Chapter 91 : The White Serpent Goddess.
On my cue, Renata flashed out her dagger, and Clara began cranking her mana, ready to dish out some serious magic into Helios's face.
The daunting air, thick with bloodlust, seemingly didn't do anything to dampen nor intimidate the dwarf. It was like he didn't even care to believe that his life was in danger.
"By the mandate of the goddess, I am to follow you in your path. And if you are indeed the chosen one whom I was waiting for...Tonight will not be the day I perish." Declared him unyieldingly.
'...An oracle? Why am I meeting one so soon?' I squinted in doubt. "To which god do you owe your faith?"
"Meredith, the White Serpent goddess." Answered Helios, showcasing his tattoo in all its glory.
"The lesser god of poison?" Asked Clara, meeting my eyes.
'Helios, the overlord of poison...' I scrutinized the man from top to bottom carefully.
"Fysi has been fed nothing but the twisted side of history and made to forget the abundance of compassion the White Serpent has shown...The goddess, in the beginning, was known as the symbol of healing and rejuvenation.
Over time, the ugly side of the five races had used even her loving teachings to create weapons to kill rather than save them."
"As far as the world knows, the god of Light is the god of life and healing." Rebuked Renata sharply.
"Exactly. And it is true. For the White Serpent is none other than the Daughter of the Light itself. It is this servant's lifelong mission to correct the wrong and rid this blasphemous lie that has been covering the world's eyes and ears for far too long." Sermoned the dwarf.
"Enough." I cut them off. "So you're telling me that your god, Meredith, is telling you to follow me?"
"Precisely...So, can we talk without all this?" Suggested Helios, glancing toward the domain and arsenals of weapons that were hovering all around him.
'Hm...' I dropped the domain due to the mana consumption but kept the weapons in a standoff. "No. Don't move. You're not in the green yet."
"...Alright." He shrugged in return.
I had so many things I wanted to ask him, but that wasn't exactly the place and moment for it, so I decided to take a shortcut.
"Fly here." I stated.
Shocked, Helios found his body moving by itself and landed in front of me. Fortunately, there was no restriction whatsoever on his part, hence making my job easier.
"This will hurt so much you'll feel like dying...But at least we can know whether you're telling the truth or not." I looked at the dwarf straight in the eyes and gave him the heads up.
"Ooh, goosebumps...You're in for a ride of a lifetime~" Giggled Clara from the side.
"Can I at least take something to lessen the pain?" Winced Helios back.
"You're seemingly so brave when faced with death, and yet pain fears you?" Ridiculed Renata.
"The merciful Meredith loves her children too much to guide them into a dog's death. If she's telling me especially to come this far to find and follow you. Then, by all means, she will keep me safe from harm, much less to be murdered by you people whom she favored." Explained Helios calmly, his eyes beaming with quiet conviction.
'Yeah, sure, sure...Let's hope you're not shitting us, Helios...Now, without further ado...Soul-' I stretched my hand and touched the dwarf's temple.
The second I was about to say the command, I could feel something awakening from the depth of my soul.
Helios's eyes turned blank white, and our gazes crossed yet again. There was something deep in his pupil-less eyes that freaked the hell out of me...
As though they were pulling me. Forcibly...
In fact, they 'were' pulling me. Or at least my consciousness in this regard.
'Oh, Shiiii-'
Yea...I fucked up...again...
A jungle full of lush trees and running vines emerged out of the empty darkness, and the smell of a fresh river and the hymn of the calm forest greeted and tickled my nose gently.
I could feel the soft grass cushioning my feet as I almost stumbled down due to the sudden change.
'Wait, I can smell and walk? This shouldn't be. Unless God revokes the authority himself, then I shouldn't be able to do this just yet.'
With my guard up and brain throttling at full speed, I tried to figure out just what in the damn hell happened and where in the fuck I was.
Thankfully, or maybe not...I didn't have to wonder for too long.
A huge shadow that seemed able to cover the whole sky dawned from above, and it drew nearer and nearer till the point I could make do with what I was seeing with great details.
A colossal long figure, as big as a moon, swimming freely in space. Its vertical eyes glared dauntingly like a purple sword of judgment that was about to slash the silent world in two.
I couldn't do shit other than wait for my coming fate. No word magic...no nothing...
"You have come, child..." A warm and soothing voice entered my turbid mind.
'Huh...? Who is...Wait...' Abled to gather my thoughts a bit easier, I attempted to connect the dots.
'Meredith...?'
"It is I, Meredith, the daughter of [][][][]."
A name ever so familiar yet distant and incomprehensible at the same time grazed my mind.
'Urgh!' I felt my soul throb in pain as it tried to recall the obscure part of my lost memory.
"Don't push yourself, child. It is not the time yet." Sounded the colossal being patiently.
"Are you going to kill me?" Panting with ragged breath, I asked.
"Kill? By the grace of the Law...No, I will not. You are the chosen child. The seed of convergence between [][][][] and [][][][]." Despite the initial denial, the rest was vague at best.
"...I don't trust you." I sounded, trying to probe a reaction out of her.
"No worries. You will come to in a while." Declared Meredith calmly, as though my coming around would only be a matter of time.
And then the sky shook. Hurricanes blared wildly on the horizon while the earth shuddered in terror and the sea split in tandem.
'Oh, shit, she is killing me!' I cried inwardly.
"Easy. This will be over in no time."
As she said that, I could feel my chest ripped open from the inside out.
I shouted my lungs out from the soul-striking pain.
Following the inhumane waves of pain, a series of images played out in my mind like a broken record. Things I thought I had forgotten.
'The fragment of the world's fate...'
It felt like a bomb had been set up inside my brain, and it was familiar...
An influx of forgotten information began flooding my brain after the undoing of the first seal God placed on the world's fate deep inside my soul.
"So you're the one who holds the key to the first seal...?" I questioned the Serpent, who was now disappearing as time went on.
"Not holding. I am the first seal. Or at least, this wisp of my soul is...Now, chosen child, ask what you want, for our time here is limited." Hinted Meredith at the ensuing chaos.
"Are you the reason why my word magic is severely limited with Helios?" Clawing my head, I grunted.
"Correct. May that serve as a lesson to you from here on out. When you touch an oracle or an awakened with your mana, they can feel the divinity of [][][][] in your soul. Heed my advice, O' chosen child. Stay as far away from them as you can. Don't let them find you." Warned her grimly.
"You're telling me that now? Then what about those two? Does this mean they're my enemies? Then why bother giving me these broken pieces of information in the first place!?" Feeling my anger and the lingering pain mixing in, I gripped my hand hard, clawing through my palm.
"You have affection for them..." Returned Meredith ever so gently.
"...I can't do it, Meredith...Howard and Helena...I don't know..."
A gust of wind flew past, enveloping me as if someone was embracing me.
"Keep your heart strong and firm, for your nights of suffering are nigh and endless, O' chosen child...Love can be a tool of weakness and strength. And it is up to the wielder to choose which side they want to use." The fading gargantuan eyes were locked on me.
"...As for those two...Rest assured, for they have not awakened yet. Fate is fair to everything. Whether they will come to embrace that power or throw it away, they will choose for themselves."
"..."
I was struck deep in silence.
"...Stay true on your path, and bear the burden you chose to bear. Think a thousand times to the past before you take the step, but never second guess what you have decided."
A gentle stroke of wind caressed me as if telling me that everything was going to be alright.
"...Thank you, Meredith..." I whispered feebly.
"I wish I could do more for you, Child of [][][][]...But my further involvement in this will only do more harm than good for you. But in my stead, my child, Helios, will help you. I can't have such a pure and gentle soul be tainted and twisted due to my own shortcomings. That's why I sent him to you even if I must pay the price."
"You mean...You sacrificed your divinity just to change his fate?" I had a hunch, but apparently, that was the truth.
"Sounds a bit familiar? Like Father like daughter, isn't it? Can you do me a favor and refrain from telling him about this? Knowing it will only break his heart." Chuckled her tenderly.
"...I won't tell him." I nodded.
"Thank you."
Lights rained down endlessly from heaven, basking the world full of it. Just like Meredith's soul that was nigh disappearing, so was the world.
"Will we meet again, Meredith?" I asked.
"Of course, O' chosen child. When the time is right, we will stand side by side. This, I, Meredith, The White Serpent of [][][][], Daughter of [][][][] promises you."
"Then, I'll see you later." I replied with firm determination.
"...May fate shine kind upon your path...Alex...And may the balance...preserve..."
That was Meredith's last word.
The surreal White Serpent, the jungle, hurricanes, and the lights of doom began flickering and hazed. Then, everything vanished like a morning fog in the coming of the dawn.
'May fate shine kind on your path too, Meredith...'