The Bored Immortal

"Whew…This island sounds like a fancy prison. It is like they have been cut off from the rest of the world," Viktor mused while feeling that the situation of the natives seemed a bit pitiful in this matter.

Taya shook her head and said, "It\'s not as bad as you think…at least not for them. As far as I know, they are living happily here, and unlike us, they do not have much desires. They are simple people leading simple lives. You will see once we interact with them."

Viktor understood what she was talking about and said, "Well, it wouldn\'t be my first time meeting such people, but will they understand the common language? How do you plan to talk to them? Using some translator app?"

"Surprisingly, they can understand and even speak the common language to a certain level. Some explorers from outside came here a few decades ago and taught them how to at least speak the common language so that next time people like them happen to come here, they can interact with them," Taya explained.

"That\'s quite nice, but why does it sound like this isn\'t your first time coming here?" Viktor asked.

"Because I had once come here for research nearly a decade ago."

"Research? I thought you people do research in labs and not in some mountains," Viktor said with a subtle laugh.

Taya rolled her eyes as she said, "Not that kind of research, silly. This was more like trying to find some answers which could help me seek some answers to living longer. At that time, I was heavily obsessed to the point of even risking my life by coming here."

"Whew, don\'t tell me you rode a boat all the way here. But…why this island particularly?" Viktor curiously asked.

"Taya had told me about this before. The natives here believe that this island is sacred. They believe powerful beings had once walked through these lands, but in particular, they worship that tall green mountain over there," Umilia pointed to the horizon as Viktor saw the tallest mountain on the island, which he had noticed before, especially due to the peculiar sight of two stony projections coming out on its top, resembling the shape of a cross\'s upper half.

He couldn\'t make out the shape of the two stony projections since it was covered by moss and whatnot. But he had to admit the mountain had an imposing look yet had a pleasing look as well.

"What\'s so special about that mountain?" Viktor curiously asked.

"I have tried asking them about it, and all I know is they worship a supreme being named the Nameless Knight. I tried to dig deeper, but they are quite secretive and sensitive when it comes to their god. They wouldn\'t even let outsiders get anywhere near their sacred mountain, which they considered as the only place to contain the traces of their god. So you shouldn\'t ask any questions related to that," Taya warned with a serious look, making Viktor nod while wondering why they were being so secretive.

What he learned from his experiences was that religious people always loved to promote their own religion. Some were proud of belonging to their religion, while others had blind faith.

"I don\'t understand. There are many powers around the world who would do anything to explore anything secretive. So won\'t such people come here and dig through everything to see why these natives are being secretive? For instance, they might try forcing their way into that sacred mountain," Viktor said with a shrug.

Taya chuckled and said, "You are right. But it is said that anybody who tried to enter that mountain never returned. Countless experts from various fields had simply disappeared to never return. The natives tell us that this is the reason they don\'t want anybody going near that mountain."

"Seriously? Don\'t tell me some kind of monster lives in that mountain that gobbles people up. Umilia, you believe this?" Viktor asked, feeling even more interested. It was not that he didn\'t believe people disappearing inside the mountain, but it was this very fact that made him feel that this mountain might be special in some way, especially after going through recent events.

Umilia squinted her eyes as she looked at the mountain and said, "I did some research about this place with Nyissa before coming here, and according to her, this island is actually very infamous among the mage community of this world. In fact, it was considered taboo to talk about this place."

"No way…but why?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too, but what surprised me even more was that every clan in this world had this iron-clad rule of never going anywhere near this island. I don\'t know if they are acting superstitious or not, but they said that bad luck would befall them if they set foot on this island. Even Nyissa believes it, and that is why she could not accompany us to celebrate your birthday. It seems like she and everyone were taught from a very young age to consider this place as a forbidden one. We even talked about going to a different place, but it seemed like she was busy settling things with her mother," Umilia said with a hint of regret on her face since she would have liked it if her grand-niece was able to join them.

Viktor also found it regretful that Nyissa couldn\'t join them, especially since things could have ended even better. However, he asked, "But you do not believe it?"