Legendary Traveler: By Earning Progress Points I will Become Supreme!

Chapter 250: Echos Of A Time Long Forgotten

"What…what is this?" With eyes tightly shut, Aoni turned his head in the direction he knew Anthony to be positioned and asked hesitantly.

"That is what the ruins once were."

Tap

As he responded, Ant appeared beside Aoni and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder before channeling Energia into the lad.

Amazingly enough, the aerial view of this ancient City became much clearer, and if Aoni looked carefully, he could even pick up movement.

It was as if this dead City had suddenly come alive, or at least the part of it that had been cleared of snow by the Sol-Ring.

"If your Energia Stat were higher, you'd be able to see everything I do. This isn't the full extent of what I can help with, but for now, it'll do…it's really a shame that you can't see what I see because this place is beautiful."

"Hanging gardens, food stalls, clean paved streets, a population going about their daily lives, this was a bustling City built on the side of a massive Arctic mountain, but that didn't stop the people who lived here from thriving."

"What you are experiencing as a phenomenon called an Echo of the Past, something that only occurs when large-scale battles between beings far beyond our scope of power fight to the death."

"Each attack, each movement, each life taken, disturbed the Energia in such a way that it forever freezes the past like a snapshot or short video clip."

While Anthony narrated, he reached down and picked up Glacia with his free hand and gently asked her to close her eyes and look around, which she did obediently, like a good girl.

Then, he began slowly guiding the pair forward while speaking.

"Since we are only on the outskirts of the City, things are relatively peaceful, just the daily lives of common folk, but even that tells us quite a lot."

Carefully guiding his Energia through Glacia and Aoni, he allowed them a bigger portion of what he could see, and with that, the image sharpened in their mind's eye, as if going from 140p to 480p, which was a pretty big leap…even if it looked blurry and low-def, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

"Those are… Ice Elves?" Aoni asked as he allowed himself to be walked forward.

"Erm, I think they're some kind of Hybrid between a Snow Elf and Ice Elf, with a bit of something else added into the mix. One thing's for sure: whatever they were, these beings were strong. Look at their ears; at first, I thought it was just some kind of genetic trait, but there seems to be a pattern between the runic lines and length of the appendage."

"For example, that child there…" Grabbing Aoni's wrist, Anthony pointed at a group of kids frolicking on a frozen pond, playing some type of game.

"These children all have two lines on each ear, and the length Is kind of stumpy." Moving and pointing in a different direction, Anthony brought Aoni's attention to a group of what appeared to be teenagers.

"Whereas these guys over here all have three lines and finger-length ears. These are signifying traits of power instead of growth, or at least that's my belief as a Mage, considering I can feel the faint whispers of Energia. By the way, you can open your eyes now." Releasing Aoni's shoulder, Anthony put Glacia back down and stepped back.

"It's…so different, like don't get me wrong, I know they're ruins, but even the air feels…stifling." Following his brother's instruction, Aoni was greeted by a decimated and ancient landscape barely clinging to existence.

What was once a paved road was now broken, and missing stone paths reclaimed by overgrowth. Buildings without frames toppled in on themselves, blackened marks dating back 10s of generations; calling this City Ruins wasn't incorrect, but at the same time felt wrong because this place looked as if it had been through the apocalypse.

"There are almost no signs of life either, or remnants, like bones or anything of that nature," Aoni mumbled while walking toward a destroyed building and placing his hand on the etched stone.

"If there were, that would be a bad thing, Aoni, because it would mean this place was a no-man's land, so dangerous that even scavengers wouldn't enter looking for food. As sad as it is, the fact there aren't any bones is a good sign for us."

"Un…" nodding his head absentmindedly, Aoni headed back to his brother's side and began walking deeper into the City.

---

Since the Echos had shown them the Original Overhead layout, it wasn't too difficult to navigate toward what was once the palace, and after a lot of effort on Anthony's part to clear away all the debris and snow, after some time, the once majestic structure revealed itself.

"What was once a home fit for royalty is now in shambles, unbefitting even a peasant; it's a bit poetic, don't you think?"

"…"

"What?" Aoni asked as he awkwardly looked away from Anthony.

"I never expected my baby brother to think such deep thoughts; it just caught me off guard."

"Piss off, Ant, I can be wise too sometimes." Giving a harump and crossing his arms over his chest, Aoni ignored his brother's snickers and walked forward up what was once a massive stone staircase.

"Every brick, it's on every brick…" Narrowing his eyes and stopping on a particularly intact part of the stairs, Aoni traced his fingers over the inscriptions carved into the stone.

"That's because it's all part of a mass-scale formation. Before you ask, no, I have no idea the purpose, but considering its location, I'd assume it has something to do with warding against attacks."

"Anyway, come on, let's check out the place and see if we can find any kind of treasure."

"Gaoo?" Tilting her head cutely and staring at Anthony on a higher step, Glacia seemed confused at the word.

{'Tweasure, wat dat,'}

"Treasure is like the trinkets your sister finds; those are her treasures, and now we gotta find the ones left behind by the people who don't live here anymore."

"OOoOO"

{'TWEASURE FIND!'}

"Hunt, treasure hunt, not find Glacia…Ant?"

"Yeah, it's safe here, although the Energia is off the charts and quite chaotic; I don't sense anything living at all in here, nor any traps; it seems like if there were any, they long since fell apart or were destroyed," Ant responded while slowly scanning the surroundings.