Alma 163 The Edge of the Cliff

He had anticipated that the day would finally come, soon or later. When he would be forced to reveal the hidden secret to his grandson. The Great Lie -- that which kept the peace in Mulia, even to this very day. Still, he had not expected that the day would have arrived so soon. 

It is this accursed 'Eventide of Faith,' nonsense that has ruined my plans. Sped them up past what my schedule's limits... but if this is how it is meant to be, then I will not defy Her will. 

Velvund, Reed, and Lu'um were in a place not known to many a Chosen, much less any Mortal. It was an erased location, hidden away from prying eyes. Only those who earned the title of King were privy to the secret location nestled within a remote mountain range in...

Reed observed the massive, decrepit tunnel that had been carved into a random mountain in the [XXXX] province of the [XXXXXX] region of the [XXXXX]. From what he knew, it appeared that the man-made tunnel had been constructed literal ages ago. It was already on the verge of collapse, half-crumbled already and in state of total disrepair. 

"You brought us all the way out here... for this prehistoric tunnel? How is this going to solve the question I asked? Are planning on showing us some fossilized remains of an alien creature, or something?" 

A day ago, Reed had finally brought up the topic Velvund feared the most and asked a very important question. 

"...Well, of course, we're going to save the continent, Gramps. I'd do it on my own if I had to, you know. But that topic's brought up a chance for me to ask something I've been wanting to for a while, now..." 

Velvund stroked his chin and said, "What might that be, my son? What is troubling you?" 

"The world's in danger, right?"

"Yes, that is correct. ...And?" 

"...And now, more than ever, we need strong, capable people to help us close the fissure, would you not agree?" 

"Well, yes... you are right. Every Chosen in Mulia has been rallied to assist in the fight to slow the growth of the fissures. We have been working against this plague for the last year and a half, even before you returned." 

"Right, right. That sounds great and all, but when you say 'every chosen in Mulia,' do you really mean that or is that just a figure of speech?" said Reed as he lovingly caressed his new cloak. 

Velvund paused for a moment and then said, "Yes, we have mobilized every single Chosen currently not stationed out on patrol in the Shadowlands for this cause. It is a world-wide threat to the continent and the Four Empires have responded according--" 

"Then why have I not heard of the Four Sovereigns' response to this mounting threat since I have returned?" 

Ah. It's finally happened. I can no longer keep it from him. 

"Why is it that in the face of a continental threat, we have not heard so much as a single word from them? Why have they not acted to stop the infection since it was first detected a year and a half ago? Is this not pressing enough for them to come out of hiding wherever they are?" 

Valid questions worth their weight in gold. ... I cannot lie to him about it, not anymore now that he has finally caught on.

Velvund bitterly smiled and said, "...You know, my son, where you to have asked these questions to anyone else, you would have taken by the Dreaming Council. They would have stripped your mind clean and left you a babbling idiot out in the Shadowlands as prey for the Infested." 

The temperature in the room dropped considerably after Velvund explained himself. It was a chilling thing to hear Velvund someone casually mention what seemed like an inhumane execution with what had been the warmest tone he could manage. 

What... the hell? Was... W-Was I just threatened... by Gramps? 

Lu'um observed Reed and Velvund with an indifferent expression on her face, as if she had not even heard what had come out of the old Alf's mouth. She knew the secret, too, but had chosen to hide it from Reed, not because she was intent on keeping it from him. During their journey across time in Silvermoon Grasslands, she could have to him the truth, but she had decided against it in the end.

She just did not want to be the one to tell him about it and by extension, become associated with that ugly truth as the one who had revealed it to Reed. In any case, the blame did not fall on her at all, since she was not in any way, shape, form involved with Mulia's history past the Great Barrier War five thousand years ago. 

Lu'um inspected her silver cloak in silence and thought to herself, "...That's your business, Alf, and none of my own. You carry your own sins and I'll carry my own. I will have nothing with what you will have to explain..." 

Velvund retracted his statement and said, "Ah, but don't worry, son, nothing will happen to you since I have already whitelisted your name in the Dreaming Council's Book. They won't come for you, but even so, please do me this favor, my son...

Speak of the Four Sovereigns and other matters such as this only in secret, where no prying ears may fall around you. Although you will not be affected, those around you will. They, after all, will not have been granted the same privilege I have given you... You would not want your precious friends to disappear one day, yes?" 

A clear warning. Astor, Horatio, and Ophelia's faces flashed in Reed's head and after a moment of contemplation nodded his head. 

"Good. I would not you to be beset with any more undue grief than you have already experienced, my son. Know that I tell you this not because I wish to scare you, but because I do not want to see you feel loss again. Not by your own hand, at the very least..." 

"Who are these... people and what do they have to do with my... original question?" 

Velvund nodded in approval of Reed's verbal maneuvering and said, "Better." He snapped his fingers and a sphere of Anima covered all three of them, sealing out all sound inside of the sphere. Even their bodies were hidden as a thin layer of mist formed on the outside of the sphere...

"The Dreaming Council is a group of highly powerful conquerors who have integrated themselves into every information network on the continent, be it legal, illegal, civilian, military, or academic. They are part of a special initiative set forth to manipulate information and identify potential targets of interest that could threaten... the stability of the continent." 

The stability of the continent? Potential targets of interest? That's a bit...

Reed turned toward Lu'um, as if to seek her clarification on the matter, but she said, "Oh, I know, dear. But I refuse to tell you. This isn't my cross to bear..." She summoned her tome and covered herself with her cloak, distancing herself from the conversation entirely. 

...What the hell? 

"Look, I heard what you told me, but it sounded vague," Reed said, "You're going to have to explain yourself with a little more detail for me if you want me to understand, Gramps. Who are these... potential targets of interest and what kind of information are they manipulating? Give me specifics. Hard facts, not just ambiguous phrases." 

Velvund took a deep breath and said, "Son, do you know the Four Empires were founded?" 

Reed tilted his head in confusion and said, "...It must have happened after the Age of Chaos, right? So at a bare minimum, about four thousand years ago, give or take? I don't really know." 

The old Alf's eyes widened for a moment when he heard Reed reference the Age of Chaos and said, "How do you know about that period of time, son? How was it that told you about that? That in and of itself, is another taboo that could have gotten you taken by the Dreaming Council, my son. Never, ever, reference it to anyone else. Am I clear?" 

Velvund's expression hardened when we heard casually reference the hellish, forgotten period of time. Nightmarish memories from the past bubbled up, but disappeared as soon as he regained his composure. 

"Oh, uh, well, I learned about it from..." Reed gave a side-eye stare toward Lu'um who had hidden underneath her cloak. 

"...I see. That is fine, then. It is as you have imagined, the Four Empires were formed three thousand six hundred and eighty-five years ago to this year, after the Age of Chaos and the Unification Wars. And more than three and a half millennia, the Four Empires have enjoyed an unprecedentedly enormous period of unbroken peace. 

Normal kingdoms rise and fall, my son, as if they were made of sand and built on the shore of a beach, yet our Four Empires have persisted for so long that a thousand mortal kingdoms could have been born during their tenure.

Why is that so?" 

Reed froze when he heard the question that had been posited to him. It was such a good question that it had left him reeling in thought. 

How have these four empires lasted so long? Even with the Four Sovereigns, it doesn't really make sense. There's bound to come a time when, for some reason, they should have fallen. 

"All civilizations, kingdoms, and peoples have their time in the sun and then, they will, too, as all that had come before them, fade into the night. Nothing lasts forever, not even..." 

Reed gazed at Lu'um quietly and put one his hands underneath her cloak. A hand grabbed his own and he grasped it tightly. 

"So, then, how have you managed this astounding feat? ...What terrible revelation are you about to force upon me, Gramps? Lay it on me, I can handle it." 

"Lay it on me, I can handle it." That was what his grandson had told him, thus he had brought him here. To the one of the darkest, if not the darkest place in modern times. 

If Xibalba was a testament to all of the Ancient Mulian's evils, then the home of the Dreaming Council was the perfect analogue for its modern descents...

Reed, Lu'um, and Velvund continued their descent into the depths of the ancient tunnel until a certain point where they could venture further no more. An enormous, heavy gate made of warship-grade altinium stood before them, towering above trio. 

Upon the colossal gate was an inscription that read: "In the heart of all evils can be found the soul of a saint."

"Who was that meant for?" thought Reed. He couldn't understand what was written on the door, for it was in a language not recorded in his tome's universal compendium. It was one of the hidden languages that had not been given to the three great guilds of Mulia for indexing. 

Velvund walked up to the front of the gate and then spoke in a tongue unknown to Reed. It sounded very familiar though, as if he had heard it long, long ago. 

Jumbled whispers and faint, repetitive echoes of sound -- as if Velvund had gotten a bee, or some kind of insect stuck in his throat...

A loud, booming clunk bounced off the tunnel's walls behind them like the hiccup of slumbering titan, and then the colossal gate slowly creaked open as it ground across the ground beneath it. 

"You said you could handle it, right? This is where the edge of the cliff is, my son. If you turn back now, no one will think less of you for it. It would make me happier that you not know what lies ahead, but if you insist, then...

You can blame no else but yourself if you choose to regret the decision."

Chapter end