Ian did not leave immediately, but went to visit Roundtable Hold's blacksmith, Master Hewg. He was very interested in how the craftsmen of this world operated. So, he talked with the blacksmith and paid the fees and materials needed to strengthen the two swords.
At first, Ian didn't care. Their weapon creation system included using a highly diluted Divine Power to strengthen the weapons and give them defense-breaking and energy-cancellation properties. However, what happened next surprised him.
'This is...' Ian muttered to Morgana.
'This is so exquisite and perfect,' the elf sighed. The master blacksmith created Shadow Particles for the weapon, forming a dual system of positive Negative Energy; this is like the positive and negative numbers in mathematics, perfectly combined. The weapon's positive particles contain Divine Power to strengthen itself, while the negative particles, or Shadow Particles, contain what Ian has been pursuing for many years: Anti-Divine Power energy.
'This is a weapon designed specifically to kill gods,' Morgana said.
'It seems that Marika did plan the destruction of Golden Order, possibly even her own death,' Ian said. Marika imprisoned Hewg here and asked him to serve Tarnished. In the original timeline, he successfully built a Godslayer Weapon, which Tarnished used to kill Radagon and Elden Beast.
'We have invested so much energy and research into anti-Divinity. But in this random world, just anyone created a perfect method,' Morgana sighed deeply.
'It's not just anyone. Marika chose him probably because she knew he had the talent to succeed.'
'That's not the point,' Morgana retorted. 'Don't you feel a little frustrated? Think about how much effort you put in because of Cosmos and Time Game. Do you know how much easier your plans would have been if you had come to this world earlier?'
'I don't feel frustrated at all. I've always understood that different worlds create different problems and different solutions. One thing may be an extremely difficult concept in one universe, but it is commonplace in another universe. This is why I take travel across the universe so seriously. Before Empire can truly reach the top of the universe, the answers to most of the questions we face may exist in another world.'
'If that's the case, then why spend so much wealth and time on research and innovation? Why not spend more time getting answers from other universes?'
'There are many reasons. I don't want Arcanist to become too dependent on the knowledge of other worlds. If we want to understand and use the technology and knowledge of other worlds, we also need to have a certain foundation. More importantly, I still hope that we can combine the advantages of multiple civilizations to create our own version.'
'Well, this is indeed the most direct way to become the pinnacle of civilization in the universe while maintaining Self's identity,' Morgana nodded.
'That's right. According to my inference, Magekind is taking the path of pure innovation and rejects foreign knowledge and civilization to a large extent. Although this is admirable, I can also imagine how slow their rise is and how single their culture and civilization are. We must go our own way,' Ian nodded in agreement.
Ian asked Hewg to teach him the casting method. This was an unusual request, because most Tarnished only regarded Hewg as a servant. The latter refused, but Ian expressed his willingness to become his teacher, which made Hewg have to seriously consider it. The master blacksmith is Misbegotten - a race of humanoids with animal characteristics (such as tails, horns or wings).
They are regarded as inferior creatures in this world and suffer discrimination. Tarnished is regarded as a dirty undead creature and is despised by others, but this is far less than the treatment Misbegotten receives. Therefore, Hewg is surprised that someone is willing to condescend to him and not only learn from him, but also become his apprentice.
So, after some sweet talk from Ian, Hewg accepted a new apprentice, but told Ian to keep it a secret. Then, he taught almost everything he could, and Morgana recorded everything. The design or skills required to forge Godslayer Weapon were not yet fully mature. Therefore, Hewg gave Ian a task to find materials, and once the weapon was completed, he would teach him everything. This was originally one of Ian's goals, so he was happy to accept this arrangement.
After leaving Roundtable Hold, Ian's next target is another Great Rune holder: "Blasphemous Lord" Rykard. Rykard is one of the three children born to Radagon and Rennala. After his father remarried to Queen Marika, he was promoted to Demigod. Rykard was once a staunch believer of Golden Order, so much so that he established a team of Judgment officials to torture anyone who violated Golden Order and engaged in heresy. He could have become the embodiment of justice.
However, after Shattering, Rykard realized that the gods only regarded Demigod as a puppet and forced them to fight for the broken power. He believed that this behavior was degrading to his dignity. So, he betrayed Golden Order. At some point, Rykard discovered God-Devouring Serpent, an ancient creature, most likely a Ancient Gods worshiped by the residents of Mt. Gelmir long before Erdtree appeared.
He has been studying this creature for a long time, trying to revive ancient magic. However, after Shattering, Rykard fed himself to the serpent, and eventually Fusion with it, becoming Blasphemous Lord - a complete heretic.
Rykard lives in a place called Volcano Manor. Ian flies to the destination. Once there, he notices the strange atmosphere around him. After Rykard abandoned his belief in Golden Order and fell into heresy, his men betrayed him.
However, Rykard also has his own faction, a group of assassins known as Recusants. There seems to be a struggle going on between the two camps. Ian is siding with the official Judgment because they have found a weapon named Serpent-Hunter, which will make it much easier to kill Rykard.
With this weapon, Ian almost killed Orochi, but in the middle of the battle, Rykard finally took control, and a strange human face appeared on Orochi's head. Wielding the Blasphemous Blade that contained the remains of countless heroes he had devoured, Rykard put up a decent resistance, and then Ian killed him and took away his Great Rune.
'Now, go meet Lani and make a deal,' Lin An thought. He flew to a divine grant tower to purify the Great Rune, and then went to the Kalea Castle in northern Lienia. He received a "warm" welcome, and some of her strongest knights tried to prevent him from entering, but they were no match for him. Finally, he reached the top of the tower and met the witch Lani - the mastermind behind the key turning point in the Shattered War, the death of "Golden" Godwin.
Author's note: Since it's been so long, a quick recap. Ian became a prisoner of time because he forced Resurrection to kill members of the Empire who died in the terrorist incident that Bleach Guznader attacked Earth. Then he looked for Scholar Race in order to get rid of his fate, and learned that he had to participate in the Time Game organized by Yuan Ancient Gods Ming and Time Guardians Cosmos.
One of the main purposes of his journey was to find a unique application for Time Game. As you'd expect from Ian, he also wants to take care of Cosmos in the process, which drives him to the Destiny universe, where he gains the knowledge to create Chains of Heaven and Ea·Ea--one Anti-Divinity Weapon and one Tier 11 Divine Artifact--. Now, with the knowledge he has learned in the "Elden Ring+" universe, he is more confident in his plan.