Chapter Ninety-Three: The Abyss of Nothingness

After listening a while longer and hearing nothing new, Lando continued on toward the center of the tribe.

From the two men’s conversation, Lando had gathered quite a bit of information. The large tribe was called Fire Leopard, and the girl with the special companion crystal was named Samira. At present, the Fire Leopard tribe clearly seemed determined to claim her. That was convenient; if he could not obtain much useful information from the Sky Bird tribe, perhaps a visit to Fire Leopard next would yield a fine harvest.

He did not see the warrior chief Kenneth or Samira anywhere in the settlement. They must have gone hunting. After all, now that the tribe had relocated as a whole, food must still be scarce.

The tribe was not large. By the time he reached the wooden house at its center, he could already faintly make out broad fields opened up behind the settlement, where many people were using farming tools transformed from companion crystals to clear the land.

Pushing the door open, he saw the old chieftain apparently writing something at the desk. Hearing the door, the old man looked up and saw no one there. A puzzled expression surfaced in his eyes, and he was just about to rise and shut the door when it closed of its own accord. Lando’s figure slowly appeared.

The old chieftain was startled, then quickly forced himself to calm down. “Your Excellency, whatever you intend to do, I will cooperate. Please do not harm my people.”

Lando, who had tried to seize the initiative first, was momentarily taken aback. He had not expected the old chieftain to open with something like that.

“Relax. I mean no harm. I only want to ask a few questions, and then I’ll leave,” Lando said with a smile.

The old chieftain seemed to ease somewhat. “Please ask. I will tell you everything I know.”

“Good. I want to know about Samira’s companion crystal.”

After a brief silence, the old chieftain said, “You should not be from the Fire Leopard tribe. Then may I ask if you know that Samira has already been proposed to by the Fire Leopard tribe, and in a few days she will marry their young chieftain?”

Lando understood the old chieftain’s meaning, so he answered indirectly. “Rest assured, I have no intention of harming Samira. I merely want information related to her special companion crystal. Why is she able to manifest a special kind of... weapon?”

“You are... the one who helped Kenneth and Samira earlier, are you not?”

“Yes.”

The old chieftain thought for a long while this time, and Lando did not urge him.

At length, the old chieftain said, “The Sky Bird tribe... once one of the three mightiest tribes in the Crystal World, and now it has fallen to such a state.”

“...”

“Long before the arrival of the last wave of Descenders, the Sky Bird tribe, along with the Sky Dragon tribe and the Sky Tiger tribe, was known as one of the three strongest tribes in the Crystal World. Even the calamity brought by the Descenders did not completely wound our vitality.”

“Among the Descenders there were indeed some who could communicate, but the vast majority of you...” Here, the old chieftain fixed Lando with an intense stare and enunciated each word. “...never regarded us as beings with whom one might speak. Instead, you slaughtered us all the same!”

“...”

“After surviving the calamity of the Descenders, the Sky Bird tribe thought it would at last be able to enjoy several hundred years of peace and development. But then a great event occurred in the Crystal World...”

“One day, the entire world trembled, and a region called the Abyss of Nothingness came into being. It seemed to possess some kind of magic, drawing countless experts to explore it. According to the legends, it held the world’s mysteries, the origin of power, and the source of immortality!”

“At the time, the Sky Bird tribe’s chieftain organized the tribe’s experts to conduct a large-scale expedition into the Abyss of Nothingness. They were joined by the three great tribes and many other tribes of every size. The Abyss of Nothingness swallowed them like the maw of a demon, until in the end, only five people survived, including the chieftain of the Sky Bird tribe at that time.”

“From that moment on, no matter how powerful its allure became, no one dared venture into it again.”

“The chieftain who returned alive was often half-mad. When questioned by the tribe, he could never give a reasonable explanation. Yet his companion crystal weapon began to change little by little, gaining another form beyond its usual weapon shape, and its power became even greater.”

“Dual form?!” Lando’s eyes gleamed.

“From then on, although the Sky Bird tribe declined and never recovered, every few generations there would always be one person with a special crystal ability. That was probably one of the reasons the Sky Bird tribe was hunted in the old days.”

“You were hunted, too?”

“Yes. The tribes we once trampled underfoot naturally did everything they could to hunt us down, so as to prevent the Sky Bird from taking wing again. As long as the name of the Sky Bird tribe remains, they will never know peace!” When the old chieftain said this, his expression even carried a trace of pride.

Lando said with amusement, “If that’s the case, why not just change your name?” Though he did not really believe a change of name could solve anything, it did not stop him from teasing.

Who could have known that upon hearing this, the old chieftain’s face would immediately darken. “The name of a tribe may not be changed! Even if the tribe is exterminated, it must still be the Sky Bird tribe that is exterminated!”

Lando had not expected such a strong reaction from the old chieftain. Thinking he had probably touched upon some taboo, he did not press the matter further.

“I want to know where the Abyss of Nothingness is.”

After calming himself, the old chieftain said coolly, “I do not know. Since that incident, the Abyss of Nothingness became a taboo, and it was never recorded in the tribal history.”

“May I look at the Sky Bird tribe’s records?”

The old chieftain did not object. Rising, he took several folded bark tablets from a small cabinet. They were made of a very thin bark, yet when touched, one could feel their good toughness. Dense rows of tiny characters were recorded upon them.

“Most of the Sky Bird tribe’s history was lost in repeated migrations and wars. This is all that remains now.”

Lando glanced through them casually. Meanwhile, his scanner had already swept the entire room and confirmed that the old chieftain had not lied to him. These were indeed the only written records in the house.

Lando nodded. Since he had gotten what he wanted, there was no reason to linger. Next, there was a big job waiting for him.

Seeing Lando turn to leave, and just as his figure once more began to fade, the old chieftain finally could not hold back and asked, “Was Rock killed by you?”

Lando’s hand paused on the door. His figure reappeared, and he found the old chieftain’s question somewhat strange. “Ever since I descended into this world, I have not killed a single person from any tribe.”

Upon hearing this, the old chieftain seemed to lose heart all at once, sinking into his chair and falling silent.

Lando did not ask further. Before leaving, he cast one last look at the palm-sized sculpture on the desk, a bird with wings spread as if about to fly. Presumably, that was the Sky Bird tribe’s totem.