That Kuranta from the east has changed Father into a much different man.
Quiet Youth
All these years, Father had remained stoic, even in the face of uprisings and challenges from various tribes. Time and again, he would reorganize his troops and fly his banners.
Quiet Youth
When Father sliced his enemies apart with his sword, even the warm blood that spurted from their necks could not melt the cold gaze behind his mask.
Quiet Youth
But that Nightzmora... when Father fought him, I could almost see sparks—not just from their clashing weapons, but also in his eyes.
Quiet Youth
I had never seen him look at anyone with such fervor.
Gentle Woman
Zubayr, I can sense it... our father's passion for our country has long since faded.
Gentle Woman
I heard some worrying news. Father plans to invite Kharanduu Khagan down south to wage war against those invisible foes.
Gentle Woman
You're going with them, are you not?
Quiet Youth
Those strange enemies have already been encroaching on our land, bit by bit.
Pepe
The Shah... you're both children of the Shah...
As she follows the youth's gaze toward the far horizon, the distant land suddenly gets pulled right before her.
Pepe sees a barren desert devoid of green as her eyelids are buffeted by sand.
Pepe
...The Foehn hotlands...
Pepe
What happened?
Gentle Woman
How are you feeling, Zubayr?
Quiet Youth
I'm fine, sister.
Gentle Woman
I'll need to remove your bandages to reapply the medicine. Bear with me, I'll be quick.
Quiet Youth
It's alright, I feel no pain.
Gentle Woman
How can that be... When they carried you back here, your entire body was charred.
Gentle Woman
What should I do, Zubayr...? Father is missing and you're the only kin I have left.
Gentle Woman
Brother has taken the throne, but we do not share the same mother. Your military achievements have already made him wary.
Quiet Youth
That historian... is he treating you well?
Gentle Woman
Yes... With his help, the volume is already half-done. Perhaps I could manage to see it complete within my lifetime.
Quiet Youth
Careful not to overwork yourself.
Gentle Woman
It is my promise to Father... Even if I fail to complete it, the child within me will continue my work. One day, it will recount everything that has happened here to future generations.
Gentle Woman
It will be a bridge across the vastness of time, connecting the readers with those recorded over the great river of time.
Quiet Youth
I hear they plan to build a cenotaph for Father.
Gentle Woman
Yes...
Quiet Youth
Before he left, Father confided in me about a trove filled with the land's treasures. He instructed me to reveal its location only to the descendants of the Nightzmora.
Gentle Woman
Brother will not be happy when he learns of this.
Quiet Youth
Sister, you chose to record Father's every word and action to memorialize his departure, while I chose to protect everything he left behind.
Quiet Youth
Father has only just left, and already war rages among the western tribes... I must go and quell the unrest.
Gentle Woman
But how... how will you go in your current condition?
Quiet Youth
A gemstone artisan from Arsalan told me he could preserve my consciousness into gemstones inscribed with special circuits.
Quiet Youth
The craftsmen who created the Zhayedan are also willing to build me a new body.
Gentle Woman
Did you already decide on this before telling me about it, Zubayr?
Quiet Youth
Sister, I do not wish to be bed-bound forever...
Gentle Woman
Zubayr, I only wish for you to be happy, and nothing more.
A cover is lifted and light pours in. Pepe finds herself lying on the center of a stone platform.
People around her come and go as they apply sticky, pungent medicine, tightly wrapping her body with linen, constricting her attempts at movement.
Her observations are cut short when an old man walks towards her with a small knife in hand. Pepe would have panicked, but the sedative starts to take effect.
She feels someone holding her head down, and the tiny blade inches towards her forehead...
Pepe
(Is this what Zubayr went through?)
Pepe
(When they transferred his consciousness... he was still alive.)
Pepe
Is it over? Is this what you wanted to show me, Zubayr?
This is only the beginning.
Pepe
Tell me, what else did you go through?
After quelling the rebellions for my brother, I bade farewell to my sister and ventured alone into this desert. Here, I stood guardian over the treasure Father entrusted to me, awaiting the arrival of a Nightzmora descendant.
Yet, through the long centuries of change, the Nightzmoran have forgotten Father's promise to Kharanduu Khagan. They never came—even when I was vanquished and sealed beneath the sands.
Pepe
And you spent nearly a thousand years just waiting here?
I have witnessed lives come into being and pass away, cities rise and fall. With prosperity comes decline, and with life comes death—an inevitability for all.
And with each end comes a new beginning, the cycle repeating endlessly.
Father was right; everything that transpires is but a continual 'time loop,' and the future is naught but a repetition of the past.
I began to hate myself for choosing to become eternal.
I wished to forget, but my sophisticated memory system prevented me from doing so. It kept my experiences fresh and vivid in my mind, every detail distinctly clear.
Pepe, you once told me you wished to become one who remembers history, both written and unrecorded. You wish to witness the truth behind the history with your own eyes.
But that comes with a price, Pepe.
Pepe
Tell me, Zubayr. In your long life, even with the unbearable suffering you've been through, did you ever consider forgetting your father or sister?
Never.
Pepe
That's my answer too.
Pepe
We should remember the things that shouldn't be forgotten, even if they bring us pain.
There is no gigantic, ferocious beast, moist rainforest, or scorching sandstorm.
In the middle of the street sits only a small animal, casually licking its fur.
Pepe
Why did you bring me inside Zubayr's memories?
Mio
It was a test he set for you. You could only see him if you passed it.
Pepe
Was he the one talking to me inside the illusion?
Mio
No, that was actually me. Though the question was indeed his.
Pepe
Did I pass?
Mio
You failed, so just run off back to wherever you came from, little girl.
Pepe
He seemed pretty satisfied with my answer though?
Mio
No, you just imagined it!
Pepe
I have to see him. He's the one who started the unrest in the city, so only he can stop it.
Pepe
Besides... he's the only one who can help me reach the City of Gold, so I can't miss this last chance.
Mio
Silly girl. Do you think being the Historian of Shar-Agade is a good thing?
Mio
You serve at the hand of the Shahanshah, and so your tongue is cut out to ensure you can never speak his secrets.
Mio
You write only what the Shahanshah wants written. You are no longer yourself, only a gilded mouthpiece.
Mio
Is this what you want, foolish girl?
Pepe
Where did you learn all that? The City of Gold isn't a place some random animal can wander into.
Mio
Foolish girl, my first human pet was Lugalszargus's own daughter!
Mio
I saw with my own eyes when the poor girl had her tongue cut out by her very brother!
Pepe
What?!
???
Enough, Mio.
???
She has passed Zubayr's test. Speak no more and let her pass.
Woof
He awaits you at the second-last house in the third alley from here. Remember this, once you enter, knock thrice on the left door, then push the right door open.
Woof
You will see him there.
Mio
Insolent cur, she didn't pass the test! Why did you tell her!
Woof
She passed the test, Mio. Enough of this.
Mio
She did not if I say so! She failed!
Mio
You fool, do you want this girl to...?
Woof
Our mission is complete! Let's go!
Mio
Mroaw—!
Woof grabs Mio by the scruff and disappears down the alley, leaving behind only drag marks.
Question. Would I have found you if I didn't follow the instructions exactly?
Zubayr
Actually, you would have found me no matter which door you opened. The key is whether you truly wish to meet me.
Pepe
...
Pepe
Zubayr, I've come here with a hammer.
Zubayr
Do you intend to intimidate me with force?
Pepe
I can't promise I won't use it.
Pepe
We don't have much time left, so just answer my questions. Truthfully.
Zubayr
Ask your questions, Pepe. I will answer them faithfully—not out of fear, but because it is my choice.
Pepe
Have you found the fourth gemstone?
Zubayr
Yes. Someone was keeping it safe for me. Their family passed it down through the generations, waiting for the day I would awaken and return.
Pepe
Did you decide to destroy the entire city the moment you got it? The whole place is in chaos because of the jewel constructs.
Zubayr
Pepe, I apologize for what is happening to the city, but I have to do it. My duty compels me.
Pepe
'Fourth, the liver. We go into the night, awake and alert, for duty and obligation.' Are your memories related to your duties complete?
Zubayr
Indeed.
Pepe
So where's the Shah's treasure trove?
Zubayr
Right below our feet, underneath the city of Menat-Ha'mait.
Zubayr
You could say this city was founded by, and is prosperous because of the infinite treasures left behind by Father.
Zubayr
When he left us, I had his cenotaph built in the deepest reach of his trove, so that it may also serve as his tomb.
Zubayr
For centuries they kept digging underground, and every artifact or treasure they found in the mausoleum became fuel for the city.
Zubayr
This is my fault, but it is not too late. There is still a chance to stop it, as they have yet to dig into its depths... for the treasure that mustn't be touched by the wrong hands.
Pepe
What is that exactly?
Zubayr
Patience, Pepe. I was just about to show it to you.
A beam of sunlight pierces through the window, illuminating the floor beside Zubayr's feet.
He raises his staff high, and suddenly a strong wind stirs from nowhere. The sistrum chimes as it jingles.
Pepe hears Zubayr hum a tune that feels familiar, though its cryptic lyrics elude her understanding.
She then feels the ground beneath her feet soften, her ankles sinking into a flowing sea of sand.
As Zubayr finishes his tune, he plunges the staff into the ground.
In an instant, sand and dust swirl wildly, enveloping them both until they vanish.
