Chapter 1519: A Start

Norma could only stay silent for a while. She had no idea what she was supposed to do in this situation.

Four beings now stood in front of her who clearly did not seem entirely human, and they had claimed to come from another world. Norma did not want to believe such an absurd explanation immediately, but after witnessing their abilities she could hardly think of another possibility.

What kind of ordinary human could fly through the sky with enormous wings and kill a monster with a single attack?

And now they were telling her that they needed something from this world.

Norma had no idea what they were looking for or why they had come to Valthoria in the first place. However, refusing their request did not seem like a good option she needed to do right now.

She owed this... Erend... her life, and after seeing the ability of all four of them, she had no intention of provoking them.

For now, the safest choice was to cooperate and find out what they wanted.

"What do you want to know?" Norma finally asked. Her voice still sounded tense, but she could not help it. She was standing among four incredibly powerful beings from another world while still trying to process everything that had happened.

Eccar stepped forward slightly. "We want to understand what happened to this world. Why is Valthoria like this?"

Norma looked around at the barren landscape before answering.

"The world became like this after the Apocalypse."

"The Apocalypse?" Erend repeated.

Norma nodded. "It happened around three thousand years ago, from what I heard. Nobody alive today witnessed it. We only know what was passed down through generations..."

She explained that the Apocalypse had transformed Valthoria completely. The climate had changed, the land had become dry and barren, and most of the regions of the world had been reduced to wastelands.

Rain had become scarce in many places, dust storms and extreme weather had become common. The skies were covered by layers of ash and dust, leaving much of the world beneath a permanent gray and reddish atmosphere.

Civilization had survived, but just barely. Human settlements had become isolated from one another, with most communities concentrating their populations around whatever sources of water, food, and protection remained.

Resources were constantly limited, and people had to struggle just to survive from one day to another.

Some settlements had managed to establish fortified communities while others survived as small wandering groups that moved whenever their resources were exhausted.

The monsters made everything worse. Dangerous creatures had appeared throughout the wastelands and had become one of the greatest threats to human settlements.

Some of them lived beneath the ruined cities while others wandered across the open land. A lot of them were so powerful to kill ordinary people within seconds, forcing settlements to maintain guards and defensive structures simply to survive.

"...People here don’t have an easy life," Norma continued with some bitterness. "We survive because we’ve learned how to adapt. We can’t change the world, so we live with it."

Erend, Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven listened carefully while remaining silent.

"What caused the Apocalypse?" Erend asked.

Norma shook her head. "Nobody really knows exactly what happened anymore."

She explained that countless theories existed, but there was no reliable answer. Some believed it had been caused by a massive disaster connected to a supernatural phenomenon that couldn’t be explained. Some of them believed an ancient war had destroyed the world, while some others believed the gods or powerful beings had been responsible.

The truth had disappeared thousands of years ago along with much of the civilization that had existed before the catastrophe.

"I don’t think knowing what caused it matters anymore," Norma said. "Whatever happened, it happened three thousand years ago. We’re still here, so we just have to survive."

Erend exchanged a brief glance with the others.

For Norma, the Apocalypse was not some great mystery waiting to be solved. It was simply the event that had shaped the world she had been born into. To her, Valthoria had always been this way and surviving it was more important than understanding why it had happened.

Sylven sighed softly. "This is fine. We can start from here."

Erend, Eccar, and Aesa looked at him for a moment before slowly nodding. They understood what Sylven meant.

It did not matter if Norma could not tell them where the Dragonborn legacy was located or provide them with a direct clue about the ancient trial. She could still help them in another way. By introducing them to the people of Valthoria and helping them understand how this world worked, they could blend into the local society and begin their search on their own.

Erend turned toward Norma. "Could you take us to your settlement?"

Norma looked at him with slight hesitation.

"From there, we can figure things out ourselves," Erend continued. "You don’t need to go searching for anything for us. We just need somewhere to start."

Norma remained silent for a moment as she considered his request. Taking four strangers to her settlement was certainly risky, especially when those strangers were beings she still barely understood.

However, Erend and the others had already saved her life, and she suspected that refusing them would only make things more complicated.

"Alright," Norma finally said. "I can take you there."

Erend smiled. "Thank you. Then lead the way, please."

Norma turned and began walking across the barren ground. The four Dragonborn followed behind her without hesitation.

The settlement turned out to be much closer than the four Dragonborn had expected. Norma led them across the barren ground for less than an hour before a collection of structures appeared beyond a low ridge.

Erend narrowed his eyes as they approached. The settlement was surrounded by a crude wooden and metal barrier, with several watchtowers standing along its perimeter.

Buildings made from stone, scrap metal, and weathered wood filled the area behind it. Smoke rose from several chimneys, proving that people still lived there despite Valthoria’s harsh conditions.

Norma continued toward the entrance while the four Dragonborn followed quietly behind her.

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