'Is this a piece of memory that I have wandered into?' I pondered.
From the looks of this scene that I am seeing, the main focus of this one is the guy holding a spear and shield. He is far too isolated from everything else that if you look at this scene, the very first thing that you will see is this guy before everything else. It was like he is the different contrast of everything and everyone around.
When I try to take a closer look, I realize that the shield and spear in his hands are none other than the Weapons of Pride that King Goliath wielded before, the Spear of Superbia and Shield of Vanagloria.
I tried to look more at the situation when the man holding the spear turned to look in my direction and throw his spear at me.
I tried to pull my weapon out of my hip but then I remembered I am no longer in the game. Noticing this, I have no choice but to instinctively block in front of me using my arms crossing them to shield myself before I close my eyes to brace the impact of whatever is coming to me.
BUT...
Nothing happened. I opened my eyes and the scene has changed again. This time, the man is standing in the mountain of corpses. I immediately knew that those mountains of corpses are the people earlier who has been carrying torches and the soldiers are also among them.
Are these the pieces of memory of the Weapons of Pride? Is this the reason they are labeled as the Weapons of Pride? The guy went down from the corpses of the people and went back to the hut. There, he stood in front of the two corpses of the woman and child. After a while, he kneeled down to the ground and broke into tears.
"GODDESS OF LIFE! WHY ARE YOU THIS CRUEL TO ME?! I HAVE PROTECTED THE PEOPLE OF THE KINGDOM ONLY FOR MY FAMILY TO BE TREATED LIKE THIS! I DID EVERYTHING THEY WANTED AND THEY REPAID ME WITH THIS! WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MY POWER IF THE PEOPLE I LOVED THE MOST ARE ALSO THE PEOPLE I DIDN'T GET TO PROTECT?! THE PEOPLE I PROTECTED ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE KILLED THEM! THEY DESERVED TO DIE!"
Just as he was lamenting the death of the two people before him, white light in the form of a human shape appeared before him.
"FOOLISH MORTAL... YOU ARE JUST TASKED BY ME TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVED IN ME. YOU ARE UNDER MY POWER SO THAT IS THE ONLY TASK YOU NEED TO DO. DISOBEDIENCE IS NOT AN OPTION. YOUR ACTIONS MIGHT BE TROUBLESOME BUT YOUR POWER IS STILL NEEDED."
"THEN, IF YOU NEEDED MY POWER, GIVE BACK THE LIFE OF MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER!"
"HA, YOU ARE INDEED A FOOLISH MORTAL. I ONLY BESTOW MY POWER TO THOSE WHO DESERVED IT. AND IF THEY HAVE DIED, I AM NOT GOING TO TROUBLE MYSELF IN BESTOWING THEM NEW LIFE. IT'S NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY."
"I HAVE ENOUGH OF YOUR NONSENSE! SOME GODDESS OF LIFE YOU ARE! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A SELF-RIGHTEOUS GOD WHO SAID TO PROTECT HER FOLLOWERS! YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT THEIR LIVES!"
"INSOLENT... HOW DARE YOU QUESTION A GOD LIKE THAT? YOU ARE TRESPASSING YOUR MORTAL BOUNDARIES ALREADY. NOW, MOVE. YOU CAN'T REST UNTIL I TELL YOU TO."
The light on her arms wavered a bit which means she is waving it. I can't properly see what is happening or doing with the bright light it has. However, the guy who has let go of his weapons seems to start moving.
"F*CK YOU! YOU CAN'T CONTROL ME AGAINST MY WILL!"
However, his hands are already reaching on his weapon and shield.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
He is screaming. A scream full of pain and suffering, reluctance, and his will to disobey are getting stronger. However, it was not enough.
FACING A POWER OF A DEITY, THAT POWER IS NOT ENOUGH. His willpower did nothing.
...
In the end, he stood there, holding the two cursed weapons. The deity is already gone but the power she bestowed on the guy is still there.
"CURSE YOU, CURSE YOU!"
After that, the situation has changed, and the guy stood on the battlefield. On this battlefield, monster carcasses and human cadavers are scattered around the place. The only person moving and standing is none other than the guy who has been arguing with the Goddess of Life.
He has changed so much. His hair has turned to white and he has a long beard. He looks like a sage magician or something like that of similarity. He is old enough to be called an old geezer. If I have to guess, he is already on the verge of the end of his life compared to the scene that happened earlier. It is clear that he was at his prime during the first and second scenes.
The desolate place in the world, alongside him standing alone in a battlefield that has seen plenty of death are the fallen who have fought till their final breath.
"I want to die... I no longer want to do this anymore... I just wanted to meet my wife and daughter in the afterlife..."
...
This guy... it seems like the Goddess of Life has given him longevity and power to not die easily. I can't believe this. The Goddess of Life is this cruel? I heard tidbits of how the Goddess of Life is the main jerk of the conflict between the goddesses but who would have thought that she would be this cruel? This is already torture. For this man, it seems he is protecting the people who have persecuted his family, and yet he continues to stand up and defend everything.
Now I see...
The absolute defense power of the Shield of Vanagloria, and the power to kill using the Spear of Superbia...
Is this the main reason why the weapons of Pride are created? Because of the Goddess of Life?
Then I saw the scene change before me. The light figure that appeared before, the Goddess of Life.
"GOOD JOB. YOUR JOB IS FINALLY DONE. YOUR DUTY HAS FINALLY COME TO AN END."
The guy didn't respond, he just stares at the figure before him. He already lost all of his reason to even say anything to the goddess he hates the most.
"SO, ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR REWARD?"
When he heard those words, his face changed from an expressionless blank face to a face full of rage.
"YOU STUPID GODDESS... WHO NEEDS YOUR CRAPPY REWARD!? EAT THAT SH*T! JUST LET ME REST ALREADY... I AM TIRED..."
The goddess seems to be pissed when it crossed its arms.
"YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED. YOU STILL HAVE NO RESPECT FOR ME WHO HAS GIVEN YOU ALL THE POWER YOU NEEDED. I CAN GRANT YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT AS I AM A GOD. WHETHER MONEY, KINGDOM, RICHES THAT CANNOT BE EXHAUSTED, WOMEN AND MANY MORE, JUST NAME IT AND YOU WILL HAVE IT."
"Then... bring my wife and my daughter back to life. You can grant me anything, right? Yeah, bring them back to life. That's all I wish and asked for."
That's when the goddess seems to have been pissed.
"YOU CAN WISH FOR ANYTHING BUT THAT."
"F*CK YOU AND YOUR GODDESS AUTHORITY... YOU ARE THE GODDESS OF LIFE, YOU CAN BESTOW LIFE AND GIVE ANYTHING WITH LIFE IF YOU WANTED. AND YET, YOU CAN'T DO IT! USELESS! USELESS!"
BANG!
The guy flew so far that he landed on the ground with a large crater. However, he is still alive even after that.
"I AM KIND ENOUGH TO GIVE YOU A REWARD FROM YOUR MISSION AND YOUR DUTY BUT YOU STILL CHOOSE TO WISH ON THAT IMPOSSIBLE WISH OF YOURS. YOU MUST HAVE SOME WISH TO DIE."
"Heh, if only I could die, then perhaps I wouldn't be suffering like this, wouldn't I? And that irony of yours telling yourself you are a kind god, man, you are so hilarious to the point I want to puke."
"THE REWARD WILL STILL REMAIN. UNTIL YOU DECIDE ON IT, THE POWER THAT I HAVE BESTOWED ON YOU WILL NOT DISAPPEAR JUST YET."
"F*ck you and this authority you have given to me. What is the point of this power if I don't want to use it anymore? Just go away as I am so pissed looking at your face. You are an annoyance."
The light entity of the Goddess of Life slowly disappeared as the guy sits down on the ground and sighed and cried.
"Perhaps, the Goddess of Death can remove this damnable power that the Goddess of Life has bestowed me in. And perhaps, she can also help me die peacefully. Perhaps... I can at least get the peace that I sought for."
The Goddess of Death...so in this scenario, this occurred before the battle of the two goddesses has begun. It seems the story behind the weapons is part of the legacy. Somehow, I have seen the new Goddess of Life in a new side.. And I don't think I really like it.