“The Great Ones.”
The moment the name left Aldous’s mouth, the last whisper in the plaza died away.
Absolute silence descended.
A heavy silence, so profound that it seemed as though one hundred thousand people had stopped breathing at the exact same moment.
Aldous remained standing upon his platform, while everyone’s eyes stayed fixed upon him.
The faces of the young men and women paled.
The expressions of the teachers froze.
Even the cultivators standing along the edges of the plaza could not conceal the shock in their eyes.
During this lecture, they had already heard about the war that had destroyed their world, about the millions of Immortals who had fallen within it, and about the gods whose power had been capable of shaking the foundations of the continent.
But now they had learned that there were other beings behind that war.
Beings whom history had described by a single name.
The Great Ones.
Beings so immensely powerful that merely descending into the world with their true bodies was enough to distort existence itself.
And the moment they imagined that a battle had once been fought between several such beings...
And that their world had been the battlefield of that confrontation...
Their hearts began to tremble.
How could a battle between beings of such terrifying power have ended without the entire world being annihilated?
After several moments of silence, the first whisper finally rose.
“The Great Ones? Oh my God...”
A young man spoke while staring at Aldous.
Then another said:
“What kind of name is that? Just hearing it fills me with an overwhelming sense of awe and fear.”
A third spoke:
“The War of the Great Ones... A terrifying war that lasted twenty thousand years and was named after these beings.”
He paused for a moment before continuing:
“That alone shows just how terrifying their might and power must have been.”
A girl spoke, curiosity mixed with fear in her voice:
“What cultivation realm did these Great Ones exist in?”
A young man beside her replied:
“I don’t know... but if they were beings of such immense power, then they must have reached a level that we cannot even begin to imagine.”
Another young man added:
“If they were that powerful, then surely some of them must have survived the War of the Great Ones.”
His companion quickly turned toward him.
“Then where are they now?”
The questions began to pour out.
“What happened to them after the war?”
“Did they all disappear?”
“Did any of them remain?”
“And if some of them survived... why do we know nothing about them?”
The whispers grew louder, but Aldous did not answer immediately.
He allowed the questions to linger for several moments before slightly raising his voice.
Everyone’s attention returned to him.
“When the Great Ones of the invading world descended into our world and attempted to seize the Upper Continent, the Great Ones of our world moved to confront them.”
The whispers ceased.
Everyone’s gazes grew even more focused.
Aldous continued:
“From that day onward, a battle beyond description began between beings capable of distorting existence itself merely by descending with their true bodies.”
The audience drew in a long breath of cold air.
This time, no question came immediately.
The sentence itself was too heavy to be met with an immediate response.
Then the whispers slowly began to emerge once more.
“The mere appearance of their true bodies causes existence to distort?”
“What kind of power is that?”
“So there were Great Ones in our world as well?”
A young man spoke, an unusual expression of relief appearing on his face:
“If there were Great Ones in our world as well, then that means they confronted the invaders.”
Then a girl said:
“Fortunately, they did... Otherwise, our ancestors might have been annihilated millions of years ago.”
That thought alone was enough to change the direction of the discussion.
Their curiosity was no longer focused solely on the foreign Great Ones.
The question had now become:
Who were the Great Ones of their world?
A young man sitting in front of the platform raised his hand before asking:
“I wonder, Lord Aldous... Did these texts mention the name of any Great One, especially the Great Ones of humanity?”
The moment he finished speaking, several heads turned toward him.
Then other voices rose.
“Yes! Did they mention the names of the Great Ones of humanity?”
“Were their names preserved?”
“What about the other races?”
“Did the texts mention the names of their Great Ones as well?”
Aldous looked toward the crowd.
It was obvious that the question had aroused their interest tremendously.
After some of the color returned to his face, he said:
“The texts stated that these Great Beings were the ancient ancestors of the various races, particularly the Superior Races, such as us humans, the dragons, the phoenixes, and the rest of the other Superior Races.”
A brief silence fell.
Then the eyes of the young men and women began to shine.
At last, they had received an answer to the question that had begun occupying their minds.
The Great Ones were not merely unknown beings who had participated in the war.
They were...
The ancestors of the races of their world.
One of the young men immediately said:
“So the Great Ones were the ancestors of the races of our world?”
Another replied:
“Then doesn’t that mean that we humans once had ancient ancestors who were considered transcendent beings upon the Upper Continent?”
A third said excitedly:
“Oh my God... I wonder if the texts mentioned the names of some of our human ancestors!”
More voices joined him.
“Do we know the names of the Great Ones of humanity?”
“Tell us about them, Lord Aldous!”
“What about the dragons?”
“Did the texts also mention the Great Ones of the phoenixes?”
Aldous smiled faintly.
The change in the expressions of these youngsters was obvious.
Only moments ago, they had been pale with fear.
Now, however, their eyes were filled with excitement and pride.
He said:
“The murals mentioned some of the titles of our Great Ancestors, as well as the titles of the ancestors of other races, particularly those that survived the war.”
Excitement erupted throughout the plaza.
The side conversations almost completely stopped.
Every gaze turned toward Aldous.
Everyone was waiting.
Then he said:
“Humanity had two Great Beings, known as...”
He paused.
A brief moment of anticipation passed.
Then he spoke:
“The Human Ancestor.”
Surprise appeared on some of their faces.
But he continued:
“And the Ancient Divine Emperor.”
Their eyes widened even further.
A young man immediately exclaimed:
“Humanity had two Great Ones!”
Another said with admiration:
“The Human Ancestor... What a name filled with dignity and power.”
Another young man added:
“And the Ancient Divine Emperor... What a mighty and imposing name.”
But Aldous did not give them much time to comment.
He continued:
“As for the Dragon Race, they were also said to have two Great Ones: the Dragon Ancestor and the Dragon Goddess.”
Whispers rose.
“The Dragon Ancestor...”
“The Dragon Goddess...”
Then he continued:
“And the phoenixes had two Great Ones: the Primordial Phoenix and the Ancient Phoenix Emperor.”
One of the young men said:
“Even the phoenixes had Great Ones!”
Another added:
“What about the giants?”
As though he had been waiting for the question, Aldous said:
“As for the giants, they had three Great Ancestors. Two of them were mentioned by name: the Primordial Giant and the Goddess of Earth.”
Voices of admiration rose.
Then a young man asked:
“And the elves?”
Aldous replied:
“It was mentioned that they had three ancestors, one of whom was named: the Goddess of Nature.”
Then he added:
“As for the rest of the Great Ones, their names were not mentioned.”
That was not enough to extinguish their excitement.
On the contrary.
The names began to echo throughout the plaza.
“The Human Ancestor.”
“The Ancient Divine Emperor.”
“The Dragon Ancestor.”
“The Dragon Goddess.”
“The Primordial Phoenix.”
“The Ancient Phoenix Emperor.”
“The Primordial Giant.”
“The Goddess of Earth.”
“The Goddess of Nature.”
A young man said proudly:
“I truly feel proud that I was born human, and that I have two ancestors who were Great Beings.”
Another young man laughed.
“I no longer feel that humans are inferior to the other races.”
Another joined in:
“Not just humans. It seems that all the Superior Races had ancestors among these Great Ones.”
The excitement continued to rise.
But suddenly...
Aldous said:
“Although the murals mentioned our Great Ancestors, they focused far more on one Great Being than on any of the others, describing the extent of his might and ferocity.”
The atmosphere of the plaza changed once again.
Some of the discussions stopped.
The faces turned toward Aldous.
This was different.
It was not merely the mention of another name.
There was one Great Being whom the murals had focused on more than the rest.
Why?
And why had the texts specifically chosen him?
Curiosity returned to the eyes of the young men and women.
A young man said:
“One of them more than the others?”
Another replied:
“Why did the murals focus on him?”
A girl asked:
“Was he stronger than the other Great Ones?”
Aldous did not answer.
And his silence made their curiosity even sharper.
A young woman leaned forward eagerly.
Her face radiated curiosity as she asked:
“Who is this Great One, Lord Aldous? Could he be one of the two ancestors of our human race?”
Excitement ignited in the eyes of the young men and women.
One of them said:
“Perhaps it was the Human Ancestor.”
Another added:
“Or the Ancient Divine Emperor!”
But Aldous shook his head solemnly.
“No.”
The single word fell as though it had cut through every possibility.
Then he said:
“The Great One described by the murals was neither one of the Great Ones of our human race nor one of the Great Ones of any other race.”
The smiles disappeared.
He continued:
“The texts stated that this Great Being belonged to none of the races of our world.”
A gradual silence descended.
Aldous said:
“The murals described this Great Being as a mysterious existence whose origin was known to no one, not even the other Great Ones.”
The youths in the front rows exchanged glances.
Even the other Great Ones did not know his origin?
The matter was far stranger than they had expected.
But Aldous did not stop.
“They also mentioned that he possessed immense might and overwhelming power.”
Then came the sentence that changed everything:
“And the mysterious text stated that during the War of the Great Ones, he killed a Great Being from the invading forces.”
The plaza froze.
No one moved.
The statement was difficult to comprehend.
A Great One had killed another Great One.
Even before this revelation, the Great Ones had been existences whose power they could not possibly imagine.
And now Aldous was telling them that one of them had not merely participated in the war...
He had killed another Great One.
The whispers slowly began to rise.
“A Great One can die?”
A young man spoke.
Another immediately replied:
“No... He did not die naturally. He was killed by a Great One from our world.”
A third said:
“If this unknown Great One was capable of killing another Great One... then just how powerful was he?”
Then he muttered:
“Oh my God...”
Another young man said:
“I wonder what the name of this terrifying Great One was.”
Amid that charged atmosphere, an exceptionally beautiful girl murmured, her face flushed red:
“I truly admire this Great One from our world.”
Those around her looked at her.
Then a young man said excitedly:
“Yes! I truly feel proud. A Great One from our world killed a Great One from the enemy forces.”
Then he laughed.
“That’s amazing... This is truly amazing! Hahahahaha!”
Some laughter and excitement rose around him.
But after several minutes...
Another question began to impose itself upon them.
They knew that there was a Great One of unknown origin.
They knew that he had killed a Great One from the invading forces.
But there was one thing they did not know.
His name.
Gradually, the gazes began turning toward Aldous.
Then voices rose:
“Lord Aldous!”
“What was his name?”
“What is the name of this Great One?”
“Tell us his name!”
“We want to know!”
Excitement was obvious on their faces.
When Aldous saw their enthusiasm, he smiled gently.
Then he said:
“Yes.”
The plaza gradually quieted.
“The name of this transcendent being was indeed recorded.”
The anticipation intensified.
“This Great One was known in that era as...”
Aldous stopped.
At that very moment, his expression changed.
His smile disappeared.
A solemn expression replaced it, and there was a trace of reverence in his eyes.
Everyone waited.
One second.
Then another.
Until it seemed as though the entire plaza was holding its breath.
Then Aldous said:
“He was known in that era as...”
He paused.
Then spoke the name:
“The Greatest.”
A stunned silence followed.
No one spoke.
The word was simple.
Yet it fell upon their ears with tremendous weight.
The Greatest.
The whispers slowly began to emerge.
“The Greatest...”
“The Greatest?”
“That is his name?”
One of the young men said:
“What kind of arrogance and pride did this being possess to give himself the name ‘The Greatest’?”
Another replied:
“Among all the Great Ones... he chose to call himself The Greatest?”
A girl said:
“As though he looked down upon the other Great Ones.”
Another young man added:
“He does not merely say that he is great... He says that he is The Greatest.”
Another said:
“How much pride must a being possess to give himself a name like that?”
The discussions began intertwining once more.
But this time, they were not talking about the war.
Nor the invaders.
Nor even the power of the Great Ones.
They were talking about a single name.
The Greatest.
A name that carried within it the meaning of dominance and superiority.
A name that seemed like an outright declaration that its owner did not merely see himself as one of the Great Ones...
But as someone above them.
A young man said:
“Perhaps he was so confident in his own strength that he believed no one could rival him.”
Another replied:
“Or perhaps he was simply an arrogant man who did not know his own limits.”
A girl said:
“But if he truly killed a Great One from the invading forces...”
She paused for a moment.
Then said:
“Perhaps his choice of this name was not merely arrogance.”
A brief silence fell around her.
Some of the young men thought about her words.
But another young man said:
“Whatever the case may be, the name remains terrifyingly arrogant.”
The discussions continued.
As for Aldous...
He remained silent upon the platform.
He listened to their conversation without interrupting.
Yet his expression remained solemn.
These young men now knew the name of that being.
But they knew nothing about the truth behind that name.
They did not know where it came from.
Nor why he had carried it.
Nor what it meant to that era.
All they knew...
Was that there was a Great One of unknown origin, who had fought in the War of the Great Ones and killed a Great One from the invading forces.
And that this being...
Was known by only one name.
The Greatest.
Amid the rising noise of the plaza, the name continued to echo among one hundred thousand people.
“The Greatest...”
“The Greatest...”
A single name.
Yet merely hearing it was enough to ignite their curiosity once more.
As though the history of Ibiron was not revealing its secrets to them...
But opening a new door before them every time they believed they had drawn closer to the truth.