Chapter 15: [Duchy of Infernia ][6]A History Written in Blood
The quiet atmosphere of the library was filled with the light of crystal lamps, faintly illuminating the motes of dust suspended in the air.
The air was enveloped in that distinctive, sharp yet comforting scent of aged parchments and dried ink. Aside from Iris, the only things that broke the silence around me were the rustle of the pages I turned and the sound of my own breath.
It was the evening of the next day, and I was buried deep within the Ducal Library with Iris. My ignorance of this world was as heavy as a stone at the bottom of the ocean, and to lighten this weight, I had decided to drown myself in knowledge.
Before me lay a colossal, gold-bound book with a slightly worn cover titled, "The Thousand-Year Rise and Victories of the Luminara Empire."
On the other side of the table was a towering pile of books Iris had gathered for me: "Encyclopedia of Mystical Beasts," "Forgotten Gods and Lost Deities," "The Fundamental Principles of Magic: Dance of the Elements," and "The Seven Schools of Swordsmanship." Each one opened a door to a new world I needed to understand.
The information I had gathered so far had unleashed a storm in my mind. This world I was living in was not the tranquil and orderly place it appeared to be from the outside.
On the contrary, it was a land soaked in blood, where chaos and conflict constantly roamed. Every line I read unveiled a new horror before my eyes:
The avatar of Malakor, the God of Destruction, wiping an entire kingdom off the map; the Dark Ages when the Ancient Dragon Lord enslaved humanity; the Great War of Extermination between elves, vampires, werewolves, and humans that turned the world to ash...
With every passing second, I was confronting the ruthless and savage reality of this world more and more.
When I got to the history of the Empire, I had begun to see the truth behind the narrative.
The book praised the thousand-year-old Holy Luminara Empire, which had a hand in every war since its foundation, which had disbanded witch covens and tied them to stakes, which had subjugated dragons and incorporated their power into its own army, and which offered unwavering loyalty to the Gods of Light while eradicating the followers of the Dark Gods from their very roots.
Every sentence I read seemed to cry out the unshakable power and glory of the empire. But I could see the rust and decay behind these gilded words.
The very fact that a mad and dangerous scientist like Dr. Aris could conduct so many horrific experiments and cost countless lives without anyone noticing was proof of what a grand illusion the empire’s so-called perfect control was. Behind that magnificent facade, there were deep cracks and corruption.
One of the parts of the book that most caught my attention was the Four Great Duchies, referred to as the four founding pillars of the empire.
The most prominent of these was the Northern Duchy of Frosthelm, about which there were countless legends and rumors. The book depicted these lands as a realm of mystery, every corner replete with rich mineral deposits, ancient ruins housing lost divine artifacts, and unsolved secrets.
There was even an ancient legend that the tomb where the first Demon Lord, Vorloth, was sealed lay somewhere in these cold lands.
However, there was no disaster that had not befallen such a valuable and strategic region. In recent times, mysterious plagues had decimated its people, and finally, a few years ago, the old Duke and Duchess were murdered in a suspicious assassination, forcing their daughter, who was not yet of age, to take over the duchy at a young age.
That a dynasty descended from heroes, which had once challenged the empire with its power and wealth, had now fallen into such a pitiable state was yet another proof of how cruel the world could be.
The Duchy of Infernia, where I was currently a guest, was another story entirely. Though sworn to the empire, they maintained a near-independent status, ruled by a dynasty bearing glorious titles like the "Dragon Slayers" and the "Children of Fire."
It was said that the founding Duke, Ignis, had single-handedly hunted the ancient red dragon Pyralia, known as the "Scourge of the Skies," and tore out its heart to make it the crest of their dynasty. It was rumored that their military might could rival that of the empire’s central army.
To be standing in the heart of such power, sharing their hospitality, left me in a deep dilemma as to whether I was lucky or in the midst of great danger.
But the real horror gnawing at my mind was how perfectly all this that I had read aligned with the terrible scenario Dr. Aris had described.
If this world was truly a story from someone else’s pen, and if there were others among us, like Dr. Aris, who had read this story and knew its end... then every person I met, every event I witnessed, was merely a stepping stone on the path to an inevitable destruction.
As I was lost in these thoughts, Iris, sitting in the chair next to me, poked my cheek with a look of someone about to burst from boredom.
"Cass! How much longer are you going to keep staring at those boring books?" she murmured in a weary voice. For a girl with seemingly endless energy, it was hardly surprising that she and books didn’t get along.
"Just a little longer... There are a few more things I’m curious about," I replied, my eyes still fixed on the page.
"A few more books?" Iris said, as if she were giving up the ghost right then and there. "You’ve already gone through half the library! You can continue tomorrow. Please, please, Cass! Do you even realize how beautiful the stars are outside?" She was using all her charm to get me out of the library.
I relented and closed the book. "Alright, but before we go, can I ask you a question? It’s about something I couldn’t find the answer to in the books."
Her eyes lit up at my offer. "Hooray! Finally! Of course, ask away. If it’s something I know, I’ll be happy to answer."
I took a deep breath and looked directly into her eyes. "The Monarch of Chaos, Kaiser. Who is he, exactly?"
"The Monarch of Chaos?" The cheerful expression on her face instantly froze, replaced by pure bewilderment. She furrowed her brow.
"Yes," I continued. "A chaos dragon with flames blacker than darkness itself. Have you never heard of him?"
Iris paused, as if she were seriously searching her mind. "This is the first I’m hearing of any of this. Look, our family, the House of Infernia, possesses the most extensive knowledge of dragons on the continent. In our library’s secret archives, there are records of every dragon lineage, every great ancient being. But... this is the first time I have ever heard the name Kaiser."
Her sincerity and certainty settled in my gut like a block of ice. "I see," I murmured, trying to hide my disappointment.
Kaiser, the Monarch of Chaos. The Chaos Dragon. Black flames... It was as if someone, or some power, had meticulously ripped this name and its existence from the very fabric of history. The fact that even the most competent dragon experts were unaware of it showed that this was much more than simple forgetfulness. This was a deliberate and absolute erasure.
I still remembered as if it were yesterday the hand Kaiser had extended to me in my most desperate moment, his opening of that Salvation Gate, and the words he had whispered. He was my second savior. No matter what, I had to keep the promise I made to him.
But now, I didn’t have a single scrap of information about him. I knew only one thing: the road ahead was filled not only with hardships but also with unnamed enemies capable of bending history itself.