Once Aeson had finally entered his home, he set the loaf of bread and the water that he had acquired upon the kitchen counter and jumped into an old mattress serving as a makeshift bed. He had been pondering about the knowledge of the Empyraeons, and Daemons.
Naturally Aeson had known that Empyraeons served as ''Gods'' and that Daemons were created by the Empyraeons to intervene whenever Corruption was engulfing the world, and for... Aeson had not known but was certain there were other reasons. Which is why Aeson was contemplating travelling to the Grand Library, which was located at the middle left of the Kingdom, Aeson lived in one of the kingdom's poorest quarters which was the bottom left, where Corruption was at every nook and cranny and leaky roofs were more common than clean water.
It was finally midday by the time Michael had finally arrived home, his brother was drenched in sweat, stinking but carrying two silver Yen. Aeson smiled as his brother arrived home and handed sixty percent of the bread loaf to his brother after using his bare hands to split it apart.
''Rough day?'' Aeson asked, whilst handing over the loaf of bread.
Michael grabbed it and nodded, he was exhausted, much so that he could not open his mouth to speak, instead he ripped the loaf of bread apart with his teeth. Michael sat down on his own mattress and started devouring his food, Aeson soon followed suit, and bit into it, the loaf of bread was rough, it was hard as stone, Aeson was wondering how he ripped it apart, but continued nevertheless.
After he had finished his portion, Michael had handed him the pouch of water, Aeson had not noticed that Michael already possessed the pouch of water, 'Such are the feats of an expert thief.' Aeson thought to himself, before grabbing the pouch of water, there was enough water for 3 gulps, but that was enough for Aeson to immediately become hydrated. He soon handed the pouch of water back to Michael and got up.
''Where are you going?''
Michael asked, Aeson had barely ever left the small but strangely comfortable slum room. It was only natural of Michael to wonder.
''The Grand Library.'' Aeson replied, immediately Michael froze, food halfway to his mouth, ''Why?'' His voice had turned cold. The temperature of the room suddenly dropped, ''Knowledge is always a privilege.'' Michael's eyes darkened.
''Knowledge got our parents Corrupted. Knowledge is a cursed thing, Aeson. Once you have Knowledge, you will always crave more, and more, and more. In this accursed world, being clueless is a fate far more merciful than being knowledgeable.''
Aeson understood and knew that Michael was right. But still, he whispered, "I have to know, Michael."
Michael met Aeson's gaze, silent but heavy with unspoken warning, the room was filled with silence. Eventually Michael sighed, ''Be safe, little brother. May the Empyraeons guide you.'' Aeson nodded and left the room, his heart had been beating fast, he had expected to get beat up like he did when he was a child. Well, Michael would've considered that play fighting.
Aeson took a sharp right, stepping onto a narrow street where the unfortunate had been starved from basic necessities, Aeson pitied them and he could turn his hand into a fist, he continued to walk forwards.
The narrow street lead to avenues carefully crafted with cobblestone, the rays of sunlight were blinding, in the street Aeson had lived in, even sunlight refused to enter it. Well-dressed nobles filled every corner of the square, Aeson lived in a part so poor and vulnerable to Corruption that these well-dressed gentlemen stayed clear of it, naturally they never had any reason to venture into the home of Aeson. Aeson took a breath of the air, it smelt far better than the stench of rotting bodies and Corruption.
These nobles were being carried away by majestic horses, the carriage was well polished, refined by a very delicate material of wood. This was a part of the kingdom he had never seen, Aeson was kind of amazed, he slowly started moving, looking all around, he was close to the middle left quadrant of the kingdom. He was currently in Silvershade, as indicated by certain tailor shops, and blacksmiths.
He was particularly engrossed in a game when he noticed an older man nearby, he was dressed in ragged clothes, he likely made his way here to beg for Yen. The male looked like he was in his sixties, he had a long white beard. He wore an eyepatch over one eye, and his long gray hair that reached his shoulders was the same color his thick white beard kept.
He was holding a dice, and approaching a well dressed gentleman offering him to play a game for money.
"Care for a game, kind sir?" he rasped, his voice was rough with his age.
"Only one roll. Two dices. If it lands in your favor, you walk away richer. If not… well, you'll still walk away entertained." The old man smiled, the rich gentleman chuckled.
''Very well, old man. I suppose I can spare a moment.'' The gentleman took out a silver Yen, as did the old man.
The old man handed both dice to the gentleman who rolled the dice to get a total number of twelve, Aeson watched closely, a strange feeling creeping into his chest. The number twelve stirred something in him, a vague sense of significance he couldn't quite place. But the significance was something that he couldn't grasp so he just shrugged it off and watched as the old man rolled his dice, to earn the number nine.
The old man muttered a curse and slammed his foot on the ground handing over the Yen shortly after. The gentleman tipped his top hat and went on his way satisfied with the outcome.
Aeson stopped watching and made his way to the Great Library which was in sight, a pair of heavy oak doors marked the entrance, carved with strange, faded symbols. Suddenly, drops of rain began to fall onto his hair. It was sunny moments ago... How had the weather changed so quickly? He dismissed the thought and hurried toward the Great Library.
He stopped at the front door, there were symbols of the same tongue he had seen on the Holy Knight's shoulder plating, a tongue with the number seven on it. He took a deep breath and entered. He could see the library keeper nearby, as well as many shelves stacked with many different books.
He greeted the keeper with a nod. She was a young woman, likely in her twenties, with striking features that immediately caught the eye. Her hair was dyed a deep shade of blue. Her large brown eyes held a quiet intelligence and a hint of curiosity which were accompanied with quite long lashes. Her skin was smooth and clear, glowing softly.
The woman glanced at him and studied how he looked for a moment, before nodding back. Aeson approached her, ''Greetings, could you guide me as to where the tales of Empyraeons, or the Daemons are located?''
The woman replied. her voice was soft and calm. ''They're located in the farthest aisle, tucked away near the back. The books should have black covers.'' Aeson thanked her before heading towards the farthest aisle, he had wondered how the keeper had known the details of the books themselves, maybe she was also interested in the books as well.
He approached the last aisle, he could see different categories divided by name plates, his eyes fell upon the one that had ''Daemons'', unfortunately he couldn't find one of Empyraeons, it was to be expected though, it is kind of a terrifying thought the more Aeson thought about it, the fact that knowledge on Empyraeons is very sacred. Maybe that's the Truth of the Corruption? Aeson suddenly remembered the warning of his brother and shaked these thoughts of before grabbing the first book.
Aeson studied the title of the short book, ''The Cursed Tongue.'' He was dismayed by the disturbing name, but opened the book nevertheless. The book seemed quite ancient, with the papers barely still intact. Aeson could tell it didn't have many pages, why would it? But any knowledge of the Divine was valuable to Aeson.
Corruption had taken root. It had always been there, in the form of air, the form of rivers, the form of any living being. The Empyraeon of Secrets, also known as The Empyraeon of Lies, had tasked a Daemon to repel the Corruption, the Corruption in the Kingdom of Eldrasil, which is now regarded as Kingdom of Whispers.
The Cursed Tongue had been cast down into the mortal realm, the appearance of a Daemon had its presence marked by calamities, which included disasters such as: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Eruptions from Volcanoes. Holy beings were never meant to walk among mortals, thus breaking the rules set that of our mundane realm would result in catastrophic events. What should happen a Empyraeon sets foot in our Earth? We are thankful to not have known.
The Cursed Tongue was seen hidden in a flowing white robe, their face concealed behind a golden mask with no holes for it to see through. Why would a Daemon need to see? It could already see through the Corruption, therefore it already sees everything. Although it is a fact that even Holy Beings were not immune to it. It had four arms, each arm held many different symbols each symbolizing tales that only the Daemon would know. There was something unmistakable about each of its arms, an engraving of the number seven, always etched deep into the flesh like a mark.
The Cursed Tongue was capable of accomplishing feats that no mortal without training could ever hope to accomplish. The Daemon slayed Corrupted Beasts with indifference, the Daemon had stopped chaos when Corruption had infected the citizens of Eldrasil. One would think to not listen to those who lie, but in this accursed world lies were something beautiful. Lies were a means to keep the Kingdom safe from Corruption. Corruption is the Essence of Truth, the Truth was Unknown. So it lied.
When the world needed Truth, it broke.
When the world was corrupted by the ugly Truth, it Lied.
Aeson stared at the final words, his fingers hovering over the edge of the brittle page as if willing more to appear.
But there was nothing. Just silence. An incomplete end to a story that felt far too real. No grand finale, just silence, just fragments. A legend abandoned mid-thought.
'That's it? What a let down.' Aeson thought to himself, placing the book back. Truth itself was a poison. And yet, he wanted desperately to know the Truth. He grabbed another book, it was a kid's story book of the same Cursed Tongue. The book had not much new information, just a poem, which also ended with the same text of the previous book he had read.
Aeson blinked.
Just like the other book, it ended with the same line.
"What a mystery…" Aeson muttered, scratching the back of his head in frustration. He began opening every book he could find under the section titled Daemons, but no matter how many he flipped through, they all focused on a single figure the same Daemon, over and over again. 'Damn it all, why would you even call it Daemons, there's just a single Daemon!' He quickly skimmed over each and every book in that category and he managed to learn few new things, such as wearing half a golden mask would mean that you are a supporter and worshipper of Whisperer, tattooing a seven anywhere would signify you giving your soul to the Whisperer.
Aeson sighed and placed a book he had grabbed back. ''What are you searching for?'' A calm voice asked, it was the one of the keeper.
Aeson turned his head to the left, glanced at her for a moment before replying, ''Knowledge of Daemons. Unfortunately all these books have the same tales of a singular Daemon, and there seems to not be any information on Empyraeons.''
The keeper subtly curled her lips up, she then replied, ''Each Kingdom have different tales about a singular Daemon. Much information is not known to the basic eye of Empyraeons. There are of course, the three great kingdoms, and many lesser known Kingdoms scattered across the lands that may contain more knowledge.''
Aeson listened carefully, nodding along before asking, ''Do you believe in these tales?''
The keeper revealed an emotion that Aeson could not translate. ''These tales are foolish. Obvious lies, people with higher ranks would know of more believable tales.''
Aeson himself, naturally due to his nature would never believe any of these tales. The keeper raised an eyebrow to the indifference of Aeson, she sighed before adding,
''As for the Empyraeons, there is probably knowledge regarding them scattered through the world, ancient runes and carvings are an example. We know that there are three Empyraeons though, as each of the three great kingdoms have history with their descendants. How many more exist is a mystery...''
Aeson took in the new information, he felt compelled to ask, ''Empyraeons of what?''
''We have the Empyraeon of our Kingdom, Empyraeon of Secrets, or lies. Then we have Empyraeon of Death, the Great Kingdom that is correlated to them is the Hollow Kingdom. The first Great Kingdom was of the Empyraeon of Time, Kingdom of Keepers.''
'Just how many threads are being pulled behind the veil' Aeson couldn't help thinking.
He thanked the keeper and bid her farewell. He travelled outside, the rain had finally stopped, it had already been nightfall, so he had to hurry home.