Within the cramped space covered with intricate carpets and filled with wisps of smoke, Little Fox Shaliya continued to recount her dream experiences from the night to the Black Cat. When the Black Cat heard the name of the Dragon in the dream, his brows furrowed slightly, and he spoke with some surprise.
"Paturnax... you said... this is the name of that Dragon? And he is a servant of a divine being named Aka?"
"Yes, according to that Aka believer who called himself a Detective, it should be like this. I was also very surprised at the time what kind of existence could control a Dream Dragon, and I didn't expect it to be the reverse side divinity that Grandpa once spoke of!" Shaliya said to the Black Cat with some excitement, clenching her fists. Usually, these high-level beings only appeared in the stories the Black Cat told her, but she didn't expect them to actually appear before her eyes now.
"Aka... Paturnax... I didn't expect it... That Dragon is actually an Apostle..."
On the other side, the Black Cat was squatting on the ground, muttering the words he had heard earlier with a serious expression, as if trying to figure something out from them. Seeing this, Shaliya couldn't help but ask cautiously.
"Grandpa, what is an Apostle?"
"Servants who serve deities and divine beings. Under normal circumstances, they reside with the deities in all sorts of reverse sides. If a deity has an important task that cannot be completed by their agents in the present world, they will send an Apostle to descend."
"After mortals ascend to Golden, they have the opportunity to acquire partial divinity and become divine beings, while only those with complete divinity are called deities. And Apostles... generally only true deities can have them, such as the Light's Angels, the Gluttonous Wolf's Shepherds, the Steam's Mechanical Spirits, and so on..."
Looking at Shaliya in front of him, the Black Cat spoke in a rather serious tone. Listening to the Black Cat's words, Little Fox Shaliya opened her mouth in astonishment.
"So... the Angels mentioned in the Church stories really exist..."
"And... Grandpa, you said that only true deities can have Apostles, so that means... that Aka is very likely not just a divine being, but possibly a true deity? And the Apostle of this deity... is a Dragon!?"
Listening to the Black Cat's words, Shaliya opened her small mouth and spoke with a surprised expression. She had originally estimated that Aka was some kind of divine being, but now it seemed that the other party might be a true deity! This greatly exceeded Shaliya's expectations.
"It's impossible to be sure yet... It's a bit too hasty to make a judgment based on just two names. The key is that I have never heard of either Aka or Paturnax before. No! Not only have I not heard of them, I can't even discern the meaning of these two names..."
The Black Cat muttered seriously, while Shaliya said with some surprise.
"Eh... meaning? Grandpa, can you discern the meaning of names?"
"Yes... when something is named, its name must contain a certain meaning. Generally speaking, to know the meaning of a name... you need to master the language used for naming. Simply put, the language a person speaks determines the kind of name they take. For example, you, Shaliya, are a Vitaria person, and your name is taken from the Vitaria language. In Vitaria language, Shaliya means lady..."
The Black Cat paced back and forth on the carpet as he spoke. Listening to the Black Cat's words, Shaliya also scratched her head curiously.
'So my name has such a meaning... Lady... Lady! Hehe... It's really fitting~' Shaliya thought happily in her heart, while the Black Cat's pacing continued. He then slowly began to speak.
"Therefore, every name has a specific meaning in its own language. As long as you master enough languages, you can know the meaning behind all names..."
"However, I have mastered all the common mortal languages in this world and most of the mystical languages, but I cannot interpret the meaning behind these two names. Aka... Paturnax... These two names obviously belong to a mystical language that I do not understand. These pronunciations should be the result of transliteration from that language into the Prit language, and I know nothing about the etymology of these two names... I have spent a lot of time studying linguistics, and my intuition tells me that these two names are definitely not fabricated."
As he spoke, the Black Cat paused, then turned his head and looked at Shaliya solemnly.
"Shaliya... Behind these two names, there may be a lost language that even I do not fully understand."
The Black Cat muttered with a serious expression. He had a very high level of achievement in linguistics, having conducted extensive research on both ordinary common languages from various countries and mystical languages that exist in secret transmissions. He could be said to be an extraordinary master of linguistics, but at this moment, he could not only not explain the meaning of the two names, but also could not trace their etymology or determine which language they originated from.
And this means... these two names are taken from a language that he has never known or understood! And a language often symbolizes a culture, a race, a country...
If these two names originate from a lost language, and this language... could it originate from a lost civilization?
"A lost language... Grandpa, you once said that civilization shapes writing and language... I say, Grandpa, you don't mean... that Dragon and the deity he serves... are very likely from an ancient civilization that has been destroyed? Like North Africa?"
At this time, with an unbelievable look in her eyes, Shaliya said strangely to the Black Cat. In her opinion, a language that even her Grandpa had not mastered or even recognized must have come from some lost ancient civilization! So, is the true body of that Aka a deity awakening from the ruins of a destroyed ancient civilization!?
Listening to Shaliya's words, the Black Cat did not speak immediately, but paused in place, thinking about something for a long time before muttering a reply.
"There is this possibility... But to confirm it, I need more clues... Shaliya, in the future, have intermittent, accidental contact with that Paturnax. If his attitude towards you is good, and you can ensure that you don't make him unhappy, you might try to ask some probing questions about him, his name... and that Aka. If the answers have Spirit Sight, you can store them in a memory orb first and not absorb them."
The Black Cat said seriously to Shaliya, and Shaliya immediately nodded in agreement after hearing this.
"Okay, don't worry about that, Grandpa~ Dragon is very easy to talk to. Besides being very amiable, he also seems very busy. Every time I talk to him, it's only for a short while and then he has to leave."
"Hey, I say, Grandpa, why don't I tell Dragon about our situation and ask for his help? If he is willing to help us deal with those traitors, then we will be much more relaxed in the future."
Shaliya said lightly to the Black Cat, and the Black Cat once again seriously reminded her.
"No! No matter who you are facing, don't let your guard down. Before you understand the purpose of that Paturnax, you cannot trust the other party too much. Unless you can understand the other party's background to a certain extent and have a clear judgment of the other party, otherwise you cannot talk about these things, do you hear me!"
The Black Cat seriously instructed Shaliya, and listening to the Black Cat's words, Shaliya could only nod with some disappointment.
"Hmm... I understand, Grandpa."
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"Hmph, you girl, you have to suffer some losses to know that you can't trust others casually..." Looking at Shaliya in front of him, the Black Cat said somewhat angrily.
And when the Black Cat was about to tell Shaliya to go back to sleep, he seemed to have thought of something and asked Shaliya again.
"By the way, you seemed to have said the name of the organization that attacked that Black Dog earlier, right?"
"Yes, according to that Aka believer who called himself a Detective... the organization that wanted to harm the Black Dog is called the Eight Point Nest, Grandpa, do you know of such an organization?"
Listening to Shaliya's words, the Black Cat paused slightly, then chuckled.
"Eight Point Nest... Heh... This is one of the Spider Queen's tentacles in the present world. Taking the initiative to attack Prit like this... What do they want to do?"
Listening to Shaliya's words, the Black Cat muttered thoughtfully. In his eyes, looking at the night sky outside the window, there seemed to be a faint light flickering.
...
Time was fleeting, and soon, the moon set and the sun rose over the Prit Kingdom, and night turned into day.
In the Tivian North Suburb, Green Shade Town in the morning was drizzling, and a light rain was falling from the gloomy sky. Drops of rain pattered on the damp ground, and a bone-chilling cold permeated the gray rain mist.
In the living room of Green Shade Town No. 17, firewood crackled in the fireplace, and rain drops beat against the window. Dorothy, dressed in pajamas, sat on a chair by the fireplace, holding a cup of hot tea in her hand. She was recalling the events in her dream last night and assessing her gains.
'Phew... It seems I gained quite a bit last night. Not only did I kill an Eight Point Black Earth and protect Grego, but I can also use him to obtain information about the Eight Point Nest. I've also made contact with Grego. If he encounters any urgent matters in the future, he can pray to Aka, and I will be able to know his situation.
'And I also learned about the ability of that Little Fox, the'Shadow' Dream Walker... If it's related to dreams, it seems highly likely to be a branch path with'Shadow' as the main and 'Qi' as the auxiliary. And it's auxiliary 'Qi' again... Didn't they say that there are very few people currently practicing the auxiliary 'Qi' branch path? I've already encountered three auxiliary 'Qi' branch paths here, is it that fated?'
Dorothy thought to herself. Aside from the opposing Spirituality of "Silence", there were only four auxiliary "Qi" branch paths: "Stone", "Cup", "Light", and "Shadow". And now she had already encountered three of them. This felt a bit too coincidental...
'Aldrich... Adele... Little Fox... These are all extraordinary beings on the auxiliary 'Qi' branch path. They all met me in various ways and established connections. Is this a coincidence? Or is there some other underlying factor at play?'
Dorothy thought to herself in this way, but at this time, she did not have the ability to verify this question, so she just kept the doubts in her heart and began to think about other issues.
In this Dream World experience, Dorothy had another major gain, which was defining an identity for the Dream World Dragon: Aka's messenger... This was mainly used to enhance Aka's image. In the eyes of others, Aka having a Dragon as a messenger would obviously be more in line with her status as a divine being... Of course, others didn't know that the deity was Dorothy and the Dragon was also Dorothy...
In the process of giving the Dream World Dragon an identity, Dorothy also specifically arranged a name—Paturnax. This is the name of a Dragon in the world of The Elder Scrolls. He is the guide of the Dragonborn player, the leader of the Greybeards, and ultimately guided the player to defeat the boss Alduin, freeing him from the shell of the ruling Dragon King and allowing him to return to his divine position as the World Eater.
It is worth mentioning that Dragon names are in Dragon language. Dorothy was afraid that the Dragon language pronunciation of Paturnax might carry Spirit Sight in this world, so the names given to the Little Fox and Grego were transliterated according to the customs of the Prit language, and the same applies to Aka.
Aka is the abbreviation for Akasha set by Dorothy, and coincidentally, the Time Dragon God in the world of The Elder Scrolls is Akatosh, which can also be called Aka in some cases, and all Dragons are fragments of the Time Dragon, so setting Paturnax as Aka's messenger also makes sense.
Now, in order to make the Aka deity she fabricated more realistic, Dorothy also began to prepare some settings.
Thus, listening to the sound of rain outside the window and the crackling of firewood in the fireplace, Dorothy sat quietly in the living room, deep in thought. Finally, she let out a long sigh, took a sip of the hot tea in her hand, and then looked at the rain curtain outside the window and muttered.
"Phew... Roasting by the fire at home on a rainy day is also a pleasant enjoyment... But I hope the weather will be better the day my brother finishes his review and can move freely. After all, it's been a long time since I've asked him to treat me..."
Dorothy said, then looked at the calendar hanging on the wall, calculating how long it would take for Grego's train to arrive in Tivian.
...
Two days later, the gloomy sky still hung over Tivian. In the West Tivian train station, a long steam train was slowly decelerating and entering the station. Amidst the diffusing white steam, the huge steel beast slowly stopped its wheels and came to a halt beside the platform.
The train doors opened, and passengers who had undergone a long journey eagerly poured out of the narrow doors of each carriage and stepped onto the platform. The flow of people next to the second and third class carriages was very dense, while there were only a few people getting off the first class carriage.
On the platform, the conductor stood beside the train and uneasily recounted the disappearance of a train attendant to the station staff. A middle-aged man carrying a large briefcase got off the first class carriage No. 2. After walking a few steps on the platform, he glanced back furtively, then hurried into the crowd.
Not long after he left, a young man with aspirations, wearing a coat and a short hat, finally walked down from the first class carriage with a suitcase. Grego, after stepping onto the land of Tivian, looked around, twitched his nose slightly, and then frowned.
'Hiss... The smell is a bit pungent. In Igwinte, this smell can only be smelled near the industrial area. I can smell it at the train station here... The air in this capital city seems to be very bad...'
Grego thought this way, and at the same time, he also worried about Dorothy's health, fearing that her hard study in such a polluted environment would affect her health.
And just as Grego was thinking, a figure suddenly approached him.
"Excuse me... are you Mr. Mays House?"
Hearing this voice, Grego paused, then turned his head and found that there were men in plain clothes standing beside him. Although they were dressed ordinarily, Grego could see the extraordinary demeanor of these people.
"Excuse me, who are you..."
Grego asked, and the leading man showed a badge with a crown, crescent moon, and flowing wind pattern, then spoke.
"We've been waiting for you for a long time, Mr. Mays House, please come with us."