Chapter 295: Your Roots, A Sanctuary

Pelo’s face paled hearing the old man’s words.

"C-Calamity? Impossible! There’s no way the Great Calamity has already begun! Our war hasn’t finished yet!"

The emperor rubbed his face anxiously.

"It’s very possible. From what I feel, that power floating in the atmosphere is beyond anything I have ever felt before. It is as if the heavens themself have been enchanted with Zalo’s dark energy."

Pelo held up his hand.

"Why attack now? How did it start? It had to have been that girl! I knew I should have killed her when I had the chance!"

Enki shook his head.

"It is beyond me to point fingers on how this event came to pass, but if one thing is certain, we cannot simply throw the blame on a single girl to make ourselves feel better. Everyone had a part in some way through action or inaction. We are all equally responsible.

"How do I know I can trust you? How do I know everything you are saying is true?"

Enki grabbed a small monocle from his pocket and tossed it across the table. Pelo picked it up, studying its edges carefully.

"What is this?"

"It’s a charm. It gives shape to magical energy from enchantments and powers alike. However, it can be limited in some capacity if another person knows how to mask their power properly. For example, me."

Pelo slowly brought the monocle to his eye before walking towards the nearest window and staring at the infinitely dark sky. Immediately, the darkness was given a texture, one so rough and chaotic it sent chills up his spine.

"This is insane. It’s like an entire mountain range is floating in the air."

Pelo suddenly dropped to the ground while holding his head.

"Argh. What the hell is this feeling?!"

Enki walked over and grabbed the monocle from his face.

"That’s the tradeoff of wearing it. Very severe headaches that could bring even the most powerful people to their feet."

Pelo grabbed hold of the desk next to him to regain his balance.

"I don’t get it. Why would Zalo not hide such a devastating power?"

"He doesn’t need to hide it. It is almost an exclamation to those who think they stand a chance, telling them to come and try their luck with a creature who can curse the whole world in an instant."

Pelo sat back down in his chair, covering his face in fear.

"We’re dead. Humanity is dead. We’re going to get wiped out. Not even our two kingdoms combined could take out Zalo. Not even the power of us multiplied by a million could lay a scratch on him!!"

"I know. We can’t defeat him right now, but I know a way we can try."

Pelo’s face dropped in awe.

"What are you going on about?! You’re trying to tell me you know a way to defeat a providence deity?!"

"Not necessarily defeat him, but I know how to delay his calamity."

Pelo shook his head.

"I think you’ve gone senile. I suggest you spend the rest of your time left, however small, with those you love."

Enki scoffed.

"For being the fabled Emperor of Paria Empire, you sure are a coward."

Pelo clenched his teeth.

"What did you just call me?"

"Oh, I apologize, my lord. Would you prefer wuss? Scaredy-cat? Wimp?"

Pelo couldn’t find the words to speak he was so appalled.

"How dare you talk to your superior that way!"

"I’m an old man. I’m not scared of you. Especially when all you want to do is cower in your little kingdom until calamity really does wipe you all out. I’m giving you the chance to possibly preserve your kingdom, preserve humanity. Now are you going to hear me out or tuck your tail between your legs and piss your pants while I go and leave all your citizens behind to die?"

Pelo shook his head.

"There’s nowhere for you to go, nowhere where Zalo’s influence does not reach. He will find you eventually, and humanity will truly be gone for good. We need power, so unless you have a magical way to conjure us some god-like power, I’m afraid it will mean nothing in the end."

Enki shook his head.

"You are wrong. What we need is not power."

Pelo lifted his head and stared into Enki’s deep, dull eyes. There was a strange resolve hidden behind his pupils that he couldn’t read, as if he had come to some sort of agreement with himself.

"If not power, what else?"

"Time."

Enki slowly walked over to a small mirror sitting on the wall, releasing his charm that was hiding his real look. Slowly, his head and body became more deformed. It felt like an invisible weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he slowly turned back into his real self. He touched his half missing head while staring at himself in the mirror.

"And I know of a place that is beyond time."

Pelo shivered seeing Enki reveal himself to him.

"Y-You..."

"I know. I’m quite unsightly, am I not? Even for an old man’s standards. However, that charm was quite overbearing on my powers. I cannot use all my abilities to their maximum potential with it activated."

Pelo remained silent, trying to determine if the thing that appeared in front of him was a monster. Small ethereal shackles wrapped around Enki’s arms as he tried to sit back down. Pelo’s face was much more serious than before.

"Who are you?! Are you a monster or a human?!"

Enki made a crooked smile. His mind flashed back to the mysterious card that had appeared on the door of his restaurant.

"I am a savior."

Pelo’s hands were shaking as he held Enki in place with his power. Suddenly, the shackles dissipated, leaving small markings around Enki’s wrists. Pelo reached across the table and offered his hand.

"Tell me about this place you mentioned. This place beyond time."

Enki stared at Pelo’s hand before slapping it away.

"No handshakes. Those are normally made with the intention of promise. However, there is not a single thing I can promise about this place, including the safety of your people."

"Can this place really harbor all of my citizens? How big is it?"

Enki sighed.

"No, but we will have to make it work somehow. That is of course assuming that it hasn’t grown any larger since last time I was there."

"Grow larger? Is this another empire we are unaware of?"

"No. Before I speak any more about this, I need to ask you something important."

"Go ahead. Ask anything."

Enki leaned on the desk, coming close to Pelo’s face.

"How many of your citizens lives are you willing to sacrifice for humanities survival? Because if your answer is anything less than all of them, there is no saving humanity."

Pelo choked on air.

"A-All of them? Just how dangerous is this place?! Is it breaming with monsters?!"

"Answer my question first then I will answer any questions you may have about this place."

"You expect me to give such a heavy answer so quickly?! Surely, I have a small amount of time to ponder this."

"You do not. You’ve seen the sky yourself. Every passing second that is wasted is another second given to this Calamity to spread."

Pelo cursed under his breath. After three moments of silence, he finally spoke up with a monotonous expression.

"I’ll do it. I’ll sacrifice them all for our survival if I have to. Please, just get my people there as best as you can."

Enki nodded his head.

"Good answer. Order your guards to gather everyone in town as fast as you possibly can. I will answer your questions as we walk towards the gathering ourselves."

Without wasting any time, Pelo called out to his servants and gave them the order. He was done questioning Enki’s requests for the time being but still wanted to know the thought behind them when he got the chance to ask. Both Pelo and Enki began walking side by side towards the exit of the palace.

"This place beyond time is a corrupted leviathan."

Pelo felt like passing out.

"You’re taking my citizens to a-"

"Let me finish."

Pelo closed his mouth and listened intently.

"This leviathan acts different compared to other ones. It only eats when it has to. It has somehow been surviving on the monsters and people who have wondered into its area for hundreds of years. Truthfully, it appears to only eat people when it doesn’t get any large monsters for a long time. The leviathan itself is the kingdom, so it can change shape to lock its prey in and kill them without any effort. In addition, anyone ate by them is forgotten about. Their name, the memories of them all become corrupted. The only person known to have cleansed such memories has been Lidia Rose, who is currently laying siege to the Mono’s. That also means if people do get ate, there will be no mass panic."

Enki stopped and raised his eyebrow, seeing if Pelo had any questions. However, Pelo was too invested in the description to say anything yet.

"Even after everything you’ve heard, I’m sure you must think the leviathan is the only monster we need to worry about. However, you would be wrong."

Pelo and Enki finally made it on the front steps of the palace. At the very bottom of the stairs, tens of thousands of people were all starting to form one of the largest crowds they had ever seen.

"The real monsters we need to worry about, are the ones who have survived in that place for centuries."