Chapter 478

To the surprise of both Professor Atkinson and Dolores, they were not met with any kind of hostility or even hesitation when they asked Xyn their questions about his fall - in fact, he was strangely open.

“It pained me to have discovered that I, out of every possible reason that I could think of, am the one true reason for the desolation of the void.” Xyn’s voice usually didn’t show much emotion, but somehow when he said these words to the professor and Dolores they could tell there was a sense of regret and desire to restitute: “But I am no god to dwell in the past, and I too shall look forward and restore the order.

“And here is the answer to your question: yes, the rupture did cause almost irreparable damage to me, and it is beyond possible, even plausible that without my knowledge, the different avatars of me were separated by the great forces that tore me apart and had our connections broken. I have yet to understand the full implications of the situation should it be exactly as you theorized. Now that you have had the blessings offered to you by a Spring of Knowledge, though nowhere near what they were supposed to be, I can open up the lower levels of this temple for you. As I am bound to this place, and because of the access to knowledge, I hope the information and knowledge you may find below will help you accomplish your task.”

And as the professor and Dolores walked down the stairs where they used to face attacks from invisible forces, which would force them out, they were finally able to see fully what was roaming in the air - these were shadowy creatures made of fog in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, each with slightly different colors and shades, and some kind of glowing energy cores inside of them. These creatures floated and “swam” in the air as if they were fish in water, and some of them even got quite close to Professor Atkinson and Dolores - both of them tried to touch these creatures at one point or another, but their hands just went straight through, as if these creatures were just holograms.

“They used to be my most devout believers, my priests, my preachers, and my bishops.” Xyn explained to both Professor Atkinson and Dolores, “They were also severely injured during the rupture, now they are neither dead or alive - they are something in between, fragments of souls and minds of their former existence. They had some basic instincts that could drive them to certain actions, but they could no longer act in any proactive way.”

“Why are they - why are they like this?” Dolores asked.

“It is my doing, my burden to bear.” Xyn answered with a very human-like sigh: “Through their devoutness and zeal, they bound their souls and essences to me, not just me, but the whole me and the core of my being. It was my reward, out of my hubris. And when I fell, their souls were broken, just like me. I survived, for my avatars could inherit what was left of my will and my mind. But they were not gods, they could not endure the weight and process of having their minds, consciousness and souls separated and split.”

“Oh god, I’m so sorry.”

“They are bound to me by faith, and I to them. I would have no chance of starting over or even coming back to where I was before my ascension if I don’t put them at rest. They were once the pillars of my kind, the central conduits of the power of faith that once flowed through me and the core of my Godhood. Now they’re my shackles and chains.”

This admission was heavy, both Professor Atkinson and Dolores felt at that moment both the burden of the knowledge, and the same kind of regret and remorse Xyn was feeling.

“These structures underground - are they some kind of warehouse?” when they reached the bottom of the stairs behind the stone gates, Professor Atkinson asked while pointing at a few of the still remaining stone rooms with some kind of broken arrays on the centers of the floor.

“No, they are prisons.” Xyn answered: “These were the prison rooms in which we held those who have committed the more serious sins. Some were sentenced to be left there for eons to reflect on their sins and to repent.”

“But the prisoners - what happened after the rupture?” Dolores gasped lightly.

“Most of them perished. The rest became unaccounted for.” Xyn said: “When I fell and this temple sank, I and my believers lost control over this prison as well. When I finally woke up, I felt the lost souls that once belonged to some of the prisoners.”

“What else do you remember from your fall?” Professor Atkinson asked: “If it was indeed another avatar of you that created your descendant, then knowing where they are would help.”

“I have been trying to find those pieces of my memory back for all this time. But still there was very limited information I could gather. And it was thanks to the memory that you saw in the Spring of Knowledge that I could piece a lot together.” Xyn answered: “For one, my misappropriation of the blessings of the void, draining the stabilizing power from the void. For another, the presence of dark power in the piece of memory you saw - I now remember how it was facing it.”

“What is it? Is it still present?” Dolores asked: “That kind of dark power - where does it come from? Is it still present somewhere?”

“Defilers.” Xyn spoke with both fear and grudge: “The vultures of broken order and flow of karma, the corruptors of all beings. And more terrifyingly, the ones that could break a God’s dominion even in his own kingdom.”