Only then did Odys realize that Theresa, the guardian of the Moses Ascetic Order's library, truly wasn't from the modern era.
She must have come here during the Fourth Epoch. And the Sage's method of repairing the Barrier had very likely been to have the gods move their Divine Kingdoms into the Astral World, blocking the Outer Deities from infiltrating the Real World.
So Odys asked, "Why aren't you wearing those asymmetrical clothes?"
"That has been a privilege of Moses Ascetic Order members since the Solomon Empire," Theresa said with a smile. "You aren't wearing them either, are you?"
Odys answered, puzzled, "Because no one is required to wear asymmetrical clothes anymore."
Theresa froze. "Night Emperor Trunsoest didn't unite the Northern Continent? When I left, the Trunsoest Empire had gained a decisive advantage in its war against the Tudor Empire."
Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina listened intently, her eyes shining.
Odys finally confirmed that Theresa came from the end of the Age of the Four Emperors, more than a thousand years ago.
"The Trunsoest Empire did fall," he said.
Theresa paused. "Then what happened to the Sage and the Night Emperor's plan?"
"What plan?" Odys asked.
Theresa, who had answered every question until now, did not answer this one immediately. Instead, she smiled. "It seems it failed. Otherwise, you would have heard of their plan."
Then she asked, "What happened after the Trunsoest Empire fell? Surely the Underworld Emperor wasn't the final victor?"
"No. The Underworld Emperor did launch an attack on the Northern Continent..." Odys briefly recounted the Pale Era that followed.
Edwina had not realized the Pale Era had caused so much devastation in the Northern Continent.
Theresa listened quietly until he finished, then said with certainty, "The Sage must have fallen asleep again by then. Otherwise, they would