The Sanalia Kingdom was an oppressive force that dominated the desert's scattered regions for over five decades.
Eran came from such a kingdom. Now, the retired elite blacksmith was sharing his story with Brand.
"Have you seen a lot of foreign travellers lately?" Eran asked.
"Yeah," Brand replied without a thought.
Just a skirmish happened at the tavern yesterday, between Ed Trios and the foreign traveller.
But they had been imprisoned, though.
Today, there seem to be more travellers, and some of them wear silky clothes, which shows their status as nobles.
Were they from the Sanalia Kingdom?
"Be careful, lad," Eran warned. "The empire was like a vulture. Waiting for their prey to die, before consuming it."
"You can use the workshop anytime you want, just come! Eran said while laughing loudly.
Brand bid farewell to Eran and exited the equipment shop. His gaze lingered on the signage beside him.
'Eran's Workshop'
He looked at the work glove in his hand. This was the first mission he received and completed in this world.
He bowed to the workshop to express his gratitude and headed to the plaza.
***
Brand could see the crowd gathered when he reached the plaza.
People were everywhere, and navigating through the crowd was hard.
"Seraphine, can you help check what's ahead?" Brand asked the ethereal angel for help. The little angel flapped her wings, hovering above the crowds.
"Ahh! You remember the rock?" Seraphine shared her observation with Brand.
"The rock was glowing!" She exclaimed.
"The giant rock with chains wrapping around it?" Brand recalled from his memory. There were also runic texts embedded on it.
"Yes!" Searphine showed Brand a thumb for like. "The runic texts were glowing!"
Alright, the texts glowed, but what does that mean?
Suddenly, he heard a coarse voice calling out for him.
"Brand!" He heard an old woman's voice calling out, raspy but strong.
As the voice echoed, the crowd slowly parted. They were looking for the person mentioned by the old woman.
Brand saw Elder Camila standing before the giant rock, waving her hand at him, and asked him to come forward.
Brand followed as per request and slowly walked through the crowd.
He had a strange feeling.
Why had Elder Camila specifically called out to him, and how did she know he had reached the plaza?
Soon, Brand had reached Elder Camila and the giant rock. He saw there were others as well.
Karl, Ruby, the Ed trio, and some other young warriors he had met in the training facility. There were also some warriors from different tribes and regions.
'Was this why so many foreign travellers entered the village?'
'But how about the few travellers that were imprisoned by Karl? The ones that mentioned they were working under dual-axe… something.'
He sincerely forgot the name.
Elder Camila made way for him to stand directly in front of the rock, while the others lined up at the sideline.
"Place your hand on the rock." She says, waiting patiently for Brand to follow her instructions while the crowds anxiously look at them.
"Just follow, no need to be hesitant," Seraphine whispered. "You won't be able to reject anyway."
With that being said, Brand followed suit and placed his hand on the giant rock.
When he touched the rock, the runic text glowed even brighter, and the yellow glow turned into a red light.
"The Ritual Stone had acknowledged!" Elder Camila declared. "The last member of the expedition team."
"Brand Essen!"
The crowd cheered, while Brand looked confused.
'Expedition team?'
"The expedition team for the Den of Worm had formed!"
"——"
"———!"
Brand walked toward Karl and the others, while the crowd cheered.
He looked at Ruby, who was glaring at him, without speaking a word.
'Gulp. Why was she looking at me like that?'
'And what is with this expedition team?'
'This was the coming-of-age ceremony?'
'Now that I thought about it. Brand Essen was missing after the 'expedition' wasn't it?'
Brand began to see the event unfolding before his eyes.
He would be part of an expedition to this Den of Worm.
***
Elder Camila began to give her speech to mark the send-off for the expedition.
"The Ritual Rock." Elder Camila raised her hand, paused, and gazed over the crowd.
"Also known as the Titan's tear." She continued.
"It was said a millennium ago, demons roamed free over the world."
Brand listened closely to Elder Camila's speech. This was the first time he came across the lore of the world.
"The humans across all nations and regions banded together to fight them, but they had a hard time."
"The battle lasted for decades. Humanity tried to resist, but to no avail."
"It was then that the Titans, who oversaw the world, shed tears to quell the demons."
Brand, hearing the giant rock's backstory, tilted his head and checked with Seraphine.
"There were a few rocks like this?" Brand asked. "The myth was real?"
"Well, close to it," Seraphine replied. She was always ready to give information, but only when Brand met the criteria.
"On Earth, different cultures had their own interpretations of God, right?"
"It was the same here, and there was only one God.
Brand nodded. It made sense after all.
"So the God of this world was the Titan?" Brand pondered to himself.
"But then how about the rock?" Brand asked.
'Since there were different interpretations of God, it should also be applied to the rock.'
Brand continued to listen to Elder Camila's speech, as she explained the giant rock known as the Ritual Stone.
"The tears fall right on the Demon's Rift." She explained.
"They block and contain the Demon's Rift, and the humans gain an upper hand instantly."
"After fending off the remnants, the humans chained down the rock to maintain the containment."
"The Ritual Stone you were watching now was the seal of the Demon's Rift—Den of Worm!" Elder Camila roared loudly to incite the crowd.
'This elderly woman was a natural public speaker!'
Brand was impressed with Elder Camila's speech and clapped.
The others looked at him in awkwardness.
'Screw the culture difference.'