Chapter 309:
C309 - Fragment From The Past: Sarah (2)
"It's a shame." Temar's eyes turned black with Shadow Energy.
Sarah made up her mind when she saw what was happening. She had to strike down her brother. A flame-covered sword left its sheath.
Sarah's eyes filled with an iron will. Now that she had decided to end him, she wanted to do it in the least painful way possible.
She could worry about mourning and sadness afterward.
Blades shot out from the shadow looming behind Temar. Sarah and Fadler wielded their swords to block the attack as Temar formed a sword in his hand.
It had the shape of Balisada, but it wasn't genuine. It was just a counterfeit formed with Shadow Energy.
The man wielding the counterfeit sword was not the Temar that all three remembered. He was a monster who couldn't even recognize his loved ones.
Dark waves of Shadow Energy emanated from Temar's dark sword.
Each one carried tremendous power, but they were pathetic compared to Temar in his true form.
Murakan spread his wings. Temar's thick Shadow Energy, which filled the entire tower, stopped immediately like a beast freezing in the presence of a giant predator.
This Murakan, the one who faced Temar in his madness, was the dark dragon at the peak of his power a thousand years ago.
People used to say that Murakan and Temar were evenly matched in battle, even under Temar's best conditions. There was no way Temar could contend with Murakan in his madness.
In addition to that, Sarah and Fadler also joined Murakan.
Two different elemental manas of flames and lightning intertwined with their auras to form waves of multicolored blades. They extended with a force powerful enough to slice through the entire tower.
Murakan restrained Temar with Shadow Energy, while Sarah and Fadler reached his two flanks and pressed him.
Each of their strengths intertwined with the steel and kept clashing. They were terribly surprised to see Temar retreating and barely fending off their sword strikes.
This couldn't be the power represented by the titan Temar Runcandel.
"I'm sorry, Temar."
Murakan gathered all his released Shadow Energy, indicating that this would end soon. All the Shadow Energy around him surged like waves and enveloped Murakan.
At that moment, the sky above the tower filled with Shadow Energy, and even the skies of the Dark Sea in the distance fell under Murakan's control.
The poisonous vapors descending from the Dark Sea's atmosphere were covered with his Shadow Energy and dissipated.
His powers lived up to the name people of the time called Murakan: The Sky King.
"Sarah, Fadler. It's time to end this."
But Murakan's words were met with a twist.
A steel dimensional gate opened right in front of Temar. A man with a faint form stepped out of the gate.
His translucent body emitted a bright light.
His abrupt appearance caused Sarah and Fadler to step back and remain on guard. Murakan also halted his attack.
"Fate seems quite cruel at times, doesn't it? And so does your God. Don't you agree, Murakan?"
"Demon, how did you know about this place? What brought you here?"
"There aren't many things in the known world that I don't know, as long as they haven't been erased and remain unchanged. You already know that."
He seemed familiar to Murakan. Sarah and Fadler also seemed to know him.
"About Temar. I suppose you all wish to save this pitiable companion."
He spoke, placing his hand on Temar's shoulder. Temar stayed still and didn't act hostile toward him, although the weight of Murakan's Shadow Energy seemed to press him and make him gasp for breath.
Sarah and Fadler's eyes trembled.
"What is this plan?" Murakan glared at him.
"Plan? I'm just offering goodwill to the pitiful orphans, as someone very troubled with overflowing fortunes."
"Cut the nonsense and leave before I end up killing you too." Murakan directed his murderous intent towards him.
But Sarah and Fadler stepped in front of Murakan and shook their heads. Their desperate eyes pleaded with the dragon to listen to him. They seemed to have faith that he could offer them a way to pull Temar back from his madness.
"Don't be so hostile now. At least listen to my offer, dear old friend. I've prepared a future that will benefit all of us."
The gray orb distorted again.
It didn't seem like it would recover. Just like in the first tomb, the orb was breaking down after the scene change.
But Jin was hardly irritated by the abruptly interrupted scene. His heart was already beating too fast from the shock of seeing him towards the end of the scene.
Jin had already faced him once.
The leader of the Kinzelo.
It was clear it was him. The translucent body, the flowing light from him, his way of speaking, his voice, and even the steel dimensional gate.
He also sounded like he knew Murakan back then. In fact, he sounded like he knew Murakan very well.
But unlike in the Old Oterium time, Murakan acted as if he also knew him.
'What's going on here? If Murakan knew him, why was he acting like he didn't know him?'
Jin thought about it, but he quickly corrected himself.
No, he probably wasn't acting. Murakan might not know who he is now.
Something was amiss in Murakan's memory.
It wasn't too hard to deduce.
He suddenly remembered the conversation he had overheard in Oterium toward the end of his days as a Provisional Flagbearer.
"When Temar tried to kill you after you lost control due to the overload, I was the one who stopped that guy. Murakan, don't you remember who I am?"
"You bastard, whose name are you trying to throw out here? You seem to be an old demon, but there's no way Temar would have associated with people like you. And an overload? You must have found out something, huh? The one who lost control that day was..."
"Not you, but Temar? Is that what you're trying to say?"
"Forget the fact that you don't recognize me. To think that you remember that day was Temar's fault. I can't even imagine how disappointed the late one would be if he ever found out."
"Bring up Temar's name one more time, and I'll kill you and send all those folks called Kinzelo to hell."
"That would have been impossible for you, even in your best condition. But I'm curious. Have you really lost your memory? Do you really believe it was Temar who lost control, not you?"
"You're courting death."
"Or have you rearranged your memory in a more convenient way for you?"
"Shut your mouth!"
That was the conversation between Murakan and the Kinzelo leader.
Ever since he heard the exchange, Jin had often wondered what might have happened between Murakan and Temar a thousand years ago.
And also about what his dragon's relationship with the Kinzelo leader could be if they really had known each other in the past.
Thoughts immediately flooded his head.
The scene abruptly stopped, but from the looks of it, there was a slim chance that Temar had died in that tower.
Jin guessed, from the way Sarah and Fadler reacted to the appearance of the Kinzelo leader, that there was another reason supporting that assumption.
In the scene, it was clear that Temar lacked the skill to pierce through Murakan's heart and destroy him.
He was so broken that Murakan didn't need Sarah and Fadler to kill him, and the dragon would have done it easily. There was no way Temar could have put Murakan to sleep for a thousand years from his prime.
Even in that brief glimpse, Jin could clearly see how exorbitant Murakan's Shadow Energy had been.
Contrary to what the Kinzelo leader claimed earlier, the scene demonstrated that it was Temar who lost control, not Murakan. But who knows if the situation changed after the incident? It's uncertain since the scene stopped.
It was frustrating.
If the recording device hadn't been damaged, he might have been able to see what would have followed as well.
It wasn't different from the time with Silderay. Trying to fill in the gaps between scenes with guesses and assumptions made him feel distressed.
'I guess Misha would know, right? There must be a way to restore these recording devices. Wait a moment. Recording devices, recording, recording...'
Right at that moment. A set of words and a name popped into Jin's mind.
Recording magic.
The recording magic of the Histor clan and his past life's master, Valeria Histor.
She must be wandering the world to restore the lost ancient spells of the Histor clan.
'How come I never thought of my master? She might know something about the recording devices Solderet left behind.'
Recording magic was a set of exclusive spells of the Histor clan. Although he had seen the Legends and Solderet use similar devices, they didn't come close to those of the Histor clan.
Recording magic was also the main reason why the Zipple ensured the downfall of the Histor clan. Nothing sabotaged their efforts to manipulate history as the Histor's recording magic did.
But how?
How was he going to search for his former master, Valeria Histor?
That was the problem. He had desperately wanted to meet her on several occasions after his return to life, but a complicated set of reasons forced him to wait for the right time.
One of those reasons was finding the right cause.
Now that he was a Flagbearer, issuing an order to locate Valeria wouldn't be too difficult. Or he could easily request it from the Seven-Colored Peacocks.
Jin knew all of Valeria's hiding places, the places she frequented, and even the false names she used.
However, even if he could abruptly search for her to have a meeting on his own, Valeria would see him only as a stranger... and one with unclear motives at that.
Since Misha had mentioned one of his master's false names, Aria Owlheart, he could use that as an excuse to meet her. But getting to know him could also have a significant impact on her life.
Despite their close relationship in the past life, they were complete strangers in the present. He remembered what Misha had said just before leaving Tikan.
"That you were chosen by the shadow, and Aria was chosen by history. If you ever cross paths with her, try to encourage her. On a larger scale, you could say she's your ally."
At that time, Misha was cautious about mentioning more about his master.
'Now that my identity has been revealed, any hasty encounter could make her a target of my enemies. I must think carefully about this. First, I should meet with Misha and ask for her opinion to see what she would say.'
His forces were still not strong enough to guarantee Valeria's safety. Therefore, for the time being, Jin wanted to take more precautions when meeting with her.
While he was busy with his thoughts, the ethereal plane broke rapidly.
Once he exited it, he could see his companions standing on the giant clam. Then, he noticed two objects.
It was Sarah's broken sword and a new Shadow Energy Pearl.
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