Chapter 913 |
Chapter 913
“But how did you know that the Last Emperor's Records were from before the Great Destruction, just by hearing about it? Honestly, I thought it was just nonsense.”
"It's thanks to my diligent search for information from that era, including the insights from Archmage Luma and the First Duke Tain. Moreover, during your prolonged slumber, I had nothing else to do but to search even more earnestly. Anyone with my level of investigation would have easily guessed it."
Kishiar answered with a smile that made it seem as if he had been living normally while Yuder was in a coma-like state.
'During my coma, didn't he say he spent most of his days asleep, only waking briefly to catch up on overdue work? And he investigated all this in such a short time?'
He then remembered the books that were always on the table beside Kishiar's bed. Most were in an ancient language unknown to Yuder. He had seen Kishiar reading them only a few times, usually when he woke up before Yuder left for work. Now he realized that they were part of his research.
'Incredible.'
This was not just living a day like others lived three; it was more like living an hour as others would a day. Kishiar, as if knowing Yuder's thoughts, continued with a smile.
"As everyone knows, only a handful of records exist about the world before the great destruction, and we can only make guesses based on them. However, some things are relatively easy to infer. For instance, the foundations and systems established by the new nations formed after the destruction. Were all the rules that maintain our society, including the laws of our Orr Empire, created from scratch at the time of its founding? Was our empire the first to name a ruler 'Emperor' and a nation 'Empire'?"
"I don't think so. The records from around the founding of the Orr Empire, preserved in the imperial archives, show that much was borrowed from existing concepts when establishing the nation. Tales of ministers working tirelessly through the night to adopt good practices and reform bad customs for re-creation support this. Where did these 'bad customs' they sought to change come from? How did they know about them? The records suggest that neither 'Empire' nor 'Emperor' were terms invented at that time."
According to Kishiar, when the first Emperor of the Orr Empire decided to name the country and himself, no one questioned the terms. They were already familiar to the people of that era and carried the same meanings as they do now.
"Whenever a new concept is introduced, there's always resistance. Yet, the Orr Empire was readily recognized as an Empire with its ruler as the Emperor, not only by the surrounding allied kingdoms but by everyone left on the continent at that time. Some even left blessings at the First Emperor's coronation, proclaiming, 'Only he is truly the one to create a nation for the emperor that is genuinely for everyone.'"
A nation for the emperor that is genuinely for everyone. Yuder repeated the phrase, finding it slightly unfamiliar yet intriguing.
As he reflected on things he had never doubted before, suddenly they seemed to be turning upside down.
"So... if what the Commander says is true, then there must have been empires and emperors before the destruction that we know nothing about."
"I believe so. Because that makes sense. Of course, we can't know at all what kind of countries there were, since not even their names have survived."
"Are there really no direct records of these nations before the great destruction in the imperial archives?"
"My guess is, in addition to the loss from the destruction, there might have been deliberate efforts to cover up and erase records of the old era. The founders of our time probably didn't want to carry the burdens of the past into the new era they were starting."
"..."
"But records aren't just in writing, are they? Investigating legends and stories passed down through songs and tales from the early days of the empire, don't you notice commonalities?"
He spoke of dragons, fairies, and other transcendent beings that lived and mingled with humans, and of flora and fauna now extinct.
"And, in addition, the existence of class and nations, injustices, and the full spectrum of human emotions were no different then."
The man murmured lowly, observing Yuder's expression as he continued to explain.
"Have you ever thought about where the 'certain country of old' frequently mentioned in ancient legends actually existed? What about the identities of those referred to merely as kings, nobles, priests, or knights?"
"I've never been curious about that, so I don't know."
"I think many of the songs and stories we naturally pass from mouth to mouth contain elements from before the destruction. Analyzing them shows that even in those fantastical times, the world was not so different from now."
Even in an era where dragons, fairies, and spirits breathed life, humans formed nations; and in times when swordmasters cleaved the sky and priests revived the dead, the same unfair sorrows existed.
Kishiar's eyes deepened.
"The structure of the 'certain country of old' that appears most in old tales closely resembles our current Orr Empire. An emperor at the center, and those of high status wielding power over their territories. Honestly, there are more stories of sorrow and injustice serving as warnings than there are of joy."
"..."
"If that was the world before the great destruction, did the heroes who saved it from that era really want to pass on its ways to future generations? I think not."
It wasn't an incomprehensible feeling. Yuder, too, when recalling the declining days of the Orr Empire in his past life, did not want even a fragment of that time to seep into the present.
A world so corrupt, filled only with chaos, where erasing and starting anew seemed the better option. From the perspective of those who founded new nations, they might not have wanted to pass on the memories of the previous era.
"I understand that much. Then, what do you think about the records from the southern lands, said to be from the empire before the destruction?"
"The faith in the Black Moon, prevalent even at the beginning of the Empire's founding, remained in the undercurrent of the continent before gradually disappearing, leaving only traces in the south. The southern people's long-claimed 'restoration of glory' as a pretext for war has been one of the continuous threads since then."
As he spoke, Kishiar unrolled a small map of the continent that had been kept rolled up on one side of his office desk. His long fingers tapped lightly on the area marked as 'Southern Lands,' below the desert.
"Do you remember what Aton called us earlier?"
"...He called us usurpers."
Kishiar nodded in agreement.
"Yes. Their stance has always been the same. They believe they must reclaim the territories and influence that were originally theirs, taken by the northern countries beyond the desert. Of course, the Empire and the northern countries dismiss it as nonsense, but..."
Kishiar's fingers paused, and he fell silent, lost in thought, before continuing.
"In truth, it's not completely nonsensical. It seems that the ancestors of the people now living in what's called the Southern Lands were driven there after the great destruction, forced to migrate from all over the continent."
He shared his belief that the gradual disappearance of the faith in the Black Moon, now confined to the Southern Lands, supported this historical view.
"While it hasn't been officially declared, the remnants are so clear that most in the historical community acknowledge it. However, if the so-called 'The Last Emperor's Records' is indeed there... it makes me think we can add a new speculation."
He looked at Yuder with a questioning gaze. Yuder slowly opened his mouth to respond.
"...It suggests the possibility that Aton's tribe, or perhaps the entire Southern Lands, were deeply connected to the empire that existed before the destruction."
"Right."
The buried history of the past. Yet, descendants seeking to reclaim that past.
Yuder's mind raced with thoughts, but in the end, he arrived at a singular conclusion.
"Anyway, if that's their justification, their ultimate goal is quite clear."
Was it really for such a trivial reason that the world's balance was disrupted, twisted to the point of irreparable calamity? At that thought, a feeling of suffocation suddenly overwhelmed him.