Zeke had long pondered what Ramon Siemens's true goal was.
At first, he suspected it might be to descend the Demon King upon Abel's body and use him to dominate the continent.
But in that case, there was always the risk that the empowered Abel would turn on Ramon Siemens and eliminate him.
Moreover, controlling a being with far greater power than oneself was never an easy task.
Zeke had speculated on Ramon Siemens's motives in various ways, but without knowing the exact truth, predicting his actions had been difficult.
In that situation, he had finally come to understand what Ramon Siemens truly desired.
"Is Ramon Siemens trying to become the Demon King himself?" At Zeke's question, Chronos slowly opened her mouth.
[The power of a Fell God... whether it can descend the Demon King upon that flesh is something we won't know without trying. But... for a human consumed by a desire for domination, it's certainly a plan worth considering.]
The Flesh-Devouring Emperor Ajitahaka, who sought to become a Constellation himself.
Ramon Siemens, who aimed to become the Demon King and rule over everything.
The two had existed as incarnations of domination, so it was possible they were drawn to each other.
Crackle—
Chronos's spirit body flickered again, the signal threatening to cut out.
Chronos looked at Zeke and said,
[To prevent the Omen of Destruction, Zeke, you must find the legacy of the Kingdom of Chronos.]
She extended her hand toward Zeke.
Woooong—
A cluster of light appeared in her hand, soon taking the shape of a seal.
'Is that the Final Seal?'
Chronos looked at Zeke and said,
[The treasury of Chronos, and the location of the Primordial Temple. Zeke, you must go there and uncover the origin of all this.]
Zeke looked at Chronos with a puzzled expression and asked,
"The origin of all this? What do you mean?"
Crackle—
Chronos's spirit body flickered as if it might vanish.
She moved her extended hand once.
Woooong—
The seal formed in her palm flew toward Zeke.
At the same time, her spirit body began to disperse gradually.
[Zeke Draker, please find the legacy of Chronos and stop the Omen of Destruction.] Soon, her form completely scattered and vanished.
"Chronos!"
Zeke stared at the spot where Chronos had disappeared, then approached the Final Seal floating before him.
'To think the Final Seal is in the Temple of the Goddess Theia.'
Zeke reached out toward the Final Seal Chronos had given him.
The seal touched his hand and dissolved into light, seeping into his body.
Woooong—
A message appeared before Zeke's eyes as he absorbed the seal.
[You have restored the scattered seals of the Kingdom of Chronos.]
[The restored seal activates the treasury coordinates of the Kingdom of Chronos.]
[As a reward for the linked quest mission, you have acquired the title Heir of the Kingdom of Chronos.]
[Acquiring the title Heir of the Kingdom of Chronos activates the coordinates of the Primordial Temple.]
[The coordinates of the Primordial Temple and the treasury coordinates of the Kingdom of Chronos combine.]
[The movement coordinates of the legendary city 'Carcosa,' long forgotten, are activated.]
[As a reward for the main quest mission, your Kabbalah System administrator privileges have been promoted to Master Administrator.]
[Master Administrator System privileges are activated.]
[Upon promotion to Master Administrator, new system functions are unlocked.]
[The new function 'Akashic Code' is unlocked.]
[The Dragon Race Skill Dragonʼs Wisdom links with the Akashic Code.]
[You can now access the Sefirot Dimensional Server through the Akashic Code.]
[You have acquired viewing privileges for the Karma Data List.]
[The advanced questbook has been changed to the master questbook.]
[Restrictions on inventory capacity have been removed.]
[The range of the portal travel system has been expanded.]
[Karma Points consumed during portal travel are reduced by 50%.]
[Restrictions on the number of companions for portal travel have been removed.]
[The area range of Defense Mode has been expanded from fortress to castle scale.]
[As a reward, 10,000 Karma Points are granted.]
Zeke's mouth fell open as the messages poured in one after another.
'Promoted to Master Administrator?'
Zeke checked the newly unlocked function, the 'Akashic Code.'
—System Description—
Akashic Code: Access the Sefirot Dimensional Server to view stored Karma Data and save information.
"Access to a dimensional server..."
It was hard to grasp just from the description.
Just as he tried to verify the Akashic Code's function, another message appeared before Zeke.
[The coordinates of the legendary city Carcosa are automatically activated.]
[Moving to the specified coordinates.]
Woooong—
Zeke's body was enveloped in light.
As he prepared to leave via the system portal, the entire Temple of the Goddess Theia suddenly vibrated.
Rumble—
Zeke's body floated into the air with the light.
The Outsider Species statues outside the temple seemed to wail with unheard soulscreams, trying to block his escape.
[Kieeeek—]
[Kaaaaah—]
[Uuuuuu—]
The soul-wrenching cries from them made Zeke feel a powerful vertigo.
Leaving behind those horrific wails, as if crawling up from the abyss's depths, Zeke's body was swallowed by a massive light.
And moments later, the enormous cluster of light dispersed. Zeke's figure had vanished completely from the Temple of the Goddess Theia.
*
Woooong—
Zeke appeared amid the light.
"Urk!"
The sudden activation of coordinates and the travel had left him disoriented.
"Urgh..."
The soul-screams from the Outsider Species statues kept ringing in his head.
Zeke didn't want to imagine what would happen if those statues awakened and invaded the Phenomenal World.
'Since I restored the statue of the Goddess Theia, it should be fine for now.' Zeke caught his breath and surveyed his new surroundings.
Countless buildings made of ochre bricks.
They weren't as tall as those in Atlas, but their orderly arrangement made it feel like a modern planned city rather than an ancient one.
Looking further, a high, sturdy blue wall encircled the city like a protective embrace.
'Is this the legendary city Carcosa?'
Realizing that this long-lost legendary city lay before him sent an inexplicable shiver through Zeke's body.
It felt similar to when he had overlooked the Kingdom of Chronos from atop the tower, transcending the timeline.
Zeke glanced at the fruits on the nearby stall and reached out to pick one up.
He didn't know what kind it was, having never seen its shape before, but its freshness felt vivid in his hand.
Zeke squeezed the fruit, splitting it in half.
Drip!
Juice overflowed from the halved fruit.
Zeke bit into the split fruit and chewed.
"Oh?"
It was a flavor he'd never tasted before.
As he ate the juicy fruit, Zeke looked around.
'But why is there no one here?'
The city stood perfectly intact, yet it was devoid of people.
Even the market area showed signs of recent activity—steam still rose from pots as if food had just been cooking.
It was as if all life in the city had vanished, leaving only buildings and objects behind.
Zeke couldn't tell if this was a real place or a recreation of the past via Karma Data.
'The coordinates formed by combining the treasury of Chronos and the Primordial Temple led here to Carcosa.'
Curious, he opened the system map, but nothing appeared.
'As expected, what I see now isn't real—it's a playback of past memories via Karma Data.'
But then, a message appeared before Zeke.
[Updating related Karma Data via the Akashic Code.]
[Marking the data on the map.]
After the Karma Data updated, information about Carcosa City appeared on the map.
Only then could Zeke confirm his position on the map.
'The city is bigger than I thought.'
It was almost on par with Atlas in size.
Zeke scanned the map and spotted a building in the center.
He turned his head toward the city's center.
"That..."
A massive structure built of blue-glowing stones stood in the middle of the city.
The square-pyramidal building looked like a simple landmark at first glance. 'They wouldn't place something like that in the city center just for decoration.' Typically, the most important structure would be at the heart of a city.
Zeke activated the Dragonʼs Wings skill to lift himself into the air.
As he ascended slowly, he overlooked the entirety of Carcosa from above.
'Is this the city that received the greatest love from the Constellations?'
A city beloved by the Constellations, yet ultimately destroyed because of them.
Zeke flew toward the massive central structure while gazing at Carcosa's panorama.
Crossing the city, he soon arrived before the building.
But at that moment, Zeke had no choice but to pause where he was.
'This energy...'
An ominous aura emanated from within the massive structure built of blue stones.
Zeke instinctively sensed the nature of that energy.
'This is the Dragonʼs Aura.'
He didn't know why a Dragonʼs Aura emanated from Carcosa's central building, but its overwhelming pressure was immense.
It was far stronger than the presence he remembered from Bahamut or the other Dragon Lords.
Zeke flinched momentarily under that pressure, then realized the aura felt familiar.
'This energy... could it be...'
As he recalled the identity of the being emitting the energy, Zeke slowly approached the structure.
He flew toward the entrance at the top and entered the building.
Thud!
Inside, it felt like stepping into an ancient temple.
The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of blue-glowing stone.
Zeke approached the faintly luminous stone wall and placed his hand on it.
At that instant, he couldn't help but be startled.
Woooong—
The stone wall reacted to Zeke, generating mana.
"What is this?"
Surprisingly, the blue stone wall itself contained mana.
It was as if the wall had been dusted with mana stone powder.
'My god, does that mean the entire structure's stones are like this?' He didn't know the purpose, but it was clear Carcosa was no ordinary city.
Zeke proceeded along the corridor deeper inside.
He headed toward where the Dragonʼs Aura felt stronger.
Soon, the corridor ended, revealing a door.
The door, adorned with blue tiles, had an exotic feel.
As Zeke drew closer, the door began to open on its own.
Rumble—
With a heavy sound, the door parted, revealing a vast grand hall within.
Zeke entered the grand hall slowly.
Unlike the exterior, the interior was decorated with vibrant colors and intricate tile patterns.
'Interesting. I think I've heard of such decorative culture in the Eastern regions.' Zeke walked toward the center of the grand hall, admiring the ornate tiles of Carcosa.
As in other places, no signs of living beings stirred here.
Yet, despite that, a massive presence filled the entire space.
Zeke looked up and gazed at the front of the grand hall.
An empty throne, unoccupied by anyone.
But the intense pressure felt from outside was even more palpable here, in this empty space.
Zeke was certain of the identity of the being with this energy.
At that moment, his expression changed for some reason, and facing the energy from the empty throne, he spoke.
"Show yourself, O great one!"
Zeke's voice echoed throughout the grand hall.
But the empty throne gave no response.
Zeke opened his mouth again.
"You called for me whenever you wished, and now you hide your form!" He shouted in a voice filled with indignation.
"Elder Dragon! Reveal yourself!"