"Sir, about the war, the orcs are still marching to the capital unopposed, there were even some people that began to surrender to the orcs and offered them supplies…"
Esdras listened attentively, it was normal. From the perspective of most people, the orcs were now the winning side, and as such many would try to gain their favor.
This will inevitably cause people to feel the helplessness about the situation and drive more people to extremism. Theft and murder were now common crimes.
Esdras handed the thug a copper coin and looked at someone else.
"There was a rumor that a witch was hung to death and came back to life as a horrid winged monster and killed many in the slums before flying off."
Esdras handed him his coin. He didn't care if it was just a rumor, he needed to have a clear understanding of the big picture. And a copper coin was nothing to him.
Back in the inn, he took off his black cloak and sat down to rest his mind. With the coming apocalypse, he sometimes lost track of the present and thought more about the future.
It couldn't be helped, after all the first cataclysm will start in seven years, the invasion of the elves. The clearest events he saw were the ones of the next hundred years.
The elves who were believed to be exterminated to the last elf were in fact alive and doing pretty well. Oh, they also had a burning hatred for all the other races.
This revenge was thousands of years in the making. To the humans and other races, four thousand years was so long that it turned into a myth. But to the elves, it was only two or three generations ago.
Esdras only saw some things briefly, he did not know the details at all. For example, he didn't know where the elves were hiding right now. Or how the war will start.
But, he was sure that there were some clues left behind. If he could get his hands on as much information about the age of Myth and the rise of the Immortal Emperor he might be able to find something.
There were too many weaknesses in the current order of the world. The mages were fighting among themselves and squabbling over resources.
After such a long time they grew fat and weak, too accustomed to peace and decadence. While the elves on the other hand have been nursing their hatred and preparing for war.
It was going to be a catastrophe, especially in the beginning, when most people would not even believe that the elves have somehow survived.
That was not going to be a regular war, the purpose behind it was not conquest or resources. It was a complete and utter extermination of the other side.
When things have developed to this degree, no amount of diplomacy can solve it. There was no place for flowery words and honey-coated gifts. It doesn't matter who was wrong or right back then.
And that was only the first cataclysm one that was going to last for a very long time. During the war, and even before it right now, many heroes and villains will rise and challenge the common sense of the world.
*knock* *knock*
Someone knocked on his door, it was strange for someone to come to him at this hour.
"Come on in," Esdras said.
Celine opened the door gingerly, but she was not coming here at this late hour for fun. He was able to do it that much from the look on her face.
"What's wrong? Is something bothering you? How do you feel?" Esdras asked gently.
Celine looked upset, " Yes, something is bothering me. It's you."
Esdras pointed at himself dumbly, "me? W-what did I do?" He was confused.
"This." She frowned, "this is what bothers me. Why are you walking on eggshells around me? It was ever since that day. You're treating me very annoyingly."
Although Esdras told himself to act normally around her, actually doing that was very hard. He knew that the best thing to do was to act normal, but he wasn't even sure how to do that.
Seeing Esdras's silence Celine got even more upset, "is… something wrong with me? Tell me the truth."
"Ah…"
Esdras gritted his teeth, he didn't know how things came to this. The truth was that his relationship with Celine started physically, he was interested in her body at first glance.
He was a bit of a scoundrel, after all. He didn't regret that nor did he think he was wrong.
It would be a lie to say that he had feelings for her back then, but as time went on he started to actually like her. At some point he started to really care about her and what she thought of him.
That was why.
That was why lies that came easily to him got stuck in his throat. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know how he started to think about her this way.
It was because he wanted to respect her wishes on one hand and he didn't want to alienate her on the other….
Esdras breathed exhaled and inhaled deeply.
"Listen, Celine do you trust me?"
"Of course." She said with a frown. As if saying, 'isn't it obvious?'
Esdras laughed despite himself, "good, then I will tell you what I can. But let me keep some things to myself and I will tell you when the time comes, can you do that?"
"… I think, so. But you'd better tell me everything later on. I don't like to see you in such a dour mood all the time." Celine brushed her hair behind her ear.
"All right, first of all, there's something wrong with you right now but it won't cause any problems, for now, you're mostly fine. Only… later on, you might get taken… to a very faraway place because you saved my life."
Esdras made sure to summarize everything and speak his points as carefully as possible.
"I see," Celine unexpectedly smiled, "so, I saved your life. It's worth it then."
There was something weird about her answer, "wait you knew about this?" He asked urgently.
"No, not really. I just knew that I had to go very far away. My mother told me so."
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