Chapter 759: Answers They Already Have
Chapter 758: Answers They Already Have
13 Days To Go
Eldric sighed, the sound heavy with resignation. He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. When he spoke, his voice was measured.
"We already have everything we need information about, right?" He looked around the table, his gaze settling on each of them in turn. "We know that Sophia is the Luna. We know that we are descendants of Dolion. We know that Victoria is the successor. What more information do these writings truly give us that we don’t already possess?"
Madam Tyler leaned forward, her eyes sharp. "Let me ask you something, Eldric. Would we have known Victoria was the successor of the night without the writings?"
Eldric was quiet for a moment, considering her words. Then he shrugged. "We would have found out at some point. These things have a way of revealing themselves after all."
Madam Tyler nodded slowly, as if she had expected that answer. "And would we have picked up that the Black Circle is involved in all of this?"
Eldric’s brow furrowed. "Perhaps. Tobias was the one who went to the west. He saw things there. He might have pieced it together eventually."
Madam Tyler tilted her head, her expression unreadable. "But that’s the point, right? Did he know that the priestess he saw was linked to the Black Circle from the get-go? Or was it from these things we pieced together that we got the fact that the Black Circle was involved?"
Eldric opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again. His fingers tapped against the table as he thought.
"We got it from the Trine of Ash and Vein," he admitted slowly. "It was because Ronan and the others went to the heart of Nirvana and got information from these stones. That’s why we have information about the Black Circle. Without that, we might not have known at all."
"Or we would have known one way or another," Madam Tyler pressed. "You believe that, don’t you?"
Eldric nodded. "Yes. I do."
Madam Tyler leaned back slightly. "Then let me ask you something else, Eldric. How long would it have taken us to know?"
Eldric frowned. "What do you mean?"
"How long would it have taken us to find this information on our own?" Madam Tyler clarified. "One year? Two? Five? You aren’t wrong that one way or another, we would have found out. But how long would it have taken us to get there? Would we have been dead before then or not?"
Eldric’s fingers stopped tapping. His expression shifted, something flickering behind his eyes. He didn’t have an answer.
Madam Tyler continued, her voice soft but firm. "The truth is, as much as I argue, you aren’t entirely wrong. But think about how much time we would have wasted. How much we would have lost to get the information we needed." She paused, her gaze drifting toward the parchments spread across the table.
"You know what, let’s start this all from the beginning so you can get just how these things help us," she said.
She reached out, her fingers brushing against the edge of one of the parchments.
"Sophia showing up caused unrest in Nirvana. The beasts began increasing, attacking us more frequently. It was because of Sophia that we had a reason to look deeper, to question what was happening around us."
She paused, letting her words settle.
"When she read what was written on the altar in the shrine, it led to you being possessed by Oculum. You wouldn’t have been possessed if she hadn’t read those words. And it was because she read them and because the beasts were multiplying, Nirvana as we knew it was changing, and that was why Ronan and the others went to the heart of Nirvana to investigate, to understand why."
She looked around the table, her eyes fixed on each face in turn.
"If we hadn’t gone, we would not have learned about the Trine of Ash and Vein and that it was in Nirvana. We would not have learned about the Nir’thal Circle. And I doubt the goddess would have shown up at all. The writings on these stones—all of it—were a warning. A warning we failed to heed."
Eldric opened his mouth to speak, but Madam Tyler held up a hand, silencing him.
"I believe one way or another things would have happened. But these writings... all of them have answers to questions we have ourselves. And you, Eldric, do not even think of lying that these writings answer some of those questions."
She reached for the parchment containing the first translation from the stones. Her fingers traced the words carefully, reverently.
"’Wash the eyes of the earth,’" she read aloud. "This speaks of a cleansing. A purification. Perhaps to rid the evil lurking in our world right now."
She paused, her finger moving to the next line.
"’While the water sings, the great disaster sleeps.’ The great disaster was likely Dolion. He was the one who started all of this. While the Black Circle perhaps made preparations, or perhaps something else, the great disaster was chained. Bound. Held in place."
Her finger moved again.
"’But heed the slit when the blood runs black before the rain.’ I don’t know what ’slit’ is doing here, but this part was obviously talking about black magic. The blood running black."
She continued, her voice growing stronger with each word.
"’And the sea seeks a new successor of the night.’ Victoria. We know now, due to this, that she took over Dolion’s position. And she may be even more powerful than he ever was."
She looked up, meeting Eldric’s gaze.
"The first key turning shows what we suspect. Things have started moving. The prophecy is no longer just words—it’s happening. ’And an ancient shadow no longer being a shadow’—Dolion may be gone, but Victoria has taken over. And this time, she’s coming directly for us. She is not hiding anymore."
She set the parchment down, her hand still resting on its edge.
"All of that is just from one translation," she said quietly. "Yes, we may have little to gain from the translations. But our suspicions are being confirmed. And honestly, like Sophia said—knowledge is power. And I, too, want to know more."
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