True past

"What is this, out in the distance?" Layn asked, breaking the long period of silence.

"Huh? Isn't that just a mountain?" Irea attempted to answer, even though she could only make a guess.

"Doesn't seem like it," Layn said, shaking his head. "The amount of mana coiling at its bottom… It wouldn't be a lie to claim it's comparable to that barrier we saw before," he added after a moment.

"Wait, what?" Irea froze in place, taking her sweet time to digest the meaning of what Layn just said.

"Is this a source of the monsters or something? An automated facility to produce guardians of the place?" Layn voiced out his thoughts, rubbing his chin in deep thought.

"You are now saying some pretty revolting things, you know that?" Irea asked, staring wide-eyed at her partner.