Chapter 800: The Beginning

Selena stared at Gawain for a long time, as if trying to see through the human guise of this “extradimensional wanderer” from an unknown realm.

But she couldn’t see through anything.

Because what she was looking at was merely a visual projection—an illusion sent by Gawain, who had willingly revealed part of his surface consciousness. She could only see what he wanted her to see, only hear what he wanted her to hear. Much like the predicament the Sleepless Order found themselves in at this moment:

No choice, completely at someone else’s mercy. Even when discussing “terms,” it was at best a show of attitude.

The extradimensional wanderer now promised never to walk the path of a god, promised that if he ever broke his word, the covenant would be void. But Selena herself knew that no one could bear witness to such a verbal promise—not humans, not gods.

The only thing she and her people could trust was the wanderer’s own credibility.

Gawain didn’t know exactly what Selena was thinking, but he could guess a little. After a brief, somewhat tense silence, he shook his head.

“You don’t have to be so guarded with me. You’re all way too nervous. I may come from a place and a people you don’t understand, but on this journey, I’m just an ordinary traveler.

“I want to cooperate with you because I see the High Narrator as a threat, and your Sleepless Order… well, you’re still worth lending a hand to.

“So relax. Treat this as a collaboration between people, and you’ll feel a lot less tense.”

He paused deliberately, then added casually, “Besides, you came to see me in person today not just to deliver a message, right? You must have other things you want to say.”

Selena’s expression didn’t change, but her gaze deepened. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded.

“I have some questions I hope you can answer.”

“Ask away. If I know, I’ll tell you.”

“You said you came to this world to fulfill a promise,” Selena asked seriously. “Is this promise connected to Gawain Cecil from seven hundred years ago?”

“Yes,” Gawain nodded calmly.

“This promise… was it to help Gawain Cecil save the kingdom he founded? To free all beings from the shackles of the gods? To lead mortals through the magical cataclysm?”

Gawain met Selena’s scrutinizing gaze and thought for a moment before shaking his head.

“I’m not sure.”

Selena’s eyes widened. “You’re not sure?”

“I’m not,” he admitted honestly. In front of Selena, he chose not to fabricate a lie that would be hard to cover up later. Instead, he steered the conversation with truth.

“It seems I’ve forgotten some key memories—maybe some kind of safeguard. But I know I made a deal with Gawain Cecil. He traded his soul for my arrival in this world. So here I am.

“When I awoke, the world was in chaos. Ancient lands sinking into oblivion, people threatened both inside and outside the borders of civilization, kingdoms on the brink of collapse. None of this was conducive to me enjoying a peaceful life, so I did what I wanted—I did exactly what you described.

“I’m not sure if those things were part of the original deal, but lately I’ve had a growing feeling… what I’m doing now is what I promised back then, or rather… what Gawain Cecil assumed I would do when we made the deal.”

Selena looked at him steadily, a mix of surprise and an indescribable sense of relief in her eyes. Finally, she blinked.

“You’re more straightforward and honest than I expected.”

“What else would I be? What did you imagine an extradimensional wanderer to be like?” Gawain smiled. “Some kind of divine being? Cold and hard as steel and stone, lacking emotion?”

“Something like that,” Selena smiled faintly. “So, you’ve forgotten the details of your ‘deal’ with Gawain Cecil, and you don’t remember why he made that deal with you?”

“Not really. But some vague fragments have started to surface,” Gawain said, fixing his gaze on Selena. “For example… I know you’re involved.”

Selena’s eyes were calm as she met his gaze.

“You can probably tell I inherited a lot of Gawain Cecil’s memories. Among them is his experience sailing out of Dragoncall Bay. In that particular memory, I sensed your power.

“So I’m certain you were involved in that event. You know about the deal, and you must have known about me for a long time. Our conversation today only confirms that further.

“You said you have questions you want me to answer. Well, I have some questions too—can you answer them?”

Gawain smiled gently, as if speaking to an old friend.

He had already shown enough of the “extradimensional wanderer’s” authority at the last meeting, mainly to the uninformed members of the Sleepless Order. But Selena Gerfen was a half-informed insider. Before her, Gawain chose to reveal a bit of his “humanity” to lower her guard and avoid unexpected trouble.

Outside the window, starlight mingled with city lights, while the magical crystal lamp behind them cast a warm, bright glow. Selena stood beside Gawain, bathed in this mingling light, seemingly lost in thought or perhaps recalling something. After a long silence, she finally spoke.

“Everything changed at the Peak of Ancestors. That was the beginning—the beginning of the three sects’ fall into darkness, and the start of that voyage…”

“The Peak of Ancestors?” Gawain was surprised to hear that name. “You mean Gawain Cecil’s voyage was connected to the Peak of Ancestors?”

Selena nodded slightly. “Since you inherited his memories, you must be well aware of the ritual the Dream Church, Storm Church, and Holy Spirit Druids held there, right?”

“I know. That attempt to communicate with the gods led to the three churches being tainted by divine corruption, giving birth to the three great dark sects. This conclusion comes partly from the memories I inherited and partly from my investigations since awakening.”

Selena nodded again, not dwelling on this well-known history, and continued.

“That event destroyed the faith in the three true gods and dealt a huge blow to other churches and the fledgling human kingdoms.

“The three corrupted sects fell apart. Witnesses at the Peak of Ancestors either went mad or died on the spot. The few survivors were confused priests from other churches without established faith connections, and people on the outskirts who hadn’t directly participated in the ritual. No one could tell the outside world what happened. No one knew what caused that terrible corruption and mass frenzy.

“Afterward, to calm the people and explain the sudden loss and return of divine magic, other sects announced so-called ‘divine oracles,’ claiming the gods had once again favored mortals and delivered new sacred laws. They said the three sects, including the Dream Church, were exiled and fell into darkness because they rejected these oracles. But this was just a story to soothe the masses. It didn’t convince everyone, especially those familiar with church leadership and operations.

“Many grew curious about what happened at the Peak of Ancestors and launched repeated investigations, including Gawain Cecil.”

Selena turned to look quietly into Gawain’s eyes. He fell into thought, searching through key memories. After a moment, he said thoughtfully:

“I recall that shortly after the event, I went there. But I only saw an abandoned ritual site. The frenzied priests had destroyed everything. No clues remained…”

He habitually equated himself with Gawain Cecil in speech, something Selena noticed but didn’t comment on. Instead, she asked:

“Are you sure you found nothing? You really only saw an abandoned ritual site?”

“I remember…” Gawain sifted through the inherited memories of Cecil’s investigation seven centuries ago. Slowly, he frowned. “No, I’m not sure. Some scenes are fragmented.”

Only then did Gawain realize he had memory gaps he hadn’t noticed before.

He instinctively looked at Selena. “Did you tamper with these memories?”

“…Yes,” Selena hesitated, then nodded. “I helped him erase many memories on his orders, but I didn’t know their contents. He said those memories were extremely dangerous—if even one more person knew, it would push the world closer to an irreversible abyss. And ultimately, they had to be erased. So it was better not to peek from the start.”

“I trust you,” Gawain said slowly. “So, continue. Gawain Cecil went to the Peak of Ancestors to investigate. He might have discovered something. Then what? What happened after he returned?”

“He found us,” Selena said.

“He found you?!” Gawain was surprised. “How did he find you? Especially you—after all, you had already…”

“Looks like you’ve fully grasped my situation, including the fact that I became a soul entity seven hundred years ago,” Selena smiled. “Honestly, I still don’t understand it myself… After returning from the Peak of Ancestors, Gawain Cecil’s state was very strange. It was as if he suddenly gained some kind of insight or revelation. Not only did he preemptively set up defenses and repel multiple aberrant attacks almost as if foreseeing them, but he also easily found several secret hideouts built by survivors of the Storm Church and Dream Church—even though these hideouts were in remote wilderness, unknown to humans at the time, and he sent no scouts.

“He first found the Storm priests who still retained their sanity and asked them to prepare a ship for sailing. Then he found the hiding Dream priests, seeking mental protection and hoping we could help erase certain memories…

“As you know, I was already… dead then, but my soul survived in a special way. I was drawn to Gawain Cecil’s plan and, driven by curiosity, I spoke with him in dreams…”

“I don’t know about that part,” Gawain said. “Looks like I’m missing quite a few memories. What did you talk about?”

“He said he was going to take a risk, to seek an opportunity,” Selena said slowly. “He said he knew what we had been through, what terrible things we saw at the Peak of Ancestors. He said he had a way—not guaranteed to succeed, but at least a glimmer of hope.”

Gawain frowned. “Details? Didn’t he explain more clearly?”

“That’s all,” Selena said. “He couldn’t say more because some things… once spoken, would attract the attention of certain beings. You should understand that well enough.”

”…Alright, I understand your concerns on this matter,” Gawain exhaled deeply. “So, despite all this uncertainty, you and the Stormborn chose to take the risk and help Gawain Cecil with that voyage?”

“Yes,” Selina nodded slowly, her voice calm and steady.

Gawain couldn’t help but feel curious. “Why?”

Selina held his gaze for a long moment before softly replying, “Outlanders… do you know what it feels like to have nowhere left to turn?”

(End of chapter)