Chapter 348: Into The Darkness

Daarc remained quiet. He saw the picture silently. In that picture, he saw heaven. A much warmer place than the one he'd seen just moments ago. And gods, plenty of gods just walking around, living in peace and prosperity. And a mighty tree that'd put even the massive tree of Xylax to shame. 

The tree was large, really large and its shade covered almost the entire place. 

"We thought of the world tree as our parent, our salvation, and our leader. We worshiped it." Ashirnae sighed. "But we were wrong."

"What do you mean?"

The picture in front of Daarc caught fire or to be more precise, things were being destroyed, Gods were falling one by one and were being killed by a god. A god with blazing blue hair, a bleeding chest. Half of the god's body had turned into that of a snake's and it was growing. He was enraged beyond reason.

"The world tree- is a parasite that latches onto new worlds- constantly sucks life out of them, mutates the general people to such a degree that mana can be harvested even from the air and after an adequate level, sucks everything and moves on to the next world: this is how it lives through eons. The monsters you fight are the product of that movement. They were the residents of the previous worlds."

Daarc's eyes opened slightly but he wasn't convinced. "Weren't you the one who gave men mana and created the age of different races? Besides, you betrayed Trerortra and the other gods: you created the undead."

"It is true, yes. At the time, I was the favorite son of the world tree. I listened to everything; I did everything it asked. The gods loved me, the mortals praised me, I did everything to be better than my brother."

"Brother?"

"Yes, Trerortra." He let out another sigh. "But that is in the past. By the time I'd learned of the truth, I'd already done the bidding of the world tree and set the world in chaos. Once I learned of the whole thing, however, I devised centuries' worth of plans and I even tried to execute them: I told my brother everything but he didn't believe me. I tried to slow down the progress, I tried to make people aware- the gods aware. No one believed me, not my brother, not my family. The world tree found out and then it made a god betray me- the goddess of trickery. She betrayed my wife and locked her up in the bottom of the ocean- she tricked me and Trerortra and started the war. Trerortra ate the forbidden fruit, turned into a monster, and killed everyone, creating the grand monsters: all part of the grand plan of the world tree. In the end, everything was destroyed but it set an age of mana and hastened the eventual destruction of this world. If only I hadn't acted, perhaps things would have been different. Perhaps there wouldn't be any undead, and perhaps the world wouldn't have been on a path to be destroyed so soon."

"Then-"

"Then you're wondering a lot of things. and you must be thinking, perhaps all this is a lie made up just for you."

Daarc remained silent. 

There were no sounds and he couldn't really-

"Then let me tell you Daarc Green. Why? Why would I- the god of the underworld, the god of war, the god of death, go out of my way to deceive you, a mere mortal?" Ashirnae didn't scream, but his words had weight. "I have no reason to lie to you and I have no reason to put my faith in you. This all but a mere jest of mine- to pass the time if you will."

Finally, after all this time, Daarc chuckled. "I don't know. Nothing makes sense. Even if the world is destroyed, then what?"

All his friends were dead and he also got himself killed. 

"Then it moves on to the next, perhaps not your world, but another. Then another, and one day, your world. All the people that you ever thought to be friends or family will eventually turn into monsters."

"Is it stoppable?"

"Everything is. Nothing is immortal, not you, nor the gods. And not even that tree. However, its powers are beyond us."

"You speak like you know it all."

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"No, I've seen it all. I've seen it too many times." Ashirnae clapped his hands. 

And with that Daarc could see something in the faraway darkness. "I've met her before."

In that faraway darkness, a woman remained chained. 

Though Daarc could see the woman, he knew she wasn't here and that he couldn't interact. This was but a mere recording.

"Yes, she's the one who summoned you to this world- the first goddess. The goddess of darkness. Endroma."

"The one who summoned me?"

"Yes. She called you to this world to free her, so she could once more reclaim her name, her worth, and be free. So she could fight back and make sure the world isn't destroyed. She was the survivor of the last world you see, and she was the one who showed me the truth. Even now, I question reality, I question the truth, but nothing ever was that simple. Tell me Daarc Green why do you fight?"

Daarc thought for a second. "I don't fight for the people nor the world. I fight for my friends and to escape this fate and for the first time in my life, live in peace."

And that's why he didn't have a purpose anymore. 

Ashirnae snorted. "Mortal dreams are so simple yet-" He paused. "Very well, I name you, my apostle." He covered himself in his cloak again. "That way you'll at least have a shot revenge." He paused to put emphasis on his next words. "The stairway to the heavens is lost- only when you become a god yourself, can you find and reopen those. Once you do become a god- you shall know true despair and only then can you save the world- and all who are in it- your friends, your future. And to become a god, you must first assimilate enough mana to rival that of a god…. How, that is forgotten…"

"But they're dead."

"What about your love? Your other friends? Your comrades?"

Daarc looked up- he looked at Ashirnae. "And you're telling me, if I oh so happen to become a god- which I don't know how- I'll mysteriously be able to travel to heaven and then mysteriously be able to beat the world tree or whatever? Then what? Did you forget that I couldn't even beat that fucking bastard?" 

Ashirnae chuckled. "Good, good, you're returning. The chances of you ending the world Tree, when you couldn't beat the emperor, is nigh zero. It isn't zero but it's very close. I was a god and yet, I failed. I don't expect you to win, no. The world tree is powerful and it could easily create gods from its roots. And you may choose not to do anything about it. The world still has a century, give or take a few decades. With your current state, assuming you could perhaps defeat the emperor, you could still live in peace for the next century or so."

Daarc also chuckled. "I want revenge and I want it now. But- you're right. I may have lost what was important to me, things I valued the most. But I still have others, I treasure. I still have-" Daarc closed his eyes, made a fist, and smiled. "Thanks. And I still don't trust you or what you've said. But- I'll judge them all with my own eyes. What I do, is my decision alone. As for the tree, that's not my concern right now. All I want is to pummel that bastard. "

Ashirnae snorted. "Very well. May you writhe in the fires of hell and be reborn anew."

'The hell did you just say?'

And Daarc caught fire. 

His whole body burned and he could swear the fire was by far the hottest thing he'd ever experienced in his life- but he didn't scream nor writhe. "I guess I won't be seeing you again," He managed. 

Ashirnae didn't say a word and Daarc's consciousness faded into the darkness.

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