I have a great liking for you.
If these words came from the mouth of a beautiful young Roman Emperor, Shiayar would probably feel quite flattered and would respond with, "Are you Roman too?"
However, when they came from the mouth of the mysterious ancient being before him, whose gender, life, or death could not be confirmed, Shiayar felt nothing but a chill down his spine.
Yet, outwardly, he still managed to display a slightly puzzled and confused demeanor.
After noticing the anomaly beneath the Curtain of Eternal Night within the Lost Island, Shiayar pondered for a long time.
Should he enter the Lost Island directly to investigate its secrets, or even come into contact with the source of the taboo?
After all, from various perspectives, the secrets hidden within the Lost Island were likely connected to the creator from the Glorious Era.
And after actually entering the Lost Island and conducting numerous explorations, this hypothesis of Shiayar's was indeed verified.
Even though in the Fourth Epoch and the end of the Third Era at Escarnia, Shiayar had already interacted with many evil gods and demigods often.
In the battle upon returning from the Empire Capital alone, Shiayar slew five or six godly apparitions, and the title "Godslayer" even began to shift from gold to red in nature.
It's fortunate that the title could be donned and removed at Shiayar's will; otherwise, he suspected that once he truly accepted this title, which inherently provokes mythical creatures, he wouldn't have lasted in the First Era, being hunted at every turn by the half-mad mythical beings of the present times.
But, compared to all the evil gods and demigods Shiayar had previously encountered, the Sun God was a completely different being.
There are differences between the deities, and the title of creator already says it all.
According to what was said, before the great cataclysm brought about its fall, it held the pinnacle of divine essence, already with one foot beyond the realm of deities, about to reach a rank untrodden by anyone else.
Even though the Sun God had undoubtedly been affected by the cataclysm, what's lingering on the Lost Island might just be the remnants of that creator.
Otherwise, it would not have created the Curtain of Eternal Night to obscure the island from the sight of other mythical beings.
However, regardless of its state, dealing with an entity of that magnitude inevitably involves risks.
Yet ultimately, Shiayar chose to enter the Lost Island.
The reason concerning his Golden Elf Instructor was just one aspect.
If worse came to worst, Shiayar, even if it meant bearing the infamy of betraying his master and kidnapping a female elf clan member, would rather have his Master misunderstand and forcibly take her away from the chaotic whirlpool of the Lost Island.
But more importantly, Shiayar vaguely perceived the secrets of the Lost Island related to certain signs of the future.
Like the Golden Dawn.
Or Hathaway's future status of being unable to return to the Main Material Plane, along with various anomalies surrounding himself.
Since there were already hidden dangers and secrets on the Lost Island, even pretending like a turtle and ignoring them doesn't mean these dangers simply won't exist.
Maybe as long as he doesn't touch them, these hidden threats won't erupt in the short term.
But what's meant to come will always come.
Running from problems like an ostrich never truly solves them.
Shiayar was greatly satisfied with his life in the Fourth Epoch. Get full chapters from novèlfire.net
With the evil cult dealt a heavy blow, the oath-sworn family and Great Nobles always looking to stir up trouble either dead or crippled, he finally lived a life he had dreamt of, one of comfort and ease.
At its heart, a man's lifelong pursuit, after all, is nothing more than love and career.
The aspect of love needs no further elaboration. Although the progress is far from his initial dream of writing an "Evaluation Guide to Customs of Exotic Tribes," and given the strength and possessiveness of the tigresses at home, it's very likely that day will never come.
But overall, it's surely already quite fulfilling.
In terms of career, due to his identity as a Swordbearer, Shiayar is like number two in the Empire, just under one person but above all others.
Although his superior is still the Empress, she's also his second wife.
In front of others, Shiayar pays due respect by calling her Her Majesty the Empress, but as for who ends up on top in the bedroom at night, that's another story entirely.
Apart from being a bit worn out every night, waking up with a sore back from time to time, and requiring occasional supplements for his exhausted kidneys, his life could essentially be described as having a great balance of love and career.
Therefore, Shiayar wouldn't allow anyone to disrupt his life.
Neither the revival of the Sacred Sword and Sacred Spear nor the hints from the Mercury Serpent, or even Hathaway's current predicament, suggested anything else.
They all undoubtfully foretold that the peaceful life of the Fourth Epoch wouldn't just persist unchanged.
Ever since the "Calamity Land" passed, the rules where deities remained silent and saints and angels no longer walked the earth might very well be undone.
The super-sized divine descent event at the Empire Capital was a classic example.
Thus, rather than sit still and wait for doom, Shiayar preferred to take the initiative.
From this perspective—