Whoooshhh… Whooooshhh…
Chilly winds howled through the frigid cave in the heart of a mystic mountain far away from modern civilisation. The air within the mysterious cavern was heavy with the scent of frosty earth, and the whispers of icicles resonating with the wind echoed throughout the massive chamber.
The walls of the greyish-white cavern seemed suspended in time, with not an ounce of vegetation able to survive the harsh, everlasting winter this sanctuary had created for itself. And everywhere someone looked, there would be signs pointing to how ancient this place was, from the uneasy silence bereft of any wildlife to the inability to find a drop of water.
And yet, within the emptiness of this ancient construct, two figures aimed to disrupt the everlasting peace.
Both figures walked confidently on the thick sheets of ice, unafraid of what would happen should they slip. Yet, neither of them seemed to possess the requisite number of years to show such experience. They were both barely taller than the longest icicle hanging from the ceiling, chatting throughout their journey as if they were having an afternoon stroll.
"Did we have to write that letter?"
Amon asked his partner while rubbing his fingers together to keep warm.
"Yes, we had to!" Yue replied cheerfully. "Weren't you worried? With that letter, they won't be bothered by our sudden disappearance, especially since we'll return in a few hours."
"No, I'm aware that the letter was necessary… It's just… the contents of the letter could be different."
The young boy still felt aggrieved about the letter, especially the part about him calling Yue his beloved and pleading for Alrock to proceed with the engagement. His handwriting recorded it, but the words chosen came directly from Yue. Word-for-word.
"With that half-hearted attitude, how would you expect your Patriarch and my grandfather to fall for it? We must convince them that we have fallen in love so they won't be suspicious! Trust me, that's the only way!"
"... Sure."
Amon wasn't entirely convinced, but eventually, he let go of his grievances. After all, he couldn't turn back time and change his actions. Of course, if he knew that Yue had secretly created a copy of that letter and her other shenanigans, he may have had different thoughts about the letter.
"So, where are we?"
The boy looked around the icy cavern and shot out the critical question. Immediately after leaving the sealed letter on the table, Yue summoned a grimoire and used [Spatial Transfer] on them. The next thing he knew, Amon was turned into a cave explorer, venturing into an ancient cavern he'd never heard of before.
"Up high in the North Pole! A place far away from civilization! In a place where the Sun never sets, and the caves are frozen in time! No living creature has stepped foot in here for thousands of years!"
Yue clapped her hands and cheerfully replied. Her lips curled upwards, and her tongue slithered out of her mouth as she teased: "You know… If you want to do something perverted to me here, no one would notice!"
"... Be serious, or I'll leave."
"Oh dear, can't take a joke?"
Yue chuckled but eventually calmed herself to stop the teasing. Even she was aware that everything had a time, place and location. And given that she'd just brought Amon into this mysterious lair, he had every right to be tense.
Hence, she complied with his wishes.
"The Necropolis of the Gods."
Yue replied casually as if she were a lecturer teaching her students.
"The Necropolis of the Gods? What's that?"
Amon blinked hard at the term he hadn't heard before. He had read [Bright] up to the fourth calamity; none of those volumes even mentioned this mysterious cave, especially that odd name that came out of Yue's mouth.
"Oh? So you're unaware of this place?" Yue's face flashed a rare moment of confusion. However, it was an ephemeral sight as she quickly recovered her wits and continued:
"Then, how much are you aware of the world before the Dragons?"
"The world before the Dragons? You mean the myth that Titans ruled it?"
In [Bright], there were inklings of a backstory to Hyades. One that included Dragons and Titans. However, they weren't crucial to the plot, and Amon simply thought that the author was attempting to improve the story's lore.
"It isn't a myth. Titans ruled Hyades before the Dragons."
Yue flat-out rejected Amon's conjecture and revealed the surprising truth about Hyades.
"When Hyades was first formed when living creatures couldn't thrive in the desolate lands, Hyades needed to create protectors that could fend off any threats. Be it celestial comets or invaders from another dimension. So, Hyades split off some of its power to create the first Titans, supernatural beings far more powerful than any human."
Amon listened intently while walking side-by-side with the young girl. This was new information to him, and he wished to digest it without interruption.
"The Titans were the original Gods of the world. They helped Hyades create mountains and forests. Oceans and deserts. They defended the fragile planet from attackers and ensured it could thrive as a new dimension. The peace they created spawned new species and countless generations that led to the rise of humanity."
Yue continued with her lecture in an apathetic tone. But as she slowed down her footsteps and stared straight at the path ahead, her ruby eyes flashed brightly, hinting at the numerous thoughts that hid within.
"The Titans were the peacekeepers of Hyades, but all dynasties must fall. As Hyades matured, new life forms formed, and eventually, there would be those who challenged the old guard to claim the mantle of responsibility for themselves."
"The Dragons…"
"Precisely."
Yue nodded her head as her feet came to a complete stop.
"The Dragons were the second most powerful species that roamed in Hyades. During the Age of Myth, they were servants and mounts of the Titans. The Dragons were unhappy with their roles and were tired of the Titans' tyranny over all species. So, they waged war against their masters, and after thousands of years of death and destruction, they stole Hyades away from the Titans."
The Titans versus the Dragons.
It was a forgotten story that preceded even the Age of Dragons. It would be surprising if anyone else had learnt of this history. Even Amon, who had read [Bright] before transmigrating here, knew nothing of this backstory.
Amon exhaled deeply, pushing out hot air for his cold, frigid hands to warm up. Following that, he turned to face Yue and asked:
"Thank you for the history lesson, but how does that relate to why we're here?"
"I told you at the beginning, didn't I? This is the Necropolis of the Gods."
"You can't mean…"
Yue's words finally clicked within Amon's brain. He then stared straight up at the wall they'd stopped at, only to see a massive door that wasn't there before. Amon's eyes immediately shot down to Yue, and he saw the familiar grimoire in her hands floating right in front of her face. Mana was flowing from the young girl's body into the magical object, simultaneously causing the illusions around the door to shatter.
"We're at the burial ground of the Titans… At least, that's what this place claims to be."
"This place claims to be?"
Amon carefully questioned Yue's choice of words. Although he'd barely interacted with this oddball of a fiancée, he knew the girl wouldn't speak in riddles.
"When we first visited the Necropolis of the Gods in my timeline, we'd thought it would be the graveyard of the Titans. But we were wrong!"
Yue clenched her fists tightly while her teeth dug into her supple lips. The girl shook like a leaf as if holding back a fit, yet her mana control remained smooth, causing the seals on the stone gate to unravel smoothly.
"The Herald tricked us into breaking the seal! She fooled us for all those years!"
Amon's ears perked up at a familiar name. The Herald was a character in [Bright] who was a beacon to foretell the coming calamities. Many considered her a significant ally in the fight against the Calamities, as almost all of her words were proven true. But if she was a villain all along…
It would have been a betrayal that no one saw coming.
"The Herald? She tricked you into unsealing this place?"
'But why?'
The silent words did not escape Amon's mouth. Mainly because the girl herself clenched her teeth and continued with a burning, vengeful voice.
"Amon… The resurrection of the Titans is the Fifth Calamity. The calamity that weakened humanity so much that we were unable to stop the Sixth Calamity."
"... What?"