Rubbing my chin, I listened intently to the stories the statue shared. It seemed like she was letting off steam, and I couldn''t me her. Being trapped in this ce, encased in stone, anyone would feel frustrated.


    Heh, I''d probably lose it too... Well, scratch that, I''m already a bit insane to begin with.


    She mentioned that many weapons with souls had lost their sense of self, but she had managed to keep her sanity intact. Apparently, she was quite a powerful individual before she was trapped.


    Actually, it''s quite funny how she ended up here.


    It wasn''t because she was weak and defenseless against the cksmith guy.


    She was poisoned, which severely restricted her powers to the point where she couldn''t fight properly when she faced him.


    Perhaps if she hadn''t been weakened, the oue of that battle might have been different.


    But hey, that''s her story. For all I know, she might just be trying to save face.


    Another topic caught my attention. She spoke about defending Japan against the Zol n during ancient times.


    "Did you really fight with the Zol n?" I asked, curious about her ims regarding her confrontation with them.


    "Not just me, but all the powerful beings in Yamato," she exined, referring to the old name Yamato, which was the original name of Japan.


    I knew this not from studying, but from watching too much anime.


    Whoever said anime was bad?


    There''s actually a lot you can learn from it, like how to identally attract a bunch of girls by beingpletely clueless about their feelings.


    Or that if you identally bump into a girl and your nose touches her panties, she''ll instantly fall in love with you?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    And let''s not forget about the nerdy-looking guy who somehow ends up with a beautiful girl.


    Plus, there''s also that trope where a girl was practically throwing herself at you, giving you all the signs, but for some reason, you''ve gotta maintain your virginity at all costs.


    Yep, anime teaches us some interesting lessons, that''s for sure.


    "What happened?" I asked trying to get my mind back to the present. Being in Japan always seemed to trigger thoughts of anime for me.


    In Cerebrum records, the Zol n was known to be very powerful and ruthless, so I wondered how the gifted individuals from before fared against them.


    "They were powerful, but their numbers weren''t great. Eventually, both sides agreed to a truce to prevent further losses. Yamato, once a gathering ce for those with supernatural abilities, saw a drastic decline after the war. Nearly two- thirds perished, leaving only the strongest," she exined.


    "I see," I nodded in understanding .


    It really showcased the power of the Zol n. To imagine that they could reduce the number of gifted individuals in Japan by almost 70%, despite their limited numbers, was astounding.


    In a way, that''s why there are so few gifted individuals in the world today .The Zol n, in their crazy pursuit of destruction, inadvertently assisted humans by indiscriminately targeting both humans and gifted alike.


    "So, what happened after the truce?" I asked, leaning in with curiosity.


    The statue paused for a moment, reminiscing about the past.


    "After the truce, there was a period of peace. Both sides remained wary of each other, but we focused on rebuilding ourmunities. The devastation caused by the conflict was immense, and it took years for Yamato to recover."


    I nodded, absorbing her words. "And what about the Zol n? Did they remain a threat?"


    "They decided to focused on the west," she replied solemnly.


    "And what about you?" I asked, turning my attention back to the statue. "What role did you y in all of this?"


    Her voice softened, and she seemed to grow introspective. "I was but one among many who fought for Yamato''s survival. My powers may have waned over the centuries, but my spirit remains strong. I am a guardian of thisnd, sworn to protect it from any who would seek to harm it."


    I nodded, feeling a newfound respect for the statue before me. Despite the passage of time, she remained steadfast in her duty, a silent sentinel watching over thend.


    As I pondered our conversation, it struck me that much of the fear and distrust towards gifted individuals stemmed from the actions of the Zol n.


    In reality, many of these individuals throughout history sought to contribute positively to society, aspiring to build civilizations rather than destroy them.


    Well, I guess some of them might have wanted that, but I still think most of them built civilizations just to control and enve humans. But yeah, I suppose being a ve was better than dying.


    Regardless , this perspective shed light on mysteries such as the construction of ancient wonders like the pyramids.


    However, the ruthless actions of the Zol n perpetuated the harmful stereotype that all those with powers were inherently bad.


    ''Damn, those guys are really evil,'' I sighed to myself, shaking my head. It''s like the Zol n wanted to win the Most Evil award . Don''t they have anything better to do than wreck stuff?


    "So, what''s your n now? You used something to stop everyone from moving, right? But this isn''t a time stop.," I asked, realizing I had gathered much of the information I needed anyway.


    "You''re right," she admitted. "This was my power before I was sealed here. I have the ability to stop others, but I''m not controlling time. I''m merely stopping everyone''s sense of time. That''s why they stop moving. But you''re unaffected because you''re more powerful than me."


    "Really? I actually thought your power would be rted to fire because you were locked in a phoenix statue," I remarked, surprised by her revtion.


    "This thing is just my prison. Its shape has no rtion to my power," she rified.


    "Then why are they using fire rted swords ?" I asked, curious as to why Yuki and her family used fire elements.


    "Firstly, elemental powers were moremon in Yamato, and secondly, because they misunderstood my shape, they thought that I was a fire phoenix," she replied.


    "Can''t you talk to them and fixed the misunderstanding?" I asked.


    "I can''t. They don''t have the ability to understand me. You''re the only person who was powerful enough tomunicate with me like this," she exined.