"Wow," I was at a loss for words.

  Yes. Many trisapiens were rumored to be exceptionally powerful, even compared to them. The greatest of the trisapiens were said to be extremely tough. So much so that physical strength and our abilities alone were not enough to harm them. Their durability was said to be second only to the Black Tortoise, an unbelievably durable Ancient Beast that still lives to this day on a distant planet.

  "Then how'd the Primeval Pneumarian manage to defeat them all?" Avarice inquired curiously.

  I am not sure. It was before my time, and for eons after the war, until his death, Apollos forbade anyone from ever speaking of what little they knew. However, my mother used to whisper stories to me as a child. Unbeknownst to most, there was a secret cindarian technique that the Primeval Pneumarians created to bypass the trisapiens' tough exteriors—one they refused to pass down even to the bansedai.

  "Considering their extreme paranoia, it must've been one hell of a technique," Za'Fia commented.

  "One that made them the only cindarians capable of fighting against any major threats among such a race...," Avarice thought aloud.

  Indeed. Alas, that was long ago.

  Next to the digital monument is a large live portrait of Cindar that we could look at as we read along. The poleward split and the equatorial ice belt created four distinctive regions on the planet. Pneuma City took up most of the Northwest portion. There seemed to be another dim, smaller city or ruins in the southwestern hemisphere, another large, lively nation in the southeastern hemisphere (I assumed that's where Forgeton was, where Tymon currently was), and a relatively empty region in the northeastern hemisphere.

  At closer inspection, the empty northeastern region had a vast, continental-sized crater in it, undoubtedly from some age-old battle, but I'd felt the hindrance of the astral-e in the atmosphere.

  "I wonder who could've done that much destruction despite the astral-e in the air. Was that where Auryn and Apollos fought?"

  No. That incident predates even the eldest among us. Aside from Rabae or the bansedai, that is. It was during the Era of New Beginnings – the era immediately following the Dark War. The precise details are unknown, but Apollos and Savita, the Second Ryfa Pakt, had a fierce battle, a clash that reshaped part of the planet. Ultimately, the Ryfa Pakt was killed for her power. You see, Apollos was a unique cindarian beyond even his status as a Primeval Pneumarian. He was loved, feared, and respected as The Devourer, possessing the ability to forcibly remove the cintracies within cindarians and consume them for himself. Savita was a powerful zasshu with a divine cintracy called Nova, granting her a devastating power. Not long after his victory against Savita and absorbing her power, Apollos attempted to kill Auryn as well. It was likely for this reason that he murdered her in hopes of closing the gap between himself and Auryn. Still, Apollos' battle against Auryn resulted in his swift defeat. Despite Apollos' demise, the death of Savita at his hands is what sparked the eternal feud between the Pneumarian Forces and the Klevonian Army.

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  "This Apollos guy sounds more and more like a jerk," Za'Fia remarked.

  Yes, many would agree, Viraa laughed.

  "But not Auryn...he seems like a decent guy. Honorable," I said as I looked at the historical monument. "He didn't want the cindarians fighting and even stopped someone like Apollos. Despite how powerful history makes him seem, it sounds like he was a peaceful guy."

  Yes...despite his power, he did not use it to force others into submission. Everyone respected him as the strongest within the quadrant. In his prime, he was the only Celestial ever to become a 10-star threat.

  "A 10-star threat is our protector!?" My eyes widened. "Wouldn't that mean that he alone is greater than any military force in the quadrant?" I asked rhetorically.

  Not anymore, Viraa said regrettably. Auryn remains the strongest among the Celestials; however, his power has waned over time. Once you see him, perhaps you will understand why.

  "Why not summon him?" Avarice asked her. "I've grasped the way communication here works now. It's by level of importance or personal connections. For most cindarians, wristbands are only used for impersonal or low-level communication; otherwise, a telepathic connection is established. Influential figures such as Crest Heads or the Ryfi Theos use the wristbands to communicate with important noncindarian figures on other worlds. Especially the Ryfi Theos, considering they must be made aware before a Celestial can arrive on Cindar, another Apex World. So I have no doubt that the Ryfi Theos, and likely the Ryfa Pakt, both have direct telepathic connections to our world's Celestial. You were once Ryfi Theos, so why not contact him? Not to mention, I'm now almost certain that the tri-species zasshu Raina said fathered you is the Celestial."

  "I hadn't thought about that..." I blinked, dumbstruck. Of course! A zasshu comprised of three powerful species would be unimaginably powerful. Viraa took more after her mother, Preya, so I overlooked the possibility that the zasshu who was her father might be a freaking Celestial!

  Your brilliance has always overjoyed me, even when you were but a child. Viraa doted on him before answering. Yes, I have a connection to my father, but none of my attempts have succeeded. I get this fuzzy feedback. He's in quite the peculiar place, it seems, she chuckled as if knowing where he likely was.

  I wanted to ask more about her dad, but I could literally feel the wall of her resistance go up somehow, so I knew there was no point.

  "What about this?" I ran a finger along part of the crack on Cindar.

  "That was our Celestial's doing," said a voice as a guy walked up to us. He was noncindarian, but he seemed like a knowledgeable librarian sort. "Have you heard of the Second Great War?"

  "Yeah, Mud, the 2nd Ryfi Theos nearly started it, but Auryn forced the armies to stop fighting," I replied, remembering what I'd learned since arriving.

  I looked at the map and put two and two together.

  "Wait, this was the result of his intervention!?"

  "Yes, in a grand display of his power, enraged, he struck fear into every cindarian that was present...," the librarian trailed off as he noticed the mark across Avarice's eye.

  "Sorry, we're new from the Chimera Crest," I told him.

  His eyes widened as he became nervous, just like the merchant in Plucis.

  "By the All-Father's grace, you're the new Crest Head...," he directed at me.

  All-Father? Za'Fia commented telepathically.