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TDE Book 6 Chapter 3 - Difficult Choice
🕑 Added 2024-03-01 21:50:26 +0000 UTC“It’s not opening.”
Calron attempted to turn the page over, but it was strangely glued shut. Not even his strength of a 4th circle was able to nudge it.
“It will one day. When you’re ready to protect the words contained in that book.”
The tiny dove gazed morosely at the rough rustic exterior of the book cover.
“Why can’t you just tell me?”
Calron tried once again to pry the pages open, but it was to no avail. Why did Taranis restrict access to the book? If it was just about his life, there should be nothing that would endanger Calron by knowing. Was there something else inside that book?
“I will… in part. Before I do that, I wanted you to experience the words of that man. Taranis was quite different from you, Calron. He was quiet, gentle, and spoke with a calm assurance.”
The Nature Titan prodded over to another window next to the Blood Titan as she spoke. Calron knew the tiny dove didn’t mean for her words to be an insult, but they certainly felt like that. With a sigh, he put the book back in its original place and turned around to listen patiently to the dove.
He could hear a muffled snicker in the back, as the black piglet, Martial, propped over on his shoulder.
“Hey now, don’t be jealous, you bastard.”
Calron tried to shove away the piglet’s snout from his ears, but the agile Titan simply darted over to his other shoulder.
“You could hear the power thrum in his words, as expected of a Primordial. However, Taranis often liked to travel as a mortal and learn about this sector. It was a stark contrast to the destruction he wielded in his palms. He loved to read books written by mortals and was fascinated by their pursuit of knowledge.”
The Nature Titan spoke warmly, as if she was reliving those memories.
“He believed that the mortals had an inherent limitless potential. Not in their strength, but in their capacity to pass down the knowledge to future generations. This cycle allowed the mortals to constantly improve and grow stronger every few centuries. Taranis wanted to achieve the same.”
The dove’s deep green eyes held Calron’s gaze.
“Is that why he bound his soul to reincarnation?”
Calron asked while Martial plopped his chin on the young man’s head.
“No, he did that because he had no choice. The World’s Law would never let an outsider control the dao of this sector. Despite his terrifying strength as a Primordial, Taranis’ soul was still of someone from an alien sector. Only by reincarnating within this world would he be able to access the dao.”
The Nature Titan glared angrily at Martial, her eyes indicating for the pig to stop messing around.
“But then he’d lose his memories, and the new reincarnated person would have no recollection of what Taranis intended. Is that why he had the Titans to seek out his reincarnations?”
Calron mused.
“Believe it or not, but you’re the first reincarnation of Taranis that we made contact with.”
The Blood Titan interjected at this moment.
“Before you ask why, it’s simply because none of them were willing to abandon their cultivation to become a path walker. Unlike you, some of the previous incarnations had managed to break into the Shackle Lord stage before they became aware of their history.”
“And Taranis knew he’d lose his memories, so he broke a fragment of his primal essence and formed the azure lightning. He imbued his core memories into it, so every reincarnation would have crucial knowledge of what they had to do. However, something happened to the azure lightning that it stopped influencing the reincarnations and simply let them live their life.”
The dove briefly glanced at the Blood Titan before continuing.
“The azure lightning merely protected the inheritor and let them make the choices they wanted. Even if they were detrimental to Taranis’ plan, it still let them make it.”
“Do you know why?”
Calron ignored the drool spilling out of Martial’s snout onto his neck and asked the Nature Titan.
“No. Even I think that’s the wrong path to take. If you at least had some knowledge about what you had to do, it might have been an easier journey with fewer complications. Yet, the azure lightning was adamant in this.”
The dove shook her head softly.
“You wanted to know how to get back your lightning, right?”
The Nature Titan asked Calron, her voice turning a bit somber. Even the Blood Titan subtly adjusted himself.
Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Calron nodded his head.
“When Taranis split his soul in two, one half of it integrated into this world, while the other half in the azure lightning remained tied to the old sector. On a fundamental level, you can never merge the two, since the moment your half of the soul joined with this sector, the two soul pieces are no longer compatible.”
Calron’s eyes widened in alarm, but his eyes remained steadfast on the tiny dove.
“The only way to get your lightning back is to destroy the azure lightning inside you and have it reborn inside this sector. This way, your souls will once again become compatible and you’ll have complete control over the Divine Element, unlike what you experienced before.”
The Nature Titan finished, waiting for Calron to respond.
“Destroy the azure lightning?”
Calron muttered to himself. Even Martial appeared to have retreated and let Calron dwell within his thoughts. The young man would have to make a critical decision now. Its impact would decide the fate of this sector.
Wouldn’t that kill the electric snake?
Calron pondered, as he remembered the first time azure lightning merged with him. He was only a child and was so scared and alone back then. The azure lightning gave him Ezkael, his teacher. Calron was still waiting for the day he’d ascend to the divine realm and reunite with Ezkael, but could he do that after killing the azure lightning? He knew Ezkael also had a bond with the electric snake.
The Titans stood still as they silently watched Calron. None of them tried to offer their thoughts. It was a choice Calron had to make on his own.
“If I don’t destroy the azure lightning, I’ll never be able to use lightning ever again?”
Calron spoke the words slowly, his bloodshot eyes gazing at the Titans before him.
“No.”
The Nature Titan confirmed resolutely.
“Then I don’t need it. I’ll find another way to face against the Primordials.”
Calron laughed bitterly. He couldn’t destroy the azure lightning. When he was abandoned by everyone, it was the azure lightning that had protected him. Their souls might have drifted apart, but Calron couldn’t bring himself to kill the electric snake. He didn’t know how much of Taranis was left inside that soul, but it didn’t matter anymore.
The azure lightning was his protector.
It was his family.
“If you don’t destroy it, the Primordials will crush you when they discover that you’re Taranis’ reincarnation.”
In a rare instance, it was the Martial Titan that spoke this time to Calron. There was no longer a goofy expression on the black pig’s face. There was a dignified solemnity behind that aura.
“What use is that power when every time I’d use it, it’ll remind me of the friend I’d killed to obtain it.”
Calron shook his head vehemently. What was the point of going against the Primordials if he committed the same crime as them? He might never be able to meet the azure lightning ever again, but at least it’ll be alive and join the next reincarnation after him.
“I told you he was the one.”
After a few seconds of silence, the Blood Titan chuckled and turned his head towards the Nature Titan.
“It’s not like I wanted to do this as well. It was Taranis’ will.”
The Nature Titan grumbled, but Calron could feel a trace of joy from the dove’s words.
“I knew you were a good bastard!”
The Martial Titan reverted back to his childish self and landed back on Calron’s shoulder.
“Huh?”
Calron stared at the Titans in confusion.
“Nature previously told you that Taranis wanted to achieve what the mortals did: to pass down their knowledge to the future generations. You thought it was his reincarnation. It wasn’t. Taranis wanted to pass down his greatest invention he created as a Primordial.”
This time, it was the Blood Titan that stood before Calron and explained.
“Invention?”
Calron cocked his eyebrows.
“Taranis knew that his reincarnations would be able to access the dao once their soul became a part of this sector. This meant one of the restrictions was solved. The issue was with the elemental cultivation. A path walker could never awaken with an element. They were two completely different systems.”
The Martial Titan kept patting Calron on the back, but the latter ignored him and focused on what the Blood Titan said next.
“Taranis’ invention is something you’ve already come across Calron. It’s the Titan core. And that will let you re-awaken your lightning element once again.”
