The earth returns to silence, promising the days to come.
The underground fortress of the Terra Empire, located in Montera, the heart of the land.
Latos entered the core accumulation chamber.
Recently, after the Ignis Empire gave birth to the Geyser Core, they had handed that core over to Terra, and thanks to that, one more core had appeared on the display stand.
Latos did not speak.
Only his eyes quietly passed over each core, one by one.
First was the Earth Core placed in the center, Terra’s primary resource.
It pulsed quietly, stabilizing even the stones around it.
It was also the center that maintained the inherent gravity and weight of soil and rock, as well as the order of this place.
Around that Earth Core, the Flame, Wave, Life, and Metal Cores of the other empires were arranged in each direction.
The Flame Core and Wave Core had been seized directly by Terra’s army, while the Life and Metal Cores had been acquired through a temporary alliance with Metalum.
They possessed pure attributes that had not yet been fused.
And farther outward, several dual-attribute cores had been placed.
All ten types of dual-attribute cores had already appeared in the world, but the only dual-attribute cores Terra had obtained were the Geyser Core, the Lava Core, and the Iron Ore Core.
As if they had appeared in the world but were not pure, their colors were unusual.
Off-white, dark red, and gray—colors that were, perhaps, unfamiliar.
Latos examined the empty spaces as well, one by one.
“I wonder if we can obtain the rest as well.”
He knew it too.
Though he had never personally witnessed the moment of fusion, he knew that behind the birth of each fused core lay hidden conflict, collision, and sacrifice.
Of course, Terra, which had not directly carried out core fusion, had also paid no small sacrifice.
“How much greater will the sacrifices be from now on…….”
Unlike single-attribute cores naturally produced within their own territory, dual-attribute cores were usually obtained from cores plundered after invading an opposing nation.
Unless it was a special case like the Slime Core, if the empires became obsessed with acquiring dual-attribute cores, it was clear that countless wars would continue to break out.
Latos unconsciously looked at the Iron Ore Core and the Lava Core.
What these two had in common was that the energy of earth had been fused into them.
And these cores seemed to contain both Terra’s past and the future that had yet to arrive.
Metalum’s army, which had once remained within Terra’s territory, and Ignis, which even now was aiming for this center.
Latos turned his head and looked at the pile of Earth Cores stacked in one place.
There was a unique emotion in this core that the other attributes did not possess.
It was “waiting.”
“The world changes, and cores evolve, but…… the earth is still the earth.”
He lifted his head.
He was sensing something.
A faint tremor conveyed by the land, beginning from some unknown place.
It might be an omen announcing the start of a new era.
The southern plains of Montera.
“Waaah…….”
A stone rolled up in front of a boulder.
“Grandfather, that core has appeared now too. They say it’s called the Geyser Core. They say fire and water met.”
The boulder replied.
“Hoh. As far as I know, those two still haven’t directly clashed. And yet a core was created.”
“They say this center conveyed it in their stead. Our land has grown so large that it must have become even harder for the two of them to meet.”
A wind blew in from the south.
The boulder said,
“Did Metalum in the west not also encounter Silva in the east? If this Terra becomes a medium of connection, then Ignis, too, may be able to meet Aqua.”
The stone sprang upright.
“Then is Ignis entering our land this time?! That doesn’t feel very familiar.”
“Hrm. I do not particularly wish to see this land burning either. But Ignis is feeling lonely now. Just as Aqua has joined hands with Silva, and Terra, though not now, once formed an alliance with Metalum, Ignis is also showing signs of searching for a nation that will become its ally.”
“Uuumm…….”
The standing stone flopped over onto its side.
“I’d rather it be Metalum. Didn’t Ignis attack us once before? And now those guys are going to reach out to us?”
After a brief silence, the boulder’s voice rumbled.
“The world is always changing. Yesterday’s friend may become today’s enemy, and yesterday’s enemy may become today’s friend. What is certain is that Terramont is not one to accept an outstretched hand that comes without any conditions. Just as Metalum fought Silva on Terra’s behalf, Ignis will have to show something as well, but that will not be easy.”
“Then that’s a bit of a relief.”
The stone rolled in place.
“Anyway, I still don’t really know. How the world will change from now on, I mean. Now that all the dual-attribute cores have appeared, what comes next?”
The boulder answered in a deep voice.
“Perhaps a being stronger than a dragon.”
“Yes?”
“Just like the Yellow Dragon born from the soil and rock of the center, a final-stage unit will likely be born from the dual-attribute cores as well.”
The stone raised itself again.
“Isn’t our Montanus the only dragon that has appeared so far? But now a dragon from a dual-attribute core is already going to appear?”
“No, I did not say they would appear already. I meant that they will appear someday. And I am not certain that the beings summoned from dual-attribute cores will necessarily be dragons. For now…… it is an unknown domain.”
“Umm…….”
After a moment, the stone asked the boulder,
“Are there things you don’t know too, Grandfather?”
“Hut. Who would dare claim to know the future? I merely predict the future based on memories of the past.”
“Should we…… stay as we are?”
“We should. Only then can we know the direction, even as the world flows onward.”
The stone turned its body and looked toward Terra’s fortress.
“Before, Grandfather, you said this center was being targeted from all sides. I don’t know if it’s all right for us to keep staying like this. It’s good that we were the first to give birth to Montanus, but if something really does come from the dual-attribute cores like you said…….”
The boulder answered quietly.
“Let us continue to trust Terramont. He surely did not move the cores here and there so recklessly without reason.”
Ever since the Terra Empire’s fortress had been elevated to the final stage, Terra had maintained its silence.
But beneath that silence, a faint vibration of the earth remained.
A conference room inside the underground fortress.
With a stone table at the center, Emperor Terramont and his three retainers sat around it.
On the table lay the Geyser Core that Latos had taken from the core accumulation chamber.
Latos spoke first.
“This is the Geyser Core that Ignis handed to me. At last, every combination of dual-attribute cores has been completed.”
Gorban continued,
“Does this mean a certain balance has been completed? But the world still appears to be in chaos. Even fiercer battles may follow.”
Latos stepped forward again.
“I am of a similar mind. I do not know if I am overthinking it, but if all the dual-attribute cores have appeared, I am concerned that what comes next may be the beginning of tri-attribute cores. It seems another chaos may be approaching.”
In that instant, the air in the conference room sank heavily.
Gorban reacted in surprise.
“Surely that cannot be. The whole world was already in an uproar when the Golden Core, fused from two attributes, appeared. And now you speak of three attributes? Is such a thing even possible?”
“I cannot be certain either, but we cannot ignore even a low possibility. Someone may already be attempting it, no? Especially since Ignis opened the era of dual-attribute cores, this time as well…….”
Gaia nodded.
“To be honest, I agree to some extent as well. Tri-attribute cores may not appear immediately, but someday they will reveal themselves. That flow cannot be completely stopped.”
Gorban narrowed his eyes.
He began speaking calmly.
“There is still something I do not understand. As for dual-attribute cores, once they appeared, it was understandable how they had fused. The two energies only needed to yield to and reinforce each other. But what if there are three energies? Once two energies have already met, is there any room for another new energy to intervene? It should be impossible due to the imbalance of energy.”
Terramont, Gaia, and Latos listened to him in silence.
Gorban continued.
“Or would it be a method in which all three energies fuse simultaneously from the very beginning of fusion? For that to happen, a single core would have to accept two other energies at the same time, but I do not know whether a single-attribute core could withstand that. I cannot get any sense at all of how a tri-attribute core would be created.”
Silence settled over the conference room.
It seemed no one could guess the method of fusing a tri-attribute core.
Terramont, who had been silently sitting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.
His gaze passed through the room, deep as though he were looking at the flow beneath the earth.
“I understand all of your opinions. A tri-attribute core, is it? It does seem entirely possible.”
Gorban looked at him.
“How……?”
“What matters is the balance of energy. A method by which three energies maintain balance with one another while also overcoming the limits of a single attribute. In the end, someone will realize that method.”
Terramont’s tone made it sound as though he already knew the method.
However, none of them tried to ask him about it directly.
Terramont spoke again.
“However, at present, even dual-attribute cores cannot be said to be in full use. Everyone has merely developed one or two types of units from each core. When they have not yet fully discerned the power of dual-attribute cores, will they already turn their eyes to tri-attribute cores?”
The retainers still did not understand Terramont’s words.
Gaia cautiously opened her mouth.
“Wouldn’t that direction be just as chaotic? Wouldn’t something appear that even Montanus could not stop?”
Terramont’s voice was low, but firm.
“We always appear last, and remain until the end. And upon the flow created by the world, we become the weight that preserves balance.”
He slowly rose from his seat.
“For now, watch. We have no reason to intervene in the current situation. If the chaos of the world reaches us, we will move then.”
Latos quietly bowed his head, and Gaia and Gorban likewise raised no objection to those words.
The retainers silently watched Terramont’s back as he left the conference room.
Terramont climbed to the top of the fortress.
A place from which he could see not only the Terra Empire, but even regions far in the distance.
East, west, south, and north.
None showed any violent movement.
At most, only the Metalum Empire in the west was filled with noisy clamor from the remodeling of its fortress.
Terramont’s gaze turned north and east.
After Montanus fell, the Aqua Empire and the Silva Empire met once more.
And to the south.
The Ignis Empire, expanding its power, gradually drew closer to Terra.
“As expected, it is Ignis.”
Ignis, who moved before anyone else.
This time as well, they were approaching the center.