Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 801 - 800: The Beginning

Selena stared at Gawain for a long time, as if trying to see through this "Wanderer from Outer Realm" cloaked in human exterior, from an unknown domain.

But she couldn’t see through anything.

Because she was merely a visual projection sent over when Gawain actively released parts of his superficial consciousness. She could only see what Gawain wanted her to see and hear only what he wanted her to hear, much like the predicament of the Eternal Sleepers cult at this moment:

No choice, subjected to others; even when discussing "conditions" now, it was merely a display of attitude.

The Wanderer from Outer Realm promised at this moment not to walk the path of gods, and promised that if one day he broke his word, the covenant would become void. But Selena herself knew that no one could witness this verbal promise, neither humans nor gods.

What she and her compatriots could trust was only the personal integrity of the Wanderer from Outer Realm themselves.

Gawain didn’t know precisely what Selena was thinking, but he could guess a little. After a moment of slightly oppressive silence, he shook his head: "You don’t need to be so wary of me; you’re all way too tense. Perhaps I come from a place unknown to you, from a tribe you don’t understand, but along this journey, I’m just an ordinary traveler.

"I wish to establish cooperation with you because I think the Supreme Narrator is a threat, and as for you Eternal Sleepers cult... you’re somewhat worth a helping hand.

"So relax, treat it as a cooperation between people, your tension will ease a lot."

Pausing deliberately here, he then casually mentioned, "By the way, since you came to see me yourself today, aside from delivering this message, surely you have other things to say?"

Selena’s expression seemed unchanged, yet her gaze towards Gawain suddenly became deeper. After a brief consideration, she indeed nodded: "I have some questions, hoping to get answers from you."

"Ask away, if I know the answer."

"You said you came to this world to fulfill a promise," Selena asked very earnestly, "Is this promise related to Gawain Cecil from seven hundred years ago?"

"Yes." Gawain affirmed with a nod.

"Is this promise to help Gawain Cecil save the kingdom he once established? Is it to help all beings break free from the shackles of gods? To guide mortals through the chaotic wave?"

Gawain met Selena’s scrutinizing gaze, pondered for a while, but eventually shook his head: "I’m not sure."

Selena instantly widened her eyes: "You’re not sure?"

"I’m not sure," facing this question, in front of Selena, Gawain did not fabricate a lie that would be hard to mend in the future, but chose to guide the topic under the premise of speaking the truth, "I seem to have forgotten some crucial memories, possibly as some kind of protective measure... but I know, Gawain Cecil and I made a deal; he offered his soul to bring me to this world, so I came—

"Upon awakening, I saw the world in turmoil, ancient lands sinking into chaos, people threatened from both within and outside the borders of civilization, kingdoms in dire straits, and all of this was very unfavorable for me to enjoy peace, so I did what I wanted to do—it is precisely the things you talked about.

"I’m uncertain whether these things were the contents of the deal back then, but lately I increasingly feel... I’m doing what I promised back then, or perhaps... what Gawain Cecil had assumed I would do when he made the deal."

Selena looked fixedly at Gawain, her eyes showing some surprise and an indefinable sense of relaxation. Finally, she blinked: "You’re more... candid and sincere than I imagined."

"What else? What do you think the Wanderers from Outer Realm should be like?" Gawain chuckled, "Perhaps imbued with some divine nature? Like iron and stone, hard and cold, devoid of emotion?"

"Pretty much," Selena seemed to break into a slight smile, "So you have forgotten the details of the ’deal’ with Gawain Cecil and don’t remember why he made that ’deal’ with you?"

"For the most part, yes, but recently some vague fragments have surfaced," Gawain said, his eyes landing on Selena, "For instance... I know you’re involved."

Selena met Gawain’s gaze with calm eyes, frankly.

"You should be able to see that I’ve inherited Gawain Cecil’s memories, inherited quite a lot, and among them is his experience of setting sail at Dragon Summoning Gulf. In that special memory, I sensed your presence.

"So I’m certain you were involved in that matter; you know about that deal, hence you should have been aware of my existence long ago. Today’s conversation between us further confirms this for me.

"You mentioned having some questions, seeking answers from me, and coincidentally, I have some questions now—can you answer them?"

Gawain displayed a gentle smile, asking calmly and kindly, as if to an old friend.

The prestige of the "Wanderers from Outer Realm" had been sufficiently demonstrated in the previous meeting, but mostly to the uninformed Eternal Sleepers. Facing Selena Gerfen, a half-informed party, Gawain decided to let a bit of his "humane" side show, to lessen this "informed party’s" vigilance, thereby avoiding unforeseen troubles.

Outside the window, starlight and lamplight intertwined, and behind her, the Magic crystal lamps emitted a warm and bright glow. Selena stood beside Gawain, bathed in this interwoven radiance, seemingly lost in thought, or perhaps recalling memories. After a long while, she broke the silence.

"Everything changed at the Ancestral Peak. It was the beginning of everything, the beginning of the Three Great Dark Sects’ descent into darkness, as well as the beginning of that distant voyage..."

"Ancestral Peak?" Gawain heard a term that surprised him. "You mean, Gawain Cecil’s voyage back then was related to the Ancestral Peak?"

Selena nodded slightly: "Since you inherited his memories, you must be very aware of the ceremony held by the Church of Dreams, the Church of Storms, and the Holy Spirit Druids at the Ancestral Peak, right?"

"I know it was the attempt to communicate with the gods that led to the pollution of the three churches, resulting in the formation of the later Three Great Dark Sects. This conclusion is partly derived from the memories I inherited and partly from the long investigation I’ve conducted since awakening."

Selena nodded again, not dwelling further on this known history between them, but continued: "That event destroyed the faith in the Kehr and dealt a massive impact on other churches and several human kingdoms that were still finding their footing at that time.

"The three polluted sects crumbled, and the witnesses at the Ancestral Peak either fell into madness or died on the spot. Those who survived were bewildered, the priests of other churches without established faith connections, and those on the periphery of the Ancestral Peak who did not directly participate in the ceremony. No one could inform the outside world what had happened, nor did anyone know what exactly caused the awful pollution and collective frenzy.

"After that, to stabilize hearts and explain the phenomena of recovering Divine Arts, other religions announced the so-called ’divine revelation,’ claiming that the gods had once again shown favor to mankind, bringing new divine laws, and that the three churches, including the Church of Dreams, were banished and fell into darkness for refusing the revelation. But this was ultimately just a way to stabilize minds, unable to convince everyone, let alone deceive those familiar with the church’s hierarchy and knowledgeable about the workings of the sects...

"Many became curious about what happened at the Ancestral Peak and launched investigation after investigation, including Gawain Cecil."

Here, Selena turned to look into Gawain’s eyes silently, while he fell into his memories. After searching through some key recollections, Gawain said thoughtfully: "I have an impression. Shortly after that event, ’I’ went there, but ’I’ only saw the abandoned ritual site, the frenzied priests had destroyed everything there, leaving no clues..."

He had already become accustomed to equating "Gawain Cecil" with himself in conversation, often referring to the latter as himself. Selena clearly noticed this but said nothing about it, only asking, "Did you really not discover anything? Did you only see the abandoned ritual site there?"

"I remember..." Gawain flipped through the inherited memory images in his mind, recalling the events of Gawain Cecil’s journey to the Ancestral Peak seven hundred years ago to investigate the truth. Slowly, he furrowed his brow, "No, I’m not sure. Some images are discontinuous."

It was only then that Gawain realized he had unrecognized gaps in his memory!

He instinctively looked at Selena: "Did you manipulate these memories?"

"...Yes," Selena hesitated for a moment before nodding, "I helped him clear many memories according to Gawain Cecil’s instructions, but I do not know the content of those memories—he said those memories were very dangerous. Knowing one more person would push the whole world closer to disaster, and ultimately they had to be erased, so it was better not to glimpse them from the start."

"...I believe you," Gawain slowly said, "Then continue. Gawain Cecil went to the Ancestral Peak to investigate the truth. He may have discovered something, and then? What happened after he returned from the Ancestral Peak?"

"He found us." Selena said.

"He found you?!?" Gawain was a bit surprised, "How did he find you? Especially you, how did he find you? After all, you had already..."

"It seems you’ve fully grasped my ’situation,’ including the fact that I became a Soul Body seven hundred years ago," Selena smiled, "Honestly, I still don’t understand... After returning from the Ancestral Peak, Gawain Cecil was in a very strange state. He seemed suddenly granted a certain ’insight’ ability, or ’revelation,’ not only laying out defenses and repelling aberrations’ attacks in an almost prophetic manner, but also easily finding several hidden sanctuaries built by survivors from the Church of Storms and the Church of Dreams—even though these sanctuaries were located in remote wild mountains, even though Gawain Cecil sent no spies, and even though the humans of that time were unaware of those wild lands...he could find them all.

"He first found the rational Storm Cleric and asked them to prepare a large ship for his voyage. Then he found the hiding Dreams Cleric, hoping to receive mental protection, hoping they would help him clear some memories...

"As you know, I was already... dead at the time, but my soul survived in a special way. Drawn by Gawain Cecil’s plan, driven by curiosity, I had a dream conversation with him..."

"I didn’t know any of this," Gawain said, "It seems there are quite a few gaps in my memory. What did you talk about?"

"He said he was going to take a risk to seek some opportunity," Selena slowly said, "He said he knew what we experienced, knew what terrifying things we saw at the Ancestral Peak, and said he had a way—not guaranteed success, but at least it would bring a glimmer of hope."

Gawain furrowed his brow: "Specifically? Didn’t he explain it more clearly to you?"

"That was all," Selena said, "He couldn’t say too clearly, as some things...the moment they’re spoken, they would attract the gaze of certain entities. You should be well aware of this."

"...Alright, I understand your concerns in this matter," Gawain exhaled, "So because of these vague words, you and the Sons of the Storm decided to take the risk to help Gawain Cecil complete that voyage?"

"Yes." Selena slowly nodded and said frankly.

Gawain couldn’t help being curious: "Why?"

Selena stared into Gawain’s eyes and softly said after a long pause: "Wanderers from Outer Realm, do you know the feeling of having nowhere to turn?"