Chapter 497 Epilogue (final)
Suddenly, Zaos saw himself standing in a throne room. However, that one didn't look like the ones he had seen in Sairus and Ashiris kingdom. He could see any walls or ceiling, but he could see stars around and above him… After a few moments, he recalled what had happened… he had died. Seventy years after he and Drannor defeated the demon god, Elisius.
Over the course of those seventy years, he lived a very fulfilling life. While the world was at peace, he opened four schools for magic swordsmen in several parts of the world. He also managed to put all the mercenary groups under his command. However, those were unimportant things if compared to the fact that he had five kids with Aleni. He also grew old enough to see his kids having their own children… Zaos even attended Milliendra's marriage. In the end, that little brat, Heiti, won over her heart.
Nevertheless, Zaos lived a good life, and now he is dead. He had no attachments to that world anymore, so he didn't feel troubled. Until he realized that he looked the same as he was when he was in his twenties. The same body, the same black armor, and the fully powered Guardian's Heart were also on his right hand. However, he could feel and use his left hand freely.
"You finally came, Zaos," A female voice echoed through the area and a green-eyed woman that had long black hair appeared.
"You… what is that appearance?" Zaos asked while frowning.
Over the years, Zaos looked for traces of the being who talked with Millinedra on the day he defeated Elisius. Still, he never found any traces of her. Still, he imagined that he would find her once he died, and so that happened. However, he didn't imagine that the goddess of that world would appear looking exactly like his mother while wearing a long blue dress.
"I am sorry, Zaos… I caused you a lot of trouble," the goddess said. "You have all the rights to hate me since I used you to deal with a problem that I caused… My name is Myre, and this is my real appearance. I lived for a while in the mortal realm, and I was truly your mother."
Zaos finally recalled that on the day he visited Ameria's grave for the first time, he had a weird thought… he had thought that the person who talked with Milliendra was Ameria… or even his mother. Still, for some reason, he forgot it. Even if he didn't forget about it, he could imagine himself thinking of numerous explanations. Like the goddess was just mimicking the voice of the people that he knew… it would make sense since Milliendra said that the owner of the voice seemed gentle.
"... Why would you go to such lengths to raise me only to ignore my calls later?" Zaos asked. "Was that only a game to you?"
"No… it wasn't," Myre said. "I had to assume a human form because your existence is something that shouldn't be possible in that world."
"Why? You summoned Elisius, didn't you?" Zaos asked.
"It was a mistake on my part. He was reincarnated with his memories, and he had the potential to influence the whole world because he was born among the magic race," Myre replied. "But due to his powers, all of them born in that era were under his influence, so I thought it would be better if you were to be born in the Sielders family, to inherit Guardian's Heart and to be closer to Drannor and Ameria."
"... You knew that Ameria would die because of him, and you didn't do anything?" Zaos opened his eyes widely.
"I could intervene, but that would cause bigger problems… when someone like me interferes in the mortal realm, all sorts of bad things can happen," Myre replied. "Like, even if I leave small traces of mana behind, if they are absorbed by someone or something, it might give birth to a monster, or other things like portals connecting worlds..."
"That doesn't change the fact that your actions caused Ameria's death and Milliendra's suffering," Zaos frowned.
"You are right…" Myre lowered her head and nodded. "I thought that by summoning a hero and giving him the title of hero, I could solve the problem of the monsters without creating another, but I was wrong… and because of it, the descendants of the magic race and the other inhabitants of that world suffered for 2500 years… nothing that I say will change that."
Zaos wondered if that was an act or something if she was the goddess of that world, and Elisius wanted to take her place. She was supposed to be more selfish and egocentric. That humble attitude and accepting everything that happened as her fault seemed too weird… Besides, it wasn't like anything would change by just saying that.
"... Why didn't you tell me your motives and goals from the very beginning?" Zaos asked after a few moments of awkward silence.
"While I admit that I made you clean my mess, my goal was to let you decide your own path," Myre replied. "Nothing is set in stone in the physical realm, so there was a chance that my plans could fail. So, I tried my best to show you the feelings of a mother toward their children… without your memories, I didn't know if you would help Ameria, even more so with her final request of ending her life, but I suppose that wasn't necessary… given how hard you worked, it seemed that you are someone that can't abandon children when they are in a dangerous situation. Although that sounds convenient to me to say that, I truly loved those days that we spent together."
"That really sounds convenient… and what do you mean by that?" Zaos asked. "Was I someone who helped kids in my past life?"
"Not exactly. You were a firefighter that died after breathing too much smoke in a fire," Myre explained. "I can only show you this much. I am sorry, in the end, I can't return all of your memories."
Zaos didn't even recall his old name, but he vividly recalled the last moments of his past life. Some sort of orphanage began to burn for some reason or the other. Most of the kids escaped, but some couldn't. Zaos saw a man with weird clothes crossing through the fire and finding some kids who were barely conscious there. He gave them his mask to breathe, and once their condition stabilized, he moved them outside. Call it a coincidence, but those three kids were a bit familiar to himself, Drannor, and Ameria when they were young… After leaving the building, the kids were treated in an ambulance, and Zaos collapsed on the ground, never to wake up again.
"... Why did you show me that? It will only make me want to remember more…" Zaos said.
"Reincarnated individuals aren't supposed to remember their past lives… Elisius could because I summoned him soon after his death," Myre said. "I wanted to help him as much as possible because he would be helping me by protecting the people of that world, but you know how that ended."
"Then… those memories that I had while dreaming…" Zaos frowned.
"When people that are bound to be reincarnated die, they stay for a while in the place that they felt comfortable in the past lives," Myre explained. "It is just an illusion, but it is the place that you stayed for the most part of your past life… souls stay there until they are completely purified and until they forget everything about their past life."
It made sense… No wonder Zaos felt like he spent a long time somewhere before he was born in that world. Still, that process called purification was a weird name… it wasn't like he had lived an impure life. Still, from the perspective of beings like Myre, perhaps any memory of a world could be considered impure.
"Let me explain a few things about your life that you always felt weird about," Myre said. "Like I told you before, you weren't supposed to be born in that world, and neither was I. Still, I forcefully made myself being born into a family that didn't have any heirs. Those who became my parents in that world wished for a healthy boy for him to become a high-ranked commander in the army, but they only got a sickly girl. Hence, they used me to raise their rank by marrying me into a family of higher status."
"You didn't plan that?" Zaos frowned. "That is hard to believe."
"I didn't plan it, but I knew how it would happen. I have the power of Foresight, so I can see that kind of thing ahead of time," Myre explained. "However, I can only see certain events in the future. If there is something about to happen that will change the whole world, I can't see the complete outcome."
"Is that so…" Zaos frowned since everything seemed too convenient for Myre.
"Due to my actions, I ended up getting in the way of something else that was also bound to happen… the marriage between Laiex and Nyana's mother," Myre said. "That was one of the reasons you never got along with him… because you aren't supposed to be born in that world, and you weren't the son of the woman he truly loved. He felt troubled by your existence. He did his best to fight those dark feelings, but his loyalty toward the kingdom ended up making you both be on bad terms for a long time."
Zaos rubbed his chin thoughtfully while he pondered about that… it made a lot of sense… Usually, a father would choose his own kid over the family of someone else. However, Zaos' existence was unnatural, so…
"At least now I know that I didn't steal the life of someone else…" Zaos said and then sighed. "But what about Ameria and all the others who died because of Elisius?"
"I know that it isn't enough, but I will give them the chance to be reborn. Some of them, even Ameria, had already been reincarnated in other worlds," Myre explained. "It is the only thing I can do for them… I am sorry for the problems I caused to all of you, but it was the only option I had to avoid the end of the world."
"Speaking of the end of the world… is it true what Elisius said about that place being the world we came from?" Zaos asked.
"Yes, while you two came from the same world, you two also came from different temporal lines," Myre replied. "What happened to his world might happen to yours, but it will take some time for that to happen… After all, he was born three thousand years before you."
All that whole story was starting to get really complicated… while some things made sense, like temporal lines, some others didn't. Zaos felt like he couldn't let that happen to his first world, but without his memories, his sense of urgency to help it wasn't so strong. Besides, what could he do now that he was dead?
"You really helped me, so I have an offer for you, Zaos," Myre said. "I can't give you back the memories of your first world, but I can remove you from the cycle of reincarnation while you maintain your current body. You will become transcendent. You already have reached the requirements for that, after all. I can also give you the chance to check those who have been reincarnated, including Ameria. While she will feel some connection between you two, she won't be able to recall who you are."
"... That seems too good to be true," Zaos frowned. "Why would you go that far?"
"Because I don't want to repeat the same mistakes, so I would need your help to protect other worlds from certain crises," Myre replied and then showed a slightly uneasy smile. "And while we didn't have much of a normal relationship, I still would like to think of myself as your mother."
Zaos felt a bit confused… he never forgot Lyra, but after meeting Myre, he thought those feelings were lies… Myre could be fooling him to make him deal with inconvenient problems for her. Still, something in his heart was telling Zaos that it wasn't true.
"... Can I?" Zaos asked with his arms open after he approached Myre.
"Sure?" Myre smiled and opened her arms as well.
Zaos hugged her, and then he felt that same comfortable and nostalgic smell. Myre was his mother… it wasn't an act, Zaos could tell. His instincts weren't warning him of anything. The warmth that he was feeling was the real deal.
"Why do you want to do this?" Zaos asked. "Isn't that the same interference that you always avoided?"
"It may be, but just like someone else watched over me before I reached this point, I also want to watch over others and give them the chance to reach their true potential," Myre replied. "I didn't do much, but I watched over you for a while, and I am more sure now than ever that I am not wrong in doing that."
"... Okay, I will help you, mother," Zaos said and hugged Myre more tightly. "Thank you… for everything."
"Welcome to my Guardian's Throne, Zaos," Myre said.
The end.
