the way, it would mean certain death.
With nothing but solid salt ground, there was nowhere to take cover, and the force of the storms was powerful enough to fling a person into the air with ease.
In addition, there was no water, so there was no way to get drinking water, and without drinking water, there was no way for life to survive there.
In other words, it was impossible to obtain food.
Even after crossing the salt desert and entering the Nikar Desert, the challenges wouldn’t end.
This time, instead of salt, it would be an endless stretch of sand.
But for Shane, this was all irrelevant.
“It’s a place full of issues, no doubt. But we won’t be crossing the salt desert.”
“Oh, then where?”
“We’re going over the mountain range that extends beyond the Great Mezaiya Forest.”
“Ah.”
Unlike in his past life, the Great Mezaiya Forest was now open, so Vecelli was no longer the only route to the Nikar Desert.
“I heard there’s a huge mountain range blocking the way there, right? They’re preparing an expedition because it’s worth investigating too.”
Being an adventurer, Dilaila had picked up on information like this fairly quickly.
As she mentioned, one of the reasons the Great Mezaiya Forest was now highly valued was due to the vast mountain range that lay beyond it.
An alternate route leading to the so-called land of death, the Nikar Desert.
Clearing every cradle was humanity’s main pursuit, so Priscilla had already begun negotiating with various nations to start preparations for an investigation of the range.
“That’s right. Beyond the mountains lies the Nikar Desert, and we plan to enter it from there.”
“It’s going to take quite a while, then.”
While it wasn’t as vast as the Nikar Desert, the Great Mezaiya Forest was known to be large in size.
Crossing the mountain range beyond the Great Mezaiya Forest would be a journey that would take at least several months or possibly even years.
“I do have some thoughts on that part, but it’ll still take a while. Make sure to say goodbye to those around you.”
“Alright, I will.”
With that, Dilaila thought of Artia, with whom things had become awkward since that incident.
Though Dilaila had struggled too, Artia was also suffering from severe guilt over having had to kill the non-humans she’d tried so hard to save with her own hands.
She had heard that Artia had ceased all public activities for now and was learning magic under her grandfather’s guidance.
“It’s about time we met again.”
“Yes, once everything’s ready, I’ll send for you.”
“Understood.”
***
If things had gone the same as in his previous life, this would have been around the time that Shane had started to make a name for himself in Nameless.
Shane had played a decisive role in conquering the Nikar Desert, and thanks to his achievements there, he was able to secure a path to becoming a Legion Commander.
Because of that, Shane could now make a fairly accurate guess about the situation in the Nikar Desert.
At the current point in time, the legions active in the Nikar Desert are “Wrath” and “Lust”. It’s impossible for me alone.
It was a cold, calculated judgment.
Though Shane had indeed killed the Legion Commander of Pride Lucifer, it had only been possible due to an error in Nameless’s judgment.
Lucifer was by no means among the weakest of the commanders, but what made a Legion Commander truly powerful?
It went without saying. It was their “legion”.
Yet Lucifer had left his legion behind and come alone, essentially sealing away more than half of his own strength.
But the Nikar Desert is different.
In contrast, the Nikar Desert was now a stage where Nameless could operate freely.
Out of human sight, it was a place where they could fully unleash their power.
Not only that, but the forces entering the Nikar Desert were likely far more numerous than in the past.
After the recent terror incident, Nameless had begun to emerge and spread fear among humanity, though Nameless had never intended to make a name for itself.
As a result, they had concealed most traces of themselves outside the Cradle, within the world of humans.
The remaining forces had all likely relocated to the Nikar Desert or other Cradle zones.
Lucifer’s legion still intact, so there must have been a flood of troops into the Nikar Desert.
One might wonder why Nameless would concentrate so much power in such a barren desert.
Though humanity was still unaware, the Nikar Desert had become home to numerous non-human races who had each carved out their own settlements.
The presence of so many living beings suggested that the land was fertile, and more importantly, the Nikar Desert bordered the remaining three Cradles.
In other words, it served as a bridge connecting the Cradles.
For Nameless, who ultimately planned to fill most of their forces with non-humans, the Nikar Desert was a vital stronghold to claim.
So, unlike before, there would be no simply skimming the surface of things as Shane had done until now.
They would display their full power.
It meant that Shane and Dilaila would not be able to handle this on their own.
Although I’ve raised the orcs to prepare for this, it still isn’t enough.
The orc numbers weren’t small, but during the southward invasion two years prior, many of the young orcs had died.
Though their numbers had been somewhat restored in the years since then, it still wasn’t enough to stand against the full strength of Nameless.
For that reason, Shane had gathered vast knowledge, both through the Akashic Records and from Priscilla, the living history.
And the trump card Shane had discovered was none other than…
“Well, hey. Been a while, hasn’t it? Two years gone by, and look at you; you’ve grown. Even your magic feels… well, familiar somehow.”
Before Shane stood a descendant of dragons.
It was Raviata.
***
Shane looked into the fiery red hair as if staring into flames, and the pair of crimson eyes staring back at him that were burning like embers.
“It’s been a while, Raviata.”
“Indeed. Word is you stirred up quite a storm this time too, huh?”
Two years ago, Raviata had completely disappeared after showing herself during the southward invasion of the orcs.
Despite that, she continued to keep up with the outside world through informants she had stationed beyond her borders.
“Nameless. You were the one who dragged those guys up from beneath the surface, weren’t you? Quite the sneaky one, huh?”
“They’re hardly the only ones. Those pests survive anywhere, like cockroaches.”
“That’s true enough. So, what brings you here today? Just so you know, I’ve already paid back any debts I owed you from the Great Forest incident. I’ve got no intention of getting tangled up in human affairs again.”
“Yes, I’m well aware of that. I’m here today simply to propose a collaboration.”
“A collaboration?”
Raviata tilted her head as if she was curious.
Though she sounded as if she already had an inkling of what he might want.
“Are you planning to go to the Nikar Desert?”
“…Wow. You really do have a way of driving me mad with curiosity every time I see you. How could you possibly know that?”
“I happen to have business in the Nikar Desert as well. Along the way, I managed to gather a good deal of information.”
“Hearing you say that only makes me more curious.”
The fact that Raviata had business in the Nikar Desert was known to no one other than her and her kin.
So how had Shane managed to catch wind of it and come seeking her?
“As you know, I’m opposed to Nameless. And right now, Nameless is mainly active in the Nikar Desert.”
“That’s true.”
“That’s why I’ve been investigating the Nikar Desert. In the process, I uncovered some history tied to it.”
“……”
As Shane continued speaking, Raviata’s eyes deepened.
It was the look of someone glimpsing a long-cherished wish.
“Regarding the Salt Desert lying between the Vecelli Kingdom and the Nikar Desert, many scholars have said this area must once have been a vast sea.”
Just like Shane said,
The Nikar Desert was not originally a barren wasteland. It had once been lush with forests, and right in front of them lay a thriving ocean teeming with life, stretching alongside the plains.
“And in that place, there was a single dragon that ruled over it all.”
“……”
Dragon.
An existence that stood at the peak of the world alongside dragons of lore.
The difference, however, was that while dragons remained on earth until the end of their lifespan, a dragon would ascend to the heavens when its time came.
“Soon after the mythical era ended and the ancient era arrived, the dragon that ruled Nikar was preparing to ascend. However, its ascension ultimately failed, and the dragon fell into corruption.”
A dragon’s fall was not simply born of anger over its failed ascension.
The ascension of a dragon meant that its power had surpassed the limits the world could bear. When a dragon failed to ascend, it could no longer remain in this world and would become an evil spirit that should not exist here.
And so a dragon that fell from a failed ascension would burn the world until all its power was exhausted and finally fade away to its death.
“And so, the once lush forests and vast seas of the Nikar region became the desert it is today.”
“…Incredible. Information like that surely hasn’t spread among humans. Where on earth did you learn that?”
“Is that what matters?”
“Well, knowing you, you would have heard it somewhere. Priscilla… that old woman likely knew about it.”
The birth of the Great Mezaiya Forest had occurred around the same time as the creation of the NIkar Desert.
Surely, the sea evaporated by the fallen dragon had gathered and gathered until it became a huge rain cloud that eventually poured down upon the once barren Mezaiya region in ancient times.
Thus, a lush forest sprang up in the Mezaiya region, and it was there that the elves began to make their home.
So it was impossible that Priscilla, the one considered to embody the history of the forest, didn’t know the secret of the fallen dragon and the origins of the Great Mezaiya Forest.
“In any case, you’re right. I am, in fact, a descendant of that fallen dragon.”
With those words, Raviata reclined on the sofa and conjured a flame in her hand.
“The old woman… or rather, my mother and her mother and all the mothers before them, they were all descendants of the fallen dragon.”
“……”
“But this ‘corruption’… it’s something that has caused me, and our whole clan, no end of hardship.”
Raviata began to tell her story in an even, detached voice.
“You might not know this, but dragons are a race with certain peculiarities. Our lineage isn’t merely connected by blood; our souls are bound together, too.”
When a dragon ascended, it passed down a part of its soul to its offspring before departing.
This way, the offspring could also follow the parent’s soul and ascend in their turn.
But what would happen if that ascension failed?
“A dragon that fails to ascend leaves behind its soul even in death. Do you know what happens then? When its descendants die, they’re drawn to the place where their ancestor’s soul resides.”
In other words, it was nothing short of a curse.
“My mother’s mother’s mother, and all the ancestors before them, their souls are sealed somewhere in the Nikar Desert, following the dragon that died. I’ve heard they feel as if they’re trapped in an eternally burning hell. Well, I haven’t been trapped myself, so I wouldn’t know… but it’s probably not the kind of place anyone would want to end up.”
Although Raviata spoke in that way, her soul already knew.
She knew exactly what kind of horrifying future awaited her after death.
The souls of her deceased ancestors were still crying out, and Raviata who was bound to them by her soul was not unaware that this would be her own fate as well.
For this reason, what Raviata and her kin desired was the liberation of those souls.
It was a longing that had endured over a span of time so immense that even Shane would have struggled to imagine it.
So then, how could their souls be freed?
Raviata herself did not know the answer.
She could only vaguely sense that the answer might lie in the Nikar Desert where her ancestors were bound.
While she was still contemplating how to reach the Nikar Desert, Shane had come to her.
“The goal of Nameless is that dragon’s soul.”
“……”
And Shane held the answer to the question she was most desperate to resolve.
Leave a Reply