Chapter 389: Smiling Village
Passing through the town, he didn’t feel... anything really. Looking around at the people, they looked happy, not anything like if there was a giant beast tormenting them, which made him think even more that the guardians were, in fact, the good of the world. Sent to seal away the voice.
But this had already been a theory for him; what he needed to know was what happened in the original... if he couldn’t figure it out...
’I might have to risk it...’
Aether watched as a woman with her child walked past them, both with a smile on their faces. It was probably the first time he had seen a village this happy; after all, most he had seen were in Stormfell, and that place was filled with monsters that were actually evil.
Some noticed them, realizing they were new, so they waved happily; they didn’t seem afraid of new people, which was nice...
’The smile on their faces, it’s nice to see... how truthful, an actual happy smile... how rare is that.’
Aether’s eyes widened after hearing Sena’s voice in his head, but then he remembered this was just a relic she had. One that allowed them to talk without anyone else hearing; it was really good to have... after all, he really didn’t want to say this out loud.
’They will soon fall, after all; if I have to guess, they are happy because of their guardian.’
He turned to Sena with a cocky smile. ’After we kill it, their smile will most likely be gone.’
Sena chuckled. ’Don’t you think you’re quite evil? Killing the happiness of a whole village.’
...
Aether’s smile faded as he stared into the void...
’I try not to get that attached to the people inside stories anymore.’
...
It did feel weird... walking past everyone, knowing what was going to come, how they were all going to lose their smiles, how the whole town would probably become a ruin... and how unfortunate; it really had a good atmosphere and aesthetic to it.
He would have enjoyed living in this place, maybe more than he wanted to say; it was peaceful, and without worry in the world, and it might also be pretty far away from any other village, which made it so everyone knew everyone inside there.
Something that was never true inside any Kingdom in their world: everyone knew the Kings and their families, as well as everyone under them. However, they didn’t know the bottom of the bottom people, and those people had definitely not met with the royals.
After all, even after so many years of living in the Withered, and now the time he lived inside the Academy, he had not once seen the Queen of the Blue Rose. And he was a Vessel; if not even he had the honor to see her, who did?
...
’Wait... but what is more important in the King’s eyes, a Celestial, or a Vessel... I mean, I would think the latter; there are only five, and I mean, we have Gods supporting us... Well, for me it’s not really supporting but still.’
Speaking of it... the Abyss had been awfully quiet, he hasn’t said anything since Demon of Dread... he had really gone back to his old ways, it had really been just a one time thing... but wasn’t he supposed to do one thing he wanted, or maybe he let that go, because he also couldn’t fulfill the original term of their deal, to beat Lilith?
’He can do what he wants; I have other things to worry about right now. I’m not to mistreat my future... and the future of a whole district just because of him. And I don’t care if he hears this, since I know he can hear my thoughts... I mean every word.
...
’I’m not the same person I was in Demon of Dread... I’ve grown up. I’ve stopped asking myself questions without meaning just to make my mind worse...’
Ascension is something that makes the awakened bigger; there is a visible difference in strength between each class...
But that’s not the only thing that it is.
Ascension... is also a Rebirth.
After all, your Trial of Salvation forces you to fight against all the evil you have caused; you are bound to change if your ranking is high. Even those with a Fragment rank might change, but when you get a Titan rank, there’s no way you come out the same person.
’And I didn’t.’
...
Suddenly, as they were walking, a man in his late twenties appeared. "Excuse me, are you two new here? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I’ve seen you two here before." The smile on his face was the same as everyone’s; was everyone in this place happy?
Sena smiled, opening her mouth to speak, but before she could, Aether stepped in front of her to talk instead of her.
"No worry." He said, matching his smile; of course, his own wasn’t as real as the man’s. "We are new, and even if we weren’t, we wouldn’t have gotten mad over such a thing."
’If someone said this to me in the Blue Rose, I would be enraged.’ Sena said in his mind, which annoyed Aether, so he shook his head to get her voice out.
The man laughed. "That’s good to know. I really hoped I wasn’t making a fool of myself, and it seems I wasn’t... Welcome, it’s good to have new people. I’m the mayor of this town." He said, opening his arms.
Aether stared in surprise; he was quite young, not near him or Sena’s age, but young enough to be surprising that he was able to reach the role of mayor. After all, shouldn’t they be old? He wasn’t even in his thirties... ironic, since if he had liberated the Withered, he would have been chosen as the King.
So he would have been much worse. Not only would he be the leader of a nation and not a village, but he would have also been fourteen instead of in his late twenties, and I mean, one was an adult and had been one for some good time, while the other was barely a teenager.
The man put his hand on Aether’s shoulder. "If you have any questions, be sure to ask me; I am happy to answer anything you might have in mind."
’There it is.’ Aether smiled.
"Really? That’s great. I’ve always wondered where the guardians that protect this place live."
There was a keyword he had used: protect... If the mayor didn’t stop to acknowledge and say he wasn’t protecting them, then that meant the guardians weren’t evil, and really, it was in fact the voice that was bad.
The man rested his hand on his chin. "Our guardian, huh? From what I know, he lives in the forest, deep inside it, in a cave. But that’s all I know... now, if you wish, I can lead you to the Inn, and get you two some days free of charge."
Aether chuckled. "That would be amazing, thank you."
The man nodded, turning around. "Follow me."
...
As the man started walking, Aether and Sena followed...
’The guardians, they are the good people in the story.’ Sena said, which surprised Aether; he hadn’t expected her to also figure it out, but at the same time, the girl had really surprised him lately; he knew she was intelligent.
’I know... which makes us the villains. Since I really doubt that the original characters didn’t figure it out, but that may just be me being subjective.’
The only thing that made it so he wasn’t fully sure that in the original story they had also figured it out... was that for them, both him and Sena, they had a clear mind; nothing influenced their thinking.
But in the original story... who knew what happened to the characters, and with them probably being raised from a small age by the voice, he had to have given them a mindset fully against the guardians.
’My fear is that in the original story the characters we took over held a grudge against the guardians.’
Sena sighed. ’So what do we do? It’s like flipping a coin. We have the same chance to get out as we have to be stuck inside a void. I really don’t like those odds.’
It was... but at the same time, was it? Flipping a coin is like 51% to 49%; he didn’t think their chances were like that... but maybe that was just him.
’I don’t know about you... but I’m trusting my gut; it has got me this far, and I’ve got nothing else, so why not.’
Sena smiled. ’And what is that gut of yours saying, Eden? What is the Abyss planning to do?’
Aether didn’t respond instantly, even if his mind was fully made up. He continued to follow the man.
But then his answer finally came.
...
’We will kill all the guardians, and then also the voice.’