Dago took a deep breath, trying to calm his surging emotions.
"Under normal circumstances, this would be as far as we went today. For a novice Spirit Wizard like me, who has only recently begun, this is where I would receive my inheritance. But now..."
Ewakuai shook his head, his tone somewhere between relief and wistfulness. "Let's go."
He led Dago onward.
They passed through Statue Square. Along the way, Dago saw countless collapsed, decaying statues. He estimated that the relatively intact statues in this square accounted for less than one percent of the total.
And those were only the Spirit Wizards who had already "died," not those who were still "dying."
The Ancient Spirit-Witch Tradition truly had fallen into decline.
At the end of the square, another flight of black steps led farther upward. The two continued on.
After that, every so often, they arrived at another ritual square filled with statues, much like the first.
The higher they went, the larger the black statues standing in the squares became, and the more ancient their auras felt. Naturally, their numbers also dwindled.
Dago guessed that this was tied to the strength and status the Spirit Wizards represented by the statues had possessed in life.
The higher the square, the stronger its statues had been in life, and the more exalted their positions in the Hall of All Spirits.
Spirit Wizards had not originated in ancient times. They were called "Elder Spirit Wizards" because their tradition had reached its peak in that era. As for its actual origins, Dago did not know.
Dago kept following Ewakuai, silently counting the statue squares they passed through.
When they arrived at another new square and his count reached five, he heard Ewakuai say quietly, "We're here, Dago."
Dago stirred, his gaze rising with