Chapter 171: Gods
Myrou wonders around the edge of the void. A curious thing; the void is infinite yet defined, a seeming contradiction yet it exists.
"You still haven't figured it out, Myrou?" Venaro is always teasing her about it, yet he is the only one to know it.
The void is a strange place; the realms are infinite in size yet finite in the void. The void itself is infinite in size, yet it has an infinite edge that stretches onwards to eternity. Time and space has... well, it exists in the void, yet it doesn't.
Regardless Myrou wonders into the infinite nothingness, finding a strange beauty here, the beauty of solace. The shining realms glimmer like little gemstones far in the distance.
Myrou sighs in contentment. Beauty has to be admired from many perspectives, and this is just one way to do that.
Myrou must have spent years just admiring the realms, sitting on the infinite edge of the void, contemplating. Perhaps it's purely conceptual? Is the void a mere representation of the concept of individual realms? Or perhaps it's just the fabric of existence itself, and since nothing exists, it too must have a place which is where she is sitting right now. Maybe it's both? Or maybe...
Something catches Myrous attention. A lost soul slowly drifting in the vastness of the void's edge. It's... so beautiful. A soul so pure and unmarred by the process of reincarnation – by the harshness of the soul sea – just how old is this soul?
Ting! The Goddess of Beauty and Creativity, Myrou, the Spirit has discovered a Primordial Legacy soul.
Ting! The Goddess of Beauty and Creativity, Myrou, the Spirit has discovered the Archive of Eternity.
Myrou sits there, stunned; in an instant, she gained both a Fabled and a Mythic point. She didn't even know the mythic point existed! Although, Venaro had said that there should be a tier above fabled.
Should she use the points now? Venaro will be very jealous. Never mind that this soul is the Archive of Eternity?! What does that even mean? There's only one way to find out, [Analyze]!
The Archive of Eternity: (Mythic) (Primordial) (Legacy)This soul has existed since the first realm, since before mana existed. It has witnessed the Great Calamitys and all of time since its creation, keeping a record within its memory.
Myrou grabs the soul as gently as she can; she does not dare hurt this beautiful soul. The others will no doubt want to examine this soul, Venaro especially. But worse, some may want to use this soul as a resource for powerful items. It's best that Myrou spends her points now and evolve; the only question is, should she evolve her Race or a Class?
Legendary makes one immortal if placed on the Race, so maybe Fabled and Mythic might have something special; if anything, she will find out if there is anything special or not. Then again, there is a risk of introducing unwelcome skills to her race that she has spent thousands of years developing to be as perfect as can be, but she supposes that's the cost of power; here comes another thousand years re-perfecting her race...
* * *
Myrou arrives at the place where all the other gods congregate and receive a lot of envious stares. She flashes them a charming smile. Venaro, however, simply looks intrigued, the prospect of knowledge too attractive to let petty things get to him.
"So that's the Archive of Eternity?" He says, floating closer to get a better look. "I see... its memories are as vast as this void..." He mutters.
Unfortunately, there are no known ways to read dormant or sealed memories, not without destructive means, anyway.
"We can use it to make very powerful items, and it can regenerate if cut in half," The God of the Forge and Craftmanship, Urolon says. "It can help us all get to Fabled tier if we have powerful items; I can probably get to Mythic tier myself."
Some sounds of approval echo throughout the void.
"No!" Myrou shouts, holding the beautiful soul close to herself. "We can't just start tearing it apart!"
"I agree; there's too much that we can learn from it," Venaro sides with Myrou. "Especially the Great Calamity, which has been referenced several times before, plus you are too greedy Urolon, you know magic rebels, it is an embodiment of chaos after all."
"I'll have to agree with Myrou and Venaro," The God of Law and Justice, Fathlyr says. "A soul is still the identity of a person, and to mar that is not right!"
"It will regenerate, Fathlyr. Even if the soul is entirely destroyed, it will come back; it's primordial" Another Goddess chimes in and as if a dam broke arguments rise all around them. Shouting and insults are thrown around, and they almost come to fighting several times. Myrou suspects they are all holding back now that she is Mythic tier and at least four times as strong as she was before.
"SILENCE!" Finally, having enough, the God of War and Battle, Varath, shouts. "We can all argue later, but we all should agree that the Archive of Eternity contains information that we can't get anywhere else; we can't waste this opportunity we have to record what it knows. We don't know if its memories will regenerate or not, so it's not worth risking."
To Myrou's surprise, Varath is joining her side; she thought for sure he'd be all in on getting powerful items. However, now she thinks about it, information is a large part of war, and this opportunity is probably causing large conflicts within himself
"What concerns me most," Varath continues, "Is that this soul has witnessed the Great Calamity, something we know next to nothing about. We need to know what happened, so it's best that we find out and not risk anything!"
"We need to take our time to properly study this soul," Venaro adds. "I can understand the desire to become stronger, but even you, Urolon, should know that properly studying the soul before working to make items should take prescience."
Reluctantly, Urolon agrees.
"We should also let its memories resurface," Venaro says. "The value in them is immeasurable, and who knows how we can apply that knowledge."
"We'll let Myrou keep the Archive for safety," Varath says, "We'll reincarnate it for the memories to become recoverable; after that, then, we can discuss this further."
The meeting disperses, and once everyone has returned to their corners of the void, Myrou looks down at the beautiful soul.
"I won't let them hurt you, don't worry. I'll make a nice place for you where the other gods can't reach you."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Awareness returns to me. I am laying on the ground in front of Yrania. I owe her a huge debt, even now, she is working to lessen the impact of my memories, but I don't think she is aware of just how important these memories were.
It isn't just knowledge of the Reality Eater but the fact I can't trust the gods. Well, Myrou seems nice enough, and maybe Venaro can be convinced to be an ally, but most of the other gods we chomping at the bit to use me as a resource.
There is a lot I need to think about, from everything in my time in the void to what it means being the Archive of Eternity to the situation with the gods.
I need allies, powerful allies that can resist the gods. I have five years before the other gods will start looking for me, and in that time, I need to be able to resist them. Can I trust Safyr with this knowledge? Probably. She is not a crafter herself, has shown no interest in making use of me and has had ample time and opportunity if she wanted.
Can I trust Yrania? Probably, she has been nothing but helpful, and I doubt she'd go against Safyrs wishes.
So, about the Reality Eater. In the void, I came to just accept it, and in a way, I know the cycle will continue, so it's not like it's the end of everything. However, I can't help but feel terrified now. Unless I find a way to hide from it, everything and everyone I know will be devoured. There is still a long time before the Reality Eater re-awakens, so I have the time, and there is precedent; I have never gotten the death messages for ten of the great beings and one of the great elementals. It's possible they are still alive. Finding them may reveal a way to hide from the Reality Eater; if anything, they may allow me and my family to hide with them.
First, talk with Safyr, and get her opinion on things. Then ask my fairy queen friend, Sylanna, if she knows about the Faewild.
"Did you learn what was important?" Yrania asks, still working on lessening the effect my memories have on me.
"Yes," I nod. "Several things, in fact, but I'll need to consult Safyr about them."
Yrania nods her head in acknowledgment before leading the way back to the Guardian.
"You seem to be enjoying my presence a lot recently," Safyr says with annoyed sarcasm.
"I'm Sorry, Guardian, but this time I think you'll want to know. With Yrania's help, I've recovered my memories, but it's about the time I spent in the void that I most important and concerning."
"I suppose it has something to do with the Great Calamity?" Safyr asks with feigned indifference in her tone.
"It's a cursed being capable of devouring entire realms" That got Safyr's full attention.
She waits for me to tell the full story, so I begin at the start, explaining the ages, the great monsters, and the conceptual things created during the Age of Magic.
"Fafnir..." Safyr says as if she knew the name. "A myth passed from Dragon to Dragon, a being made of the starry sky above, so vast he can eclipse the world itself. I had not thought him real; merely a story told to hatchlings to instill the drive to become strong, as strong has Fafnir himself. To think there were four others who were at least equivalent to the Fable tier, possible even Mythical..." Safyr paused to get her thoughts in order.
"I don't think he left for good, rather, he must come back every so often; otherwise, we'd have no myths about him like the others. Then there's the others, Treant, the Titans, and the fairies. If Fafnir survived, then it's possible they have too, but their seclusion may make it hard to find them. If anyone can find them, it would be Fafnir, the one capable of traveling to their realities."
"Grandmother, doesn't it sound like the beings made during the Age of Magic are magic beings?"
"Yes," Safyr nods.
"Like cursed beings?" I ask. I did get a breakthrough for seeing a magic being when looking at the cursed being, but it implied that not all magic beings are cursed beings. "What's the difference?"
"I'm not sure," Safyrs says, "All I know is that magic beings are like cursed beings but without the destructive nature most of the time. They are far rarer but are capable of thought and communication. Most of the ones known are usually named after the place they are born in, such as Mist Lands, the name for both the place and the magic being."
"You have yet to mention anything about the Reality Eater; I thought for sure you'd have something to say about it," Yrania says.
"There's no point," Safyr replies. "I can't do anything about it. I can't kill it, nor do I know how to hide from it, so I will focus my attention on other matters. As for the great spirits, I believe you can trust Myrou and Fathlyr. Spirits have a nature that they strictly adhere to; going against that is nearly unthinkable to them."
Surprisingly Safyr doesn't have much to say, but she seems a little put off by the prospect that there may be an enemy she can't defeat. With little to gain, I should visit my fairy friend and see if I can get leads on the faewild.