"Have you ever heard about the Age Of Migration?" Queen Selene asked.
Orion furrowed his brows in confusion before shaking his head in response. Throughout his time in the village, he had never come across anything like that. While there was a chance that such information had been kept secret, Orion doubted it.
From what he had observed, the village seemed to be completely oblivious to the outside world, and their main source of external information was the Caravans.
So even if they possessed this kind of knowledge, it would likely come from the Caravans.
Queen Selene stared at Orion in surprise for a moment before nodding and beginning to explain, "During the Age Of Migration, our worlds could no longer contain or sustain us. It was dying, no longer as prosperous as it once was. In a bid to save us, their children, our gods..."
"Our gods," Orion immediately interrupted.
"Yes, Naka was not our first god. Before we arrived in this world, we served Ilse, the Goddess of Treasures, our creator god. During the Age Of Migration, she was the one who secured us a place among the chosen races to migrate to another world."
Orion's expression grew even more perplexed as he continued to listen. While he appreciated Queen Selene's effort to clarify things for him, he had no prior knowledge of the past, apart from what White Flame had shown him, and thus found it challenging to comprehend the Queen's narrative.
"This is strange," Queen Selene muttered, her voice filled with weariness, as she slumped back in her chair.
She massaged her temples and gazed at Orion, deep in thought. She initially believed that Orion might have come from a place that had forgotten a part of their history, just like the Prismerian Kingdom.
However, after realizing that he truly had no idea about what she was trying to say, Queen Selene began to doubt her assumption.
"So, are you saying that you truly have no idea about the Great War?" Queen Selene asked, her curiosity piqued.
Although the Prismerian Kingdom no longer had detailed records of what occurred during the Great War, she thought that the term 'Great War' would at least ring a bell since it was the most significant event of the 'Age of Migration.'
"I'm sorry, but I truly have no idea about this Great War," Orion responded with sincerity, shaking his head.
He could sense the Queen's doubt, but there was no reason to lie, and he had no incentive to do so, especially in a situation like this.
"Very well, since that's the case, I will explain everything properly so that you can fully understand," Queen Selene said.
She had initially intended to use this opportunity to gather more information about Orion's origins. However, considering that the elders of the Crystalforge clan would arrive shortly and that Orion might not be willing to share such information, she decided to provide him with a thorough explanation about how they were punished and subsequently became trapped in the mountain.
"The Great War was ignited during the Age of Migration by the gods in their bid to secure a place for their creations in this world. As I mentioned earlier, we no longer possess any knowledge of what transpired during that era," Queen Selene explained.
"However, the Ancient Codex, our historical records, provides some insights." Queen Selene felt that it would be more beneficial to disclose this information than to keep it hidden. She cleared her throat and continued, "During the Great War, the land withered, no longer able to sustain life. The once-blue sky was tainted with an eerie glow. The sea ceased to reflect the moon's gentle radiance, contaminated by the ashes and blood of countless corpses."
"With no space left on the earth for burials, the skies themselves became the final resting place for many. Out of fifty thousand races and fifty thousand gods engaged in a battle to secure the gates leading to a new world, only a few survived," Queen Selene's eyes, which had dimmed as she spoke, suddenly lit up with a bright glow as she smiled at Orion. "Luckily, our race was among those who survived."
As Orion absorbed the critical information that Queen Selene was sharing with him, he was taken aback by her unexpected bright smile, which might have been the brightest he had ever seen her smile.
Quickly regaining her composure, she continued to speak with a serious expression on her face. "Of course, our goddess Ilse was responsible for securing a gate for us to enter this world, but she abandoned us, leaving us to fend for ourselves after we began to settle down here."
"Initially, this wasn't a problem as the world's inhabitants were weak and posed no threat to my ancestors, who were among the few races that emerged victorious during the Great War. What we didn't anticipate was that this world, despite not yet being entirely tainted by mana, had gods who were no less formidable than our creator god," she sighed deeply before continuing, "Although there are no records about these gods, the only one we do know about is the White Flame..."
'Man-made gods,' Orion thought, his mind racing with different possibilities as it suddenly dawned on him that White Flame might not be the only human who had become a man-made god.
'How?' was the question Orion wanted to ask, but he could tell that Queen Selene might not be able to provide the answers he sought, so he kept it to himself.
Orion observed as Queen Selene subtly looked up, then focused her attention back on him.
"We do remember the name of the inhabitants of this world, as there was only one race," the Queen said thoughtfully. "I think they were called humans. Although we don't remember what they looked like, the only description we have is that they were humanoid beings. After that, my ancestors decided to find refuge, and the only one to take them in was Naka."
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