"..."
Confused and speechless, Jason gets back up on his feet after the impact before he starts to hear voices from who-knows-where.
"Follower of the Light Branch elements, why do you seek knowledge that you're not meant to learn?"
The unknown voice's question confuses Jason even more, yet he replies
"As a loyal follower of the Earth and its Sustainer Kaylet, I will only continue to pursue any form of knowledge, regardless of its alignment."
"Then why do you seek even the forbidden knowledge?"
This question immediately allows Jason to deduce the unknown voice's true intentions.
"Why not and who are you anyway? Does that book contain clues about what has happened on this planet? Are you one of the catalysts for the ominous energy that covered most of this planet?"
Jason's questions made the unknown voice lose his temper.
"You've talked too much"
Multiple spaces around Jason tear open, and multiple creatures imbued with the same ominous energy appear from the torn dimensions.
"Werewolves? You're kidding, right?"
Jason activates his Imaginary Blade to fend off the creatures.
BAM One knocked away to the bookshelf.
CLANG The blade makes contact with the creatures' claws, but the latter ultimately shatters due to the immense force of the blade.
The final creature is about to flee out of fear, but Jason immediately approaches it and tosses it back to the dimension where it came from.
As Jason's through with the creatures, he deactivated his energy blade before hearing applause coming from the unknown voice.
"Clap clap Well done I guess, Ruler of Earth."
"Now tell me who you are, or you want the Six Regions to initiate a search for you?"
Jason forces the unknown voice's hands which, to his surprise, actually worked.
"I am merely one of the representatives of the Corruption elements, you can call me 'Serevia'."
"Serevia, huh…"
Jason doesn't recall any records with the name 'Serevia' anywhere in the Six Regions.
"We've been dormant ever since the Sacred Conflict on your planet. Not to mention, we have conquered every single other planet that has the Light Branch elements' influence."
"..."
Jason knows the Sacred Conflict as a war event that happened in the Ancient Era of Planet Sudania 620 years ago, but nothing more.
"But, we're coming back for your planet soon"
"!"
The message from the unknown voice has alerted the Ruler of Earth, who is still clueless about basically everything that happened before the Current Era.
"What do you mean by that…?"
He waits for a response, but the voice fades completely.
"This can't be good,"
Jason says to himself before he notifies his fellow Rulers for an emergency meeting by using the Elemental Council's light beacon.
...
30 minutes have passed, and all Rulers gather at a table in the Elemental Council of the Unity region.
Everyone takes a seat before Frost kickstarts the discussion with a generic question
"Why the sudden urge to call all of us here?"
Frost knew that a meeting that involves all Rulers is a sign of an ongoing serious matter. If it were to be a small issue, Rulers will only contact each other privately through telepathy or talk in person.
"The Six Regions…will be under attack soon"
"What?"
Jason's statement left every Ruler confused as the Six Regions have been under attack continuously by the creatures emerging from the ominous energy, but the creatures have never been identified.
However, Jason attempts to clear things out by asking a question, a question that is beyond his vast knowledge that only encompasses the Current Era.
"Do any of you know anything about the Corruption elements?"
In which Raika responds
"I have heard about those elements before from my dad, and they're considered the Light Branch's nemesis. The ominous energy that covers most of our planet is the Corruption Essence, something that only the Water element might bypass its weakening effect–"
"How did you know all of this"
Frost's question left Raika speechless
"I thought you guys knew about this?"
"NO WE DON'T" All Rulers exclaimed except for Jason.
"Elaborate further, Raika" Raika's statement piqued everyone's interests
"Despite their defeat, our elders from the Ancient Era fought bravely against the followers of Corruption, foiling the latter's plan of fully conquering Planet Sudania. The battle would become known as…"
"The Sacred Conflict"
What the unknown voice has said, Jason remembers it all. He continues to elaborate his encounter just now.
"In the library, an unknown voice which claimed to be 'Serevia' attacked me and engulfed the 'Sudania's Past' book as I'm about to reach the Light and Dark section"
"The book with no author's name? I've read it once, but got bored after 3 pages"
"Be quiet, Frost" Raika shuts Frost up
"After all of that, I have my list of speculations: Since Serevia claims to be one of the 'representatives' of the Corruption and the name of the book section, I think the Ruler of Light might actually exist!"
"..."
Everyone fell silent
The Ruler of Light was just a myth based on the records found across the Unity Region and the people's belief, but the Ruler has been absent since 450 years ago.
However, Blossom stands out to support Jason's theory.
"Jason could be correct. The records around the Unity Region…they were all craved and written by the past generations themselves. Not even the advanced technologies in the Thunder Region are able to replicate these old records."
"That kinda hurts, Blossom" Raika jests before Blossom continues her reasoning
"They said the Ruler of Light disappeared, but they believed that the Ruler was still alive, regardless of how long the Ruler has disappeared."
"...How so?"
Flare questions Blossom, in which she replies
"Planet Sudania rejuvenated minutes after the Sacred Conflict despite the Ruler of Light's absence, hence their belief. I believe we should search for him in this planet, I'll attempt to create passageways throughout the Corruption Essence in the meantime"
"Blossom, how are you certain that the Ruler of Light is on this planet?"
"..."
Blossom's face instantly becomes red as a sign of embarrassment, but Jason backs her up.
"Serevia claimed that the Corruption had already conquered every other planet in the cosmos except for ours. Since this is the only planet that's influenced by the Light Branch, he's more likely to be here. Blossom's idea is superb."
"Ah"
Thanks to Jason's explanation, everyone understands Blossom's words, while Blossom herself is surged with happiness.
"But if you really want to conduct a search for the Ruler, I'll pass"
"Same goes for me"
Both Raika and Flare refuse to join the search because they know they can't, Raika has some issues regarding her own region while Flare is still searching for her sister.
"The Ruler of Light may be able to solve our personal issues. So for now, you guys can search for him without us while we will handle those problems before it spreads through the entirety of the Six Regions."
"Very well, Raika, Flare" Jason says
"Thank you, my friends" Raika says before leaving the Elemental Council alongside Flare
As for the others, they've already made up their minds to conduct a search for the Ruler of Light tomorrow.
When they return to their respective regions at night, Jason has no other plans other than having a rest, while Blossom is already examining the Corruption Essence from her dorm, which is located high above Laviosa Elegrance.
As for Frost…
"Daydrine, do you wanna come along on an expedition tomorrow?"
"EH?!"