Chapter 390: Seeking Out Answers

While Aurus was in the middle of the wilderness, instilling within both Vytalis and Mannelyn a feeling that they wouldn't be able to defeat Aurus, a person was making his own move in response to the incident that was currently going on involving his original body. Of course, that person was none other than Argentum.

Leaving the development of Verdant Breeze Town up to Felix, Eleanor, and his trusted aides, Argentum hastily went out of town, distancing himself from it to the point where he wouldn't be afraid of letting others know his true identity as a Pseudo-Animate. After that, he commanded the system to let him enter the Origin Pantheon. In response, a notification sound resounded in his mind as a faint suction force started to surround his body. Gradually, this suction force became stronger and stronger until eventually, Argentum disappeared at the spot where he was standing.

Whoosh!

Pop!

A few seconds later, Argentum had appeared at the center of a large building made out of marble. Looking around, he was currently standing on a slightly heightened pedestal, allowing him to realize that he was now back at the Origin Pantheon. Just as he was about to go ahead and leave the pantheon, aiming to find Torvas, the sight of a familiar man getting closer to him could not help but make him adjust his plan, wanting to make use of the man.

"Welcome to the Origin Pantheon, newcomer! I assume this is your first time coming here," the man said, sporting a light grin. "I'm sure you'd feel alienated if you don't know anyone in this place, so let me introduce myself. My name's Cardis. I'm a Rank 9 Animate, and I'll tell you more about the Origin Pantheon later. For now, what's your name?"

In response to Cardis's words, Argentum could not help but say, "Am I glad to see you again, Cardis. Could you help me out on something? It's incredibly urgent."

Not expecting those words to come out of the person he had just met, Cardis's smile gradually turned awkward as he let out a forced chuckle, asking, "You're glad to see me again? I sincerely apologize, but you seem to have mistaken me for someone else. Perhaps, you've met someone that looked like me befo—"

Though, before he could finish his words, it was only then did Argentum realize that he had not deactivated [False Visage of the Animate], only doing so now. As the sight of the being made out of gray energy in front of him, Cardis's attitude instantly underwent a 180 degree turn as a big grin appeared on his face, exclaiming with glee, "Argentum, my friend! It's nice to see you here in the Origin Pantheon again!"

"It is indeed nice to be back," Argentum replied, radiating an aura of happiness after seeing Cardis recognize him. "Though unfortunately, I have my responsibilities in Erudinia, so I can't really stay here for long periods of time."

"I did tell you back then that one day only passes in Erudinia when you stay one week here, so you should really stop by here more often," Cardis replied, letting out a chuckle. "Judging by how long you've been away from this place, it has been over two weeks since we've last met. What made you come to the Origin Pantheon after that long?"

Although he was slightly surprised that Cardis would be able to track the amount of time he had been away, Argentum placed that thought at the back of his head for now as he responded, "I need you to help me find Torvas. I have something to ask him."

"Torvas, what do you need him for?" Naturally, being a social butterfly, Cardis could not help but inquire more regarding the situation. In response, Argentum told Cardis, "Unfortunately, I can't tell you right now. It's a secret that only he and I know."

"I see…" Not dismayed by the fact that he wasn't privy to the secret, Cardis nodded in response before pondering in silence for a while. After that, he looked back at Argentum before saying, "I've obtained information as to where he is in the Origin Pantheon, let me take you there."

Nodding that he did not mind the offer, Argentum then extended his hand, which Cardis tightly grabbed on to as he accelerated to the fastest speed he could muster within seconds. Now being used to the high speed at which they moved through the Origin Pantheon, only then did Argentum ask the question that had lingered in his mind after thinking about how Cardis was able to calculate how long he was gone.

"Do you always stay here in the Origin Pantheon?" Argentum could not help but ask, to which Cardis nodded in response as he answered, "Yeah, I do. I only come out of the Pantheon whenever there's some sort of rare material I need from Erudinia. Though, once I become a Rank 1 Transcendent, I would have no need to head back to Erudinia anymore."

"How did you figure out how long I was out in Erudinia?" Argentum then asked, to which Cardis let out a chuckle in response. "Well, it's quite simple. Since a week here is equivalent to one day back in the outside world, it's quite simple to do the math. Of course, people would eventually have a skewed sense of time once they stay here for long enough, so I usually do these calculations to make sure my sense of time is still fine. After all, I'm one of the only people in this place to greet newcomers."

"Speaking of newcomers, why is it when that I enter the Origin Pantheon, you're the only one I see waiting near the pantheon?" Argentum asked yet another question, to which Cardis shrugged his shoulders in response. "Pure coincidence. For a greater part of the three or so months you've been gone from this place, I only greet newcomers about once a week, relying on a schedule wherein I rotate shifts with other people. You just arrived at the pantheon at a time when I was the one greeting the newcomers, that's all."

"But serious matters aside, how about I lighten the mood up?" Sensing the solemn aura surrounding Argentum as they continued to travel through the Origin Pantheon, Cardis could not help but break the somewhat awkward atmosphere as he told Argentum with a smile, "Let me tell you a story I heard from a friend wherein two Rank 5 Transcendents were helping each other out,  but one of them had to return to Erudinia. Coincidentally, the Transcendent that was heading back to Erudinia had told the other Transcendent to craft something for him. In response, the Transcendent that was staying told him to come back in 3 months."

After that, he could not help but break into laughter as he continued, "Of course, I'm sure you know what happened next. The Transcendent in the outside world stayed in the outside world for 3 months, forgetting that the passage of time in the Origin Pantheon was vastly different. By the time that Transcendent had returned to the Origin Pantheon, over a year and a half had passed for the other Transcendent! I've even heard that they had a huge fight the very moment they saw each other again! Hahahaha!"

In response to Cardis's story, Argentum could not help but let out a light chuckle, forgetting the thing he had to do at hand for a bit as he could not help but say, "Hahaha. That's quite stupid as a Transcendent. Surely he would've remembered that the passage of time is different here, right?"

"I know, right?" Seeing that the atmosphere around the two of them had lightened up, Cardis and Argentum eventually made their way to where Torvas was, appearing at an area of the Pantheon that Argentum had never gone to before.

…

As they appeared in front of this new area, Cardis instantly went ahead and explained to the clueless Argentum, "I forgot to show you this part of the Pantheon the first time you were here, but this place in front of you is what we guys that stay here often affectionately call home. For others, they just call it the Origin Dens."

After that, he then led Cardis to one of the various buildings within the Origin Dens, arriving in front of a two-story house that looked like a normal person was living in it instead of a powerful Transcendent like Torvas. Giving Cardis a quick glance, Cardis nodded in response as he knocked on the door, prompting a voice from within to ask, "Who is it?"

"It's Cardis, Sir Torvas. I brought Argentum here with me," Cardis said in response, prompting Argentum to say, "Torvas, I have something to ask of you. It's regarding those things you told me back then."

Surprisingly, after Argentum said those words, a moment of silence ensued within the house before a large cacophony of noises soon resounded as the door to the house was eventually opened, accompanied by hurried yet loud footsteps.

Behind the door was a slightly disheveled Torvas, seemingly shaken up by the words spoken by Argentum. From the looks of it, it seemed that he did not expect Argentum to come to this place so early. Nevertheless, after seeing Cardis accompanying Argentum, he quickly composed himself as he let out a light cough. Taking the hint, Cardis lightly nodded as he soon bade farewell to Argentum.

Naturally, Argentum bade farewell to Cardis, knowing that it was Torvas's doing as to why Cardis left all of a sudden. In any case, he did not mind since only the two of them had any idea on what they were going to talk about anyway. With that, Torvas allowed Argentum to enter his house, instantly making Argentum that Torvas was a mix between a clean freak and a person that just did not care where any of his things went.

Of course, that was all unimportant to him. He placed all of the comments he had regarding Torvas's house and personality at the back of his head as he sat down on one of the chairs in Torvas's guest room. Seeing that Argentum was making himself comfortable, Torvas then asked him, "Would you like something to drink?"

In response, Argentum activated [False Visage of the Animate], taking on the appearance he always took as the leader of Verdant Breeze Town. After that, he replied, "Sure. Do you have any juice?"

"I think I can still make some strawberry juice with the extra strawberries I bought some time ago." Torvas nodded as he headed into the kitchen, coming out of it with a glass of strawberry juice for Argentum and a cup of coffee for himself.

After giving the glass of strawberry juice to Argentum, Torvas then took a sip of the coffee he made as he asked, "So, you're here regarding the prophecies I gave you, right?"

"The only reason why I would be here looking for you, anyway," Argentum replied.

"Which of the prophecies had come true, the one for you, or the one for your original body?" Torvas asked in response, prompting Argentum to respond, "The latter. As for whether I'm certain it's the prophecy you spoke of or not, you'll have to be the judge of that."

"Well…let's start with the obvious questions. Has he lost all sanity?" Torvas asked, to which Argentum nodded in response.

"Hmm…has he lost all sanity to the point that he would even kill innocent people?" he asked once more, prompting Argentum to become silent as he eventually replied, "Five villages and two towns."

Hearing that, Torvas could not help but let out a light sigh of relief as he told Argentum, "Well, all I can say is that the situation isn't irredeemable yet. If you find a way to recover his sanity, then there's a huge chance the prophecy won't come true."

"And that's why I came here to ask you, Torvas," Argentum could not help but say in response. "Do you have any methods I could use to recover my original body's sanity?"

In response, Torvas could not help but let out a long sigh as he muttered, "I had a feeling you were going to ask that question."

Tilting his head in confusion, Argentum did not know what Torvas meant. Though, as Torvas continued to talk, it was soon apparent as to why he had said that.

"Whether you like my next statement or not, I can't do anything about that. That's just how it is. But to answer your question…"

"I…"

"…don't have any method to speak of."