"Dawn Oath."
Witnessed by the Condenser of the Contract School, bound by the Devil's Power of Contract, shackling all those who leave their names here.
"This thing has always been guarded by the Elders, unless necessary, very few people delve into this past history."
Fuen gently stroked the book's cover, shrouded in some unknown black substance, traced with patterns in gold, with a latch at its center, chains extending to firmly seal the book.
After a crisp sound, a sharp spike sprang from the latch, and Fuen pressed his fingertip upon it, fresh blood slowly flowing, seeping into the lock core.
In the silence, Bologue could clearly hear the sound of sucking coming from within the latch, as if it were some living creature, hungrily licking Fuen's blood.
The blood satisfied the seal, the latch sprang open, and the chains broke apart, liberating the book; it flipped pages autonomously, requiring no external force.
Fuen took a deep breath; even he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
This is the witness to the Dawn War, the end of the Eternal Night Empire's collapse.
As the book opened, the pages seemed to possess a magical power momentarily, devouring the surrounding Ether, an invisible whirlwind brushing the pages, causing them to flip rapidly, and then the scattered pages flew out like birds, circling around.
The flipping of the pages stopped, countless pages suspended in mid-air, pieced together to form a grand tapestry.
At the top of the tapestry, the words "Dawn Oath" were inscribed, below flowed complex oath contents, numerous additional clauses extending around like lush branches.
Then there's a list constructed of countless names, positioned like a cornerstone at the bottom of the oath book; Bologue vaguely saw the surnames Villeries and Clarks in this list, along with many familiar yet strange surnames representing the founding families of the Order Bureau.
"This feeling... is it sunlight?"
Church felt the warm light emanating between the pages, warming his body, but for the Night Race, this warm glow was the deadliest poison.
"To prevent the Night Race from contacting the oath, we found a way to integrate sunlight within it," Fuen said casually, "It never hurts to be more prepared."
"And now to confirm whether there's an issue with the oath."
Fuen said as he began to read it, "Unless necessary, no one disturbs the Elders to review this stuff."
The Wind Cellar holds countless precious collections, accumulated wealth of the Clarks over endless years; any other Patriarch would meticulously peruse these treasures, rejoicing in the gold, but clearly, Fuen wasn't a typical Patriarch; for him, non-essential matters could be directly ignored.
The Elders often lambasted Fuen's various behaviors, claiming they were blind to entrust such a responsibility to him, yet when confronting Palmer, they smiled broadly, albeit Palmer being worse than his father, the Elders merely laughed, saying Palmer was still young and would mature eventually.
Church opened the briefcase, inside lay another book; as Fuen read, Church flipped through the book in his hand, its pages fluttering, attaching to the pages of the "Dawn Oath."
The Book of Rubbing, an Alchemy Armament made specifically for duplicating oaths, yet the duplicated oaths held no power, merely for reading by others.
Facing Fuen's puzzled gaze, Church explained, "I need to make a copy and deliver it to the Decision Room."
Fuen said nothing more, continuing to peruse the contents of the "Dawn Oath," explaining its contents to the two as he read.
"As expected, it's about the distribution of spoils and the disposition towards the Night Race..."
These contents weren't important; Fuen merely glanced over them, but as reading deepened, his brow gradually furrowed.
Bologue asked, "Discovered something?"
"It detailed the handling of the remaining Night Race but did not mention the Night King's fate."
Fuen realized, from various books and from Serey's accounts, he learned of the Dawn War's progress, yet the Night King's fate remained a mystery, seemingly assumed by everyone that the Night King fell during the war.
Why isn't the Night King's fate mentioned in the oath?
Fuen continued reading, finding no specific explanation for this part in the oath, but from other clauses, it seemed the drafters did not consider the Night King's part significant when drafting the oath initially.
They must have dealt with the Night King, but the handling did not involve the oath.
As Fuen pondered, his gaze flicker among the bookshelves, he believed the Elders must know the inner workings, as most participated in the Dawn War, many are centuries old, deteriorated beyond recognition, only able to survive in the Wind Cellar.
"What's this part about?"
Bologue suddenly found a clause in the oath blackened, the original writing was indiscernible, only left with black lines.
"Someone modified the oath? That's impossible, only when both witness and contractor are present can the oath be modified," Fuen said, suddenly understanding, "This isn't the original oath!"
Continuing down, the oath modifications weren't many; besides this part, Bologue found another altered spot.
It was a list concerning the Villeries Pure Blood members; after the Dawn War and Serey's betrayal, few Pure Bloods remained, thus there weren't many names on the list, but one name was also blackened, removed from the oath.
At the end of the oath, signatories' names were visible; representing the coalition were signatures of the heads of several major families at the time, on the Night Race side were signatures of the few remaining Pure Bloods.
Serey Villeries.
Among the signatures was Serey's name; he participated in the signing of the Dawn Oath back then.
Bologue wasn't surprised by this, even deemed it natural; under Fuen's recounting, Bologue's understanding of Serey changed drastically tonight, unsure how to face Serey upon returning to the Undying Club.
Should he draw a long knife, rest it against Serey's neck, making him reveal the events of that year? Or respect Serey's wishes, act as if nothing happened, continuing singing and dancing with him?
Bologue ceased pondering, another name caught his attention.
"Wolfgang Gold."
This unfamiliar name signed at the witness's position, a century ago, the "Dawn Oath" was penned by Wolfgang Gold.
For some reason, Bologue was certain it was his first time seeing this name, yet felt an indescribable familiarity, as if in years past he knew and was familiar with its owner.
This eerie illusion prompted Bologue to ask Fuen, "Do you know this name?"
Fuen shook his head, "Not at all."
Then Fuen supplemented, "To be a witness to the 'Dawn Oath', surely a significant figure in those times."
To write the "Dawn Oath," the required Power of Contract, could not be easily borne by ordinary Condensers of the Contract School.
Bologue secretly committed the name to memory, Fuen furrowed his brow as he put away the "Dawn Oath," they found a clue, yet this clue pointed to no direction.
The Decision Room might know something; for that mysterious supreme ruling entity, everyone held a blind trust.
Around them flickered dim yellow light, the Elders hidden in confined spaces, indulging in long slumbers, but among this silent flock, lay a restless black sheep, slowly opening its eyes.
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