Castorice and Stelle were both startled by Gnaeus' objective.
But after the initial shock passed, the two gave it some thought, this didn't actually seem to conflict with their own goal.
On the contrary, Gnaeus joining them might even prove helpful in other ways. With that in mind, neither of them had any further objections to traveling together with him.
After that, the three of them set off as a group, heading deeper inside.
When they pushed open a heavy stone door, a stench rushed out to assault their senses, so strong it felt like it struck them head-on.
"What… is that smell?" Stelle covered her nose, while Castorice slightly furrowed her brows.
Only Gnaeus remained expressionless. And when Stelle steadied herself and her gaze finally pierced past the doorway to take in what lay beyond, her pupils suddenly shrank.
Behind the door was supposed to be a vast, solemn hall. Towering stone pillars supported the domed ceiling, and faint reliefs depicting war and glory could still be seen on the walls.
But at this moment, all that solemn grandeur had been utterly defiled.
As far as Stelle's eyes could see, the original floor was almost nowhere to be found.
Instead, countless incomplete bodies lay strewn across the ground. Some corpses were clearly not long dead, their faces still frozen with fear or rage from the moment before death.
The torn flesh around their wounds glistened with a glaring crimson. On some mutilated bodies, pale, broken bones were exposed to the air.
And compared to these, what was even harder to endure, were the many corpses that had already begun to rot.
Their faces were no longer recognizable, their features grotesquely distorted by swelling.
Between these two kinds of bodies were chunks of flesh that had completely liquefied, the remains of those who had died even earlier.
The once-solemn floor had been completely coated in blackish-brown sludge.
It slowly writhed along the cracks between the stones. A piercing stench seeped outward from it all.
"Ugh…" Not just Stelle. Even the audience watching this scene couldn't help but dry-heave through their screens.
As if they could already smell that nauseating odor. Along with the overwhelming visual impact came an equally striking contrast.
This place, once solemn and austere, steeped in glory and honor was the very heart of the ritual.
The most sacred location. The place closest to Nikador.
Yet this was what it looked like now.
The audience couldn't help but recall what had been mentioned earlier.
[Nikador has fallen into madness]
The scene before them seemed to be further proof of that madness.
"Th-this… what is going on?!" Stelle stood there, completely dumbfounded.
"I… I don't know…" Castorice's emotions began to stir. As she looked at the corpses scattered everywhere, a trace of pain flashed through her eyes.
Death should have been quiet. It should have been the final resting place for all. Yet what lay before her was a scene so horribly twisted. Something had to be done.
As the Hand of Death, Castorice took a deep breath.
"Lady Stelle, Lord Gnaeus, please step back."
As her words fell purple flowers began to bloom beneath her feet.
"Reveal yourself, O warrior spirits... I know that you have yet to rest."
As Castorice softly chanted. Butterflies emerged from the flower buds and began to flutter throughout the hall.
"This is…?" Stelle and Gnaeus moved farther away, watching from a distance.
"I can summon souls that haven't fully passed on," Castorice explained.
Very soon the fluttering butterflies awakened the lingering spirits.
"O, ye who cannot rest in peace... Tell us, what have you heard?"
Castorice asked gently.
The souls responded. They began to reenact what these people had heard as they hovered on the brink of death.
Their fading memories crystallized into illusory projections, appearing before everyone's eyes.
"Do we really just leave them like that? The putrid stench of decay here is almost too much to bear." A soldier's phantom said this.
"Yes. Didn't you hear? This is part of the ritual. We need to offer up sacrifices to the Titan." A priest's voice replied.
"Keep the challengers coming and have them fight till the end... only by letting Nikador revel in the chaos of war can we control their descent into madness."
These were the final voices these warriors heard before dying.
The audience fell silent. A chill rose in their hearts.
At the city gates, they had clearly heard the official explanation from the registrar of Castrum Kremnos.
Selected warriors would enter the inner city, advance toward the core under the onslaught of the Furiae, and eventually gain an audience with King Eurypon.
Even if they failed, the process itself was regarded as glorious and sacred. Fallen warriors would have their souls return to Nikador's divine realm, recognized as true heroes.
Even if the process was drenched in blood, to these warriors, and to the people of Castrum Kremnos, it was merely part of the journey.
And those people, when stepping into the inner city, likely held the same belief.
To die gloriously in a sacred battle.
The audience dared not imagine what these warriors felt, when, after being defeated and while on the verge of death, they heard such words whispered in their ears.
Memories from the past continued to surface. The final words heard by warriors who died in different places were continuously revealed.
"How much longer is this festival going to last? What is King Eurypon waiting for?"
"Be patient, for our plan is still underway... Sealing a Titan's soul is no easy endeavor. The priests are already working as fast as they can..."
"Priests captured from other city-states, who can guarantee their loyalty? Hmph, I say we punish one of them so they know to behave..."
Voice after voice of memories, exposed an even more shocking truth.
...
: Ugh… what the hell, this is a living sacrifice?!
: I've got chills down my spine.
: So beneath Castrum Kremnos's glorious exterior, it's already fallen this far?!
: How ironic! Beneath the banner of glory lies bloodshed and filth twisted to the extreme.
: Gnaeus doesn't look surprised at all… did he already know something?
: Stelle looks completely stunned.
: Not just Stelle, we're stunned too. This is way beyond normal limits!
: Didn't Castorice mention before that recently Mydei would kill that King Eurypon? Could it be because of this?
: That king wanted to seal the Titan's soul…
: Damn, what's the real truth? How is Mydei connected to all of this?
: I'm terrified, but I still really want to know… the truth.
...
The comments swept past.
Next. The three continued listening to the voices of more lingering spirits.
From the spirits' testimonies, the three finally learned that this ritual had been going on for a very long time.
Among them were many who had discovered the truth and turned against it. These included warriors who participated in the ritual. As well as ministers, generals, and close retainers who were not part of the ritual but closely connected to King Eurypon.
After their rebellion failed, they too were thrown here as part of the sacrificial offerings. Because of this, Castorice's ability could also summon the memories these people had just before death.
By piecing together these numerous fragments of memory, many truths about Nikador seemed to have surfaced.
First, one thing could be confirmed. Long before this point in time, Nikador had already gone mad.
And after realizing that their god had gone insane, Castrum Kremnos sealed off the news.
To outsiders, everything appeared normal. But in secret, they were frantically searching for a solution.
In the end, they came up with a bold plan. They would strip Nikador's powers away and seal it inside specially crafted swords.
This would both halt Nikador's madness, and ensure that Nikador's divine body would not perish.
The latter conclusion was proposed by Gnaeus.
After hearing this, Stelle and Castorice looked at each other in silence.
"Lord Gnaeus, you seem to know a lot about that Titan." Castorice asked.
"I don't know," Gnaeus replied calmly. "The whispers I'm hearing may very well be from Nikador themself."
"They're beckoning to us from the other side..."
After saying this, Gnaeus looked at Castorice and Stelle, snorted coldly, and said, "I've long suspected that you two are not from here... No, not just that. You're not from this era."
What?! Both of them were startled.
"Your speech, your knowledge, your demeanor, none of it fits this era."
"Don't be surprised. I'm not just some brute who only knows how to fight."
"Is it Oronyx? No... They would not be capable of such power." Gnaeus spoke, then immediately dismissed his own speculation.
He didn't intend to pursue the matter further. Whether they were from the future or not had little to do with him.
All he wanted was for Nikador to return to being the Titan of glory and courage he once was. Gnaeus remained composed.
Stelle and Castorice, however, were left speechless. They had come bearing knowledge and experiences from the future, yet they had never expected to be seen through so easily by a person of this era.
The audience was equally shocked.
...
: He could even tell that Castorice and Stelle are from the future?!
: Damn, are the people of Amphoreus all this terrifying?!
: Looks like this guy's relationship with Nikador isn't ordinary.
: Could it be like the relationship between an Aeon and an Emanator?!
: That would explain his strength and insight.
: Similar to Tribbie's former status, High Priest? Nikador's High Priest?!
...
Speculation spread wildly among the audience.
On screen, Castorice, having been seen through, had no choice but to pass along information from the future to this mysterious warrior.
"Some day in the distant future... a mad Nikador will drive our companions and our homeland to the brink of destruction. The reason we came back here... is to find a way to prevent Amphoreus from falling to its doom."
After hearing Castorice's explanation, shock clearly appeared on Gnaeus' face.
"...Their madness will last for thousands of years? The destruction created by human folly is more than anyone could imagine. It so happens that we have the same goal."
After saying that, Gnaeus glanced at Stelle and Castorice. Since their objectives aligned, everything afterward would be much easier.
Whether by fortune or misfortune, he had thought this road would be one he walked alone, yet he had unexpectedly found comrades.
And that was a good thing. The three continued forward.
There wasn't much road left ahead of them. The scenery before their eyes gradually became familiar.
It was the very place inside the ruined Castrum Kremnos of the past where Stelle, Phainon and Mydei had previously encountered Nikador.
At this moment, a thousand years ago and a thousand years later overlapped in the same location.
Strange sounds, crossing time itself, echoed from a thousand years in the future.
Bang.
Bang!
BANG!
The sound of a bloody battle.
"Sounds of combat… what is that?" Gnaeus frowned in confusion. In this place where the Titan's divinity had been severed, there should have been no enemies.
"That's the sound of our companions fighting Nikador in the future." Though the sound was abstract, Stelle recognized it.
"So, there are mortals who fight against fate even in this hopelessly bleak era. I am impressed." Gnaeus said heavily.
"But strength alone will not help them destroy an immortal body... That's why you and that girl went back in time seeking answers."
"To keep them from waiting too long, everyone, let's begin!" Castorice called out.
The three no longer hesitated. They quickly spread out, following Gnaeus' guidance, and released the divinity sealed within the vessels.
Each time a fragment was released, the sacrificial chants spoken during the sealing echoed throughout the hall.
[This is the God King's Courage!]
[We shall hereby seal the god-king's Courage within this sword vessel.]
[A testament that they have never once retreated from a battle.]
[Even against the formless black tide from beyond the dense fog, they alone have raised their sword and faced the enemy head-on..]
[This is the God King's Glory!]
[We shall hereby seal the god-king's Honor within this sword vessel.]
[A testament that they have never plunged their divine lance into an enemy's back.]
[Even when enemies close in from all sides, they have never conceded to evil schemes, fiercely guarding the warrior's dignity..]
[This is the God King's Tenacity!]
[We shall hereby seal the god-king's Tenacity within this sword vessel.]
[A testament that their will is unyielding in the fight against the calamity of unknown origin.]
[No matter how powerful the black tide may be, enough to corrupt the wills of other gods, they stand tall and upright in defiance of the turbulent fog, even till today...]
[This is the God King's Sacrifice!]
[We shall hereby seal the god-king's Sacrifice within this sword vessel.]
[A testament that their final words before sinking into dormancy were a vow to defend the world against the black tide.]
[They use their own body as our city walls, keeping out and protecting us from the pervasive spread of madness. They are acutely aware that if the end times were to arrive, there would be nothing left in this world to conquer...]
Courage. Glory. Tenacity. Sacrifice.
With each chanted elegy, the truth was unveiled. The audience trembled from head to toe.
So it turned out Nikador had never fallen.
This Titan had already been resisting the mysterious and unknown Black Tide, wielding his divine spear even a thousand years ago.
Until he was eroded by it. With these eulogies, the audience seemed to glimpse Nikador's glorious past.
He was war. He was conflict. Yet he was also filled with honor.
A Titan worthy of reverence.
The tragedy of the Castrum Kremnos was not the Titan's fault, but humanity's.
And that mysterious Black Tide, what exactly was it? They had now heard this term from more than one Titan.
Just as the audience shuddered, the three on screen fell into a predicament.
"Something's wrong. There are five vessels, but only four fragments here." Castorice counted the mismatched vessels, her brow furrowing.
"Did we miss one?" Stelle checked again, but found no mistake.
"I believe I know where it is." Gnaeus spoke, then turned toward the two of them.
The camera froze on his face, shrouded in shadow.
"I was wrong all this while. The final fragment of divinity was never lost..."
"The fifth fragment is me."
"The God King's Reason."