The Record of Unusual Creatures

Gaius Julius Caesar, the historic Roman ruler returned to his palace. The flowers and cheers in the square and streets still seemed to surround him, bringing a contented smile to his face. With the help of his attendants, he took his decorative armor off, sat down in his favorite wide chair, and started to ponder.

He was thinking about the Roman rule—his own rule. He had just completed the final step of purging the great nation; the two insurrectionists, Pompey’s sons had been crushed by the Roman army. Caesar found himself at the pinnacle of his rule over the country like never before. There was no triumvirate politics and no more archons to apportion power among themselves. He had become the only true ruler of the country. So what kind of identity should he as the sole ruler have?

Caesar found that he had no intention, or perhaps, he could not find the opportunity to destroy Rome’s long-standing parliamentary system. Therefore, he would not become an emperor. The best position for him would still be as the regent of the republic, but that meant he could only be a general. Maybe it should have a new name, like “dictator”.

Caesar’s mind wandered a little as if he had seen the republic and its glorious future. He had no idea of the murder he was about to face, or that in a few short decades, his adopted son, Octavius would transform Rome from a republic into an empire. He did not even know that the Twilight of the Gods, far from Earth, was ending the reign of the gods. All he knew was, it looked like an intruder had broken into his room, yet the guards outside made no sign of movement.

The window was closed, but a sudden breeze whirled through the room. Caesar looked up at the drapery and saw two men as well as two women standing there. The four mysterious strangers were surrounded by mist, and he could only discern their silhouettes, not the details of their features. They appeared in the room abruptly, as though they had been hiding behind pillars the entire time.

However, there obviously could not have been anyone hiding in the room. Caesar had checked it carefully as he entered. Then, the mist that hung over the two men and women told him something: they held powers beyond human understanding, either divine or demonic.

In that age, the activities of the gods were not far from human beings. Many kings and priests had at least two or three encounters with the gods in their lives. Caesar was no exception. So he quickly calmed down and maintained his dignity as a human being at that moment. “Why are you here?”

He did not ask the men and women in front of him what their names were or where they came from, because it was pointless to ask such questions to those with extraordinary powers. It may even lead to unnecessary disasters.

Hasse stepped forward and said, “Gaius Julius Caesar, we have some questions for you.”

Caesar shifted his eyes to the side as if he was searching for something to use as a weapon. But he did not hesitate to answer, “Go ahead.”

“Have you ever heard of this name—Vivian Ancestor,” Hasse asked. “She is a member of the gods, but she is traveling through your country at the moment.”

Caesar’s eyes stopped wandering for an instant. Soon after, a queer look began to appear on his face—his expression was that of a little indignance and a little embarrassment. It was hard to hide, but at the same time, he tried hard not to lose his grace.

Hao Ren was hiding in the magic mist. Looking at Caesar’s expression, he knew what was going on. It seemed that Vivian had kicked the Lord into the moat once… Although it was unfair to Caesar, Hao Ren thought it was good news, as this showed that he had met Vivian.

There was a reason for Hao Ren to approach Caesar and ask him about the situation at hand. He had heard Vivian mention that she came to know Caesar in the Roman Republic, and she had dealt with him more than once. Plus, Caesar was able to lay the foundations of the Roman Empire and make great achievements in history with Vivian’s help.

Back then, although Vivian was wandering the world, suffering from the curse of poverty and unable to settle down, she would still communicate with the local people whenever she stayed in a place for a short time. When she was in Rome, she acted as a prophet, a witch, and a foreign god. Caesar had long noticed the strange “prophet and god”, hence he sought help from Vivian at a high cost.

In the Gallic War, Vivian helped the Romans defeat their enemies by creating a plague with her blood powers, and she sent Caesar all the way to invade the Germanic homeland. After the war, the Greek gods made no response to the Romans’ search for a foreign god, which made Caesar believe that he had found a great patron. He even had the idea of building a blood temple in the city of Rome.

However, just like every “god”, Vivian Ancestor was also weird and temperamental. Caesar still did not know what he had done to offend that great god…

Now, there were four people looking for Vivian Ancestor. Caesar had no idea if they were gods or evil spirits, and that made him uneasy. He frowned and suddenly felt that something was off.

“Don’t worry,” Hao Ren said. He deliberately left some time for Caesar to ponder before he spoke slowly, “We are her friends, and you only need to tell us where she is.”

“She did stop in Rome,” Caesar said cautiously. “But I cannot find her unless she shows herself. She is a goddess, and her movements do not fall into the eyes of mortals.”

“You are not telling the truth.” Lily stood up. With her animal instincts, she sensed that Caesar was lying.

Caesar’s face twitched, and he began to believe that the fellows before him had the ability to discern the falsehood. “I cannot bear the wrath of the gods—yours or hers.”

“There will be no anger directed at you.” Slight, imperceptible mental cues were infused into Hasse’s voice. “On the contrary, Vivian Ancestor will appreciate you even more for what you have done for us. Now tell us, where is Vivian?”

Caesar went into a trance, but soon he became sober again. Although he was a man without special powers, he had a mind that surprised even the old demon hunter. To subdue Caesar’s will, Hasse had to increase his power.

Caesar’s eyes were now blank, as though he was dreaming. Then, he started to say something, “In the northeastern corner of the city of Rome, in a neighborhood next to the city wall, she often wanders there. If she wants to see you, she will take the initiative to appear…”

Hasse retracted his magic and said, “Thank you for your cooperation.”

There was a breeze, and Caesar woke up. When he looked again, there was no one in sight.

Observing the empty room and seeing the beautiful gifts presented to the Roman ruler all over the table not far away, he suddenly felt dull and insipid.

“Why didn’t you let me out?” On the way to the northeastern area of the town, Hessiana gave Hao Ren a slightly unpleasant look. “I could have just told Caesar that I wanted my mother. Wouldn’t that have been a lot easier?”

“As far as I know, Vivian never appeared with you in front of Caesar, so Caesar doesn’t know your existence. Your sudden appearance will only make him more suspicious of us.”

Soon, they found the neighborhood Caesar mentioned. Near the city wall, buildings that looked more dilapidated than those in any other place were crowded there in a disorderly manner. Two of them even had traces of smoke, a sign that small-scale fires had just occurred. Some people were standing around the two houses, talking about the fire in the kitchens of the two families.

“…I don’t understand sometimes. Is Vivian only able to choose to live in a poor place, or does the place she lives in become extremely poor?” Hao Ren asked.

Hessiana sighed and said, “It must be the second one—it used to be busy here.”

Hao Ren was speechless.

Once inside the neighborhood, the task of finding Vivian fell on Hessiana and Lily. Hessiana had a strong telepathic connection to Vivian while Lily had an astounding nose. Hao Ren could not compare with them in any way.

“How’s it going? Feel anything? And do you remember anything else?” Hao Ren asked.

“I don’t feel anything yet, but I do recall bits and pieces…” Hessiana said in a nostalgic tone, raising her hand to touch a nearby stone wall. “I’ve carved things on it before…”

Lily was sniffing around when she heard what Hessiana said. She then looked up and exclaimed, “Hey, little bat, there’s something on the wall over there!”