And while Vulas and Kolvar were on their way back, Ian and, especially Eryndor, had made quiet progress of their own.
After days of effort, they had finally begun to decipher the ancient script.
Eryndor leaned back, rubbing his eyes. "It's missing some parts," he said, gesturing to the worn fragments spread out before them. "I don't think this is the complete piece."
"But," he added, with a note of satisfaction, "we can at least make sense of some of it now…"
Ian leaned in, eyes scanning the lines of rough translation they'd written down.
He read aloud, slow and thoughtful:
"When the sky shattered and the land was torn asunder, When the stars wept and the earth groaned beneath the weight of broken vows, In the twilight of an age long forgotten, the Harbinger emerged, Lord of Hollow Vows. Where he walked, oaths faltered, and promises unraveled. His gaze was a silence that devoured the past, For he was the keeper of nothing, and the end of all binding.
From his blood, we were forged anew, A kind unlike any before, the Drethir, We rose to the promise of nothing, Our souls bound in the shadow of the Lord's Blood.
As we swore allegiance, our tongues turned to silence, For in the blood of the Lord, we found our pact, A pact of forgotten vows and unspoken truths, And in our silence, we found our strength."
Ian stared at the words. "The Drethir, huh..."
Eryndor nodded. "Yes. The style is very similar to the Erevat Script. The Drethir were a non-humanoid species long back. For some reason, they declared war against the Concord. They were eventually destroyed..."
Ian looked surprised. "What? Did they actually...?"
"Yeah," Eryndor said. "Seems like they tried attacking some places here and there. But they pissed off some of the big ones. So they were eradicated."
Ian looked thoughtful. "Oh..." He had been thinking, to declare war against the Irylian Concord, they must have been really powerful. But it seems...
Seeing Ian's face, Eryndor added, "Well, they did have a Seventh Order at the peak. Plus, their combined strength was very good. On average, second to third Orders was a general thing for them. So they considered themselves superior."
Ian exhaled slowly. "Ohh..." His face turned serious. Now this was interesting. Because that meant a lot. Apart from the Titans or Dragons, no one else in the Irylian Concord had stats like that. Plus a Seventh Order might not be anything in front of the Concord but for the current novice him, a seventh order being was still unreachable.
But still... The questions remained, how did something belonging to them end up here? This planet used to belong to the Ceroks before the elves came, and it's generally accepted that the Ceroks were the most advanced species here.
Still, he understood something. Like the "Lord's Blood", it might refer to the blood of that "Lord of Hollow Vows" the Drethir worshipped. Its relation to the Quite Testament, though, wasn't clear. But this created another headache.
What would happen to Myrra?
From what Ian could tell, this "Lord" and his blood weren't a good thing. And he couldn't really think of a solution. This won't work. He had to do something.
Now his only hope was Yeonelyth.
Ian sighed. "Eventually... it has come to this."
Eryndor glanced at him. "Huh, what?"
Ian shook his head. "Nothing. Thanks for your help. This was really informative."
Eryndor nodded. "Don't worry about it."
They chatted a little more, exchanged a few idle pleasantries, and then Eryndor left, leaving Ian alone in the room.
The next few days were filled with worry, but there was some good news. Enira had decided to enter the First Order.
Being a good boss and considering that she has been an excellent employee Ian decided to monitor and protect her throughout the process. After a few discussions, and learning that she didn't require any special environment, they agreed she would advance at his private facility in Ian Themar.
And soon the day came. Inside a chamber in his facility, Enira sat cross-legged on the floor. The room was lit only by a few cold-blue wall lamps. Ian stood a short distance away, near a projection with various readings.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Yeah." She didn't open her eyes. Her voice was steady.
"Alright. I'll be here. Just focus."
Enira nodded and closed her eyes, her breathing steady as she began to focus. Ian turned his attention to his work, reading and analyzing various data points on the holo projection. But his eyes frequently flicked back to her, always observing, always ready for any sign of something off.
The atmosphere in the room shifted as Enira's concentration deepened. Her aura began to glow faintly, and with each breath, the golden hue around her intensified. The energy she was harnessing became more vibrant, almost palpable, as it swirled in the air around her.
Then, just as Ian was about to look away, a change came. Her breathing grew uneven. Her brows tensed. Then her whole body went still.
Suddenly Enira found herself standing in a blinding white space. There was no floor, no sky, just an empty vastness. She turned in place, confused. Then she felt something, a presence.
An enormous golden eye opened in the distance, its pupil narrow and vertical. It didn't blink. It just stared. Then a voice echoed through the space. It sounded young, like a child, but it didn't feel normal.
"Help me…"
Her eyes snapped open. On the outside, her irises were completely golden, a glowing liquid, almost like blood, dripping from them.
Her body began emitting a sharp, golden light. The air around her burned with intensity, and her clothes burst to tear under the pressure of the energy. Ian caught a glimpse of her bare form, a mesmerizing display of exaggerated feminine curves that defied all expectations. Her voluptuous breasts stood proudly, crowned by two round orbs with a rosy hue that seemed to glisten with the sweetness of fresh cherries at their peaks. The soft, supple skin of her body was a testament to the curves that flowed from her chest to her narrow waist, which was cinched in by the way she sat on the floor. This unintentional pose only served to accentuate the allure of her hourglass figure, the shadows playing upon the swells of her hips and the delicate arch of her back as she bent slightly forward in concentration. Her body was a visual feast that left him mesmerized for a moment.
But soon Ian came back to his senses and without hesitation, he conjured an Obryx shield, surrounding them both to mitigate the impact. He moved closer, determined to awaken her before things got out of hand. But as he approached, the shield began to crack under the strain, the sheer force of the light pushing against its structure.
Ian's eyes widened in disbelief. This shouldn't be happening, he thought.
He reinforced the shield and got closer. "Enira. Wake up. Snap out of it," he said.
But she didn't respond. The golden light grew more intense, and the floor beneath her cracked slightly. He reached for her shoulder.
The moment he touched her, a burst of golden light erupted from her, sending Ian reeling. He lost his balance, and for a moment, everything around him spun. His mind struggled to clear through the disorientation as the golden brilliance flooded the room.
When the light finally subsided, Ian's vision sharpened, and his senses returned to him. His heart raced as he looked down at Enira, who lay across his chest, still unconscious. Her body, now completely naked, glowed with the remnants of the golden energy that had emanated from her.
He let out a long breath, his shoulders relaxing as he realized she was at least safe for now.
He gently moved to wake her. "Enira," he whispered softly, shaking her gently. "Enira, come on, wake up."
She stirred, blinking slowly. She pushed herself upright, her bare breasts bouncing slightly from the sudden movement. "What happened...?"
It took a second for her to register the position they were in. She was straddling him, fully exposed. Her bare skin pressed against his clothes, soft and warm. Ian tried not to react, but he couldn't ignore the heat of her body, or the faint, sweet scent clinging to her, something clean, almost floral, and unexpectedly intimate.
Then she looked at him, followed his gaze, and realized what had happened.
Her face turned red. "I... I'm sorry!" She scrambled off him quickly, stumbling to her feet.
Ian sat up and looked away. "Here." He reached for a spare robe on a nearby shelf and handed it to her without turning around.
Enira grabbed it and rushed into the next room. A few minutes later, she stepped back out, the robe wrapped tightly around her. She kept her gaze low, clearly still embarrassed.
"You alright?" Ian asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. I think so."
She walked around the room slowly, adjusting to her body. Her fingers flexed, testing. Then, without warning, a golden shimmer trailed from her hand and solidified, forming into a glowing, ethereal sword.
She stared at it, surprised.
Ian raised an eyebrow. "Do you know how to use a sword?"
"No," she said. "Not really…"
The blade hovered in the air beside her, weightless and silent.
Ian didn't say anything right away. Instead, he activated Mindbloom, letting his awareness drift through her energy. There weren't any major changes to her structure. But something was different. Her aura had grown sharper, more refined. And there was something else... she gave a more sacred presence than before. Holy, almost divine.
"Seems like you're stable," he said. "You've made it to First Order."
Enira turned her hand, and the sword dissolved into golden particles. "It feels... clearer," she said.
Ian nodded, still watching her closely. "Good."
He paused, then asked, "What happened? Back there."
Enira sat down back on the floor. Ian stood still, letting her gather her thoughts.
"I saw something," she said slowly. "I don't know where I was, but... it was white. Just endless. No ground, no sky. Just white."
Ian didn't interrupt.
"Then this eye appeared," she went on. "Big. Gold. And it just stared at me. I couldn't look away. And then it said something."
"What?"
"It said, 'Help me.' And it sounded… young. Like a child, but not really."
Ian narrowed his eyes slightly. "And then?"
"Then I woke up. That's it."
Ian didn't respond immediately. He just stood there, thinking.
Is it connected to the thing the Quiet Testament put inside her?
Then he looked at Enira again. "Now that you've reached First Order, you might have access to more information. Try to find out as much as you can."
Enira nodded. "Yeah… I'll find out why they're really after Myrra."
Ian leaned back slightly. "That's fine. But you should focus more on what's inside you."
Enira gave a soft, sweet smile. "Yeah…"
She thought he was showing concern. That he genuinely cared. And maybe he did…. and this her chest feel warm for a second.
What she didn't know, Ian already had a good idea of what was inside Myrra. That wasn't his concern right now. Enira just misunderstood.
But then, all at once, her thoughts drifted back to earlier and her face flushed again in remembrance of what had happened.
"I should… I should go," she mumbled quickly, not looking at him.
Ian just nodded and didn't stop her. "Alright."
She gave a quick nod and turned fast, almost bumping into the edge of the door before it hissed open. And just like that, she left, still flustered, still red-faced, her heart pounding a little too fast for her liking.