Chapter 273: The Patriarch Who Raised the Seven Virtuous Paragons
[Give it to me.] Her voice came at once, no longer calm, no longer distant. [Quickly, child. Place that sword in my hands.]
Ruvian’s expression changed.
The panic in her voice caught him off guard, yet he did not hesitate. If she wished to examine the sword, then there was little reason to refuse.
"Of course, Great Spirit."
He loosened his grip around the hilt.
Although he could not see where she stood, he could feel her presence before him.
Ruvian let the sword slip from his hand.
The pitch-black blade remained suspended in the darkness for only a heartbeat. Then an invisible force gently drew it away from him.
It drifted through the endless void.
A moment later, the sword came to a stop.
It was as though someone had quietly taken hold of it. Even without seeing her, Ruvian knew the Great Spirit was now holding [The Endseeker].
Silence followed.
She did not speak.
Instead, she carefully traced every inch of the black blade. Her fingers moved slowly across the sheath, then along the hilt, before stopping at the ancient runes carved near the guard.
She examined it with great care, slow and gentle, almost as though she feared damaging something precious.
The sword remained perfectly still in her unseen hands.
Several long moments passed.
Then, at last, her voice returned.
[Child... has this sword ever spoken to you?]
Her voice was quiet, yet it sounded almost... wistful.
Ruvian blinked.
"The sword... talked?"
His brows slowly pulled together.
Ever since he had obtained [The Endseeker], it had never once spoken. It remained nothing more than a silent weapon resting at his side.
Ruvian slowly shook his head.
"No. I have carried it for about 3 weeks, but it has never spoken to me."
The darkness fell silent once more.
A soft murmur slipped from the Great Spirit’s lips.
[Did he lie...?]
Ruvian’s expression stiffened.
He almost opened his mouth to ask who she meant, yet the words never came. Something about her voice made him quietly swallow the question instead.
The silence stretched on.
No voice echoed through the Sepulcher. Only the endless darkness remained, as though the entire realm was waiting with her.
Ruvian stood quietly.
He simply waited.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, the Great Spirit finally spoke again.
[No...]
Her voice was softer than before.
[Father was never a liar. He may have been troublesome, but he would never have forgotten his promise.]
Another brief silence followed.
Then her voice dropped into a whisper.
[Something... something must have changed.]
The Great Spirit remained silent for another moment.
Then, the black sword slowly drifted back through the darkness. It stopped before Ruvian, waiting quietly for him to take it.
Ruvian reached out.
His fingers wrapped around the familiar hilt, and the cold metal settled once more into his hand. Nothing about the blade had changed, yet it somehow felt heavier than before.
He looked down at it for a brief moment.
Then he raised his head.
"I’m sorry, Great Spirit," Ruvian said, "but what exactly has changed, and what is so special about this sword?"
A slow breath echoed through the Sepulcher.
[That sword...] she began, her voice quieter than before. [It was the last gift Father created for the generations that would come after his own.]
Another breath followed.
[During the Age of the Paragons, humanity stood on the edge of victory. The demons were driven back, one after another, until the world believed every last one of them had been destroyed.]
[However, Father did not believe that.]
[He believed some had escaped, some had hid themselves, especially the strongest of their kind... waiting for the heroes to lower their guard, waiting for the world to forget they had ever existed.]
Her voice grew heavier.
[Nobody knew this. To be honest, Father himself only realized it after the war had nearly ended.]
She sighed.
[While everyone celebrated their triumph, Father could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Everything had ended too easily, and that had troubled his mind ever since then.]
The darkness fell quiet for a brief moment.
[Then another truth came to light. Father and the other Paragons had all been cursed. None of them could bear children. Normally, Father could have prevented those demons from running away through Returning. Yet by then, his Returning Ability had already reached the limit of its power.]
A quiet sigh escaped her lips.
[In the end, he prepared for the future instead. If the demons truly returned after humanity had forgotten them, then someone would have to rise against them once more.]
Her voice softened.
[And so, this sword was the answer to it.]
[Father placed a fragment of his mind and soul within it, so that even after death had claimed him, he could still guide the next generation of heroes.]
Silence returned.
Then, without warning, the Great Spirit’s breathing became uneven.
The darkness around Ruvian rippled as though the entire Sepulcher had shivered with her.
[Which means...]
Her voice trembled.
[Father should be here. He should be speaking to you through that sword. That was how he designed it. That was how it was always meant to be... If that sword has found its way into your hands, then it means Father has chosen you to lead the next generation of heroes.]
Ruvian’s brows slowly knitted together.
The more she explained, the more confused he became.
"Wait... wait, hold on a second."
He raised a hand as though trying to stop the flood of information.
"This is very confusing."
He let out a slow breath.
"Before all of that, could you please tell me who this Father you’re talking about actually is?"
A soft laugh echoed through the endless darkness.
There was pride in it. There was also complete confidence, as though the answer was far too obvious to question.
[Who else in this entire realm deserves to be my one and only Father?]
She let out another quiet hum.
[Of course, it was foolish of me to expect you to know that. No wonder you have been so confused. To me, he has always been my Father, and nothing else. But I suppose you humans remember him by another name.]
She paused.
It sounded as though she was searching through memories that had slept for countless ages.
[Ah... I guess I remember it now.]
Ruvian’s fingers tightened around the hilt of [The Endseeker], a small grin slowly appearing on his face.
A single figure suddenly surfaced inside his mind.
’Haha... it can’t be him, right?’
His heartbeat quietly sped up.
Every piece of the story she had just told began to connect, one after another, until only a single answer remained.
The Great Spirit lifted her chin, her voice blazing with boundless pride.
[My Father’s name... is none other than Necraz Lox Mevillion. The First Witness of Ruin, the Leader of Humanity, and last but not least...]
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[Chapter 273: The Patriarch Who Raised the Seven Virtuous Paragons]
Plot Points= 48,000