Chapter 592 - 515: The Third Member of "Dawn Embers

Chapter 592: Chapter 515: The Third Member of "Dawn Embers

"So, you’re saying..."

In a relatively secluded corner of the abandoned mine’s black market, far from the clamor of the main stalls.

Flickering Magic Lamps cast distorted, swaying shadows on the coarse rock walls.

Roland leaned against a rough-hewn mine shaft support, one hand stroking his smooth chin. His other hand unconsciously flipped and tossed the Secret Imprisonment Dice between his fingers. With a slight frown, his gaze fell on the young Mage leaning against the cold stone wall opposite him.

"You just... happened to find this thing in the wild?"

"That’s right, Mr. Rudolph."

Ellis Lorin nodded, his movements a bit stiff.

His gray-blue eyes avoided Roland’s gaze, landing on a stain on the mine floor as he explained in a dry voice.

"About half a month ago, I was passing through the eastern edge of the Withered Forest. It’s not far from Lin Ye Town, near the entrance to the Wind-Eroded Canyon."

"At the time, I noticed the flow of Elements in that area was unusually chaotic. The residual Magic Power of the space Attribute was especially jarring, completely out of place with the natural surroundings."

He subconsciously straightened his back. Even while recounting such an awkward experience, he spoke with an almost instinctual, scholarly precision.

"At first, I thought it might be some kind of unstable natural rift, or... the mess left behind by a careless colleague’s failed experiment."

His lips pressed into a thin line, a flicker of complex self-mockery crossing his face.

"Out of... habit, I went to investigate. But aside from a residual, rapidly dissipating, distorted field of Magic Power, the site was practically empty. I only saw this, nestled between a few broken stones."

His eyes darted to the die in Roland’s hand before quickly looking away again.

Roland stopped tossing the die and held it firmly in his palm, his deep, dark eyes fixed on Ellis.

"And you found nothing else? No weapons, equipment, or personal items of any kind... Or any trace of other people? Not even the slightest clue."

Ellis shook his head, his brown hair swaying slightly with the motion.

He tried his best to recall the details, his speech quickening slightly as if to make his account more thorough and credible.

"Nothing."

"There were no signs of a struggle, no blood, no scraps of clothing, no footprints—at least, no fresh, humanoid footprints. There was only the patch of earth and air that had been violently churned by powerful Magic Power."

He paused before adding,

"The nature of the residual Magic Power was very strange... It wasn’t a standard Teleportation Spell. It was more... violent, and it had a sort of ancient rhythm to it that I couldn’t analyze."

"It dissipated very quickly. Shortly after I arrived, it was almost undetectable."

As he spoke, his expression was focused, showing the natural absorption of someone analyzing a problem. His gray-blue eyes showed no flicker of hesitation, only the slight confusion and certainty that came with recollection.

Roland listened quietly, the pad of his thumb unconsciously tracing the cool edges of the Secret Imprisonment Dice.

The young man’s expression didn’t seem feigned, and the details held up to scrutiny.

’But if what Ellis is saying is true...’

His frown deepened as an unsettling theory began to take shape in his mind.

’Could it be...?’

’That the Space-Time torrent triggered by Phaethon didn’t teleport all of us as a single group?’

’But instead caused some kind of...’ ℯℯ𝘭.

’Deviation or scattering?’

’That each of us could have landed in a different place?’

’Avril, Galvis, Duraga...’

’Where are they now?’

’Are they, like this die, scattered across the corners of this unfamiliar era?’

’Or perhaps...’

Unable to find an answer, Roland slowly shook his head, temporarily suppressing the chaotic thoughts.

He raised his hand, revealing a corner of the Secret Imprisonment Dice between his fingers.

"So, you must recognize what this is, then?"

"Of course."

Ellis nodded.

"It’s a Secret Imprisonment Dice. Some also call it a ’Spirit-Locking Dice.’ It’s a type of Magic Tool used to seal items, usually protected by powerful wards."

"Then you..."

Roland studied the young man before him with interest. Though he looked down on his luck, his aura was a stark contrast to the coarse surroundings.

"Weren’t you curious about what’s hidden inside? You never thought about trying to open it?"

"You must be joking."

Ellis gave a bitter, fleeting, and forced smile.

"To open it, you have to rotate and align the Rune sequences on its eight faces in a specific way to form the complete ’key’ sequence. Only then can you release the internal lock."

"And the ’key’ set by each person is unique. A rash attempt would not only fail to open it but could easily damage the internal mechanism or even trigger preset countermeasures... The consequences would be unpredictable."

He paused, a hint of almost imperceptible mockery in his voice.

"It is precisely because of this secrecy and security that many arrogant or powerful Casters are quite fond of it."

At this, Ellis lifted his eyes, his gaze quickly and carefully sweeping over Roland’s face.

’This face is too young, and too...’

’Perfect. So perfect he hardly seems mortal, and not at all like those reclusive, old-school Mages who are often eccentric or marked by the passage of time.’

He mentally sifted through his memories of famous and infamous names, trying to match this face with a known figure who would have the power and resources to obtain a Secret Imprisonment Dice.

The result was a blank.

A deeper thread of doubt quietly emerged.

’Just who is this young man calling himself "Rudolph"?’

’The heir to some unknown, secret legacy?’

’Or is he backed by some unimaginable entity?’

’Otherwise, how could such a valuable and dangerous magical creation end up in his hands?’