38. Forgotten Heritage
“Mrs. Hamilton, consider the Ġgantija megalithic temples in Malta. Scholars say they were built around 5,600 years ago, which aligns suspiciously well with that simplistic timeline. They claim the artifacts found inside these structures match those from other, simpler sites of the same period. That’s the only reason they date them as such. But artifacts can be placed later. Just because an artifact is found within a building doesn’t prove they’re from the same era. It’s an assumption I believe to be wrong.”
“Exactly. If we trust the archaeologists’ timeline, it would mean people who only knew how to build crude huts suddenly gained the know-how to transport stones weighing twenty or thirty tons. Shouldn’t there be some evidence of gradual technological development? But there isn’t. They haven’t even uncovered the origin of beings like me. So why was I given the name ‘Malta’?”
It was Malta, an elegant cat with a Gandalf-like demeanor. Only two attended Ms. Goli’s lecture: Mrs. Hamilton and Malta the cat.
“I am entirely different from other cats,” said Malta, stepping lightly as if dancing. “You won’t find any creature like me anywhere on Earth. Yet I was born here, on this planet, in the Mediterranean, on Malta.”
“People call you the ‘Ballerina Cat,’ right? I’ve heard you came from the Mnajdra megalithic temples.”
Ms. Goli asked, turning to Malta.
“So they say. If Mnajdra is my birthplace, where did the Mnajdra people come from?”
Malta spoke with a voice full of curiosity and longing.
“I often wonder about my ancestors. I look so unlike anything else on Earth that I was mocked for my differences. Only thanks to Eridan’s help did I end up working as a teacher at Omega Archaeology High. Perhaps that’s why I felt an affinity for Suri, Sabi, and Maru. They were also ostracized just for being different.”
Ms. Goli fingered her necklace thoughtfully, remembering three students. As she touched it, the pendant slipped free from her neck and burst into radiant light—vivid red, blue, and yellow, with tiny flashes of playful lightning crackling around it.
“I remember now!”
Suddenly, memories rushed into Ms. Goli’s mind like a tidal wave. The pendant was a “Peral,” an heirloom of the Bellia family.
“On that day, in front of the mothers, something like this happened too,” she whispered, voice trembling with realization. “Why didn’t I notice before that this pendant held such a tremendous secret?”
In an instant, another memory tore through her mind. She saw a vision of Leon nearly drowning, and the Peral spinning, emitting light, forming a protective shield to save him. In the center of the Peral’s star sapphire, a star flared.
“Sirius,” Ms. Goli murmured, closing her eyes as though stepping through a doorway inside her own mind. She entered Sirius and found countless megalithic temples. Thousands, tens of thousands, stretching as far as the eye could see.
She ventured deeper, and again the same vision repeated—megalithic temples mirrored against the backdrop of the Mediterranean’s blue waters.
“What is it? What’s happening to you?” Mrs. Hamilton shook Ms. Goli’s arm, worried. But no matter how hard she tried, Ms. Goli didn’t respond.
In the distant reaches of the cosmos, the Bellia family had once been royal leaders of a powerful magical clan in the Galactic Empire. The empire was founded on ultrahigh scientific advancement, and magic was considered primitive, even hostile—something to be shunned. The imperial citizens treated magic tribes as savage throwbacks, forbidding marriage with them. They razed Avalon, the homeland of the magic tribes, forcing the Bellia family to settle in the green canyons of Sirius.
To protect their ancestral magic—known as possession-magic—the royal family traveled to the Mediterranean’s Malta on Earth, using the stolen Altima-39 ship pilfered by Sansuna.
“They’re in the Mediterranean’s Malta,” Ms. Goli shouted, face contorted with revelation.
“If they can’t return to Sirius Malta, they lose their magic. They’ve gone thousands of years without using any, and so it’s faded. Malta must be joined with its counterpart to become whole. And I—I share a heritage with Malta the cat, the Dwarf, and that chimney-elf grandfather. We’re all connected.”
Her face was aglow, radiant with understanding.
“I’m standing somewhere, and someone is watching me. I can’t see his face clearly, but he’s certainly not human. There’s a blazing Bolt rider of fire on his back… I’m not afraid. I must go to Malta. The Peral will form a shield. I can save them.”
Ms. Goli’s eyes snapped open.
“I must help the children. Malta is heating up. I must go before the Imperial Army of Emperor Nova arrives and kills the Malta guardians and the kids. Suri—Suri!”
She called Suri’s name as if he were right there.
Anyone watching would have thought Ms. Goli had lost her mind.
Somewhere far away, Suri felt as if someone were calling his name. At any moment, Emperor Nova’s Imperial forces seemed poised to storm in.
[To be continued…]
