New information was scarce and cryptic, akin to scattered puzzle pieces refusing to be connected. Unveiling hidden truths required piecing together fragments of information from one end of the continent with those that lay buried at the other, a daunting challenge stretching over decades. If you hoped to find anything not already collected, deciphered, or locked away by the academy or prominent organisations of treasure hunters such as the Crimson Circle, you faced formidable challenges. Greater forces than Yves had long amassed and safeguarded most of this arcane knowledge. All Yves could do, through the messages Midnight carried, was implore their help and services.

Since his return after sealing the tunnel, he had meticulously combed through his meagre archives, searching for insights into the correlation between water and the towering ashen wades that were its mirror world counterpart. Broadening his research, he had sifted through and sorted all the information he possessed on the correlation between dimensional planes, but found only general snippets on Transcender world reading, never on the specifics of actual dimensional transgression.

He had tried to find anything that could shed light on his transformation. Could he reverse whatever had happened to his eyes after returning? Would it worsen if he dared enter the mirror dimension again? Was there any possibility to make it better? It had been no use. Yves had too little and needed too much. At the culmination of his studies at the academy, he had been an exceptional student. Since then, he had learned the ins and outs of the average artefact hunt. A diligent scholar throughout, he had translated and researched his tomes for weeks on end when seeking respite from injuries or to occupy his mind after a physically or mentally demanding quest.

However, the answers he sought remained elusive. The arcane knowledge he sought was reserved for Oracles and luminaries, eminent authorities who had not just eight but more likely eighty years, with unrestricted access to the academy’s immense reservoir of wisdom and extensive resources to research their spectrum.

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