In the end, everything we were seeing had nothing to do with the Church as everyone understood it, yet the scale of the crowd that had gathered was something the True Church had never been able to achieve in thousands of years. The truth was already clear: the True Church had likely been completely replaced by some other religion long ago.
Only then did Meredith step forward and explain the full story—this, of course, was also the powerful "evidence" she had deliberately shown Adrian by using time magic:
"Before long, a being whose power was almost on par with the divine suddenly emerged out of nowhere and rose to prominence on the Eldoria Continent. He completely overturned the balance among the continent's nations, displaying countless miracles to all humanity with an image of near-omnipotence. He then launched wars, demanding that every human on the continent submit under his rule. Any voice of refusal—anything tied to other religions—was ruthlessly erased.
"In the end, the entire continent was dragged into the war. The population of every nation plummeted; the number of those who died in the chaos was beyond counting; and the remaining resistance forces were nearly wiped out. The scale was in no way less than the great calamity once caused by the Light God.
"As for the spatial position around the protective barrier where we are standing now, it should be one of the many worship altars specially established by 'Noxis.' From the very beginning, he seized a vast expanse of territory—most of the northern part of the continent, including the Astralrealm Kingdom."
"No matter what the others think, what about us angels?" Elara asked first, unable to hide her unease. After all, there was no trace of angels in what we had just seen, which made her deeply unsettled. "Would Edenmere, decades later, also be dragged into this?"
"Unfortunately, I still don't know," Meredith said, shaking her head with regret. "I've obtained almost no information about the angel race…"
"What about that 'god'…" I couldn't help cutting in. "Did he tell anyone what his name was—what he looked like?"
Her description felt eerily familiar. I immediately thought of "Spring" from the other world. Their methods were almost identical: using religion to dominate humanity, exterminating dissenters without mercy. Could it be that "Spring" had also come to our world?
"It seems he's called 'Noxis,'" Meredith replied. "We still know nothing about his identity, origin, or other details. We only know that the place where he first appeared should have been on the Dark Continent."
So I had guessed wrong. But the enemy appearing from the Dark Continent again immediately made me suspicious—was yesterday's robot army under Michelle connected to this "Noxis" somehow?
As everyone continued talking, the pilgrims prostrated on the ground suddenly began to move. The people in the very front slowly rose, leading those behind them along the lakeshore in an orderly circuit. Their steps were uniform, and they murmured the same line over and over, though it was too far away to hear clearly. The crowd moved like a giant serpent, and from a distance it looked like some solemn procession.
At the same moment, the time magic's duration finally reached its limit. The array's lines on the ground flared again with dazzling light. The surface of the giant mirror erupted once more into countless fantastical glimmers, and as the distant scene distorted and shifted, everyone present—together with the rooftop itself—returned to the present.
"My kingdom gets conquered that quickly in the future? The Church, the Pope, even the Lord—are all of them destroyed by that man called 'Noxis'?" King Galahad was likely the most shaken out of everyone. "This is unbelievable! I absolutely will not allow a future like that to exist!"
At this point he didn't care about old grudges anymore. He strode straight up to Meredith, grabbed her, and pressed her with frantic questions.
"Didn't you say there's still a chance to reverse the future? Then how do we do it? Tell me—now. I'll accept any method, whatever it takes!"
"Since ancient times, the only ones with the power to change a known future are 'Fate Breakers.' In the last hundred years, the number of Fate Breakers we've found has been very small," Meredith said. Her gaze gradually shifted to Adrian. "And the closest one to you… is actually right here."
As her eyes moved to Adrian, Galahad finally noticed the unfamiliar young man who had spoken up earlier.
"He's the 'Fate Breaker' you mean?" Galahad pointed at Adrian, his face turning green and then white. "But the only Fate Breaker that young… was the rebel leader discovered in Parristol not long ago under the Continental Human Accord…"
It was obvious the king wanted to explode, yet the situation forced him to clamp down hard on his anger. He was so furious he couldn't even finish his sentence.
Ever since entering the royal castle with me, Adrian had kept his identity hidden from others. Very few high-ranking officials of the kingdom had ever seen him in person, and Alfred had deliberately covered for him among the upper ranks—so he hadn't been exposed.
"Hmph!" After weighing the pros and cons, Galahad could only swallow his pride for the sake of the bigger picture. "If the future of the Astralrealm Kingdom weren't at stake, I would never let you off. This time, I'll overlook it. But you'd better deliver—don't disappoint me!"
With that, he snorted heavily and stormed off with his attendants, heading down from the rooftop.
"Wasn't there another person who might also be a Fate Breaker—someone who could help?" I suddenly remembered Cyrae. Back then, Cyra had also been suspected of being a Fate Breaker, so as a replacement from another parallel world, Cyrae should logically share the same hidden attribute and might be able to play the same role as Adrian.
"About that, we've never been able to confirm it," Meredith said, having already met Cyrae and clearly understanding whom I meant. "And in different worlds, whether the same person's Fate Breaker status changes is also unknown. So for now, relying on Adrian is the safer choice."
"What should I do next?" Adrian asked immediately. With humanity's future at stake, he wasn't going to waste time.
"Even with a Fate Breaker present, the chance of successfully changing the future is only about fifty percent," Meredith replied. "So we must give the Fate Breaker as many opportunities as possible to participate in the course of history—especially staying close to key actors. And since Noxis first appeared on the Dark Continent, you should begin by investigating that region…"
As the sun sank toward the horizon, a heavy atmosphere settled over the royal castle rooftop. Meredith lightly brushed the purple compass floating at her side, the cards swaying in the breeze, and she slowly turned to deliver her answer.
Hearing the words "Dark Continent," Adrian's expression immediately grew solemn. We had been there before—we knew exactly what that place was like.
But it had been about a year, and our strength was no longer what it used to be. So arranging a return to the Dark Continent wasn't something we couldn't accept.
"No problem," Adrian said. "But before that, I need to go with Feliciana to Edenmere once. Can we leave for the Dark Continent after we finish that and return?"
"A human going to Edenmere?" Meredith paused, then instinctively looked at me, then at Elara's reaction. A look of understanding appeared on her face. "I see… you've already come this far, that quickly? Fine. It won't take long anyway. When you set out is up to you."
It was clear she knew quite a bit about the procedures surrounding unions between humans and angels, and she accepted it generously.
But just then, an urgent shout suddenly rang out from the distant sky, jarringly loud against the silence at such a height. Following the sound, we saw a four-winged angel in full armor flying in from afar, landing directly beside us.
"You're a liaison officer from the Sixth Angel Legion?" Elara recognized him at once. Seeing the sweat on his face—clearly the result of traveling a long distance at top speed—she frowned, worried something had happened in the northern barren lands.
"Elara, my lady!" The liaison angel quickly scanned the group, confirmed Elara's identity, and didn't waste words. He dropped to one knee and reported:
"An urgent dispatch from the garrison in the northern barren lands: something extremely important must be reported to you. Just a few hours ago, a mysterious delegation from the Dark Continent appeared along the border line. They claim to represent the monster forces and intend to negotiate a ceasefire agreement and peace terms with us at Lezbi Port.
"They specifically require that our delegation be led by the angel race—and they demand that the negotiating team must include newborn angels of Edenmere's newest generation, traveling together."