Chapter 210: The city where my mother was born

Kaede, Frau and I started jumping over the ruins overhanging the lake in order to reach the island.

But before we could go any further, we stopped on a platform in the middle of the path.

—Just a little further, and we can reach the island.

—There seem to be more people than we thought.
I can see smoke from a campfire over there.

When I looked back, I saw more than 20 plumes of smoke rising.

Apparently, there were more adventurers in these ruins than we expected.

So, all these people are after Sain? And more importantly, where is Sain?

—Here you go, master.

—Thank you.

Kaede handed me a canteen full of water so I could quench my thirst.

Even though we were surrounded by a lake, it was very hot, the hot sun making this trip less pleasant than I would like.

At times a warm breeze blew, and the surface of the water reflected our bodies as if it were a mirror.

It was a beautiful sight in front of me, calm and relaxing.

I wonder if my mother also saw this landscape when she lived here.
It is inevitable that I do not feel moved while thinking about it.

But as soon as I tried to continue, as I placed my foot on one of the ruins in front of me, it started to collapse.

Faced with this, I acted on reflex and leapt towards the next solid object before falling into the water.

Meanwhile, Kaede is stranded where she was standing as she watched it sink.

—Do you think you can jump over here?

—Yes, no problem.

Kaede stretched out her nine tails, and generated wind with magic, causing her to float through the air and land next to me.

Wow, I never thought Kaede could fly, even for a few seconds.

The most amazing thing was that her skirt barely swayed during the flight.
It was as if she was controlling everything meticulously.

—Can you hurry up?

Frau exclaimed as she waited at the ruins a step ahead of us.

***************

—Well, we have reached the center of the lake.

We arrived at the island and I looked up as I stretched out my hands to block the sunlight reflecting strongly on my face.

The place turned out to be a small island covered with dark green trees.

It would take us 30 minutes to walk around it.

On the island there also seemed to be a place where boats were landed, as there were a couple tied to a rope as they swayed because of the waves churning the lake.

A small path was paved from the water’s edge to the back of the island.

I find it hard to believe my mother lived here, it’s too lonely a place.
Sure, it’s quiet and very picturesque, but too depressing.

—Master…

—Let’s continue.

—Of course.
We’ve come so far to get here, we can’t turn back.

Frau hugs Kaede’s tail and buries her face in it.

We make our way across the cobblestones that were overgrown with weeds.

—Have you found anything?

—Not yet.

Kaede had been using her appraisal skills to find life around the place.
But it was useless, as there was no sign of monsters or people.

This island was only home to birds, and they posed no danger.
The grass gave no sign of having been trodden by living beings, and even the path we were walking on seemed not to have been used by anyone for years.

The deeper we went, the thicker the grass became.
Until we got to the point where the path disappeared completely.

Was my mother really born here?

I always imagined a warm place, a place where she would be happy.
Instead, it just makes me think she’s been alone forever.

Hmm? Is anyone here?

—Master?!

—What’s wrong, my Lord?!

I started running frantically through the dense jungle.

A bad feeling ran through my whole body.

After breaking through, I came to a wide area.

The grass was up to my waist, and stretched like a light green carpet as far as my vision could see. 

In the center was a pure white building that gave the impression of being a temple of sacred weapons.

Just as if it was called to that place.
My feet reacted on their own.

—This place is kind of lonely.

—I don’t see anyone around.
I find it hard to believe that her mother lived here, my Lord.
Was she with someone else in this place? Or was she all alone?

I shook my head at Frau’s questions.

I don’t know anything about it, I’m not even sure if this is my mother’s hometown.

However, Roswell transferred to me the procedures to perform when I arrived here.
Maybe this is not the ancient city? Or so I want to believe.

As I approached the temple, I climbed the stairs and stopped in front of the door.

Then, I proceeded to touch it gently.
At that, many images surge in my head like a tsunami.

I can understand almost nothing, but I could decipher how to continue on this path.

I see.
So I haven’t reached my destination yet.

—Master, are you all right?

—Yes, I am.
I still have a long way to go, though.

—What?

I pushed open the door, and we proceeded inside.

Judging by the pile of dust that had just been kicked up when the door was opened, I could tell that no one had set foot in this place in a long time.

—What’s that? There’s a big ball floating in the air.

—Is it a relic?

It was a silver sphere more than ten meters long.

Its surface is a mirror without a speck of dust, and it floats lightly in the air, without moving an inch.
And in front of it, there was a stone slab.

I did not hesitate, and approached it to touch it.
It all turned out very strange, as, for some reason, I knew what I should do.

—[Scan activated… Check for correct genetic information.
Permission granted for your entry.
Welcome to the third gate of the city].

A harsh female voice echoes from somewhere.

It was curious, as for some reason it sounded familiar.
It was as if it sounded just like Chupimi.

—[The gate will start to unfold, please stay behind the white line].

The silver sphere changed its shape to a flat object, and was molding itself into a majestic, large gate in front of us.

It really looks like a curious object to me, I wonder what it is made of.

—The process is complete.

After hearing that voice, the three of us exchanged glances.
We hesitated about what was behind that door.

—[Will this work the same as the mirror in your hometown, Kaede?]

—I don’t know, but this may be the door that leads to your mother’s hometown, Master.

—Maybe.
Maybe there are many ancient species there too.

This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for a long time.
I will finally be able to learn about my roots, and the reason why my mother married my father.
And also… The reason why she made me come here.

—Let’s go, master.

—Yes, Frau will also be with you.

—Well, let’s go in.

The three of us proceeded through the door without hesitation.

***************

…It’s dark.

I could see absolutely nothing around me.

But suddenly, the lights proceed to come on to guide me in the darkness.

And what was in front of us was a long road… No, what was actually an ancient bridge floating in the darkness.

—Everything is dark, I can’t see what’s below us.

—Yes, the more I try the more complicated it becomes.

Frau and Kaede approached to look at what was below, but they couldn’t find anything.

Not to mention that this bridge had no pillars, it was really floating in the air.

The three of us still didn’t understand what was going on.

—What is this place?

—I don’t know.
But that’s what we’re going to find out.

We began our journey, but no matter how many minutes and hours passed, it felt as if the notion of time did not exist here, because despite walking for so long, it was as if we belonged in the same place.

This bridge is so long that you can’t see the end.

Sounds of snoring began to get louder and louder.
I turned my head and saw Frau curled up sleeping on Kaede’s tail.

—Ah! I see something!

—I hope it’s a rest stop.

At the end of the bridge what awaited us was the same silver door as before.
And since we were desperate to get to the ancient city as soon as possible.
We went through the door without hesitation.

We arrived in a huge dome-shaped room.

And in a staggered manner, countless silver doors were piled up, all closed.
But, there was only one that was open, and that was the center one.

—I think it would be a good idea to remember the way back, since we won’t know if another door could be opened.

—Yes, but, curious to know where the rest of the doors would lead.

Before I could get close to one of the doors, Frau grabbed me by the collar.
Frau grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me back.

—Let’s go to the door that’s open, not another one.

—Frau, but we don’t know if that door leads to the old capital.

—We’ll be fine if we go in there.

—Huh?

—How?

Frau and Kaede bowed their heads at my words.

This is just a hunch, but I have a feeling that no other gates will open until we reach the ancient capital.

We walked through the door, and the place it led us to was completely dark.

It appeared to be another different room, quite large, and in the corners lay a series of suitcase-shaped objects covered with cloth.

—Orb of light.

Kaede having used her magic to create an orb of light, we could see that the place we were in was some kind of warehouse.

The floor was covered with so much dust, that every step we took left our footprints.

—There is a ladder over there.

I turned in the direction Frau was pointing to.

I could see that there were stairs and at the bottom of them a door.

After climbing said stairs, I stopped in front of the door, and touched the knob, tried to turn it, but it seemed to be locked.

A woman’s voice was heard again, but it was not clearly audible above the unpleasant sound that was generated.

A few seconds later, the door opened by itself, and a blinding light struck our corneas.