The throne room returned to its dead, silent state after the memory shattered. Veneri exhaled slowly as he deactivated his Divinity.
"So, this is where Emperor Liang Zhenyu died."
No one replied immediately. We were still trying to process what we had just watched. He was just a man turned Deity who had fought for nearly three decades chose to kill himself just to keep his wife from seeing him become a monster.
"But there's one problem. If the Empress managed to destroy the Passageway and save the empire, then why aren't there any signs of people returning?"
The realization hit all of us at the same time. The empire should have survived.
The army had returned victorious. The Krepsunas had been cut off from Dimensium. Frostdeath should have become the center of a rebuilding civilization. But instead, the city was a frozen graveyard.
Veneri's pupils shrank.
"Narisva, create a dimensional seal around the throne room. Now."
There was no hesitation. The air warped as Narisva raised her hand. Space folded like paper and a translucent barrier emerged around the throne room. The world outside blurred and then vanished, replaced by a grey, endless void beyond the walls. We were now completely separated from the rest of the palace, existing in a pocket dimension only she controlled. Veneri let out a shaky breath.
"Good. That was close."
Meriz frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Veneri turned back toward the throne.
"This throne room, is holding a Hidden Truth."
"Hidden Truths aren't supposed to be heard, Monarch Vastarael. If someone learns one without the proper protection, they-"
"Die, yes. Or worse."
"Then why are we still alive?"
Veneri opened his mouth to answer Narisva.
"Because Hidden Truths aren't meant to be heard. But anyone who learns about them can be-"
His words got cut off not because he stopped talking. Every single one of us screamed.
It felt like someone had shoved burning needles straight into my brain and started twisting them. My vision blurred, my knees buckled and I hit the floor hard as my entire body seized up. Beside me, Quasa collapsed, clutching her head and shouting in pain. Meriz dropped to one knee. Even I was affected.
Veneri staggered but forced himself to stay standing.
"It's the Hidden Truth's backlash! Your souls are rejecting the knowledge!"
He slammed his palm against his chest and unleashed a surge of Soul Energy, wrapping around all of us. The pain didn't vanish but it dulled.
"Endure it! If your minds don't adapt to the truth, your souls will shatter and erase themselves!"
Seconds stretched into minutes. Or maybe it was the other way around.
My body trembled violently as my mind struggled to process the sheer weight of what we had learned. Finally, the pain began to recede and one by one, our screams died down into ragged breathing.
Quasa rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling.
"I've... never felt pain like that."
Meriz grabbed her arm and lifted her up into a sitting position. His hands were shaking.
"Same. I thought my soul was being split apart."
Veneri leaned against a pillar, panting heavily as he withdrew his Soul Energy barrier.
"Now you understand why Hidden Truths aren't just secrets. They're knowledge that the world itself tries to erase. Now that you've adapted to it, you can carry the information without dying. But there's a catch. If you speak of a Hidden Truth to someone who hasn't undergone this adjustment, the backlash will hit them instantly. They won't just suffer like you did. They'll be erased completely both body and soul."
Narisva flicked her fingers and the dimensional barrier dissolved. The throne room was back into the real world,.
"Then it's better if no one else enters place."
Veneri nodded.
"All of Emperor Liang Zhenyu's knowledge is carved across this throne room in Chinese. I can translate it but it's... a lot. This isn't just a few diary entries."
He raised his hand and summoned a thick, floating tome bound in deep blue leather. The Mystic Book of Altherion in front of him with its pages flipping rapidly on their own. I used my holograms on the pages. My system would help him organize the Chinese text into something Veneri could process faster.
He exhaled in relief as he spoke in mind.
"Good. With your holograms assisting, this'll go a lot faster."
He turned back to us.
"I'm going to need time. Hours, maybe days. I'll decipher everything he left behind and then share only the safe portions with you. The parts that won't trigger another Hidden Truth backlash of course. In the meantime, we deal with the Krepsuna infection in the present."
After what we had just seen, we all knew one thing for certain.
There was some information that we missed out. Where is the Empress and her army?