"What do you mean?" Damien asked with a confused expression.
Triton's eyes crinkled as he said, "Whatever you learned about the history between Xetonians and Zirians would have been true if you reverse their positions. At least, most of the details are the same."
Damien raised one of his brows as he asked, "You mean the Zirians originally ruled this land, and the Xetonians were the invaders?"
Damien wondered where the God residing in the Xeton Empire fit in this whole equation. It was as if the God didn't interfere at all among the fight between these two parties.
He had the same question in his mind when he was watching the stage show and why the Xetonians would even have trouble with the Zirians if they had a God backing them.
But the scenario seemed as if the God didn't even exist at all while the mortals fought each other in this land. He wondered if the Xetonians kept the fact that a god was occupying the Xeton Empire a secret for a reason.
He speculated that the God probably helped one side subtly or something similar in those lines.
Triton clenched his jaw before saying, "Yes. Ten thousand years ago, we were the ones who ruled this land. And it was the Zirian Emperor of that time who let the newly arrived Xetonians settle in our empire. At that time, the Xetonians were nothing more than a bunch of tribal people. They neither had proper resources or money. But the Zirian Emperor was kind enough to provide them with resources and nurtured them to grow strong enough.
"At first, the Xetonians seemed very steadfast and loyal to the Zirian Empire, but the Zirian Emperor realized it too late that it was all just a front to dig their claws deeper into the empire so that they can strike at the right time and usurp the throne. And the real usurper was Vasco Xeton, who used backhanded schemes to jeopardize the Zirian Emperor's trump card and defeat him. They were the ones who got too greedy and weren't satisfied with how our people treated them."
He continued in a resentful tone, "But even after dethroning the emperor, it didn't end there. Vasco Xeton wanted to take the wife of the Zirian Emperor for himself, but she committed suicide to preserve her honor. And her son, who was just a little boy, escaped with the help of many Zirians who sacrificed themselves. Many Zirians were slaughtered, and the remaining ones were enslaved for only one reason."
"What is it?"
"For our blood. We Zirians are the ones truly blessed by the seas as we inherently have quite a high affinity to Water Laws. Of course, not every Zirians has the same affinity, but it was way above ordinary ethereal practitioners. That was why our empire was not only prosperous but immensely powerful during those times. They enslaved us so that they could use our blood essence to make pills and strengthen themselves to increase their affinity towards Water Laws. Not even children were spared, and even they were used as mere tools of all sorts. And with the cursed seal placed upon us, we were even more helpless to fight back. They already killed every powerful Zirians and made sure the surviving ones didn't get too strong. But not all Zirians had the same affinity. Most only had dormant potential and they would be dying in vain as most of the time the Xetonians won't gain anything by making a pill out of their blood essence."
Damien knew that blood essence was a vital part of one's cultivation and was almost impossible to restore. If someone's blood essence was taken from them, it was a cruel way of slowly crippling and killing someone.
He never expected that the Zirians were the true rulers of the now Xeton Empire. But of course, he didn't fully believe it until he verified it for himself.
Damien asked as he raised his brows, "Then how did you or the Forsaken manage to escape from the Cursed Seal?"
"That's because the founder of the Forsaken, Victor Ziria, was the son of the Zirian Emperor. He was an exceptional genius and became very powerful when he grew up. Before thinking of taking back his rightful throne, he thought to come up with a solution to save his people from the Cursed Seal. Only Victor Ziria and a handful of his loyal subordinates could escape before getting executed by the Xetonians.
"Victor Ziria realized that he wouldn't be able to take on the entire Xeton Empire on his own even with his powerful cultivation as the Xeton Empire became enormously strong rapidly. Left with no choice, he decided to find a solution that could save his people and their descendants. He thought that, at least that way, hope would never be lost as his descendants would continue his fight for their freedom. He decided to place his people's interests before his thirst for vengeance as he knew that even his late parents would have wanted the same thing. But the only solution he could come up with was to destroy one's own cultivation voluntarily. However, suppose one tries to have a child after having their cultivation crippled. In that case, there's very little chance for that child to possess at least some of the talent their parents had.
"So, he thought of sacrificing himself by using every last drop of his blood essence to concoct pills that could induce affinity to Water Laws in people. Since he was a genius alchemist, just like his father, he was able to accomplish his task. He had learned his father's teachings from a very young age because of his deep interest in alchemy. But the pills were limited in number, and only some descendants got the chance to take that pill.
"The descendants were born without the Cursed Seal, but still there was no guarantee that their talents would be passed on to their children, and there weren't any more pills that were as potent as Victor Ziria's.. And the desperate resort our ancestors had to take was follow Victor Ziria's example by sacrificing their blood essence just before they died, so that they could give their descendants a chance to gain their talent just like. Otherwise the only thing they could hope for was to recruit more Zirians to their side and mate with them, praying for their child to be born with talent.
"But most of the Zirians were afraid to join us as they thought their current lives were peaceful enough. However, it was too late when they realized that their peaceful life was only a big lie and that they were bound to be tortured to death. Only a very few had the guts to join us and destroy their own cultivation. It took us countless centuries to grow this strong. In the end, our blood was not only our curse but also our hope."
Damien realized that these people only attacked in long intervals to preserve their manpower while making sure they were able to take back vital resources from the Xeton Empire.
"I have now heard two versions of the history of this empire. How do I know which one is false and which one is true?" Damien asked with narrowed eyes.
Triton gestured towards the Zirians lying on the beds, groaning with pain, "Is this not proof enough? And if you still need more proof, you can try visiting the homes of the top echelons and see for yourself. I am sure because of your status as an Elite disciple, they would at least allow entry to you. After all, you are the only young practitioner with a Lightning seed and exceptional talent."
"Fine. But I don't get what you want from me by telling me all this? And are you not worried that I would go and blurt out these things to the Xetonians?" Damien asked straightforwardly.
Triton's expression didn't change, and he calmly said, "We are not worried since the things I have shown you are something the Xeton Empire already knows, and it's not like you have a clear idea of our location. And even if they somehow knew how I look, it would change nothing because my identity doesn't exist. And the reason I told you about ourselves is that we want you to join our cause."
'I knew it.' Damien realized that things were as he thought.
He shook his head and said, "I am sorry. I am the last person you should be asking to join." Damien walked out of the building leaving behind a stupefied Triton.
Triton quickly caught up to Damien as he came out, "Damien, wait!"
Damien sighed and turned around, "Look, Triton, maybe you showed me all these things to get some sympathy out of me. Sure, I pity whatever's happening to you people. But you forget one fact. And that is, I am not a Zirian, and this is not my fight. Why would I get myself involved in someone else's fight and get myself in trouble? I already have my own business to take care of, and I sure as hell am not ready to poke my nose into others' business. Now just get me back to the city, and I also promise not to tell anyone whatever happened between us."
He continued, "Besides, I still don't understand why you people are so adamant about pulling me to your side. I am just a Nascent Ethereal Realm practitioner without even the power to be a threat to big shots like your organization or the Xeton Empire."
Triton knitted his brows and said, "I showed you all these so that you can understand the truth about us and give you a chance to find out the lies. We chose you because you are not a Xetonian, and you have the best potential among the young practitioners. A promising one at that. We saw how you didn't even hesitate to stand up for a Zirian during the assessment and question the system. We desperately need someone like you, and we believe you are our only hope."
Although Triton wasn't really depending on Damien's sympathy, he was surprised that Damien seemed unfazed even after the things he had shown him. However, he suddenly remembered some things which he found a bit doubtful.
Triton continued as he pursed his lips, "Besides, I think you did not come to this empire with just the pure intentions of pursuing your studies. Am I right?"
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