“You are the one who saved him, why should I decide? Still, I think we should keep him around for a little while.”

“Temper, temper, well, we need information, so we need him.”

“I was human once, but here I am now, arguing with you, another “me” within me”

The man that was saved from the giant fire ants slowly opened his eyes. He looked around as if trying to ascertain where he was and what he was doing there. When he saw another person sitting across what seems to be cave they were staying in, he tried to spring his body up and reached for his side. He was thinking of drawing his long sword that was supposed to be hanging on his waist. But, his strength betrayed him and the cave seemed to spin. He fell down, forced to sit due to lack of strength.

He looked at his sword, but gritted his teeth when he found out his only weapon was no longer by his side.

“Looking for that?” The person across the cave pointed at the long sword leaned at the cave wall.

“Don’t worry, I won’t need that, so I will not take it away from you”, the person said with a faint smile on his lips.

“Uhm, ah… thank you, were you the one who saved me?” The man asked, eager to fill the time span that seemed to have passed since he was almost devoured by the giant fire ants.

“Something liked that. It would be more accurate to say that those ants were on the way, so… I took care of them”, the man nonchalantly replied.

“Shhhh, he might hear you.”

“I see… but… I would still want to thank you… I would be dead by now if it you were not there. Please accept my thanks. My name is Braxt, a swordsman-adventurer.” Braxt finally recalled everything that happened before he lost consciousness.

“You can call me Mr. Fall – I mean you can call me Magnus, I am a teacher.” Magnus proudly declared taking pride on his profession.

“Teacher? What sort of a profession is that?” Braxt ask somewhat puzzled. He never heard of any profession called “teacher” from any adventurer.

“Huh? Seriously?! You do not know what a teacher is?!” Magnus was surprised. If this man named Braxt do not know what a teacher is… Then have he not heard of schools either?

“Yes, I never met any other teacher before, not even in the adventurer guilds in the bigger cities.” Braxt explained, wanting to know more information about this profession. It seemed to him that this “teacher” has skills that are far beyond most adventurers. This might help him grow stronger if he changes his job class.

“Hahaha, silly, a teacher is not an adventurer… well at least not an adventurer using your definition. I teach students… I mean children; I teach them knowledge that they need in life.” Magnus tried to explain to somehow impart a lesson to the puzzled Braxt.

“So… You are like a sage. But sages only give their knowledge to nobles or to rich merchants that can pay for what they know”, Braxt said as if he was able to finally grasped the concept.

“Jeez, you should have said so earlier, now it sounds like I am someone who’s only source of happiness is money… But that does not sound bad at all, ahahahahaha”

Braxt made himself comfortable by leaning on the wall near his long sword. He completely calmed down knowing that the man who saved him seemed to be a good man. He can finally take his time to recover. If this “teacher”, Magnus, decided to come with him back to Boarder Town, then his chances of surviving this ill-fated quest will be better.

“Ehem… Braxt was it? Why were you in that crater? And why were those ants chasing you?” Magnus started to inquire, eager to gather the information that might help him understand the world better.

“We… My party was tasked to look and retrieve the comet that crash on this mountain over a year ago.” Braxt bitterly recalled what happened to his companions.

“A year ago? Comet?”, Magnus was confused.

“Yes, a comet a year ago crashed last year. And according to the calculations of the sages from the different kingdoms, it should be on Mt. Magayon, in Timugan Continent.” Braxt explained further, wanting to give an answer to Magnus. This was the least he can do to show his gratitude to the man who saved his life.

“Heh! Seems like you do not know this world like the back of your talons… is that the case Suzaku?”

“That was my intention anyway… so care to admit I was right with - ”

Magnus almost physically rolled his eyes. But he controlled himself to avoid being noticed by Braxt.

“Timugan? Wasn’t this continent named Pangaea?” Magnus asked casually.

Braxt did not know how to respond. “Pangaea? Isn’t that the name of the continent in legends?” He recalled to himself. He was then thinking why this “teacher”, who was supposed to be similar to a sage, does not know the name of the continent.

“Uhm… Well… This continent is called Timugan. It is one of the five continents in this world.” Braxt explained to Magnus as he getting ready to add more information.

Magnus ignored the voice in his head and eagerly waited for Braxt to continue.

“I think that Pangaea you mentioned is the name of the continent that existed in myth. If we believe the legends, the five continents in this world, all came from the fractured pieces of Pangaea.” Braxt paused for a while, trying to recall what he must say next to complete the information. “The names of the five continents are Timugan, in the south of the world. The one in the north is named Hilagaan. In the east is Silanganan. The west continent is Kalunuran. And finally, the biggest one located in the center of the world is Gitnaan, the biggest empire ruled by humans is also in this continent.”

“Seems like the Pangaea of this world broke up into these five different parts” Magnus spoke in his mind, trying to get a response from Suzaku. But the Vermilion Bird did not answer.

“Ehem… Well, still… You said that Pangaea was mentioned in the legends?” Magnus inquired further.

“Yes… It was briefly mentioned along with the War of Twilight”, Braxt nodded, looking proud that he knows more than the “teacher”.

“War of Twilight?” Magnus questioned, squinting his eyes.

Braxt then continued to say, “Yes, the War of Twilight. It was said to be the war between the four cardinal deities and the seven princes of hell.”

Magnus understood what his “partner” wanted to know. “So Braxt… How long ago was this supposed war? According to the legends of course.”

“It should be more than ten thousand years ago”, Braxt answered as if very certain that what he said was absolute truth.

“We need to learn about this new world Suzaku… I am an otherworlder and you are practically foreign as well due to the time you spent in the world of void.”

There was an awkward silence. Braxt did not know what to say next. He was a little confused with the questions of Magnus. Even though this information came from legends, they are almost common knowledge to anyone in Terra.

“Hmmm, Braxt, can you tell me more about this war?” Magnus politely asked.

“I can’t recall the entire legend… But I can tell you what I can remember so far.” Braxt then started to retell the story of the war.

According to Braxt…

The War of Twilight started with the battle between the Vermilion Bird and the seven princes of hell. The Vermilion Bird was the cardinal deity of the south back during that time.

No one knows why the battle started. But what was clear was the demise of the Vermilion Bird and one of the opponents, the Demon Beelzebub.

After the battle, the remaining cardinal deities declared war against the surviving princes. The reason most likely was to avenge their fallen brethren.

The princes of hell learned their lesson from the death of one of their own. They knew that the six of them alone could not defeat the deities especially if the remaining three worked together.

Each prince of hell raised their own army by enticing the inhabitants of the world to fight for their side. They declared that if the deities die, the world will be free from the shackles of divinity and will be allowed to absorb the power of gods. Anyone who joined the war will receive a fraction of this power and will become powerful themselves. No one knew if this was true, but the prospect of power and possibly wealth along with it was very alluring to mortals.

After a hundred years of war, the armies of the princes of hell finally cornered the deities on their specific holy mountains. Separated from their brethren, the isolated deities were not able to withstand the assault of their foe. The deities fell one by one and it was said that their spirits were ready for the taking by whoever will get a hold of them.

But the Princes of Hell could not decide among themselves who will receive the spirits of their fallen enemies. Because of this, the armies between the princes started to fight against each other.

The princes also dueled among themselves. Since each of their individual strength was practically equal to the others, the battles ended in all parties destroying all who were involved. Nobody knows for sure whether or not the princes died or were just heavily injured. One thing was certain, they were never heard from again.

Leaderless, the armies stopped fighting. And this marked the end of the War of Twilight.

Magnus was listening until the end of the story when he finally asked. “But it was never mentioned how the continent broke to five parts.”

Braxt did not speak for a few moments, trying to recall the details he might have missed. “The supposed “breaking up” of the giant continent happened five hundred years after the war.” He added finally after remembering.

“Did the legends mention why it happened?” Magnus asked trying to piece the information together with what he knew with the memories of Suzaku.

“Well, there are many reasons according to the different versions of the legend”, Braxt said as he was scratching his head. “But the most popular belief is what the sages call the isolation of powers.”

“And what is that?” Magnus asked with interest.

“According to the sages, when the deities perished, their powers did not disappear. But without a physical form, they could not use their full strength.” Braxt stop for a second as he searched his memory for what should come next. “Then… the deities were forced to isolate their power of their spirits in a certain location, the three holy mountains.”

“And I assume these isolated powers were the ones keeping the continent together, am I correct?” Magnus tried to deduce what happened next.

“As expected of “teacher” Magnus”. Braxt tried to flatter his savior, but there was no response. “Ehem, so the five continents drifted away from each other for another five hundred years. They eventually stopped and became the ones we know now.”

“Are the other three outer continents also filled with monsters like this one?” Magnus wanted more information. He needed to know more in order to decide what he will do next.

“Fortunately, no. The three continents have one holy mountain each. The holy mountains, being the sources of the celestial powers of the world, kept those three continents free from monsters. Human kingdoms thrive on those lands.”

“But with the logic… The central continent should also be monster infested… is it not?” Magnus pointed out a flaw in the legend.

“What is this “logic”? Is it a skill of a “teacher”?” Braxt wanted to ask, but he held back. “While it is true that the continent of Gitnaan has monsters, it is not as heavily infested as Timugan”, Baxt refuted Magnus.

“Why is that?” Magnus wanted to know the difference between the two continents.

“Basing on what the sages say, the powers from the three holy mountains can still reach Gitnaan. Though these powers are far weaker than during the time of the War of Twilight”, Braxt pause catching he breath. “The divine protections they give are still able to suppress the monsters to spawn to a certain extent. And there are more adventurer guilds scattered in Hilagaan, regular monster extermination are organized by these guilds.”

Braxt paused again and then added, “Also according to sages, Timugan, a continent lacking of any divine protection except on its northern edges, is a far enticing place for monsters to inhabit.”

“Seems your absence made this place a shithole… isn’t it Suzaku?”

“But the south is your domain is it not? If we leave it as it is, then will further cement in history that you are the weakest among four cardinal deities”

“Simple, the other three are still able to protect their turf despite being “dead”. In contrast, you are alive here now, yet monsters roam freely, unchecked, unchallenged in Timugan”