Qian Tu tapped the tabletop with a bent finger, carefully searching her memory.
"I'd almost forgotten. With that sort of deal, whether you carry it out is entirely up to you, so I agreed. It was harmless, anyway.
"Later, I heard from my subordinates that a few of them had encountered Calamities like that too. Some had saved them, some had given them supplies, and some had even spared their lives.
"The terms were more or less the same. I thought it was a losing proposition they would never benefit from themselves, something only a fool would do. Why on earth would they need to stake their lives on it?
"Now I think I understand a little. Those people were paving a road, one they would never use themselves, one they might never even see anyone use.
"All so you would have one more chance, however small. As long as someone made use of it, it would never be a loss."
A question long since forgotten had crossed the bounds of time and presented its answer before her.
At this moment, even Qian Tu had to admire that woman who had long since died, and those people who had staked themselves on the game and continued striving for their homeland even after becoming Calamities.
"Can you tell me what they were called?"
Wind-Thunder tightened its grip on the signaling device, unsure what expression to make.
"The Void Order... what was once the End of the World's land of ideals. It was also the Present World's first Man-Made Calamity, and the first entity to forge its own path as a Man-Made Calamity and rejoin the Present World."
Qian Tu's expression turned serious. "I'll remember that."
Watching from the side, [Darkness] pointed at the token with a faint smile.
"This thing. Are