Chapter 1615: History

Erend frowned and exchanged glances with Adrius, Lysander, and Sylmira.

The three Archmages wore similar expressions of confusion and surprise as they processed Erebus’s revelation.

It turned out that Scadri had a history far more complicated than they had imagined.

Erebus had only revealed this information now, which suggested that he either wanted to keep it hidden for some reason or simply had not trusted them enough to share it earlier.

However, now that their investigation had uncovered a possible connection between the curse and the being that once threatened his world, Erebus seemed to have decided that keeping the truth to himself would only hinder their efforts.

Erend noticed the tension in Erebus’s face and the way his jaw clenched as he spoke. Recalling those events clearly brought back unpleasant memories, but Erebus eventually accepted that he needed to tell them everything if they wanted to solve the problem.

"You killed this thing?" Sylmira asked in her usual calm voice.

"Yes." Erebus nodded, then let out a displeased grunt. "Or so we thought." He paused before continuing. "I never wanted to tell this story to outsiders like you, but it seems I have no choice. You already suspect that this curse was caused by a powerful being, and you might actually find a solution if I tell you everything."

"That’s why we’re here," Lysander replied. "If you can’t trust us with information like this, then there’s no point in what we’re doing. You can’t keep something so important from us and expect us to solve the problem."

Erebus stared at Lysander, who met his gaze firmly and without hesitation. After several moments, Erebus released a long sigh and finally relented.

"You’re right. I’ll tell you everything."

He then began recounting the history of Scadri and its people.

They were a nation of warriors and protectors who had spent generations defending their world from the conflicts between rival nations as well as supernatural threats such as monsters, dark Mages, and dangers that emerged from other worlds.

Their strength had allowed them to maintain peace and protect their homeland from countless dangers, but a little over a century ago, they encountered an enemy unlike anything they had faced before.

A powerful being from another world appeared and threatened the entire world, becoming the greatest adversary their people had ever known.

The war against her lasted for decades and claimed the lives of hundreds of their warriors, with countless others perishing as the fighting continued.

Erebus himself was born during that terrible period to a human woman, but he eventually discovered that he was a Dragonborn.

He used his newfound power to join his people in their desperate struggle against the monster, helping them turn the tide of the war and eventually defeat her.

They believed they had finally secured their world’s future when they killed their greatest enemy, but their victory came at a terrible cost.

After the monster’s death, a mysterious curse descended upon the city of Scadri, spreading throughout the city and cutting it off from the rest of the world.

After listening to Erebus’s words, the three Archmages exchanged glances again, as if they had arrived at the same conclusion.

The powerful being that had threatened the world a century ago was the most likely source of the curse that continued to plague the city. Although the creature had supposedly died at the end of the war, the curse that appeared afterward suggested that her influence never disappeared.

"If the curse emerged immediately after her death, then we cannot dismiss the possibility that she was indeed responsible for it," Adrius said thoughtfully. "Maybe she released it as a final act before dying, or perhaps something about her death allowed the curse to spread."

"That would explain why the curse behaves differently from ordinary corrupted Magic," Lysander added. "If the energy we detected is connected to her existence, then what we have been examining may be not a conventional curse at all. It could be the lingering power of that being."

Sylmira nodded slowly. "But if she truly died, we need to understand how her power continued to affect the city for so long. If she survived, finding her becomes our highest priority. Either way, we cannot resolve this problem without discovering what happened to her."

While the Archmages continued discussing the possibilities, Erend remained quiet and considered what their findings meant for his own purpose.

"So this city was cut off from the rest of the world after that war. If that’s the case, the Dragonborn legacy probably isn’t here. It must still be hidden somewhere beyond this place."

But he needed to finish the problem in Scadri first before searching elsewhere.

Erebus listened to the Archmages with a troubled expression before finally speaking. "The council and I considered that possibility long ago. We searched for the creature’s body after the war, but we found nothing. We examined the battlefield and every place we believed she might have gone but there was no trace of her remains. Eventually we just dismissed the idea."

"You never discovered what happened to her body?" Adrius asked.

"No. We found nothing that could explain her disappearance." Erebus’s jaw tightened. "At the time, we believed she had just been destroyed during the battle. But if your conclusion is correct, then maybe we were wrong. She might still be somewhere in this city, or her body might have become something else."

"We need to search the city thoroughly," Sylmira said.

"I agree," Adrius replied. "We should also investigate anything unusual that the council previously dismissed. Even the smallest trace of her existence might lead us to the source."

Lysander nodded in agreement.

Erebus fell silent as he considered their proposal. He had spent decades trying to free his people from the curse, and the council had exhausted countless methods without achieving anything meaningful.

Now, these outsiders were asking to conduct another search based on a possibility he had already abandoned long ago. Yet he could not deny that their reasoning made sense, and he had no better solution to offer.

"Very well," he finally said with a reluctant nod. "You have my permission to search the city as thoroughly as you need."

His expression remained stern, but Erend could sense the desperation beneath his words.

Erebus had no intention of trusting them blindly, yet he had reached the point where refusing their help would be foolish.

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