Chapter 1 The Old Parchment

The ancient parchment had already faded. Although it was magically protected from decay, the passage of eight centuries (Earth time) had still left mottled marks upon it. Just as Hao Ren suspected, the trapped witch, upon realizing there was no hope of returning home, had written down her story. Now, these darkened pages silently narrated the brief life of an ordinary female magician adrift in this strange space.

"To anyone who can read these words, if you recognize the script, I extend my sincerest goodwill and blessings. May the light of knowledge and secrets protect you from suffering the same fate as I, stranded here. My name is Beatrice, and I come from another world, as I believe you do as well.

"I came to this place seeking knowledge and mysteries. After an adventure as hellish as it was adventurous, I fell into the abyss and was ultimately trapped here. In a sense, my wish was fulfilled. What I have learned and encountered are miracles I could never have imagined in my past millennia, and I believe even the ancient gods would not know the deepest secrets of this world. Almost all of my concepts and knowledge systems have been completely overturned here. No matter how much I write about the surprise I felt when I saw this underground world, it would not be enough. I wish I could share the joy of this discovery with someone, but alas, I cannot return, so I can only record these things on parchment..."

Hao Ren quickly skipped over the less important paragraphs, merely skimming Beatrice's initial records in this world. He discovered that the witch had received much help from the locals after arriving. The Tribe of Fire was a warm and hospitable tribe, and they showed little hostility towards the stranger of unknown origin. In fact, because Beatrice happened to be skilled in fire magic, the tribe regarded her skills as evidence of her closeness to the natural elements. In this world, being in harmony with the natural elements was proof of "good character," so Beatrice easily established a friendly relationship with the locals.

She became friends with the "Fire Witch" of the time, the tribe's Holy Maiden. Their friendship was a curious thing: in this world, rudimentary elemental magic was widely known, but more advanced magical knowledge had been lost. Only the Holy Maiden and the tribal warriors could access advanced magic with the aid of bloodlines or artifacts. The warriors only used these powers for combat, and only the Holy Maiden and her apprentices truly devoted themselves to studying magical arts. Beatrice's arrival brought new vitality to this world of depleted knowledge, and the Holy Maiden of the Tribe of Fire found a partner to study ancient knowledge with her.

Together, they studied the lost ancient symbols and the ancient memories etched in their bloodline instincts. In just a few years, the two became close friends. They even restored many ancient magical creations—the "Flame Lamps" seen in the Tribe of Wind were one of Beatrice's creations. She deciphered the manufacturing method of this ancient artifact from the totemic writings of the Tribe of Fire.

Another accomplishment was the cure for the Black Spot Plague, which further cemented Beatrice's reputation in the eyes of the locals. Later, she was no longer regarded as a stranger. The tribe saw her as one of their own "children of the Goddess," except that this child had fallen from the Pillars of Eternity.

"...I have spent many years here. Life was a bit difficult at first. I had to learn unfamiliar writing, language, customs, and even eating habits. I still remember one plant that almost killed me in the beginning, yet it was the most common delicacy of the locals. That was the first time I directly felt what the concept of 'another world' really meant. But in any case, things gradually improved. This is a place where one can live peacefully, and I even like it here a little. In my hometown, people like me are feared—because of the changing times, users of magic are declining, and a war between races is nearing its end, and 'witches' or 'sorceresses' like me are on the losing side. I don't have much to miss in my hometown, and the days of hiding and trembling are not worth remembering. Perhaps living here is not bad—at least for a while, that's what I thought.

"...In my spare time, I also observe the lives of the locals. I am very interested in their religion and current living conditions, and more importantly, I am keenly interested in the state of this world. What kind of power can create another layer of land on top of the earth? This is an almost absurd concept, but it actually happened in this world. According to local legends, I believe this world was not originally like this. Some unimaginable force changed it...

"...The locals believe that the pillars supporting the heavens and earth are the arms of giants, and in their religious beliefs, aside from the 'Goddess,' one can see shadows of 'giant creatures' everywhere. Giants support the sky, and the clouds are the smoke exhaled by a giant monster breathing. They believe the wind on the grassland is a giant beast named 'Haku' yawning, and the entire world is even built on the back of a hunchbacked old man named 'Toka,' the Goddess's gardener, on whose back the Goddess completed the work of Genesis. There are many such legends here, full of bizarre colors, which remind me of the strange 'gods' of my hometown in ancient times. But these legends cannot be dismissed with a smile. Although they are bizarre, they have a clear and rigorous logic that is astonishing. They seem to have really happened, but have been distorted by historical inheritance.

"Yes, historical inheritance. The local people's historical inheritance is an even more interesting topic. I have discovered that these people once had an extremely glorious civilization, perhaps even more advanced than my hometown. This civilization has been cut off, undoubtedly caused by the event in ancient times that caused the firmament to close. In some ancient murals and stone tablets, I can see what that ancient civilization had created: self-propelled vehicles, widespread aircraft, magic-driven rock guards and iron giants, and even magic-guided cities floating in the air, called 'Moro Toshi.' But these things have all disappeared, buried deep in the earth's fissures...

"...There is a very interesting phenomenon. According to my research, the closing of the firmament caused this world to lose more than half of its population, and the remaining population gradually declined in the years that followed, but this decline was not entirely caused by disasters, but more like a conscious control by the survivors. I have found many ancient stone tablet records of planned population reduction, and discovered that the tribes scattered around the world, even during periods of severed contact, followed a strict timetable to reduce their numbers, and about three thousand years ago—I mean, according to this world's concept of time—they controlled the population to its current size, and this number has never changed since.

"...The birth of newborns is strictly controlled. They use ancient medicines to control when new offspring can be produced. The growth of newborns also goes through a ritualistic training process to ensure that the newly born children can fully undertake their work in the tribe and are not so easy to die young. All indications show that although these natives are not clear about the meaning of living in an underground world, they are very aware of the fragility and barrenness of this world. Perhaps controlling the population and the level of civilization is to reduce consumption—this concept has been passed down from ancient times, although no one knows the meaning behind it anymore, they still strictly follow the ancestral instructions. So who taught them to control consumption in this way? Perhaps only the Goddess.

"I even suspect that they have ways to control the intellectual level and way of thinking of newborns—I have found ingredients in the spices they use daily that affect the brain. These spices only slightly inhibit brain activity and are not very harmful, but I think it is this just right inhibition that has stagnated the pace of their civilization's development. 'The closing of the firmament' has been thousands of years, and this time is enough for them to rebuild the ancient kingdom, but they still live an almost primitive life, which should be the result of intentional or unintentional control... It's a pity that I don't have much time left, and there is no way to verify these conjectures. And even if they are verified, what can be done? I cannot reverse their religious traditions. They attach great importance to religion. After thousands of years of drug contamination and traditional education, many ancient precepts have become something flowing in their blood. As an outsider, I'd better not interfere..."

Hao Ren suddenly raised his head from the pile of old papers and looked at Bonniea, who was honestly dazed beside him: "Let me see the spices you usually use for baptizing newborns."