Passing through natural stone pools bubbling with clear underground water, the two young men slowly approached a sacred bathing pool known as the Petirtaan or Royal Bathing Place.
This was a site traditionally used by royal families in ancient times to purify themselves and bathe, or to engage in meditation and asceticism to achieve inner peace.
"Was this place once used for meditation?" Kairav wondered aloud, suspecting as much since the Petirtaan was not located near the palace grounds. Its secluded location, harmonizing with nature, suggested it had once served as a place for contemplation.
The nameless young man, with his deep black eyes, didn't respond, instead focusing on the Petirtaan's architecture, which had captured his attention.
He examined the intricate carvings along the outer stone walls surrounding the pool. Beautiful tendrils, along with various animal figures, adorned the stone surfaces.
As they approached the entrance, they were greeted by two statues of dragon serpents flanking the stairs. The descending steps led directly to the main rectangular pool, the heart of the place.
At the center of the pool stood a large stone table, submerged in the water, upon which rested a statue of a woman dressed in ancient royal attire, holding a jug from which water continuously poured into the pool.
However, neither young man paid much attention to the statue at that moment. Instead, their eyes were drawn to the relief carvings along the inner walls.
These carvings depicted scenes of people from ancient times seemingly worshipping or facing three alcoves embedded in the wall. Each alcove contained a statue of a dragon serpent.
The central dragon serpent statue appeared the most distinct, with a golden crown ornament adorning its head. Its body was also larger than the two dragon serpent statues that flanked it on either side, both of which seemed to bow toward the larger one, just like the human figures in the reliefs.
Kairav slowly approached the statues, and as he did, his eyes fell upon an inscription carved below the three alcoves. "Bro, look at this!"
The nameless young man immediately joined him and read the lines of ancient Kawi script aloud, "The eternal sacred water protects the bright star from self-destruction. Toward eternal life without knowing the end and death..."
Kairav turned his head, frowning. "Do the people of the Darkconian Empire desire immortality that badly?" he asked.
The nameless young man simply nodded in response. Kairav chuckled, seemingly amused by something he found absurd.
"What's funny?" asked the nameless young man.
Kairav, still smiling, replied, "Being obsessed with something that doesn't exist in this world—don't you think that's ridiculous?"
"You mean immortality?" the nameless young man asked, receiving a nod in return. "How can you be so sure that immortality is impossible?" he asked in a flat tone.
"I'm a cryptozoologist. My job is to believe in things most people consider impossible," Kairav said. "I've always held firm to that belief, but when it comes to immortality, I can't bring myself to believe it exists."
He shook his head slowly. "Because in my view, nothing in this world is eternal," he stated firmly.
"But you..." the nameless young man hesitated. "You already know, don't you? That the host of the unicorn spirit can live for an incredibly long time, even without the age limits like other Astral Conjurers," he reminded Kairav.
Kairav nodded. "I know. But living a long time doesn't make me immortal, does it?" He gave a small smile. "As far as I know, I can still die like any other person—if I get a serious disease or suffer a fatal injury."
"But you could still live for an incredibly long time, maybe without an end, if someone could ensure you remained safe," the nameless young man countered, his eyes firm.
"Ensuring my safety? Who would even be willing to protect someone that diligently?" Kairav scoffed, his smile turning wistful. "My parents might have done that, but now I don't even know who they are..."
He took a deep breath, trying to shake off the sadness. "But besides them, I still have one person who always tries to protect me... My adoptive father," he said, a small smile returning to his face.
The nameless young man remained silent, listening with his usually emotionless dark eyes, which now betrayed a hint of sadness.
Kairav suddenly turned to him and asked, "Nameless young man, Casildo said you've been alive for quite some time. Do you know anything about my past?" His voice carried a hint of hope.
The young man was quiet for a moment before responding softly, "I don't even know my own past, and I can't even see my own reflection. So how could I possibly know yours?"
"What do you mean?" Kairav asked, confused.
"You don't know the reason why I don't have a name..." he said, his voice tinged with an unreadable emotion.
As Kairav pondered the young man's cryptic words, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the entrance, followed by the irritating voice of Casildo. The youth shot a sharp glare in his direction.
"Casildo, the bringer of blessings, has arrived!"
"You mean the bringer of destruction?!"
"Watch your mouth, Failed Product!!"
"Have you found anything yet?" Prince Arkana asked as he approached the nameless young man and Kairav.
Kairav answered while ignoring the hostile glares from the crazy girl, Trisha. "Not yet. But take a look at this inscription," he said, pointing to the carved words below the dragon serpent alcoves.
Arkana and the others gathered to read the inscription, their brows furrowing as they tried to understand its meaning.
"Eternal sacred water? What does that even mean?" Casildo scratched his head in confusion. "Since it says 'eternal,' shouldn't it be water that grants eternal life?"
"What do you think?" Kairav shot back. "Is your slow brain not capable of grasping something so obvious?" His expression was one of annoyance and exhaustion from dealing with the tanned young man.
"But where is this eternal water?" Casildo asked, still confused. "Wait, do you think the eternal sacred water is the water in that pool?" He guessed innocently, pointing to the clear water filling the nearby pool.
Kairav slapped his own forehead at the ridiculous notion.
"Something so valuable would definitely be hidden in a place hard to reach, idiot. Just like how you'd keep your money in a safe," Gavin added, clearly as fed up as Kairav.
"Forget it. He probably doesn't even have a safe in his house," Kairav sighed, exasperated.
"Or maybe he doesn't even have any money," Baron remarked dryly.
"Can you all just shut up?!" Trisha snapped, clearly fed up with the bickering. "You're wasting my time!" She growled, marching past them with her followers in tow.
The girl hurried over to where the nameless young man and Arkana were standing, both of whom were studying the details of the relief carvings and statues around them, as if searching for an answer.
"The eternal sacred water must be hidden inside the stepped pyramid, right?" Trisha asked the nameless young man.
He turned to her and asked coldly, "Why? Is that what you're after?"
Trisha didn't reply. Instead, she turned her face away, clearly avoiding the question.
"Don't be too harsh on your new girlfriend," Arkana teased, smiling playfully.
"I wouldn't even glance at her," the nameless young man shot back bluntly.
"How do we find the entrance?" Kairav asked, walking up to join them.
Arkana turned toward him. "We need to search for a hidden mechanism. Buildings like this often have secret entrances that can only be opened by triggering such mechanisms," he explained.
"Heh, instead of going through all that trouble, why don't I just smash this pool? Maybe the entrance is beneath it," Casildo suggested with a wide grin, prompting a collective sigh from those around him.
Arkana glared at him in frustration. "You've been adventuring for decades, and you're still this stupid," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.
"If you recklessly destroy this pool, you might end up destroying not just the pool but also anything important that could be hidden beneath it, you fool," Trisha scolded, equally annoyed.
"Hey, is this real gold?" came a sudden voice that made everyone turn toward the pool.
And there, in the middle of the pond, was Zacky, the bald man, walking toward the statue of a woman that had caught his attention.
His eyes gleamed with excitement as he noticed the golden shine adorning the statue's head. Without a second thought, one of his hands quickly shot up, reaching out to grab one of the five golden hairpins embedded in the statue's head.
Casildo cursed under his breath and pointed at the foolish man, "Look! Your man is even dumber than I am!"
"Zacky, you idiot! Why are you just grabbing things?!" Trisha shrieked.
The bald man froze at the sound of his boss's scream. But his shock quickly turned to terror as he realized death was closing in. His eyes widened in horror as he saw a barrage of arrows flying straight toward him.
Swoosh...