This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

After touring the archives, Benji took him to the various other areas of the building, including the Resource Exchange Area (which catalogues all of the objects available for exchange with contribution points from all of the subdivisions), the Lecture Halls, Debriefing Halls, and more.

The final stop of the tour was the Training Hall, in which they could train in simulations of various relic environments—mostly all based on relics actually completely explored by other Pathfinders.

And it was when exploring these Training Halls that Kain finally learned the origin of the non-existent constellation on the Pathfinder's medallions.

Apparently, there are several types of relics:

The first types were called "Trial Relics" or "Proving Grounds." They were relics with trial spaces that would reward entrants on completion of each level—similar to the relics owned by Dark Moon College used during the entrance exam and when they were preparing for the National Tournament.

The second type of relic were called "Habitat Relics" or "Sanctuary Vaults." These relics are like habitats created for the captivity, preservation and/or care of rare spiritual creatures—almost like a zoo. Relics that fall into this category are the black "Pandora's Box" relic rife with microscopic spiritual creatures Kain had entered previously, or the relic possessed by the Blackheart family that contains spiritual creatures with an infernal bloodline descended from those previously captured from the underworld.

The final type is the most difficult to deal with, they are called "Memory Relics" or "Historical Echoes." And these types of relics were what the Training Hall mostly simulated in order to mentally prepare and train Pathfinders.

"These are what we call Memory Relics," Benji began, his tone uncharacteristically serious as they walked through the expansive Training Hall. The hall itself was filled with people, but most of them appeared solemn or in a daze—not the filled with the bustle of activity and sparring Kain would have expected of an area used for training.

"Memory Relics?" Kain asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Yeah," Benji nodded, leading Kain to a quiet corner where holographic displays showed scenes of explorers living as natives in what appeared to be ancient towns and bustling cities.

"They're like a snapshot of a moment in time, left behind by civilizations long gone. When you step into one, it's as if you're transported into that time period. You live as one of the residents of that era."

Kain blinked at the transmitted scenes of towns filled with people, people that did not appear to be Pathfinders. "Wait, so you interact with people? Like, real people?"

Benji shrugged. "Sort of. They're not real in the way you or I are. Think of them as echoes, or memory shadows. They're fully interactive, can hold conversations, and even react to you. But they're not real humans. Moreover, they are bound by historical events of that era, unable to deviate significantly from what was imprinted in the relic."

"That sounds…" Kain trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Insane?" Benji offered, a wry smile on his lips. "You're not wrong. These Memory Relics used to have some of the highest failure rates among explorers. The danger isn't just from spiritual creatures or traps like in other relics. It's psychological. When transported into a relic, you are typically assigned the life of a person that lived in that time and replace them, with many of their memories implanted into you. Some people forget they're in a relic if enough time passes and get completely absorbed into their new life and identity. They settle down, marry or take up new careers. They start living lives they weren't meant to live and, well… never come back."

Kain shuddered. He was resistant to mental-attribute attacks, but it didn't sound as though these relics attacked the mind at all. More like after living in an era for long enough, the Pathfinders themselves gradually get confused and think of themselves as natives of that time. Perhaps they even regard their time in the modern era as just a dream…

Could Kain really say he'd never succumb? Now that he thought about it, when he first transmigrated to this world, he didn't have much resistance or questioning of his new reality—he readily accepted it. What if he just subconsciously accepts that he's transmigrated again inside of the relic?

'No. That can't happen. I readily accepted my new reality because I had nothing waiting for me back on Earth, all of my family had already died. But that's not the case now! I have many people I'd fight to get back to.' Kain somewhat calmed down with that reasoning, but was still extremely apprehensive.

"How do you avoid that happening to you?" He asked Benji.

Benji tapped his medallion. "That's where this little guy comes in. Look at the constellation on your medallion—see the large central star surrounded by smaller ones?"

Kain nodded, pulling out his medallion to examine it more closely—the two rings of smaller stars surrounding the larger star in the center.

"That constellation used to exist in the star map above the planet a long time ago," Benji explained. "It was known as Auralis' Eye. But the central star—the big one—exploded in a supernova and wiped out all the surrounding stars. That happened so long ago that no one alive has ever seen it in the night sky. So, we use it as a marker of sorts: if you ever find yourself in a Memory Relic and you look up at the stars, and see this constellation? You're in a fake reality."

Kain frowned, his brow furrowing in thought. "It's like a totem, then. A way to ground yourself and confirm if what you're experiencing is real or not." Thinking of the hit movie from back on Earth about people travelling through the dreams of others.

Continue your journey on empiren/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Sure! Although, I've never heard that term used for this before, it fits." Benji said, clapping his hands together. "And trust me, it's a lifesaver. Because when you're living among those memory shadows, everything feels real. The people, the places, even the air you breathe. If you're not careful, you'll lose yourself in it."

"Has anyone ever come back from that? I mean, once they are consumed by that era?"

Benji's smile dimmed. "Rarely. Once someone succumbs to that version of reality, it's almost impossible to pull them out. After all, they usually now have ties and families within that historical echo—even if those people aren't real, they feel completely real once you're in there. That's why this constellation is drilled into every Pathfinder's mind. You're not supposed to forget it, no matter what."

Benji then gestured to the solemn and dazed Pathfinders in the training hall, "Just look at them. This was just training and they all managed to extricate themselves, but none seem particularly thrilled or energetic about it. It's not easy to reconcile the fact that the people you lived with, befriended, and fought alongside are now all long dead and merely echoes of time."