IBHJ Chapter 958

His fists clenched, knuckles whitening. "We had nothing of value, no rare monsters nearby to hunt. Yet they slaughtered us all the same. Uncle Olas, our village chief, even my sister Ramoi..." Charia's voice broke, unable to continue.

The room fell silent, and in his eyes, a storm of emotions brewed - fear, hatred, and a deep, burning resentment. It was clear that this brutal attack had shattered his view of the human world, painting it in shades of cruelty and darkness.

"They slaughtered us, but I managed to escape. They... they were too powerful, I couldn't save my people. But if we could find the legendary guardian god, my people would surely be saved... So, great one... please..." The three-eyed youth looked at Shirou with hopeful eyes.

Before he could respond, Venus sidled up to him, a mischievous glint in her eye. She nudged him with her elbow, chuckling. "Well, well, looks like you've been promoted to godhood, huh? Should we start planning your burial, oh Eternal King?"

He rolled his eyes. "That kind of lame joke isn't funny, Venus." Without warning, he reached out and grabbed a handful of her hair, giving it a quick tug.

"Ow!" Venus yelped, jumping back and rubbing her head. "Alright, alright, I'll behave!"

He glanced sideways at her, realizing her hair wasn't as short as Arcueid's, which would have made it harder to grab. Turning back to the three-eyed youth, he said, "I'm not your village's guardian god. I think you've got the wrong person."

Charia's face fell, panic creeping into his voice. "No, no! I'm certain it's you. You must be our guardian god!"

Shirou raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious now. "How can you be so sure?"

Whether it was him from the modern world or from ancient Britain, he was at least ten thousand years removed from the South American mythological era when the Mayan civilization still existed. How could he have possibly left any traces or legends there?

Besides, using the Root to tamper with the Spirit Origin Record was already a miraculous, one-time event. It couldn't happen again. After all, Gaia's monsters and Alaya's Heroic Spirits were not to be messed with.

Most importantly, the Lord of Salvation was sealed within the Root. Entering the Root's path meant an extremely high probability of being directly devoured by the Lord of Salvation.

Even now, when he recalled his past journey through the Root, he still felt lucky. It could only be said that the stronger one becomes, the more one knows, and the more one knows, the more one can comprehend their own insignificance and the terror of the unknown.

So how could such a thing happen a second time?

Everyone kept up their smiles, understanding the question.

"Vortex," the three-eyed youth said firmly, looking into his eyes.

Artoria's smile vanished, Venus's fake one faded, and Tiamat's gaze sharpened.

Charia pointed at his third eye. "After my third eye awakened, I could see the truth of all things. So I can see that you're the village's guardian god."

Shirou's mind raced. It seemed the third eyes of Charia's people had weakened over time, becoming ordinary. But the trauma of the massacre had awakened Charia's third eye, granting him the ability to perceive the true nature of things.

According to Charia, their village had a statue of the "guardian god," and the statue led his eyes to Lake Titicaca. But he was caught by his pursuers, cursed, and knocked out, eventually found by a kind grandmother.

Hearing Charia's story, Shirou felt pity and sympathy, but also realized the key points.

Vortex!

Guardian God!

According to Waver, the three-eyed people came from the lost continent, the prehistoric civilization closest to Gaia's civilization.

If the Fifth Magic were used, it might be possible to explore even more ancient times, but sadly, he had no contact with its user. And the user of the Second Magic, with whom he had some connection, had vanished after giving Chaldea the practical application theory of the Second Magic. Beyond that, all that was left was the risky path of exploring from the Root.

"I advise you to give up the idea of exploring the past, Sakura's brother," Tiamat suddenly said. "You have no way to explore the past before the Age of Gods, even from the [Root]."

"Why not?"

"Think of it this way: when I was banished to the Imaginary Space by those children, that was a turning point. After that, Gaia and Alaya went back and corrected the timeline. None of the Connection Points the Council made can reach back further than the Age of Gods. You could burn all of human history for mana, and it still wouldn't be enough. So let it go."

Tiamat's voice was cold as she added, "The past has no meaning for those who live in the present and strive for the future."

"But isn't the ghost of the past clinging tight to the present, stopping it from moving forward?" he countered with a smile.

Tiamat fell silent. The hand of the past's ghost he spoke of was none other than the Lord of Salvation. Without stopping this thing and severing the twisted connection between past and present, there could be no future.

"Alright. We'll help you," Shirou said, turning his gaze to Charia.

Tiamat had no reason to lie, so it seemed there truly was no way to explore the time before the Age of Gods. That age was split into three periods: the era when Tiamat existed, the time when the gods drove away her "mommy" and shaped the realms of heaven, earth, and humanity with themselves at the center, and finally, the post-Age of Gods period when the age faded and the gods vanished - what humans called their classical era.

Setting aside the post-Age of Gods, the era Shirou himself had put an end to, the first sign that the Age of Gods was ending was Gilgamesh's farewell to the gods. That was during the Sumerian-Akkadian period, roughly 4,000 years ago. And the extinction of the three-eyed people happened even further in the past. As far as anyone knew or had encountered, no person or civilization was older than them. If they could use this vanished civilization as an entry point to understand them, it might offer clues about the Lord of Salvation.

"Alright. We'll help you save your people," he said, looking at Charia.

Hearing this, Charia wept with joy: "Thank you, thank you, great guardian god."

Shirou's face darkened. "...on the condition that you don't call me guardian god!"

Charia's face froze.

Shirou then outlined his plan. They would help Charia rescue the captured three-eyed people, using this mission as a starting point to investigate the missing continent. He noticed Morrigan leaning in, her eyes sparkling with keen interest at the prospect.

"This kind of thing, you should let me handle it no matter what, right?" she declared, her eyes gleaming. "After all, I'm the most skilled in magecraft among us!"

He couldn't argue with that logic. He nodded, agreeing to bring her along.

Morrigan's excitement, however, quickly took a disturbing turn. Her eyes locked onto Charia's third eye with an unsettling intensity. "I heard many of your people were killed. Wouldn't it be a waste to just bury those eyes? They need to be passed on! Surely you could spare one or two for me?"

The laugh, like that of a mad scientist, made Charia tremble with fear. Moreover, the vision Charia saw from Morrigan terrified him even more. It was a devil grinning behind an angel's face.

"Eh? Morgan's going too?" Venus perked up, her hand shooting into the air. "Then I want to go as well!"

Before she could finish her enthusiastic declaration, Tiamat quickly reached out and pushed her hand back down.

Venus turned to Tiamat, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. "What are you doing, Tiamat?"

"Don't cause trouble," Tiamat said calmly.

There were two Venuses: one who wanted to repay Gaia's favor, and the other who followed the will of the Ultimate Ones.

Unfortunately, the latter was more capable than the former.

If Venus stepped outside this place that had become their base, she would be discovered by her other self, thus exposing them all. So, Venus had to stay put.