No one answered him.
He was still alone, yet the sensation of someone whispering in his ear had been so real that he could have sworn on his life that someone had been standing beside him moments ago.
Yushikin drew a deep breath and slowly circled the room.
His blade was held before him, and he remained alert at all times in case that mysterious whisperer appeared.
Then he noticed bundles of torn things piled beside a bench, so he walked toward the table—the altar—where the large book he had noticed earlier rested.
Its cover was leather, its aged surface cracked and blackened by fire.
Yushikin bent over to inspect the book and used the tip of his blade to pry open its cover.
The writing inside ran vertically, the strokes sharp and angular.
"Diego..."
Yushikin immediately recognized the handwriting as identical to that in the secret letter. Could this be what Diego had wanted him to find?
But all Yushikin could see were words that made no sense.
What use could such bizarre writing possibly have?
The moment that thought arose, he blinked, and the words blurred before his eyes.
The symbols of the unknown script began to twist, becoming the sharp lettering of the mountain tongue he could understand. Then they spun into the elegant script of the Benedict Empire's official language, as well as thousands of other languages he had never seen before.
He blinked repeatedly, trying to dispel the sudden wave of dizziness.
"What are you doing here, Yushikin?"
A familiar voice asked at his ear.
He whirled toward the voice, but once again, he saw no one.
The temple was empty.
"How dare you betray my trust?"
The voice spoke again, carrying more weight this time.
And this time, he recognized it.
Yushikin slowly turned