Memories from time forgotten

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—

/Several days later…/

/Shaa…/

'Above the mountains and rivers, Silver led Hestia and Artemis through the lands as they went after whatever destination he had in mind.'

'Neither of them knew where he wished to go, but the many sights the world had to offer entertained them enough to make their doubts disappear.'

'The Beol mountains alone gave them many exotic sights. From the very first Village, they met to the next one, Belthane of the Swamp of Ancient trees and more.'

'Giant waterfalls feeding massive lakes, tall mountain peeks that vanished within clouds of mist, forests so dense sunlight didn't pass through, and many other peculiar sights adorned these lands.'

'Beyond the Beol Mountains, the Continent awaited them.'

'From Village to Village, City to City, adventure to adventure… From the Beol mountains to the Elven Forests and beyond…'

'However, as the days came to pass, both Hestia and Artemis grew wary… Not because they were tired from their travels, but because they began to miss and worry about the children they left behind.'

'Silver knew this would eventually happen, as no matter how willing those two goddesses were to go on a trip, their kindness and love for their Familias were equal to their love towards him, if not greater.'

'It was the difference between a caring mother's love for her partner and children.'

'The most he could do to sate their curiosity was to reassure them of their safety, since he knew full well that if he were to return with them now, they would likely not leave Orario afterward.'

'Like a mother sending their child to school for the first time, letting them go was the hardest part, but they had to, despite everything they felt. As they did time and time again whenever they sent them to the Dungeon, not knowing if they would return.'

'Of course, Silver had no desire to force them to do anything, and if he felt they were beginning to grow distressed, he wouldn't hesitate to bring them back and resume his travels another time. Even if he had to do them alone.'

'He was just as worried as them, and there was also the matter of them recognizing their Goddess' disappearance, so Silver was also in a hurry as not to cause too much of a disturbance in the Familia.'

'This, in the end, was all due to his selfish desires. For abandoning his responsibility as their Captain to go on an adventure far, far away…'

'At least back in Orario he could return whenever he saw fit, but here, even if he spent multiple hours transporting himself throughout the land, drinking potions and recovering, he may not return even as the next sunrise rose.'

'Some may call that fast, but that was him pushing his limits to the point he may collapse due to Mind Zero.'

'But aside from these momentary feelings, their journey went smoothly.'

'With Silver's abilities, they traveled much faster than even some Flying monsters from morning to dawn, stopping only to rest at interesting sights and settlements.'

'Having lunch atop a mountain thousands of meters above ground to seeing the coronation of a small nation far, far away from Orario, those were the kinds of scenes they saw along the way.'

'Forests of pink trees, grasslands of golden weeds, ancient battlegrounds hidden underneath millennia of erosion…'

'In this beautiful world, the signs of ancient monsters were everywhere. Mountains torn apart, holes so deep sunlight couldn't reach… Monsters far beyond anyone had ever seen once prowled these lands, and Silver wondered if they were still out there, underneath their very feet.'

'Did the Dungeon reach this far? If he dug down, breaching space like Daedalus once did as he sought the secrets of the Dungeon, would he reach the Dungeon?'

'And if he did, what sort of Hell would await him, thousands of feet underneath the ground?'

'Those thoughts would often fill his mind whenever they visited the many unique cultures along the coast.'

'From eating the many kinds of foods to seeing the many kinds of individuals these places held. It was all quite eye-opening.'

'Types of beastman he had never seen, languages he couldn't recognize, clothing and architecture in a fine line between elegant and bizarre…'

'Gods of foreign lands, all so far from Orario, the people of these lands saw the city as nothing but a legend…'

'Life was so much different in these parts, thousands upon thousands of kilometers from the Dungeon…'

'In here, even the strongest Knight was at most Level 2. Those who went beyond were considered masters of utmost respect, enough for even Kings and Nobles to recognize.'

'Be it in the past or now, maybe even more now, Power was the number one trait that gardened respect. For it was what led people to gather and resist the erosion of the Dungeon.'

'Such was the world far beyond Orario's borders…'

'As rare as they were, Silver saw monsters beyond Level 3 or 4 prowling the wilds, dispatching them in his boredom, sometimes because they were on his way, other times because he decided to act like a traveling Hero and help those in need.'

'From Villages plagued by Lizardmen to Kingdoms attacked by Wyverns, Silver even dispatched ancient monsters not seen in the Dungeon anymore, such as the Icemen, a primate monster that lived in the frigid mountains.'

'He'd often write down in a notebook whenever he met such an unusual creature, interested in consulting with others regarding their origins.'

'He'd ask his Goddess if he could, but Hestia was as clueless about the world as she was knowledgable about the economy.'

'Either way, to the people living in these lands, the sight of one such primate would spell their doom, given its power neared that of a Level 5 adventurer…'

'But to him, Silver saw the beast as a decent warmup in the cold mountains…'

'Sometimes, as he returned with the spoils of his victories and ventures, there were moments their cries of ovation and happiness for his actions were such he feared their descendants would carve statues in his name in the future.'

'Yet, as he awkwardly tried to play it cool, both Hestia and Artemis fueled the flames of their awe, helping those affected by their nightmares with their Divine Aura.'

'Slowly, the tale of the Goddesses and their Knight traveling the lands spread, although by the time anything conclusive began to circulate, years had already gone to pass…'

'But that's a story for another time.'

…

/Around two Weeks after Silver left Orario…/

'As September reached its end, so did Silver's adventure.'

/Swooosh…/

"..."

This place… Did I finally arrive?

'Flying through the wild mountains, the wind brushing past his hair, Silver eventually spotted a massive structure in the distance.'

'Hidden at the bottom of a valley within the mountains was a long abandoned city of alien architecture built within the center of a purplish lake.'

'Blue and purple trees covered the entire region's expanse, breathing life into this mystical land. Not in a poisonous way like the corrupted spring, but in a beautiful, awe-inducing way.'

'Magical Particles could be felt everywhere, even for those without affinity, sometimes causing the air to glister as they pierced through the clouds.'

'A land of mystery and ancient tales.'

"... We're here."

'Silver turned around look at the sleeping Artemis and Hestia, lightly shaking them awake.'

"Hm?... Already?..." 

'Hestia was the first to react, stretching her arms as she lazily laid her head on the side of the boat, looking down on the world as her vision turned clear.'

"... Where is this place?"

'She tilted her head to look at the ruins underneath them. Trying to figure out what this place was. But she couldn't quite piece together what she was seeing.'

'She turned to see if Artemis had awakened, only to see her in a trance.

"..."

'Artemis looked at everything with a silent gaze. Melancholy in her eyes as she looked at the surroundings. Deep down, she barely contained her surprise.'

'Seeing this, Hestia gave the place a second look, noticing the ruins, she scratched her chin, the answer on the tip of her tongue as she narrowed her eyes...'

"Hm… This place seems familiar… Actually, it looks like…"

"My temple." Artemis replied as she closed her eyes

"..."

'Hestia's expression went down a little as she realized where they were. Everything had fallen in place, a thousands thoughts, dozens of conversations all went by her head in the blink of an eye...'

'But the question remained, why?... A question she already knew the answer to.'

/Pinch.../

'She pinched Silver's side, trying to punish him for doing such a stupid thing. But as always, he shrugged it off, steering the boat closer to the ancient ruins.'

"Ouch… I'll land, hold tight."

"It won't take too long anyway." He said with a light chuckle as he lowered the boat inside the city

(Image?)

''

'To enter the city, one had to cross a long bridge leading to the lake's center, but they didn't need that, did they?'

'The enormous stone bridge stood tall high above the lake, connecting the mountains to the island, an ancient monument, proof of their ancestor's incredible craftsmanship.'

'As Artemis said, this was her temple. In the ancient past, she would proudly look down from her throne in Heaven as her disciples lived gleefully carrying out their duties. Very much akin to how Bhera lived.'

'Not many Gods were like her... Like the Olympians, giving such attention to mortals. And even then, Artemis rarely did so as well.'

'Thus... Long before the age of the Gods… It was left abandoned. Not because of wars, not because of conflict, and not because of monsters.'

'... Not directly, at the very least…'

'The temple fell to the curse of time, isolation, and a lack of those to carry on its duties.'

'As a Goddess of chastity, one would imagine the kind of people overlooking her temple would be only composed of fair maidens… But despite Artemis being a Goddess of chastity, this did not mean she prohibited the act… No, there could be no such thing.'

'Humans and the many other kinds needed to pass on their line, and the last thing she wanted, as a Goddess deeply attuned with nature, was to prevent them from moving on.'

'But as monsters rampaged, cities fell, countries turned to ash, and people began living in complete isolation… A place like this, isolated from the world, was eventually lost to time.'

'One day, the last keepers of this land vanished, either by their own feet, time, or the very thing they swore to protect.'

'From a certain angle, it was best this way. As whatever secrets and curses this place was meant to safely keep... Was forgotten and hidden from all who would misuse it.'

'Until... That is... A faint rumor fell on the attentive ears of an ambitious mortal.'

'Eager to challenge the past and honor his beloved, but above all, to prevent a disastrous future. Like the Heroes of old, a mortal had come to brave what had been cast aside...'

'But was this truly the correct thing to do?'

"..."

The time has come to take this out of my to-do list. I'll prevent any mishaps from happening in my time.

Maybe it's too soon... But I killed an immortal creature before. Let's see what this one has to offer.

Hm... Better not say this out loud...

'Silver turned to a massive tower in the distance, his vision sharpening as he prepared for what was about to come.'

'Sealed deep down under the city was a creature of immense might, such was its power that even the Ancient Great Spirits of the past saw themselves unable to deal with it.'

'Instead, they sealed it, and above it, a temple was erected to prevent its resurgence... While also researching ways to take it down for good.'

'This was how the Great Elsos temple came to be. It's legend held by a single Goddess and the Spirits who lived to tell the tale.'

'A story most Gods wouldn't remember unless given some time to recollect.'

For centuries… For thousands of years, they tried to bring an end to this foul entity… But like all things, time took them out first. That is the great irony of mortality.

The great beast of the ancient times, a creature with the potential to devour the whole world… Is now sealed here.

"Antares…" Silver mumbled to himself as he landed the boat atop a tower

"No."

"... I didn't even say anything."

'Artemis crossed her arms, unwilling to leave the boat as she stepped before him.'

"You didn't, but I know what you want to do. And I'm not letting you, not this time." 

'Hestia's eyes spiraled as she grew confused.'

"Eh? Erm… What's going on?"

'But like many times, she was ignored as Silver replied:'

"... I have to."

"No, you don't. We can just turn around and…"

"Look at me and say that again."

"S-Silver?"

'Hestia held Silver's arm, tugging lightly at it as she questioned his sudden change in tone.'

"... I…"

"... Let's go down first and talk. We… I need to explain what's going on to her before she bites through my arm." Silver said with a chuckle as he looked at Hestia as she clung to his arm

"... Very well."

…

'Artemis' fear did not come from nowhere.'

'Long ago, a Goddess took pity on the mortal's constant struggles for survival and directly intervened to help them so their pain could end.'

'But inadvertently… She only ended up deepening their despair and, at the same time, dooming generations after to a curse only their descendants would unluckily be ended by.'

'This was the curse of Divinity. In the endless river of time, whenever a God attempted to intervene in such a manner, more often than not, led to greater chaos they choose to ignore for the sake of a momentary solution.'

'This was the tragic tale of Prometheus, the Goddess who gave mortals the eternal flame, choosing a Hero to carry on the torch so the great monsters of the past could be slain.'

'The flame ignited hope as the Hero, Epimetheus, cleansed the mortal coil of the ancient disasters until it came for him to challenge the Great Beasts.

'Epimetheus trained and trained, gathered the greatest knights and champions of the past, and marched against uncountable monsters.'

'Victory after victory, after many sacrifices, the world became a little more peaceful… So Epimetheus took it upon himself to finish what many failed before…'

'Throughout time, the Dungeon, in all its anger to the Divine, created multiple Great beasts to ravage the world, several of which were slain by the chosen children of the Gods, the Spirits, and their contractors, the first of the many who'd be known as Heroes.'

'Amidst those, a few lived on, far too powerful to be taken down by their false Divinity...'

'Behemoth, the moving mountain.'

'Leviathan, the emperor of the seas.'

'And… Antares, his title now lost to time.'

'The Hero challenged them all... And failed each time. Eventually, his glory was forgotten, and the flame sealed away...'

'For the beasts, they each took a small corner of the land, nesting for centuries, waiting for their challengers to arrive.'

'Maybe it was Divine intervention or the work of forgotten Heroes, but if not for that, the world would've been a wasteland by now.'

'Amidst those, not long after it appeared, Antares was barely sealed away by the Great Spirits of old. And eventually, all of its destruction was forgotten, overshadowed by its brothers as they ravaged the world above.'

'Now, a piece of Heaven had been laid bare in the mortal plane, corrupted by mortality, without purpose, without reason...'

'This was the greatest sin of them all. The compassion of the Gods. The greatest poison for a mortal.'

'But was the Goddess to blame? Or were the mortals to blame for their lack of ability? For having disappointed the divine?'

'No one could answer it, as in the end, Prometheus never blamed anyone but herself.'

'Her eternal vow to make up for her mistakes still carries on in her eternal life. All the souls lost to her mistakes have a place in her mind for all eternity.'

'Silver knew that in the face of such a monster, even Artemis would lose faith in him.'

'This was, after all, a beast he feared Orario wasn't ready to face.'

'But he didn't come without a plan; two things were going in his favor...'

Right now, Antares is as weak as it'll even be. Sealed for millennia, the Power within its stone is dimming. Were it not for its seal being undone in the near future, it would've died of natural causes.

Although the world differs from the little I remember, either from my presence or something else, it doesn't mean I can keep moving while ignoring its existence.

If fate exists in this world, I have to prevent Artemis' being realized… At any cost.

Antares is only growing stronger, and even if I can outgrow it and form a team... This isn't the kind of beast where something like that would make a difference.

I can see Haruhime and a few others being useful... But I want to solve this myself.

My arrogance will be my downfall one day... Not today, though.

This challenge will push me further. A necessary step to challenge the greatest of them all...

If I falter before this difference in power, then I'll never succeed.

And my abilities don't prove sufficient... I have something at my disposal to help me in the situation it does prove… Overwhelming.

I can also update my Status again if necessary... Right now, I'm about as strong as a Level 6 adventurer, albeit still weaker than, let's say… Gareth when he leveled up years ago.

Still, my strength won't matter in this fight… My Plasmids shouldn't matter either…

Each of the Great Beasts has a unique ability that makes them what they are. They can be seen as experiments of the Dungeon or its hatred incarnate...

Antares' unique power… Is one that renders anything thrown at it useless.

Unless a beast like Zald or the High Levels of the Zeus and Hera Familia were here, I doubt it could be defeated in a straight manner.

To defeat it, I need something beyond the confines of the Dungeon… Something… Divine... Or... To be creative.

And I think I'm pretty good at that.

As long as I can fight it, I can kill it. Besides, it's a monster, and its biggest weakness is the giant crystal without its body.

It'll definitely protect it, but there is always a way...

But first… I'll have to convince her… Or who knows…

Maybe she'll convince me to cast this venture aside.

…

/A few moments later.../

'After they found a way to descend the tower, Hestia, Silver, and Artemis made their way to the abandoned streets of Elsos.'

'Giant, mushroom-shaped trees were everywhere, digging and eating through the ancient structures as they covered the entire land in a faint shadow.'

'Towers had toppled, some buildings were barely husks of their former selves…'

'Purple leaves were everywhere, casting the ruins in an ephemeral, almost alien-like gleam.'

"..."

The ancient world… A tiny spec of it, at least.

How utterly fascinating… But I'm not here as a historian.

With what I'm about to do, I'm afraid I'll give them a hard time… I don't know how much of this place will even remain once I'm done here.

Aside from that... There's Magic everywhere, I can feel it. It's bitting onto my skin.

Like a web, it spreads in an orderly manner under the ground, channeling the entire energy of these mountains down to a single place.

This much energy… How should I even quantify it?...

'Silver thought of Riveria and her magic.'

Level 8? No, much, much higher…

Even Riveria would drown if the entire Magic in this land exploded… Why am I even comparing it to her?

All of Orario would vanish if that were to happen.

/STOP!/

'After they walked around for a few minutes, Hestia had enough as she turned around with her arms crossed, stomping her feet before pointing at Silver:'

"... Alright! Enough mystery! What's going on here?!" 

"I'm also curious, given I was left out of this discussion... So out with it!!"

"... These are the Elsos ruins. It was also a temple dedicated to Artemis... But you already know that."

'Silver turned to a massive tower in the middle of the island.'

"Underground, it seals a monster of immense power. One that's on the verge of breaking… I'm here to finish it off before it can recover."

The Excelia from an ancient disaster... The thought of it alone entices me.

'Silver was probably the only adventurer to see Excelia like this... All others were dead.'

"What?! Was this the reason why you dragged us across half the Continent?!"

"... In a way, yes. I wanted to come here and finish this once and for all…"

Half of the Continent is a bit much... We didn't even cross the sea.

"No."

'Like last time, Artemis quickly proclaimed her opinion, denying him with an iron gaze.'

"I understand your worries, but…"

"No, you don't. Out of everything you have done so far… This time, you're vastly overestimating your abilities!"

"Antares isn't something you can take on! Let's return and…"

"No one will come." 

"..."

"You know full well that the only ones who can support us are busy. Loki would never leave Orario to hunt an Ancient Monster... Not unless everything was truly going down the drain."

"Ouranos wouldn't even allow it anyway... She's not Zeus. I bet she despises how he acted… No, I'm underestimating her. She's merely too fearful for her children."

"If we were to go to her, she would refuse us right off the bat, and if we told this to any of her children, the only thing we would get would be her wrath."

"Finn wouldn't accept coming, not without some convincing. And adding such thing to the long list of things he has to keep at the back of his mind won't help either."

"Now then, who else could help us? Ganesha? Ridiculous, it'd take months if not years to mount a proper raid with the way his Familia handle things..."

"Who else?... There's no one strong enough to participate unless we single out individuals. But then, things would get complicated since teamwork is essential here."

"We're better working alone then..."

"As for Freya… Let's not mention her."

"Then we can just bid our time!" Artemis said as she bit her lips

"Can we?... Now that you're here, you tell me. How long do you think this place will last?" He asked as he looked at the ground

'Silver could feel it, the chaotic energy on the ground... And so could Artemis.'

'Hestia could feel it too, but she didn't quite understand what was going on... For all the wisdom of a God, Silver often asked himself if she was acting dumb on purpose...'

"Once the seal breaks… It'll be over. Another great disaster will be released. And unlike what happened with Behemoth, there's no one to save us this time."

'In the past, the Thor Familia was in charge of keeping Behemoth in check. Very much how Artemis' followers once kept Antares sealed.'

'Yet, it's impossible to contain such a beast forever… Behemoth eventually escaped, and the world was met with its wrath.'

'But at the time, Heroes sacrificed themselves to end its rampage… And they're gone now.'

'If Antares was to regain its strength, the best Silver could do was ignore it and let the people and world burn.'

'Artemis knew of this fact, but she couldn't let him do it either… She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.'

'Everything she wanted was a peaceful life for her children and those around her… Why did this always happen?...'

'Conflict after conflict, the world was in constant pain whenever they went. Was this really what they, the Gods, envisioned?'

'Silver couldn't affirm nor deny it… What the Gods knew and desired… Was far beyond his understanding.'

'But he knew what he wanted more than anyone else. And he was ready to fight for it.'

'Even if all cursed at him.'

"..."

"I'll slay Antares today, once and for all."

"Wait, wait, wait! Can we go back a little? I'm still a little lost."

"What even is this 'Antates' or something?"

"... It's Antares."

"That's what I said!"

'Silver face-palmed. In all honesty, this was far better than a know-it-all. He found her ignorance and childishness to mortal matters cute.'

"... Fine, let's camp here for now, it's getting late anyway. I'll explain the rest on the way."

"I hope so!"

...

'As he said, the first thing Silver did was find a good location to set camp and rest, and once they settled down, he began to explain his reasons and how he came to find this place.'

'Finding this place wasn't hard. Once he confirmed its existence, he merely paid the gnomes for access to their library, and after looking around, he found it. Or rather, he had an overall idea of the location.'

'He spent two full days flying around the mountains until he finally found it.'

'As for his reasons, he began to relay them, one at a time… But the biggest reason he was doing this was because… He was afraid.'

'Afraid he may lose something too precious to him.'

'As night drew near, Silver looked at the unfamiliar sky, closing his eyes amidst a thousand battle plans...'

'He thought and thought, simulated countless times, would his preparations, albeit rudimentary, be sufficient?'

'He did not dream that night.'

…

/The next morning.../

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