"The world is alive," Toko said as he placed his palm on the ground, attempting to sense the world's energy.
"I have tried that as well and I felt something. I can't really explain what it felt like, but you won't be feeling anything right now. Remember, we are in the sanctuary," the Grand Elder said to him.
'Yes, the sanctuary's disruptive energy is so strong that even the Chief and Mul can't bend their nature, let alone us Emperors.
I wondered about the Grand Elder though. Would his nature still work? But irrelevant questions are not of use here.' I thought
"What was recorded by our ancestors about the battle," he stated.
I raised my hands, asking for permission to speak and to have my question answered before he continued.
"What do you not understand, Waka?" the Grand Elder said to me.
"What did our ancestors record? Weren't you alive at the time? How old are you? How long ago did our world turn into this sandy plain?" I asked.
The Grand Elder suddenly burst into hearty laughter, shaking me for a bit. What did I say that was funny?
"I am not that old. This world has been a sandy world for a very long time, far longer than my great-grandparents even lived. My age… in fact, I do not remember. I have lost count. After living for a couple of tens of thousands of years, at least twenty, I stopped counting. The fact that I am at least five thousand years older than everyone is not individual; it is all your combined years, from all the other Elders to every single living thing in my domain.
The idea that it should not be interpreted as it is, was conceived by one of your predecessors. He saw how difficult it was for people to comprehend such large spans of time. They used to view me as an unattainable entity, which hindered their efforts to strive for improvement and surpass their current state." he paused a little
"It's not exactly encouraging to think that it might take ten thousand years to become a Titan. Even five thousand years is still difficult for them to comprehend. However, as more villagers grew in strength and lived longer, it became, as he had said, 'understandable'. Until now, all of you know and believe that even if I don't surpass the Grand Elder, at least I could become an Elder.
People now believe that with five thousand years of dedicated and strong focus, if they still don't surpass me, they would still become an Elder. At least they would be able to guide their children with all their efforts and knowledge, giving the next generation a greater chance of surpassing me. And here you are, already at the San level Myths, just as he said," pausing a little, as if he wanted us to digest what he had just said.
"For the last question, how long ago did our world turn into this sandy world? Well, I would say it was at least a Hundred thousand years ago. Unfortunately, there is a significant gap in our history, a vast amount of information and history has been lost. Some of the most important records survived, but many were lost. Despite this, I was still able to become a San: Titan level being with little information," he said with a sigh.
"But you won't understand unless I explain what was recorded," he said, looking at each of us individually as if to inquire if we were prepared. As he reached the last person, the chief shook his head, indicating that he was not yet ready to proceed.
"Grand Elder, don't we have limited time? We haven't discussed what I found at the bottom of the crater or explained why we used Aleazm, Toko, and Waka as bait. And there's still more," he concluded.