Chapter 399:Questions after Questions.
Atheline nodded.
"Yes."
The man stared at him.
"Just like that?"
Atheline smiled.
"Just like that."
Lucifer laughed.
"You should have entered."
The representative looked at him.
"Me?"
"Yes."
Lucifer shrugged.
"If you wanted the token."
The man looked toward Draco.
"Can anyone participate?"
Draco nodded.
"Provided they are willing to accept the conditions."
Several people suddenly became interested. Atheline looked around the table, then smiled.
"If you’re interested, you should explore the island yourselves."
The representative looked at him.
"You make it sound easy."
"I didn’t say it was easy."
That silenced him. Atheline took another bite of his breakfast.
"You simply have to win."
Several people laughed.
The High Elven delegation was particularly amused his brother just rolled his eyes at him before turning to someone else.
Caius looked at Atheline.
"You’ve created trouble."
Atheline looked at him.
"I didn’t create anything."
"You’ve just reminded everyone that there are rewards available."
"That’s their problem."
Caius shook his head.
"You really haven’t changed."
Yander, sitting nearby, quietly smiled. The conversation gradually shifted back toward politics.
Draco placed his cup down.
"Since we’re all gathered here, we might as well discuss yesterday’s developments."
The relaxed mood immediately became slightly more serious.
"The corruption remains our primary concern."
A human representative nodded.
"Our scouts have confirmed further movement along the eastern waters."
"What kind of movement?"
"We don’t know yet."
Draco frowned.
"That’s precisely the problem."
The Demonic representative spoke next.
"We’ve also received additional reports from the mainland."
"Missing people?"
"Among other things."
The conversation became more focused.
There were reports of corrupted creatures appearing farther from the original affected regions. Several villages had reported unusual behavior among wildlife.
The Beastmen representatives confirmed that corruption activity had increased on their continent as well. The dwarves had noticed strange changes around several mining regions.
No one had a definitive explanation, and that was becoming increasingly frustrating.
Seragus finally spoke.
"The problem isn’t simply the number of corrupted." He looked around the table. "It’s their behavior."
Everyone became quiet.
"They are becoming less predictable."
Draco nodded.
"We’ve observed the same."
Atheline listened carefully.
Lilith’s expression remained calm, but he could tell she was paying attention.
"Some creatures avoid populated areas." Seragus continued. "Others move toward them, some attack immediately, and others appear to be searching for something."
That last sentence caught Atheline’s attention.
"Searching?"
Seragus nodded.
"We don’t know what."
Atheline exchanged a glance with Lilith.
The conversation continued. They discussed whether more patrols should be sent into the oceans. The human representatives suggested increasing cooperation between the kingdoms.
The Beastmen representatives wanted more information before committing soldiers. The elves proposed expanding purification efforts. The dragons remained cautious.
Nobody wanted to move too quickly.
The last time the kingdoms had underestimated the corruption, people had died. Eventually, the conversation returned to the new corrupted variant.
Draco explained that his scouts had yet to capture one alive.
"We need to understand what changed."
Atheline nodded.
"Agreed."
A representative looked toward him.
"Have you encountered the new variant?"
Atheline shook his head.
"Not directly."
Lilith added, "We’ve encountered corruption, but not enough evidence to determine whether the variant is responsible."
The discussion continued for some time, as just rulers and representatives trying to understand a threat that continued changing faster than they could study it.
Eventually, breakfast began coming to an end.
Draco stood.
"We will continue the main discussion later."
Everyone began rising.
Atheline placed the Sacred Ruin token back into his clothing. Caius walked past him.
"So."
Atheline looked at him.
"You really are going into the ruin."
"I can’t miss it."
Caius laughed.
"Be careful."
"I will."
Lilith joined them. She looked at the two men.
"Are you two finished?"
Caius smiled.
"For now, your majesty"
Atheline looked toward Draco. The Draconic King was speaking with several of the other rulers. Their eyes met briefly and Draco nodded toward him. Atheline returned the gesture.
The token rested against his chest. It was a simple object, yet it represented another doorway into the ancient world.
And after everything they had already discovered, Atheline couldn’t help wondering what kind of secrets the dragons had preserved inside their Sacred Ruins.
.
.
.
By the time the representatives finally began leaving the council chamber, the atmosphere was considerably lighter than it had been at the beginning. There had been no major resolution concerning the corruption, but at least the different kingdoms had shared information and established what each side had observed.
Atheline, however, found his attention returning to something entirely different. The small token resting in his hand.
He had originally intended to wait before deciding whether to use it. After all, they had only recently returned from the fairy sanctuary, and there was already enough happening in the world without voluntarily walking into another ancient ruin.
But the more he thought about it, the more curious he became. Especially after hearing about Caius and Yander’s experience. And then there was the strange ruin beneath the Doom Cave.
Atheline had begun to realize that every ancient structure they encountered seemed to hold a piece of a much larger puzzle. Perhaps the dragon’s ruin would be different. Perhaps it would contain nothing useful.
But there was only one way to find out.
By the time he and Lilith reached the palace courtyard, several other representatives had already heard that Atheline possessed the token.
Some were openly interested.
Others were clearly trying to hide their curiosity. A few even began discussing the Dragon Ring among themselves.
Atheline couldn’t help smiling.
"They’re serious about it."
Lilith glanced toward the groups.
"Of course they are. They heard there’s a chance to enter a Sacred Ruin, anyone interested in ancient ruins would be."
Atheline looked at her.
"Are you saying you’re interested?"
"I’ve been interested since you brought the token back."
He laughed.
"I knew it."
Lilith gently elbowed him.
"Don’t sound so pleased."
"I can’t help it."
Before they could continue, one of the palace attendants approached them.
"Your Majesty. His Majesty Draco has instructed me to escort you to the designated ruins."
Atheline nodded.
"Let’s go."
They left the palace shortly afterward. The designated ruins weren’t located within the capital; instead, they traveled farther into the island, following a winding mountain road that gradually carried them away from the densely populated regions.
The landscape became increasingly wild. Large rocky formations rose on either side of the road, while enormous trees grew between them. Occasionally, Atheline saw dragons flying high above the mountains.
The closer they came to the ruins, the fewer people they encountered. Eventually, they reached a wide plateau surrounded by mountains.
Several ancient structures stood across the area. At first glance, they appeared completely different from one another.
The attendant stopped.
"These are the Sacred Ruins currently available to visitors."
Atheline looked around.
There were six.
Each entrance had a completely different appearance.
The first was surrounded by enormous flames that never seemed to burn the stone around it.
"This is the Flame Ruin." The attendant pointed toward it. "The environment within is saturated with Fire Aether. Those who enter will face trials associated with fire."
Atheline nodded.
He could already feel the heat radiating from the entrance. The second entrance was covered in frost.
"This is the Frost Ruin."
The air around it was freezing.
"The interior is dominated by Ice Aether."
The third was surrounded by constantly moving currents of air.
"Wind."
Atheline recognized it immediately. The fourth was located beside a pool of perfectly clear water.
"Water."
The fifth was surrounded by enormous stone formations.
"Earth."
Atheline looked around.
"So each one focuses on a single element."
"Correct."
The attendant nodded.
"The dragons believe these ruins were designed to test those who enter according to the element they contain."
Atheline studied the entrances.
It made sense.
Dragons naturally possessed elemental affinities, and their ancient ancestors had apparently created specialized environments to develop them.
But then he noticed something. There was one entrance that looked... Normal. It was simply an ancient stone doorway standing at the edge of the plateau.
Atheline pointed.
"What about that one?"
The attendant’s expression changed slightly.
"That is the Unaspected Ruin."
"The Unaspected?"
"Yes."
Atheline looked toward Lilith. She was already studying it.
"What does it contain?" she asked.
The attendant hesitated.
"We don’t know."
Atheline raised an eyebrow.
"You don’t know?"
"Not precisely." The attendant looked toward the structure. "The other ruins respond to elemental Aether. Their environments are obvious. Even those who cannot complete the trials can usually understand what they’re being tested on."
He paused.
"The Unaspected Ruin is different."
"How?"
"No element."
Atheline’s curiosity immediately increased.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing that we’ve been able to identify."
"Then what happens inside?"
"We don’t know."
Atheline stared at him.
The attendant continued.
"Some dragons have entered over the years."
"And?"
"Some left after only a few minutes, others stayed for days. Some claimed the ruin was empty while others claimed it showed them things."
Atheline’s expression became serious.
"Things?"
"They could never explain what they saw."
Lilith stepped closer.
"And nobody has reached the end?"
The attendant shook his head.
"Not that we know of."
Atheline looked at the entrance again.
That was exactly the kind of thing that attracted him. He had expected a fire ruin, or perhaps a wind ruin; something predictable. Instead, there was a structure nobody understood.
He smiled.
"I’ll take that one."
The attendant blinked.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
Lilith looked at him, then sighed.
"I knew you would."
The attendant seemed slightly concerned.
"The Unaspected Ruin is not considered dangerous in the conventional sense."
"That’s reassuring."
"But..."
Atheline waited.
"We cannot tell you what you will encounter."
"That’s fine."
The attendant looked between the two of them.
"Very well."