[I have a p-a-t-r-e-o-n with exclusive stories on it! I hope you guys will give it a chance. The link is /easyread. Remove the dashes. Webnovel censors the word.]

~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Desert, The Continent of Alforza)~~~

~~~(Time: 1:42 PM)~~~

As time slows down again, we're shown a new scene. One where there is a great army on the dunes toward the sunrise. The town has been uncovered. We're standing in its streets now. Sally jumps on top of one of the buildings to get a better look.

I follow her, and we pick the tallest building in town. Having a better look at the army, I see they're wearing the sigils of The Yelized Empire. Meaning at this current point in history, this place is still Kelizei. Why they've brought an army this large is a mystery to me.

"Why do you think they're here? From the conversation between Geledes and the Emperor, they've given up on this place."

That's what we were led to believe. Those were the decisions made at the time. I'm betting they found out something important. That's why they're back with an army I've never seen before.

"Something must've happened. Faelar seems important to them, and I'd have kept looking into the disappearance of an important figure if I were the leader of an Empire."

My eyes rest on the dunes filling up.

I've never witnessed so many soldiers, mages, and any other combatants gathered in one place before. A large golden carriage floating with magic stops at the center of the visible army on the horizon, and the doors open.

The Emperor of the Yelized Empire steps out and walks down the steps. I want to hear what they're talking about. I don't give any warning before I grab Sally and make it to them.

We literally walk through a few soldiers and stop at a group of highly decorated people. All are waiting for the Emperor to start talking to them personally.

"Isn't this awesome..."

Sally whispers, thinking they might hear us. It's a habit, given how sneaky we are when it comes to certain missions.

"Yeah, I'm on the edge of my seat here."

It's true. I'm excited about what's going on. I have no clue as to why we're being shown this or how we're even here.

She isn't able to talk again as the Emperor starts to speak.

"General Geledes. I want you to lead a scout team into the town. Take no more than 300 men. Sweep the buildings one by one."

I wish they were more specific about why they're here. All I can find out from what's been said is they've discovered something about this place. I don't know how long it's been since they were last here. It could've been a few weeks or a few years.

"Yes, Emperor."historical

The General that Sally and I are already familiar with lowers his head and starts walking to a different part of the army. Gathering soldiers from a specific spot, he makes his way across a couple of miles.

While he's doing that, a conversation starts between the Emperor and the other generals.

"You've all read the reports and tests we've accumulated about this place over the last 4 years. At first, we believed it to be a town with some misfortune."

Looks like we don't have to find out what's wrong with this place. It's being talked about in front of us. 4 years since the last recording was shown to us, according to him. That means they've been looking into this place for a while.

"General Geledes knows the risks he's taking bringing his men across the sand and into that town. Let's hope it doesn't wake. The Great Sandworm is the guardian of the real monster beneath the sands. That town is built right on top of it."

Wow, so an Apex Predator is acting as a guardian for something even stronger under the town? That seems like something impossible. Yet it's happening.

"Emperor, may I speak freely?"

A general we don't know the name of decides to be the first to actually talk. Some of the generals look at him disapprovingly. Others don't seem to care.

"Yes, you always have an angle others don't think of, General Ulizere."

Another new name has been given to us. I can assume what the name of the Emperor is. Yelized. Empires are named after their founders, and descending family members are given a forename to go with the classic surname of Yelized.

That much I know about the man. I think that's all I really need to know.

"We're aware that the creature beneath the town is stronger than any Great Sandworm. General Geledes knows the guardian Great Sandworm could come at any time. But are we even considering the possibility the creature beneath the town is asleep?"

There is a silence across the men gathered in front of Sally and me.

"Guardian creatures only act when something isn't able to defend itself. The Great Sandworm would've shown up by now unless it was told not to, right?"

That's a good point. I know from personal experience not all guardians work the same as others. Since this place is so unique, I wouldn't doubt it works differently in reference to the guardian. But I can't be certain.

The Emperor looks at the generals. His look growing more concerned, and realization befalls all of them. That realization being everything General Ulizere has said has complete and total merit.

"HAVE NONE OF YOU DISCUSSED THIS POSSIBILITY!??"

There is clear anger and rage coming from the Emperor.

Before anyone can get on their knees and start apologizing to the man, he pulls out the same cylindrical device that we saw General Geledes use to speak with him when he was in the town 4 years ago.

The hologram pops up, and Geledes is on the other side.

"Yes, Emperor?"

It doesn't seem like anything is out of the ordinary on their end. If anything, this is a warning call. Given the new train of thought provided by General Ulizere, it's necessary for them to warn him.

"General, I wanted to inform you that there is a chance whatever is under the town is actually awake and aware of everything happening. This wasn't talked about at any point up until now. I'll be having words with your fellow generals for this. Be careful in there."

The holographic man gives a nod, and the device is turned off.

The Emperor's eyes rest on the many men that are around him. There are 7 generals in total. The ones I know of are General Ulizere, who is here. And General Geledes, who's in the town by now.

"If any of the men that have come here today die because not all avenues of possibility were explored, you'll have to face the consequences. General Ulizere, from this moment forward, you're in charge of this operation."

There is a tone of finality in the man's voice, and all the generals lower their heads in respect. All except for General Ulizere are looking worried. It's hard for a general to do their job if they can't sacrifice their lives. That's how battles are won, after all.

The Emperor just told them that they're not allowed to do such a thing.

"Ever since we lost Faelar, we've been having trouble keeping the other families in line. He was the greatest deterrent for the Empire. Now that he's gone, more problems than ever before are rising. We can't afford to lose a single soul in these sands."

His preservation of the lives of the soldiers comes second to me. What I picked up on was him talking about other families making problems. I have no idea what that means, and it's driving me crazy. I have to know more about this Empire.

"I take it you heard that little piece of information too."

Sally leans in closer and whispers in my ear. She's been listening as closely to all of this as I have. It's something that's been more interesting than anything we've been up to in recent times.

This could lead to some new adventures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.237][Tier-4]

[Exp: 72/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 440] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Camping gear] [Fishing poles 2x] [Festival Garbs 2x] [4x EXP Boosts] [Princess Saliandra's Panties (Black Lace)] [Desert Warrior Nomad Set (Rare)]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.74 325/7400] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.74 225/7400] [Slash Lvl.92 4600/21000] [Parry Lvl.68 85/6800] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controlled Fun] [Aspect of Transportation (Legendary)]