Chapter 644: Planetarium
Sylas casually strolled through the markets and posts. True to his word, he didn't show any sign of trying to break into Egypt.
He circled through everything once, and the atmosphere felt odd. The merchants and scholars seemed a bit on edge, but Sylas spoke with them as though he didn't notice that anything was wrong at all. Then, he returned to the carriage for the day to rest.
...
"Do any of you know anything about the Library of Alexandria?" Sylas asked with a calm look in his eye.
He was speaking with Alex and the others. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really know their backgrounds at all. For all he knew, there was a historian in their midst that he could take advantage of.
Though it was said that Split Realms had skewed reflections of what had once happened, that didn't mean that such knowledge wouldn't be helpful.
Unfortunately, he wasn't so lucky.
Alex had practically become a different person ever since he put on his mask. He only shook his head no and didn't speak.
Cole and Lana only looked at each other in confusion, seemingly having never heard of the library at all. Jake, by comparison, was livelier these days, but his parents were even more overprotective now than they had been in the past.
Lana was constantly circling the young boy like a hawk, while his father was usually the only one to follow Sylas out.
To Sylas' surprise, though, it was Jake who seemed to have an unexpected perspective.
"Is that... the library Julius Caesar accidentally burned down?"
Sylas looked toward him and nodded, curious about Jake's perspective. How would he know this?
Sylas had received the best education modern Earth had to offer, and yet even he didn't know anything about this history before going through the System City Library.
Unfortunately, that experience hadn't given him a great deal. He was sure that if he had spent more time, maybe he would have been able to find out more.
But back then, he had been on a time crunch, especially with Lucius breathing down his neck and demanding his return. He couldn't afford to spend weeks to months going through all of that information.
By the time he did have time and his own Territory to command, he had already been focused on other things. His personal strength was far more important by then, and the danger he had faced since then only further proved his point.
Feeling Sylas' gaze, Jake felt uncomfortable deep within his heart. He had always felt pressured in front of Sylas, but it had become especially more potent after almost dying because of him.
It was odd, though... this wasn't because he feared that Sylas would do it again, but because of another reason he couldn't quite put his finger on.
What he didn't know was that this was because of his Flexible Will. He could feel aspects of Sylas now that others simply couldn't.
But as the saying went... ignorance was often bliss.
Jake gathered himself and exhaled a breath. He wasn't sure if his parents were alright with him saying this, but contrary to what one might believe... he oddly trusted Sylas.
"The location we were sent to for my parents to complete their Class Quest was quite a special one, it was the same place we received the golden token from..."
Lana frowned, but Jake pretended to not feel his mother's gaze burning a hole through the side of his face.
Cole reached over and comforted his wife, taking her hand in his.
Seeing the actions of her son and husband, Lana didn't even know what to say. Her distaste for Sylas couldn't just be wiped away because he cleaned up his own mess. Who cared if he saved Jake if he was the reason her son was in danger to begin with?
But for some reason, her husband and son seemed to trust this man. Cole had already had more than one private conversation with her, and now her son was giving out information he normally never would.
Jake might be young, but she knew her son was smart. He knew how important it was to protect what information they could in this world. Yet here he was sharing this basically unprovoked.
So long as Cole and Lana didn't know anything, Sylas would be unlikely to press Jake of all people for an answer. But here he was offering the information of his own volition.
In truth, both parents were surprised. They didn't know what Jake had experienced during their Quest either. This was the first they were hearing of this.
Sylas nodded, waiting for the rest of Jake's words.
"It was a place with a large glass dome, almost like a cross between a conservatory and a planetarium. There were tracts of gold above that looked like they outlined the movement pattern of stars, planets, and on a wider scale, galaxies."
Cole's gaze flickered. He remembered this place as well, but he and his wife hadn't been able to observe much before they were sucked away.
Back then, they had been forcefully chosen for their Quest. Otherwise, they would have given their son the opportunity without a doubt. But it seemed that whatever hidden mechanisms there were had decided that the two of them were the most appropriate candidates.
He remembered being worried about what might happen to their son while they were away, so he had tried to clear the Quest as quickly as possible and definitely left some meat on the bone...
But in the end, when they returned, Jake was still there perfectly unharmed. It didn't even look like he had faced any danger.
In fact... it was Jake who found the golden coin.
"Beneath the tracts and orbiting celestial bodies was a small scale model of something that I didn't quite understand. But they were pyramids as well... some of them were more Egyptian in feel, some more Mayan and Aztec.
"Among them, I'm certain I saw the Library of Alexandria mentioned."