Roughly an hour after Professor Lambent's rather chaotic demonstration, I found myself sitting down in a lecture hall for a different class's demonstration. "Era of Calamity", I believe it's called. A liberal class that studies the world history of Arden during and after the calamity that occurred 157 years ago. For the demonstration, the professor was playing a video that showed bits and pieces of the tragedies that occurred during the world's dark history.
I wasn't too fond of history back then, but I've developed an interest in it as of late. The reason I chose to check out this class specifically is because it's easy to relearn what I once knew and also because I need to fill in the gaps of what I don't know. In my previous lives, I was far too preoccupied with Hela's mission to do things like attend school, so there was a clear limit to how much I can get out of 'Synchronization' in terms of knowledge.
I was never so studious in the past, but hey, anything to not be consumed by a mysterious metaphysical void threatening to numb my heart and erase my self-awareness.
I sighed. What great irony it is that the only thing keeping my emotions and thoughts in check is the same thing I have to steer clear of.
Aside from me, there were only a handful of other people in the class. From what I could tell, half of them were just here to scout for easy classes that would boost their GPA, which I've heard students from other sub-schools are rather fond of. I'm not too familiar with the whole deal, but apparently having better looking grades makes them more appealing to recruiters after graduating. As for Lionhearts, there's a much easier way to show how capable one is, and that's through practical examinations.
I lost my chance with Viole Justiciary a while ago, but it's not like there aren't other options. Besides, I probably would've been outed as a fraud if I let the guildmaster recruit me that day. "The bearer of Merlin's mark is a joke" or something like that.
It felt strange watching the video on screen. A lot of the disasters and events playing out were things I was originally supposed to go through, but I went from living the beginning of the calamity to learning about it 157 years later. That is, the "me" here and now that hasn't experienced any of them.
Today's date: 2181, August 8th. It was 45 years ago, during the spring of 2136, that the Era of Calamity officially came to an end. While the technological revolution started to come about in the latter half of the 112 years before then, it took a while before it could be declared that humanity was no longer at risk of being wiped out. There are still regions around the world that have been totally claimed by monsters, but the threat has been effectively sealed to those areas.
However, there exists supernatural phenomena that continue to pose an issue to this day, such as the intermittent appearance of dungeons in random places around the world. Instabilities in the dimensional boundary appear as glowing cracks, and on the other side is a center for hostile monster activity. Arbiters are charged with taking the initiative and entering these rifts before they widen enough for the dangers within to break out, which is why guilds are still so important to this day.
When the calamity first happened, an innumerable amount of these instabilities suddenly manifested all around the world, and because nobody knew how to handle them, they eventually blew open and spewed out all sorts of nasty creatures. At some point, there were monsters too tough for even conventional weapons to kill. If it weren't for divine intervention and the appearance of the seven Grand Arks, humanity would have been doomed.
During the early years of the calamity, the average strength for arbiters was incredibly low compared to now, so they were forced to rely on wit and ingenuity to survive. Guerilla tactics, baiting monsters into in-fighting, setting traps—almost anything but fighting head-on, especially against the Noble Beasts that later appeared.
For the most part, the divines' adherents were at the forefront of every battlefield, leading the remaining humans into war against the creatures that tore apart their homes.
As an adherent that was alive during that time, I should have taken part in the fight, but I can't even remember something as simple as that. I can blame that on 'Synchronization', but the strange part is that I can't even find any records on an adherent named "Ilyin Gray" or anyone else who went by that name. It was as if I was erased from history.
Considering Hela's secretive tendencies, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Speaking of Hela, I haven't heard from her in a while.
[Don't chase after your past anymore. You are free from it.]
Those were the last words she said to me before going radio silent.
I si——ly w—h — y-u c— be h— in — li--, Ilyin.
...?
What was that?
For a moment, I heard a familiar voice in my mind, but I can neither recall its source nor the words.
Before I could pursue it any further, a sudden tug on my sleeve brought me back to reality. I turned my head to my right, where a girl with braided black hair and sea green eyes was smiling at me.
I froze.
This sounds weird to say, but it was like looking at a reflection of myself, except as a girl. That is definitely weird to say, actually. Black hair and sea green eyes aren't even too uncommon a combination, but I don't know. There's just something oddly familiar about her.
"Do you need something?" I asked in a quiet voice.
The girl looked awfully excited for some reason. There was a hint of childlike innocence in her expression as she beamed at me.
"Sorry," she whispered. "You just seemed really interested in the video, so I was wondering if you also had a passion for history?"
A history nut? That's rare... I think.
"I'm only interested in the calamity and everything else after that."
Her expression fell a little, then quickly returned to its elated state.
"That's fair. The Era of Calamity plays such a significant part in not just humanity's history, but the world's history, and it happened not too long ago. Isn't it crazy to think that our grand or great grandparents were a part of it?"
"...Sure."
My grandparents were traditional folks who peacefully lived in the countryside 157 years ago, but I don't need to tell her that. I just hope that my dry response puts her off.
Unfortunately, she inched closer instead, for some reason even more excited. She also slid a large, antiquated-looking journal across the tabletop as she moved.
"For me," she continued, "it's even crazier to think about how I'm the first in my family to awaken as an arbiter. Without powers like mine, I wonder how my great great... great? grandparents survived."
I shrugged. I guess that is something pretty impressive, considering how dangerous those times were. I thought back to the day of the calamity, recalling how relentless those creatures were in tearing down the city.
It also wasn't like it was easy for people to enter the Grand Arks to awaken their potential. Surrounded by monsters, the only realistic method for arbiters to be born was to be summoned to a Grand Ark by will of the system or a divine. That method was not as simple because it only worked on those with latent talent, unless a divine blesses an ordinary person with their power. I was the latter case, and because of the divines having limited authorities, they can't possibly take on so many adherents at once.
In the case of the former, there are many different theories as to what defines "latent talent". There are a number of arbiters who awaken to their powers and the call of the system even without entering the Grand Ark, though they lack the standard growth ability that comes with clearing an Ark's rite of passage—in my case, 'Arbiter's Ardor'. In recent studies, it's been revealed that latent talent is carried down in the blood of powerful families, so powerful arbiters tend to have talented kids.
For this girl to be the first in her family to become an arbiter, her lineage is a little behind, but I already know things like that don't matter. I thought about Sera Adelmann, who's just a girl from a small family in the countryside with no special background. Bloodline isn't the only thing that dictates talent, and that only really exists because of the arbiters who achieved great strength in the past and passed down that strength to their descendants.
"...Sorry," she suddenly said.
"Huh?"
She scooted further away, back to where she was originally sitting.
"I didn't mean to bother you. I get a little carried away when I get to talk about this kind of thing. I'm sure you've already realized it, but learning about history is my passion."
"I don't mind."
At first, those words felt like a lie, but I wasn't sure for some reason. Normally, I'd rather not socialize with anyone, but I was oddly compelled to indulge her.
Her eyes lit up at my words. "Really?"
I nodded.
She immediately closed the distance once again, dragging along her old journal. The journal looked so archaic that it was beginning to draw my interest.
"Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed. "You went to orientation earlier, right? Oh my goodness, I couldn't stop obsessing over Lady Randall. A living Iron Rose in the flesh—can you believe it?"
"Uh, you see, I'm actually a bit out of touch with... everything, I guess? Which is why I'm interested in recent history. I'm broadening my horizons, you could say."
Her expression was confused at first, but she seemed to understand what I was trying to say.
"Hm... I think I get it? Still, I'm sure you can tell how amazing she is."
Well, it took an explanation from Galliard, but yeah.
I frowned. This girl is in Lionheart?
I only just realized that her uniform is the same as mine. They varied enough between sub-schools that you can tell which one a student is from at a glance. I didn't expect someone so invested in world history to be from Lionheart. I can't even attempt to guess what she specializes in.
"What's your discipline?" I asked.
"Discipline? Oh! I haven't signed up for it yet, but I plan on going into recon. I think it's a role that makes the best of my skills. It's also a lot less scary than having to actually fight."
"Why do you fight?"
It was an incredibly sudden question. Even I was surprised that I asked that. It was a question that I didn't know the answer to myself.
"That's... that's a big question, but I guess I can say it's because of this?" She tapped on the journal. "There's someone I'm looking for that I'm not sure exists, and the only way I can find them is to become strong enough to go out in the world and search for them."
What?
"What do you mean, 'not sure exists'?"
She laughed awkwardly. "So you see, this is actually a journal left behind by my great great... great grandmother. She was born before the calamity and lived through it, and in these pages, she detailed her experiences after the world started to end. It's been passed down from generation to generation, and up until my parents, who were born after the Era of Calamity, those of the direct bloodline continued to fill the pages. Basically, my grandparents and everyone before that. And I think there's a 'secret' that they had that helped them survive."
I furrowed my eyebrows, confused. "What do you mean 'secret'?"
"Listen to this, right? Every so often, there's a missing name or undescribed person who's vaguely described to have protected them. It's like they were intentionally erased, but for what reason? My grandparents don't remember, even though they wrote some of it. My parents don't know anything at all. In fact, they think I'm overthinking it. But I can't help but be interested, you know? It's lost history! A mystery! It tingles my senses so much I can't help but think about it all the time."
"Is there really such a person who could live for so long?"
"My theory is that it was a divine who saved them. Without a doubt, the missing person is the same person mentioned in every entry that mentions an unidentified person. But you're right, a normal human can't live that long."
That kind of sounds like a waste of time.
I didn't wanna say it out loud, but it's true. I think she is just overthinking it, but what do I know? I'm still holding onto the faint desire to recover my own past, even if the truth won't meet my expectations. In a way, we're quite similar.
Our conversation was interrupted by the noise of people shuffling around as they got up to leave. Without realizing it, the video was over, and the demonstration had come to an end.
"Looks like it's time to go," I said as I stood up.
"Wait! What's your name and discipline?"
"Ilyin, vanguard."
She smiled. "Ilyin, huh? Strange name. Anyways, it was nice talking with you. Thanks for entertaining me."
As she turned to leave, I stopped her. "What about you?"
The girl looked confused. "I already told you my disci- oh! Sorry, sorry. I somehow thought that I already introduced myself to you. Something about you feels real familiar, I dunno."
She laughed, apparently amused by her own mistake.
"Right, anyways. My name is Irene Gray. Don't forget it, or I'll be upset!"