Today is the day me, Low and Aktor go to Dia to try and find Aktor's daughter of a past life Ailmish. I was surprised to see that Aktor and Lex had something between them that made the air around them hostile. Don't know why. I even asked them, but neither would say anything.
We then went to Dia. The first island we went through was the island that had the capital city of Deroth on it. Island is called Terius and the city is called Gamide. We searched around and only heard rumors of her being in one of the islands. The places we were pointed to were numerous and laked any good evidence. But since we had no other leads, we decided to start going around the islands one by one.
We spend many six days and found nothing conclusive. Only rumors and such. We spend five more days, and still nothing. At least I got to see what Dia was like. Ten more days were spend with no results. We even did some jobs on these days, which slowed our progress a bit.
Then we got to the island where it all started according to Aktor. The island called Jiray with the village that was formerly named Deroth. The island had two seperate villages and one town at the center. We went to the town first to see if we could hear anything new. The locals told us that she was indeed in this island and she is a local selebrity. We asked if we could meet her and they said that she was located near the village called Derous, the former Deroth village. We paid for the information, which was seen as unnecessary.
When we got there, we asked around and we found that there was someone named Ailmish in one of the building. We asked if we could see her, and they went to ask her if it was okay. Apparently she accepted and we got to meet her.
She was an old demon woman with two horns curling downwards from the sides of her head something like a ram horns. She had purple eyes, two tails which were different sizes and a long gray hair. Aktor seemed surprised and was still for a moment. Then the lady says with an old voice.
- Nice spear you have there.
- Thank you.
- My father had a spear just like that when I was young.
- Hah, what a coincidence.
- Indeed.
- ...
- Is it you father?
- How can I be? Your father has died long ago.
- Don't be like that. Mother told us children everything before she passed. All of us knew that you will one day change your form.
- She did that huh.
- So you aren't denying it.
- ...
- It's been a while.
- Over 2000 years.
- 2723 years to be exact.
- You have been counting.
- Of course I have. The reason why I'm still alive is because I had something that I had to do.
- What is it you had to do?
- To meet you and tell you to go and meet mother.
- Why would you need to be around to tell me that. She told me to go and meet her herself.
- She knew you would hesitate. Have you still gone there?
- No.
- Then it was worth to wait all this time.
- You could just have gone to rest. I didn't want you to wait this long.
- But I did anyways.
- What have you been doing all this time?
- Waiting for you. As to how I spend that time, I helped with the agriculture around this island and gave guidance to the young. For some reason, I have become some local selebrity for some people.
- Then I think it's about time for you to go to rest.
- I will. Don't worry. And we will meet again.
- What do you mean?
- Mother made a spell that makes us reincarnate after our deaths. The others have probably lived couple of lives already.
- She did what? I mean, reincarnation is possible, but to do it on purpose. That is unheard of.
- But she did it anyways. You have a chance to ask her yourself when you go Wiyrn. Now then. Can I have a hug?
- A hug?
- Yes, for my reward for waiting for so long.
- If that's all you want.
They then hug.
- Ahh, I missed this feeling. Now that, that is done, I can finally pass on.
- Sleep well.
- Don't worry. As I said, we will meet again.
We then left the house and informed the others that they might ought to look out for Ailmish's health from now on. They were bit confused, but since she was so old, they didn't see it as something completely out of the blue. We then thought our options. I asked.
- Now how do we get to the realm of the dead?
- I have no idea. Maybe Lex? How about you Aktor?
Aktor thought for a moment and said.
- With his remaining power, I doubt that Lex can do it. I guess there is no other option.
- What option.
- Our safest bet is to rely on Amire. Wheter or not she can actually do it is something we will have to find out. The other option is to ask Mors, but I don't want the god of death to get involved with this.
- Didn't you four do anything that could help us to get to the realm of the dead?
- The realms of the dead are to be separated from the realm of the living. That was our view on this.
- So could you gone there even in your original forms?
- In our true forms, yes. But not with anything other than that. The realm of the dead doesn't support the living. The same way ghosts and undead spirits have to have a great will to stay in the realm of the living.
- Then what will happen when we enter Wiyrn?
- Our bodies will be constantly rejected by the realm. Staying there will feel awfull on us.
- Why did you have to make it like that?
- To make sure people stay in their respective realms. If the system wasn't like this, we would see much more ghosts and undead spirits roaming around. It is more common for ghosts to appear, since all ghosts start their journey from the living world. If they reject their death hard enough, they will be able to stay in the living realm, but their bodies will constantly feel the pull from the realm of the living.
- That makes sense. Now are we going to call Amire now?
- Hold on a minute.
Aktor does something. While later we see Amire appear from out of nowhere.
- You needed me for something father?
- Depends. Have your spacial abilities reached the point where you can traverse to the realms of the dead as well?
- I can do that. But why do you need to go there?
- I have someone waiting for me.
- Who.
- One of my former wifes.
- I see. ... While I have mixed feelings about this, I will help you. What realm do you need to enter?
- Wiyrn.
- I see. Do you want all of them to enter?
- If they want to do it, then sure.
Amire looks at me and Low. We both nod.
- Then, since you will have someone who has spacial abilities as well, I will teach her how to get you all out of there in one piece.
She does something with Low for a while. When they were done, Amire asked Aktor.
- Are you ready?
- *Breathe* Ready.
- Okay then.
She does a thing and we enter Wiyrn. We see blue grass all around us. The whole place has a small tint of blue everywhere. And this feeling. It's like I'm being torn appart from the inside, but still hanging there. I really don't want to feel like this for long.
We started walking around, asking if anyone has seen Eilish or someone like her. All of the dead were surprised to see a living person in there. They said that there was an very old dead soul with that name, hanging around near the path that leads to the edge of acceptance. Watching for all those who are ready to go back to the cycle. She had a building built just for her. She would talk to the people who were about to return to the cycle about all kinds of things. She told people who asked, that she is waiting for someone important.
That was where we had to go, so we started walking. It took couple of days. We didn't feel tired, but we felt awful all the time while walking. Then we finally saw a blue tower of light coming from somewhere. That must be the edge of acceptance. While walking towards it, we saw a small hut near the road that lead to the edge. We saw a woman standing near the hut. It looked like the woman that Aktor described. It must have been Eilish. We walked closer and she started talking with Aktor.
- Nice spear you have there.
- Indeed. It is very important to me.
- Would you like to tell me where you got it from?
- I created it.
- Did you know?
- I did.
- Huh.
- ...
- ...
- It's been a while Titus.
- It's Aktor now. But yes, it sure has been Eilish.
- For a while I feared that you might have already...
She shakes her head.
- But I was driven to keep waiting. Just for this moment to come true.
- Sorry it took me so long.
- At least you know how to keep a woman waiting. It's not good thing to do you know.
- Sorry.
- Now then. *Breathes in*
She starts running towards Aktor and when she was close enough, she leaped at him to get a hug and made Aktor fall to the ground with her. She was hugging him while they both were on the ground. She was kissing his face all over, rubbing her face across Aktor's face and smelling him. Her tail was wagging all over the place. She continued to do all those things as she talked.
- Aahh, this is it. I've been waiting for this moment. Even if you have a different body, you still eminate the same smell as you did back then.
- I missed you too.
- Oh, I'm glad that I still can touch you in this place. I was afraid that I might not be able to.
- I know you missed this, but can you stop? It's embarasing.
- Oh, such a shy boy you are. What's wrong with a little skinship every now and then in public?
- I understand how you feel, but...
- No buts, its snuggling time.
- But.
- snuggling time.
- Agh.
They continued to do things on the ground for a while. After an hour had passed, she rose up and helped Aktor up as well. She then cleaned up the dust from his clothes, as well as her own. When she was done, she started speaking with Aktor.
- So now that I'm done with the fun part, let me ask you a question. Ahem!
She got close to Aktor's ear and started whispering to him.
- Who the hell are these people?
- They are...
- They better not be one of your lovers. I swear, when you walked around the town, I never could rest easy that you wont cheat on me. I mean, I was fine with girls for a most part, as long as it didn't get serious, but you flirted with guys as well. You never actually cheated on me as far as I know, but you still got me on the edge every time you started chating with other people. I had to worry if you flirsted with others each time. And don't get me started when I heard that you had lived multiple lives.
- I haven't been like that with them, I swear. You can ask them too. They are just my friends. And don't start with that again. I never actually cheated on you. I just played around to see how people would act. I told you this countless times.
She grabbed his shoulder and continued to whisper.
- And I have told you countless times, that it still annoys me. You probably didn't even know about you fan club.
- I had a fan club?
- Yes, you did. And I had to make sure those letters didn't get too frisky. I always read their letters before I would hand them to you.
- So those what those letters were. And can you stop whispering to my ear. It's getting uncomfortable.
She stops whispering in his ear and let's go of his shoulder. She then smiled innocently.
- *Breathes* Now that I got that of my chest. What are their names?
- The man is Nor and the woman is Low.
- Nor and Low huh. Pleasure to know you.
She smiled at us.
- Hope my husband hasn't caused much trouble on you.
- No he hasn't. He actually tought me and Low how to fight.
- Is that so. Well he was always skilled in that type of thing. Congrats on making it this far. It deserves a round of aplause. Clap clap clap clap clap clap.
She claped her hands while saying it.
- Though I must say, you two seem quite experienced in fighting.
- You can tell?
- Easily. I have seen many warriors in my time. Oh, that means both in life life and dead life. Does that make sense? ... I think it makes sense. You got me what I'm saying, right Titus?
She looks at Aktor expectantly.
- It makes sense when you know the context.
- Great! Now we can all clap for understanding it. Clap clap clap clap calp.
She claps her hands again as she says so.
- Now then Titus, how has you life been while I was here?
- I've seen many things. Had couple of more children, one of which probably hates me, and found many people I can call friends. I even met with all of my siblings in a way.
- That sounds lovely dear Titus. I also had made many friends here. Many have faded over time or passed on willingly, but more just keep on coming. It was boring at first though when most of the people were people that knew who I was and claimed I'm "the ruler of Wiyrn!" Or so they said. I did meet couple of former enemies here as well. We got along soon enough when there wasn't any authority to be had. Oh, and just a while earlier, my old friend came to say that she will pass on soon willingly.
- To be honest, I was worried you had already faded away. After all, it's been so long.
- Don't be like that. There are even older souls here than me. I had to wait for my time to return to the cycle.
- Speaking of the cycle, I heard that you did something that made you reincarnate.
- So Ailmish told you. *Sigh* I was hoping I was the one who told you. What a bummer.
- Right. Care to explain it?
- Explain what Titus?
She looked at Aktor with a innocent look on her face while holding her hands behind her back.
- How can you, a mortal, find how to manipulate a thing, that none of my siblings fully understood. Something that was unintensional and broke the rules of the cycle. But you found an answer to manipulate it. How, can, you, do, it?
- Eheh.
- Don't "eheh" me.
- What's the big deal? I just made a small thing that allowed us to have our memories in our next life.
- But... what if it breaks something in the long run?
- That's your and your siblings fault then. I might be the only one who figured it out, but someone else can do too.
- You... is there a proof that it works?
- There is. Our children have passed here multiple times already. Though I feel sorry for couple of them who had to live a terrible start of a life. They managed to pull through though and they weren't blaming me for it.
- That's... *Sigh* My brother is going to have an headache when I tell him this.
- Don't worry about it too much. Things just happen and you move on.
- You are literaly breaking the rules of the cycle.
- Details, details. Look, it's just going to happen. A happy accident.
Why did you have to do it in the first place?
- Obviously so that you don't have to be alone. All our children agreed with me on this.
- You... Because of that... *Sigh* Whatever.
- Good. Now we can move on to the next topic.
- Next topic?
- Care to tell me how you got here?
- What does it matter?
- It matters if it was another of your lovers.
- She was my daughter.
- Hmm... A daughter you say.
- To be clear, that one was born even before I met you.
- Hmm... And you explained the situation to her?
- Yes.
- Poor girl. Having to deal with her father's other family matters.
- It was the only option I had. Even my brother doesn't have the ability. The next thing would have been to call Mors to send me here as a living being.
- Then you should have done that.
- You think that it's better to call a literal god to aid me than just calling your own daughter?
- I do, yes. Poor girl had to do something awkward.
- I don't get your point. You can't just call a god for an favor just like that.
- But you have the ability to do so, yes?
- I do, but...
- Then no excuses. Remember to appologise to her when you next meet her.
- I mean, I could call her here right now.
- Have you been listening what I said? Whatever, just bring her here.
Aktor called Amire here and she asked.
- Why did you call me here. Did Low have problems with getting out of here?
- No. The person I came to see, she wants to talk with you.
- Oh her?
She looks at Eilish who waves her hand.
- What do you want me here for?
- It must be awkward to talk to me isn't it.
- A bit. But I know that father has had many partners over the years. Because of that, I kind of got over it.
- You know you father well. Now then, my name is Eilish. And this lovely lady that I'm talking to is?
- Amire. My mother is Carbon.
- Oh, such a big figure. Should I treat you with respect?
- No need. I don't really care about that.
- Okay then Amire, what can you tell me that Titus has done over the years, other than having fun with people?
- I don't know much. I just got to know it was him couple months ago.
- Is that so.
Eilish looks at Aktor for a moment.
- *Sigh* You have such a lovely daughter, yet you decide to stay out of her life.
- I explained this to you back then. I wanted to live as a normal person each life. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have revealed myself to them in the first place.
- And you still feel lonely. For all that is good in the world, you really want to make things difficult for yourself.
- It's not that simple.
- There you go again. You are such a difficult man to deal with, aren't I right Amire?
Amire answers.
- I can't agree more. He was absent for the most part in the war, but in the end he was ready to kill his son without a second thought.
- Killing your own son?! Titus!
Eilish looks at Aktor with angry look on her face.
- He literaly killed millions of people. He had to be punished somehow.
- Even so, killing wont solve everything.
- In this case, you are unfortunately correct.
- You sound like you regret the choice of letting him go.
- His punishment feels off. Even if I made it myself, I still think he would need to suffer more.
- What was the punishment?
- To put it simply, to help everyone in need for 1000 years.
- That's plenty.
- Why am I the only one not satisfied? I should have made it 2000 years.
- He is your son.
- And he must answer for his crimes.
- You... Well at least you gave him a second chance. That is something I suppose.
- ...
Eilish then smiles, gets close to Aktor and starts poking him at the cheek with a smug look on her face. Then she says.
- You little brat.
Aktor looks for a moment and then says while smiling.
- You cheeky rulebreaker.
- Now now, what is this? I never broke any rules, I just bended the scope of them.
- Still that is something worth calling you rulebreaker.
- You little...
She starts poking him with both her hands.
- Stop that.
- Hehe. Now why would I do that dear Titus?
- You...
She continued to poke him while the rest of us just watched in the side. Wondering what is going on. Amire then said.
- If that is all, I'm going to leave now. If Low can't get you three out, then feel free to call me.
- W-wait.
- What is it Eilish?
- Just... *breathes* Take care.
Amire smiles and says.
- You too.
Then she leaves.
- Now then. Do we have anything else to chat about?
- ...
- I guess there isn't. Then this will be the last time we meet while I look like this. The next time we meet, I hope you will still accept me if I'm ugly.
- Of course.
- And...
She whispers something in Aktor's ear that I couldn't hear. Then she turns around ans says.
- I have couple of things to do first before I return to the cycle. But don't worry, I will do that as soon as I'm done here. Now Low, could you please help them leave from this place? It must start to feel unbearable for you all.
- Understood.
Low then starts to concentrate to send us out of here. We then see Eilish waving her hand, so me and Aktor do the same. Then we disappear and we find ourselfs in Lex's room. I ask.
- Why are we here?
- I figured Aktor wants to speak with Lex soon, so I brought us here.
Lex speaks.
- Of course you would appear out of nowhere. So was your mission succesful?
Aktor answers.
- It was.
- I'm surprised. I didn't think that the woman Eilish would still be there after such a long time.
- We then thought the same thing.
- Anything interesting happen?
- Yes. Something that will shake your world.
- Hoh. And what might that be?
- You remember the thing about people reincarnating with their memories intact?
- Of course I do.
- You remember how we never figured out how it worked?
- Yes. That still keeps me thinking from time to time.
- Remember how long ago I said that I met Eilish?
- Over 2000 years ago.
- Closer to 2700 years.
- What has those things have to do with... No...
- Yes.
- Don't tell me she...
- Yes she has.
- You mean to tell me that mortal...
- Has figured how to manipulate something we never even understood.
- You... She... Ehm... Well... I'm lost for words.
- I can immagine that.
- But... How did she...
- She just did.
- It's been out there for that long. And I didn't know about it?
- I... I need a drink.
- It's not often you say that. But what a coincidence. Me too.
Lex then teleports with Aktor to somewhere else. Probably somewhere to drink. Me and Low then are left to wonder what to do. Since we had nothing better to do, we decided to go to Atlas to go and play with Nina. So we spend the rest of the day.
Maybe I should have made the meeting between Ailmish and Aktor a bit longer. Though they did say the things that really mattered. At least the things that I thought mattered.
I think I could have made the search for both Ailmish and Eilish a bit more detailed so that it would add some length to this chapter, but I saw it as something that most of the readers wouldn't care that much of it. That's my opinion anyways. Maybe I'm wrong and I will decide to edit the search a to be more detailed later on. But as it now stands, I think it is okay.
I also don't know if I will ever adress this in any of the future chapters, but yes, Deroth empire has existed more than 2723 years. It has changed it's borders many times as well as it's policies, but the empire itself still exists. Though the royal lineage has died off, there still is an empress and an emperor. The lineage thing will be adressed in the next chapter.
There actually exists two variations of future, since I decided this one out of two ones. One is this one where Nor convinced Aktor to go and search for Ailmish and Eilish. The other is where he didn't manage to convince Aktor to go. I wont say anything about the other future's plot points, since I don't know if I will use it later or not. I am leaning heavily on not implementing it, since I don't know how I would do it. Maybe an alternative chapter or a whole alternative volume or sidestory. We will see.