The Smiling Death-Chapter 309: Solarius The Great

"Okay. Let’s put that aside," Amon said after a long moment of silence. "Tell me more about that time. The world... how was it?"

There was genuine curiosity in his voice now.

Vetaal adjusted slightly on Amon’s back, his bony fingers resting loosely over Amon’s shoulder.

"Hmmm..." he began thoughtfully. "The world at that time was quite different compared to now."

Amon walked carefully over exposed roots as he listened.

"For example," Vetaal continued, "the current human continent known as Elyndros... in my time, it was called Vastara."

Amon’s brows lifted slightly.

"And there were not just three kingdoms," Vetaal went on. "There were many more human kingdoms. Smaller ones, they were competitive. Always fighting among themselves."

"Sounds like humans," Amon muttered.

Vetaal gave a faint chuckle. "Indeed."

He continued in a steady tone.

"But during that time... the king of one of those kingdoms started a war. Not a small border conflict. It was not some petty dispute. It was a true conquest."

Amon swallowed unconsciously.

"He led war against the other kingdoms and empires," Vetaal said. "And one by one... they fell."

The forest grew quieter as the sky darkened further.

"He was one of the few humans who ever made even me feel fear," Vetaal added calmly.

Amon stiffened slightly at that.

"You?" he asked. "Afraid of a human?"

At this point Amon had already dropped the idea of this man being human. He was something else. A man belong to a race he doesn’t know about. Maybe something else altogether.

"Yes," Vetaal replied without hesitation. "A strength far beyond what a human should possess. A king who fought countless battles... and lost none."

Amon’s throat felt dry.

"He defeated each kingdom one by one and formed a single empire," Vetaal said. "He became a true Emepror of a new Empire. It was called the Aryavratya Empire."

"So at that time," Vetaal concluded, "there was only one great human empire on Vastara Continent. Led entirely by him."

Amon gulped. "What was his name?" he asked quietly. He cannot think about who that emperor might be. How strong he must be.

Vetaal’s white eyes seemed to gleam faintly in the dim light.

"He was a man who could erase hundreds of thousands in the blink of an eye. A king whose unmatched might crushed all who stood before him, conquering every land that dared oppose his march. Earning a title that would echo through the ages. Solarius The Great."

The name hung heavily in the air. It was quite dramatic. But the way Vetaal just told about him was sending chills down Amon’s spine. He felt goosebumps over his body.

"He was someone who broke the norms of everything," Vetaal continued. "A being who shattered limits. Feared by the entire world not just humans."

Amon’s steps slowed unconsciously. His heart beat fast at the information about the Emepror.

"After that," Vetaal went on, "the balance of the world shifted."

He continued speaking, his voice steady and ancient.

"The current Nerathis continent was also called Nerathis in my time. But unlike today, it had only one empire."

Amon listened intently. It was fun to listened such stories that hardly known by anyone else in whole world.

"The Nethorion Empire," Vetaal said. "The empire of demons."

Amon frowned slightly. "Only one?"

"Yes," Vetaal replied. "The demons were far more united than humans. The Nethorion Empire ruled the entire continent with absolute authority. That time it didnt have any race like vampires or werewolves. "

Amon processed that silently. He can understand since vampires and werewolves doesn’t exist at that time. So whole continent only posses one empire.

"And what about Thorndike?" he asked after a moment. "The continent of beastmen and their kingdom.?"

Vetaal gave a low hum.

"In my time, it was not called Thorndike," he said. "It was known as Tianvarra."

"Tianvarra..." Amon repeated softly.

"There were two major kingdoms there," Vetaal explained. "One belonged to the beastmen. It was called Tianfang."

"And the other?" Amon asked.

"A human kingdom," Vetaal answered. "Zhenfall."

Amon blinked in surprise. "Humans ruled there too?"

"Yes," Vetaal said. "Tianvarra was a continent of tension. Beastmen and humans coexisted... but not peacefully. There were long periods of war and uneasy treaties. I don’t remember much...but i do heard that Solarius does have desire to conquer that Zhenfall kingdom as well. But i was sealed before that. So don’t know what happened after that."

Amon nodded slowly. It was really interesting to hear this. Since there were hardly any record about second and third era in current world.

For now he was getting information about second era. "And the elven continent?" he asked.

Vetaal’s tone grew slightly softer.

"That one remains almost unchanged," he said. "Quelmoris was its name in my time... and it still is."

"And the kingdom?" Amon asked. While continuing his walk.

"Sylvarion Realm," Vetaal replied. "The same as today." He said calmly.

Amon let out a slow breath. "So the elves didn’t change much."

"They rarely do," Vetaal said dryly.

The forest grew darker. Night was beginning to settle in fully now.

Amon’s mind felt overwhelmed.

"So... Vastara became Elyndros," he murmured. "Tianvarra became Thorndike. But Nerathis stayed the same."

"Yes," Vetaal confirmed.

Amon hesitated, then asked quietly, "Was the world more peaceful back then... or more chaotic?"

Vetaal was silent for a few seconds. Then he answered calmly.

"Haha. It was beyond Chaotic young man."

Amon frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

Vetaal said. "Wars were declared openly. Hatred was direct. Alliances were clear. Power was respected. Betrayal was common. Only strong people were right. The current world is lot peaceful."

His voice turned slightly heavier. "Now... from what you told me... it seems the world hides its truths behind religion and rewritten history. We barely had any information about sceond era."

Amon didn’t argue. After everything Vetaal had just revealed... he couldn’t.

Instead, he asked softly, "And Solarius the Great... what happened to him?"

Vetaal did not answer immediately. His grip on Amon’s shoulder tightened just slightly.

"That," he said quietly, " I don’t know...as I said I was sealed at that time. So I don’t know what happened to him later. Also the current human rulers doesn’t seem like his descendants."

"Interesting...what was his surname?" Amon asked his surname as well. Since he thought he might be related to Selena’s family.

"It was Aurethion....Solarius Aurethion."