And now, after years, the Ruined Realm native, upon seeing another human face, had naturally assumed that someone from his own people had finally entered the prison.
Lian could correct the misunderstanding.
He could explain about Earth, the Awakeners, and the arrival of a new generation of Outsiders.
But doing so would have no benefit... would he be foolish enough to do that?
This man had been under the Cindari’s interrogation. His trust in any creature that entered the cell with the guards must be almost zero.
But a human from his own world? Someone who had just come through the rift and understood his language?
That story could open closed doors that no torture had been able to unlock.
"I just arrived in this world." He answered after a few seconds of silence, in the same language.
The prisoner remained motionless for a moment, then slowly let out his breath, a long and heavy sigh that seemed to carry the weight of several years.
"The rift has opened again?"
Lian nodded. This answer was not a complete lie. The rift had indeed opened again.
The only difference was that the people who had passed through it were from a world he did not imagine.
"What did he say?" the guard asked again, with more seriousness in his tone.
"He’s asking who I am and how I entered this world." Lian answered without looking at him.
"And what did you tell him?"
"I told him I just arrived."
The guard exchanged a brief look with the soldier beside him.
The listening devices on the walls and the memory-recording Artifacts were recording the entire conversation, but none of the Cindari understood the meaning of the language.
As long as there was no other translator, they had to trust the translation that Lian chose to provide.
This was a major leverage point.
The prisoner examined Lian’s face more carefully, as if wanting to make sure he was really a human... not an illusion or any other trick the Cindari might have created.
"Which region are you from?" The man was still not completely convinced. "Region" was something only someone from his world would understand.
Lian paused for a moment, but chuckled inwardly. He had seen another native in the Ruined Realm before and had even interrogated him.
One of the names that remained in his memory was Third Region.
"Third Region." He answered without hesitation.
The change in the prisoner’s state was small but clear. His shoulders lowered slightly. His defensive gaze did not completely disappear, but part of the cynicism in it faded.
People from different regions probably shared a common language, but the way they expressed themselves, their words, and their tone were different.
"Third Region..."
The prisoner repeated these two words as if uttering the name of a place belonging to a very distant life.
Then a faint, worn smile formed on his face.
"So the regions haven’t fallen yet..."
Lian said nothing. In fact, what he heard was a little strange to him. This man must have been here for at most 25 years. Did he think that in 25 years, the seven regions might have fallen?
Of course, it wasn’t a wrong thought either. Given the state of the Ruined Realm, everything could turn upside down at any moment, and civilizations could fall.
"Don’t worry. If the rift has opened again, maybe the others will come to save us." The man continued, and something like hope could be heard in his voice.
Lian looked at his face. The man truly believed this possibility.
Despite all the years he had spent here and all the time he had spent in chains, part of his mind still expected that one day one of his people would find his messages and return to save him.
"Before I was captured, I scattered many stones throughout the forest."
"Many stones?" Lian’s eyebrows rose slightly.
"On each one, I wrote a request for help. Near old paths, ruins, rivers, and anywhere I thought one of our people might pass." His gaze went to the distance for a moment.
"Sooner or later, someone will find them."
Lian thought of the metal piece Marcus had found.
He had imagined that message was the only evidence the prisoner had been able to leave behind.
But apparently, more samples were hidden throughout the forest.
If other Awakeners found one of them, they might gain similar information.
Or maybe the Cindari had collected many of them over the years.
"My name is Aren."
"Lian."
Aren nodded.
"What did he say?" the guard by the door asked.
"He said his name."
"Anything else?"
"No."
The guard touched the communication seal by his neck. Tharos was probably watching the conversation from another room and waiting for a report.
Lian had to be careful. If his translations were too short or suspicious, they might end the meeting.
"Why did they imprison you?" He asked Aren.
Aren gave a brief look at the four Cindari around the cell and then lowered his voice.
"Because they think I know a way to open the rift."
"The rift to our own world?"
"Yes."
"They want to escape this world and enter ours." Aren looked at the chains around his wrists.
Lian was silent for a moment. Why would these fools want to do such a thing? Were they tired of their own world?
And more importantly... a short laugh escaped from his lips.
"Are they idiots?"
One of the guards frowned upon hearing his laugh, but since he didn’t understand the words, he didn’t interfere.
"They’re much weaker than our people. If they enter our world, they’ll be massacred."
This sentence, besides maintaining his cover, was consistent with his knowledge of the Ruined Realm.
The peak and ceiling of power in this world, compared to both Earth and the Ruined Realm, was extremely low.
The highest level of civilized and intelligent creatures barely reached level 35, and he doubted even that went higher.
Even monsters above that level are very rare in the two forests. Only in the Forest of Giants are the monsters strangely massive and powerful, which also has its own reasons.
"That’s true, but they don’t know that themselves." Aren said bitterly, and then his gaze fell on the guards. He was silent for a moment.
"And I don’t think they care anymore." His expression became more serious. The previous faint smile completely disappeared.
"Why?" Lian asked. He still didn’t understand and didn’t know why these fools wanted to enter their world.
"Because this world is dying."
This sentence made him focus more.
"Before I was captured, I spent a few years hiding in Emberroot and secretly gathering information." Aren continued.
"Did you know these creatures’ language?"
"Not at first." Aren laughed briefly with mockery.
"Their language is more damn complex than you think. Its written form is different from our language. Their words react to heat, and half of their terms don’t make sense without knowing their history."
"But I learned little by little."
"How much?"
"Enough to understand parts of their writings and the soldiers’ conversations." He looked at the guards again.
"Not enough to have a proper conversation with them."
This explained why the Cindari still needed a translator.
Aren might understand a limited number of their words and texts, but he either couldn’t speak fluently or had never intentionally revealed his knowledge.
"The tree they call the Forgotten Tree is drying up." He said.
Lian was shocked. The Forgotten Tree was drying up? That meant the heart of this world was dying.
"The Cindari are terrified of this."
"Only their leaders and high-ranking commanders talk about it directly, but its effects can be seen everywhere."
"What effects?"
"The number of soldiers they’ve sent to the borders."
"In the early years I was here, the borders weren’t guarded this heavily. Most of the forces were near the cities and trade routes."
"But in recent years, they’ve moved large groups to the paths between the three forests."
Lian thought of the military group that had surrounded them right after exiting the Cindervein Passage.
More than thirty soldiers, a commander, and ready watchtowers.
Perhaps their deployment was not only to prevent the entry of monsters or travelers.
The Cindari were waiting for something from the other forests’ side.
"As far as I understand, when the Forgotten Tree completely dries up, this world’s water cycle will be destroyed." Aren said.
Lian’s mind immediately went back to the Forest of Giants. Rivers whose flow was weaker than what the riverbed’s width suggested.
Dry lands, soil that was cracked in some areas.
Creatures fighting each other for water resources. At that time, all of these seemed like natural features or the result of the forest’s gradual destruction.
But if the water of the three forests was supplied by a shared structure, the drying of the Forgotten Tree could be the beginning of the collapse of the entire world’s natural cycle.
And as far as he knew, the Forgotten Tree was the world’s water supplier... and this tree was dying?
He now understood what was meant by this world dying.
"But the loss of water isn’t the worst part." Aren continued.
"What could be worse than that?" Lian kept his gaze on him. What could be worse than the water drying up?
However, his mind suddenly went in one direction... toward the contamination... the sitting giant.
Aren was silent for a few seconds, as if even saying information he himself had not fully understood was unpleasant.
"Something they call the carrier of the disease is awakening."
Lian’s mental movement stopped for a moment. The cells, the guards, and the quiet sound of the chains faded from his attention for a moment.
The image of a massive creature appeared in his mind.
The sitting Titan in the depths of the Giants’ Graveyard.
A body that had largely merged with the earth and roots, massive chains restricting his hands, shoulders, and body.
The Black Silence flowing in his depths, which could at any moment engulf the entire world again and cause another disaster...
It was being released...?