Ten minutes later, Petra stood before a long line of 'mannequins', each positioned in a different pose.
The further the line stretched, excluding the first, the others became older and more worn down, and with every step back, time seemed to wear them down more and more. Their faces became less distinct, smoothed by time, eroded, and lost to history, until their life remained as nothing but a mere story. Their armor, what little was remembered, was cracked, their weapons were dull, and some figures were little more than silhouettes held together by modern-day magic.
Petra looked at this and felt funny.
This was the fate of a 'Hero'…
They would eventually fade until nothing more than their story remained. After their deaths, their life would serve as the 'kindling' with which others would use to remember them, but even that would eventually run out and disappear into the river of time…
Soon, the 'person' would be lost, leaving only the 'hero' and their 'story'…
It was an empty and thankless fate.
These mannequins were the best example of that…
Some weren't even decorated, existing only as records! Through the pose and props alone, one would associate them with certain stories and provide a relative level of reverence.
That was how Petra felt…
Looking at them again…
These figures represented the past 'Heroes of Pillomal!'
* * *
The legend of the hero, like in all worlds, began with the First Hero!
The tale originated from the 'Age of Chaos', long before the Current Era (~1000), Desolate Age (5,000), and the Golden Age (45,000) that preceded it...
'The First Hero' was born during the time of the 'First Demon King', a period in the Age of Chaos between the 'Rise of the Beast Kings' and before the 'Founding of the Myriad Races'. Most of the truth had been lost to time and fragmented, but it was said to be a period of absolute turmoil!
During that time, an overwhelmingly powerful being ruled a vast portion of the world! This ruler, known as the 'First Demon King', was very different from the 'Second Demon King', who was most commonly referenced in the current era.
She was a mysterious being of pure calamity, one who brought ruin wherever she went!
She was an extremely powerful dark-type mage, who 'many' believed to be the source of the 'witch' race and the first user of forbidden magic! Many taboos could be traced back to her, but the vast majority of these had been said by the Church of Light.
As for the First Hero, legends say that she was born in a small village around the same time.
Blessed by the pre-ascended Sun God, she rose from nothing, slowly gathering allies and building an army strong enough to challenge the Demon King! This was a time when the Church of Light lacked its influence, and the Twelve Beast Kings still roamed the world! The demons of that era were also said to be far more terrifying than those of today! They were less like living beings and more like darkness given form, something said to be far more terrifying than darkness elementals!
In the end, the First Hero 'sacrificed' her life to slay the First Demon King!
With that act, the Age of Chaos, or at least the chapter ruled by the First Demon King, was brought to a close! From her death came the long-standing tradition of the 'Hero', a title that would be revered, worshiped, and passed down through countless generations to come!
* * *
Next was the period that was later recorded as the 'Chapter of Heroes!'
This began some time in the latter half of the Age of Chaos, after the First Demon King's fall and before the Second Demon King's rise…
It was at this time that the Church of Light discovered 'something'.
They called it the 'Soul Well', but it was also called the 'Soul Sea', 'Endless Plain', or 'Death's Abyss!' It depended on who you asked…
This was a strange phenomenon, one that seemed to be intertwined with all souls on a fundamental level! Upon birth, all beings emerged from 'it', and upon death, all beings would eventually return to 'it'. It was unfathomable, and its functions were incomprehensible, but one thing was quickly discovered, and that was that it could be used to 'summon souls'. This discovery led to the creation of an extremely overambitious necromancer spell known as 'Hero Summoning!'
The timing for this could not have been better…
The First Demon King had been defeated, but her army was still there, ready to retaliate! With no Hero and following the sacrifice that left behind an ambiguous aura, it became vital to carry the remaining momentum forward and continue the war!
The conflict could not simply end there!
It was during this short period of uncertainty that the first recorded 'Hero Summoning' took place.
-
The 'Second Hero' was summoned!
Unlike the First Hero, the Second Hero remained mostly unnamed throughout history, and was usually treated as a background character rather than a legend. It was extremely difficult to compete with the reputation of the First Hero, but with the backing of the Church of Light, the Second Hero led a bloody campaign to eradicate the remaining forces of the Demon King, bringing the long war, or at least, the active war, to a quiet and uneasy close.
But—!
-
Not all hero summoning was successful…
The technique was far from complete, and 'anything' related to the 'Soul Sea' was extremely unpredictable! The reason Heroes were drawn from the Soul Sea was because they often possessed abilities or knowledge that was unique to the summoned hero, but this was a double-edged sword!
The heroes that followed the second were far less consistent.
After the Second Hero, many additional summonings were attempted, but just as many had failed, completely wasting the enormous amount of 'resources' required to even touch the Soul Sea, much less pull something out!
As for those that did succeed…
Some produced strong champions with powerful abilities, while others produced nothing at all, just some mundane people who were no better than trash! Some summoned scholars with unique knowledge, while others brought forth ambitious tyrants who only added to the chaos of the age. A few summoned heroes vanished shortly after their arrival, unable to even survive the crossing, while others emerged flawed, unstable, or utterly incompatible with the world they were forcibly dragged into!
Records became fragmented, blurred, and were quietly buried with time.
This all crescendoed after the eighteenth hero was summoned, a strange man who was only known as 'The Hero Traitor!' Although it was never recorded what he did to earn such a title, what was known was that he marked the final hero and the end of the 'Chapter of Heroes' in the Age of Chaos…
After that—
The Hero Summoning Spell was heavily restricted, then quietly made forbidden! All research into the mysterious Soul Sea, and any methods used to 'touch' it, were branded taboo, erased from the records, and left to fade with time.
From then on, all heroes were said to be blessed by the gods, and not summoned from another world…
Hearing this, Petra couldn't help but wonder what went wrong.
Meh—
Actually, she didn't care… she just wondered why she was here, that's all…
Moving on…
* * *
The last few displays were newly added to the museum, only about a year old, give or take.
There were a few familiar faces—
Elena, Arthur, Kilemin, Dorthy, and… dum-da-dum—! Petra! Woo!
The moment the tour group reached them, the little girls burst into excited cheers. Not because they recognized Petra, no, because her small statue looked just like them! Green hair, similar height, and a very cute face! That alone was enough to make them happy, with several of them pressing closer to the velvet rope and peering over it with their large eyes.
Looking at the others…
Each statue was accompanied by a small plaque, detailing the hero's identity and 'achievements' so far...
Petra leaned over to read her own, and—
There was… nothing!
No information…
No explanation…
Just the simple name—Petra Poppy…
They didn't even include the 'P'! It was Petra P Poppy! Damn! Who was it! I want to talk to the manager!
The museum director, from his office, suddenly felt a chill.
Petra felt a brief pang of disappointment, then shrugged it off. That was fine, she was a bit of a narcissist, but even she could accept not being memorialized, after all, she wasn't a hero!
As for the others—
Arthur was described as a genius from the southern region's 'Godwin Family'. A young man from a low-middle-class family with a mastery in magitech engineering and rune-smithing, possessing an incredible level of foresight and planning!
He was widely known as the chosen hero of the 'Sky God!'
Kilemin was introduced as a genius from the western region's 'Blackstone Barbarian Tribe', a small tribe of powerful berserkers with an extremely high tolerance for heat and pressure! He was a warrior whose fists could shatter mountains, famed for defeating the Ice Demon Dragon and saving countless lives in the western region!
He was suspected to be the chosen hero of the elusive 'Earth God!'
On a side note, Petras dwarven sisters had told her that Kilemin wasn't from the western regions Blackstone Barbarian Tribe, which was very strange!
Dorthy was recorded as a genius mage from the eastern region's 'Quella Qinit Family'. She played a decisive role in the First Calamity, single-handedly saving the majority of the northern region's population! After meeting the northern region's Heaven's Chosen, suspected to be Petra Poppy, she unfortunately disappeared and is currently listed as missing!
She is the chosen hero of the 'Sea God!'
'Elena Evergreen' was said to be a genius discovered in the northern region. Despite refusing to join any specific faction, her influence throughout the Cross Continent was unprecedented, even among the other Heros! She is a rogue-type combatant with an affinity for speed! She has saved countless lives, despite not even participating in the first calamity, and was the leading contributor to stopping the second calamity! Elena's divine patron was unknown, not because 'she' was unknown, but because 'she' had a different status than the others.
Petra stared at the plaque, blinking cutely.
'…Huh? My big sister is actually kind of cool…'
-
Up-down-up-down—roll, advance! Clap-clap! They continued!
The tour group moved together with dozens of small footsteps that echoed lightly through the room.
Soon, they reached the final exhibit…
The cluster of green-haired children followed the leader, their curiosity finally peaking as their eyes widened, darting back and forth, then slowly lifted up to see as the space opened before them.
The hall was simple and clean, with plain walls and a single exhibit.
In the center stood a single statue.
Their final stop was the memorial of the 'First Hero!'
The statue was enormous, carved from a single piece of pale 'Sunstone', its surface glowing faintly with a timeless light. It sat upon a massive obsidian platform, dominating the hall. The figure gripped a shattered spear, its cloak captured mid-air, frozen as if an unseen wind had been flashed into the stone itself. Her expression was calm and unwavering, bearing the unseen weight of justice, conviction, and an unknown purpose. She was neither smiling nor stern, and her gaze pierced forward as though watching the distant horizon.
There was also—
An inexplicable loneliness hidden within her gaze…
Light filtered down from a circular window in the ceiling, bathing the statue in a soft golden glow…
The children stared in a stunned silence.
There was something about the statue that was impossible to put into words…
Then, suddenly—
One of them, mini-Mimi, leaned towards Petra and whispered while tugging on her sleeve. She spoke in a voice full of quiet wonder, "Hey, doesn't that kinda look like you?"
Petra blinked a few times…
Then—
"Pfft! Hahaha!" She laughed it off!
With an arrogant snort, she waved her hand.
"Nah! It's impossible for me to be related to a hero! A demon king, maybe, but a hero? Pfft—Hahaha!" The surrounding children all giggled along, the sound echoing beneath the stern gaze of the First Hero.
But—
Indeed, if you only looked at the face… it did look… a bit alike…
* * *