Episode 284
“Mother?”
Zeke was struck speechless as he realized the woman before him was his long-deceased mother.
Seeing Laura Agamemnon, whom he had only known through photographs, sent a tremor through his eyes.
When Zeke remained silent, Laura spoke again, her voice tinged with curiosity.
“I’ve revealed who I am. Now it’s your turn.”
Her words snapped Zeke back to reality.
‘The Dawn Society… I remember it as the precursor to the Rose Society. This must be around the time Sir Favre and I were rescuing the Rubern bloodline.’
Zeke took a moment to gather his thoughts, trying to remain calm. Without his passive skill, “Indomitable Will,” he might have been too overwhelmed to think straight.
Finally, he managed to speak to Laura.
“I can’t reveal my identity. All I can say is…”
He continued telepathically.
—I came here seeking the Temple of Chronos.
Laura was taken aback by the sudden voice in her mind but quickly composed herself, pondering the mention of Chronos before nodding.
“So that’s why we received that message.”
At her signal, the figures in black and the archer retreated, leaving Zeke and Laura alone.
“How do you know about Chronos?” she asked.
Zeke hesitated, unsure if revealing the truth would disrupt the timeline and bring harm to him or his mother.
“I am a hidden descendant of Rubern, searching for the Hero King’s legacy to protect my kin.”
Laura’s eyes widened at his words.
“The Hero King? You mean Kaishir?”
“Yes, my goal is to find the power of the Hero King, the contractor of Chronos, to save the Rubern bloodline.”
Laura, still confused, pressed further.
“What does the Temple of Chronos have to do with the Hero King’s legacy?”
“That, I don’t know. Chronos’s power never gives straightforward answers.”
Laura nodded, seemingly understanding. She reached into her cloak and pulled out something Zeke recognized immediately—Chronos’s watch.
Opening the watch, she infused it with her power.
A soft hum filled the air as the watch absorbed the light, and a glowing orb floated up, moving purposefully.
Laura gestured for Zeke to follow.
“If you’re right, Chronos’s power will guide us.”
Together, they followed the light, which led them down into the museum’s basement.
Zeke’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as he followed Laura. He never imagined he would meet his mother alive in the past.
As they reached an unfinished underground space, the light orb spun in the air before stopping in front of a wall, flickering like a beacon.
Laura touched the wall, puzzled.
“Is there something behind this?”
Zeke approached, tapping the wall before drawing a dagger and slicing through it like paper, creating an entrance.
With a thud, the cut section fell away, revealing a passage.
Laura looked at Zeke with newfound respect.
“I’ve never heard of a knight like you in Rubern.”
“I’ve stayed hidden to avoid the eyes of the Abyss, so few know of me.”
Laura seemed to still harbor doubts about his identity, but Zeke pressed on, entering the passage.
Inside, the path stretched like a dungeon corridor.
‘This wasn’t here in my time… Did the cave collapse later?’
Walking alongside Laura, Zeke asked, “Laura Agamemnon, are you a healer class?”
She nodded slowly.
“You already knew that, didn’t you?”
Zeke realized his mother had a rather prickly personality.
“Isn’t it true that healers only come from the Rubern bloodline? How did a healer emerge from the Agamemnon side?”
Laura explained, “Agamemnon is a branch of the Rubern bloodline. When the church ousted Rubern from the throne, our family absorbed the scattered lineage. I only learned this recently myself.”
Just as Zeke suspected, Agamemnon was indeed a part of the Rubern lineage.
“Are there other families that carry the Rubern bloodline?”
Laura shook her head.
“The Rubern bloodline was scattered, so no other family is as unified as Agamemnon. However, if an ancestor had Rubern blood, they might inherit healing talents. The Dawn Society seeks out such descendants.”
Zeke nodded, understanding.
‘Most of Rubern’s children must have manifested healing talents through ancestral regression.’
Laura then asked Zeke, “What’s your name?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Zeke gave a pseudonym.
“Kaida.”
A name hastily derived from his mentor, Kaishir.
“Kaida Rubern, huh.”
As they continued following the light, Zeke asked Laura something that had been on his mind.
“Do you know Arthur Draker?”
Laura’s expression darkened as she glared at him.
“Why bring up that bastard?”
Her intense animosity towards Arthur Draker caught Zeke off guard.
”…Just curious. Seems like you don’t get along with him.”
Laura clenched her fists, her voice seething with anger.
“Those damn Drakers. They expanded their power thanks to our family, but abandoned us when we fell on hard times.”
Zeke was puzzled by her harsh words.
‘If she despises him so much, why did she marry Arthur Draker and have me?’
He recalled that Rufus Agamemnon, the head of the Agamemnon family, had opposed Laura’s marriage to Arthur Draker, their family’s enemy.
Yet Laura had defied Rufus and married Arthur, who showed no interest in helping or cursing the Agamemnon family after their union.
Lost in thought, Zeke was brought back by Laura’s voice.
“If it weren’t for Ramon, I would never have teamed up with someone like Arthur.”
Zeke was startled by her mention of Ramon.
‘Ramon? Could she mean Ramon Siemens, the head of the Siemens family?’
Laura seemed unaware of the Abyss’s connection to Siemens. Revealing that now could affect karma, so Zeke bit his tongue.
He steadied himself and asked, “Ramon, as in the Siemens family?”
Laura nodded.
“Yes, a far better person than Arthur Draker.”
She seemed to hold Ramon in high regard.
“Did the three of you explore dungeons together?”
“Actually, there were four of us, including Rex Turn. We explored dungeons together until we joined the Dawn Society with Sir Favre.”
“Interesting. Draker, Siemens, Turn, and Agamemnon in a dungeon. What were you searching for?”
Laura hesitated before deciding to share.
“Since you’re after the Hero King’s legacy, I suppose it’s fine to tell you.”
She continued, “We were searching for the Elder Dragon’s relic.”
Zeke’s eyes widened in shock.
‘Elder Dragon’s relic. Arthur Draker was after it even back then.’
Laura added, “It was actually Ramon who wanted to find it. I joined the party to break our family’s curse.”
“Ramon Siemens was after the Elder Dragon’s relic?”
Laura furrowed her brow at Zeke’s question.
“You’re the first person not to ask what it is when I mention the Elder Dragon. It’s like you already know about it.”
Zeke realized his mother was quite perceptive.
”…I don’t know much. Just bits and pieces I’ve picked up while chasing the Hero King’s legacy.”
Laura nodded, accepting his answer.
“That makes sense. But why are you after the Hero King’s legacy?”
Laura’s tone had softened considerably since they first met.
Zeke pondered before replying.
“I heard the Hero King’s legacy lies somewhere in the Giant’s Mountain Range. They say it holds the Hero King’s swordsmanship.”
Laura’s eyes lit up with interest.
“The Hero King’s swordsmanship. Arthur Draker would go crazy for that.”
“Is he that interested in swordsmanship?”
“Yes, he’s obsessed with becoming stronger than others.”
Just then, the light orb sped up, flying ahead.
Zeke and Laura hurried after it.
The orb stopped, hovering in front of a large boulder blocking their path.
Lora tilted her head, puzzled by the shimmering light swirling around the rock.
“What is this? The message definitely said to follow the light.”
Zeke sensed something unusual in Lora’s words.
“Are you talking about the prophecy of Chronos?”
Lora nodded.
“Prophecy? I’m not sure about that, but sometimes I get these messages. Words just appear in front of me. Today, out of nowhere, it told me to come here, so I rushed over.”
Zeke realized that Lora, too, was experiencing the system interface, at least partially.
‘Could the system interface work without using the power of the dragon? Maybe it’s the power of the clock.’
Lora took out her watch, fiddling with the crown to infuse it with energy, but nothing happened.
Watching her, a thought suddenly struck Zeke.
‘Could it be?’
He discreetly took out his own watch and channeled mana into it.
A low hum resonated as Zeke’s watch reacted, causing the light to ripple outward.
Simultaneously, a portal of white light appeared where the rock had been.
Lora stared at the portal, startled.
“What is that?”
A message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[The entrance to the Temple of Chronos has been opened.]
It was the entrance to the Temple of Chronos he had been searching for.
Zeke glanced at Lora Agamemnon beside him. He longed to embrace her, but revealing his identity now would likely provoke her fiery temper.
Suppressing his emotions, Zeke extended his hand to Lora.
“Lora Agamemnon. Thank you… truly. Thanks to you, I’ve found the entrance.”
Lora hesitated, then reached out to take Zeke’s hand.
As he held her hand, Zeke felt a surge of warmth, a sensation he had never experienced before, like a mother’s touch. His heart pounded fiercely.
Reluctantly, he released her hand and turned away.
Zeke took one last look at Lora Agamemnon before stepping slowly into the portal.
With a hum, the portal closed behind him, leaving Lora staring at the spot where it had been.
“Who is Kai Luvern… the one Chronos personally sent a message to and allowed into the temple? What is his true identity?”
Lora pondered the message Chronos had sent her.
‘At midnight, someone with black eyes will appear at the museum.’
There was no mention of who he was or why he would appear. Most of Chronos’s messages to her were like that.
Just then, someone appeared behind Lora.
It was a figure clad in black, wearing a mask.
Lora approached the masked figure, speaking as she did.
“Why did you follow me? I told you I was fine.”
The figure slowly removed the mask, revealing a woman with striking red hair, pale skin, and the mesmerizing eyes of a vampire.
She looked at Lora and said, “I couldn’t let you go alone, my lady. What did that suspicious person say?”
Lora shook her head.
“He wasn’t suspicious, just… a bit strange.”
Lora glanced back at the cave where Zeke had disappeared, then turned to the vampire woman.
“Let’s head back, Carmilla.”
With a bright flash, Zeke emerged from the portal.
He found himself at what seemed to be the top of a tower, open to the sky on all sides.
‘Where am I?’
As he tried to get a better look around, a wave of dizziness hit him, making his head throb.
“Ugh.”
Unlike other portal travels, this one left Zeke feeling intensely nauseous, causing him to stagger.
At that moment, someone approached him.
“Feeling dizzy? It’s because you’ve crossed a timeline.”
Zeke clutched his head and looked up, only to be taken aback.
“Master Kaishir?”