Chapter Forty-Five: The Fire Thief

When Ethan arrived at Gustave’s new study, Gustave was bent over his desk, writing.

It seemed that no matter when one encountered him, he was entirely consumed by his work.

Without disturbing him, Ethan walked over quietly and stood behind him.

He saw that Gustave was currently writing the following passage on his manuscript:

“...Judging from the available data, it can already be demonstrated that the Babur script evolved directly from the ancient Goblai script. From this, it may be inferred that the Sun Cult was, with a high degree of probability, established by the Goblai people. Even the first Pope of the Sun was likely a Goblai, because many obscure dogmas in the oldest surviving scriptures of the Sun are recorded using a variant of the Goblai script, and the verifiable edicts of the first Pope also exhibit this variant writing.”

At this point, Gustave stopped his pen. As if only just noticing Ethan, he turned his head. Seeing Ethan, he showed no surprise, merely asking, “Do you find it terrifying?”

Ethan understood the implication behind his words.

Given the solid educational foundation of his predecessor, he possessed a comprehensive grasp of both the surface and deep knowledge of this world.

The Goblai were a legendary race known as the Fire-Stealers. According to myth, they stole the heavenly fire, plunging the mortal realm into absolute cold and famine. It was the Sun God who reclaimed the fire and caused the sun to rise once more, which was the origin of why the Sun God was revered as such.

For Gustave to hold such a view was equivalent to saying that the Fire-Stealer and the Sun God were one and the same—a blasphemous notion.

Had he been in the Old Continent, he would undoubtedly have been condemned to the stake.

It was hardly surprising that El, a pious believer of the Sun Cult, loathed him.

Yet, the Goblai were ultimately a legendary people with no written records left behind. How dared Gustave make such a definitive assertion?

As if perceiving Ethan’s thoughts, Gustave displayed a terrifying sharpness when it came to academic research.

“Do you know what I originally researched?”

Gustave had initially been a researcher of the Babur civilization.

The Babur civilization was a brilliant culture of the Old Continent prior to the third century. They had once established a vast empire in the eastern part of the Old Continent. Now, nothing remained there save for billowing yellow sand and crumbling wind-eroded ruins—a favorite destination for archaeologists, historians, and tomb raiders.

In the course of researching the Babur civilization, Gustave discovered a scroll originating from the Old Continent, which had clearly been rubbed from an ancient stone tablet.

The scroll bore a series of obscure and intricate characters. Initially, Gustave assumed they were Babur script, but upon deeper investigation, he realized it was a writing system he had never encountered before.

Through arduous and relentless breakthroughs, he successfully deciphered the script. The rubbed scroll read as follows:

"O Former King, please grant me the supreme scepter of war, that I might crush the Goblai from the west, and with the blood and skulls of these traitors, glorify your name in the heavens."

This translation had filled Gustave with ecstasy. For long years of research, no explicit written records concerning the Goblai had ever been found, leaving them in a semi-fictional state within academia.

And Gustave’s discovery was sufficient to subvert academic consensus.

Not only did it confirm the existence of the Goblai, but it also pushed their timeline back to the third century, even placing them at war with the Baburs.

Yet, when Gustave reported these findings, they were met with a cold reception.

The professors in the History Department of the Royal University refused to acknowledge the achievement, especially the mentor who had once promoted him.

This mentor was a devout Neophyte of the Sun Cult.

The source of his mentor's fury was that in the third century, the Sun Cult had been at the height of its power and had led the wars against Babur.

Gustave’s research findings were tantamount to declaring the Sun Cult to be demonic.

Consequently, he was directly expelled.

“They are hiding something, but it does not matter. No matter what they conceal, I will ultimately find the truth!”

As he uttered these words, a fanatical gleam flashed within Gustave’s traditionally calm eyes.

“Moreover, I have already found it!”

He concluded.

“Found what?”

Ethan had no genuine interest in historical truths; he was merely probing the depth of Gustave’s research.

He could sense that Gustave was still holding something back from him.

“What I am about to show you next, you must swear to keep strictly confidential.”

Gustave spoke in an exceptionally solemn tone.

Ethan nodded.

Gustave glanced warily around his surroundings before slowly writing a single character on a blank sheet of paper.

“They thought that by driving me away and suppressing me, I would no longer be able to research anything. They are wrong. They could never imagine that I... have touched the hand of a god.”

When the final stroke fell, Gustave’s breathing seemed to stall entirely.

Trembling, he handed the paper to Ethan. “This is the ancient Goblai script I deduced. I can feel this character—it means ‘sun.’ Touch it; does it not feel as though it is burning hot!”

Ethan looked at the character on the paper, a tempest raging in his heart. For he did not even need to touch it to know that this character truly meant ‘sun’; it was identical to the ancient term within the True Name of the Sun found in the *Report of Truth*.

This man was a true genius; through mere retro-calculation, he had actually reconstructed the ancient language.

Ethan looked at him—this unstable, emaciated, unkempt man trembling slightly as he held the paper. He was no academic madman; at this moment, he was the Fire-Stealer, bringing heavenly fire down to the mortal realm.

“It is hot.”

As Ethan touched the character, his own heart began to burn.

Previously, he had only invested in Gustave on a whim, yet Gustave had brought him unimaginable returns.

“Professor, I also have something to show you. Likewise, you must not tell anyone else.”

Clutching the paper as though holding a torch, Ethan gazed intently at Gustave.

“What is it?”

Faintly sensing something, Gustave could not help licking his dry lips.

Ethan took the paper back and, right below the character Gustave had written, inscribed the first True Name of the Sun from his memory:

*Worshiper of the Sun.*

Watching the characters flow slowly from Ethan’s pen—characters that originated from the exact same source as the one he had written—Gustave widened his eyes and grabbed Ethan’s hand, his knuckles turning white with force.

“You...”

“Professor, I can tell you the meaning of these characters.”

After a long silence, Gustave loosened his grip, his voice hoarse as he said, “Tell me.”

Ethan wrote the Common Language annotations beneath the ancient terms.

“I only know their interpretations, not the individual meaning of every single character. If, upon my next visit, the Professor can tell me the meaning of these individual characters, I will bring more.”

Gustave did not speak, merely staring fixedly at the paper.

Nodding, Ethan took Anya and quietly departed.