One day, an old man living by himself died.

Deep underneath Lyell City"s northernmost town block was an ancient underground water control facility. Built when the town was still young and growing itself by gathering copper sheets and screws, the small building had since been abandoned, left adrift in the gap between time and history after another facility robbed it of its original purpose and forced it to shut down.

In a corner of that aged building, the old man drew his last breath as he slept, pa.s.sing from this world without a word.

A satisfied smile remained on his face; the engraved remnant of his many years existing alongside the city of Lyell. He was seated as if taking a brief rest after a long period of walking.

No one attended to him on his deathbed. The old machines that surrounded him emitted a faint whir as dust drifted from their rusted frames. Then they fell silent as well, never to move again.

He had once been known as Old Man Springbeard. It was likely that many who lived aboveground would remember him as Lyell"s "most famous product." He had been skinny and of a small build, with an enormous white beard. He almost magically appeared in various parts of Lyell, running about soundlessly in tattered, dirty work clothes, performing maintenance on the abandoned mechanisms scattered throughout the city. Some said that he had once been a famous engineer in the distant past, but if he ever was, now he was just an ordinary eccentric.

His real name was unknown, and he had no relatives. No one calling themselves his acquaintance ever came forward. He didn"t speak even a single word to anyone. Naturally, he neither requested nor accepted compensation. He simply fixed anything that could be fixed, then moved on as swiftly as he"d come.

There were many theories about what sort of existence he might be. Some saw him as just an urban legend; others suggested he might be a ghost, or perhaps a fairy. He certainly acted otherworldly enough to fit that description, yet lived and breathed like any other citizen of Lyell.

One rumor suggested he carried the blood of the Earth Dragons who perished on the surface in a bygone era, and was their last survivor. If there was any truth to it, then the old man"s death was a great tragedy indeed; a bloodline that had barely survived over five hundred years had now finally ceased for good. Of course, it was unclear whether there was any truth to the rumor or not, and now it was impossible to confirm.

The significance of that lonely old man"s death remains unclear, for now.