Chapter 80: The true history of the world _ By Matelus.

「What are you talking about? A being that would bring forth the endtime?」Kibadios frowned, not liking the ominous statement his pupil just made.

「Yes. He's Kaernas the Gods Slayer, whose action condemned this world to its damnation.」answered Matelus.

「Gods Slayer?」Kibadios thought for a moment before speculated.「There were other individuals who fought against the Astrals before our time?」

「The Astrals?」Matelus raised his eyebrows. 「No no no… Both you and I know they're not "gods", no matter how much they'd like to delude themselves otherwise.」The man gazed into the eyes of the confused hybrid.「I'm talking about the True Gods, who created Esthar and the realm of Modun, along with 11 other planes of reality, their existences preceded time and space themselves…」The man quickly noticed his teacher's confusing look.「You see, "in the grim darkness of the ancient past, there were only wars," for the inhabitants of the 13 realms were created by the True Gods served no other purposes but to engage in an eternal conflict, for the tyrant Gods were bored and observing their creations struggled for their lives were the only entertainment that amused them.」Matelus touched the man's statue covered in a thick layer of dust.「The forces of the 13 different realms were pitched against one another in a grand survival war game, with the losing side quickly finding themselves being erased from existence by the True Gods, much like what Zeno did to the losing Universes in the Tournament of Power. The scale of these series of conflicts were beyond your understanding… Simply said, for us, it was as if they were wars of the gods. This man here was one of the 13 Luminaries at the time, who led the inhabitants of the Modun in that endless conflict while his best friend, the nameless being, commanded the inhabitants of Esthar. As time went by, the world vs world tournament brackets continued to be narrowed down, with the losing Realms being eradicated from existence by the cruel Gods. In the second semi-final conflict, the forces of the two Realms, Modun and Esthar, were compelled to fight against one another for what seemed to be millennia. At times, the nameless man did seem to have overwhelmed Kaernas, yet, it was the Gods Slayer who finally claimed victory in the end. Although the Modun's victory would mean they'd be spared from the True God's wrath, it also meant the inhabitants of Esthar would be erased from existence. The True Gods started the process by quickly erasing any traces of the nameless being's existence from all the realms. Still, before the Estharians were condemned to their death, Kaernas finally rebelled against his overlords and creators in a bid to protect his best friend's people. Besides, he knew that the peace that he afforded to his people was only fleeting, for they soon would have to enter another 1000 years war against the last remaining realm in the final conflict.」

「... "The Gods Slayer"? Are you telling me he succeeded in killing his supposed omnipotent creators? What kind of nonsense fairy tale are you telling me, Matelus?」Kibadios doubtfully questioned the story his pupil has been telling him, yet, somehow, deep within the hybrid, he could feel a strangely intimate connection to events.

「Yes, Kaernas was able to overthrow the tyrannical rules of the True Gods because he somehow was able to obtain the source of power of the True Gods.」explained Matelus.

「The Gods' source of power? What is it?」Kibadios was genuinely curious.

「... Despite the vast knowledge I have accumulated over the course of 10k years, I still don't have the faintest idea what it was.」Matelus disappointedly answered.

「So… what happened next?」

「All should have been well for the inhabitants of the last three surviving realms the moment Kaernas vanquished the True Gods.」Matelus' voice turned grim. 「Yet, before their demise, the dying Ancient Gods poured all their hatred and malice to put a curse on this world.」

「...A curse?」

「Yes. They wished for their treacherous creations to suffer the same fate they did, to be crushed into oblivion and reduced to ashes. Since they were beings with incomprehensive capabilities, so were their final wills. The hostility directed at the worlds on their deaths materialized into an endless horde of twisted and mutated daemons and monsters that overwhelmed the worlds, devouring them in their paths. In just a brief moment, the saviors of the worlds have also become their destroyer. Despite valiantly defending themselves from the literal incarnation of hell itself, the third realm and their inhabitants were quickly swallowed up by the raging daemons and monsters. To continue protect the 2 remaining worlds from total annihilation, Kaernas erected an impenetrable, permanent spatial barrier surrounding the Realm of Modun and the Land of Esthar while he himself stood guard at the small rift in space, the only place where the horde of hell could enter the two worlds. He continued to fight against the endless tide of daemons and monsters without breaks, yet, there were times when some creatures were able to get past Kaernas' defense and successfully invaded the two worlds… Though, since their numbers were few, they were not existential threats. Still, the Gods Slayer did use the source of power he stole from the True Gods to create the Primordial Spirits to safeguard the fragile worlds within the barrier. Over time, these creatures devolved into what you and I considered "Monsters" of this world.」

「Does that mean this "Kaernas" is still fighting to protect this world?」asked the hybrid.「Did you not say he's in a slumber?」

「Ah, you see, the tragic story did not end there.」Matelus raised his voice.「Up to this point, Kaernas, the great "hero", grand guardian of the two worlds, was still steadfast in his belief of shielding and protecting the people from their impending doom. Despite his exhaustion fighting against the endless foes that even he himself could not win against, he still stood tall against all the odds. Yet, tired of living in an eternal fear of being wiped out by their creators' wrath, tired of the infrequent yet still dangerous incursion of hell upon their world, his own people began to change. Their hatred toward Kaernas began to grow, for in their eyes, he was the one who sentenced them to "death." After the animosity built up, their anger finally burst open and they directed that anger toward the survivors from Esthar, who they believed were the cause of their leader's rebellion against the True Gods, to Kaernas' own family members and to those he loved. What happened next, understandably, was a purge… a cruel, sadistic purge. That great cleansing, whose victims included Esthar's native inhabitants, Kaernas' family and his devout followers, could be considered the first "Harvest." Of course, as you would have guessed, this was carried out by the Realm of Modun's hardened warrior class, who would later be known as the original Astrals.」

「What?」surprised Kibadios

「Through this purge, they were hoping that it would calm the True Gods' anger and somehow absolved them from Kaernas' sin. In order to prove their devotion to the True Gods, they would try to inflict as much pain to their victims as possible before killing them and piling their corpses into mountains of flesh. For years, the two worlds transformed into hellscapes that were not too different from the realms that were devoured by the vindictive horde of hell. The few survivors of the purge hid themselves in the land of the High Elves in hope of avoiding the Astrals' cleansing.」

「Wait, the High Elves?」

「Yes… Did your old teacher not tell you this secret, Shisou?」Matelus gave Kibadios a mysterious smile. 「Did she not tell you that she was one of the 13 Luminaries, a contemporary to Kaernas and the nameless being?」

「That old hag knew about this?」Kibadios could not believe his ears.「... Seri lived through this event?」

「Yes. She was the leader of the realm that was supposed to face off against the Modun in the final round. As her realm was run over by the True Gods' wrath and her people all perished, Seri gathered all of their souls, then ran off to this land. While Kaernas fought off the horde, protecting the two remaining worlds, Seri secluded herself in the northern mountain range and spent years cloning new bodies for her people before reforging the connections between their souls and their flesh. Both you and I knew she was able to resurrect her people and started the race of High Elves anew. She cared not for the purge carried out by the original Astrals against others, but she would act if the Astral dared to invade the High Elves sovereignty in search of those who hid in their lands.」

「... Then, what happened next? What happened to Kaernas?」

「Since the man was fighting on the edge of the two worlds, it took a long time for him to learn of what happened to his loved ones and the atrocity the Astrals were committing… but the moment he did, his mind broke. Realizing that his sacrifices were all for naught, realizing that those who he fought to protect were either being massacred or committing the very act, Kaernas let his anger and hatred consume him, much like how his creators did eons ago. Instead of blocking the path, Kaernas would tear open the rift himself, allowing countless of daemons and monsters to flood the two worlds and end them once and for all.」

Kibadios suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.「... How… how did they stop him?」Knowing that both the Modun and Esthar were currently still existing, Kibadios could have guessed how the story ended.

「Although Seri and the newly reborned High Elves could not agree with the Astrals' actions, they decided to team up with them to protect the last bastions of life. While Seri led the effort in the fight against the God Slayer himself, the High Elves, with all their magical might, took on the burden of fighting against the endless horde of hell. Knowing that the chance of her defeating the enraged Kaernas was slim, she taught the Astrals an ingenious sealing ritual: Giving them the seed of Yggdrasil, which she had saved from her dying realm, she taught them how to use the souls of those who perished in the great cleansing to act as its fertilizer, allowing it to quickly grow into a giant entity, whose its roots and branches would stretched through the two realms.」 Kibadios' eyes widened in disbelief. 「Then, even in a brief moment, Seri was able to immobilize Kaernas, allowing Yggdrasil's roots to enveloped the Gods Slayer. Half of the Yggdrasil's ever expanding branch would reach out to the Modun Realm while the other half reached out to the rift in space. The magical sealing ritual would put Kaernas under an eternal slumber while continuously extracting his power, his mastery over space and time, to repair the world: Through utilizing Kaernas' command over spatial element, the Yggdrasil sealed off the rift with its branches, preventing further incursion from the great devouring horde of hell. The Astrals, who entered into an agreement with Seri, decided to leave Esthar and make Modun their home. There, they channeled Kaernas' command over temporal element to freeze the flow of time over the realm, effectively making themselves immortal…」

「You gotta be kidding me…」Kibadios' body shook uncontrollably 「But then… that means…」

「Yes, the Great Harvest that the Astrals carried out every 10 thousands years, is indeed to maintain the great Yggdrasil. It may be for a selfish reason, to help extend their immortality by continuing to freeze the flow of time in the Realm of Modun. However, it is also to preserve the world and protect it from the cataclysmic event that would follow, had the great Yggdrasil die off, leaving the rift opened or reawakening Kaernas.」

「You're lying, aren't you?」Kibadios wanted to laugh it off, but he just could not.

「... Do you know why Aspen turned his back against you 10k years ago? That's because he learned the real truth of this world.」explained Matelus as a twisted grin began to show on his face.「Now that you have also learned about it, don't you feel powerless to stop what's destined to happen, Shisou? Much like how Gol D. Roger could do nothing after discovering Laugh Tale? Your original goal, of carrying out the Ritual that awakening HaoS' full power and "Rumbling" away 95% of the lives of people in Esthar, collecting those souls for yourself and deriving the Astrals of their fertilizer for Yggdrasil would undoubtedly kill the great tree and ended the Astrals' immortality. It might provide you with a level playing field in a fight against the Astrals, taking out your vengeance on them; however, when Yggdrasil dies, your hope of forever freeing the future world from being cultivated to be its fertilizer won't be realized. The very act of destroying the tree of life just means not only you have doomed the Astrals, you have also doomed the future of this whole world as the rift would start to open up, allowing an endless incursion of hell to drown the two realms while the reawakened Kaernas would bring forth the endtime that not even Seri could stop… So, I'm curious, what's your answer, Shisou?」

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I posted a sneak peek of Smut scene between Kibadios and shota form Yuusei, which I plan to include sometimes (way) later, on my AO3 page. Follow this link if you'd like to see it:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20196703/chapters/92587249#workskin