Forgotten tree was only the point of separation, where the three parts of the world were separated from each other, a central wound that had still not fully healed.
If the exit or the control core of this Special Area was located at any point, that was the most logical choice.
His previous guess was no longer just a possibility. The Forgotten Tree was their final goal, and he now understood why it was called the Forgotten Tree.
That tree was a piece of something completely forgotten by the current era.
But the images were not finished yet. The western part of the world was shown.
During the separation of the Primordial Root’s body, a massive wave of the Black Silence had entered that region.
If the contamination had remained free, the entire Forest of Giants would have been destroyed at that same moment.
The armored giant stepped forward.
A panel appeared above it.
[Orrakas]
[The Armed Titan]
Orrakas was one of the Primordial Root’s main guardians. He stood in the center of the physical flow and pulled all the released contamination into his own body.
The blackness rose from the ground, entered his legs, passed through his armor, and spread through his veins, bones, and flesh.
The giant did not scream. He only knelt and continued absorbing the contamination. His body turned black, and his golden eyes went dark for a moment.
But he still remained alive. The giant, by absorbing that contamination, had become the new nightmare and disaster of the world!
The giant who was the guardian of the Primordial Root had, with his sacrifice, absorbed all the contamination and become the main source of the disaster.
All the survivors realized one truth. If they wanted to save their world, they had to destroy this giant!
A great conflict occurred, but the armored titan was the strongest giant in this world. A creature that still seemed impossible to defeat.
A great battle took place. Many of the leaders and representatives of the civilizations were killed. Almost no one survived that massive battle.
And in the end, the most powerful figure of this world, Aurelia, by sacrificing herself and her civilization, defeated the giant.
At the end of that battle, only one representative of a civilization survived. The images showed that killing Orrakas was possible, but no one did such a thing.
His death would release all the contamination stored inside his body.
For this reason, massive chains were bound to his body.
A bone region formed around him. The creatures that had died during the separation were buried there.
Over time, that place became the Giants’ Graveyard.
"He is not a prisoner of that graveyard." The Mirror Curator said.
It showed an image of Orrakas sitting among the chains with his eyes closed.
"He is the lid of a wound that has still not healed."
Lian put all the pieces together.
The increase in Awakening after bloodshed, the Giants’ Graveyard’s reaction to the death of creatures, and the Ossuary Warden.
Everything now made sense.
The blood and remaining energy from death could feed the physical part of the Primordial Root.
But at the same time, the contamination inside Orrakas also used that energy. Every killing in the sensitive area brought the giant one step closer to awakening.
The Warden was not built to protect Orrakas.
Its job was to prevent bloodshed and clean up anything that could feed the giant.
Their goal, by keeping this monster asleep, was to prevent the disaster from returning to the world.
And finally, Lian understood the secret of how the Forest of Giants came to be. It was a massive mutation that had occurred in the genetics of the creatures in that region, causing gigantism among them.
However, a question remained. If the contamination was eventually eliminated and the disaster was stopped, then why do monsters still exist?
The reason for the monsters’ existence was that contamination. If it was stopped, shouldn’t the monsters gradually return to their original state and become normal animals and creatures again?
And another thing he realized was that if his guess was correct,
all the remaining civilizations were only branches that had barely managed to survive after the fall of the main civilizations, and yet they had forgotten their origins and history...
"What happens if he fully awakens?" Seraphina looked at the giant’s image.
The Curator did not answer for a few moments. Orrakas’s image became darker.
Black veins moved under his skin.
"The body will release what it has held inside, and the disaster will return."
No further explanation was needed.
If the Black Silence stored inside Orrakas’s body was released, the Forest of Giants would be the first region to fall.
Then the contamination could reach other parts through the roots still connected to the Forgotten Tree.
The memory returned to the Mirrath city, to before the final battle.
But the city was no longer like before. The transparent towers were broken.
The archives were turning black one after another. People in the streets were fighting each other, while each had a different memory of the reason for the war.
Aurelia was standing in the highest archive hall.
A few intact crystals still remained around her, and she was deep in thought. The memories did not show what she was thinking, but her occasional murmurs gave some signs.
"My guess was correct... the disaster was allowed..."
"Why? Why did you do this?"
"Ambition? Madness?"
"The world is being destroyed..."
"It must be punished... but I will not succeed."
"We will not win... but neither will you."
She gathered the last group of archivists.
The Mirror Vault was built at that same time.
Not as a shelter for escape, not as a tomb for treasures, but to preserve the truth and find someone who could carry it in the future.
The images showed the dungeon’s construction. The black glass walls, the Trial halls, the memory crystals, and the Mirror Curator, which was created from a part of Aurelia’s mind and memories.
Perhaps that woman knew that she and her civilization were going to be destroyed in the final battle, and she wanted to do everything she could to leave a legacy so that an heir could rebuild their civilization.
Or she had a deeper reason... an heir who would again stop the disaster... but the disaster should have been stopped, right?
Then the images of the first trial appeared.
"The heir had to maintain their identity against distorted memories."
The second trial.
"They did not betray those who trusted them for power."
Then an image of Seraphina was seen, sinking her sword into the ground and, instead of accepting two forced choices, creating a third option.
"And they could balance two different flows without destroying one of them."
Lian gave a brief look at Seraphina. The white mark on her palm had become brighter.
Now the reason for the Mirror Vault’s reaction was clear.
Seraphina, like Aurelia, was a Magic Warrior. But this was not the only reason for her selection. The real choice depended on her decisions in the Trials.
The memory ended.
The light of the unified world went out, and the four were again in the dark space among the suspended crystals.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
The information they had seen was heavier than what they could immediately talk about.