Chapter 468: A Tale the Snow Tried to Bury

Chapter 467: A Tale the Snow Tried to Bury

Orion clenched his teeth. The muscles in his jaw jumped once.

Sophia noticed. She lifted her eyes to him slowly, studying his face, the tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers curled just slightly at his sides. She wondered what the issue was and why he was behaving this way.

"Is something the matter?" she asked him quietly.

Orion was quiet, then he sighed. "We’ll talk later," he told her.

"In the prophecy," he said carefully, choosing to say what he had left out, "it’s also stated that the Luna will save our kind with the aid of her visions."

Sophia froze.

"...Visions?"

The word felt foreign in her mouth.

Orion nodded once. "Yes."

Her brows drew together. Orion watched her, wondering if she was suspecting the same thing he was.

Eldric leaned back slightly in his chair.

A faint, strained smile tugged at his lips.

"That part is true," he said quietly. "But it is also not the complete prophecy."

Orion’s gaze snapped to him.

"Perhaps with time, the words have been altered. People remember what is convenient to remember." He adjusted his glasses slowly. "But that part—the visions—that is one of the core pillars."

Sophia’s head was beginning to ache.

"But," Eldric continued softly, "since we do not have the luxury of time, I will not recite the rest of it. Nor point out every missing line."

Orion turned fully toward him.

"If we don’t have time," he said flatly, "then why are you even asking about the prophecy?"

Eldric watched him for a long moment.

His eyes were sharper than his frail body suggested.

"Because the prophecy is tied to many things," he said.

His gaze shifted deliberately.

From Orion...

...to Sophia.

"And both of you are at the core of it."

Eldric adjusted his glasses again, a small habitual motion.

"There is a tale," he said quietly, "as old as time itself. A tale that most people now believe never truly happened."

He paused.

"A tale your people of today have reduced to a myth."

His voice lowered.

"But it is a tale that... actually, it’s not a tale. It’s real."

Orion remained completely still.

Sophia felt as though something invisible had begun to tighten around her chest.

Then Eldric turned his head.

And looked directly at her.

"You already know the tale," he said gently.

Sophia blinked.

"What?"

Her confusion spilled out before she could stop it.

"What tale?" she asked.

Then she inhaled sharply.

"And I would really appreciate it if you stop speaking in circles and just speak directly."

The words came out more bluntly than she intended.

For a heartbeat, the room went silent.

Eldric stared at her.

Then, to her surprise, he chuckled.

He adjusted his glasses again before leaning forward slightly in his chair.

"Very well," he said. "I will speak plainly."

The wind brushed faintly against the windows.

Snowflakes tapped softly at the glass.

"Many years ago," Eldric began, "the land of Nirvana was not what it is now."

Orion’s eyes sharpened.

Sophia leaned forward without realizing she had moved.

"There was snow, yes," Eldric continued. "But it did not fall endlessly the way it does today. It came and went. The seasons still breathed."

He lifted his gaze.

"And people could travel freely across Nirvana. From one end of the land to the other."

Sophia’s lips parted slightly.

She had never heard anyone speak of Nirvana that way.

"There were no beasts," Eldric said quietly.

The words rang strangely in the room.

"No Skylurs. No Trihydras. No creatures twisted by corrupted magic. None of the abominations you now accept as part of your world."

He shook his head faintly.

"Nirvana was... beautiful."

His voice softened.

"Overflowing with resources. Rivers that never ran dry. Forests that healed themselves faster than any wound could scar them."

Eldric’s gaze drifted, unfocused, as though he were staring into a memory rather than the small, cluttered room.

"There were no settlements in the south. None in the west. None along the eastern borders either."

Sophia frowned.

"Then where did everyone live?" she asked softly.

"Here in the North," Eldric replied. "We didn’t need to live anywhere else, after all."

Orion shifted slightly beside Sophia.

"The land was unified," Eldric continued. "At least for a while, and amidst it all, was the goddess."

Sophia frowned at that.

"The goddess lived among her people. She ate with us, joked with us, and sang with us. She blessed crops with her hands, blessed children and families too."

A fragile warmth entered his eyes. Orion and Sophia noticed how Eldric spoke of the goddess with such affection.

"The land responded to her presence," Eldric whispered. "As though it recognized its own creator walking upon it."

He inhaled slowly.

"Nirvana was at peace, for a while. Even when the goddess fell in love and got married," Eldric told them.

"Let me guess, you were her husband?" Orion asked Eldric.

Eldric scoffed at that. "I do not deserve to be in her presence. I only watched from afar. I could not take the position next to her. I didn’t deserve it."

"But you wanted it," Orion said to him.

Eldric didn’t answer.

"You’ve met her husband," Eldric said to the both of them. "He was a smart man. We all looked up to him. I, for one, looked up to him. I wanted to be like him, I’ll admit it. He was special, and not just because he married the goddess, but also because he was the best at what he did. And everyone said he and the goddess looked good together. They suited each other, just like the both of you do."

"I’m not sure I like where this is going," Orion said to Eldric. "And honestly, you claim we’ve met him, but I don’t recall meeting anyone that literally married the goddess."

Sophia nodded.

"I’m very certain we would..." Sophia stopped. "Wait... don’t tell me..."

"Tell you what?" Orion asked her. "Don’t speak like we’ve met... wait... wait, don’t tell me..."

Eldric smiled and nodded. "Dolion was his name, the first beast to ever practice black magic. The beast you guys met."