The First Truth (3)

Elensell lightly tapped her fingers together as she held them on her lap, "Of course, that led to new problems. We had no suitable candidates for a hero regardless of how we searched for them. We are incapable of directly imbuing wisdom or knowledge into another's mind. All of the various futures I peered into all ended the same way: Andor's destruction. So, Aeranus and I decided to gamble on a one-time opportunity. It should be known that changing the future is impossible. Fate is one of those strange things that makes it so. So, instead of changing the future, we had to carve out our own. With Aeranus's power and my ability, we delved beyond our universe and sought out other universes where we might find hope. It took decades but we eventually discovered the universe where Earth exists, in its modern-day time. At the cost of a good portion of my soul, I imbued a piece of myself into the mind of a child, who would eventually grow up with 'fantastical' dreams of a world called Andor. With those dreams, they'd create the game that Earth soon experienced."

Luca's mind nearly shattered, audibly, from this confession by the ancient High Priestess. He'd always believed in the multiverse theory, despite there being no true proof of it, but he'd never expected it to be proven with such a method. With the power of a being beyond worlds such as Aeranus and the ability to alter space and time, going through different universes didn't seem too farfetched. However, the thought of breaking part of his soul in order to create a mere chance to save his home was something that caused his entire being to ache. He did not dare imagine the pain it must have caused to Elensell. "A-and then... you found me?"

"Not directly. In fact, you're the fifteenth one I've chosen so far. Aeranus and I have sent our minds back in time fourteen times so far after each of our previous choices failed. They all felt like perfect candidates, but we severely underestimated the... vices of the humans of Earth. Especially the vice of greed. Of the fourteen previous candidates, three became drunk with personal strength and became either serial killers or terrorists. Five retained their good intentions until the demons arrived, after which two fell into madness following massive failures, one committed suicide due to being incapable of handling tragedy, one bravely fought and died beside the Valarian royal family, and one used themself as a catalyst for an enormous mass explosion array on a battlefield, leaving seven. Of those seven, four joined the demons, three out of personal choice and one out of being tortured until they were broken. The last three... all died too early in their missions. The first died due to unexpected complications from a battle wound, the second accidentally blew themself up while training magic and the third died of starvation and exhaustion after his party encountered a wave of demon beasts during a quest, where he barely survived the fight and escaped but eventually succumbed after having the constantly run without being able to stop and recover. In fact, he could have, but his understandable fear made him incapable of rational thought." The Ancient Elf High Priestess stared into Luca's eyes solemnly, "So, to be blunt, you're not special. You're simply the next possible candidate to create a new future for Andor. Even if you fail, Aeranus and I will simply try again and you will return to your previous existence."

Quietude filled the room as shock overtook the minds of all those present. After a long period of uncomfortable silence, a voice spoke up in a slightly angry, slightly horrified tone. "You... you're telling us that... Andor has fallen fourteen times already..?" Norani was the one who spoke, as her mental capabilities were augmented by her divine connection, thus making her thought process faster than the rest.

"Indeed, and of those fourteen times, only one truly showed signs of being capable of achieving our hopes, and that was the fifth person of the ones who retained their good intentions. He selflessly gave up his initial dream of becoming powerful and instead tried to use his knowledge of the future to help others. With no small amount of luck and talent, he adopted the identity of a seer and sought out major figures and gave them rather sketchy but accurate 'fortunes'. He was the first to change the deaths of major figures, such as the Valarian royal family, the first to properly guide the people to the sanctuary of Skyhaven and to the secret within the Atlas Pillar, and the first to speak with myself and Aeranus as well as the only one. Unfortunately, by forgoing personal strength, he eventually fell victim to a well-placed ploy by a double agent of the demons who poisoned him with demonic power. He fought it off honourably, outlasting even the most valiant of warriors in the same circumstances, and even made it to the final battlefield. Sadly, it was not to be, as the horde of demons soon overpowered the final Andorian forces. In his last act of defiance of the demons, he used a formation that he'd gotten from the legacy of the Array Sage to bring the entire battlefield and everyone on it into oblivion as a last-ditch hope." Elensell shook her head sadly, "He was very brave and very nearly succeeded. Sadly, some demons survived, and those demons eventually destroyed the last of the Andorians, marking it as yet another failed attempt to save Andor. He was the fourteenth candidate, and it was through him that we discovered who we really needed for a candidate, and it was someone like him who would willingly do everything to save Andor. However, personal power was still necessary, so we once again had to search for a new candidate." Her galactic eyes stared into Luca's solemnly, "You are the first one we have found to match those criteria. At this stage, I don't have much hope, so I dare not pin any hopes on you. I simply want to see you do your utmost."