Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Aldebaran was not surprised, he gave an understanding nod and smiled.

"A noble conviction. In that case, this ancient one may be able to help you understand more about your abilities. However, to understand your abilities you have to first know more about yourself and your origin".

Simon who was listening from the sides, couldn't help but furrow his brows at those words. 'Wasn't Cecilia born in the village of the Forest Spring Spirits? What does he mean by her origin?'. Does the Ancient Titan Treant know something about Cecilia that even her parents and clan did not?

Fennel who had similar thoughts running in his mind asked for clarity "Lord Alder, Cecilia is from our clan and the daughter of our patriarch. From the moment she was born, she was living inside the village and had never stepped out. All along, she was living with us. Although she was born with features that differentiated her from the average people of our clan, she is a member of our Forest Spring Spirit clan through and through".

"Hahaha, you have misunderstood Fennel. I'm not saying that she is not a member of your clan.  I'm simply telling her of her origins before being born in your clan. Her current self is indeed the daughter of your patriarch and a member of the Forest Spring Spirits.

"But do you really think it is so easy for a Forest Spring Royal Spirit to be born in your clan?  A Forest Spring Royal Spirit is born from the purest essence of the nature and the wishes of the world. An existence that is considered extremely rare and sacred." Aldebaran explained.

Simon narrowed his eyes, he was now sure of his conjecture. Aldebaran definitely knew more about Cecilia than even her parents and her clansmen.

Fennel was speechless, although he was a little sceptic, he didn't dare to question the Ancient Titan Treant, an existence that lived since the ancient times. There was no reason for an existence like him to lie to them. Not to mention he was also their benefactor who had sheltered them saved them from their calamity.

Aldebaran looked into the starry sky and sighed. Memories from back then flashed in his eyes as he decided to drop a bombshell.

"She is the reincarnation of one of the Eight Emissaries that used to once serve the Primordial Demon of Pride, Lord Samael".

Those words struck like thunder to all those who were listening. Who was the primordial demon of pride? He was one of the demons that lived during the ancient times and a pinnacle powerhouse of this world. One could imagine what kind of storms those words brewed inside the hearts of the three listeners.

Simon widened his eyes to their limit in surprise, but what made him more shocked was the statement that Cecilia was one of the Eight Emmisaries that used to serve the primordial demon of pride at that time.

It wasn't only him, even Cecilia herself was stunned. She was the reincarnation of someone? Then why didn't she have any memories of that then? Thoughts such as that ran through her head as she tilted her head and frowned intensely. Her pondering face was extremely adorable.

Aldebaran saw the confusion in everyone's face and said "It is natural for all of you to be sceptic about it. Nonetheless, it is the truth. I cannot be any more certain about it; after all, I Aldebaran was her loyal servant serving the same master at that time".

He dropped another bomb casually and every listener was stupefied by it. What did his words mean? He just confirmed that he too was one of the subordinates of the primordial demon of pride and a loyal servant of Cecilia of that time.

"During the ancient times, that is approximately more than 13,000 years ago, the Forest Spring Spirit race was freely hunted by the other races all over the world. Needless to say, it was because of their spirit orb that had endless allure to those looking to strengthen themselves and purify their bloodline".

"It was a dark age for them but that was until lord Samael decided to save and bring them under his wing. His powers were so great that every inhabitant of this world had to recognise and fear. He became the protective umbrella for the Forest Spring Spirit and many other endangered clans." his voice had an unconcealed pride whenever he talked about Samael.

"I was just an ordinary treant at that time, weak and insentient, unworthy of even catching a glimpse of our lord. However, it all changed when lord Samael summoned her" Aldebaran pointed at Cecilia who was curiously listening to him recounting the events from back then.

He narrated "After she was summoned she quickly became one of the pillars supporting our lord. Though she had no combat potential, her abilities in itself were heaven-defying. Her radiance at that time was truly brilliant.

"Under her care, many of the races that were deeply connected to the natural energy started breaking through the constraints placed on them by the world because of their impure bloodline. I was fortunate enough to be one of them. Your Forest Spring Spirit race and our treant race were some of the few who served her at that time. It was also during that time that our race and yours became friends. Since your race was crucial to the sustenance of the dungeon but had no combat capabilities, she made us Ancient Treants your guardians with the duty to protect you with our lives. Although none of them are alive now, as long as I am alive, I will never let this bond that she had created be broken".

Simon contemplated as his gaze swept towards Cecilia. Deep astonishment and shock could be seen flashing in his eyes. He finally understood why Irene was so shocked and protective towards Cecilia when she saw her for the first time.

Her abilities were already so shocking nonetheless, it was just the tip of the iceberg. No wonder her awakened abilities at that time were able to raise someone on the level of Aldebaran from just an ordinary treant.

The Ancient Titan Treant in front of him was so powerful that everything that the Analysis told about him was shrouded in question marks. Simon was not even able to catch a glimpse of his power with Analysis.

That alone told him that the difference in their level was too vast for the Analysis to even work.

At this moment, Cecilia raised her hand and asked a question "Are you saying that I was alive 13,000 years ago? Then why don't I have any memories or recollection of any of that ever happening?".

Aldebaran couldn't help but laugh at her cute actions before replying "It is natural that you have no recollection of it. Your memories have been locked along with your powers and because of that you cant harness your abilities".

"But it is not like your powers are permanently gone, as long as your abilities start unlocking, so will your memories".

Cecilia's power was already starting to manifest and if what Aldebaran said was true, then it wouldn't be long before she would be able to recall her memories.

Simon was conflicted, he didn't want the current personality of Cecilia to change and at the same time, he couldn't just deny her of her growth. He could only hope that even after recalling her past memories, Cecilia would still remain the same little girl that he was used to.

There were still many questions about the story of Aldebaran that made Simon sceptical like... if the primordial demon of pride was so powerful then how did he die? What happened to the other Seven Emmisaries and how did Cecilia reincarnate to the current timeline? there were many questions; however, it seemed that Aldebaran didn't want to reveal much information in that regard.

Simon did have one of his doubts concerning the relationship between the Ancient Treants and Forest Spring Sprit race cleared. He had speculated many ideas about their connection but who would have guessed that they were allies who served under the same master during the ancient times. The Ancient Treants were the guardians of the ancestors of the Forest Spring Spirits.

Cecilia who had a frown stitched to her face all this time, seemed unconvinced and voiced out "I'm me, I don't know who Lord Alder is talking about but I'm Cecilia now. the daughter of the patriarch of the Forest Spring Spirit clan".

Aldebaran helplessly shook his head and chose not to argue with her "Whether or not it is truth, you will have your answers with time. Regardless, you can just call me Alder. You need not address this servant of yours with lord".

After beholding the figure of Cecilia, his eyes became melancholic and he muttered in a voice that only he could hear "Back then lord Samael self-destructed the existential core of the fragment of pride to cast the Space-Time magic on the Eight of them before disappearing forever from this world".

"During the ancient times, lord Samael had the highest assimilation rate with the fragment of pride compared to any other demon lords and their fragments. The other fragments have chosen different owners over this period time. But the fragment of pride was the only one which had disappeared along with sir Samael never to appear in this world again".

Simon and others could not hear what he was muttering but they knew that if it was something that they should hear, he would have told them and if it's not, then Aldebaran wouldn't tell them even if they asked.