Silence, Completely utter silence filled the room as Albert's words left his mouth.
"Asher, are you sure you heard correctly? That the Temple didn't mean to say something else."
Elda said worriedly her voice low and full of caution.
"I–Yes, I am sure, Lady Morgana said that my reward will come from Lord Undying himself."
I said hesitantly and stared at both Elda and Albert's faces.
Sigh…
If what they said is correct then Lord Undying is not just some high-ranking Temple member. But rather a historical figure who has managed to become a legend.
"Tell me his story first, I would tell what I heard after that."
Hearing my words Elda nodded and turned to look at Albert and parted her lips before saying softly.
"Let me do it..."
"Sure." Albert nodded and leaned back on his chair and once again focused on eating his lunch rather than listening to the story.
"So... Let's start!" Elda smiled with enthusiasm, she was told the story of Undying as a child by her parents during bedtime storytelling.
"Long ago, there was a peculiar city at the top of Mentha mountains, at the center of it was a lake... serene and peaceful reflecting the moon's pale blue light... But one day everything changed. The chains that have been holding the calamity down shattered." She took a deep breath and smiled.
"Humanity for the first time... since the start of the new world truly faced the horrors of nature's calamity."
"And what was that calamity?" I asked eagerly.
Elda was taking too much time building suspense!
"Shhh.." She said putting a finger on her lips and with her brow raised in frustration.
"I am coming at the good part... be silent!"
I blinked in surprise—Why am I getting scolded?
"Ah, Okay, got it."
I nodded.
"Hmm," She lowered her head and looked back at me.
"Where was I?"
"Humanity faced nature's Calamity—"
"Ah, okay—" She nodded and continued.
"The Calamity was cold and cruel, driven by resentment to purge the world, it took the shape of a hollow, a being of no color... Anyone who looks at it will lose his life and lose his mind... But the Calamity was not alone rather It was many..."
"...They divided and pulled the humans killed in their embrace, making them a part of it... Turing uncountable. On the first night, the residents of that peculiar City vanished, the lake which had always been serene was now dyed in red..."
Chills ran down my spine as I heard Elda's words, Wasn't it a bit similar to my Village incident— No, it was much more cruel and horrific. They never got peace as they became part of calamity.
"The next day he arrived, a man looking pale as a corpse, wearing clothes as dark as the night sky," Elda spoke with a dramatic flair, her eyes sparkling as she painted the scene.
"He neither looked at the town nor at the people who had run away. He just walked toward the lake in utter silence. When he arrived, the day got darker, the shadows grew deeper... till no light was left at Mentha."
She whispered making Albert's hair stand at the edge.
"Those who survived the purge of the first night spoke of a single tale... When he fought the hollow, the mountains surrounding them collapsed at the first clash. The second time he was seen his hands were cut off.... But they came back...The next day he was again seen with no legs yet they also came back... He faced the calamity for three nights and four days. Every time people saw a glimpse of him, he was always with wounds a human can't survive with, but he never died..." She took a deep breath and tapped her finger on the table in a rhythmic pattern.
"At last the night was over... Those who saw the conclusion could never speak or hear... They had lost everything... just a bit of sanity was left in them— Before dying they all spoke of a single tale never told before by those who had witnessed the first few clashes.— They had seen the hollow when it died— They heard the final screams of agony it let out."
She smiled and stared at me before speaking in a voice that was enough to creep out even me.
"This tale was known as The Story of Undying, similarly this moniker was given to the man now being called as Lord Undying."
"So how was the story?" Elda smiled and leaned back on her chair, crossing her arms with a small chuckle.
I swallowed hard, the images of the battle etched in my mind, the horror of the hollows and the resilience of Lord Undying. "It's... intense," I managed to say.
The tale was simply like a fairytale yet grim, a human who even after being killed can live.
Was he even a human at this point? Wasn't he simply a being beyond comparison?
"Who tells these stories to children in bed anyway? Here I was thinking of it as a story with flowers and rainbows..."
"It was a horror story after all~" She giggled.
Sigh...
The room remained quiet for a moment after Elda's dramatic storytelling, the gravity of the tale lingering in the air like the aftermath of a storm. Albert, who had stopped eating mid-bite during the climax, took another sip of his tea, his expression a mix of awe and skepticism.
"Now that you know the tale, you must have realized why your words shocked us so much. A figure that had always been a legend, a being from pages of history is alive... How terrifying is that."
Albert said while shaking his head.
"Why is he being alive so terrible? A being of the past like him must have witnessed countless moments and gathered so much knowledge that we can get crushed under its weight... If anything he is a being that should be respected." I sighed before speaking.
Taking my hands off the plate I added softly.
"And he must be human… at least a former human since I can't see a being remain alive with all the wounds you spoke of, He must be a high-rank awakener... maybe above rank 3."
Elda's eyes shook briefly at my words, she licked her lips and spoke.
"Asher... You are weird sometimes, You speak so reasonably like it's a normal thing that is... incomprehensible." She smiled and stared at me.
"...I am not saying it in a bad light rather it's something everyone should do, to try to understand what we can't— But do you think such a thing is possible to not fear.?A man who faced something we can't even possibly look at without dying or losing our sanity is real and not a tale..."
Elda's words trailed off as she looked down— I understood what she was trying to tell me.
This was something Greth had asked me before.
'Why do we call those monsters creatures of beyond?'
The answer was so simple that I was shocked to find his words reasonable at that time— We fear what we don't understand.
Unlike me, they both are sane, and their fear of the unknown is reasonable. If someone had told me this before my awakening, I would have given the same reaction as them as well.
After all, I was living peacefully in my small world...
Why would I even try to find something that could kill me? That was not something a being with a sane mind would do.
'Lucky for me, I was called crazy lots of times.' I smiled at such thoughts and shook my head.
"Anyways it's true he is alive, since I will get my reward from him— No point in thinking too much about it now. And it's also not likely for such a legendary figure to come and meet me himself."
I assured them, yet I hoped in the corner of my mind that I would see him one day.
Elda who had been sulking at my words soon smiled and nodded along with Albert.
"Oh, where are the Mentha mountains by the way? Such a place must exist, right?"
Seeing my grinning face, Albert rolled his eyes and replied "In Lamern northern regions."
Hearing his words Elda immediately interjected as she clasped her hand as if remembering something important.
"Did you know this tale has one more name, the lake which had been holding the Hollow now is pitch black in colors for centuries now, it's been named Blackshores."
"...Some people also call the Tale of Undying as the story of Blackshores."
Albert said with a sigh. He was tired from all the work now he was being told a story he had heard countless times.
The only difference this time was that the protagonist of this story was real and alive.
Reasonably this also meant the story regarding the Hollow was real... But for his own sanity, Albert has chosen to ignore this fact.
For him sometimes Ignorance is a bliss he is deeply grateful for.
"Anyway we should rest now..." Saying that I stood up from my seat and took the plates to the kitchen.
"You both should also rest. We have worked the whole day doing all the cleaning and stuff... Wake me up after two or three hours."
I said with a yawn, my body was begging for rest.
"Mn" Elda nodded and took her plates as well, Albert seeing it followed her lead and left the plates and utensils in the wash basin.
"I will also go get some rest then..." Elda nodded and went up before I could go.
I stared at her, then at Albert who seemed to be lost in thoughts.
"I will rest in my room as well" Without wasting any time Albert ran away to his new room.
Left behind I locked the doors and window before climbing the stairs, under my weight they creaked as I walked towards the master bedroom.
Opening the door with a gentle clicking sound, I closed the door after entering it.
The room was not that big but it was cozy. A large bed with a velvet cover lay against one wall with two nightstands beside it, seemingly made from shards.
The lightwork of this home was also made of similar craftsmanship working on switches rather than relying on candles for illuminating the inside.
I slipped into my bed effortlessly and looked at the ceiling I was still unfamiliar with.
Bringing my hand over my heart, I felt the beating of my heartbeat. The mark given to me by Goddess Celestia was still present there, resting in silence.
Following that I closed my eyes, the tale of the Lord Undying echoing through my thoughts, weaving a tapestry of questions and curiosity in my mind. Was he an awakener too? If so, what was his power? Did he truly survive the ordeal of the hollows? The thought was intriguing, a puzzle waiting to be unraveled.
But my mind was weary, my body craving the sweet embrace of sleep. I lay there for a while, my eyes slowly getting heavier. The wind gently brushed against the windows of the balcony, creating a serene melody that soon lulled me into a peaceful slumber.