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Chapter 349: A Promise Remembrance. [Release Version]
🕑 Added 2022-09-04 01:37:36 +0000 UTCSong! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQK9itJT4LA
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<Your connection with Peolynca has been severed. Connection with Peolynca’s Divine System has been canceled. This will be your last message until you return. May the Origin Gods bless you>
Profile.
…?
Shit.
Admittedly, this message wasn’t actually the first thing I saw when I woke up from a pretty restless sleep. In fact, I had first seen Saori, Tasianna, and all the others friends I made in this world before me, greeting me and pushing me to eat breakfast. I thought nothing of it at first, just finding this small moment of reprieve pleasant.
Still, it didn’t take me long to realize something.
Jealousy. Envy.
“Hahaha, don’t worry, Hestia, in two more years, I will evolve into an A rank and will become so strong, I will be able to protect you. Any enemies you have, I will take them out! Just, don’t worry about your cute head and stay put, alright?”
“Lady Hestia, Her Imperial Majesty, has taught me the secrets of the ice element. I can wield cold beyond your understanding now, so strong your flames cannot even melt them anymore! Do not worry, my lady, all your foes will be destroyed by me.”
"Hestia, I've reached 100 percent assimilation with Klea and also got the aberration from the dungeon. I can now turn into a true demon without any of the side effects! Our enemies will never know what took them down!”
“Gahahahaha, lass, I managed to do it! A weapon to surpass even dragons! A weapon and armor so strong, not even the demons can fathom what I have made. Gahahaha, but how could they? My mind is beyond their understanding! Gahahahaha, this is the steel to take down Bleidla.”
How fun. Was what I thought at that moment, feeling sour as they bragged about their new abilities, all while I had a problem on my hand.
“I’m sorry, my whelpling, your core has been destroyed permanently. If you were to evolve right now, the mana inside you would surge from that core area and explode. It would destroy your heart before your metamorphosis can begin. Please, don’t evolve.”
How unfair. Why is this happening to me? Why am I such a burden to everybody.
“Don’t worry, Hestia, stay back! We will destroy the demonkins for you!” Saori said before waving me goodbye with everybody else, leaving me behind as they moved to the final battle.
“Stop! Please, don’t leave me behind! I’m not useless, arrrrgh, dammit, why is this happening to me, again! WHY?!”
… Life sure sucked.
…
… That’s all the information you’ll get out of me, you piece of shit!
I snapped my head around, staring at a certain spot in the ceiling, eyeing two huge balls of mana in the distance. This was exactly the moment when my mind cleared up and noticed that System message, and it was all I needed to understand what was going on. Even without the System, I could still use anything inherent to my body, from my mana to my dragon abilites.
Mana Eyes wasn’t just a skill, it was part of my eyes. I could see this was all an illusion.
Urgk…
I did have to look away in the end, though, since the concentration of mana was too strong for me to keep watching for too long. Still, this did give me some time to look at the fake copies of my friends, waving at me with impish smiles.
So this is what you’re doing, huh? Watching me suffer? You asses.
I remembered what happened just moments ago. Mother had been swallowed up by the demonkin’s small dimension breach, or at least that's what Aurena called it, and in the process, I jumped right into it to save her. She saved me, therefore I should do the same. In addition, she was my mother, and the last thing I wanted to do was to lose another mom and have a mom lose her only daughter.
In any case, how was I supposed to feel comfortable inside here, given this was obviously an illusion? The mana felt dusty, grainy as it entered my body. I thought since those demonkins were responsible for this, I thought this place would be swamped with their mana, but it felt different here. I felt like my body was rejecting the nasty mana here, while at the same time, I could feel my mana escaping from my body.
Even without the Divine System, I was still a dragon in this world. Aside from System skills, I could do everything not related to the System. Which was funny, since if [Identify] hadn’t evolved into [Mana Eyes], I wouldn’t have been able to use it. What a coincidence, honestly.
… But, the real reason why I wasn’t tricked by this place was obvious.
As if I would feel jealous of them! Do you really think I would stand aside even if I couldn't level up?
Yes, I was perfectly okay with all the members of Aurora becoming stronger than me. There would always be someone at the top and someone at the bottom, as I fully understood back on Earth. For nearly two years, I had been the strongest Aurora member. In this time, I had helped all of them grow in their own ways, and if they had to grow, they had to find their own strength.
The moment I understood Saori could evolve into an A rank before me, I understood it was only a matter of time until she surpassed me. I still wanted to get stronger until then, and maybe even stay on the top after her evolution. However, I also understood after everything that I didn’t have to rely on myself.
My Gluttony was my relationship with everybody, and while I wished to preserve them, I also understood that it could all end one day. Ellaine and Grimnir couldn’t live as long as Saori and Tasianna could. However, despite knowing this, I would persist and fight for them. I would keep them safe when they needed me, and I would smile and laugh with them every chance I got.
And in that sense, it didn’t matter if they became more powerful than me. I would simply keep rising above, challenging them to become better. After all, if I were the strongest person in the world, what would make them stronger than me?
Even if I couldn’t evolve and was max level locked, I would transcend that through Jobs. If I were to run out of Jobs to grind, I would strengthen my profile with stats and skills. If those also stopped increasing, then I would direct my attention towards custom spells and abilities. Even if this method were to fail, I would rely on equipment and turn my life over to become a craftswoman.
In Peolynca, there were myriads of ways to improve. As an idol, my song and dance couldn’t be snuffed out while I was still alive, and as a dragon, I longed for even more.
And the enemy thought they could kill my melody in this musty place? As if!
When I screamed this out, a sharp pain shot through my brain. I saw a large city, a cutely decorated room, a loving mother, a caring nanny, a friendly chauffeur and tutor, an inspiring instructor, and a worried father. My memories were starting to return, again, and in the middle of all of this, I saw a black-haired girl.
It was my past self.
I knew it instinctively. In addition to having the same face, she also had the same mannerisms and thoughts. They were all coming to me, and that was when I also began hearing voices. My voice, echoing inside this place like a cave.
I didn’t know where I was, but I had to find what was causing all these sounds. Mother was in the back of my mind, but I couldn’t sense her mana or her scent. Without any clue, I couldn’t search for her, but with my head hurting like hell, I had to stop this illusion first before I committed to looking for her.
In the process, I noticed the world around me melting and twisting before it splintered into a number of mirror shards. Touching any of them transported me into the same world I just left, the only difference was a different sight. It was here when one of those voices became fully audible.
“Stop it! Stop it! Arrrgrh, THESE VOICES!”
That was when my eyes widened when I saw myself fighting off the same illusions I just had, only in a different setting. Was it my clone? No, I felt a connection between us. Something intimate beyond common sense. It was like this person was part of my mind.
“Manager Mind?” I spoke unconsciously towards my look-alike, shaking her awake from her problem. She turned around; sweat drenched her horrified expression, before it softened into hope.
“Original Mind!”
Manager Mind, my first parallel mind. Just like in my mental space, she and the others mimicked my appearance as they were literally copies of my mind. This was a literal “What the fuck, two Hestias?!” moment, but when she hugged me and even cried out her complaints of this place, it felt normal. Normal as always.
“There, there…” I caressed her head like a caring sister.
“Don’t you ‘There, there’ me! I can still read your mind!” However, my little sister was a bit obstinate, right? “I heard that!”
However, she wasn’t the only one who had to experience this. Just like the two of us, my other parallel minds were also in trouble, but the moment I appeared, the shock and pain they felt from my friends’ words cleared up. The dagger holding them down loosened at my words.
“Arrrgrh, dammit, did you really have to see me in that state?! Verdammt nochmal!” #2 screamed, totally embarrassed.
“Jeez, it felt sooooo bad. I felt like I wasn’t even myself for a moment. Can’t believe I thought like that…” #3 chastised herself.
“It reminded me of some terrible memories. Being useless before them… being a burden. It reminds me of when we turned berserk with [Battle Frenzy (Moderate)] after escaping the Belzac forest.” #4 massaged her temples, looking like sorrow was taking over her.
“… I thought you would forget about me for being useless,” #5 looked at me mournfully. Her eyes struck a chord in my heart.
All of them represented a part of myself. No one knew me better than my ten parallel minds. They experienced my illusions all in their own ways, and the outcomes all differed since they each represented a different one of my emotions. From what I remembered, memories were stored in the brain, but at the same time, memories also lingered inside the soul.
To cleanse a soul for rebirth was to wipe away all their memories.
If my parallel minds were acting out of order until the moment I appeared before them, then it meant this place wasn’t my mind. The two large mana balls I felt before suggested this really was a separate place from before. This place wasn’t extracting information from my mind, but from my very soul.
I became even more convinced once I rescued the remaining five minds. Not a single one of them looked like “Hestia,” but rather as my other, human self. 15-year-old high schoolers with sullen looks, mostly caused by the rather annoying promise I made to myself to never cry. I held all my emotions inside myself, bottling them up with my tears. However, the more I bottled them, the more likely everything would leak. Unfortunately, I didn’t let anything out, and when I reached its maximum capacity…
Boom!
“Urgh, come on, Clyde. Could you please drive me there?”
I focused again on that voice. I saw them — my family. Papa, Mama, Nanny, Clyde. There was also Hayhoon, my dancing instructor, and also my three best friends — Elizabeth, Virginia, and Claire.
I could finally see their faces. That memory had returned, although my past name was still unknown to me. That was when I understood I wasn’t the only one trapped in here, but also my other self. My parallel minds being in here was just a side effect from being a person who had multiple soul personality disorder, just like how [Parallel Thoughts] was created ‘cause of my splintered soul.
Just, I didn’t understand how my souls were suffering one moment, but the next they turned back to normal. I wasn’t haughty enough to say my presence alone was all that was needed, but it sure seemed that way.
“You! Wake up!” I shouted as I made my way into her mind, only to feel like she was trying to reject me. Just like before, it felt like my other self was trying to keep me away from all these memories.
However, I persisted. I felt something was draining me with this annoying headache, and I had to get over it in order to find Mother. I couldn’t let this person keep going like this!
… But, that was when that happened.
“Hiek! Hiek huek huek huek. Hirk!”
There, I stared at her, no, at me. In the bathroom, sitting alone in the bath without any water holding up an ink pen. With eyes devoid of any passion, her arm just jerked on its own… I saw blood. I felt a dull pain from my throat. I saw the sad truth of my…
… Of my death.
… You idiot. You damn, idiot! Why?! Why!? Why?!
I now fully understood why Aurena didn’t want to fully regenerate my soul all at once, as it would just overwhelm me with the truth. She wanted me to slowly ingest everything, until the moment finally came for me to face it. It was why my past self wanted me to forget it all. The greatest sin I could have committed to my parents.
Rob them of a daughter.
“We were idiots… Verdammt,” I scolded myself, biting my lips as I trembled at that fact. I died…
… And all I could think about was how my past self felt. Even now, I could sense her guilt, her self-torment, and her wish to be forgotten. She wanted to fully die to escape this shame of hers. In a moment of weakness after seeing our rival become a trainee before us, we didn’t want to feel her triumph shoved in our face and question all we’ve lived for.
Was all the effort we put in a waste of time? Would it have been better to just accept Papa’s proposal and transition into a normal popstar or even an opera singer? In hindsight, I should have just used the internet to spread my voice, but I was just a stubborn fool back then. Too tunnel visioned into my ideal. Too stupid to see the stages placed before me, ignoring them for the “perfect” one.
However, where did I begin my debut? On a muddy platform I had to create myself with the help of my friends. I didn’t care how I did it, I just wanted to get my voice heard. Low budget? I didn’t care, my voice was heard and I felt my tears dry up at the sound of Carine village cheering for me. I felt… full of bliss. At peace.
How I wished I had met Saori and Tasianna in my past life. How I wished I had listened to my parents to not chase after the light, only to burn down and fall like Icarus into the abyss. My “Daedalus” cried, warned me to not strive for too much, but I ignored them. I even shouted and screamed at Papa when he suggested it, now that I remembered.
I really wasn’t a good friend or daughter. I wasn’t even a good student now that I thought about it… And yet.
“… No. Once is enough. Twice? NEVER! I will never leave our parents behind again! You… WAKE UP!”
I slapped her and pulled out the pen from her throat. This was not the fate “Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor” would face. From the ashes of her life, I would become the bright star she dreamed off. What she dearly wished even in her final moments.
“A month of dreams is enough. Don’t repeat the same mistake again!”
She was dreaming of her ideal life for one month, until the trauma resurfaced. All of that was stuffed right into my brain, closing up the holes in my soul to recover my lost memories. Still, this wasn’t time for me to feel sorry for myself, I had already gotten over that fact a long time ago. Right now, I had to fully focus on what I had to do.
“Please, w-huek! Wait!” And my other self ran out of the bathroom, probably following the whispers of her lingering wishes. Unfortunately…
“Staring out the window while it rains ♫
No one here to talk, silence is all I have ♫
So I delved into my thoughts and wondered, “What if?”♫”
All that was left in this place was our guilt and our sin.
The sky was bleak and our apartment was dark. Nobody else was here but the twelve of us. While my past self stared at us in horror, my ten parallel minds already understood what they had to do as I played the piano in the living room. She wanted to have another family jam session. She wanted to meet her friends again. She wanted her life back to normal, from before she committed that irreversible mistake.
This was her Envy.
What she longed for the most, to the point her desires were twisting her emotions and personality.
“I’m sorry. I ruined everything.”
And it seemed she understood it finally. She was finally crying.
“… You shouldn’t have seen that. That was my memory… you should have forgotten it.”
I didn’t reply. I stood up and walked away from the piano, moving closer to my past self sitting dejectedly on the ground. Her tears kept flowing as she looked crestfallen on the ground.
“If you had forgotten everything, I would have never remembered that. If you had rejected me, your soul would just push me out. But you just kept it up, and now someone else managed to invoke those lost memories inside us. Why?” It felt weird being blamed by my past self like that, especially since the memory didn’t depict her as so forlorn. She felt like how I acted in the first month I was reborn. “This is all just an illusion. I understand now.”
Just like my parallel minds, the moment I appeared, this fake reality broke apart. The happiness she found in this place felt real from the memories I saw. She could finally relive her school life, her youth, away from all the violence I had to experience as an adventurer. Sure, she was my unconscious self, but she still was me and that meant she also felt the sadness I felt too.
Not only did she hide her sin and guilt from me, but she also had to watch Eshe die and all the other things Peolynca threw at us. This world was beautiful and had its good parts, but there was undoubtedly also darkness and grimness here. The world wasn’t simple, and at times I wished all the nasty parts would just disappear, leaving only the good behind for me to enjoy. A happy life without anything dangerous going on.
However…
“It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault. Papa, Mama, Nanny, Clyde… Großpapi, Großmami, Ojii-san, Obaa-chan. What would our grandparents tell our parents after all of that? What would Papa and Mama feel when they found us? Why did I have to torment them like this? Why? They didn’t deserve such a horrible daughter like me. What the fuck did I do?”
Those thoughts were swirling in my mind when I saw how I died, and I had to admit, it made me want to puke so much. After seeing my parents’ faces, I could imagine their expressions and how they would react. Mama coddling my body, screaming “Why? Why? Why?” and Papa blaming himself for everything, to the point he would break down in tears.
Nanny was old, so I prayed so hard she didn’t get a stroke. The same thing with my grandparents, honestly. My German Großpapi and Großmami were extremely kind people and were strong supporters for my idol dream, as they learned they should accept it like with my Papa’s dream. My Japanese Ojii-san and Obaa-chan were less enthusiastic, finding the idea unfitting for a person of my birth, but I knew they cared for me all the same.
Clyde and my best friends… I couldn’t know it perfectly, but I would imagine them cursing my stupidity at my funeral, although I wasn’t sure if the latter three would do it. I also had cousins, although I couldn’t really recall their names or faces. I wondered what they felt and thought.
It felt agonizing now that I thought about it. However, I could blow out steam later, now wasn’t the time.
“Gaaah!” she screamed, probably thinking what I just thought. “Why didn’t I think? Why didn’t I just think through my actions?! Why did I just do it? What the hell— Huh?”
For now, I had to calm her down.
“‘Cause, at the end of the day, we are both ‘H*k**i Sch******.’ On the other side, we are also ‘Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor.’ Two personalities inside one soul, splintered apart to live together.” I hugged her, caressing her head to mourn together. “I deserve to learn about it just as you did, because I share part of this sin.”
Even trying to speak my real name out felt weird. I couldn’t fully hear it nor could I remember it. However, just by being here, speaking out my name felt like a reflex. Normal after all the memories I saw. I did hope my soul would repair itself sooner than later, so I could remember this piece of myself.
“No… you don’t. You’re a result of what Aurena did to us. A byproduct of a failed soul wipe. You aren’t me.” She was still trying to deny it.
“Then what do you call those parallel minds of ours?” I hoped she would raise her eyes to see the ten girls behind us. “One half looks like me, the others like you. H*k**i, you are the missing half of my soul, and I am your half. Tell me, what would that make my dream of becoming an idol, if I am not you? Just a memory ingrained into my soul? Is all I did just the result of your longing to become a proper idol? If you ask me, I don’t think so. I became an idol to assure my parents, but I also did it for myself. I believe in making others smile with my songs.”
I noticed my other self’s body slowly turning black like the shadow veil she had when I first met her properly. Her head wasn’t covered, but the rest was unrecognizable to me. It didn’t reflect on my parallel minds, as they still looked like school girls, but maybe this was my other self’s way to express “they aren’t me?”
“I believed in it, too.” However, what came out in her voice was regret. “I wanted to make others happy. Make Papa and Mama smile, you know? … I envy you. You managed to do all of that, you managed to make people smile with your actions and songs. You made Melloxtressa grin and clap for you. You’re doing everything I wanted to accomplish. It’s… urgh.”
She groaned, shaking her head before burying her face in my shoulder. I could feel her tears seeping through my clothes. “How did I forget that? When did becoming an idol turn into a competition with Natasha and her lackies? It’s okay to feel jealous, but why did hearing about her success drive me off the cliff? I wanted to make people happy, but all I did was make everybody cry.”
Natasha was the name of one of my trainee colleagues, the one who managed to make it as an idol. You could call us rivals since we competed in nearly every audition together, sadly, we also hated each other's guts. As a result, we didn’t know much about the other, and could only focus on the surface level features.
She didn’t like me being rich, and I didn’t like how she kept trying to shove this fact in my face. Even when I tried to be nice and make friends, she was the one to push to call me a poser. It felt insulting. Eventually I blew my frustrations out on her, and that was when our relationship deteriorated to the point of no-return. I now remembered it all.
“I didn’t want any of it to end like that. Why did I do it?”
“Because we were a stupid kid.” The truth was spoken with no sugar to coat it. “But, that is why I’m here now. Born from your mistake, carrying along what you held dear. Your other self, the person you wanted to be. And there is no shame in accepting it, because I accept you are me.”
“I don’t deserve that. It’s not over yet. I know that. I know I have more memories to share, and they will probably cause you even more pain. Stop it.”
However, just like her, I was stubborn. Guess who I inherited that from — our Papa, of course.
“Too bad for you, but I want to learn about it. Let the past be in the past, right? Well, I don’t think I can become a ‘full person’ without my soul repairing itself.” I tightened my embrace a bit. “… That’s why, it’s okay for you to rely on me. Let me succeed where you failed. What I am doing isn’t for you, but for myself, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it, too. You deserve happiness, even if you committed a big sin, and I am sure if Papa and Mama could see us now, they would be happy for us. Don’t forget my deal with Aurena.”
“… To visit Earth,” she mumbled.
“Yup. Whether you like it or not, I will drag you over there. I will confront our parents, I will plead forgiveness and everything else. I have accepted you, and that means I will also carry your sins and guilt with me as long as I hold onto these precious memories. No matter how painful, I will continue smiling. Stay strong for everybody.”
Eshe’s words filled my heart with warmth. She might not be here anymore, but her last words to me gave me the push I needed to stop mourning when people needed me. I wasn’t a hero, but I sure was a Blessed.
“Whoooooo oooh oooh. Ahaaaaaaaaaaaaa.” Harmony like a choir, the sound of a piano playing. I heard my parallel minds started a song.
“Rely on me… for I am an idol. And to us, an idol’s job is to bring a smile to others with our song. In their darkest moments, our light will fill their sight, wake them up from their sadness, and bring them up with us as we take a shot to the stars!
…
As I stare into the sky, I wonder what happened that day ♫
It was bright, so bright, my dazzling dreams; It pains me, to think of them ♫
I sealed my tears, sadness into a mask, how could I be so blind to theirs ♫
Oh, by chance, I wish a second try, but now, that chance is gone. ♫”
I let my grip loosen, pulled the tearful girl up, and watched with her as our parallel minds sang our song.
“Instead, everything was changed ♫
I could have cast my past into flames ♫
But my memories remained, I couldn’t fail; their hopes for me, I will hold to my heart! ♫”
I will not abandon them.
I let loose my scale-dust, exploding them above me as they began to glow white, lighting this dark and dull apartment, bringing back the light back to it. My Hestia-look-alike parallel minds did the same, helping me shove away any shadows in this place. Our apartment on Earth was a haven for my family, I would not let it turn into such a downtrodden place!
“Like a soaring star, I will fly ♫
Through this darkness, my light will never fade ♫
Even in the darkest hours, this smile will always stay ♫
This promise etched to my eternal soul! ♫
As if reality can break my wings ♫
Defy all, keep your eyes on the prize ♫
For this single chance in life, I will stand tall and proud ♫
Let the world hear my voice! ♫”
“Our promise…” I could hear my past self mumble, staring at the light I had created. Seeing her like this, I let myself go from her, moving closer to the “stage,” where I joined the chorus with everybody.
“Wooohooooooo whoooooohaaaaaaa. Haaaahaaahaaaa… ♫”
We pulled down all the curtains, accepting the dreary sky outside. It didn’t matter if it were to rain, our family would always have fun singing and playing music. This was the tradition of the Sch****** family! Even if I can’t remember my surname, I still remembered the times I spent with them!
“Time and time again I thought, “Shouldn’t I give up on this dream?” ♫
But I would lie, break my heart; I couldn’t live it down, I made a promise to them ♫
I didn’t want to let them down, they brought the light back to my life ♫
So hear me sing, watch me dance, witness this spectacle; for them, I give it my all! ♫
So, please, forgive my selfishness ♫
I dearly wish to see you two, again ♫
But, by chance, I was given a second try, I would reject it, this is my path! ♫”
“W-What?”
Nothing would stop me from singing and expressing my mood. Even if the tears I felt falling down my face were real, I wouldn’t stop. The emotional weight I placed into every single word had to be shown to this world.
“As if reality can break my wings ♫
Defy all, keep your eyes on the prize ♫
For this single chance in life, I will stand tall and proud ♫
Let the world hear my voice! ♫”
Even if the skies were black and dark, I would continue until my flame flicked and died out. That was my dream, that was my purpose, and that was why I continued living up until now! For my family, for my friends, for those who need me right now.
“Like a soaring star, I will fly ♫
Through this darkness, my light will never fade ♫
Even in the darkest hours, this smile will always stay ♫
This promise etched to my eternal soul! ♫
As if reality can break my wings ♫
Defy all, keep your eyes on the prize ♫
For this single chance in life, I will stand tall and proud ♫
Let the world hear my voice! ♫”
“Huek! Papa… Mama…” My past self broke down, tears and snot covering her cute face.
Yes, let your emotions out! Free them all. Express it all with song!
With me.
“However, I will always hold you close ♫
For my life was filled with all your love ♫
So, please, watch over me you two ♫
My promise to you, I will now make it true! ♫”
She stood up, taking over my place and came closer to me. The shadow veil around her dissipated, revealing a cute pullover and short pants. There was no issue with revealing your true self to the world. No need to be shy. To take over the world as an idol, you needed courage. The bravery to face the cheers, the yells, the hate, and even the trails on the path of an entertainer!
Just now… we will do it together. Side by side, in a duet.
““Like a soaring star, I will fly ♫
Through this darkness, my light will never fade ♫
Even in the darkest hours, this smile will always stay ♫
This promise etched to my eternal soul! ♫
As if reality can break my wings ♫
Defy all, keep your eyes on the prize ♫
For this single chance in life, I will stand tall and proud ♫””
““LET THE WORLD HEAR OUR VOICES! ♫””
Phooooo.
The clouds disappeared, the light of the sun shone on us through the windows. The sound of a crying girl could be heard, but she was smiling so radiantly after she let it all loose through this song. Our “Promise” etched eternally into these lyrics. Although I still felt doubt from her, the way she laughed with my parallel minds made me think there will be a day when H*k**i and Hestia will become one.
Even if it can’t happen now, I at least wanted to help my past self out a bit. A person can only hold onto a limited amount of burden, but what about two people? Her past was also my past.
With the final part of my soul finally rejecting this fake reality, the borders of this place slowly crumbled apart, revealing the true self of this place. Hidden behind all the glamor was a dark and desolate wasteland with alien geometry you wouldn’t be able to see on Earth nor the places I visited on Peolynca.
Stalagmites that moved like spines, tentacles that looked like wood, and small critters that might make even frogs and toads look normal. Fiendish was one way to describe them, but maybe Lovecraftian would be better? Just watching them move around made me question the possibility of these things' existance.
“… Thank you.” My past self hugged me in gratitude before releasing me. “Let us find you… our new Mother.”
“Yeah, let’s— Woah!”
“Ha, don’t forget us, you two!”
“Yeah, don’t you think this is unfair how you two are having a moment? We’re part of the soul, too! Kinda.”
“I mean, we technically are inventions of the System, so how are we in this place where the System isn’t working? Weird, right? If our soul is involved, that means we are part of you two, right? We demand proper rights, then!”
All my parallel minds came together, wrapping their hands around us in a big group hug. Initially, my other self and I thought they were trying to kill us in order to overthrow us, but our worries vanished as I felt the warmth and care they gave us. And that was when all of them, including my past self began to shine bright.
“W-What is happening?!” I cried out, but none of the others seemed to find this strange.
“Hey, Hestia…” My other self spoke to me. “I’ll go back to sleep. It’s time for me to do so, anyways… so stay strong, alright! When I’m awake, I want to see you beat up the people who put us through this. Save Elyonda. Be that idol we wanted to become.”
“Ha, you kidding?” I replied as some of my parallel minds turned into light particles and entered my body, returning to where they came from. “That sounds like what a hero should be doing. I’m just your normal idol who wants to spread music to this world… but, as a blessed, I will do exactly as you wanted.”
“Ehehe…” She smiled in silence, before she too disappeared.
I held onto my chest and grinned. I then turned around, headache over, and caught the sound of someone's voice in the distance. Since I couldn’t use my System spells in this world, I relied on my white flames to light up the path before me and began making my way towards the next person I had to free.
Mother, wait for me!
****************************************************
“How?”
In the distance, a being expressed his shock as he saw Hestia break through his illusion. A magnificent interrogation ability created through the demonic power [Original Sin: Yaldabaoth]. Even in his wildest dreams, he couldn’t fathom somebody being able to break through this skill, especially when it was fueled by this simple breach into the Edjurl god’s world.
However, Hestia managed to do it.
“How could such an undeveloped blessed usurp my powers? How is this possible!? Aurena?!”
The being stared into the distance, watching a giant being with many legs and arms destroy hordes and hordes of demonic beings, preventing them from even coming close to Hestia and Melloxtressa. It was too dark to see its full form, but this person knew who that was.
She was Aurena, in her true form, molded by her worship in the world of the Edjurls. Although she took on the appearance of an angelic woman on Peolynca, here, she would assume the form she needed to destroy the ravenous bands of beasts. All to protect her blessed, risking the wrath of the Edjurl gods now that she wasn’t in Peolynca anymore. A deed that would almost certainly go unnoticed by Hestia.
However, she wasn’t here by herself. Aurena wasn’t a person to be rash, and she quickly knew who she had to bring over to aid her.
“Shie shie shie, who do you think made her like that? Did you honestly think you could trap my little blessed, Thals’Yond?”
The Prince of Envy, that was the person who tried to absorb Hestia’s soul. His plan was to consume Melloxtressa in this sphere, but with Hestia’s intervention, that plan was about to fail. The young girl was to be contained in the other contraption he gave to Vifi’Yok, but due to circumstances, it all fell apart. Now, he could only watch as Hestia freed herself and make her way to Melloxtressa.
“W-Why?! Why, oh, unholy lord! Why are you doing this?! I-I was serving all of you! The Edjurl gods; I would have brought glory to you! Peolynca would have been yours! Why are you helping Aurena?!”
“Shie shie shie!” The god laughed gleefully, but at the same time released his aura, scaring the Prince of Envy. “I like how you make assumptions. Not everyone supports those aiming for Danterno, you know. Just like the Origin Gods, we have different factions even inside the same Pantheon. It’s just godly nature, shie shie shie!”
Who was this person? Why would this person help Aurena?
“That tyke is my usurper. My way to break the stagnation of Peolynca, to help out my dear Master over there. I’m pretty sure he would get bored, so I had to add some spice, even if my little sister got mad about it. All fun and games, don’t you agree? Shie hahahahaha!”
The Prince of Envy stared at the god bellowing a malicious cackle, envisioning it as doom approaching. He tried to turn around, open a portal he received from the Edjurl gods the demonkins served, and escape this situation, however…
“No no no no no… the fun is about to begin.” The god’s face stared right into the prince’s soul, causing the latter to groan and fall onto the ground in pain. “You aren’t leaving here. I want to see how my usurper is doing. How long will she need to turn into the Ragnarok I planned? To topple the status quo of the world, just as the Master wanted! And for that… I need to reap my friend’s rewards.”
“Urghh… kak! Please… mercy!”
“Ohohoho, mercy, you say? Sorry, wrong gods you’re praying to. Make a deal with the Edjurl, be prepared to pay the price. Rejoice, though, I won’t make it as painful as my friend would. I just need you to see what happens when my usurper takes in your powers and expels it. Aren’t you also curious about what will happen? Shie shie shie shie… shie shie hahahahahahahaha!”
“Krak!” The Prince of Envy clenched his chest, feeling like his soul was slowly being wrung like a towel. The maliciousness of this god’s mana was corrupting his very core, twisting and changing it… the price of this Faustian deal.
“Shie shie shie shie hahahahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
He would have the last laugh.
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