The group followed Lora deeper into the heart of the temple. Contrary to what they had expected, instead of sand and dust, the deeper they went, the more lush and verdant the surroundings became, with dense, thriving trees all around.
Although some of them attributed this to the power of the Dendro Archon, Rahman stubbornly insisted that such flourishing vegetation was a blessing from King Deshret, and had nothing to do with the so-called Dendro Archon.
Lora led them into a secret realm that felt like an independent space. There, they saw a massive tree radiating a soft pink-blue glow.
"Wow, what a huge tree!"
Paimon stared at it in amazement. Then something suddenly came to mind, and she quickly asked,
"Lumine, is this the same tree you saw when you fainted?"
Lumine looked at the tree ahead and shook her head.
"No. The one I saw felt more sacred."
They moved closer and noticed a statue of a wolf beneath the tree. The statue was carved with symbols from the civilization of King Deshret. The moment Rahman saw those symbols, he grew visibly excited.
"This is a blessing from King Deshret! All of this is a manifestation of his divine power!"
He stared intently at the glowing statue.
"Go take a look. Don't say I tampered with anything," Lora said calmly.
Rahman hurried forward. Looking at the tomb-like structure beneath the statue, he frowned.
"What is this? And this... is it a book? I can't understand the writing..."
"Let me see."
Alhaitham stepped forward. He examined the book placed before the wolf statue, and after reading it, he said evenly,
"This is an elegy written in ancient script."
Dehya immediately asked,
"What does it say?"
Alhaitham flipped through the book and read aloud,
"Here lies our loyal priest. His wisdom was like a miracle among men, worthy of praise and song."
"You can actually read ancient script!"
Rahman looked at him in shock.
Alhaitham replied in a completely matter-of-fact tone,
"Every young person should master at least twenty languages by the time they graduate, shouldn't they?"
"…"
Paimon blinked and whispered to Lumine,
"Is he joking?"
Lora continued,
"There's more information within these remains. Project it using the device Amon left behind. Let certain people see for themselves what kind of relationship truly existed between the King Deshret they worship and the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata."
"Alright."
Alhaitham nodded and began operating the device.
As the machine slowly lit up, the ancient message preserved here revealed itself before them.
"From knowledge, civilization was born..."
The light engulfed everyone, pulling them into an illusion. Before their eyes, a vast scene slowly unfolded. It was Sumeru in the distant past, an era when the Three Gods of Sumeru still existed, when King Deshret still ruled the desert.
They saw King Deshret bring "Forbidden Knowledge" from beyond the world. A plague spread across Sumeru, and many were afflicted with Eleazar. People gradually descended into madness.
Then they saw the god from the rainforest. The benevolent and noble Greater Lord Rukkhadevata brought salvation. She gathered priests to build temples and used divine power to resist the erosion of the "Forbidden Knowledge" and Eleazar.
They saw King Deshret exile himself. They saw Greater Lord Rukkhadevata transform into a child due to the immense depletion of her power. They also heard the final words of the priest Kasale, who hoped that future generations would forever remember the kindness of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
Yet, in bitter irony, the desert people of today harbor hatred toward her, viewing her as a despicable and shameless deity.
When the final image froze on the childlike form of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, silence fell over everyone.
Lumine, Paimon, and Alhaitham instinctively turned to look at Nahida, who stood to the side, deep in thought. Dehya and Rahman were equally shaken, unable to suppress their emotions as they struggled to process what they had just witnessed.
Among everyone present, only Lora remained composed. She took Nahida's hand and led her away first.
"We'll head out. You all take your time to process this," she said.
Watching them leave, Paimon whispered,
"Lumine... could Nahida be...?"
Lumine shook her head.
"Judging from Lora's reaction, probably not."
"No! How can this be!"
Rahman shouted, unable to accept what he had just seen as the truth.
"The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata... So the previous Dendro Archon and King Deshret weren't enemies at all!"
Cyno said, staring at the wolf statue above the remains, his voice filled with disbelief.
"How is that possible! The Dendro Archon's people are clearly all..."
Rahman muttered.
Alhaitham glanced at him.
"In your eyes, we, the Dendro Archon's people, are nothing but liars. But what you just saw came from King Deshret's own technology. These are the last words left behind by his priests."
"I... I've never heard any of this before!"
Rahman shook his head, looking at Alhaitham.
"In the past, King Deshret's people gathered in Aaru Village. Our god does not make mistakes. We refused to believe those rumors. The death of King Deshret, the near destruction of our civilization... it was all caused by the arrival of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata!"
"To us, she was the one who stabbed us in the back when disaster struck! And now you're telling us that everything we believed was a lie? That we raised our blades against our own benefactor, and lived like that for so many years? How am I supposed to accept that?!"
"Rahman, enough!"
Dehya snapped.
"Don't make a fool of yourself!"
Rahman fell silent, lowering his head, his mood sinking into despair.
Lora led Nahida back along the path they came from. Nahida remained quiet, her head lowered, lost in thought.
"Aren't you going to ask me anything?" Lora said.
Hearing that, Nahida looked up. She gazed at Lora, lips pressed together slightly, then asked,
"Auntie... what we just saw... was it real?"
Lora nodded.
"Yes. That was the real past. What truly happened on this land."
"I only knew that Eleazar was connected to Irminsul. I never imagined it was actually caused by 'Forbidden Knowledge' from beyond this world," Nahida sighed softly. "No wonder I couldn't cure it..."
"Is that your only question?" Lora asked.