Chapter 79: The Story Of Elias

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: The Story Of Elias

The sun was already setting in the horizon when Arin found Ayan on the outskirts of the settlement. The dragon was resting under a tree, gazing silently at the woods. The orange rays of the sun played across his face, yet his visage was as serene as always. Ayan turned at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Master Arin." "I want to ask you regarding Elias." Ayan’s expression changed. Not significantly, perhaps, but enough for Arin to discern. "You have been inquiring about him often." "Every time I learn something, there seems to be another gap in the story."

Ayan chuckled. "That was the story of Elias’s life." Arin sat under the tree. "Then tell me the story." Ayan sat across him after a moment of contemplation. "What precisely do you wish to know?" "Everything you know." "That will take more than a night." "Then let us begin." Ayan let out a soft chuckle. "Elias would’ve said the same words." Arin smiled. "I chose well, it seems." Ayan gazed into the distance. "Very well." He was silent for a few seconds before he began.

"Elias Veyron was not a legendary hero because he was the strongest in the room." Arin nodded while Ayan continued. "He was remembered because he was impossible to forget." Ayan’s expression softened. "He had a certain affinity for conversing with the silent ones." Arin blinked. "What?"

"Dungeon walls." Ayan chuckled. "Ancient statues." "And sealed doors. The man would spend hours on end in front of an ancient ruin, narrating tales of its supposed purpose." "Even if no one was listening?" "Especially then." Arin laughed. "He was ridiculous." "Yes." "But he was often correct."

Arin’s grin faded into a thoughtful expression. "So he was obsessed with dungeons." "Not obsessed." Ayan mused. "Curious. He had an unrelenting desire to know. If there was a sealed door, he would find a way to open it. If there was an inscription, he would decipher it. If there was an impossibility, he would become more determined to solve it." Arin nodded.

"That sounds like him." Ayan’s smile faded slightly. "It should." Arin reclined against the tree. "What was he like with people?" "Elias could be quite annoying." Ayan said. "How so?" "Once, I had to endure three days of a heated argument about whether or not dragons could cook." Arin gasped. "What?" "I claimed that you could learn to." Arin laughed. "I think I would’ve liked the man." "You probably would’ve argued with him often." "That sounds enjoyable." Ayan’s smile became a bit softer. "Elias was playful, but he knew when to be serious. He could enter a battlefield laughing, but if a friend of his was in danger, he could become a horrifyingly calm killer."

Arin’s grin faded. "Saira." "Yes." "His family as well." Ayan nodded. "Elias loved his family more than anything else in the world." Arin was silent for a moment. "His wife’s name was Selene Veyron." Ayan’s voice became a bit gentler as he said the name. "She was patient and persistent. Elias could spend an entire night trying to explain some of his theories to her and she would always listen, despite her wishes."

Arin smiled. "They sound like a lovely family." "They were." "Elias and Selene had two children, a daughter named Lira and a younger son named Rian." Arin’s expression softened. "What were they like?" "Lira had inherited her father’s curiosity." Ayan sighed. "Rian was more quiet. He loved following his father around. He admired Elias." Arin could almost see the boy. "The three of them had a normal life before everything happened." Ayan shook his head. "Not really. Elias was never good with normal life." Arin laughed. "True. The man was always exploring, investigating, and adventuring. In contrast, he was a loving and dedicated husband and father when he was home." Ayan paused. "That was important to him." Arin nodded.

"Then Zarl came and ruined everything." "Yes." Ayan’s tone was icier. "You already know what happened to them." "Zarl turned them into Chimeras." "Yes." "He experimented on them." Ayan and Arin both nodded. "I know." "And Elias couldn’t stand it." Ayan looked at him. "He couldn’t. He had to kill them with his own hands."

Arin was silent. That was the first thing that was different about Elias compared to what he had heard about him before. He wasn’t remembered for what he could do, but for what he stood for. Ayan continued. "Elias was a really strong person. Even during his search, he would help out a village, investigate a dungeon, and protect a stranger before returning to his quest for his family." Ayan smiled. "There were times when I told him that he was wasting his time." Arin chuckled.

"What did he say?" "He usually retorted with something along the lines of ’If I can help and choose not to, what exactly am I protecting?’" Arin stared at him. "That sounds like him." "Yes." Ayan’s gaze became a little distant. "There was another side to him." "What do you mean?" "As the years wore on, Elias became more serious." Ayan said. "He learned more about the Dungeon Masters and realized that there were things that even frightened him."

"Such as the other Dungeon Masters." Ayan nodded. "Elias eventually learned that much of the history of the Dungeon Masters was comprised of disappearances. Some were murdered, some simply vanished, leaving behind only broken dungeons and the remnants of the Authority." "Elias researched them, especially after he learned about the existence of the System." "The same System I wield." "The same."

Ayan confirmed. "He was never able to discover who created it. Elias searched for years, finding various pieces of information. Clues, records, and fellow Dungeon Masters, but no creator." Arin sighed. "That sounds frustrating." "It was." Ayan said with a small smile. "Elias once spent six months chasing a lead about an ancient Dungeon Master before he found out that it was all based on one inscription." Arin laughed. ℯℯ𝑙.

"What happened?" "He spent another month studying that inscription." "Of course he did." Ayan’s smile didn’t fade. "That was Elias. Eventually, his research led him to conflicts far greater than he ever imagined."

"The Ten Authorities?" "Not directly, but he encountered remnants of them." "He learned that the Dungeon Masters were used, manipulated, and hunted throughout the years. And that there was someone who had been interfering with their legacy." Arin’s expression darkened. "Did he know about Caelan?" "Not enough to stop him." Ayan said. Arin frowned. "So Elias never defeated the man who did this to him?"

"No." "As for his death..." Ayan fell silent for the first time since the conversation had begun. "You don’t know who killed him." Arin said. "No." "But I know Zarl didn’t." "Yes." "And Caelan didn’t either so far as we know." "Yes." "So what do you know?" Ayan looked straight into his eyes. "I know that Elias was preparing for his death." Arin’s eyes widened. "He knew?" "Not exactly." "But he was aware of something being wrong. He began to leave behind instructions, notes, and messages for the next Dungeon Master to inherit the Dungeon Master’s Mark." Arin sat up. "For me?" Ayan nodded.

"For whomever came after him." Arin’s expression shifted. "So he knew someone would come after him." "Yes." "And that’s why he trusted me." Ayan said, although his gaze was growing distant. "Partly, but there was something else Elias told me." "What?" "If the next Dungeon Master should ever cross paths with me, don’t let him become me." Ayan’s voice became quieter. Arin frowned. "What does that mean?" "It means that Elias didn’t want his successor to bear the same burdens as him." Arin looked down. "That sounds exactly like something he would’ve said." Arin sighed. He had nearly lost Mira to Zarl’s experiment.

Just then, hurried footsteps approached from the distance. "Dragon Ayan!" Arin and Ayan turned to see an elven guard running towards them. "The prisoner." Ayan stood up immediately. "What happened?" "Zarl’s magical collar activated." Arin’s expression hardened. "Why?" "We aren’t sure. It seems that he attempted to use magic, but the collar reacted before he could finish the incantation."

Ayan narrowed his eyes. "Is he injured?" "No, but Chief Eldran wants you to come at once." Arin was already standing. "Then let us go." The guard turned back and hurried away. Ayan remained motionless for a moment. Arin looked at him. "Coming?" Ayan gazed back one last time before he walked away. "Yes." They walked back towards the settlement.

After a few minutes, Arin looked at him. "Ayan, Elias sounds like a man I would’ve enjoyed knowing." Ayan smiled. "He probably would’ve annoyed you within ten minutes." Arin laughed. "Then I think I would’ve still liked him."

Ayan’s smile faded into something warmer. "Yes, I think he would’ve liked you too." Arin didn’t respond. The words lingered in his mind as they walked back towards the settlement. Somewhere in the distance, the forest was getting darker under the approaching night. And deep within the settlement, Zarl was waiting.