CHAPTER 79

  REGRESSED GROWTH

  When Hans was struggling with the Goddess’s whims, the battlefield they had left was full of emotions. Fear, awe, and worry. “What is she?” Infuriated, Sierra grabbed Homar’s neck. She demanded, “Don’t tell me she is a god, because she is not.”

  “A failsafe….” Homar muttered and then said in a clear voice, “She is a failsafe.”

  “Failsafe of what?” Sierra kept clenching his collar, and Homar continued to let her. He had never seen her all his life; only a few individuals in Samson’s close circle had the opportunity to meet her. Even he thought she was just a myth spread by Samson to control the masses.

  “Damn it, Homar, I asked, failsafe of what?” Sierra jolted him, and this time he responded loudly.

  “A way to ensure, even in death, your son’s bloodline will stay alive.”

  “Forty hells,” Rudolf cursed, gazing at the lands which would soon become the western Clandor. Even when that stormy character left, people from both sides didn’t dare to make a move. Xandor and his goons taunted Homar before leaving, and Homar took them as it was. The goddess had decreed, so he didn’t dare cross her words even when he was in doubt.

  FROSTSPIRE, OSIRIS WARSHIP

  “Now! Now! All done.” Aadya became ecstatic. “See, I told you. You won’t be going through the reincarnation cycle.”

  “When. You were scaring the shit out of me, you bipolar freak.” Hans didn’t dare say anything, but he could feel something very fundamental had changed within him. He looked at his hand, “Nothing new—wait, my voice.” He touched his throat. “What the heck is this sharp thing… Adam’s apple?”

  “Now you finally see, idiot… the divine mana inside you was stopping your physical growth, its so-called anti-ageing, keeping you young. Ridiculous, right? Now thank me.” She stressed.

  “Yeah… thanks I guess.” Hans mumbled, caressing his jaw. “Wow, I really grew!” There were subtle soft hairs around his chin.

  “That’s not all of it, Hans of Parv. Come here.” She pulled him close and showed him his reflection in the wall.

  “Woah,” Hans was startled, he touched his head in surprise, “ long hair… it’s black and eyes… my eyes… red. Like yours.”

  “Yes, that is how you looked when you were born. Hair darker than the night and red ruby eyes that seemed to look past anything. The divine mana had altered you but it was necessary. We imitated a still born condition in you so Sierra had no choice but to fuel you with divine mana—”

  “Why?” Hans took a step forward but suddenly fell on his knees. “Why?” He raised his head and found Aadya grinning back at him.

  “So, you will find the first book. So, you’ll not manifest any aura— So, you’ll not create any mana circles. So, you could become what you are today.” She chuckled, “I’ve to give some praise to Samson. His plan really worked.”

  “Why do this? I feel, I’d be stronger if I just became a knight?”

  “That is the very reason. You were born strong and destined to become stronger far than any. But with powers comes a tragic destiny. He robbed you of those powers to give you a happy ending. Do not question his judgement.” She stressed in later, not eager to hear any complaints.

  And, Hans understood. “Just what is he shielding me from?”

  “Didn’t I say. I’ve been doing this for sixteen cycles. He tried saving your life sixteen times—”

  “And failed,” Hans completed her words.

  “Yes.” Aadya confirmed.

  “I can’t believe it. There is something even my father fails at.” Hans was genuinely confused. “So, what kills me?”

  “You. Yourself.”

  “That’s some crazy talk. Suicide? How?”

  “People born with immense power bear causality. You, even more so, and as you grow stronger, the causality increases by folds. Giving you access to a forbidden power, but in summoning it, you die.” She told him, “It was the first cycle—”

  “Then, I just won’t summon it. Simple.” Hans stood up, struggling.

  “No, you eventually will.” She stressed.

  “Why?” Hans asked, confused.

  “Because you are a good person. You won’t think twice before sacrificing yourself if you can buy the lives of others—”

  “You picked the wrong kid, milady.” Hans chuckled. “I’m nothing like the sucker you speak of.”

  “No, you are. You always have. That is your nature. Didn’t you think of giving yourself to the ancients to save Rudolf and others’ lives? That’s why you killed that cursed ghost with everything you had, fearing no rebound on your body.”

  “That is different. They are not just others… They are family—

  Hans felt a chill, a murderous intent coming out of Aadya in an instant. Repressing her rage, she stressed, “Don’t ever say your family in front of me again. You hypocrite bastar—”

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  “Fine! Fine! My bad.” Hans stepped back and fell on his bottoms this time. To divert her, he shifted the topic instantly. “So, if I have to summon that forbidden power to defeat or stop whatever you aren’t telling me. How do you plan to stop it now you’ve taken my chance to wield it?”

  “You almost sound disappointing?” She inquired, but Hans remained silent. “Follow me. There are steps in that plan. First is the champion chosen by us, the owner of the book of heroes—”

  “Chris?”

  “Yes, we’ve given him your bloodline. Your family’s secret and power.” She stood before a metal door, and with a woosh, it slid open automatically. She said slowly, “Me, I’m the second step, and,” she pointed at the huge glass container, “He is the last.”

  Hans’s eyes ran through the structure, a figure inside that made no sense. “Father?” Hans touched the glass container, and a bubble rose above as if he got a reply. “How… I saw… his body becoming undead…”

  “Yes, we’ve recreated his whole body, better than he was born with, a body that could withstand the overpowering strain of imperial bloodline. Xandor is the cluster-fuck we had in the plan. Your friend Delimira is supposed to use her foreign godly power to bring the soul back into this body. But that dweller-of-causality has snatched that opportunity from us.”

  “So, it’s Xandor again and… it was me who gave him that sword… I was the one who ruined his plan.” Hans once again realised what his series of decisions caused.

  Aadya stared him hard and finally remarked, “I won’t sugarcoat it but yes. You fucked up, but it’s not on you. You had no choice, little sun. Walter had betrayed us first and his reckoning will come much sooner.”

  Hans could sense the murderous intent and stayed silent on that note. However, there was something he was curious about. “So, goddess. How was my father in your eyes? I mean how did he look to a god?”

  “He was an intelligent man, I never saw a tactician like him ever and I’ve lived a long time. He failed in previous cycles but he never stopped learning from his mistakes. He promised me this would be the last that I have to suffer. He even planned his own death, his commander’s betrayal, even his own resurrection.”

  “So, betrayal of Bernard too…oh man, I feel sorry for Chris, his father was just a pawn.” Hans laughed at himself, dejected, “So, what do you want me to do? Retrieve ‘Rebellion’?”

  “No, it’s not your job. I’ve modified the Book of Heroes. Chris would eventually come across a task and if he wants to progress further, he has to do it.”

  “So, what am I supposed to do, suck my thumb?” Hans raised his voice a little, “I want to be a part of this too—”

  “No, don’t you understand why your father—no, why we are trying so hard not to get you involved, idiot.” She looked at the lifeless corpse inside the glass container. “Don’t let your father’s hard efforts go to waste, Hans. He was with me on all those sixteen cycles; your death haunts him to no avail. Let him have this. I saw his suffering, his regrets, and struggles, and that’s not something a human should endure again and again.”

  Hans stayed silent, realising that acting like usual and doing what he wants might cause unrepairable damage to his father’s plan. He was in a dilemma, struggling. “So, what should I not interfere with?”

  “First, Delimira Winters and his father must survive; he needs to teach his daughter how to call the soul back. Christopher Holger must become strong enough to tear apart Xandor’s forces, so make sure he has no unnecessary problems… and ancients… don’t agitate them, if possible. There is a consequence of me interfering with the world; Ancients are part of it, but I’m not, so I’ll soon receive a backlash. However, since I have divine mana, it will be quick this time.”

  “What backlash?”

  “Nothing, I’ll sleep for a while. And that will leave you vulnerable.”

  “I can manage.” Hans said confidently; however, something still lingered in his mind, so he asked her, “ah…miss goddess, one thing I don’t understand. If Xandor is messing with your plans, why leave him be? You could’ve just taken the rebellion and offed him swiftly—”

  “He is a Parvian. I can’t punish anyone born in these lands until they do something very bad—”

  “He is the very definition of BAD.”

  “Bad for humans and bad for gods are totally different things.” She pointed at his head, “Every Parvian born under the watch of OSIRIS has something called birthright implanted in them. It tracks their merits. It is a perfect system, so no one could snatch someone’s credit.”

  “I don’t have that kind of thing—”

  “Because yours is different.” She nudged his forehead, “ The point is, I and OSIRIS can only act on Parvians if they accumulate a buttload of bad karma. Xandor knows it very well and that sneaky bastard tiptoes around this flaw, avoiding my wraith.”

  “Tsk, then what about his power? Darkness is just an element. How come he has power over the dead? He said you gave it to him?”

  “Yeah. That’s my fuck-up.” She contemplated, “He was a guardian knight to Samson’s mother. He died failing to protect her. I revived him and gave him the same position but a different Master that time. The Book of Immortality was a pet project of your father. Using Zilong, a foreign genealogy to develop a resurrection spell, Xandor volunteered to hold that ticking bomb. It was a failure in the end since it was a foreign power to begin with and even the LONGS can do once in their life—”

  “Yes, I was told.” Hans nodded, finally feeling the strength to move around naturally.

  “So, if your inquiry session is finished. Shoo…” she gestured Hans to get the hell out of there.

  “I can go?” Hans was puzzled.

  “Do you wish to stay by my side? I’m touched—”

  “Hell no.” Hans instantly responded.

  “How dare you reject my presence?”

  “You bipolar god, do you have to ask?” Hans shook his head, “No, no, you got me wrong. I just don’t want to disturb you.” Hans glanced behind, the metal door that moved on its own. “I’ll get the fuck out of here, thank you.” He quickly turned and in quick strides moved forward.

  “Wait a minute.” Aadya stopped him by clasping his shoulder.

  “Now, what, you lunatic?” Hans cried inside, “What can I help you with, goddess?” He forced a wide smile and asked.

  “Aren’t you curious?” She raised her brow, “You have no divine mana, right now.”

  “So?” Hans had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Are you dumb or occasionally smart?” She frowned, “The thing stopping you from manifesting your aura is finally gone.”

  This felt like a bolt out of blue, “I can finally wield… a sword… a knight.” He mumbled.

  “Yeah, I thought so.” Aadya sighed, “Thank the great me who stopped you.”

  Hans nodded, “Let’s start it—

  “Listen, you idiot.” She held him by the shoulders, which seemed wide now, and explained, “The moment you make any circle or manifest any aura. The command you govern over nature’s mana will be gone, and a wood element knight is just plain trash. Wood was never your element to begin with…anyway.”

  “So, you stopped me to just crush me again?” Hans instantly came down from the clouds.

  “That doesn’t mean you can’t become a knight? I can’t let you rise to the peak of power, but there is a way around it. Samson said to tell you when you finish the fourth year of Concordia. But I guess I have to expedite it since I have to show up and will soon be forced to slumber.”

  “How?” Hans straightened his ears out.

  “I’m going to make you an elf.”