"Land of the Beginning?"
Maya’s answer left Riezel slightly stunned.
"It’s where our God first descended, the holy land of all humanity."
Maya sighed, feeling pity that Riezel didn’t even know this, and continued to explain.
"It was there, in that very place, the King of Heroes, guided by our God and receiving power from them, first appeared. After gaining power, it was also there that the King of Heroes made his return."
"You could say that place is the first stand where humanity rebelled against the monsters that harmed them. It’s also the place where our God was first worshiped."
"That’s why it’s called the Land of the Beginning."
Upon hearing Maya’s explanation, Riezel didn’t think of anything else at first, and his mind wandered to whether the so-called Land of the Beginning might be the Hidden Land.
Riezel then took out a map of the Akasha Continent from the storage space of the Dimensional Magic Cube and spread it out in front of Maya.
"Where exactly is the Land of the Beginning?" Riezel immediately asked.
"You really have a convenient magic..." Maya remarked, taken aback by Riezel pulling a map out of thin air.
Funnily, she had no idea that Riezel had gotten the map from the very god she worshiped, not by using magic. She just assumed it was a type of space magic, completely unaware that the god she revered was actually standing right in front of her.
After her moment of awe, Maya focused on the map before her expression quickly grew more complex.
"It seems like a lot of time has passed. I barely recognize many of the nations and terrains on this map..." Maya said with a sigh. "Fortunately, the shape of the continent hasn’t changed."
She studied the map for a while, then pointed to a location.
"Well, this is where the Land of the Beginning is located, but..." Maya paused for a moment before continuing. "I didn’t realize this place had already been developed into a city. You even marked it on your map."
Upon hearing this, Riezel remained silent.
Needless to say, the city Maya pointed to was indeed marked on his map, and it felt strangely familiar.
Lizbeth also ran over, staring at the city Maya had pointed to, and was momentarily stunned.
"Isn’t this... Sinielle?"
Lizbeth muttered with a puzzled tone.
Indeed, the location Maya pointed to was the final destination of Riezel and Lizbeth in this journey—Sinielle, a neutral city located in the neutral region.
’So, this is where the Dimensional Magic Cube first descended...?’ Riezel thought, seeming to feel some kind of unseen guidance.
He thought of the ancient ruin unearthed in Sinielle, the one that Jinas avoided discussing and which was likely deeply connected to Moslow.
’Ancient ruins unearthed in the Land of the Beginning, huh...?’
If anyone were to claim that the ancient ruins had no connection to the Dimensional Magic Cube and Moslow, Riezel would be 90% sure they were wrong.
Maya, who didn’t know this, made some conclusions based on Riezel and Lizbeth’s reactions.
"I see... so you guys are planning to head to the Land of the Beginning?" Maya didn’t seem surprised by this and nodded in understanding instead. "Is it because of her?"
Naturally, the ’her’ Maya referred to was undoubtedly Lizbeth.
"Ms. Feldt..." Riezel paused for a moment before continuing. "Do you know the origins of Lizbeth and the sword she carries?"
Upon hearing this question, Lizbeth immediately felt uneasy.
Maya, however, remained silent.
"Ms. Feldt?" Riezel questioned in confusion.
Maya stayed silent for a long while before letting out a sigh, speaking weakly.
"...Don’t ask me. I mean, the matters of her clan... are not something I can casually talk about."
"I can only tell you that if you want to find out her identity, going to the Land of the Beginning is indeed a good choice."
"As long as it’s not completely destroyed yet, you should still be able to find a few traces of her origins."
As soon as Maya finished saying this, she stood up.
"Come with me."
Maya turned around and walked in another direction.
"Wh-Where are we going?" Lizbeth hurriedly asked.
Maya didn’t look back, simply throwing out one sentence.
"To return what’s yours."
===
Under Maya’s guidance, Riezel and Lizbeth walked through a leafed door on the side of the temple.
Behind this leafed door was a room with an atmosphere completely different from the rest of the temple. It was empty, almost like a separate exhibition hall, with nothing inside except for a cylindrical glass display case sitting at the farthest point that rotated slowly, quietly.
Meanwhile, the cylindrical glass case was tall, reaching from the floor to the ceiling, resembling a transparent stone pillar, and inside this glass pillar, a ring floated, as though it were being moved by some invisible force, hovering up and down, rotating left and right, giving off an air of mystery and incredibility.
As soon as Riezel saw it, he instantly recognized it as a highly valuable magic item, proven when he used ’All Appraisal Magic Item’ on it, and no information came back.
For an item to prevent Riezel’s appraisal magic from providing any information, it could only be something like a World Item, such as those referred to as the Twenty.
In other words, this ring was a magic item of that level, either a treasure exceeding the normal World Items or something even rarer.
"See that ring? That’s the one."
Maya said calmly, pointing at the ring.
"Go on, take it."
Upon hearing this, Lizbeth became anxious.
"Th-This is something very valuable, right? I can’t just take it!" Lizbeth said in a distressed tone.
"I told you to take it, so just take it!" Maya said somewhat irritably. "I told you, this was always yours. I’m just returning something to its rightful owner."
Seeing that Lizbeth didn’t seem to know how to respond to this, Riezel chimed in.
"Are you sure this is Lizbeth’s?" Riezel asked, staring at Maya calmly. "Maybe you made a mistake?"
"Impossible." Maya shook her head, denying his words without hesitation. "Only someone from her clan can wield the Holy Sword Moslow, so she must be from the clan I think she is."
"I see..." Riezel nodded thoughtfully. "So, the reason you say this ring belongs to Lizbeth is that she’s the descendant of that clan?"
"Yes, that’s correct. In the first place, this is something from her clan, kept in this temple."
Maya nodded casually, confirming Riezel’s words.
"Unfortunately, we couldn’t complete it in time, couldn’t use it to fend off the impending disaster. In the end, we had to let it sink into the earth, and it’s been sleeping here ever since."
"Now, since the descendant of that clan has arrived, it’s time for it to be returned to its rightful owner."
"Go ahead, take it."
Maya then looked at Lizbeth.
"You’re from that clan, so the recognition device set here won’t react to your presence. You can safely take it."
Upon hearing this, Lizbeth was still at a loss, not sure how to react.
*Buzz—*
Suddenly, Moslow, which was in Lizbeth’s arms, trembled, pulling her and charging in the direction of the ring.
"Iyaaa—!"
Lizbeth was immediately pulled away, letting out a long cry of surprise.
Seeing this, Riezel finally understood why Moslow had pulled Lizbeth and charged into the temple barrier when they were outside. Apparently, it was because Moslow must have sensed the existence of the ring, which made it react like that.
"Just as I thought, it’s the Holy Sword Moslow..." Maya muttered beside them and then sighed softly. "When the archbishop and the high priests were constructing the temple barrier, they opened the passage for the holder of the Holy Sword Moslow... No wonder she can freely pass through the barrier..."
Maya’s murmur was naturally heard by Riezel, whose senses were sharp.
"Are you and Lizbeth’s ancestors really that close?" Riezel asked, more out of curiosity than anything.
"Well, I’d say that all the temples have a deep relationship with the clan Lizbeth is from..." Maya answered in a soft voice. "After all, if you had to trace it back, all the temples on the surface could be considered branches of the clan she belongs to."
Hearing this, Riezel wanted to press further, but Maya gave off an air that suggested she wasn’t going to answer any more questions, causing him to furrow his brows and fall into deep thought.
Regardless, Maya had already revealed a lot of information, so if he could organize it, many mysteries could probably be unraveled. He didn’t have the luxury of time to go over it right now, so he simply made a mental note to think it through later.
Lizbeth, in the meantime, had already stood before the cylindrical glass pillar while holding the wildly flying Moslow. She stared at the ring floating inside the glass pillar with a hesitant expression before glancing at Riezel a few more times, seeming uncertain and completely lacking in confidence.
Maya didn’t rush Lizbeth, simply standing quietly and waiting.
Riezel knew that dragging this out wouldn’t help, so he gave Lizbeth a nod.
"Take it."
Given that the ring was worth at least as much as the Twenty, such a treasure, if it was offered for free, was foolish not to take.
Ultimately, with Riezel’s signal, Lizbeth finally stopped hesitating.
Lizbeth cautiously extended her hand, and soon, as her slender fingers reached directly through the cylindrical glass pillar, they finally touched the ring.
In the next moment, Lizbeth pulled the ring out from the cylindrical glass pillar.
Seeing this scene, Maya, in a voice so soft that even Riezel couldn’t hear, muttered to herself.
"With this, the Hero Clan’s final treasure has returned."
"Unfortunately, it’s too late..."
"Yes... too late..."