“Moreover, no ruler managed to unify Jiera like Teneb. A long period of wars and unrest followed the death of the Invincible King, with every freed region blaming its neighbors for the loss of their resources.

“Peace never lasted long, and the attempt to merge the countries that had formed the rebel alliance lasted even less.” Tista said.

“Okay, but what does this tell us about this place?” Tista asked.

“Old fake magic runes. The kind you need to carve and cover with mana crystal powder.” Quylla replied. “Back then, magic was primitive, and tiers four and five were exclusive to Awakened.

“Yet Solus said she saw an army of constructs, which means the Invincible King knew Forgemastery, Warden magic, and maybe even Alchemy. Nothing of this is recorded in my history books.

“I can’t help but wonder why, if the Invincible King was such a powerful Awakened, he didn’t use these same safeguards to protect his capital.”

“I can answer that.” Menadion replied. “Those kinds of old runes were impossible to hide and easy to disable. One scratch and the whole array crumbled. Here, the Invincible King could hide them behind rocks, paint, and moss, but in a palace?