Scumbag Fate System

Chapter 119: Noctyne Mansion (2)

Everyone fell silent.

Then they all glanced at Yor, who was gripping the book tightly.

"Yor... Are you okay?" Sirin moved immediately to Yor’s side and placed a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Y-Yeah... I think this explains why my grandparents were so understanding." Yor closed her eyes. "My grandmother saw her father go through it and..."

"Told Marcus." Louis said softly.

"Yeah... But it’s strange how they all describe the same thing," Sirin as she glanced over the entries. "They talked about voices, a sense of being pulled toward something, and the feeling that the source of their power wants them to return."

"Wait, did you ever experience anything like this, Yor?" Alice asked.

"No... But I don’t know why..."

"It’s possibly because you haven’t had the Void Sigil as long as they have." Reinhard’s mind worked through the implications. "I think you would only know it once you reach your mid-thirties..."

Yor blinked before slowly nodding. "That might be true... So if nothing is done-"

"Yor will experience the same thing," Rika said with a grimace. "But that means we have no choice but to go to Silent Peak."

Siren and Alice nodded while Louis sighed, and Yor furrowed her brows.

"But this does answer the question that the Void Sovereign is sealed at Silent Peak. These people felt its presence calling to them through their connection to void power." Reinhard pointed out.

"But that call killed them." Alice said in concern. "While it might not be the Sovereign who did it... But it still led them to the mountain, which claimed every Void Hunter."

"There’s something else," Yor said, her composure fully restored. "I can feel concentrated void energy coming from upstairs. The third-floor room I sensed earlier."

They climbed to the third floor and followed Yor down a hallway to a closed door.

A nameplate read: Marcus Noctyne - Private Study.

Her grandfather’s personal workspace.

Yor opened the door without hesitation.

The moment Yor stepped inside, her own void power reacted. Black-grey energy sparked around her hands involuntarily, and void traces that were invisible in the walls began responding as they recognized her.

Then the walls began to glow.

Everyone stepped back as ghostly images formed in the air around them.

Translucent figures materialized.

Void energy is taking shape to show memories stored in the room itself.

They saw Marcus Noctyne sitting at the desk, writing in his journal with a concerned look.

Saw Helena standing at the window, staring toward distant mountains with a dazed look and clenching her fist.

Then they saw Helena and Marcus together preparing supplies and maps, their face set with determination.

Other figures appeared, older memories layered beneath Marcus’s. It showed previous Void users who’d used this same room, such as Helena’s father, and others.

It showed all of them preparing for the same doomed journey.

"It’s like a recording," Louis said with fascination. "The void energy somehow recorded moments of their lives."

"But how?" Rika asked with wonder as her crimson eyes shone.

"It might be its ability to distort time and space... Or maybe this is just the will of all previous Void users... To have those who enter this room have their presence be recorded." Reinhard muttered softly.

"That would explain why grandpa and grandma are here..." Yor muttered in a daze.

And soon, the images faded slowly, leaving the room feeling emptier than before.

Reinhard moved to the desk and began searching the drawers. "If Marcus and Helena prepared this carefully, they must have left behind things such as information about the route."

In the bottom drawer, hidden beneath old papers, he found a false bottom. He pressed the release mechanism and revealed a hidden compartment.

Inside lay a detailed map of Silent Peak.

It was hand-drawn with meticulous care but seemed to date centuries back. The path up the mountain was marked in red ink with annotations at various points. It had one caption that said to copy the map, but do not take this one; it’s meant for future generations.

Reinhard then glanced at what was written on it.

"First barrier: Emotional theft zone. Non-void users will lose all feelings after crossing this line. Turn back unless you can phase through emotions safely."

"Second barrier: Void distortion. Space itself becomes unstable, and one has to navigate through it."

"Third barrier: The Calling. Voices will try to pull you off the path... Resist or be lost."

At the top of the map, circled in heavy ink.

"The Peak - Sovereign’s Seal."

These three barriers seemed to be designed to kill anyone attempting the climb.

No wonder no one returned.

A note was tucked behind the map in Marcus’s handwriting.

"Only the chosen or most desperate can reach the Sovereign... But for our granddaughter, we will be both... Aldric, if you find this, know that Helena and I chose this path willingly. All for the sake of Yor, no cost is too high for her happiness."

Reinhard fell silent before closing his eyes and sighing. Such a beautiful and strong love... I’m almost jealous.

"Yor... You might want to see this." He said softly.

Yor and the others came over before they began reading what was in the paper. Then they all fell silent, with them glancing at Yor, who was gripping the paper tightly.

"Y-You... idiots, I would rather you both just be with me."

Sirin rubbed Yor’s back, but she didn’t say anything. No one said anything, giving Yor time to let it out and then recover.

Once she did, Yor sighed and said. "Is this enough?"

Sirin carefully photographed the map and notes with a magical recording crystal before nodding. "This is exactly what we need. With this, we can prove there is a connection and the possible danger we will encounter."

"But everyone who tried died," Alice pointed out bluntly. "How is that proof worth attempting?"

"Because Yor is different," Reinhard said firmly. "She has control now, while the previous users went up there, unstable and desperate... In addition, she will have preparation and support."

Yet everyone couldn’t help but think.

Could any amount of preparation overcome a mountain that had killed so many generations of Void users?

"Wait... I sense something else." Yor eyes widened.

"Where?" Louis quickly asked.

"It feels like it’s coming from the basement."

"Let’s go." Louis said as he rushed out of the room with everyone following along.

They rushed downstairs before quickly reaching the basement and then standing in front of a stone wall, pointing at carvings that covered the entire surface.

But it made them all pause.

As the same symbol was carved hundreds of times, like an obsession.

"What in the..." Sirin muttered.

"Did we see this before?" Rika asked as she furrowed her brows.

"Uh, we were too busy running when it was collapsing last time." Alice said with her lips twitching.

"I did recall seeing it... But the Void appeared soon after." Yor muttered.

Reinhard furrowed his brows, staring at the circle with a long snake with scales, with its mouth open and spirals around it.

"It’s everywhere down here," Louis said while gesturing around. "On the walls, the floor, even the ceiling. Someone spent years carving this symbol over and over."

Reinhard stared at the pattern. Something about it felt familiar, like he’d seen it before but couldn’t quite remember where.

"What does it mean?" Yor asked while moving closer. And then she began tracing the symbol with her fingers. But the moment she touched it, the carving glowed faintly with black-white light before fading again.

"It’s reacting to you," Rika blinked before muttering. "This symbol might be connected to Void Users or something your ancestors made."

Reinhard studied the pattern carefully, committing it to memory. "I think this might be related to Void users specifically. Maybe even the Void Sovereign itself." He turned to the others. "When we search the History Department and library, we should look for this symbol. See if it appears in historical records about Silent Peak or ancient void magic."

"You think it’s important?" Alice asked.

"Someone spent years carving it throughout this basement," Reinhard said. "That level of obsession means something. We need to find out what."

"Let’s document everything," he said aloud. "Then we move to the next location."

As Louis started recording it with the Recording Crystal, Reinhard looked at the symbol one more time. Something about the spiral pattern seemed almost alive, like it was watching them back.

Whatever secrets Silent Peak held, this symbol was part of them.

And they had just begun to scratch the surface.