Chapter 904 — The Giant Tower
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 5
In a short passage of records following this, Mo Jin wrote of his small-scale exploration upon that "iron island." He successfully found shelter: upon the base of the giant metal tower, there seemed to be many abandoned facilities, their doors wide open, sturdy and intact—perfect for sheltering from wind and rain. Mo Jin specifically noted that these facilities appeared never to have been disturbed by anyone, filled with a dazzling array of ancient devices, yet every single one beyond his comprehension. He did his best to sketch the appearance and characteristics of some of these facilities in rough drawings, and these sketches... every single one was invaluable to Gao Yang.
In the notes that followed, Mo Jin mentioned what happened after Meitzen returned from the Dragon Nation:
"...Later that same day, the dragon lady returned to the iron island as promised—she landed at the island's edge, still obstinately refusing to take a single step forward. It seemed that so-called 'decree issued by the god' had a profound effect upon her. She brought packaged food and water, sufficient in volume and quantity to sustain me for many days. However, I did not open and consume them in her presence—that would clearly have been improper.
"The dragon lady told me she would need to make further efforts before obtaining permission to travel to the human world. Due to some sort of... shift rotation system, her application seemed to be proceeding less than smoothly. To this I could only express my understanding, and urge her to settle the matter as quickly as possible—I have been away from the human world far too long. If this continues, I fear the entire nation will soon be announcing the death of Duke Mo Jin Wilde...
"After a brief conversation, the dragon lady prepared to depart once more. This time she said she might be gone for many days, but she also promised to return before my supplies ran out. Before leaving, she said I could walk freely around the giant tower, that there was nothing dangerous here—but there was one thing she reminded me of with the utmost solemnity—
"I must not take anything from within the tower, and especially must not take the 'knowledge' here.
"Her seriousness was unprecedented, and it even frightened me somewhat. I could not help but curiously ask her the reason, especially the meaning of her latter statement—'knowledge,' after all, how could such a thing be 'carried away'?
"She did not explain in detail, but said one thing with great gravity—'The tower contains the legacy of the Voyagers. Though they have been sealed, the risk of leakage must still be avoided.'
"To be honest, her answer only gave rise to even greater confusion in me, for I could clearly discern that this giant tower was not only a forbidden zone for the dragon race, but also a place they guarded strictly and isolated from the outside world. Whatever was inside the tower... that thing was absolutely not permitted to leak to outsiders. But if that were so... why would this dragon lady bring me here, and even specifically mention that I was allowed to walk and explore freely?
"This glaring contradiction in her words and actions made it impossible for me to restrain my curiosity. I could not help but voice my confusion, asking her why, since the tower contained secrets that must not be leaked to foreign races, she had brought me—a foreigner—here, and after bringing me here, specifically warned me with so many self-contradictory words.