CHAPTER 4.6: The Cottage

"In what way did they see that I could possibly replace a Supreme God?"

"Andrea, who are you trying to fool? You have an incredible amount of magic, and on top of that, you can use all types of magic, be it ancient magic, dark magic, or even light. You can use it all. Because of the amount of magic you have had since birth, your tiny body, could not handle it, and you will die. As a result, the Goddess Aster offered your parents something they did not agree with."

"What did the Goddess offer?" For my parents to deny something from the Goddess is a big deal. No one has ever denied a God before, and if someone were to deny a gift or anything from the Goddess, the church will go against that someone and will treat them as an enemy.

"Your tiny body could not handle the great amount of magic in you, but once that is fixed, you will have to live in The Abode of Gods, away from your parents and away from the childhood that you are supposed to have." I can already guess what happened. Most likely, my parent did not like the idea of me getting taken away from them, and they wanted me to have a childhood.

"Since they did not take that offer, what did they do to save me from dying?" If I was destined to die because of the amount of magic inside me, what did my parents do to save me? For some reason, I have a bad feeling when I hear the answer to my question.

"Your parents summoned the Deviant King and made a deal with him." I am in shock by what I just heard. Out of everyone they went asking for help, they made a deal with a Deviant? The ruler of the Deviants at that!

"W-What kind of deal did they make?" I'm scared to know, but I need answers—answer to the reason why this sword is rejecting me.

"In exchange for your body to be stable and able to withstand the magic in you, the Deviant King infused his blood into you. In other words, you have a blood of a Deviant, and you are related to the Deviant King. That is the reason why the sword is rejecting your presence."

The enemy of the world is related to me. Why did they make a deal with the Deviant King to save me? They could have taken Goddess Aster's offer to save me instead! I'm sure even with that deal, the Goddess herself will let me see them whenever and still have a childhood. So why do they have to make a deal like that just for me?

"The war with the Deviants from twenty years ago, was that because of me?" I have heard so many horrors about that war. Many families have lost a loved one, and to be the reason why that happened is going to make me feel guilty for the rest of my life.

"Because of the blood infused in you, the Deviant King has a chance to control you at a certain age. The Gods did not like the idea of you being controlled by the Deviant King. Although it is not the same, you are a child of the Goddess Aster. From what I heard, she blessed your mother while you were still in her womb. Your presence is similar to the Goddess."

Each word this lady is saying makes me more confused about my connections to the Goddess and the Deviant King. I know what she is saying, but what is so special about me that they would go to war to have me? It may be a rare case because I can use any type of magic element, but that is it. Other than that, I am no Deviant or a holy being.

"Andrea, don't think so lowly of yourself. You are the chosen child that everyone has been waiting for centuries. For the Deviant King, you are the key to the success of conquering everything, including The Abode of God. For the Supreme Goddess, you are the hope of every being."

Hearing that, I can only think that these two rulers only think of me as someone they use for their ideals. One wants control of everything, and the other wants a protector of beings. From how I look at it, no matter where I run or hide, I cannot escape my destiny. It is a choice between going to the good side or the wrong side. Either way, I cannot choose any destiny other than those two choices. My unavoidable destiny.

"The war from twenty years was not about the Deviants invading us, and the war is about who will be able to hold you. Your parents did not like either choice, so they chose their own. A choice that cost their lives. Two days after the war started, your parents found an ancient curse that even the Deviant King and the Gods and Goddesses can never break."

"A powerful curse that even the Supreme Goddess can't break?" Is the curse my parents found the reason why the saints and holy magic users are not around anymore? Are they why the world is on the verge of panicking for its future?

"Yes, a sleeping curse, but a higher level curse. No one knows who made that curse. It did force both sides to stop. The Deviant King and the Supreme Goddess are in a deep sleep. However, that is about to change, and most likely, another war is about to happen."

"What do you mean by that? Another war?" Another war between two sides is the last thing the people need right now. They are already panicking that the Gods and Goddesses have already left them, and for a war to come at this time will not make things better.

"The Deviant King's sleeping curse is slowly disappearing. The Deviant King's followers seem to have found a way to lift the curse. Once that curse is broken, the Deviant King will emerge again, and horror will be all over the Five Lands." Just the thought of the darkness engulfing the Five Lands once again, I fear the worse.

"In the end, my parents died for nothing. They are the cause of all of this, and they are not here to stop it." Before hearing all this, all my life, I have been trying to live up to their names, but to think they put such a burden on me is unacceptable. If they did not want the help of the Goddess, they should have let me die instead of making a deal with the Deviant King.

"Don't say that, Andrea. They did not die for anything. Cedric and Aria did everything they could just to save you, for you to have life without the burden of being the next successor of being the next Supreme Goddess."

"Yeah! Because of that, many people died in a war they created, making a deal with the Deviant King. Seriously, out of all things, that is the ridiculous thing they could have done. Heroes? Hah! Don't make me laugh."