Chapter 284
'Mother?'
Zeke was speechless, realizing that the female mage was his mother, long since dead.
His eyes trembled as he looked at Laura Agamemnon, a woman he had only ever seen in photographs.
Seeing Zeke's silence, Laura spoke again, her tone questioning.
"I've revealed my identity. Now you will reveal yours."
At her words, Zeke finally managed to collect himself.
'The Dawn Society... I know it as the precursor to the Rose Society. This must be the time when she was working with Sir Fab to save the Lubern bloodline.'
Zeke calmly organized his thoughts.
He was in such a state of shock that if it weren't for his passive skill, Indomitable Will, he would have struggled to regain his composure.
He looked at Laura and forced himself to speak.
"I cannot reveal my identity. What I can say is..."
Zeke continued the rest of the sentence telepathically.
— ...that I came here to find the Temple of Chronos.
Laura was taken aback by the voice that suddenly echoed in her mind. But soon, the word "Chronos" sent her into deep thought, and she nodded.
"So that's why that message came."
Laura gestured to her companions, and Zeke sensed the black-clad fighter and the archer retreat.
She looked at him and said,
"How do you know about Chronos?"
Zeke wondered if it was safe to reveal the truth.
'If I interfere with the timeline incorrectly, the backlash from Karma could harm me or my mother.'
He had to speak within the boundaries of what would not alter the timeline.
"I am a hidden descendant of Lubern, and I am searching for the legacy of the Hero-King to protect our bloodline."
Laura's eyes wavered at his words. "The Hero-King? You mean Kaisir?"
"Yes. My goal is to save the Lubern bloodline by finding the power of the Hero-King, a contractor of Chronos."
With a confused expression, Laura asked, "What is the connection between the Temple of Chronos and the Hero-King's legacy?"
"That, I do not know. The power of Chronos never reveals the answer directly."
Laura nodded as if she understood. She then took something from her coat. It was a Chronos watch, identical to Zeke's. She opened the watch's lid and infused her power into it.
VWOOOONG!
The watch absorbed the energy, and a mass of white light floated up from it. The ball of light soon began to move toward a specific location. Laura gestured to Zeke.
"Follow me. If what you say is true, the power of Chronos will guide us."
Zeke followed the light with Laura. It led them down into the museum's basement. His mind was a chaotic mess as he followed the light, trying to think of what to say. He had never imagined he would travel to the past and meet his living mother. Unable to voice any of the countless words swirling in his head, he simply followed her into an unfinished section of the basement.
The ball of light spun in the air before stopping in front of the innermost wall. It flickered as if blinking. Laura touched the wall where the light hovered and tilted her head.
"Is there something inside this wall?"
Zeke walked up, tapped the wall a few times, then drew Annex's Daggers and cut an entrance through the wall as if it were paper.
CRASH!
The section of wall he cut away fell inward, creating an opening. Laura stared at Zeke with a newfound curiosity.
"I've never heard of a knight like you among the Lubern."
"I have remained hidden to avoid the eyes of the Abyss. Very few know of my existence."
Laura still seemed to have her doubts about his identity. Before she could probe further, Zeke followed the light and stepped through the opening. Inside the wall was a long cave tunnel, like a dungeon.
'This passage didn't exist in my timeline... Did the cave collapse at some point?'
Zeke glanced at Laura walking beside him, following the light, and opened his mouth.
"Laura Agamemnon, are you a Healer?"
Laura slowly nodded. "You already knew, so why are you asking?"
Zeke was now certain of one thing: his mother had a rather prickly personality. He asked another question.
"I was under the impression that Healers only came from the main Lubern bloodline. How did one come from the Agamemnon side?"
Laura looked at Zeke. "The Agamemnons are a collateral branch of the Lubern. When the Church forced the Lubern from the throne, the Agamemnon family absorbed some of the scattered bloodline. It's a fact I only learned recently myself."
It was as Zeke had thought; the Agamemnons were an offshoot of the Lubern line.
"Are there other families besides the Agamemnons that carry the Lubern blood?"
Laura shook her head.
"The Lubern blood relatives were scattered to the winds at that time, so you won't find any other clan-level groups like the Agamemnons. However, it's possible for someone to be born with the talent of a Healer if they have a Lubern ancestor. The Dawn Society seeks out those people."
Zeke nodded at her explanation.
'So the Children of Lubern are mostly cases of atavism, where the Healer talent has re-emerged.'
This time, Laura was the one to ask a question. "So, what is your name?"
After a moment of thought, Zeke gave a false name. "Kai."
It was a name he'd quickly come up with, based on his master Kaisir's name.
"Kai Lubern."
As they walked, following the light, Zeke asked Laura the question that was foremost on his mind. "Do you happen to know Arthur Draker?"
Laura shot a glare at him. "Why are you suddenly bringing that bastard up?"
Zeke was taken aback by the intense animosity he felt from her and paused before answering. "...I was just asking. It seems you don't have a good relationship with Arthur Draker."
Laura clenched her fists, grinding her teeth. "Those damn Draker bastards. They're trash who used our family to expand their own power, only to abandon us the moment we fell on hard times."
Zeke was confused by Laura's raw hatred for the Drakers.
'If she hates him this much, why did she marry Arthur Draker and give birth to me?'
Rufus Agamemnon, the head of the family, had been opposed to Laura's marriage to Arthur Draker. And yet, Laura had gone against his wishes to marry the head of a family she considered an enemy. What's more, even after their marriage, Arthur Draker had never bothered to help the Agamemnon family or lift their curse.
As he was lost in thought, Laura spoke again. "If it wasn't for Ramon, I never would have partied with a guy like Arthur."
Zeke was shocked.
'Ramon? Don't tell me she means Ramon Siemens, the head of the Siemens clan.'
It seemed Laura didn't yet know about the Siemens family's connection to the Abyss.
If he told her the truth now, it could affect Karma, so Zeke had to bite his tongue and stay silent.
He managed to calm himself and asked,
"...Ramon? From the Siemens family, is that right?"
Laura nodded.
"Yes. A man who's a million times better than Arthur Draker."
She clearly held a much higher opinion of Ramon.
"A party? Does that mean the three of you explored dungeons together?"
"Four of us, actually, including Rex Turunn. That's right. Before I met Sir Fab and joined the Dawn Society, we used to search dungeons together."
"Interesting. A Draker, a Siemens, and a Turunn, in a dungeon with an Agamemnon. What were you looking for?"
Laura looked at Zeke, considered it for a moment, then said,
"Well, since you're also looking for the Hero-King's legacy, I suppose it doesn't matter if I tell you."
She continued,
"We were trying to find the relic of the Elder Dragon."
Zeke's eyes widened.
'The relic of the Elder Dragon. So Arthur Draker was already searching for it back then.'
Laura added,
"To be precise, it was Ramon who wanted to find it. I joined the party because I was hoping it could break my family's curse."
"Ramon Siemens was after the Elder Dragon's relic?"
Laura furrowed her brow at Zeke's question.
"That's strange. You're the first person I've mentioned the Elder Dragon to who didn't ask what it was. You look like you already know about the relic."
Zeke realized his mother was also remarkably perceptive.
"...I don't know much. Just bits and pieces I've picked up while chasing the Hero-King's legacy."
Laura nodded at his answer.
"I suppose that's possible. But how did you end up searching for the Hero-King's legacy in the first place?"
Her tone had softened considerably since they first met.
Zeke thought for a moment before answering.
"I heard that the Hero-King's legacy lies dormant somewhere in the Giant Mountains. And that his swordsmanship can be found there."
Laura looked intrigued.
"The Hero-King's swordsmanship, you say? If Arthur Draker heard that, he'd go crazy and rush right over."
"It seems Arthur Draker is very interested in swordsmanship."
"Well, yeah," she said dismissively.
"He's only interested in becoming stronger than everyone else."
It was then.
The ball of light that had been guiding them down the cave suddenly picked up speed and shot forward.
Zeke and Laura ran after it. The light stopped and hovered in a spot that was blocked by a large boulder.
Laura tilted her head as she looked at the light circling the rock.
"What is this? The message definitely said to follow the light."
Zeke felt there was something strange about her words.
"A message? Do you mean a prophecy from Chronos?"
Laura nodded.
"Prophecy? I don't know about that, but they come to me sometimes. Letters just appear before my eyes. A message suddenly appeared telling me to come here today, which is why I rushed over."
Zeke realized that the System interface was, at least in part, working for Laura.
'Can the System window be applied even without using the power of a dragon? Perhaps it's the power of the watch.'
Laura took out her watch and tried infusing power into it by turning the crown this way and that, but there was no reaction. Watching her, something suddenly occurred to Zeke.
'Could it be?'
Zeke discreetly took out his own watch and infused his mana into it.
VWOOOOONG!
His watch reacted, causing the ball of light to vibrate and expand outwards. Simultaneously, a portal of white light appeared where the boulder had been.
Laura stared at the portal in shock.
"What is that?"
A message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The entrance to the Temple of Chronos has opened.]
It was the entrance he had been searching for. Zeke looked at Laura Agamemnon's face beside him.
He wanted to hug her, just once, but he knew that with her personality, doing so without revealing his identity would likely end with swords drawn again.
Zeke suppressed his wavering emotions and extended a hand to Laura.
"Laura Agamemnon. Thank you... truly. I found the entrance because of you."
Laura tilted her head in thought for a moment, then reached out and took his hand.
As their hands met, Zeke felt his mother's warmth for the first time, and a powerful tremor ran through his heart. He forced himself to let go and turned away.
Zeke took one last look at Laura Agamemnon, burning her image into his memory, and slowly stepped into the portal.
VMMMM!
As soon as Zeke entered, the portal flared with light and closed. Laura stared at the spot where it had vanished and muttered to herself.
"Kai Lubern... A man who Chronos sent a message for, to guide into the temple. What is his real identity?"
Laura thought back on the message Chronos had sent.
'At midnight, one with black eyes will appear at the museum.'
There had been no mention of who he was or why he would appear. The messages Chronos sent her were almost always like that.
Just then, someone appeared behind her. It was the masked, black-clad person.
Laura walked toward them.
"What is it? I told you I was fine, why did you follow me?"
The black-clad person slowly removed their mask. A woman with red hair, pale skin, and the mystical, gem-like eyes unique to a vampire was revealed.
She looked at Laura and said,
"I could not let you go alone, my lady. What did that suspicious man say?"
Laura shook her head. "He wasn't suspicious. Just... strange."
She gazed at the empty cave where Zeke had disappeared for a moment, then turned to the vampire woman.
"Let's go back, Carmilla."
***
VWOOOOONG!
With a flash of brilliant light, Zeke emerged from the portal. Looking around, he appeared to be at the top of a tower with windows on all sides.
'Where am I?'
Just as he tried to get his bearings, a throbbing pain shot through his head, and he felt a wave of dizziness.
"Ugh."
Feeling a severe motion sickness, unlike when he traveled through other portals, Zeke frowned and staggered.
Just then, someone approached him.
"A bit dizzy, aren't you? It's because you crossed the timeline."
Zeke clutched his head and looked up. In that instant, he couldn't help but be shocked.
"Master Kaisir?"