Noctis walked for several minutes after he had left the tree landmark area, but then he suddenly heard Spirit Ster's loud voice after being quiet for what seemed like a long time,
"There's so many damn surprises on you, kid! I've been the spirit of the Fallen Space-Time Chasm item for a long time, but even I didn't notice that the damn thing had actually increased its storage capacity! I didn't even know that it was possible in the first place! I thought up of a lot of different reasons, but I haven't arrived at a single concrete answer… could it be that the Insight World that you have access to is the damn reason for it!? Since you are the owner of the Fallen Space-Time Chasm and I am its spirit, you are obliged to tell me the reason now!" |
Noctis was caught a bit off guard because he didn't think that Spirit Ster would be troubled by this matter at all. He certainly found it interesting, but since the spirit was already his companion, then there was no point to keeping his own thoughts to himself, especially regarding the Fallen Space-Time Chasm. He thought for a moment before calmly replying to Spirit Ster,
"I felt like my connection to the Fallen Space-Time Chasm has gotten stronger since I entered into the Insight World again… I don't know the reason for it and if there's even a relationship between it at all. This could also be another special ability that the Insight World possesses merely because both the Insight World and Fallen Space-Time Chasm are accessed within my mind. There might be a restriction on the storage space within the item or I can slowly increase it the more times I access the Insight World… it could honestly be a load of other reasons, but I feel like we can figure it out eventually!"
Noctis gave a decisive and honest answer, which made Spirit Ster become a little more troubled, but in the end the spirit decided to not pester him any longer. The spirit sense between the both of them got cut off before Noctis brought his eyes forward and paid more attention to another matter.
He didn't continue on further towards the border of Greenwich Kingdom because he wanted to find a way back up to the forest area before he had fallen off the cliff. This is due to the fact that the waterfalls within Mount Trinity were mostly located near the borders of Hayden Kingdom.
Back when he was at the viewing platform after he exited out of Animo Shrine, he was able to see that there were two notable waterfalls that were coming out of the sides from the smaller mountains. He didn't have much hope that the great treasure would be located within either of these two waterfalls, but he at least had to make sure and check before he leaves for Hayden Kingdom.
These two waterfalls had also formed a small lake area that were connected through a series of river streams, and were most likely often visited by the people from the nearby village. Noctis thought to himself that he might have a chance to meet these villagers since his destination were these two waterfalls. If he did, then he wondered if it was possible that they would be nice enough to give him some fresh new clothes…
Noctis shook his head and helplessly sighed, as his eyes wandered down to see the sad state of his worn-out clothes. It even got worse after he had fought against the Silver Dire Wolf, which made him look even more strange compared to before. It was scratched and torn in many different areas, but luckily the most important part of it still held on! Noctis didn't want to imagine what kind of reaction he will get if he had to shamelessly bring himself forward to the villagers and ask for clothes…
…
After walking for about a couple hours or so, Noctis found a steep hill that led back up to where he was before he had fallen off the cliff. He didn't put much effort before he arrived at the top and looked ahead of him to see even more trees. Noctis couldn't help but think that the large majority of the things he had seen ever since he woke up and left Animo Shrine had all just been trees!
He was getting a little annoyed that he was still in the forest region and was some distance away from his destination since evening was approaching, so he quickly began to increase his pace.
Noctis steadily ran in a way that optimized his physical energy usage in case he ran into some trouble. He was able to cover some distance for several minutes, but before he was able to arrive at an open-area, he was stopped by Spirit Magi as the spirit suddenly arrived right in front of him!
Noctis looked at Spirit Magi and noticed that its black scales were slightly vibrating and scattering. He furrowed his brows and was about to ask the spirit why it had stopped him, but Spirit Magi had spoken first with its deep and hoarse voice,
["There is a fast approaching aura coming from the western skies. It is a man that is leagues above your strength, so its best to act normally and not reveal yourself out in the open just yet! That person must be here for something else, so he shouldn't bother at all regarding someone like you… After all, your strength is pitifully weak in front of him, so he won't spare you a single glance."]
Noctis awkwardly smiled and couldn't help but notice the way Spirit Magi had called him out during the last bit of what the spirit had said. Noctis decided to turn back and use the trees as cover before replying back to Spirit Magi,
"From the western skies? Does he have the ability to fly? I don't understand why a person of his strength would even bother coming to Mount Trinity in the first place…" As soon as Noctis finished speaking, he felt a rush of wind blew past his face as the leaves in the nearby trees and bushes started to sway in an uncontrollable manner.
Noctis crouched down and looked up at the crack between the leaves of the trees to see a better sight of the sky.
It wasn't before long that he was able to see a shadow fly right by him!
Whoosh!
It felt like an instant because the silhouette figure didn't even stop for a moment before continuing to fly several meters away from Noctis with increasing speed…
The trees and bushes returned to their original calm state and Noctis stood back up. His eyes didn't leave the sky because there was only one thought in this mind regarding that person's strength…
An Imperial Master!
…
…
…
The mysterious man flew for a few more minutes before he was able to spot the main mountain within Mount Trinity. His expression didn't change and had arrived directly above the mountain as he floated in place.
A closer look at this man would reveal that he was wearing black robes with a large hood and a dark mask that covered the lower part of his face. There was a long scar that was directly above one of his eyes that stretched from the side of his forehead. He was fairly built and his sharp brown eyes would reveal that he had gone through many experiences in his life, which indicated that he was somewhere in his middle-ages.
This strange man coldly stared down the main mountain of Mount Trinity before grabbing something within his robes. He had grabbed and pulled out a palm-sized pendant that had a long gold chain with meticulous designs in the front frame and had an overall mystic aura to it. The back of the pendant had an engraved symbol of an eye with several sparks spread around it and a blue shield that served as the background.
If Noctis would be able to see this symbol in person, then he would realize that it was actually the symbol of the Irithye Empire!
The mysterious man closed his eyes and had muttered something under his breath for a short moment before gathering upon the power of insight, and condensing it within the center of the palm-sized pendant.
He clenched the pendant and held it tightly before bringing it up towards the main mountain of Mount Trinity.
The mysterious man circulated the natural energy of the world and became focused but after several minutes, the pendant in his hand didn't react at all!
He opened his eyes and had widened them in surprise because he didn't initially believe that there was no reaction from the pendant. The man did the procedure a few more times, but still didn't get any reaction from the pendant in this hand!
As a final measure, the man moved closer to the main mountain of Mount Trinity and had circled around it to feel any sort of aura coming within the mountain, but to no avail he didn't perceive anything unnatural or different.
The strange man finally stopped moving and firmly concluded something in his mind. He stored the palm-sized pendant within his robes before quietly saying something in an uncertain tone,
"It has… disappeared… or gone into a dormant state."
The mysterious man didn't stay any longer and quickly flew away in a rather urgent manner.
…
…
…
Noctis opened his eyes and was about to stand up to stretch his legs, but Spirit Magi had arrived in front of him and had spoken in a seemingly tranquil way,
["That man's aura is gone… it seems like he disappeared from Mount Trinity. It is now safe for you to move again."]
Noctis lightly smiled and began to stand up as he completely trusted Spirit Magi's words. He didn't actually move, but rather stayed near the same tree back when he first saw the mysterious figure flying right past him. He had a suspicion in his mind that the person wouldn't stay long, so he thought that it was best to stay and take precautionary measures.
Noctis ran for several meters before slowing down and asking Spirit Magi a question regarding the mysterious man,
"Do you know which direction the man headed towards to? He didn't go back and fly past us again, which means that he's probably taking a detour… it seems like he's on an urgent business."
["He headed towards east, but I couldn't pinpoint his exact location since he was very far from us… he didn't move much after staying around in one area before flying off again."]
"East? We are heading east right now and we'll soon reach the main mountain that had the Animo Shrine we were in before… could it be that the man knows about it and had entered inside?"
["No… there is no one that can enter it besides me since I'm the only one that has the ability to open the Animo Shrine. I had sensed that the man went in circles in the area that he was in, so it's impossible that he was inside the Animo Shrine. It is strange indeed for a man in the Imperial Master realm to search something within Mount Trinity, but we would most likely be gone the next time he comes back."]
Noctis didn't reply back to Spirit Magi because he had thought that the spirit's words made sense. He didn't think about it any longer before continuing on to his destination to one of the main waterfalls in Mount Trinity.
Evening was quickly approaching and Noctis had long past the main mountain that contained the Animo Shrine. There was no point in going back to the cave or check if anything was unusual about it after the mysterious man came because he firmly believed in what Spirit Magi had said.
An hour or so later, Noctis arrived at a certain area and finally heard the sound of a raging waterfall!
He was determined to find out whether or not this waterfall was the location of the great treasure according to the puzzle note!