NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37: Steel Tree
My mind screeched to a halt. 1912?
As he then asked 'what year are you from"
I swallowed hard. There was no use playing naive anymore; he already knew the biggest hidden truth I had. "Well… I'm from the year 2018, sir."
His eyes widened, glowing faintly with excitement. "Whoa. That's… that's far ahead of my timeline. It sounds positively futuristic. My last memory of our world was the 1940s." He chuckled. "That's very much before you were even born."
As he sat on his sphinx throne, I did the quick math in my head. A 106-year gap between his birth year of 1912 and my own. The thought escaped my lips before I could stop it. "Wow. You're basically prehistoric. A walking fossil, a dinosaur in the flesh."
"Ok, ok, no need to remind me of my concept of how age works here, Astraga," he pouted, clearly annoyed. "I'm not that old."
"Umm, yes you are," I replied, reminding him of something he obviously took offense to. Yet, here he stood, impossibly young, and I could only gape in awe.
"Regardless of my age, Astraga," he added calmly, "we arrived here by the same means, but under different circumstances." His gaze sharpened. "Now, about that pendant, Astraga."
My mind raced. What about my pendant?
He had told me nothing in his domain could be kept from him, and Azazel had mentioned one important fact: the pendant interfered with his ability to use Revelation Khetemu properly on me. That was a serious claim, as once an Ashborn becomes an adjudicator, they are basically acting gods of their domain. The fact that the pendant caused him trouble rattled him, especially since, in his time, a twin's birth was never a taboo, not even during the second Elven dominion.
"Tell me, Astraga, do you know the mage who placed the taboo on twins and sent a shadow demon to your head? I remember you said you have a twin sister. Perhaps she also has a demon on her head waiting."
"His name is Drogan, Great-Grandfather," I told him, giving him all I knew.
Derrick nodded. "A mage with the ability to create authority that enforce a taboo is powerful and had definitely awakened dragonhood."
He then explained that he had been reincarnated into this world during World War II.
"I served under the British armed forces," he said, "at the age of 28 against the Nazis. I died in battle and got reincarnated here into the Ash family."
"Ash? Wasn't it supposed to be the Ashborn as it is today?" I asked, confused.
He explained that the name Ashborn was a merging of two different families, as his wife was from the Born family.
Why wasn't his wife with him? Should I even ask? What if it was a sensitive topic?
He leaned back in his seat, his fingers tapping the armrest as he sank into thought. His voice dropped into a somber tone. "I'm sure you're wondering the same thing I am.
Why are we so far apart in time?
Why you, why now?"
He sighed, a heavy, ancient sound. "To be honest, I don't know.
I don't even know why I was also reincarnated here myself. But in my years of existing in this world, I've learned nothing ever happens by accident."
Derrick explained that he had died in World War II and was reincarnated during the Second Elven Dominion. This era, he noted, was defined by the elves' shared desire for world domination, much like the Nazis he had fought, but their cruelty was unspeakable.
The only reason he could fathom for his own summoning or reincarnation was the elves' plan for another dominion over Dunamis, the name of this world. Their control remained ever strong, even after failing to seize it during the first elven dominion. From his knowledge, Dunamis was a little bit bigger than Jupiter in our own solar system.
"Huhh, Jupiter?" I asked. "You mean this world is basically Earth on steroids? The size of Jupiter?"
"Yes, it appears mana could have been a heavy contributor to that."derrick said. with seriousness on his face.
He believed this mage, Drogan, had upset the balance of power, just as the elves had, and most likely I was brought here to put an end to it.
" This was likely also the reason I was reincarnated as a twin and would face the taboo" he smirked
as the hardship I experienced would give me the strength needed to face this mage. But One thing was certain: the pendant I wore was definitely part of the key to defeating drogan.
The "conca region" he mentioned was a place of folklore, a land filled with powerful creatures, with dragons at the top of the food chain. He told me that during the bloody Second Elven Dominion, he had perfected his skills in creating seals and barriers.
Even though my mind was reeling, one question remained since the moment I reincarnated as a child.
I asked him, "This mage, Drogan, why exactly did he create this taboo? What would he benefit from it?" I paused, thinking for a second. Was I really reincarnated here to stop this taboo and this mage?
Derrick responded, "It's quite simple, in theory, but incredibly difficult in practice." He continued, explaining that mages were an advanced title among humans who mastered mana manipulation. Humans battled fiercely against the elves, who had also achieved dragonhood at that time with their impressive swordsmanship.
You see, the way elves used dragon magic and Ascendant Beast bloodlines with dragon seeds made them nearly invincible. Other races hadn't caught up with their advanced use of mana. The elves, due to their incredible lifespans, had developed more than most civilizations and races, which set the groundwork for their superiority over races with shorter lifespans mindset.
The elves Swordsmanship was the highest form of mana manipulation at that period as this was heavily boosted with The elves having a mystical tree, the Steel Tree, which, just like my pendant, also came from the Conca Region.
"The Conca Region or knowledge about it is vague," he said, "as most records of it were destroyed or kept secret." He wasn't even sure if it was a real place or just a metaphor, as it was stated.
As His eyes glowed green, and then words like "inscription" appeared on the ground. He then added, "From my years alive in Dunamis, this was the only piece of information I was able to acquire. The wording stated, 'Elves are blessed by the Steel Tree, and from it, the precious metal woodsteel was obtained, as the Steel Tree was from the region of pain and tribulation... the Conca Region.'"