The wizards knew that Ian had left.
The Sun God watched as Ian vanished from his sight.
"He used some kind of concealment method to block my gaze." The Sun God said, standing on a hillside with his golden sun chariot hovering beside him, its radiant light illuminating the land. He frowned, his mind replaying Ian's cryptic farewell.
"Give my regards to your daughter."
He knew, of course, that there was a special contract between his daughter and Ian. However, no one knew how that contract had been formed; none of the gods could trace its origin.
Because of this...
The Sun God felt slightly uncomfortable. But what bothered him most now was that Raven acted as if he were extremely familiar to her and as if he had known his daughter for a very long time.
'Was that right?'
And why did that guy know how to shield himself from his gaze? Raven was indeed powerful, but his strength lay in his status and inherent abilities. He shouldn't be familiar with the powers wielded by the gods.
After all…
It had been a very long time since Raven disappeared after the fall of the Titans. During that time, it had never appeared again. Could it have been hiding all this time, spying on the Human Realm?
Ian was long gone, and no one could answer him. The Sun God shook his head, turned around, and stepped onto his chariot. With a flick of the reins, his four horses, burning with golden flames, let out a sharp neigh and dragged him into the sky. They charged toward the heavens, racing straight toward Mount Olympus.
At the peak of Mount Olympus, the sunlight blazed like fire.
The golden chariot tore through the clouds and slowly descended amid radiant gold.
Inside the divine temple...
Athena stood before a massive star chart, her fingertip tracing the paths of countless stars that swirled before her. Her expression was serene, as if she had never left the temple in her life.
When the Sun God entered the hall, she asked without turning around, "Did you see him off?"
It sounded like idle conversation; her expression and tone were completely natural. No one knew where she had gone. After all, the Goddess of Wisdom knew how to use an avatar to evade the gods' sight.
"Mhm." The Sun God replied briefly, his gaze sweeping across the hall. Zeus was not there.
Only then did Athena turn around, a faint smile curling her lips.
"That plague finally left. Saves us a lot of trouble."
Her tone was relaxed, as if she were talking about something trivial. Yet, the Sun God noticed that when her fingertips brushed the Star Chart, they paused briefly.
Clearly...
Even Athena couldn't figure out when Ian would appear again.
She still needed his protection.
"I already gave him the thing. He probably won't come back." The Sun God didn't notice anything unusual about Athena, so he sighed and relaxed.
"Best if he never comes back."
Of course, that wasn't Athena's true feeling.
She was acting.
The audience... was Zeus, who might very well be watching this place at that very moment.
"Let's hope so." The Sun God sighed softly, his gaze shifting beyond the temple as if he were staring into the distant Underworld. "After all, we still have bigger troubles to deal with."
He could see what was happening in the Underworld, so Zeus certainly could as well. Zeus was currently hiding in his love nest, his attention captured by something else entirely.
Kratos climbed out of the Underworld.
On the highest peak of Mount Olympus, Zeus stood alone before the Throne of Thunder. The lightning scepter in his hand crackled with unstable electric light. His gaze pierced the clouds as he stared straight into the abyss of the Underworld. A blood-soaked Spartan was tearing open its barrier through sheer brute force.
Step by step, he climbed toward the Human Realm.
"That damned beast..." Zeus muttered under his breath, his pale pupils flickering with angry, uneasy lightning.
He had believed that the Sword of Olympus would be enough to end Kratos completely. But he never expected that this madman couldn't even be bound by death itself!
"I must stop him before he climbs out..." Zeus clenched the scepter, his knuckles turning white.
He paid no attention to Athena and the Sun God's conversation and didn't care whether Ian had truly left.
At that moment, his entire focus was on the threat Kratos posed.
"He's almost out." Hera said coldly, standing beside him. "What do you plan to do?"
Zeus remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking. "I cannot let him return."
"Do you truly believe you can stop him?" Hermes murmured. "He is no longer mortal, nor is he an ordinary wraith. He is the Godslayer, an exception to Fate itself."
Zeus tapped his fingers lightly against the armrest of his throne, his gaze icy and resolute.
"If he comes, I will welcome him myself and put an end to this abomination that should never have been born." The shadow of the Gods' Twilight had completely clouded Zeus's judgment.
He did feel fear, but it was overshadowed by a blinding arrogance.
And that... was exactly what Athena wanted.
According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, the wisdom Zeus lost would gravitate toward her. In truth, all wisdom lost by the gods would be collected by her.
The more desperate the situation...
The more powerful Athena became...
This was also why she believed that with Ian's protection, she could use her wisdom to deceive Fate, abandon her identity as the Goddess, and disappear without a trace.
"Raven's promise... I hope it works." Athena followed the Sun God's gaze toward the Underworld. However, her thoughts were clearly different from those of the other gods.
Meanwhile...
The Ian she was so preoccupied with had indeed used the information he'd gathered in Pompeii to evade the gods' sight. The reckless Goddess had shown him a similar method before.
For the Study Tyrant, replicating such a maneuver wasn't difficult. The reason he needed to avoid the gods' gaze was because he intended to continue his journey, which required him to use a time machine, a device that was highly sensitive to the gods.
Ian still hadn't forgotten the warning given by the female titan. He was a young wizard with a rigorous mindset. Only after confirming that no god could probe him did he finally remove the ring.
He casually removed an ancient-looking bronze ring from his finger and lightly tossed it to the ground.
The moment the ring hit the ground, a streak of silver light burst forth. The metallic structure rapidly extended and transformed into a strangely shaped machine with an arched dome cabin, a red hemispherical seat, and an antenna standing upright at the top.
The more he looked at it, the more it looked like the time machine from the Doraemon manga!
"Every time I see this thing, it feels absurd..." Ian complained. "Claire's sense of aesthetics hasn't changed since ancient times. It's way too otaku."
He sat on the time machine and gently pressed the start button. The moment he grabbed the control lever, a familiar recording played inside the cabin.
"Beep... Welcome to the 'TitanClaire Custom Edition' Time Travel Device." A gentle, slightly teasing female voice announced. Ian had no idea how many recordings she had made.
"Congratulations, Ian, on successfully completing your Greek journey and gaining various rewards!" The light and cheerful voice of Claire came through the time machine's speaker, carrying a hint of anticipation.
"I hope you didn't forget the Epiphyllum Nectar."
This was clearly something that Claire had emphasized on purpose.
Ian rolled his eyes.
"This is definitely what you wanted to eat, right? Stop pretending it's some mysterious quest item."
Right now, he seriously suspected that was true.
Of course...
Of course, the recording wasn't going to respond to his complaints, and Claire's voice continued to play.
"Next destination... Ancient Egypt. The age when pharaohs and priests ruled and the gods walked along the banks of the Nile."
"Good luck. Don't let Anubis mistake you for a dead soul and weigh your heart." Claire's voice turned teasing as she pointed Ian toward his next destination.
However, she still didn't specify the year.
The recording ended here, and silence returned to the time machine.
Ian sighed and pulled out the list Claire had given him. He glanced at the three newly added Egyptian objectives:
"Fragment of the Eye of Ra."
(A gem formed from the lost eye of the sun god Ra in legend, containing the light of creation.)
"Oar of the River Styx Ferryman."
(A sacred relic used by Anubis to ferry the dead; it is said to be able to cut through the boundary between life and death.)
"Pharaoh's Cursed Gold Foil."
(A thin golden sheet engraved with hieroglyphic spells containing the most ancient power of true-name incantations.)
This time, it really was three items.
Ian didn't need to explain it to himself. Rather, the list he received contained explanations written by Claire herself.
It was as if she was afraid Ian wouldn't understand the properties of the items she wanted him to find.
She was really underestimating the Study Tyrant's intelligence.
"The Eye of Ra?" An oar? Gold foil?" Ian rubbed his temples. "I just finished Greece, and now I'm heading to ancient Egypt. This feels like I'm running endless dungeon instances or something."
That was genuinely how it felt.
Ian thought of Kratos, the madman who had crawled out of the Underworld with brute force alone. Who knew what kind of "surprises" Ancient Egypt would have in store for him?
History really was far too fantastical.
He couldn't help but wonder if the Female Titan was treating him like a reincarnated trial runner.
If Raven had told that woman plenty of stories, then it was possible that tales like Infinite Terror had been shared.
Ian loved that novel.
Maybe Raven did too.
"Whatever. The sooner I finish this, the sooner I can clock out."
Ian rubbed his temples again.
Then, he gripped the control lever of the time machine and entered the spacetime coordinates. The machine began to hum loudly. The antenna on top started spinning, and the surrounding space gradually warped.
Ripples spread outward like waves on water.
A blue aura of energy instantly wrapped around his body.
The space around him began to twist and spin.
"May your journey go smoothly." Claire's voice sounded one last time.
"Remember, be careful of those 'living legends.'"
Before she could finish, a flash of light erupted.
Ian's figure vanished completely from where he stood.
"Not like a Primordial God... but launch!" Silver light exploded, and the time machine disappeared instantly, leaving only a faint circle of spatial disturbance that was quickly scattered by the wind.
When the light faded, Ian was no longer standing in the Greek wastelands.
Instead, he faced an endless golden desert.
The scorching sun baked the earth. In the distance, the Nile shimmered with sparkling waves, and pyramids stood tall against the horizon.
The air was filled with the scent of spices and the hot desert wind. In the distance, the sound of camel bells and faint ancient chanting could be heard.
Ian jumped down from the time machine. The machine automatically shrank, transforming back into a ring and returning to his hand. He narrowed his silver-gray eyes and gazed toward the distant city.
"All right then, gods of Egypt..." He muttered softly. "I hope you're easier to talk to than the gods of Olympus."
Ian wasn't sure if the native gods of this land had already noticed his arrival. Though, calling them "native gods" didn't seem quite appropriate.
'More like the current local overlords.'
Ian corrected himself.
If the Titans of Northern Europe and the Greek gods were the handiwork of aliens, then Ian had reason to suspect that the Egyptian gods were inextricably linked to extraterrestrial beings as well.
Later, historians argued endlessly about the true nature of the Egyptian gods.
Some claimed they were merely personifications of nature worship.
Others said they were tools used by the pharaoh's regime to consolidate power.
Some even proposed the bold hypothesis that the Egyptian gods might have been alien life forms. Among the Muggle population, rumors that the pyramids were built by aliens were widespread.
Because the Northern European and Greek gods were closely tied to the alien Titans, Ian's suspicion that the Egyptian gods were also alien-related wasn't unreasonable.
Could the origin story of magic be the process of aliens dividing up the "God" of Earth?
"Ancient Egypt...the era when the gods walked the human realm." Ian murmured, unconsciously rubbing the Greek spoils inside his money pouch.
"I wonder what kind of 'gods' they are here compared to the ones from Olympus."
The blazing sunlight roasted the yellow sands, and heat waves distorted the outlines of the pyramids in the distance.
"No matter what, I'll know once I see it with my own eyes."
Ian stood atop a sand dune by the Nile River, his deep green eyes narrowing slightly as he observed this ancient, mysterious land.
He traveled north along the Nile for half a day, and Ian arrived at one of ancient Egypt's most prosperous cities.
Towering obelisks pierced the sky.
The columns of the temples were covered in carved hieroglyphs. Vendors shouted as they sold dates, linen cloth, and glittering glassware on both sides of the streets.
The air was thick with the mixed scents of spices, baked bread, and river mud, and the distant echoes of priests' chants could be heard.
Not wanting to stand out, Ian made some local disguises.
There was no need to buy clothes, that was no challenge for a Transfiguration Master.
It was just a matter of magic.
"Magic really is convenient."
Wearing a linen cloak that hid his green eyes beneath its hood, Ian strolled slowly through the crowd.
His appearance didn't stand out at all.
After all, this was an international trade city filled with merchants and travelers. Foreigners from Nubia, the Hittite lands, and Crete could be seen everywhere.
"Fresh figs! Figs blessed by Amun!"
"Amulets! Eye of Horus amulets! They can ward off evil spirits!"
"Nile bass! Caught fresh this morning!"
The cries of the vendors rose and fell endlessly.
Ian stopped in front of a stall selling amulets.
The one-eyed old stall owner had all kinds of scarabs and ankh crosses hanging from his neck.
"Are you a foreigner? Would you like to buy an amulet?" The old man grinned, revealing a few gold teeth. "All of my amulets have been consecrated at Karnak Temple!"
'Good grief!'
'That familiar sales pitch again.'
'Different era, same marketing strategy.'
"At least this is more honest than the temples in ancient Greece."
Ian picked up an Eye of Horus pendant, gently tracing its carvings with his fingertips.
A faint fluctuation of magical power emanated from it.
Not an illusion.
These amulets really did contain some kind of supernatural force.
Of course, it wasn't divine power, just wizard-made alchemical artifacts.
Still, they could be considered extraordinary.
"This thing is pretty interesting."
He tossed the old man a Greek silver coin.
"Do your temple priests really bless these little trinkets?"
The old man took the coin, bit it, and his smile grew even brighter.
"Of course! Every new moon night, the high priest prays before the holy altar for our goods." But..."
He lowered his voice.
"The most effective ones are the sacred relics truly blessed by the gods themselves. If you want those, you must go through the gods' trials."
He had recognized that Ian was a wizard.
So he played right into his interests.
(End of Chapter)
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