Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 85: Brightlag Sphere(II)

Inwardly, Uriel couldn’t help but sigh.

Between the lines, he could read many of the things Ayah wasn’t explaining.

From her status, to her relationship with the prince and the Chaos Tribe, and her time during the war.

He could almost feel the disarray brewing in her heart.

"Trapped?" he asked, his voice cutting through her laughter, which had been reigning for a few moments already.

He could tell she was spiraling.

Her bell-like laughter slowly came to a halt and she nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yes."

She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her long lavender hair. She exhaled.

"In the past, before I was born, the Supreme Spirit used to be extremely present and active in our lives. But then, he died."

Uriel’s heart skipped a beat.

"And a new one emerged. With the emergence of the new Spirit, the laws of the world changed, and a new generation of Sentinels was born, the generation of my ancestors."

"But with the old Spirit gone... the ancient generation went mad, and at that time, a war raged, between the old and the new."

"In the end, no side won, and they merged, becoming those that ruled during my life."

She leaned back, cushioned by the sofa.

"But that left the new Spirit with far more questions than answers. How could the Old Spirit die? Why did the Old Sentinels go mad?"

"So, she began to come up with a plan with her children, the Royal Tribes, and the civil war was the result of that plan."

"I don’t know how, but that war proved to them that something was wrong with the universe, and that a sort of barrier or shackle had been placed upon it."

She stared at the ceiling, laughter creeping in as she thought about the ridiculous absurdity of what she was about to say, but this time she managed to hold it in.

"After the war, the most accomplished nobles were sent away from the planetary core to explore the universe and find out what was wrong."

"Perhaps we could find ancient races from the Old Spirit’s time to answer our questions, or even find clues. Ithuril had nothing, history wiped from the point of the Old Spirit’s death."

"And even the Old Mad Sentinels that survived had lost memory of the past, so we were lost. And thus, we went looking for answers."

Silence stretched for a long while.

"The universe was empty."

Her gaze left the ceiling and finally refocused on Uriel.

"Every single planet outside of Ithuril was a corrupted mess, filled with mad creatures, and every star a center of foul and impure aether, something that was supposed to be impossible in a non-awakened world."

"The universe was empty; no other races, no other habitable planets, nothing. Just death and darkness, and ruins of a time none remember."

Uriel was silent, but his heart thundered against his chest.

"Those mad creatures... are they here? In the dungeon?"

Ayah shrugged. "I have no idea, Uriel. I really don’t."

"But as you can see, apart from me, there are no other Royal Sentinels in any settlement. I’m only here because I asked to be."

"It wouldn’t surprise me if the others were sent to hunt for them across the dungeon."

Uriel massaged his forehead, his interactions with Thoryl suddenly gaining an entirely new layer of meaning, and his interactions with Enoch birthing new inquiries.

Enoch had never spoken of such dangers.

Well, in a way, he had, but he’d never talked about the dangers they’d face as anything world-shattering, nor had he ever implied these creatures were what brought their doom in past timelines.

Every time, Enoch implied they survived most of what was to come, then died due to some sort of infighting.

’He said the timeline changed... is that one of its changes?’

He looked at Ayah. "How strong are the Royal Sentinels?"

Ayah shook her head. "They’re strong enough. I’m a very bad example because of external circumstances."

"But they’re strong enough. Strong enough to face any threat."

"The Sentinels are powerful enough to guard the universe from all danger."

She stood to her feet, heading toward the kitchen.

"I laugh not because I think they’ll lose, but because you don’t seem to understand how cruel they are. If they had the heart to enslave their own, who are millions of times more valuable than humans, what would they do to you?"

"I’m sure they’ll find a way to tame the mad creatures."

She turned to him. "And if they do, I’m not sure you’ll be able to do anything against them."

Uriel’s gaze narrowed. "The new Spirit would let us get enslaved and slaughtered by them? Does she not care about humans as well?"

"Are we not the same in her eyes?!"

Ayah didn’t answer, but her laughter seemed to be enough.

Uriel’s expression tightened.

...

Time passed.

Ayah was in the kitchen cooking, and Uriel was still seated on his single-seat sofa, staring out through the open wide windows of the living room, toward the garden soaking in the falling rain.

His gaze was pensive.

’The universe was trapped by something, and that something killed the Spirit, wiped history, and corrupted all races of the universe except humanity.’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

’It corrupted every planet and star except for ours.’

He closed his eyes, sinking into the waters of his own mind.

’And parallel to that, regressors exist that constantly tweak and change the timeline. And they all seem to be afraid of something that’ll happen.’

’They all died and failed to save the world. In each timeline, our world ends up shattered, either during its awakening or shortly after.’

He hummed.

’Did they die trying to save the world, or did they die while trying to survive?’

The difference between the two seemed slim, but it was of primordial importance.

’And then there are the Royal Sentinels... what if they have regressors as well? No, they must have them as well.’

Uriel knew he was going somewhere, but it was as if every step he took forward lengthened the distance; he was walking, but the journey seemed infinite.

The unrest in his heart was growing.

KREE! KREE! KREE!

The stairs creaked as Enoch descended them.