Chapter 596: Illusion of Peace

The embers crackled in front of the hot, and the Omniscient Vessel sat down to watch the fire die out. His eyes reminisced a memory that he could only know while Arthur stood beside him quietly.

"Do you also hate fate, outsider?" asked the Seer Guardian. "Do you hate what we have been pushed to become at the expense of the little life we might have had?"

"I blame the guardians instead."

"What are people other fate with a face to hate?" smiled the guardian as he offered a seat across from him on the other side of the fire. "Let us enjoy the dying embers and have a little chat."

"You left clues for me to find you."

"And I knew where to wait. This place brings you peace, does it not?" asked the guardian. "Those who created the ruins know what you love. A quiet place devoid of every soul, with nothing to worry about."

"I couldn't enjoy it because of your betrayal," said Arthur as he walked past the guardian and sat across the fire. "What have you done to Seir?"

"I gave him everything he has in exchange for a single desire. Yet, he treated me as a parasite that tried to take over his body. I was forced to take that role, and here we are. This makes us similar, does it not, outsider?"

"I was always me, and never someone else."

"A privilege of the winner," said the Seer Guardian with a begrudged smile. "This brings me to the reason I wanted to meet you. Since the end of the Divine Era, I had a question on my mind."

"I would guess it's about the end itself."

"Indeed," said the seer. "I have seen the fall of gods, the end of man, and the emergence of heroes. I saw everything before it happened, but I did not wish to stop it. However, I can never see the answer to this question: what is that you want from us?"

Arthur heard a helpless tone in a supreme being for the first time. The violet eyes staring into his had something behind them. It was the tiredness of the ancient and living for eternity.

"We tried to defeat Nameless, but it would have ended with a global war that took away countless lives. We ruled over our domains in peace and never asked for the responsibility to protect the world. We had no choice but to compromise and let Nameless devour Gaia for living beings to go on existing in a new world. What have you done other than delay the greater evil of what we chose?"

Arthur was silent as he mulled over the words. It might not have been his current self, but he was indeed the inheritor of Gaia and the one seeking to stop the vessels.

"What is wrong with the current world?" asked Arthur while tilting his head, and his hair strands fell to the side. "There were two sides that we could sacrifice: the gods or the people. The gods chose to sacrifice the people for themselves to live, and the people and I chose to sacrifice the gods."

"We are living an illusion of peace," said the guardian. "Death exists even in this place, and the end might arrive just as well. Haven't the fallen ones been wreaking havoc?"

"Are you saying we should rejoin the two worlds for a fighting chance?"

"I am not," the guardian shook his head. "These dying embers remind me of the Divine Era. We knew that the end was near, but we never imagined what we feared would happen."

"Nameless?"

"No, we already know about his existence and aspirations. However, what surprised us was a different monster that we always feared would visit our world."

"What are you talking about?"

"I am talking about you," said the guardian as his finger pointed at Arthur. "You are what we always feared, and your existence proves that we cannot retain this illusion of peace."

"Are you bitter about losing the fragile sovereignty you had?" said Arthur with a chuckle.

"The split sealed us in the void because the dimension is too unstable for the powers we once held. Unfortunately, this also means that no human can reach our level, and the power that can once be harnessed has decreased."

"And there is nothing wrong with that, as the people can still live happy lives and meet a satisfying end."

"Your existence proves that there are other worlds than our own and stronger ones. As we waste thousands of years in internal struggles, the other worlds are growing stronger and harnessing the universe."

Arthur saw the logic in his words, but he knew that he couldn't show weakness in front of the guardians. The Seer Guardian seemed to be sincerely worried, and this might have to do with his ability to see the future.

"I ask again, outsider. What is it that you want from us? Is it to weaken us enough for your world to invade?" the Seer Guardian asked with a grave expression. "You cannot expect me to believe that someone has crossed worlds to save us. We are not the world, and we are not Gaia, but a species that has been trying to survive the cruelest of stories."

"And does that give you the right to sacrifice the weaker ones and determine whose survival is more important?"

"It is a side product of the responsibility we were given. Of course, we all wish that no one needs to be sacrificed, but life is not ideal. Your dreams are quixotic, and they cannot withstand the harsh reality of life."

"You would expect the supreme beings to be a seeker of perfection, but here you are talking about being helpless."

"I am a seer, which made me see that perfection is nothing but an illusion. Everything has a flaw, or many, regardless of how much we try to make it otherwise. I have never seen perfection, and I have seen almost everything."

"That does not mean it does not exist."

"The man who brought down the gods should not be a blind believer of things you cannot see. Pursuing a utopia is folly, and those who believe in such things will end up with nothing but regret. That is also my question: do you regret what you have done?"

"For an omniscient being, you ask a lot of things," said Arthur before sighing. "I have nothing to regret because I don't consider that choice as mine. But, furthermore, even if you seek the survival of humans, then the path you took for that is wrong."

"We care about this world more than an outsider would," said the Seer Guardian. "Unlike you, we were born in this world, and we belong here."

Arthur could feel his vision narrowing as if he was watching from outside his body. This meeting and conversation, inside a separate space in the ruins of Runera and with one of the gods, seemed like a dream.

The revelations shook his core because he knew that there was truth to some of what the seer said. Arthur was an outsider to this world, this timeline, and this body. There was nothing he could ever do that would make him belong somewhere.

"These words would have been effective if I wasn't cursed," said Arthur. "The sentiment and fears of the future belong to those who have a heart. But instead, I became nothing but a warrior with a mission. Nothing you have said would let me give Gaia to Nameless and kill every living being."

"The species will keep on living!"

"Fuck the species," said Arthur with a snort. "I am protecting the memories and happiness of those living now. I cannot care less about whether other worlds invade ours because you plan to sacrifice it for a world that would let you harness the universe without a limit."

The Seer Guardian silently glared at Arthur, and the embers were nearing their end. There were countless emotions in the sharp and overbearing eyes, but Arthur did not care.

"Are you truly going to oppose us even with the danger of an invasion looming over our heads? This is the time for us to rise as the rulers of this world."

"It makes me laugh," chuckled Arthur. "The rulers of this world need to beg for a chance to exist. But, my answer remains the same. I will never sacrifice this world, no matter how much you take away from me."

"I know about the merge," said the guardian. "You have achieved the impossible already. However, this is different from thousands of years ago. Now, you are a different person, and this world did nothing but harm you."

"This world is not the one who harmed me, guardian," said Arthur as he rose from his seat. "I will provide the answer to the question you had. I want nothing but one thing from the guardians."

"What is it?"

"I want them to rot in hell and be imprisoned in that darkness forever. Even a power this cursed cannot erode my hatred. The world did not ruin my life, but you did, repeatedly. This is why I will hunt down and kill every last one of you."

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