Chapter 175: The Story Goes

Chapter 175: The Story Goes

BOOK III

The Song of Eternity

Chapter 175

The Story Goes

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! he didnt know when he fell asleep. Perhaps it was partway through the drinking binge he was enjoying, partaking in the foods and drinks from Earth that he had all but forgotten. Then there was darkness. And now, he woke up to the familiar scream and a familiar scene. But it was different.

His face was expressionless, eyes glazed in the seeming indifference. It no longer hurt. It no longer stirred his heart with fire. It was a sight he had seen many times before, so much so that every second of it was seared into his brain. But it was a sight that no longer hurt.

He looked to the side and saw young Ryne clutching her face, blood fraying out across her tiny fingers and down her arms. Crouching, he extended his arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her into his chest. As though by the hand of invisible magic, her cries seem to silence, as if she recognized him by touch. Her arms reached out and wrapped around him tightly, as if she were holding onto her dear life. She wouldnt let go, and he didnt ask.

There was a keen sense of magic in letting go, he realized. There was no longer a mountain pressing on his chest, no longer a sense that he had to keep carving through a tunnel into infinity. It was all arrayed perfectly, like the flowers in a heavenly garden. Purposeful. Simple. All-encompassing.

It resulted in a massive, absolutely colossal world war simply dubbed The War of Extinction, as the vast majority of the races were wiped out of the existence, with the few surviving ones having extremely low numbers. One thing that shocked Sylas more than anything else was that the humans took no part in the warat least not the humans from whom the current world descended. They werent even seen as worthy of the participation and were largely ignored.

After the war, however, due to their numbers, they managed to conquer a vast majority of the world, stealing whatever secrets they could from the others, and eventually becoming the prime race of the world. Unlike others, they sought help from the Godsand in their name they built Cairns all over the world, 999 of them altogether, which allowed Gods to gift them Prophets and Exorcists and Exalts.

Such a dissonance created a dualitya relationship of dependance and worship. However, as with most things, time dilutes the bondsand thousands of years after the fact, few, if any, remembered it. More and more, humans yearned to be freethere was a belief that they, too, could ascend and become God-like, but were being held back by the Gods from the fear.

In time, many rebellions were ledall with magnificent failure. The most successful one was also the latest onethe Empires Twilight. Fueled by the Gods heeding, hundreds of barbaric tribes surrounding the empire formed a coalition and invaded. The dead sought the benefits too, selling themselves both to the Empire and the invaders. Eventually, while the Empires strongest warriors were destroying Cairns and defeating their guardians, the rests of the Empire fell and the survivors went into hiding.

Their warriors title of the Shadow came from the old Empires saying, Shall the Empires Light draw dark, those living may as well lay dead in the shadows. That is, it was considered a betrayal to outlive the Empire itself. And yet many still did.

It was a massive influx of information, but nothing monumental. Sylas had many, many, many theories when it came to the Empires fall, and one of them was practically word-for-word in line with what actually happened. It was nice to a confirmation, for sure, but it did little for him. He didnt care about the empire, nor did he care about the Godsand cared even less for the humanitys everlasting struggle to supersede everything.

No matter the world, it seemed, curiosity bounded reason in people. Everyone always dreamed of the world beyond the beyond, of the opportunities, of things above things. Once one mountain was conquered, rather than relishing in the scenery and the beauty of the everlasting, eyes flocked over to the taller peak and the minds wonderedhow do we conquer this one?

They were chasing ghosts, however. Should the last Cairn in the Capital fall, the Gods would simply come, kill just enough humans to restore the old fears, and build a few new Cairns. The rest of the world was already in their grasp, and this little corners struggle, while noble, was entirely pointless. Perhaps poetically depressing, Sylas still saw some beauty in it. Life, after all, was a struggle. From cradle till the grave, people strugglesome less and some more, but the struggle is one constant that unites everyone.

And if there must be struggle, let it be the grandest of them allthe conquest of the unconquerable. The depressing fact of life was that some mountains simply couldnt be climbed. Be that they are too tall, too steep, too frigid, or any other number of factors, the fact remained that they would stand just outside the reach for all eternity. And, despite of that, Sylas knew, the humanity would continue throwing bodies at it.

For this wouldnt be the first time that the Cairns were destroyed. And it wouldnt be the first time the humanity thought it had won. There would be yet another grim reminderthough Sylas would ensure that it wouldnt happen in this lifetime. He would be gone one day, however, and another aspiring, young man will look to the history and the adulation of things unseen and wonderwhy cant humans be Gods? And he will pick up a sword and shield and his words would be the kindle of the thousand fires that would burn like the most luminous stars in the sky and then fade, as all things, only to be rekindled thousands of years later, when yet another starry-eyed young woman would look to the sky and wonderwhy cant we be star-blessed? We are just as good as they are! And so the story goes