We sat in an awkward silence for a while since Asher wasn't really a talkative person like Kristen, so it was kind of hard to start a conversation with him.
"Can you explain to us about Runecaster's, Sir Asher?" I finally asked
"…Fine, but to understand about Runecasters, you will need to learn a little bit about history."
"It's going to take a long time, so let's start from the beginning, I suppose." He began, his tone solemn.
"Approximately 700 years ago, three mysterious pillars arose across the globe—one in Antarctica, another in Russia, and the last in America. These forsaken structures unleashed a plague, transforming people into mindless, ravenous creatures. A staggering 2 billion people fell victim to this chaos, succumbing to profanity and becoming sinister beings, some more powerful than the others."
"As humanity was facing a catastrophe, struggling to fight against the profane beings, they descended."
"They?" Zei asked, curiosity in her voice
"They are called by many names around the world, but we call them The Fallen."
"They proclaimed themselves as divine beings sent from heaven to help us fight the profanity."
He leaned forward, his gaze intense. "They introduced us to aether, the very essence of life, and how it held the key to our true power. They claimed that mastering Aether was our only path to obliterate the Nexus that threatened our existence. Those who could manipulate this mystical force were called Aeriths."
The Fallen offered their divine blood to humanity; those who received the blood transcended into beings far beyond mortals. We refer to them as the Twelve Principalities, each one having unfathomable power.
These Principalities waged a war against the Profanes, one that lasted for eons. Two of the three Nexus were sealed, but the final one remained, its corruption too vast and powerful to be contained.
Asher paused, taking a sip of his coffee before continuing.
That was when the Fallen ones intervened, unleashing their power, and with their aid, we were able to seal the last Nexus.
"The Fallen Ones left the Earth after the war. People started worshipping them as gods. They would descend every hundred years and offer their blessings to humanity."
"The Principalities then gave birth to their offspring, who contained a fraction of their power. We regarded them as Elarions, beings who were weaker than the twelve Principalities but still more powerful than Aeriths or mortals."
The long war was over. — or so we thought.
Asher paused, his gaze looking outside the shattered window in the distance.
"The reign of the Aeriths seemed absolute; they ruled over humanity for many centuries. They created Aetherborn Lands, floating above the ground with the help of an aether core. The majority of Aeriths lived on those lands, the most populated one being Lumiere. It was a paradise for people, everything was going well, humanity was thriving under the rule of Aeriths.
"That was until one hundred years ago." Asher's voice grew heavier as he continued
A strange silence enveloped the room, thunderclouds rumbling outside, and my mind was a total mess. All of this seemed too unreal, however, I composed myself and asked, "What happened one hundred years ago?"
"More and more shards started appearing throughout the planet. Some of them are abnormally more powerful than the ones we've ever dealt with."
"And then the seal of one of the Nexus of Profanity came undone," He uttered his voice trembling slightly.
"Chaos enveloped on earth once more, not only mortals but even the Aeriths and the Twelve Principalities fell victim and succumbed to the plague, turning into mindless beings."
He clenched his fists, his voice trembling with anger. "Billions of people died, countless people suffered, people prayed for help to save them, but no answer came from them."
"We lost billions of lives in the span of just 2 decades, pushing humanity close to the point of becoming extinct. Countless individuals fled to Lumiere and other places for survival."
"That was when a beacon of hope emerged for us." he exhaled deeply.
"Around half a century ago years ago, a tree emerged from the ground. One so vast it dwarfed even the tallest structures built by mankind."
"Miraculously, no Profane dared to come close to it as if they were afraid of its existence. Many people believed that it was bestowed by the heavens to save humanity, and thus we named the tree Yggdrasil."
Asher's tone shifted, a hint of bitterness creeping in. "The Aeriths were not pleased with the existence of Yggdrasil as it challenged their authority and power. Most of them abandoned Earth and migrated to Lumiere and other Aetherborn lands. They stopped interfering with us as they deemed us unworthy and insignificant."
Yggdrasil offered us its seed, which grew into a smaller version of it and became the beacons that kept the profane beings away, giving us a chance to start a new life.
He paused, his gaze distant. "However, one day, the Fallen Ones descended, enraged and ordered the Aeriths to burn down Yggdrasil and its saplings."
"And thus a war began. The army of Lumiere started burning down the saplings of Yggdrasil; however, they didn't stop there, they started slaughtering innocent people who lived in cities where the Seeds existed, and we had no way to resist them. No weapons could make them bleed, no poison was potent enough to kill them.
We prayed to them, pleading to them to stop this war, but the Fallen Ones didn't listen as if they too deemed us insignificant.
When all hope was lost, Yggdrasil offered its divine fruit to us, those who consumed it gained immense knowledge and the ability to cast runes and were since called Runecasters. Yggdrasil gave us the power to fight back against the inhumane slaughter of its children.
Those who consumed the divine fruit were granted immense knowledge and power, and with that, we were able to retaliate against the Aeriths after a decade-long war. Both of us are in a stalemate and are in a fragile equilibrium. The new Principalities and Oracles of Yggdrasil decided to sign a peace treaty for 50 years that no more blood would be shed from either side, and that's where we stand now.
Silence enveloped the room as the only sound that could be heard were the raindrops and wind blowing.
All of this was too much, I couldn't comprehend what I had just heard, it felt something out of a dream. Or a nightmare.
Zei broke the silence "What are Monoliths?
"At first, only Shards of Profanity emerged, but ever since the seal on the Nexus was broken, more powerful shards started appearing. We classify them in terms of their strength. The Shard of Profanity is the weakest, then Monoliths of Profanity, followed by the Spire of Profanity, and then finally the Pillar of Profanity or Nexus."
What about the creatures— Vilesworns and Defilers?
"Some Profane beings are more powerful than others. We classify them based on their strength. The weakest ones are called Nameless, then there are Hollows, Defilers, Vilesworn, Archdefilers, and then the strongest ones are Accursed, who wield strength capable of destroying entire cities."
"And your mission is to clear this area and destroy the Monolith along with the profane beings?" Zei question.
"That's correct, although this is a radiation zone unfit for mortals to survive, once the seed of Yggdrasil is planted here, it will neutralise the radiation and people will be able to live here once again."
He stood up and stretched "It's almost dawn, you should rest now. Use my tent".
We will leave at midnight for our mission. You can stay here until we are done, and then we will see what to do."
We both nodded. Like Asher said, we both needed some rest, as well as time to digest all the revelations we had just received.
The tent was a little cramped, but we both managed to lie down. Neither of us spoke for a while, just keeping the other company in silence.
Eventually, her hand reached out for mine and held it tightly against her own.
Breaking the silence, I leaned closer and whispered into her ear gently, "Are you awake?"
She turned her face towards me, her pale blue eyes gleaming in the dark.
"What do you think we should do now?" she muttered in a muffled voice.
"How do you think we will be able to survive in a world like this? Every day we'll be in danger. Every moment, we could die."
I had tried to avoid these questions ever since we came to this city, focusing solely on surviving, but it seems like I couldn't run away from such questions anymore.
There was no guarantee Kristen and Asher would help us once we got out of here; we would be completely on our own.
"I don't know what the future holds for us," I said, trying to sound reassuring, "but no matter how many hardships we face, we will get through it together."
"Can you promise me something?" she asked, her voice hesitant.
"Of course, what is it?"
"That you won't leave me. That you'll stay," Zei uttered with a soft voice, the words reflecting her genuine feelings."
"Of course, I will stay with you."
"You are all I have left after all," I murmured, holding her hands firmly.
"...Thank you," she murmured before turning her head away. I could see her ears getting red.
"...Good night, Zei' I said, chuckling.