Chapter 400: Don’t Forsake Yourself
Aether walked towards his blade with a smile on his face. Passing by him to stand at the end of the cliff. "Recently, I have found something quite interesting." He glanced with the corner of his eye at Voidpiercer, who was smiling, knowing exactly what he meant and what he was about to say; after all, it knew everything. He saw everything he lived through through his core, and its own eyes when he pulled it out of his marks.
"I know, sadly, I can’t help you. I’m not allowed." He gave Aether a thumbs up, as if it was a good thing, knowing it was going to annoy him. Which it had done exactly that.
Aether sighed. "Why is the string of fate only connected to me?"
Voidpiercer shrugged, pretending it didn’t know.
Aether frowned. "You just said you knew, you bastard, so don’t lie!" He screamed at Voidpiercer before pinching his nose. "You really aren’t helpful at all. Every time I come to ask a question, it’s the same thing: you can’t answer, so why do I even come?"
After that was a long silence, one that, after a while, almost made Aether leave, only stopped by Voidpiercer sighing and suddenly talking.
"The past is ample, more than you could picture; I knew it all, at least, most of it. Only what my master did, and since he was a genius, I also know the future, because of his theories, and seeing how the world is now through you, he was right on all of them. Such a genius."
He turned to Aether, his face profound, which startled Aether; he had never seen his blade act like this ever.
"I won’t answer your question; I won’t even help you come up with an answer yourself, but I will try to give you some hints. Think of it just for a moment, Aether..." He leaned closer. "How many things have happened in your life that don’t make sense, things that shouldn’t have happened, or seemed like it was meant to happen?"
Aether didn’t answer, but not for the reason you would think; he just didn’t understand what the blade was trying to tell him. "What? Elaborate for god’s sake, I’m not a genius like your master."
Voidpiercer burst into laughter after hearing his comment, which baffled him even more. What was so funny about it? He had no intention of making a joke, and neither had he made one; he had been serious. As serious as he could be.
The blade wiped its tears from his eyes. "Ironic, really ironic."
"What’s so ironic? I want to laugh too." He frowned.
"Nothing." It let out one more laugh before stopping. "Either way, since you can’t figure it out, then I’ll try something else.
...
Do you think I was intended to be wielded by just anyone? That you were just lucky to find me?"
Aether’s eyes widened, realizing what he was saying... but at the same time, he had... theorized at least that his meeting with Voidpiercer had to have been something meant to happen; after all, he had been dragged by the shadows to Frozen Crown, and then forced to touch the book. Of course, in the end it was his choice to enter, but still. If that didn’t mean anything, then what did? "I mean, wasn’t it because I was the Vessel of the Abyss or something? That was my theory."
Voidpiercer shook its head, which shocked him. "My home, Frozen Crown, such a mystery, isn’t it, but no, the fact that you’re the Abyss’s Vessel doesn’t have anything to do with it. Why do you think your Affinity and path got removed? It had nothing to do with the Abyss."
...
’But.... then why? Why me? What reason would there be outside the fact that I was chosen by the Abyss?’
"That just makes no sense!" Aether said, a bit nervous. If before he didn’t understand Frozen Crown, he was even more confused now; after all, one of the only things he was sure about had been crushed, and it even made him question if anything he thought and knew about the book was even real.
Voidpiercer sighed. "Sometimes I do want to tell you more, to help you." He smiled. "But I know that it isn’t the right thing to do, after all-"
"After all, your genius master wouldn’t have made you keep it secret; is that what you wanted to say?" His frown deepened, clenching his fists.
It was clear that he wasn’t in the mood and had started to act rude, but Voidpiercer didn’t seem to mind, just continuing to smile.
"Of course, after all, what I know could change your life completely, break you, make you question everything, things that I will not say, since I don’t want to alter the future too much."
’He... had that power... so if he was to tell me something, that thing could go on and severely change the future that was originally meant to happen? Who the heck was its master...’
The blade walked to the edge of the mountain, hovering with one foot in the empty space, not afraid of falling. "I will tell you one thing, Aether, one piece of advice."
Aether’s eyes widened before focusing completely on what the blade was about to say.
"Don’t forsake yourself, even if it’s tempting; it will be the biggest mistake you will make. One that will not be easy to fix, and will require a lot of time, and more importantly, at the end you will have to answer a question that you will find impossible to choose correctly."
...
It sighed. "However, if even after my warning you still go on and do it." He glanced back at him. "Make sure to choose the former option. No matter if the latter seems like heaven, and it is like hell."
And after that, without him leaving, the space around him shattered, making him wake up to reality. With even more questions than before.