Ray flipped through the ancient book, his fingers delicately skimming its brittle pages as Luna, recorded every word with precision. Her voice echoed in his mind as she processed the knowledge.
[Analysis underway, Ray. This will take a moment] Luna informed him.
In the meantime, Ray's attention shifted to another shelf. He scanned the spines until his eyes landed on a book titled "Nature and Creation", its aged leather cover bearing the faded impression of a tree intertwined with a sun. Intrigued, Ray carefully retrieved it and began reading.
Using his Temporal Cognition, Ray absorbed the text at an accelerated pace, unraveling the intricate philosophies and concepts surrounding the Nature element. A passage caught his eye:
"Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere. It is one part of Life, which belongs to Creation, the supreme concept of bringing existence from nothingness—a domain of the gods."
Ray paused, the words resonating deeply. The book delved into how Nature, as an aspect of Life, shared its essence with concepts like Death, Destruction, and Renewal, universal counterparts that maintained balance. Creation was portrayed as the ultimate force, capable of weaving reality from nothingness, with Life as its most salient expression.
As Ray's mind delved into the profound intricacies of mana, the cosmos, and the origins of the world, his thoughts began to drift into his inner mental space. The scene which he witnesses when he awakened in the Dragon temple, it still lingers in his mind...A vast world of Nature, Life, and Eternity itself, as if the world itself was waiting for someone... Ray understood his trait Creation a bit after understanding the content of the book. He wanted to try something when...
A Voice in the Ether
[Ray!] Luna's voice cut through his musings, snapping him back to reality.
"Yes?" he replied, his voice calm, though his mind lingered on the epiphany he had just experienced.
[Analysis complete. This book is over 1,000 years old] Luna reported.
[It references incidents from the Second Era of Helios. While some portions are restricted for now, I can brief you on the accessible sections.]
Ray leaned back, after his adventure just now he didn't feel much irritation towards Luna's restrictions, his healthy and stable mentality just wanted to gain knowledge, and his interest was piqued.
"A book this old in a library like this? And no one noticed how strange that is? Maybe the people here are idiots. Just like you, Luna." He criticized the Academy and Old Man Sullivan while also teasing Luna, who replied immediately,
[I am not an idiot! You're the idiot!] Luna huffed indignantly, her tone flaring with mock irritation.
Ray smirked.
"Alright, continue. What did you find?"
The Second Era of Helios
[You're already familiar with the Demon War from 300 years ago, referred to as the Dark Era. But before that, there were three more eras. Of those I can't tell you about the First era, so... Second Era, marked around 450 in the Helios Calendar, is particularly relevant.]
Ray nodded, already bracing for a flood of information.
[The Second Era,]Luna began,
[was a time of profound change, marked by catastrophic events and breakthroughs in magic. The most notable was the Event of Divine Fracture, a cosmic anomaly where divine energy spilled into the mortal realm, reshaping the balance of elements as well as mixing that caused new elements to birth.]
Ray's eyes narrowed.
"Divine energy in the mortal realm? Sounds like it didn't go well."
[Not entirely,] Luna agreed.
[The energy catalyzed unprecedented advancements in elemental magic but also led to a series of disasters. It gave birth to Cosmic Beings, creatures embodying raw elemental essence and was also blessed with their own divinity, which led to the collapse of civilizations unprepared for such power.]
As Luna continued detailing the emergence of these beings and the subsequent conflicts that defined the Second Era, Ray found himself captivated. The book itself offered sparse but tantalizing clues, while Luna's insights filled in the gaps.
A New Mystery
Ray closed the book with a faint sigh.
"So, we have fragments of divine energy causing chaos, cosmic creatures born of elements, and civilizations wiped out. Sounds familiar."
[It should, Some of the residual effects from that era still linger today. And who knows? Maybe they're connected to your current journey.]
Ray chuckled dryly.
"You always know how to make things more complicated."
He returned the book to its place, his mind churning with possibilities.
[Then there was also mention of a few individuals whose stories is talked about a bit which will bring you close to....]