The Dream Pearl's glow gradually dimmed within the quiet chamber.
Vernis's explanation still echoed in the air.
If Zong Shen had not already possessed the Strategy Module as an information plug-in, her joining him would have been an absolute game-changer.
At present, only the faint emerald halo around Vernis remained in the quiet chamber.
She lowered the hand she had used to trace the map. Light dust drifted from her fingertips like fireflies, melting into the air and leaving behind a fresh scent like a forest after rain.
Zong Shen's gaze also shifted from the map to her deep emerald eyes.
Fragments of light and shadow continued to flow silently within them, as though they carried the secrets of countless years.
"Clues to the two keys."
Zong Shen's voice broke the silence. He walked to the cold jade couch and spread out the crude map made from the hide of an icefield behemoth.
He compared it with the light-and-shadow map Vernis had just traced.
"The Forgotten Sand Sea of Saland, and the ancestral mountain in the Sighing Mountains."
"Neither sounds like a place one can set foot in easily."
"But I'm the God of Chaos."
Vernis nodded slightly, her translucent hair trembling gently with the motion.
"The Prophet's remaining perception fragments are incomplete. The exact locations and methods of entry will require more detailed investigation."
"However, he could confirm that both locations are closely tied to disturbances in fate. The Mechanical Ark Ruins in Saland may be connected to a component known as the Startrack Compass."
"And deep within the Sighing Mountains, there may be a fragment of the Time Key sealed away."
Zong Shen lightly tapped the location of Saland on the map with his fingertips.
The Forgotten Sand Sea was also a remote region within that desert nation.