What even are Records?
This was a question Jake had naturally asked Villy before and gotten a rather generic response that one’s Records were the gathering of all one’s actions and achievements throughout life. One’s Records was made up of one’s Path and vice versa. Records were everything... but that only raised more questions.
Because if they were everything, then how could Records be lost? How could someone like Eversmile erase someone’s Records? Did he even erase their Records in the first place when the Malefic Viper could still remember everything everyone was meant to forget?
Would someone everyone had forgotten still have Records at all? If no one remembered them, why would there be? If there was no one left to remember... did the system even bother anymore?
Then what about Records that were erased but someone still remembered... what if memories existed that only a single person in the entire history of the multiverse remembered and had seen? What if what that person had seen... never existed in the first place?
For some unknown reason, Jake was flooded with these questions as he felt his Path of the Heretic-Chosen activate. He felt his consciousness shift... until more was dragged along.
Usually, when Jake used the skill, he would feel as if he had truly gone somewhere, but his soul would remain anchored where he had used the skill. However, this time around, something was clearly different, as rather than experiencing a vision, Jake felt as if he was teleported.
Everything around him shifted, the world dissolving around him, as Jake felt himself be transported. Instantly, he knew that this kind of teleportation, or whatever it could even be called, held more power and conceptual complexity than all of the times Jake had traveled through the void combined. He wasn’t just traveling through space but time and reality.
But was he truly traveling in time? Or was he merely immersed in the memories of the system with both body and soul?
Jake had no answer even as he began to get his bearings. All he knew was that whatever was going on was something that only the system was capable of doing.A world manifested around him, and suddenly, he had solid ground beneath his feet.
He nearly stumbled in surprise, as for the first time ever, Jake could actually interact with the world he had been transported to. The ground was covered in soft gravel, and Jake found himself standing in the middle of a small city with wooden buildings all around, most of them two stories tall.
Looking at these buildings, the architecture was mostly simple and functional, the structures made of stone and wood, and as Jake looked at them, he noticed the sheer lack of energy in most of them. These were buildings made before the system had arrived... in fact, the entire city looked like something that could have easily been constructed in a medieval world before the initiation.
Down the street, he saw several larger buildings, including a four-story building that stood out to Jake for some reason. Far in the distance, a castle sat atop a hill, with small buildings leading all the way up to it.
Jake quickly responded by releasing a Pulse of Perception as he scanned the entire large city and even beyond. The city was surrounded by farmland with several small farmsteads all around, and beyond these farmlands, Jake saw woods and overall very normal geography. Almost too normal.
Things seemed oddly small to Jake, which was when he realized something.
It looks a lot like Earth did before the integration.
Not in the sense this planet was a copy of Earth, as the crops and plants were clearly alien, but in that the scope of everything was just smaller. This wasn’t a world that had been expanding by the system, but one that had roughly the same proportions as pre-integration Earth.
However, despite everything looking so normal, this world very clearly wasn’t. Because something was missing... in fact, a lot was missing. Beneath the soil of the farmland, Jake saw only nothingness. Pure void, reminding him of when he looked outside of dungeons.
That in itself wouldn’t be super weird, though. If this was a world manifested by the system, it didn’t need to perfectly recreate everything, right? However, what was weird was the fact that the majority of the buildings in the city and even more so outside were experiencing the same thing.
Some rooms of the houses were simply big voids, nearly all of the cupboards were void, and the spaces between furniture, pictures, and walls didn’t exist at all... in some ways, it kind of reminded Jake of a videogame where the system had only bothered to render the parts Jake would actually see if he walked around.
As Jake stood there taking everything in, the realization that he was entirely alone also hit him. The city looked like it had been alive mere moments prior, as he even saw a horse carriage down the street he was standing on, the reins of the horse now lying on the ground in front of the empty cart with tire marks behind it.
It was as if every other living being had been teleported out of existence, leaving only Jake behind.
More than anything, Jake was confused as he stood there, as things didn’t make any sense. He had focused on the First Sage when he used the skill, so why was he there alone? What was he supposed to see?
Had he somehow been fucking scammed into wasting five uses of Path of the Heretic-Chosen to teleport to some empty pre-system city?
Luckily, before Jake could spiral too much, he appeared.
Out of nothingness, as if he had always been there, an old man suddenly manifested only a few meters away. He looked exactly like he had during the prior visions with the Malefic Viper, except he now wore a simple gray robe and looked a bit less kept than he had during Jake’s prior visions.
The man was standing with his back to Jake, looking at one of the buildings. It was a building unique in that it was whole. There were no voids within, the system having bothered to render every part of it.
Jake couldn’t help himself as he scanned the man, filled with confusion... something a quick Identify quickly explained why.
[Human – lvl 9]
It was no trick or a skill hiding the man’s real grade... the First Sage standing right there was truly just a G-grade human. Someone weak enough to die from Jake breathing too hard. At least, that’s how Jake usually felt when he stood in front of someone so weak, yet in front of this old man, Jake’s instincts keenly warned him that attacking would be most unwise.
Not that Jake had any intention of being aggressive in the first place, he simply couldn’t help himself but size up anyone and everyone he came across. He wasn’t even sure if the old man had noticed Jake yet as he stood there for a few seconds, simply looking at the house before sighing.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“This is – was – my home for over fifty years,” the First Sage spoke. “I bought it using the inheritance from my father, who passed away when I was still a young man. It was honestly too big for me... but I couldn’t sell it. Even if I remember the house perfectly, I can distinguish between my own memories and reality, and giving up being able to visit would have been too much. I would have loved to see it once more... but alas.”
Jake was confused and unsure what to say as the man turned toward him. He gave Jake a light smile, finally speaking to Jake for the first time.
“Would you walk with me?”
Still perplexed, Jake just nodded automatically as the First Sage led the way, Jake just following along as they began walking down the street. They were heading toward a large building in the distance – the one that Jake felt stood out before – and as they walked, Jake couldn’t help himself.
“Excuse me... but what exactly is going on right now?” Jake questioned out loud, feeling that this entire situation was very odd.
“A great question that we will need patience to answer,” the man said, continuing his steady pace. As they got closer to the large building, the First Sage began talking again as he motioned to different buildings around him. “You see that building? It belonged to Majali, one of the best bakers in the country. Without fault, I always got my bread there as there simply was no better. Ah, and that there is Pielddro and Son, a rather misleading name as even the grandson had gotten involved toward the end. Truly a family of skilled carpenters and good people that many owed favors due to their kindness. We had a particularly harsh winter where they sacrificed much of their stock to make sure everyone had warm houses...”
The First Sage kept pointing out buildings during their walk, Jake staying silent as he just listened. He learned about dozens of families who had lived in the city from the old man, and it was clear the First Sage had known them all well personally. He tended to include how he personally knew and interacted with the people there, his tone nostalgic.
Something that really didn’t make any sense. Jake was supposed to experience a Record Fragment right now. A snapshot of history... but this clearly wasn’t it. Sure, he was in a location that had long become history, but that wasn’t the same, far from it.
Jake was also keenly aware the reason for all this was the level 9 human in front of him – a level that also made no damn sense. That is, unless this truly was the First Sage shortly after the integration, and seeing as the town remained relatively whole as if it hadn’t been that long since the system arrived, that could be the case.
Then again, that just raised more questions, and he really hoped he would get some answers sooner rather than later.
Reaching the steps leading up to their destination, the First Sage stopped talking about the other random houses and turned toward Jake.
“This here is the Great Library. I know it may not look like much compared to what you’ve seen before, but to me and many others, this was the greatest treasure of our small country. A house of knowledge and learning that gave the common man hope of bettering himself,” the First Sage explained, leading Jake up the steps.
At the top of the stairs, a large wooden door opened when they got close. Jake did not feel any movement of energy as it did so.
Walking inside, Jake saw lit candles lighting up the four-story tall library. The entire building was large and wooden, with books stacked on top of books everywhere on all four floors. Jake had expected the place to have a musky smell, but instead, it had a fresh scent, making it clear how well-maintained the library was.
“I was a librarian... the librarian,” the First Sage said, walking inside as he slightly touched one of the many wooden pillars holding up the second floor. “This library was my workplace and my second home. For the last forty years before the initiation of the system, I was in charge here. It was my pride and joy.”
Jake looked around the library more, seeing the tens of thousands of books gathered there. It was an impressive collection, especially for a medieval world. Every single book looked handwritten, and Jake could only begin to guess how much time and effort had been spent creating and collecting them all.
“I’ve always loved books,” the First Sage continued, taking one out of a bookshelf as he opened it. “Perhaps it’s because I relate to them. Books are... perfect. The content of a book doesn’t change with time but remains the same, the knowledge within perfect as long as the book persists. Memories of man change with time and warps to fit perception. It’s flawed.”
Skipping through a few pages of the book, the First Sage smiled as he quickly skimmed the pages. “Books and the knowledge within are how humanity even knows our history, something that’s true across all planets. It’s something that truly unites us. Out of all the different races, we are second to none when it comes to immortalizing knowledge in writing.”
He closed the book and placed it back on its shelf, exactly where he had taken it, down to how far inside the shelf it had been. “We humans are short-lived. Elves, even before the system, lived hundreds of years, making the need for writing down history less as they often had someone alive who remembered history. Word of mouth was good enough for them. The same was true for many other races, while others simply didn’t see the need to write down the past. A shame, really.”
Jake, once more unable to hold himself back anymore, couldn’t help but ask. “Where exactly are we?”
“In the past,” the First Sage gave Jake the first actual answer. “A fragment of it, anyway. One that never existed, yet once did. What you see all around you is history. My history... and my Records.”
“What do you mean when you say this place never existed?” Jake questioned.
“Oh, it did exist. It’s just that what you see now didn’t,” the First Sage said as he sighed, staring out at the vast library. “This world is created entirely from my memory. My Records. I am the only one who remembers it, with even the system having chosen to forget.”
“Is that why the world seems incomplete?” Jake asked, having reached a realization.
“Exactly so. The world you see is made from my memory, but how can I remember what I never knew in the first place? I have been to most places in this city and seen most buildings, but naturally, I couldn’t have visited everywhere. Those places you see as voids are merely gaps in my memory, nothing more, nothing less,” the First Sage explained as he moved toward a table, motioning for Jake to follow.
“Humans tend to fill in the gap themselves when they don’t know something. Their imagination takes over, and they form an image of falsehood in their mind that slowly morphs into truth. Don’t get me wrong, this falsehood is often incredibly close to the truth. It’s no stretch to imagine that beneath the upper layers of soil, there will be more soil, rocks, clay, and all the other elements one would assume to find down there... but I don’t imagine these things. Not because I’m incapable of it but because I choose not to. I want to know, not imagine.”
Jake followed the First Sage to sit at the table. The lit candles were quite frankly rather useless due to the great natural lighting that seemed to hit the table perfectly, making it a great reading spot.
“But I’m also keenly aware I can’t know everything. Only strive to. Yet, over the years, it began to irk me when I don’t know something,” the First Sage explained. “It makes me curious to the extreme.”
The First Sage looked directly at Jake as he sat across from him. “And you truly sparked my curiosity when I saw you that day. You were someone not meant to be there. Someone I didn’t remember being there, yet you were. I also know you weren’t there because of me but because of Vilas. A visitor of his, not of my time. Tell me, what era are you from?”
The question seemed rather normal to ask... except...
“How do you even know what eras are?” Jake asked back, frowning. The First Sage had died during the first era... before eras were a thing. It was like someone asking about the “First World War” while living before the second one took place. It just didn’t make sense.
“I simply do. Now please, what era?” the old man continued, unoffended by Jake’s question.
“The ninety-third,” Jake decided to just answer honestly.
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“Ninety-third, huh...” the First Sage muttered before smiling. “That makes me happy to hear.”
“If I may... why did you tell me all these things while walking here?” Jake asked a question that honestly wasn’t even that important. He just couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
The First Sage seemed pleased with the question, though, as he gladly explained. “As I said, this world is made from my memory. I’m also the only one remembering this place and the people who once lived here, but now, so do you. It brings me comfort knowing that someone else is also aware of their existence. Also, I believe it is only polite to introduce myself, and I see no better way of doing so than letting you know about my life and history. Which brings me to perhaps my most important question...”
Jake had gone into this entire thing believing the First Sage had reached out to Jake because he knew something. Knew about him. How else could he have engraved the message in the boots? How else could he have known about Path of the Heretic-Chosen? It had seemed like such a safe assumption. However, the question asked by the old man shattered that perception instantly.
“Who are you?”