280. And So the Begins the War of the Clones

280. And So the Begins the War of the Clones

Year 270 (Part 3)

I cannot de-age him. I said.

No. If I said I could, and I did it against his will, I would just prove Chungs point that I could have saved Ken but chose not to. If I didnt do it for Ken, theres certainly no reason to do it for Chung. I had to keep the story straight.

But- doesnt this mean we just killed him? Prabu and Colette both looked horrified.

Chungs soul just had his class ripped out of him, and even as I tried my best to soften the edges, it is still a traumatic incident and would cause aging.

Khefri frowned. How many years does he have left?

Five? I guessed, based on the rate of aging. His body was under a lot of stress, and he didnt trade his hero class for the other classes.

Wait. Does that mean he could keep his immortality if he traded his hero classes for other classes?

To some extent.

There is a limit, just like how there is a limit with the Experience Seeds. As far as I could tell, only domain holders are immortal, as the rest of them still age, albeit slowly. In that sense, this was a unique advantage afforded to us non-humanoids.

Even a lich, or a mummified corpse, like Zhaanpu, experienced decay over the years and had to go through a process of rejuvenation. The heroes didnt like this development, of course. Why would they? They thought they just merely stopped him. They didnt think they just gave him a death sentence.

Over the days and months, as Chung regained his consciousness, he laughed maniacally. Well done! Well done, all of you!

Prabu was the only one there when Chung laughed. Chung. You were being destructive.

I know. Chung laughed. And you did it. Well done, Prabu, Well done. Youve worked with evil, and decided to kill me. for new novels

I- I didnt know it was going to go this way.

And you trust that crazy tree anyway, don't you? You knew, and yet you trusted him.

I was tempted to just kill him anyway, but I didnt care. Chung now posed no harm, and I thought it was useful to have him around, as a test for the heroes nature.

Prabu shook his head. We didnt expect it either.

You think the damned tree didnt know this was going to happen?

It never removed a hero class ever. Prabu countered. And you were a danger to everyone. It was the only way.

Was it?

You were not listening to us.

Why should I?

Prabu frowned. Youre being difficult.

Chung frowned as well. Is that what you call standing up for myself and whats right?

No. Youre being destructive, and you wrecked the place in the Southern Continent. I dont call that standing up for yourself.

I did that, didnt it? Chung said, as if feigning forgetfulness. Why not just kill me? Thats what the tree would want.

Its not what we want. Prabu countered. For the greater good, this is the best way forward.

For the greater good. The former, now powerless hero said. Thats how we justify it all.

Yes. It is. Prabu somehow snapped. And it is the greater good if youre not destroying shit.

Fuck you.

Prabu stared at the shell of a man. I thought I would be sad to see you die. As it turns out, its just me holding on to someone who I thought was my friend. Someone who was with us for the fight against the demons.

Not for-

No. You were always looking for excuses. I had it. Weve been in this world way longer than Earth, or wherever they call it. These worlds are our homes, now, and Id be damned if I dont protect it.

All because you have a daughter-

And I am Michael of Museo.

We would later find out that they are named that way because once they ascended as Hawas Circle, they are supposed to consider the entire city that is their home-state as their home, and as such they are given the citys name as their normal family names.

The land where the demon king would arrive was located deep in the uninhabited territories, and it seemed that the magics of Hawa had somehow twisted their magical rifts such that they could only land in a few specified locations throughout Satrya.

These areas became known as the demon lands to the Satryan populace.

Uninhabited, and perfect for a node tree. Or a clone.

Our forces easily pierced the depths of the demon lands. Demon champions were frankly nothing at this point, Edna and Lumoof could handle multiple simultaneously.

I thought about what was the right level of force to apply, and briefly weighed the risk. From what I could see so far, Hawa offered to help, but we would have to help free up resources.

With a node tree, I didnt show my true strength. But why? Why hold back?

Should I be fearful of Hawas retaliation by placing one of my clone body on its outer core worlds, or betrayal?

I briefly considered the experiences so far. I would have the clone I lost in year 261 back in my reserves soon, and Alka would be back in business in about two to three years.

Lumoof understood my concerns, and then asked Olivia and Michael. How trustworthy is your god?

I saw the silliness of the question. How could their own priests know their gods character? But even so, what their answers helped.

If Hawa is not worthy of trust, no one is. Michael of Museo answered in confidence.

Hawas decisions in its peripheral worlds do not inspire that sort of confidence. Yet, I suppose to those who live in privilege, what would they know?

Olivias response was similar. There is no one we trust more than Hawa.

Lumoof nodded. Is Hawas promises reliable?

Olivia and Michaels facial expression was one of genuine disbelief. Of course! They countered, as if appalled that their gods character should ever be questioned.

But the dealings between Gods are all a matter of trust, is it not?

The system could ensure contracts and agreements are followed, but it would take a pact, a pact with the same level of power like the [World Faith System]. In short, it would be a [constitution] formed from the combined votes of the multiverse.

But right now, my dealings with Hawa will entirely be based on trust.

The belief system, in its design, should be one of trust. One where the Gods act in accordance to their myth, and Hawa was never seen as a deceitful god. After all, actions contrary to the Gods character will cause the gods to lose believers. It is an incentive to encourage consistent behavior.

Very well. Lumoof made the two priests of Hawa speak of their gods character, to describe his greatness.

They preached. They were trained to do so from a young age. Hawa in their eyes was the god of Laws, Honorable Battle and Honor. Of battlefield excellence and the purity of skill.

To the Satryans, Hawa was the only god in their eyes, naturally their own creation myths explained how the primordial egg created Hawa, and the remnants of the primordial egg formed the rejected parts of the world.

The demons.

It was totally untrue.

Hawas faith on Satrya didnt speak of the others at all, unlike how Hawas faith on Treehome was a blended creation myth.

Perhaps, the gods created a few versions of their own creation myths. A set for the peripheral worlds, that includes the other gods, and a set for their core worlds where they would not encounter the other gods.

In that sense, the existence of the other gods meant Hawa lied to the common populace. I could see the reason for it, after all, Hawa wanted believers, and for its core worlds, it was best not to give its believers options. Here, he was supreme, and the only alternative wasnt one.

Only the inner circle, the Hawas Circle, knew of the other worlds. But even they didnt know the full picture.

There was no reason to know.

Despite this obvious lie, I didnt think it invalidated Hawas trustworthiness. The variation in creation myths didnt seem malicious.

I also had value that I brought to the table. I could offer the Hawa a way to gain more faith points, by transporting his priests and believers to places that would cost too much [faith points] for him to reach.

I could defend worlds where it cost too much for him to act.

So, I decided it was worth it to give this relationship between two powers a shot. If they wanted to see us in action, well, Id do so with a clone.

I had three to spare, and one more on the way, /pd/Tree-of-Aeons-3-Audiobook/B0CJL65ST7