Third POV:
"Alright, let's get this meeting started," Doctor Romani said as he clapped his hands and looked at the occupants of the room.
The people in the room were Ritsuka, Mash, Gilgamesh (Archer), Enkidu, Medusa, Scathach, and Da Vinci. The inventor was holding a tablet, tapping away as they all sat around a large table.
"Make this quick. I have better uses for my time," Gilgamesh stated as he crossed his arms. Unlike the others, he was sitting on a golden throne he had summoned instead of a normal office chair.
"We're sorry, your majesty, but we really don't have many who can help with this," Roman sighed before his face turned serious and he placed his hands on the table. "Alright. Just to make sure you all know, this meeting is about discussing the being known as Elementor, or Zack as you know him. The reason for that is because I'd like to make profile on him just to be safe. Obviously, a lot of our records are connected to him without us realising, so let's start with the oldest known appearance to Zack."
"That would be the Epic of Gilgamesh," Da Vinci said as she pressed a few buttons on her tablet and a hologram appeared above the table.
The hologram showed a mural on a stone wall. The mural showed a being that had a humanoid appearance from the waist up but below that was the bark of a tree with roots going through the ground. The figure had claws and the only feature on the face was a pair of slits for the eyes. It was spreading its arms and appeared to be making rain fall on a group of humans.
"In the stories, Zack - or Zakrim as he was called back then - is said to be a forest spirit that guided a group of nomads to the kingdom of Uruk through the desert," Romani explained before turning to Gilgamesh and Enkidu. "Are we correct so far, your highness? Enkidu?"
"The tree did in fact come to my city and ask for me to take his people in. The audacity still baffles me," Gilgamesh replied with a scoff.
"Zack was helping the people cross the desert. He asked and managed to get them into the city with a new section completely made up of them. They were Zack's 'believers' in a sense, but Zack made it clear for them several times that he was no god," Enkidu explained with a calm smile.
"Right, Zaraka mentioned that he hated being seen as a god," Ritsuka commented from his sitting spot. Romani nodded and continued. "Alright, considering that's the oldest records we have of him right now, we can say Zack is nearly six thousand years old if he's alive now, which is most likely considering Lord Brishisan's laws. Then he helped with the battle of Gugalanna, trapping it in a tree, according to legend."
"The tree actually dealt the final strike. He was otherwise busy protecting the city for the rest of the battle," Gilgamesh stated.
"Thank you, your majesty. After that, he was entrusted to protect Uruk with Enkidu as Gilgamesh searches for immortality, then he was punished by Ishtar for killing Gugalanna by being banished from Uruk?" Roman asked.
"Not in the slightest," Enkidu immediately denied with a shake of his head, his smile vanishing. "Ishtar hated Zack for killing her pet and was attempting to kill him for some time. She managed to corner him by threatening his people, so he made a deal with her to leave them alone in exchange for not harming them in any shape or form."
"I see," Roman nodded with a hand on his chin before looking back at the group. "There are some folklore in the middle east of a 'walking talking tree' travelling the land. I guess that was Zack after her left Uruk. As far as I can tell, his biggest relevance after that was in Greek Mythology."
"Specifically, Medusa's story," Da Vinci tapped her tablet again and the hologram from the table changed, this time showing a vase.
The vase was really old and had some cracks, but the drawing on its were clear. It showed the mythical version of Medusa, a serpentine woman with snakes for hair holding a chained leash to a monster with large claws and fangs attacking a group of warriors.
"In the story of Medusa, Zack-or Zeke as he is called - is described as a monster made of metal, rock, and wood that Medusa controlled, but from what we already know, that is not true, right?" Roman turned to Medusa.
Scathach hummed as she looked at the vase in the hologram. "I wonder, did you ever hold Zack like this?"
Medusa ignored the warrior queen and answered Roman. "Zack stayed of his own choice and I had no control over him. He agreed to protect us in exchange for a place to stay as he plans his next move. All those 'monster attacks ' were just him dealing with Warriors that didn't listen to his warnings."
"This does raise a question though," Da Vinci cut in while looking a Medusa with some hesitation, "What is Zack's stand on humans? He helped a lot in Uruk but the warriors he killed were not in small numbers."
"Zack hated hurting humans and made sure whichever ones he kills died quickly and painlessly," Medusa replied instantly without hesitation, causing Da Vinci to nod.
"And the attack on Athena?" Roman asked. "Athena did something that greatly angered Zack and he just decided to push back," Medusa shrugged.
"There is something I'm curious about," Da Vinci placed her hand on her chin. "Athena kept calling Zack 'Archtype Earth' in the singularity. What is that, exactly? There's no records of such a being."
"Zack didn't explain much about that. He said that the mark on his chest proves he is 'Archtype Earth' which means he was recognised by the world as the strongest," Medusa explained.
"So, Yggdrasil was right when she said the world recognised Zack as the strongest," Da Vinci mumbled, thoughts and possibilities swirling in her head.
"Honestly, this would be a whole lot easier if we had Yggdrasil here," Roman sighed while shaking his head.
"You think I want to keep getting Mapo Tofu?" Ritsuka asked rhetorically.
"After that, we have records of Zack in Norse mythology," Roman said as Da Vinci tapped away and a new hologram appeared.
The hologram was showing carvings on stone walls that showed a humanoid figure with a crown holding a shield and bowing in front of tree with a humanoid silhouette inside it. "Zack doesn't have a name in Norse Myth and is simply referred to as a "Skogvættir," or tree spirit. The stories say he was the one who raised Shield King Svend, who is a great Norse hero," Romani explained before sighing sadly.
"However, we don't have anyone connected to Zack from that point of history, so we'll have to skip it."
"Is there anything related to Zack after Norse mythology?" Mash asked.
The doctor shook his head. "That's the problem. We don't know, We just found out he's the same figure in three different mythologies without anyone ever suspecting a thing. For all we know, he could possibly related to every mythology or none of them after these ones," he explained before turning to Scathach.
"But thankfully, we do have someone who met him afterwards, right?"
"Indeed, I did meet Zack," Scathach started her explanation, placing a hand on the table and resting her head on it. "One day, I noticed a part of the Land of Shadows had been completely cleared out and emptied from the souls of the dead. When I got there, I found the entire area had been changed."
"Changed how?" Da Vinci asked with curiosity. "It's as if I was back in the world... only, more... pure, I suppose is the word," Scathach mumbled with a shake of her head. "After a few moments, I realised it was a Reality Marble."
"Zack has a Reality Marble?" Enkidu asked with a tilt of his head.
"A PASSIVE Reality Marble, apparently."
That made the whole room go into silence, the tablet on Da Vinci's hand actually falling to the ground. The only one who didn't seem so shocked was Ritsuka.
"So... I'm guessing that's rare?" Ritsuka asked, looking for an explanation.
"Is that ra-IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! "Roman cried out, making the master jump slightly. "Even Dead Apostles struggle to keep a Reality Marble up for ONE NIGHT! Having a passive Reality Marble should be borderline impossible!"
"Believe me, I doubted it as well," Scathach continued with a bored tone. "But no matter how long i stayed there, it never went away. Don't even get me started on that Reality Marble's ability. I have long accepted that all's fair in battle, but even I admit that power is simply unfair in any form of battle."
"Why was Zack in the Land of Shadows?" Medusa asked.
Scathach chucked. "He was apparently 'grounded' by the world," that simply got her more curious looks.
"Because of his Reality Marble always affecting the world around him, he was forbidden from entering the world until he figured out a way to travel in a harmless way."
"Judging by the way you speak about how Zack is no longer there, I assume he succeeded?" Enkidu asked with a soft smile.
"Indeed. He managed to find a solution with my help. He stayed a while after that to repay me with something, but after that he went his own way,"
Scathach finished with a shrug.
"Alright, I think that's enough for today," Roman sighed with a hand on his forehead. "We'll shelf this subject until someone else related to Zack comes to Chaldea. Hopefully, Yggdrasil will be summoned soon. We can really use the information she has."
"Finally over? I thought I had to sleep here from boredom," Gilgamesh mumbled as he stood up and left. Enkidu chuckled before following his friend.
The others all left soon enough except Da Vinci. She turned to the doctor with a raised eyebrow. "So, how much of this should we include in our report to the Mage Association?"
"None of it."
"Are you sure? She asked.
Roman sighed and looked at Da Vinci with a serious stare. "There's no way Lord Brishisan didn't know about any of this, yet we never heard of it. He's obviously keeping personal information on Zack a secret. Why? I don't know, but I do know any attempt we make at revealing it or information on Zack will be shut down immediately."
"Well, you're more knowledgeable on dealing with them than I am," Da Vinci mumbled as she tapped away on her tablet.
Dr. Roman sighed and shook his head. "I need some coffee. I hope Magi Marie got updated. I could use the cheer up."
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