Act 4: Fallen Heaven - Chapter 729: The Truth And Choice. What Say You?

Act 4: Fallen Heaven - Chapter 729: The Truth And Choice. What Say You?

Oscar stared widely at Metures. He couldn't believe what he had just heard and stayed still in place, speechless at the sudden proclamation. He had no words, and all attempts to speak failed to part from his mouth. Metures's red glowing eyes looked back at him, slowly whirling in place, and the Ancient of Metal turned quiet, granting him time to digest the absurdity of what was said. Through their shared connection, Oscar also felt Erden's shock and confusion echoing in his own thoughts, amplifying the unease and numbness weighing on his head.

'Become him?' That single question repeated and cascaded into chaos, countless murmurs of the question, possibilities, what-ifs, and more storming in his mind. Oscar opened his mouth but closed it, choking on his nonexistent words. As a last resort, he went to Demon, who resided in his inner world, but his alter ego had closed his eyes and ignored the affairs outside. The silence carried on between him and Metures, neither speaking as if waiting for the other to talk first.

'Ludicrous! Mad!' Ignyres cut in between and broke the stalemate. The three orbs in Ignyres's flaming head stopped rotating and halted, noting his full attention to Metures. He strode ahead, leaving a burning trail of smoldering steps, and neared the Ancient of Metal, shouting, 'How can a human become an Ancient?! That is impossible! Our flames are not of the same hearth. You'll kill him.'

"He is in no state to fight what is to come. Soon, the Caerulumen's plan will unfold, and he won't be ready. Look...his wounds are too deep. His strength wanes and will falter against their might. Death is certain there. If death is the only outcome, then we must choose the one that may play out how we wish." Metures raised his voice and coughed out clouds of rust, clutching his chest, a part of it caving in. "My time is limited. My life is spent. Someone must carry on our will."

"Start from the beginning," Oscar regained his voice and pressed for the answers. He came here for them and would not agree or consent without it. But Metures was right on one thing. Oscar clutched his chest, similar to Metures, and coughed out more blood, feeling the deep wound Lelith had inflicted starting to open and shivering. Of all of them, he had taken the worst of Lelith's attack, the cold touch of her blade piercing through his chest and out his back still fresh on his flesh. Perhaps death was his fate, but he wanted the truth and to choose as a free man, not a puppet or toy.

"When Volten, empowered by us, clashed in the final battle, Esteres died, and I was broken to this state and taken by the foul creations, chained to this throne. They foresaw their defeat and prepared deep plans hidden and locked away until the ripe moment. Half of Talos shattered into Shattirma, and entire continents were blown off the world, becoming Fallen Heaven. They turned their defeat into an opportunity. And I remained here, a prisoner awaiting my death." Metures rose from his throne, but when his knees parted from the seat, something pushed back. An invisible force rebounded him and forced him back on the throne.

"In the years to come, I watched and watched as the cycles renewed. People entered Fallen Heaven. Nearly all died. Some lived. And on it went. This tower... saps the strength from Talos. The denizens of Talos who die here, their souls, their flesh, their Ein, do not return to it. Thus, each time, Talos is drained, and nothing comes back." Metures pointed at Ignyres, "You don't feel it because you lost your connection to Talos, but I still feel it, the slow decay and waning of Talos's Ein."

'Why haven't the others acted? Okeanes? Xures? Tectones? Every single one of them!' Ignyres shouted in rage, his volcanic shoulders erupting.

Oscar recalled the titan he encountered in the frozen tundra, the one that awoke with a sacrifice of an ocean of blood and broke mountains in its path. According to Metures, there were several of those monstrous creations. Luckily, they had all been destroyed, save for one. Oscar shuddered in fear of what might have happened if more had awoken, imagining several towering titans crushing everyone beneath their feet.

"Talos slumbers and cannot be stirred out of its state, lest it dies. It will direct its wrath to invaders. The Caerulumen could barely sneak in one of theirs, taking four thousand years after Evelyn's revolt, and had to pull Gilbert's mother out or suffer Talos's retaliation." Metures tore off a piece of his rusted armor and let it fall off his palm like red sand.

"But Gilbert doesn't need to worry." Oscar understood now. "Talos can't tell since half of him is of Talos and born here. Why didn't you tell anyone to kill him?"

"Delay. Delay. Delay. We have delayed for as long as we can. Talos needs a victory. A delay now would be our loss. Talos needs us now. So I let him be and focused on my counter." Metures beamed a strong glow from his red eyes and pointed at Oscar. "You. The antithesis of the Caerulumen. Luck? Fate? Destiny? Threads? I had no hand in your start, but you grew up as the perfect one."

"And the others?" Oscar asked about Saul and Lelith.

"One was formed from my shard. She had the potential to host me. As for Saul, his experiments brought him quite close, but he fell short and failed. So, I cast him out of my plans." Metures gripped the ends of his throne, the perpetual prison, and gasped a low screech of tearing metal. "My initial plan was to take over, to rebuild myself from them and walk again, not as an Ancient, but also not as a human, taking the fight to the Caerulumen. That would have been her fate. But with you, I have changed my intentions."

"How so?" Oscar stated flatly.

"You will be in control. My mind, my will, my soul will be no more. Your decisions and choices afterward shall be yours and yours alone. You will and will not be the Ancient of Metal. You will and will not be Metures. You are and always will be Oscar Terr, the human." Metures spoke louder and clearer, imposing a fierce resolve in his voice that now cut sharper than blades, tingling on Oscar's skin. "That is what we should have done long ago. Trust our powers in the hands of Volten, not control him to our whims. So, our redemption is now. My power, the power of the Ancient of Metal, will be yours. You will still be restricted to the limits of creation, but you will stand shoulder-to-shoulder, if not above the Caerulumen. Fight them or not. You are free."

Metures drew in a deep breath. "What say you?"