As Alex passed through the portal created by Varon, he had recovered from the surprise of Guardian Ezekiel being alive, and now he was itching to meet the man as he was the centerpiece of the whole story narrated by Ahrimon.
After passing through the portal, Alex found himself standing in the middle of a lush forest and felt the crisp breeze dense with mana, caressing his senses, carrying a revitalizing and fresh aroma.
Towering trees, hundreds of feet high, surrounded him, and the melodious chirping of the birds could be heard from every direction, creating a lively and soothing atmosphere.
In the distance, a clear, flowing lake sparkled under the sunlight, and near its edge stood a quaint log cabin and a small space away from the cabin at the lakeshore sat a man on a wooden chair with his back turned toward Alex.
Alex used appraisal on the man and instantly felt his heart skip a beat, not because the man was half-step transcendent as he was expecting but because he was merely an early Fifth Rank warrior, with the only thing special about him being all the question marks highlighting the majority of his status.
However, Alex didn't question that the man before him was a domain guardian because just looking at him gave him the feeling that he felt from only two other individuals, and he also had the title that represented his status on display.
"Young one, join me here." Alex had just closed the status window when he heard an elderly voice in his mind.
Alex saw a wooden chair appear next to guardian Ezekiel, so without any delay, he appeared next to the chair in a single step and took a moment to look at the man who was painted as the executioner in his mind.
Guardian Ezekiel was a man of seasoned years, with the wear of age etched into the lines near his eyes, and he had cold silver eyes that seemed to hold a lifetime of wisdom and experiences.
He had a handsome face, supporting a strong, chiseled jawline and sharp cheekbones, which gave him an air of authority.
His head was crowned with slightly wavy, silvery hair that cascaded down to his shoulders, and he sported a full, lion-like beard, each strand a turned glistening white through the passage of time.
He was dressed in a plain black, high-collared shirt with its front buttons left undone, revealing a broad, chiseled chest, and similarly, dark trousers completed the attire, and over his shirt, he wore a long robe.
The robe's exterior was pure white, unblemished by a stain, while the inside was a deep, rich, dark color, giving it a sense of balance and duality, and the robe was casually placed over his shoulders, not worn as it should be.
Alex observed the imposing figure, who sat with a composed demeanor, grasping a slender, dark iron rod, its end connected to an exceptionally delicate wire, with his gaze fixed upon the tranquil surface of the lake.
"What you heard from Ahrimon has some truth to it, like him being the brother of the previous Ruler, Ahura, but there are also a few lies in his story," Elder Ezekiel spoke, his eyes staying set on the lake.
"Before I tell you what truly happened on that sad day when I lost two loved ones and became the husk that you see, I should shed some light on a very important matter,"
"Much like your Ruler System, each Domain Guardian possessed a similar, albeit a more limited system, and the entity responsible for giving us that opportunity is known as Lady Enigma."
"The guardians don't have any means to contact her, and Lady Enigma only talks to us through missions,"
"Now, Let me tell you what I know about how things led to that dark day," Elder Ezekiel said, and Alex kept his silence as he digested the shocking revelation.
Elder Ezekiel began by telling a small bit about Ahrimon and Ahura and how those two ambitious young lads arrived at the capital city of Duskwynn.
In just a few months, the younger brother was chosen as the Ruler of the domain, and their life changed forever.
He continued by telling how he took them both as his students as they were both extremely talented and saw them grow from young lads to fine young men who were willing to lay down their lives for each other.
He said that if someone said that one of the brothers had ill intentions toward the other, he and everyone who knew them wouldn't even take the statement seriously because of how good the relationship between the two brothers was.
However, that changed after Ahrimon returned from the Ancestral blood ground, with a legacy related to demons. His behavior and how he treated his brother all remained the same, but on the inside, he had changed into a monster pretending to be the person we all knew and loved.
He said it was unknown when Ahrimon truly became the monster willing to kill his brother and treat the lives of others as nothing but a means to an end, but he became a monster without a shadow of a doubt.
He continued by telling how Ahrimon became the Ruler of the demon realm, and things developed well for everyone as both continents flourished under the rule of two brothers, and it was one good thing after another.
Alex listened in silence even though he was itching to ask questions, but by this point, he understood that things were much more different than he expected because Ahrimon's story had less credibility than he thought.
Elder Ezekiel continued by telling how It was like any normal adventurer when he left the Malefis Domain in search of old-era relics, and on a desolated island deep beneath the surface, he found horrors hidden behind a vast number of arrays.
Now we know those horrors as devourer beasts. Creatures turned into mindless monstrosities hungry for organic matter because of the devourer curse.
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