Ignoring the pain that came from biting his tongue so hard that even blood appeared, Daneel tried to comprehend what he had just heard.
This was the mystery surrounding Angaria that he had been trying to uncover since a very long time.
The history of this continent was something that none of the forces on the Central Continent knew. Either the Big Four had made sure that this would be the case, or all those forces that were now in the Central Continent had come into existence after whatever had happened to the Empire, meaning that their history started when the true history of Angaria ended.
This proclamation was met by silence, so Daneel used this opportunity to think about this revelation that had shocked him to the core.
As he listed all the facts he knew so far, he realized that it all made sense, more or less.
It was an unspoken rule that Empires were forbidden on the Central Continent, and many had even suspected that this wasn't just because no force on the Central Continent wanted others to gang up on them.
The Empire spirit was something most probably left behind by that glorious Empire which had spanned across the entire continent, possibly as a way to resurrect themselves.
As for the vision he had seen when he had unlocked the first layer of the Empire spirit, it was most probably what had let to their destruction.
This meant that… He had already collected two parts of the inheritance, and two parts of the trinket that Ashahell had spoken about?!
Of course, Daneel was referring to the strange objects that he had found inside the core formations of the Hidden Kill Sect and Lanthanor, that the system had said were very similar.
If they were part of the same trinket that had been broken up, it would only make sense that the system would be able to analyze this.
Only, the level of the trinket was apparently something that even exceeded the present level of the system.
Did that mean that… The trinket could be at the Hero level? Or even stronger?
Daneel already knew from Sister Xuan that the condition for a force to be considered part of the Big Four was to have a Hero-level individual with them.
He had already deduced that these people must be the ones hidden away from the sight of common sect members, busy defending the continent in secret.
Now that he thought about it, Daneel even got a suspicion that they made up that High Council that Ashahell had just conversed with.
Of course, it didn't make sense that the head would be just a Peak Champion while the others would all be Heroes, but still, Daneel did not discard this possibility as for some reason, his gut told him that there was some truth to it.
The arrogance of the Empire spirit also made sense, as compared to an Empire that sprawled across the whole continent, the present forces were nothing but mere villages.
As a mystery that had been plaguing him for many years was finally uncovered, Daneel felt relief flooding through him, but it was also accompanied by even more questions.
If such a powerful inheritance and trinket existed, why hadn't more people sought to possess them over all these years?
What exactly had led to the collapse of that glorious empire?
How did the existence of that empire tie in with the mythical beasts that all made up the cores of the formations of the various forces in the Central Continent?
Why had he found nothing in the Black Raven Kingdom and Eldinor?
Even though these questions revolved in Daneel's mind, he felt energized and ready to uncover them, because of the satisfaction that came from having uncovered this earth-shaking truth through his own efforts.
Right now, with all seriousness, Daneel considered something: if Ashahell was truly an honorable man who wanted to protect Angaria at all costs, should he consider giving up what he had to help the man?
His goal was to save the people of this beautiful continent that was his home, and although doing it himself would definitely give him such a great amount of satisfaction and joy that he wouldn't be able to put it into words, if there was someone else more equipped to do the same, he realised that he wouldn't mind letting them proceed.
After all, he wasn't an egoistic, selfish ruler who wanted the credit at all costs and wanted to dominate and rule the entire continent no matter what.
The answer to this question would dictate his whole plan while moving forward, so Daneel decided to think more on it. First of all, he needed to make sure beyond any doubt that Ashahell was the man he appeared to be.
This was because no matter how much he tried to ignore it, he felt that something was off about this prophesized savior of Angaria.
"Has the High Council approved this?"
It was Marcus with his deep voice who asked this question, and it broke the silence and whispers that had filled the room till now.
"Yes. Because of the prediction, although they are not prepared to raise the danger level, I just convinced them that this must at least be tried. That is why I am announcing it in public now. The seer's prediction was useful, after all, Matron. Of course, they will do everything in their power to make sure that history doesn't repeat."
The very mention of "repeating history" caused a shudder to pass through many in the room, as just the thought of something like that cataclysm happening again was very scary.
Hearing this, both the Matron and Marcus nodded, before the Matron said, "We wish you luck on this quest, and we really hope that you find success. Still, we can only beseech you to please try and convince the elders in the High Council to agree to increase the danger level. Xuan says she is sure about what she saw, and I believe her."
"Very well. My first stop will be Lanthanor. I'll be doing this through the proper channels, so I'll be sending a senior sect official after an initial scouting of the area to initiate conversation for meeting the King of Lanthanor by myself later on. When I meet each ruler, I will also emphasize about the threat that our continent is going to face soon, and I will ask them to prepare in the best way they can. Farewell."
When they heard this, both the Matron and Marcus bowed slightly before disappearing from the spot.
"I'm still going through some tests to formulate an initial plan, so we will be carrying this out in a month. After I obtain the first part, I will be convening a physical meeting of the High Council at our sect to discuss the plan and finalize it. Let it be written in the record that this became privileged knowledge in the sect on this date, at this time. The sect meeting ends here."
After nodding to a man standing beside the chair who had a data trinket in hand and who was clearly noting down everything to store it in the official records of the sect, Ashahell also disappeared, after which people started to move towards the door.
Taking this opportunity, Daneel made his way out and headed back to the secret archives while in deep thought.
He had gotten his answer regarding what the Sect of Hedon wanted to do with Lanthanor, but he still didn't know whether it was the full story.
He couldn't help it. Whenever he thought about such meetings and matters which were recorded, he couldn't help but think back to Earth, where politicians would announce one thing and carry out their own hidden agenda under the guise of acting with everyone's best interests and heart.
Before he made a decision on what he would do next, he knew that he had to finish absorbing all the information first.
Right before he entered the secret archives, Daneel chose a moment when no one was looking at him to change back to the blonde haired kid before walking up to the podium again.
After five minutes, with all of the information in the secret archives completely assimilated in the system, he made his way out and headed to a bathroom.
While washing his face using a faucet, Daneel looked around.
He already had all the information, so there was no urgency to leaf through it. He had already asked the system whether there was anything in the secret archives that required his urgent attention that was related to what was going on right now, to which the system had answered that the main info was already known to him.
Right now, there were only two possibilities: either the Watcher was right and Ashahell was evil, or he was wrong and this entire thing was only to take revenge for being kicked out for some other reason.
According to him, Ashahell was going to deliver something to the Church which would allow them to invade sooner. What he needed to find was simple: if there really was something like that which when delivered, could destabilize the entire continent and make it ripe for invasion, then it meant that the Watcher was right.
Taking out the key, Daneel checked how much time he had left.
From the gradually changing color, he could tell that he had used up around one hour of his time, which meant that he had 23 hours to search throughout the entire Central Tower.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at himself in the mirror.
This was going to be very grueling.