I Got A Title: Lord Of The Time!-Chapter 101: Message from the Mages!
Everyone reacted differently to Lin’s words: some, like Silia and Royal, expressed doubt on their faces, as they weren’t sure if any trap could be activated in such a short time spent in the hall. But others, like Aran, Egro, and Yulan smiled and were glad that perhaps the place was much safer than they had assumed.
"If that place is safe and didn’t harm Lin, can we calmly go in there?" Yulan asked with hope in her eyes.
Aran nodded and placed his hand on his chin, smirking.
"In theory — yes. We can calmly go inside, since nothing happened to Lin, then nothing should happen to us either. But still, it’s better to stay alert so that nothing bad happens. Especially since we have Lin, who, if needed, can quickly throw us out of there. Am I right?" he looked at Lin with a smile and waited for his answer.
But Lin coldly stared at Aran and snorted, saying nothing.
Aran shook his head and ignored Lin’s attitude toward him. He walked toward the hall, saying along the way:
"As the one who proposed the brilliant plan for Lin, I’ll go in first so you can see the safety of this place."
Aran quickly approached the end of the corridor and the entrance to the hall, raised his leg, and then gracefully lowered it with a loud stomp!
Thud!!
With no doubt on his face, Aran continued his path into the depths of the hall.
Thud!! Thud!! Thud!!
After taking a few steps, Aran stood still and looked back — at the five people — and announced with an arrogant expression:
"See? There’s nothing dangerous here. My prince Lin turned out to be the most capable and honest person in this place. I, as his companion — respect him!"
"..."
Everyone looked at Aran with acceptance. Although this guy might seem foolish and energetic at first glance, deep down — he is a real monster, whom the Mort family — deeply loves.
It should be understood that the Mort family, out of all the Five Families, is the strangest and creepiest. Everyone who ever joined the Mort family became completely submissive, and even the family members themselves — are true beasts who can kill anyone or do something worse.
That’s why it’s often avoided, and people prefer other options.
But even with such avoidance, the Mort family — is the second strongest family by power and various assets in the Earth and the Dead Worlds. It is second only to the Arsafon family, which is its direct rival.
But this only continues to show its level.
Aran was dangerous not because he was from a strong and powerful family, but because his seemingly strange actions — could hide his true desires.
"Let’s go," Royal said a single word and walked into the hall.
The five quickly followed him, and when the large hall stood before them, they stepped in and entered it.
Thud!!!
Five simultaneous steps echoed throughout the hall like a great echo. Everyone continued forward, always ready at any moment to act and use their skills, if necessary.
Aran smiled and said:
"I told you. There’s nothing dangerous here."
Royal looked around the hall, trying to notice something. But unfortunately, he didn’t see anything new, which confused him a little.
"Is there any meaning or purpose to this hall? The most prominent place in this hall — is the round white platform. Maybe it activates something?"
"This is really strange," Aran looked around everywhere and saw nothing except light walls. He looked at the white platform in the center and said:
"Then let’s all go to the white platform. There’s really nothing in this hall that could tell us anything."
Everyone agreed and walked to the white platform — in the center, since it seemed the only place that could say something about this hall and its meaning.
When the six people approached the white platform and then stood on it — a rough mechanical voice was heard, spreading throughout the hall:
[Humans! Six people! Detected, six humans on the white platform!]
The six people instantly became alert when they heard the mechanical voice they had heard during the puzzle trial!
If back then the mechanical voice sounded robotic and programmed with specific words and sentences — now, in its voice there was a sense of freedom, as if the words it now spoke came from its heart!
"How interesting... Is this mechanism present throughout the entire castle? And its surprise about humans... Why didn’t it react like this when we were going through the puzzle trial?" Aran immediately asked a bunch of questions and waited for someone to help sort them out.
"Maybe it’s all about this platform?" Egro suggested and continued: "The voice appeared exactly when we stepped on this white platform."
Aran nodded at Egro’s response and wanted to add something else, when throughout the bright hall the mechanical voice spread again, continuing its announcement:
[Greetings to all humans present here! We — the Mages — are glad that the Castle of the Past has been discovered by other people who managed to escape the Distortion! This gives great hope that humanity is not yet lost and the legacy of the Mages will be available to future generations!]
[Unfortunately, our legacy was completely erased by the Distortion, because of which we could only create the Castle of the Past and show people of the future the events that happened in the past!]
After this announcement, several projections appeared in the air resembling screens. They showed various events or people who looked different: some were happy about a new harvest, some were saddened by the death of loved ones, and some were killing various people in war.
All kinds of scenes flashed before the group’s eyes, evoking different reactions. But one thing was clear: they might find something interesting in this castle.
[For you — it is the past, for us — it is the present. By your time, we are already dead, and the Castle of the Past was closed off from the outside world to prevent the infiltration of Distortion. We created dozens of groups with people who held various items pointing the way to the Castle of the Past. Since you are here — it means you found one of them.]
[The Castle of the Past — is the remaining place of the Mages with knowledge of the past and various projections that show specific areas of the past and their locations. I think you’ve already seen the doors of various colors — each of these doors holds a projection of a specific place and a Distorted creature that lived there. The smaller the door — the more dangerous it is.]
The six people listened attentively to the mechanical voice, absorbing more and more information about this place and its purpose.
[Since you were able to reach this place — it shows your minimal knowledge of the past, which may be disappointing. We — the Mages — honor harmony with nature and knowledge of everything in the world. We believe that knowledge is strengthened only when a person feels it for themselves, just like magic.]
[That is why we created a legacy of the past through projections and feelings. We didn’t want to leave books. And even if we did leave them — there would be too many. So we are ready to offer you a special projection of the past!]
[With our last remaining strength, we managed to create a projection of our world — of the last two years! Now, the world is empty — people are dead, kingdoms destroyed, and the Mages — almost extinct. Only I and a few others survived and are making this message for you. We have prepared a projection of the last two years, which you can personally experience!]
Some held their breath at the mention of a projection!
This was their opportunity!
[Just keep in mind, this projection — is very dangerous! If in other projections from other doors, you can safely return and the Distorted creatures there — are not that dangerous. We must warn you that in this projection there is a large amount of Distortion, because of which real Distortion feels it and influences it!]
[We are also surprised by this, and unfortunately — it may be the main reason for our death. We projected too much of what shouldn’t be shown, but for the sake of the future... we are ready for anything! In any case, the choice is yours! If you agree to enter this projection, you will see many historical moments of the past, but also risk death or Distortion... However, you can also refuse and come back when you are confident in your strength!]
[Be assured that the quality of this projection is at the highest level, which means you’ll be able to use everything there and apply local properties! You can even use your weapons there — they will not, as in regular projections, disappear!]
[The choice is yours!]
Everyone fell silent.
The hall was filled with complete silence, in which only the deep breaths of the six people could be heard.
They looked at each other and saw various expressions on their faces, revealing their emotions.
No one could hide anything.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
This was their chance!