Chapter 308: History

"I... I don’t really know much, but I’ll tell you all I know." Merlin hesitated, then continued. "Our ancestors thought the Star Stream was a blessing. After all, it gave everyone power as long as they cleared the world of zombies and mutated beasts. They were really happy about it."

Leon’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, waiting for the boy to continue.

Hugging his knees, Merlin blinked and continued. "Our race was fairly united back then, so there were very few wars among ourselves. Everyone was focused on killing zombies and mutated beasts for three years. And that was when it appeared."

"It?" Leon asked, his expression focused.

Merlin nodded. "It—the first parasite in Vaelari flesh. According to our ancestors, they mistook it for a zombie when it suddenly attacked someone, so they killed it. But they didn’t destroy the head. It got into another person, and they had to kill him too. But that didn’t stop it."

Lowering her gaze to the cat in her hands, Selene muttered, "So it kept changing hosts."

Merlin nodded gloomily. "They thought it was a disease or something. By the time someone finally killed it by crushing the head, it was too late. That parasite had already undergone binary fission and split itself, producing more of it."

"Then... the spread began," Leon muttered in realization.

Shivering, Merlin hugged his knees tighter and continued. "The kingdom where the outbreak occurred was put under quarantine, and the people were confined from leaving."

’Won’t that doom them?’ Leon thought with a frown.

"It wasn’t helpful," Merlin said with a shake of his head. "By the time the other kingdoms realized what was happening, an entire kingdom had become parasites. The spread skyrocketed. A war broke out between the parasites’ kingdom and a neighboring kingdom, but that only worsened the situation."

"The injured warriors were infected too," Selene said, earning a subtle nod from him.

"Yeah. Anyone who got injured while fighting them was doomed, and because they didn’t really know much about them, our ancestors kept losing the war. From the Eastern Continent, they spread to the other continents, slowly wiping us out."

Leon remembered the words he had read from that book in the underground bunker, and his expression turned even more serious.

"In just a century, the whole world was contaminated, and our ancestors were forced to abandon their separate kingdoms to come join the strongest kingdom here in the Central Continent where they built the Dome." Merlin sighed. "I don’t know how it felt, but it must have been traumatizing. Watching everything turn against you—zombies, infected Vaelari, mutated beasts, and other infected mutated beasts. I guess that’s why it became a rule that anything we see that is not a Vaelari should be killed. After all, we’re on the verge of extinction."

Raising her head, Selene turned to him. "Verge of extinction? How many Vaelari are left?"

Frowning, Merlin counted on his fingers. "As at last year, we were recorded to have less than eleven thousand people. Given that it reduces by ten percent every year, I’m not surprised if we’re already down to nine thousand."

Leon and Selene were genuinely astonished by this. Eleven thousand was just too small. It was probably just like a survivor camp at this point.

"For a dominant population to shrink that much..." Leon exhaled. "Their hostility seems justified."

Surprisingly, Merlin shook his head. "No, I don’t think so. It’s like we’re blinding ourselves from help. If one day, saviors arrive, there is a chance we might attack and kill them. It’s just so twisted..."

Staring at the young boy in new light, Leon chuckled. "You’re smart."

Merlin smiled faintly, then asked, "Are you... a savior?"

Leon shook his head. "No."

The young boy looked disappointed, as he had probably been dreaming of some hero descending from the sky to save his race. Even though he believed their teachings were wrong, he still wanted his people to be saved from extinction.

"Hmm..." Rubbing his stomach, he hesitantly asked, "That meat... do you have more?"

Leon nodded and gave him another plate. He had many of them in his storage ring, so food wasn’t a problem.

Noticing Selene’s gaze on him, he took out another portion and handed it to her. She stared at it for a while, then opened the plate and began to eat while feeding the cat some of it.

The four of them ate in silence as the sky turned dark outside. The moon was shining today, though, so they could see through its illumination from the old glass roof.

Staring at the moon, Leon spoke. "Hey, kiddo."

Merlin turned to him, his lips glistening with oil. "Yes?"

"Why did your moon go off yesterday? Is that a normal thing?"

Merlin froze, then stood up. "It... it went off?! That’s..."

"Is it something special?" Selene asked with a faint frown.

Nodding, Merlin smiled. "Yes! There was a prophecy that when the moon starts going off, the world would close the Chapter to this tragic war we’re fighting."

Leon’s brows rose, and he exchanged glances with Selene. They didn’t say anything, but they understood each other’s thoughts.

Something far greater was at play behind the scenes.

Exhaling, Leon lay on the ground, crossing his hands behind his head. "I’ve been wondering, Merlin. Why were you chained up here?"

The young boy stiffened, glancing at Leon with caution and hesitation.

"It’s fine if you don’t want to tell."

Realizing it was probably something the boy didn’t want to discuss, Leon let the matter drop and closed his eyes. His Shadow Sense remained active, though. After all, he couldn’t fully trust the boy. Even Selene slept with one arm around the cat and the other resting on her sword.

Naturally, the boy didn’t fully trust them either. Still, Merlin believed they wouldn’t harm him. After all, they had freed and fed him.

Slowly, they all drifted off to sleep, each having their own thoughts and dreams.

To his relief, Leon didn’t have any weird dream, and his mood wasn’t odd when he woke up the next morning. Yawning, he rose up and stretched his arms. He looked beside him and saw Selene still sleeping with the cat in her embrace.

However, Merlin was nowhere to be found.