"I wonder if there are any beds here.." Lua couldn't help but look for a place to sleep after the exhausting work. "I can't wait to faceplant into some mattress."
Sitting in a chair across from Lua, Arc shrugged to indicate he didn't know.
Illusion Castle was much larger than Lua or Arc had imagined. They had explored dozens of rooms and cleaned them, yet they still weren't able to find a bedroom.
Some of these rooms were machine rooms, their machines long since crumbled into pieces, or ashes. Lua could roughly tell what the respective machines were from the design of the room. There were also cafeterias, more than one, which indicated that this place once hosted hundreds, maybe thousands of people at its maximum. It was an interesting revelation for the pair.
But, due to the sheer size of Illusion Castle, they needed a map. They had drawn something simple consisting of lines, and they had plans to expand further once they explored more and more regions. Who knows - perhaps Illusion Castle had multiple floors.
Although exhausting to manage, this meant Lua and Arc had plenty of space to work with. Arc had already brought his previous blueprints, and Lua was already developing a new one. Lua needed gadgets right now, something that would fit his 'Tinkerer' identity better than going bear handed for all his schematics.
Getting up from the chair, Lua headed over to the hydraulic press. He had placed an iron ingot on it, and it had been pressed into a plate, albeit in rough shape. He grabbed the plate, looking at its imperfections and marveling at the advancement of technology. With his current knowledge, he likely couldn't have made something as complicated as a hydraulic press.
He placed the iron plate on the table, ready to work with it tomorrow. He had found tools like hammers, screwdrivers and more in one of the dozens of rooms they had explored, as such, he had the means to begin making gadgets to improve his daily life.
Of course, this wasn't all. His main priority was still evolution, and he had been slowly collecting the materials that he needed to ingest. He wasn't in any rush, as he still didn't know how to do the 'evolution' bit properly. For the 'secret' that he needed, to unlock, he wasn't sure.
His priority lied with decrypting the gem. Once done, he believed he would be able to advance, perhaps more than one Grade if he was lucky. Taking out the piece of paper he had brought from his home, he looked at the symbols - and his eye struck one. It was none other than the circle, and Lua already had a few guesses for it.
A circle had no beginning, nor did it have an end. Just when you expected it to end, it connected back to the beginning. It was an infinite loop, something that repeated itself.
Repeat itself... The end of something is the beginning of something else... Is this meant to mean that no matter what you do, history will be constantly repeating itself? We have indeed seen many historical events be repeated constantly during wars, but it doesn't go further than that.. And we don't know much from the time before the Collapse.
Lua felt confident in this answer, but he didn't have many supporting evidence. It was just a feeling - something telling him he was close to the truth.
Lua went back to the bridge. He had originally given up on it, but he felt that evolution wouldn't help his understanding that much. After all, he didn't think his mind would be completely restructured.
He had a new theory after his conversation with his father. Perhaps it represents a 'bridge' between descendancies, a 'bridge' that separates further with each generation?
It made sense on a theorical standpoint. Every human on this planet was descended from a God, and the old Gods definitely had connections to one another. However, these connections burned down with time, as exampled by the God of Machines and the Lord of Secrets' rivalry.
Feeling confident in his answer once more, he moved onto the final symbol. This was one that he had the least confidence in.
It's a glass with a lid on top.. What does a lid do? It prevents dust from falling in, or the heat inside going out, preventing it from cooling down.. It represents a seal? Lua thought, slightly confused on his theory.
Looking at the symbols, he wrote down his ideas. "Seal. Connection. Loop. Lord of Secrets." These were the Glass with the Lid, the Bridge, the Circle and the Vertical eye respectively. Suddenly, while ruminating over the words, something clicked.
"The Lord of Secrets has separated from the God of Machines, and as such, he is trapped, unable to use his power to it's full extent. He is to some extent, 'sealed'." Getting up from his seat, he looked at the other symbol.
"Loop.. I don't know enough to make a guess about this. Could the God of Machines or the Lord of Secrets be trapped in some loop? Perhaps they are in an eternal state of battle.. But Gods fighting for centuries would definitely be known.. I simply cannot decipher this right now. I need the opinion of the Lord of Secrets."
Making up his mind, he cut his finger on a sharp tool, letting his blood drip. He didn't mind that the tool was rusty, as he had natural immunity to rust infections from his descendancy.
He drew the Vertical Eye on the paper, and watched as the eye was etched out on the ground once more. Although he had done this before, it was still terrifying to see the ground light up with the Vertical Eye.
The air grew dark, and he felt like he could suffocate at any moment. The Vertical Eye finally revealed its full form. "It has not even been a week. What could possibly need my assistance?"
The Lord of Secrets was obviously displeased with Lua's summoning. "My apologies, Great Lord of Secrets. I have hit a blockade in my understanding of the gem, and require your imput."
The air grew considerably less stiff, indicating that the Lord of Secrets had calmed down to a certain extent. "What is it?"
Lua coughed, letting the air enter his lungs. "Could you tell me about 'The Loop'?"
"..." The Lord of Secrets was speechless for a moment.