I Transmigrated Into A Goddess Body In Another World: But I'm a Man Chapter 48: The Mark That Should Not Exist

Mason stared at the parchnt.

For several seconds, he genuinely wondered if exhaustion had finally broken his brain.

The room remained dark.

The moonlight spilling through the balcony doors illuminated the table beside his bed.

And the parchnt sitting on top of it.

A parchnt that definitely had not been there before.

He knew that much.

Because he had gone to sleep staring at that exact table.

It had been empty.

Now it wasn’t.

His life continued improving in exciting new ways.

Slowly, he reached toward it.

Athlian reacted imdiately.

’Don’t.’

He stopped.

"You know what it is."

It wasn’t a question.

Silence followed.

’I know the symbol.’

That answer wasn’t comforting at all.

Mason picked up the parchnt.

The paper felt old.

Not ancient or fragile...just old enough to seem deliberate.

The sa circular mark occupied the center.

The sa intersecting lines.

The sa symbol hidden inside.

Nothing else.

No ssage.

No signature.

No explanation.

Because explanations were apparently illegal in this kingdom.

"Athlian."

Another pause.

’I haven’t seen that mark in a very long ti.’

"How long?"

Silence.

Mason sighed.

"Right. Stupid question."

The answer was probably asured in centuries.

Maybe longer.

He stood and crossed the room.

The door remained locked.

The windows remained secured.

Nothing appeared disturbed.

No signs of intrusion.

No evidence whatsoever.

Yet soone had entered his chambers.

Or sothing had.

Neither option made him feel better.

A knock suddenly sounded.

He nearly jumped.

His nerves were officially ruined.

"Enter."

The door opened.

Draca stepped inside.

The commander looked tired.

More tired than yesterday.

Which honestly seed impressive.

His gaze imdiately settled on Mason.

Then on the parchnt.

Then back to Mason.

"What happened?"

Good question.

Mason held up the paper.

"This appeared."

Draca crossed the room quickly.

His expression hardened.

"You found it here?"

"Unless I started sleepwalking and developed artistic talent."

The commander ignored the joke.

He examined the symbol carefully.

The longer he looked at it, the more concerned he seed.

"Did anyone enter?"

"Not that I’m aware of."

Draca frowned.

"The guards reported nothing."

Even less comforting.

Mason sat down heavily.

"I assu the archive situation got worse."

A brief pause.

"Yes."

The commander folded his arms.

"The restricted chamber contained records dating back before the kingdom’s founding."

Mason blinked.

"That’s old."

"Very."

"And they vanished."

"Every docunt."

Draca looked toward the symbol again.

"The sa mark was left behind."

Athlian withdrew deeper into herself.

Mason felt it.

The fear.

The hesitation.

The guilt.

All of it.

Whatever this symbol represented, she knew far more than she wanted to admit.

The realization sat heavily in his chest.

Before either man could continue, another knock interrupted them.

Mason groaned.

"I’m beginning to hate doors."

Draca opened it.

A palace servant bowed quickly.

"Commander. Lord Zereth requests both of you."

Draca exchanged a glance with Mason.

Neither liked the timing.

The servant continued.

"Imdiately."

Of course.

Imdiately.

Everything was always imdiately.

The palace never believed in reasonable schedules.

Minutes later they arrived at one of the older archive halls.

Several guards stood outside.

Additional security had been stationed throughout the corridor.

Sothing serious was happening.

Not that it was ever not serious anymore.

The mont they entered, Mason spotted Zereth.

The silver-eyed stood beside a long stone table covered in docunts.

Assura was there too.

That imdiately lowered Mason’s confidence.

Whenever Assura appeared voluntarily, problems followed.

Usually large ones.

Zereth looked up as they approached.

His gaze settled briefly on the parchnt in Mason’s hand.

Interesting.

"You received one too."

Mason froze.

"Too?"

Without a word, Zereth lifted a matching parchnt from the table.

The sa symbol.

Exactly the sa.

Athlian’s emotions tightened instantly.

The atmosphere in the room shifted.

Nobody looked pleased.

Assura examined Mason carefully.

Far too carefully.

"You dread."

It wasn’t phrased like a question.

Mason imdiately disliked that.

"Why does everyone keep knowing things?"

Assura ignored him.

The ancient being looked toward Zereth.

"He saw soone."

Mason blinked.

"What?"

Now everyone was looking at him.

Wonderful.

His favorite.

"How do you know that?"

Assura’s expression remained unreadable.

"Because the mark only appears after contact."

Silence.

Mason didn’t like the sound of that.

Not even slightly.

"Define contact."

Nobody answered imdiately.

Even Zereth looked uncomfortable.

That was new.

Eventually Assura spoke.

"Dream contact."

Wonderful.

Fantastic.

Exactly what he wanted to hear.

Mason sat down.

He suddenly beca tired.

Athlian remained completely silent.

Which sohow felt louder than any answer.

Zereth moved several docunts aside.

"We found references."

That got everyone’s attention.

The immortal unfolded an old sheet of parchnt.

"The symbol appears in a handful of surviving records."

"How handful are we talking?" Mason asked.

"Three."

Ancient conspiracies apparently enjoyed being difficult.

Draca stepped closer.

"What do the records say?"

Zereth hesitated.

Interesting.

Then he answered.

"Not much."

Less interesting.

"The references are incomplete."

"Naturally."

"But they ntion a group."

Mason rubbed his forehead.

There was always a group.

"What group?"

"The Witnesses."

Athlian flinched hard.

But Mason felt her fear through the soul bridge.

The reaction confird everything.

She knew exactly what that ant.

"Athlian."

Nothing.

"Athlian."

Still nothing.

Assura watched him carefully.

Too carefully.

Mason pretended not to notice for now.

The conversation continued.

"The Witnesses existed before the current kingdom," Zereth explained.

"Religious?"

"Possibly."

"Political?"

"Possibly."

Mason stared.

"Those are terrible answers."

Draca looked like he agreed.

Unfortunately, they were the only answers available.

Several hours passed inside the archive.

Records were examined.

Fragnts compared.

Notes organized.

The result was deeply disappointing.

Almost nothing survived.

Soone had removed information very carefully.

Very deliberately.

Long before the Heaven Fracture.

Which made everything worse.

Because it suggested planning.

Years of planning.

Maybe decades.

Possibly longer.

Athlian finally spoke while Zereth reviewed another docunt.

’They’re looking in the wrong place.’

Mason imdiately focused.

"What does that an?"

’The archives won’t tell them everything.’

That wasn’t surprising.

"Then where should they look?"

Silence followed.

Mason resisted the urge to scream.

Eventually she continued.

’The mories.’

That answer sent a chill down his spine.

Because she sounded serious.

Before he could question her further, a commotion erupted outside.

Raised voices.

Rapid footsteps.

Guards moving.

Everyone in the archive looked up.

Draca imdiately headed toward the door.

Professional instincts activating.

Several monts later he returned.

His expression had darkened.

"What now?" Mason asked.

"The temple districts."

Of course political problems.

The kingdom’s favorite hobby.

"They’re demanding access to the archives."

That got everyone’s attention imdiately.

Zereth frowned.

"Why?"

"A rumor spread."

Wonderful...Mason hated rumors.

Especially because they usually turned out to be partially true.

Draca continued.

"Several temple factions believe the missing records explain the Heaven Fracture."

Silence settled over the room.

Because that was bad.

The city was already unstable.

Religious factions turning against each other would make everything worse.

Assura folded his arms.

"The timing is suspicious."

Nobody disagreed because he was right.

Soone wanted tension and conflict.

The question remained why.

Hours later, the palace council convened again.

This ti the atmosphere felt different.

More sharper and hostile.

Representatives from multiple temple factions had arrived.

Several nobles looked furious.

Others looked frightened.

A few looked both.

The discussions began imdiately.

Argunts followed shortly afterward.

Mason spent most of the eting resisting the urge to leave.

The experience felt remarkably similar to being trapped inside a burning cart while everyone debated directions.

Eventually the archives beca the central topic.

Exactly as expected.

Demands were made.

Accusations followed.

Nobody agreed on anything.

Progress remained impossible.

Then a temple representative stood.

"The people deserve answers."

The statent received imdiate support.

Several others nodded.

Political pressure continued building.

The room felt increasingly unstable.

Mason noticed sothing else.

Zereth wasn’t paying attention to the argunts.

The immortal was watching people.

Looking for sothing or soone.

Interesting.

The eting finally ended after sunset.

Nothing had been solved.

Which apparently qualified as normal politics.

As everyone began leaving, Zereth approached him once more.

He looked dangerously thoughtful.

"I need to show you sothing."

Mason imdiately beca suspicious.

"That’s never good."

"No."

"At least you’re honest."

Zereth almost smiled.

The two of them moved toward a quieter corridor.

Away from the council chamber and listening ears.

Athlian had beco tense again.

Mason could feel it.

The closer they walked, the worse it beca.

Eventually Zereth stopped.

Then produced a folded docunt.

An old one.

"I found this hidden behind one of the damaged shelves."

Mason accepted it carefully.

The paper looked fragile and ancient.

The writing had faded badly.

Most of it remained unreadable.

But one section survived.

One sentence.

Only one.

Mason read it twice.

Then a third ti.

Because surely he was misunderstanding it.

Unfortunately he wasn’t.

The sentence read: When the Witness returns, the debt will awaken.

The corridor suddenly felt colder.

Athlian’s fear surged through the soul bridge.

Mason realized she wasn’t afraid of the debt...she was afraid of the Witness.