"My name is Lazar. I live at No. 2, Building 13, Cloudtop District 4...
"His Majesty Evans, the great Mechanical Emperor, gave me the name 'Lazar' when I was still an infant. They say it once belonged to a dear friend of his and carried his hopes for me. He hoped I, too, would become a great Alchemist... But I'm sorry to say I disappointed him.
"—I received that honor because my parents sacrificed themselves to cover their companions during an expedition to scout a route.
"Heh. That familiar opening again... If anyone gets hold of my diary someday, please forgive my rambling. For an old 'man' of over 250, even the soul is nearing decay. If I don't write these things down often, it's all too easy to forget who I am."
In a mechanical-looking house in a corner of the Floating City's Cloudtop District, Lazar turned his freshly oiled wrist and wrote with a pen fitted into its socket. His leg parts still hadn't been replaced, so he was making do with four wheels.
"More than five months have passed since Morning Star Shines, but I can still picture that young man standing atop the Emperor's statue, holding the Mechanical Bible.
"The Supreme Council told the public nothing afterward. They seemed to have sealed off the news. But old Orni, Talima, and I—we who once followed the Emperor—all know that young man's appearance heralded the Emperor's return!
"When he returns, Morning Star will shine, and calamity will retreat...
"When he returns, he will lead Morning Star out of this realm of darkness and into the World of Light...
"I am more certain than ever that this 'prophecy' is true!
"Since that day, Morning Star City has never run short of energy. The plants used to make lubricating oil