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Chapter 0

Olden Trio

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    A shiny spiral building “Hall of History” was situated in the middle of the land, covered with fine silvery nimbus sand. Inside the building, the crowd was gathering around a glass coffin.

 

  There was an old man lying inside the coffin, who had no vitality on his pale face. Meanwhile, the people put a white flower on his body one by one. With the non-stop weeping sound, the Hall of History was filled with a woeful atmosphere.

 

  Stunned by this scene, the young Shamash looked around the room with her eyes wide opened.

 

  “Everyone is crying for the grandmaster…”

 

  Then, a robust man came up to the stage; the moment he stepped on, the crowd quieted down with respect to listen.

 

  “We are the witness of history and truth of the universe. Among all of us, the grandmaster made the most contribution. His research has brought us a revolutionary change. He was the one who led us to the next generation. We shall never forget his knowledge. Let us praise him through music.”

 

  The man took the singing lead while the rest followed. During the delightful polyphony, an enormous enchantment was revealed on the floor. With the halos, the body of the elder miraculously withered into glamourdust; the glamourdust then transformed into glowing words, fusing into the wall.

 

  “His history will be marked on the memory veil of Hall of History, searing deeply into our souls,” said the man of melancholy, marking the end of the ritual. 

 

  Everyone left the Hall of History except Shamash, who look up at the glorious memory veil.

 

  “I want to be remembered like the grandmaster. I want my name to live on eternally as time.” 

 

  Having this thought, Shamash clenched her fists and sworn to herself, “I’ll become the glorious history that everyone looks up to!”

 

  Since then, Shamash had been investing extra effort in academics, hoping to accomplish a remarkable research. Yet she couldn’t get any satisfactory results even in her adulthood.

 

  Whoosh——!

 

  Everything on the desk was swept down on the floor by Shamash. After making a huge mess, she stormed out of her room.

 

  “Darn it! I can’t publish this piece of joke. I gotta find something more mind-blowing…” Shamash muttered, biting her nail neurotically.

 

  At this moment, she glimpsed at a woman standing on a high platform, who seemed to be concentrating on something without realizing the edge a few inches away.

 

  “Whoa——!”

 

  As expected, the woman fell down from the edge. She was too scared to do anything but screamed.

 

  “Humph!” Shamash took out her wand. When a rune was drawn, mana consolidated into water stream to catch the woman.

 

  “Phew...That scared the hell out of me,” said the woman.

 

  The stream disappeared right after delivering the woman onto the ground, who was adjusting her breath after such a close-to-death experience. Unlike the cold Shamash, every move of her gave an impression of innocence.

 

  “What’s wrong with you? How could you pay no attention to the surroundings, and you did nothing to save yourself when you’re falling! If I hadn’t saved you, you would have been dead by now!” Shamash scolded at the woman with her arms crossed.

 

  Instead of feeling intimidated, the woman gave a brilliant smile as if it could brighten up the room.

 

  “Thanks for saving me. My name is Enlil.”

 

  “...Shamash.”

 

  Even for someone stone cold like Shamash couldn’t bear to blame this lovely Enlil anymore.

 

  “I’m giving you this as a token of gratitude,” said Enlil, handing a brown oval object over to Shamash.

 

  “This is...the bread that our ancestors used to eat.” Shamash squinted her eyes to examine it.

 

  “Exactly! I baked it. It’s tasty.”

 

  When Enlil offered the piece of bread to Shamash with a sweet smile, Shamash rejected with a frown by pushing her hand away.

 

  “We don’t need this low food to survive anymore. We ingest mana through the extraction from the atmosphere. Our vitality can be maintained by drawing runes.”

 

  “I know.”

 

  Smiling bitterly, Enlil retrieved the piece of bread.

 

  “But sometimes I’d ponder if our artificial way of living would make us overlook the essential things,” Enlil unveiled her deep feeling.

 

  “Humph. It’s a natural instinct to pursue evolution. You’re too naive——”

 

  Shamash’s speech was interrupted by a strange sound from the platform——a cacophony made of some animal roar and cry.

 

  “This is...hurtful...What’s this...I feel an immense pressure...It’s crushing my core…” Shamash had no choice but covered her ears in pain.

 

  “Oh no! I almost forgot about the activating enchantment.”

 

  Closing her index finger and middle finger, Enlil pressed her lips with the hand gesture. When Enlil muttered a language, which was unknown to Shamash, she felt an awe and divinity that went beyond her understanding.

 

  Enlil’s words summoned an enchantment to wrap up the platform. Meanwhile, the hurting cacophony stopped immediately.

 

  “What just happened? What did you do exactly?” Shamash put down her hands in perplexity.

 

  “Hmm, it’s hard to explain.”

 

  Thinking for a second, Enlil reached out at Shamash and said, “why don’t you come with me and see by yourself.”

 

  Driven by curiosity, Shamash followed Enlil’s lead to the platform, where an active complex enchantment was located at the bottom. A quintet color of halos was drifting above it.

 

  “Is this...mana? No...How come! Nobody in history has been able to gather such a large amount of mana!” Shamash couldn’t believe her eyes.

 

  “I lost count of my failures too, but I finally did it this time,” said Enlil timidly. 

 

  Still, Shamash was completely astounded by her magnificent work.

 

  “We’re about the same age, but why can she…”

 

  It was very hard for Shamash to digest the truth. She asked Enlil with a complicated look, “what are you gonna do with that much mana?”

 

  “Well, I’m planning to analyze the memories contained within mana.”

 

  “...What? Isn’t mana a kind of energy? How could it have memories?”

 

  “Actually it’s not. Mana isn’t just an energy in our perception, but contains a myriad of untold memories. I’ve been having this thought since I was small…”

 

  Enlil came to the enchantment and waved her wand. Next second, the quintet halos were drawn to her as if metal met magnet. The halos eventually consolidated into a nimbus stone in her palm.

 

  “Our people have been focusing on the research about the universe but not our origin. Doesn’t it sound strange to you? I think the genuine meaning of witnessing history should be understanding our origin,” Enlil said excitedly without noticing the creep in Shamash’s gaze.

 

  “...You haven’t reported it to the grandmasters, have you,” Shamash asked.

 

  “No, because I haven’t found any solid proof yet.”

 

  As soon as Enlil said it, Shamash suddenly grabbed her hands and said enthusiastically, “can I join you? I’m very interested in your research.”

 

  “Really? Are you really acknowledging my research?”

 

  Enlil held Shamash’s hand back in excitement and said, “of course you can! Welcome aboard!”

時幕刻劃 ‧ 夏馬西
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