Dawn's Sacred Relic

“Did they chase the mages?”

When Pernok composed his emotions and asked, Armin nodded.

“A pursuit team including a priest chased the mages, but ultimately they couldn’t catch the mage. Why are you curious about that?”

“As you know, we’re retrieving lost history. Admeis and the darkness mage will become important clues for restoring one piece of history.”

“That’s quite intriguing.”

Armin coughed lightly and subtly offered Pernok alcohol.

“Can you include me?”

“This work is very dangerous. Sometimes unexpected people interfere and obstruct us.”

“You speak as if you’ve already experienced it.”

“I experienced it terribly. Moreover, the things happening here will be several times more dangerous than that.”

“But won’t it be difficult to find the clues you want in the Holy Kingdom without my help?”

Pernok chuckled.

“You should’ve backed off after this much warning, but why are you trying to interfere deeply in our business?”

“Other priests can also record the things that will happen from now on. But recording lost history isn’t something anyone can do.”

“You want to remain a special existence?”

Armin nodded.

“Have you heard of the Genesis Library?”

“The library in the Holy Kingdom’s Grand Temple?”

“Right. Very ancient histories are recorded in the Genesis Library. My master’s records are also stored there. But not just anyone can enter that place. I want to leave records with my name written in such a special place.”

“That’s definitely not an easy thing.”

“I also know well that to obtain something, you must pay the price for it. But just because I’m a priest, would I have no desires? I’m accomplishing this work while holding such a dream……”

Armin’s eyes sparkled like a boy holding dreams.

Pernok filled that empty glass with alcohol and spoke.

“You absolutely must not record things I didn’t permit. If you promise only that, I can share the information we have.”

“Kahahahaha! Don’t worry! Didn’t I promise wagering the god’s name!”

Pernok lightly brushed off the alcohol Armin handed over excitedly.

Whether the momentary alliance would last long or end shortly depended on Armin’s conduct.

* * *

The next day, Armin came to Pernok’s lodging carrying a box full of information.

“It’s the incident log from 30 years ago. Back then they named this the heretic search and even mobilized mercenaries.”

“It’s quiet for making such a big deal.”

After parting with Armin yesterday, Pernok separately investigated the incident from 30 years ago.

A darkness mage attacked priests and priests in the middle of the Holy Kingdom’s capital Armosa.

No one remembered an incident worth being talked about forever.

Even the temple’s priests didn’t remember it.

“Someone probably tried to bury it intentionally.”

“Do you have anyone you suspect?”

Armin shook his head.

“Because I don’t know, I anxiously collected the materials to be disposed of like this. Ah, but there’s more material than expected, so you’ll have to organize and review them separately.”

“I’ll handle that myself. If there’s any content related to the darkness mage, immediately add it and inform me. I’ll also share information as soon as the organization finishes.”

“I hope you achieve results.”

Armin smiled and returned to the temple library.

Pernok put down the box in the middle of the lodging and took out the records to skim through them.

The contents gathered from 30 years ago until now were so vast they were hard to grasp at once.

Even trivial details were written, so it seemed it would take quite a while to grasp everything.

“Hmm.”

Pernok, who was examining the records, poured the box onto the floor.

He reclassified the scattered records by year.

‘There’s no need to examine everything. After all, these are failed records.’

Thirty years ago, the capital’s priests and priests chased the darkness mage who was named a heretic.

They searched for nearly a month while mobilizing even mercenaries, but they obtained no results.

‘Failed records are merely miscellaneous documents.’

This wasn’t a process of finding lessons to advance to the future while using past failures as stepping stones.

How do major incidents among the records connect from certain turning points and descend?

Why did the Lord of Despair’s descendants, who are presumed to be darkness Origin users, cause such a big incident in the middle of the capital?

After dividing various aspects—their appearance purpose, reason, timing—he reclassified them into early, middle, and late periods.

Only the essentials that were easy to see at a glance remained from the vast information.

‘The beginning.’

Pernok examined the incident’s start.

Darkness thicker than night surged from the Grand Temple.

The Pope personally suppressed the darkness draped over the Grand Temple, but he couldn’t erase the darkness extending to the Dawn Temple.

The thickest darkness in the Holy Kingdom’s history swallowed the Dawn Temple.

As countless dawn believers died, the Silver priest emerged while breaking his seclusion.

The Silver priest is the Holy Kingdom’s Magus.

Because his silver Magus Arts dye all nature in silver color, he was called the Silver priest.

Even now his fame spreads widely across the continent, and he’s known as the next generation’s high priest candidate.

When even the light brightly illuminating dawn was being swallowed by darkness.

The Silver priest tore through the curtain and emerged.

The darkness whispered to him with one arm gone.

“I did not covet light.”

Though the Silver priest indignantly ordered pursuit, the darkness seeped into night and vanished without a trace.

Though the Dawn Temple declared holy war with the Pope’s permission, the darkness didn’t appear afterward either.

But the Dawn Temple didn’t stop searching.

Pernok traced the word darkness with his finger.

‘The Origin’s descendants likely number many.’

Judging from the records of simultaneously raiding the Grand Temple and Dawn Temple, it means quite many people are using darkness Origin.

They even faced the Pope and escaped pursuit by the Silver priest, who was a young Magus at that time.

‘It means they know how to handle Origin considerably, but they couldn’t grasp such skilled ones before they rampaged in the Grand Temple?’

While feeling something suspicious, Pernok moved to the middle period.

The darkness left traces.

The Silver priest personally commanded the pursuit team and chased the traces.

And he discovered darkness draped over the underground waterways.

He immediately sealed the waterways and sought out the darkness’s roots.

But he was too late.

Nothing was left where the darkness was severed.

The Silver priest indignantly spoke.

“To dare sow the darkness’s seeds in holy places—I will never leave this place until this filth is washed clean.”

And the Silver priest stayed for three years at the spot where the traces first existed.

The Origin was not easily purified.

It seemed the Silver priest’s fury reached even here.

He examined the later records, but nothing more special existed in the middle period.

Pernok moved to the final late period records.

The forgotten darkness left traces again.

The Silver priest emerged to suppress the ominousness.

The priests dared not follow behind the Silver priest.

“Because the darkness is thick, you all will also die.”

His noble will finally washed away the darkness.

But the Silver priest still appeared uneasy.

“Still, the darkness lingers beside us.”

The records related to darkness ended there.

The remaining records were merely Armin’s personal impressions organizing the situations being settled and forgotten.

‘If all the Origin was annihilated, he wouldn’t have left any room. The Silver priest couldn’t resolve all the Origin. But why is this incident being forgotten?’

Because it contains the disgrace that the high priest was attacked?

Or because even someone like the Silver priest had his arm severed and could barely purify the traces after spending such a long time?

Though the situations were incomprehensible, one thing was certain.

The darkness still lives.

‘They stopped searching 30 years ago. To chase this……’

Pernok found the incidents’ common word.

Dawn Temple.

Why did they keep going in and out of the Dawn Temple while taking such risks as facing the Pope at the Grand Temple and even dealing with the Silver priest?

‘Does something that Origin covets exist in the Dawn Temple? But why would descendants who inherited the Lord of Despair’s seed take such risks lacking what?’

Pernok jumped up from his seat.

He put the materials back in the box and brought them to Armin.

“Do you have any idea why the darkness was entangled with the Dawn Temple?”

“I don’t know. But if they must target the Dawn Temple…… if it’s the place the Silver priest guards……”

Armin carefully continued speaking.

“……Aren’t they coveting the sacred relic?”

Each temple has unique sacred relics to honor the gods they revere.

“Don’t sacred relics have no meaning besides symbolizing gods?”

“That’s what’s known externally. I also think so. But the priests judge differently.”

“……?”

“Very noble power is contained in the sacred relics, but we can’t draw it out.”

Armin shrugged his shoulders.

“Of course, it’s just a groundless rumor. Sometimes each temple brings out the sacred relics for annual events, but even to me as a mage, they’re just ordinary objects. But the priests who serve the gods must always uphold the sacred relics’ symbolism.”

“We could also consider the meaning of defiling the symbolism.”

“Do you believe the darkness is targeting the Dawn Temple’s sacred relic?”

“I’m not certain. But the darkness is strangely obsessed with the Dawn Temple. If we who can’t find the darkness’s clues right now want to dig up even the edges, we must start from the Dawn Temple.”

“Even if you go to the Dawn Temple, what can you discover?”

Armin tilted his head.

It’s an incident that already finished 30 years ago.

No commotion has occurred at the Dawn Temple until now.

But he couldn’t understand going to the Dawn Temple now.

“We’ll know when we look.”

Pernok has the methods called the obsidian and memories.

If the darkness is continuously and persistently targeting the Dawn Temple, or if related traces are discovered, the obsidian and memories will immediately react.

“We can’t just wait obediently while only wasting time. We must try something.”

“Then wait briefly.”

“……?”

“The Dawn Temple is strict. If I go together with you, you’ll be able to move around more comfortably. I’ll request a pilgrimage and come back, so let’s go together.”

If he accompanies him as a guide, Pernok has no reason to refuse.

When he nodded, Armin entered the library and spoke with someone.

Shortly after, Armin, who had packed his luggage, approached Pernok.

“We can stay there for about a month. Try to finish the work within that time.”

“Where is the place where the Dawn Temple’s sacred relic is stored?”

“It’s a place called Maeita. It takes a fortnight just to get there, so let’s rent horses.”

Armin gave identification and money at the stable and rented two horses.

Then the two people rode the horses and galloped out following the southern highway.

* * *

Maeita, the Holy Kingdom’s southern region with the most dawn believers.

The two people who breathlessly galloped for a fortnight arrived, lightly quenched their thirst, and strutted through the streets.

“Shall we go to the temple first?”

“No, let’s examine the place where the incident started first.”

“Then…… it’s probably that way.”

When recording the incident, Armin had visited the scene several times.

He first walked to a place considerably distant from the Dawn Temple.

“Did the darkness’s traces exist here?”

Now not even a trace remained.

The ground was smoothly refined, and people were walking here calmly.

“The Silver priest said he fought with the darkness up to a distance about 1 kilometer from here.”

Armin walked the western avenue using the traces as the reference point.

After passing slightly over 1 kilometer, the Dawn Temple on the hill appeared.

“All the records break at this point. They only say the Silver priest suppressed the darkness.”

Though long years have passed, it’s a point where the Dawn Temple is clearly visible.

If a death struggle had unfolded at that time, the surrounding buildings would’ve all been destroyed, so there would be no shortcut faster than this toward the Dawn Temple.

‘Dawn Temple…… dawn……’

It was when he was pondering whether he must ultimately look at the sacred relic inside.

[Master!]

Pernok turned around with surprised eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

For a moment, the memory was heard like an auditory hallucination.

The voice of the Lord of Despair’s last disciple and final survivor—it seemed to whisper right beside him.

‘The obsidian?’

A black current flowed out like a thin thread from inside his pocket.

Origin so secretive that even Armin nearby couldn’t notice passed through the street and entered an alley.

“……?”

At that moment, something pitch black was captured in Pernok’s Observation Eye.