Shade had assumed he would need to seek out even more ancient beings to learn what the First People truly were. He had even prepared himself to deal with [Desire] again, yet he had not expected to hear the term from the Alchemist today.
Of course, the "First People" mentioned by the other party might not have been the same beings If had referred to.
Mr. Mercury explained the term to Shade:
"In the ancient Creation Myth, the ancient Creator did not create every race in the Material World. Races such as humans and elves do not seem to have been created by that ancient deity.
"Legend has it that the earliest humans, elves, and other races already existed before the 'Firstborn Son' was created. The first beings among those Ancient Races of unknown origin—the mortal creatures even older than the 'Firstborn Son'—are collectively referred to as the 'First People' in the ancient texts passed down by the Association."
Shade forcibly suppressed his surprise. This way, he could be almost certain that the "First People" mentioned by If were likely the same concept as those spoken of by these Alchemists. They were the first lives in the world, beings who had existed since the world's creation and had not been created by Ancient Gods. Only such lives deserved the title "First People."
"All right, please continue. What sort of story do the 'First People' and the 'Firstborn Sons' share?"
"The first children walked upon the primitive lands of the Material World alongside the First People, then together established the glorious civilization of the First Epoch. Now, in the Sixth Epoch, descendants of the First People and descendants of other races created by the Creator still exist, but the 'Firstborn Sons' have vanished."
Mr. Mercury looked at Shade:
"The 'Firstborn Sons'