Chapter 186: Omen – Chapter 172: Clouded Clarity

"They really did not think that through, did they?" Caethya asked as she looked at the body of the [Keeper of Voices]. "I have no experience with rituals and still could have told you that this was a very bad idea."

"Stupidity seems to be a theme with mortals," Aperio replied, glancing at Neria. "I hope it is a trend that comes to an end soon, otherwise I will truly have to consider more drastic means."

Moria shook her head and mumbled a few words to herself that Aperio did not understand before turning her attention to the All-Mother. "The ritual they performed was never meant to bring something back to life," she said, her shoulders slumping as she set her eyes on the body in the middle of the floor. "Even the untested combination they attempted to use would never have that result.

"The Ritual of Remembrance is only to be used in conjunction with this chalice, with me present," Moria continued. "Its purpose is to transfer the entire memory of a member of the guard to the [Keeper of Voices], or to give that title to its new bearer. The other, untested ritual was meant to make one dungeon core stronger by giving it mana from another."

"Such a ritual is doomed to fail," Aperio said and tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "But I guess there is no way for a mortal to know that the mana present in every dungeon is mine; that though I gave it freely at the time, it still belongs to me. Whatever means a mortal can muster would not mean much to it. To me."

While the cores eluded her grasp somehow — just like the remnants of Chellien's Soul had before she placed it in her Void — they were still filled to the brim with her mana. The one in Ebenlowe even had delusions of being something. How that had happened was still something she would need to figure out. Mana certainly felt like it was alive, but she knew that it was not; that what she felt was just another part of herself.

"I figured as much," Moria said, her voice barely a whisper. "That they always come back no matter what we do was a good hint. So was the fact that the mana you could extract from them was never as pure or plentiful than what the core itself used."

"Why did it turn him into a core though?" Caethya asked, picking up a shard of the destroyed crystal. She turned it every which way before a tendril of her mana tried to enter it.

"Weird," she said, "it feels like it wants my mana, but when I try to give it some, it rejects it."

A flick of Aperio's wrist caused a shard to fly into her hand. If her assumption was correct, the crystal should be perfectly fine with taking her mana. With a slight furrow of her brow, the All-Mother tried to push a tiny sliver of her mana into the shard. The piece of the destroyed core greedily accepted the minuscule fraction of her power, pulling it inside… only to shatter as soon as it had done so.

"It takes mine," she said, turning her hand over and brushing the pieces of crystal off. "But, as you can see, it cannot withstand even the tiniest amount I can give it."

Moria nodded at her words, as if it made perfect sense. "This one was not made by you — not forged by your mana — so it's probably not resilient enough to hold your mana." She hesitated for a moment, her eyes flicking towards the empty pedestal. "I think it would also accept Chellien's mana, but I do not want to test that."

"And neither will we. The time with which the [Ancestral Guard] could use his gift has come to an end."

Neria flattened her ears against her head and took a step towards the All-Mother. She opened her mouth to speak, but the hand of Moria stopped that.

"I understand," her surrogate mother said, removing her hand from her daughter's face. "I don't assume there is a way to change your mind?"

Aperio heaved a sigh, her wings spreading slightly behind her. "No," she said as she shook her head. "Not now, at least. Everything I have given so far has been used to make what I despise a reality. I do not wish to see this trend continued. If the [Ancestral Guard] needs a deity to look up to, I suggest you step up yourself, Moria.

"You have lived enough lives to know," Aperio continued, setting her eyes on her surrogate mother. "Immortality is something you already possess; removing the need to be born again should not be hard for you, right?"

Aperio's words were underlined by the same note of truth that she had felt when speaking to Neria. Her question did not need an answer as everyone who had heard it already knew what the answer was.

"Yes," Moria replied nonetheless. Her shoulders slumped slightly and, a moment later, she let herself fall to her knees. "I know that I could ascend. Not doing so is becoming harder and harder with every life, almost as though the world itself dislikes the fact that I choose to stay somewhat mortal."

"Your status as a divine will not change the fact that you will be reborn upon death." [Memento Mori], as a title, was very clear, working with a single-minded duty to bring its bearer, Moria, back to life with their memory intact. Even if she were to become a Goddess, the title she bore still would work its relentless purpose. "Unless, of course, you wish to let go of your title."

"Perhaps I will," Moria replied. She gave a bitter smile. "When it asks me if I want to remember...I say yes. Every. Single. Time. I do not want to forget my families, my friends."

"Then don't," Caethya said, stepping closer to the kneeling Moria. She lowered herself to be at eye level with the Beastkin. "I cannot imagine what it must feel like to… outlive everyone over and over again, but I know that I do not want to be forgotten by those I love." She glanced over her shoulder at Aperio, smiling slightly as the All-Mother cocked her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "If there is anyone who can be a good leader for the Beastkin, I imagine it is you."

Aperio gave a nod at her love's word. She was not sure how Caethya managed to come up with the right things to say over and over again, but it was certainly a useful skill. Aperio wanted to comfort her surrogate mother, but nothing she could think of seemed appropriate. Wrapping Moria in hug just seemed… odd, at the moment.

"I am not a good leader," Moria said with a shake of her head. "I am not even a good mother. Not in this life, nor any of those that came before."

"What?" Neria asked, her ears swivelling from left to right. "Why would you think that?"

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"Because I was never there for you? There was always something I had to do, something more urgent, more important, more critical that took my time away from you. Not only that, but I up and left you, without even saying a word." Moria took the tissue Caethya had grabbed from seemingly nowhere and wiped her eyes. "How is that being a good mother?"

Neria narrowed her gaze and pulled her head back slightly as she shook it. "You wanted to protect me and, while I do not agree with the methods, I understand that you had to do something." Her ears flicked slightly and she set her gaze onto the All-Mother. "The only thing I do not understand is why you did not ask her for help with this sooner."

"Because this is a problem of my own making," Moria said. "My problem, not hers."

"Did I not make it clear enough that I am your friend?" Aperio asked, not quite sure why Moria would even think that. "I told you that I would help you with the [Ancestral Guard] if you needed it."

"See," Moria said as her head slumped forward, "I am not cut out for any of this. I do best when I am alone somewhere without responsibility."

Caethya let out a long sigh and shook her head. "No, you just need to learn that asking for help is alright." She looked at the All-Mother. "Just like Aperio needs to. Both of you seem to be under this illusion that you have to do everything yourselves, even if you are unable to solve the problem on your own.

"No matter how strong you are," her love continued, "there will still be things you cannot — or will not — do. For those, you need help, but getting that help requires you to ask for it."

Aperio remained silent at the words. She knew that Caethya spoke the truth, but there was nothing she could reply to, especially not now. The current situation still demanded their attention and the break they were currently taking was not really good. But needed. Forging onward while everyone was not on the same page would only lead to disaster in the future. Even Aperio herself could see that.

"You do not have to lead if you do not want to," Aperio finally said. "But I think you would do better actually leading than trying to steer from the shadows." That is always doomed to fail.

She had seen enough nobles try it during her time as a slave. They always thought they had it all figured out; that they could simply sit back and let everyone else do their bidding. For some, this actually worked, but they also tended to be people that had no issue with simply killing anyone that disobeyed them. If you left them alive, mortals would seemingly always decide that they did not need your guidance. That even seems to extend to the divine.

"Someone needs to lead the guard," Neria said. "And I can't think of someone more suited for it than you are."

"Because there is not anyone." Aperio shook her head. "Whether you want to or not, the guard needs guidance that only you can offer at the moment. Unless you are fine with the — to my understanding — fragile peace between the tribes breaking."

"Honestly?" Moria said, setting her eyes on the All-Mother. "I might be. The feuds they have are childish; fueled by ignorance and greed. I doubt I can change that, even with the help of the guard." She shook her head. "If I can even fix the guard in the first place."

The All-Mother appeared next to her surrogate mother and placed her hand gently on her shoulder. Moria might not be able to see what she could do, but Aperio knew. She had spent more than enough time with her to know that the Beastkin was more suited to be a Goddess than any of the others she had enabled to become one. However, whether she would achieve that or not rested on her shoulders alone. The All-Mother would not elevate anyone to godhood again. Reaching it on her own shouldn't be too hard for her.

Aperio had a sneaking suspicion that all Moria had to do was let the System give her the seed of divinity. Whatever parameters her old self had set for ascension should have long been fulfilled by her surrogate mother.

"I need time to think," Moria finally replied. "And we need to take care of this first, anyway."

Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly but stood up and nodded nonetheless. Her best choice of action for these things would likely always be noninterference. Well, as little as possible. She would still rather help her friends if she could, even if other mortals would inevitably try to somehow use that fact to their advantage.

"What do we do now?" Caethya asked, stepping beside Aperio and placing her hand on the small of the All-Mother's back. "While they did not try to mind control everyone, they were still definitely trying to throw everyone they did not approve of out of the city."

"The guard does not rule the city," Moria said. "At least not officially. There is still an elected government, and they can continue as normal. The only problem will be the lack of people to police the streets, but we can make do."

Aperio tilted her head gently to the side as she reached out to both Laelia and her daughter. She doubted either of them could spare much manpower at the moment, but it would be better than nothing.

Her daughter was the first to reply, letting her know that she could send some people but that they were likely not welcome in Foderys. Laelia's reply was much more somber. She did not have anyone she could send — just as Aperio had expected — but the tone of her reply caused Aperio to inquire further.

Something was obviously not quite right in the world of her Scion, and the All-Mother wished to know what.

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