Chapter 54: The Appearance of the Ancient Ancestor

Fafnir emerged from within the Imperial Palace and walked calmly toward the grand balcony.

The balcony stood at a tremendous height, overlooking the vast square stretching out before the palace, as well as the capital, which was overflowing with millions of people.

The Imperial Palace towered majestically over the capital, its ancient stone towers rising toward the sky, while the grand balcony extended from its main façade like a magnificent platform from which its occupant could be seen from great distances.

Valor walked several steps behind Fafnir.

He raised his eyes toward the balcony, then toward the immense crowds waiting below.

Even he, who had known Fafnir for a very long time, could not help but feel the magnitude of the scene before him.

Valor said quietly:

"I have never seen the capital like this before."

Fafnir did not answer.

He continued walking.

The moment Fafnir appeared on the balcony...

The voices stopped.

Little by little, the noise coming from the crowds faded until absolute silence descended upon the entire capital.

It was as though a silent wave had swept across the entire city.

Children stopped talking.

Soldiers stopped moving.

And the whispers of millions fell silent.

Even those at the farthest edges of the capital raised their heads toward the palace.

Millions of humans lifted their heads.

And all their eyes were fixed upon a single man.

Fafnir.

The Emperor.

The Greatest Human.

The ancient ancestor of humanity.

The man who had vanished from the world for five thousand years.

The man whose name had become a legend passed down through generations.

But now...

The legend was standing before them.

Alive.

Real.

And before their very eyes.

At the front of the crowd, an old man stood among a group of his grandchildren.

His hair was completely white, and his face bore the marks of age.

He stared at Fafnir for a long moment.

Then he said in a trembling voice:

"It's him..."

His grandson looked at him in surprise.

"Grandfather... have you seen him before?"

The old man shook his head.

"No."

Then he gave a wistful smile.

"But I have seen his image in the records of our ancestors."

The grandson raised his eyes toward the balcony.

"He is far more imposing than they described."

A man standing beside them heard him and said:

"Because books could never describe his presence."

Elsewhere, a young soldier stood among his comrades.

He was gripping his spear tightly, yet at that moment, he felt no need for it.

One of the soldiers whispered:

"Could it really be that this man lived five thousand years ago?"

An older soldier answered:

"He didn't merely live five thousand years ago."

He looked at him.

"He is the Emperor whom our records describe as the greatest human to have ever lived."

Silence fell between them.

Then the young soldier said:

"I used to think the stories were exaggerated."

The older soldier smiled.

"So did I."

Then he turned his gaze back toward the balcony.

"But I don't think that anymore."

At the front of the square, the highest officials, nobles, and military commanders stood in silence.

They had already seen Fafnir at the summit, but seeing him here was completely different.

There, his appearance had been a shocking surprise.

But here...

He was before his people.

Before millions who had carried his name in their memories for thousands of years.

One minister said quietly:

"He doesn't look any different from how the ancient records describe him."

Another minister replied:

"If anything, he looks younger than I expected."

A third man interrupted:

"Stop talking."

He looked toward the balcony.

"He's looking at us."

Everyone fell silent immediately.

Fafnir remained silent for several moments, observing the millions stretching out before him.

The sight was immense.

The crowds extended in every direction.

The squares.

The streets.

The roads.

And the plains surrounding the capital.

Even the areas far from the palace were crowded with people.

Millions had come from every corner of the continent simply for the chance to see their ancient ancestor.

Some had traveled thousands of kilometers.

Some had spent weeks on the roads.

And some had left their cities and villages simply for the opportunity to see the man whose story had been passed down through their generations.

Fafnir looked upon all of it.

Then he took a calm breath.

The world he had left behind five thousand years ago was different from this one.

Yet he did not feel like a stranger.

Because the faces before him belonged to humans.

Humans from bloodlines he had never known.

Generations he had never seen.

But they were still human.

Then...

The humans at the front of the crowd began to bow.

The others followed.

And within moments...

Millions had bowed as one.

A solemn silence descended.

It was a sight humanity had not witnessed for thousands of years.

Fafnir stood upon the balcony, looking down at the millions bowing before him.

Then he slowly raised his hand.

"Raise your heads."

His voice reached everyone clearly.

The humans lifted their heads.

Their eyes remained fixed upon him.

One of the senior commanders at the front raised his head and spoke loudly enough to be heard:

"As you command, Your Majesty."

Fafnir looked at him for a moment.

Then he turned his gaze back toward the millions.

The crowds waited for his words.

Not a single person spoke.

Not a single person moved without reason.

Everyone was waiting.

Then Fafnir spoke:

"Five thousand years have passed."

His words were calm.

But they carried the weight of five thousand years of history.

No other sound could be heard.

"Five thousand years since I departed from this world."

He paused for a moment.

His eyes swept across the crowds.

Then he continued:

"And throughout those years, the world changed."

"Nations changed."

"Kingdoms changed."

"And humanity changed."

An old man lowered his head slightly.

He remembered the stories his ancestors had told him about the ancient era.

Elsewhere, a young mother held her child in her arms and whispered:

"Look, my child."

The child looked toward the balcony.

"Is that Fafnir?"

The mother smiled.

"Yes."

Then she said softly:

"Remember this day."

Fafnir looked at the millions.

Then he said:

"But you did not forget me."

No one answered.

There was nothing to say.

The silence of millions was answer enough.

A faint smile appeared on Fafnir's face.

It was a small smile, but it did not escape the eyes of those standing at the front.

One elderly man among the crowd said:

"We waited for you..."

Another beside him said:

"Five thousand years."

Then a third added:

"And we never forgot your name."

Their voices did not reach Fafnir.

But he did not need to hear them.

He knew.

Then he said:

"And for that reason..."

He paused for a moment.

"I will not ask you to live in the past."

Silence settled over the capital.

Fafnir slightly raised his head and looked toward the distant horizon.

"The age of the past has ended."

Then he turned his gaze back to the crowds.

"And what comes now..."

A deeper silence descended.

"Will be a new era."

Millions hung upon his every word.

Then Fafnir spoke with greater strength:

"After my return..."

He paused.

Then continued:

"Humanity will rise again."

The crowds trembled.

Whispers began spreading among them.

"It will rise..."

"Humanity will rise..."

Then everyone fell silent when Fafnir slightly raised his hand.

He continued:

"Humanity will not return to what it once was."

"And it will not be content merely to reclaim what it has lost."

"It will surpass everything it has ever known."

The eyes of millions grew brighter.

Then Fafnir raised his hand toward the heavens.

And said:

"Humanity will reach horizons it never reached five thousand years ago."

At the front of the crowd, one scholar raised his head.

He said to his companion:

"He isn't speaking of restoring the past."

His companion replied:

"He's speaking of surpassing it."

Then he looked toward Fafnir.

"He's speaking of a future we have never known."

Silence remained.

Then Fafnir continued:

"Humanity's future will not be a copy of its past."

"It will be greater than it."

His words echoed throughout the capital.

Then he said:

"And we will build a new era..."

Fafnir looked at the millions.

"An era in which humanity will no longer look upon the other races from below."

A heavy silence fell.

Then he said:

"But will stand among them with its head held high."

The moment he spoke those words...

The eyes of millions burned with determination.

There was something in his voice that made his words sound like a promise.

Not merely a speech.

One young soldier said:

"Will we truly become that powerful?"

His commander answered without taking his eyes off Fafnir:

"If he is the one leading us..."

Then he smiled.

"Perhaps there will be no limits to what we can achieve."

Fafnir's words continued to echo over the capital.

"Humanity has waited for five thousand years."

He paused.

Then said:

"The waiting is over."

At that moment, some people began to weep.

They were not tears of sorrow.

They were tears carrying the emotions of entire generations.

An elderly man placed a hand over his chest.

He said softly:

"I thought I would die without ever seeing him."

Then he closed his eyes for a moment.

"But I saw him."

The man beside him said:

"You are not the only one."

Then he looked toward the millions.

"Today, all of humanity saw him."

Then Fafnir slowly lowered his hand.

And said:

"From this moment onward..."

He paused.

The entire capital waited for his final words.

Then Fafnir spoke:

"Humanity's renaissance begins."

Silence descended for a single second.

Only one second.

Then...

The entire capital erupted in cheers.

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Greatest Human!"

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Greatest Human!"

The voices rose like a storm.

The squares shook.

The cheers echoed between the towers of the capital.

Then the soldiers joined the chant.

The people raised their hands toward the heavens.

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Greatest Human!"

The sound was so immense that it swept beyond the walls of the capital and reached the surrounding regions.

High above the capital, upon the Imperial Palace, Valor watched the scene.

He remained silent for several moments.

Then he smiled.

And said to himself:

"It has truly begun."

As for Fafnir...

He did not join their chants.

He remained standing calmly upon the balcony.

Looking at his people.

At the humanity he had left behind five thousand years ago.

And at the humanity he would now lead toward a future it had never known.

Millions of eyes remained fixed upon him.

But Fafnir did not see merely a crowd of humans before him.

He saw an entire nation.

He saw a future.

And he saw a civilization that could become far greater than it had ever been in the past.

Five thousand years had passed.

But Fafnir's return was not merely the return of a man to a world that had changed.

It was the return of a legend to his people.

The ancient ancestor had returned.

And with him...

A new era had begun.

The Era of Humanity's Renaissance.