Chapter 903: The Colossal Tower

A colossal metal tower!!

The moment Gawain saw those words, his pupils instinctively contracted. He suddenly lifted his head and glanced toward the map hanging not far away. His gaze swept across the southwest, southeast, and due north of the continent of Loren—on the southwest ocean and the “New Continent” to the southeast, two towers had already been roughly marked with icons. But near Tal’Rond in the north, there was still a blank space.

There stood a colossal metal tower! The third “Tower” in this world!

A flood of questions surged in Gawain’s mind—what exactly were these mysterious towers for? Were they all remnants of the Godslayer Fleet? Were they still operational to this day? And inside those towers… what was really there?

Suppressing the torrent of questions, he quickly refocused on Modir’s account. On those six-hundred-year-old, weathered pages, the legendary adventurer was chronicling an incredible journey—

“…I was so overwhelmed by the sight before me that I was speechless for a long time—by all the gods and my ancestors! This was absolutely not something created by humans, nor by any known race in this world. Was it truly a tower? Or perhaps a pillar piercing through the very core of this tiny planet beneath our feet?

“It stood monstrously alone in the sea, presumably on the western side of that mysterious continent (though my sense of direction has been quite muddled lately). Its surface shimmered with a metallic, pale silver glow. Bathed in the dusk sunlight, the entire tower radiated a majestic ‘divinity.’ It appeared to be constructed from countless cylinders and geometric shapes, with a complex outer shell crisscrossed by pipes and supports. It seemed to have stood here for millions of years, its upper half scarred and weathered, bearing the marks of time, while its base rested on a pedestal also forged from metal—so vast it could be considered a giant island. I could clearly see grayish-white marine deposits coating its surface, and massive sheets of ice nestled between the colossal metal structures…”

As Gawain read carefully, he slowly turned the page—and there, unmistakably, was a hastily drawn sketch!

Modir Wilde had even left behind a hand-drawn illustration!

On the yellowed, almost blackened ancient paper, Gawain saw a tower whose style would seem utterly bizarre to modern humans. It indeed stood on the sea, with a metal base, and was covered in many intricate external structures of unknown purpose.

Gawain was instantly captivated by the sketch. He studied it carefully several times until he had it fully imprinted in his mind.

To be honest, he couldn’t glean any additional technical information from the drawing—lacking the necessary expertise and knowledge, this precious sketch was just a picture. But at least stylistically, it bore similarities to some models he had seen in the holographic miniatures at the Sky Station, confirming that these were indeed relics of the ancient Godslayer Fleet. As for more details… Modir Wilde was after all just a human mage who had never encountered those spaceborne facilities. His sketch was probably accurate in broad strokes but likely flawed in details—he had drawn the tower’s exterior from memory, so errors and omissions were inevitable, limiting its reliability.

Gawain continued reading:

“…I did my best to memorize the sights I saw from the air and sketched them. I don’t know what value this drawing will have in the future—I only feel that I may never again have the chance to approach the Dragon Kingdom in my lifetime, nor will any other human likely have such an experience. So I must record as much as possible, hoping it will help those who come after me.

“The dragon lady who called herself Melita placed me on the base of this colossal tower—or rather, this steel island. She pointed out a route, saying it would lead to some open areas around the tower. Some abandoned buildings could shield me from the wind and rain… But she clearly had no intention of personally guiding me to those shelters. From her attitude, I sensed tension… as if she was doing something forbidden, or that there was something inside the tower that terrified her.

“This made me extremely curious—I wanted to know what could make such a powerful dragon so wary. So I asked, and her answer was intriguing—

“‘Dragons all want to come here, but the gods forbid it. Sending you here is already a huge risk. If I take another step forward, the trouble I face won’t be just economic problems.’ Those were her exact words.

“She mentioned a ‘god,’ so dragons clearly worship some deity, and this god forbids them from entering the tower before me… This is very interesting, because the tower is right near the Dragon Kingdom. When I stood there and looked out, I could even faintly see the outline of that continent… A forbidden place right at their doorstep? My curiosity about dragons only grew…

“Of course, the dragon lady refused to answer any more questions, and I couldn’t force answers from her.

“Now, I am alone again—the dragon lady must return to the Dragon Kingdom. She said she would try to get permission to travel to the human world and then send me back. She said she had broken my ‘ship’ and would take full responsibility. Honestly, my impression of her has completely changed. Though she was reckless, disrupted my plans, put me in danger, and cared a bit too much about her ‘economic issues,’ it doesn’t change that she is fundamentally a responsible and honest person… a good dragon. Calling her a ‘wicked dragon’ is clearly inappropriate.

“Most importantly, given the current situation, whether I can return safely to the human world depends entirely on Melita.

“Also, before leaving, the dragon lady promised to send me some water and food soon… I’m really looking forward to that, especially the water. As a curious person, I wonder what dragons usually eat. I don’t expect anything extravagant—just please, no more fish. And if possible, a little wine…”

Gawain flipped through the pages, chuckling softly, “This ‘great adventurer’ really has a remarkable sense of humor and optimism…”

In the next entries, Modir described his limited exploration of the “steel island.” He had successfully found shelter: on the metal tower’s base, there were many abandoned facilities with wide-open, sturdy doors—perfect for protection from the elements. Modir noted that these places seemed untouched, filled with dazzling ancient devices, each beyond his understanding. He tried to sketch some of these structures and their features, and to Gawain, each of these sketches was priceless.

Later, Modir wrote about Melita’s return from the Dragon Kingdom:

“…Later that day, the dragon lady returned to the steel island as promised—she landed at the edge and stubbornly refused to step forward. It seemed the so-called ‘divine prohibition’ weighed heavily on her. She brought packaged food and water, enough to last me many days, but I didn’t open them in front of her—that would be rude.

“She told me she still needed to work hard to get permission to travel to the human world. Due to some… rotation system, her application wasn’t going smoothly. I understood and urged her to hurry—I’ve been away from the human world too long. If this drags on, the whole country might announce the death of Duke Modir Wilde…

“After a brief conversation, the dragon lady prepared to leave again. This time, she said she might be gone for many days but promised to return before my supplies ran out. Before departing, she said I could roam freely near the tower—there was nothing dangerous here. But there was one serious warning—

“Do not take anything from inside the tower, especially not its ‘knowledge.’

“Her solemn tone was unprecedented, almost frightening. I asked why, especially about the meaning of ‘knowledge’ being something to ‘take.’

“She didn’t explain in detail, only said gravely, ‘The tower holds the legacy of the Voyagers. Though sealed, the risk of leakage must be avoided.’

“To be honest, her answer only deepened my confusion. I could clearly tell this tower was not only forbidden to dragons but also heavily guarded and isolated. Whatever was inside was absolutely forbidden to outsiders. Yet if that’s the case… why did she bring me here? And why explicitly allow me to explore freely?

“This glaring contradiction made my curiosity impossible to suppress. I asked why, if the tower held secrets that must not be revealed to outsiders, she would bring me here and then give such contradictory instructions.

“After I asked, something incomprehensible happened—the dragon lady, who had been calm moments before, suddenly widened her eyes, then seemed to fall into great pain. She began to roar and mutter words I could barely understand. I caught a few fragments—‘Inverse Tide,’ ‘cognitive deviation,’ ‘leakage.’ I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew it was my ill-timed questions that caused it. I tried to comfort her, but to no avail…

“After several minutes of chaos, she suddenly seemed to recover—or at least appeared to. Her eyes cleared, and she looked around—but disturbingly, she completely ignored my presence. Then, without a word, she took off and flew toward the distant, hazy continent… without even glancing back.

“It was as if she had completely forgotten what had happened here, forgotten bringing me here! Even when I shouted and hurled arcane missiles into the sky behind her, she never looked back!

“Has she really recovered?

“A wave of unease surged through me. I snapped out of my hope to return home and realized I was still in a dangerous, strange place. There was something off here—this tower, these dragons living in the far north, this ocean, this side of the Eternal Storm… something was very wrong!”

Gawain slowly came to a stop, his brow furrowing little by little. Just like Modir Vyrde six hundred years ago, a flood of questions suddenly surged through his mind, accompanied by a vague sense of unease. From the written records, he was certain that Melita’s state back then was far from normal. That condition reminded him of how she had reacted when he once asked her about certain divine secrets—but after careful comparison, he realized it wasn’t exactly the same. The symptoms Modir described were clearly more severe, far more dangerous.

Moreover, Modir’s notes mentioned that Melita had muttered words like “the Tide Reversed” during her mental breakdown. Such murmurs in a state of losing control were highly unusual.

Frowning, Gawain absentmindedly tapped his fingers on the table, sharing Modir’s confusion:

What exactly was inside that towering spire near Talrond?

It was clearly filled with strangeness. But what did that strangeness have to do with the “Tide Reversed,” with the ancient “War of the Tide Reversed” from long ago?

Unable to shake these nagging questions, he pressed on, reading the latter half of the notes, where Modir’s bizarre experiences continued:

“…I’m deeply worried about the young dragon lady’s condition, but I’m powerless—my flight magic can’t keep up with a dragon beating her wings. She didn’t stop once and sped away at full throttle. All I could do was watch from afar as she disappeared, hoping she wouldn’t come to harm.

“I took the supplies she left behind and returned to the shelter I found on the ‘island.’ In this temporary refuge, at least I could escape the maddening sound of the tides and the biting cold wind, giving myself a chance for some quiet reflection.

“I opened the food and water she left—it was… unexpected. I’d never seen anything like it before. At first, I wasn’t even sure if it was food. Judging by the size, it seemed meant for humans. The food-like items were sealed inside small metal boxes, tightly closed with no gaps, their surfaces decorated with colorful patterns. The water was stored in bottles made of some kind of soft ‘crystal,’ yet incredibly durable.

“This intricate and strange packaging was eye-opening. It seemed I’d have to figure out how to open these boxes and bottles to get to the food and water inside. Fortunately, it wasn’t difficult—if I didn’t care about preserving their integrity, a sharp ice blade could handle it all.

“I opened one of the food portions—it was seasoned fish…

“Well, this isn’t the time to complain. Fish is fish, at least… it was spiced.

“That’s all for today’s notes. I think… I need to eat while I seriously consider my future.”

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(End of chapter)