Chapter 904 — The Giant Tower

In a short passage of records following this, Mo Jin wrote of his small-scale exploration upon that "iron island." He successfully found shelter: upon the base of the giant metal tower, there seemed to be many abandoned facilities, their doors wide open, sturdy and intact—perfect for sheltering from wind and rain. Mo Jin specifically noted that these facilities appeared never to have been disturbed by anyone, filled with a dazzling array of ancient devices, yet every single one beyond his comprehension. He did his best to sketch the appearance and characteristics of some of these facilities in rough drawings, and these sketches... every single one was invaluable to Gao Yang.

In the notes that followed, Mo Jin mentioned what happened after Meitzen returned from the Dragon Nation:

"...Later that same day, the dragon lady returned to the iron island as promised—she landed at the island's edge, still obstinately refusing to take a single step forward. It seemed that so-called 'decree issued by the god' had a profound effect upon her. She brought packaged food and water, sufficient in volume and quantity to sustain me for many days. However, I did not open and consume them in her presence—that would clearly have been improper.

"The dragon lady told me she would need to make further efforts before obtaining permission to travel to the human world. Due to some sort of... shift rotation system, her application seemed to be proceeding less than smoothly. To this I could only express my understanding, and urge her to settle the matter as quickly as possible—I have been away from the human world far too long. If this continues, I fear the entire nation will soon be announcing the death of Duke Mo Jin Wilde...

"After a brief conversation, the dragon lady prepared to depart once more. This time she said she might be gone for many days, but she also promised to return before my supplies ran out. Before leaving, she said I could walk freely around the giant tower, that there was nothing dangerous here—but there was one thing she reminded me of with the utmost solemnity—

"I must not take anything from within the tower, and especially must not take the 'knowledge' here.

"Her seriousness was unprecedented, and it even frightened me somewhat. I could not help but curiously ask her the reason, especially the meaning of her latter statement—'knowledge,' after all, how could such a thing be 'carried away'?

"She did not explain in detail, but said one thing with great gravity—'The tower contains the legacy of the Voyagers. Though they have been sealed, the risk of leakage must still be avoided.'

"To be honest, her answer only gave rise to even greater confusion in me, for I could clearly discern that this giant tower was not only a forbidden zone for the dragon race, but also a place they guarded strictly and isolated from the outside world. Whatever was inside the tower... that thing was absolutely not permitted to leak to outsiders. But if that were so... why would this dragon lady bring me here, and even specifically mention that I was allowed to walk and explore freely?

"This glaring contradiction in her words and actions made it impossible for me to restrain my curiosity. I could not help but voice my confusion, asking her why, since the tower contained secrets that must not be leaked to foreign races, she had brought me—a foreigner—here, and after bringing me here, specifically warned me with so many self-contradictory words.

"After I asked these questions, an incomprehensible scene unfolded—the dragon lady, who had been perfectly normal a second before, suddenly widened her eyes, then seemed to fall into tremendous agony. She began to roar and snarl, all the while muttering words that were difficult to hear and impossible to understand. I caught only scattered fragments—she mentioned things like 'Reverse Tide,' 'thought deflection,' 'leakage.' Though I did not know what was happening, I knew that all of this was caused by my ill-timed questions. I tried to make amends, tried to soothe the dragon before me, but to no avail...

"After several minutes of chaos, she suddenly recovered... or at least appeared to recover. Her eyes regained clarity, and she looked around. What was deeply unsettling was that her gaze bypassed my position entirely the whole time. Until finally, she suddenly launched into the air and flew toward that distant continent with its blurred outline... She did not look at me even once.

"As though she had completely forgotten what had happened here, completely forgotten that she had brought me here! Even when I shouted after her, hurling arcane missiles into the sky, she did not glance back once!

"...Had she truly recovered?

"Tremendous unease surged in my heart. I awoke from my anticipation of returning home and realized I was still in a dangerous and uncanny environment. This place... there is something strange here. This tower, these dragons living in the far north, this ocean, this side of the Eternal Storm... there is something strange!"

Gao Xi slowly stopped. His brow furrowed little by little, and just like Mo Jin Wilde six hundred years ago, countless questions instantly surged into his mind, along with a faint, vague unease. From the written account, he could be entirely certain that Meitzen's state at the time had indeed been abnormal. That state irresistibly reminded him of the other party's reaction when he had asked her certain secrets about the gods—but after careful comparison, he felt it was not entirely the same. The "symptoms" Mo Jin recorded were clearly more severe, more dangerous!

Moreover, Mo Jin's record also mentioned that Meitzen had muttered words like "Reverse Tide" at the time. Such mutterings in a state of mental derangement... were also extremely abnormal!

With his brow furrowed, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table, Gao Qi found himself gripped by the same perplexity as Mo Jin:

That giant tower near Talund... what exactly was inside it?

It was clearly full of strangeness, and this strangeness... what connection did it have to the "Reverse Tide," to that "War of the Reverse Tide" from the ancient era?

With this question that could not be ignored, he continued reading on, and in the latter half of these notes, Mo Jin's bizarre experiences continued:

"...I am very worried about the dragon lady's condition, but I am powerless—Flight magic cannot catch up to a dragon in full wingbeat. She did not stop at all, already departing at full speed. I could only watch from afar the direction in which she disappeared, hoping nothing would happen to her.

"I returned to the refuge I had found on the 'island', carrying the supplies the other party had left behind. In this temporary dwelling, I could at least escape the maddening sound of the tides and the biting cold wind, and gain a little chance to think in peace.

"I opened the food and drink, and their appearance... was somewhat unexpected. I had never seen anything like them, and at first I was not even sure they were food—in size, they seemed intended for humans; the suspected foodstuffs were sealed in small metal boxes, tightly fitted without a single gap, their surfaces printed with gaudy, colorful patterns, while the water was contained in bottles that resembled some kind of soft 'crystal', yet were extraordinarily tough.

"This delicate and bizarre method of packaging... was an eye-opener. It seemed I would have to find a way to open these boxes and bottles to get at the food and water inside—fortunately, that was not difficult; leaving aside any concern for keeping them intact, a sharp blade of ice could settle everything.

"I opened one portion of the food. It was seasoned fish...

"Well, this was no time to complain. Fish it was, then—at least... it had been treated with spices.

"My notes for today end here. I think... I need to eat while I properly think over my future."