"Aluria, she was a mermaid. And not just any mermaid, the one who stood above them all. Their leader and their cornerstone. A mermaid demigod."
"Mom… was a mermaid demigod?"
Leon's eyes trembled as his entire worldview was shattered. For the first time in his young life, he questioned his own existence. But at the same time, many things were starting to make sense. Even though his father was of the purest Solaris blood, Leon's eyes and hair were anything but Solaris. He had brilliant golden hair with blue eyes that reflected the deepest parts of the ocean.
All this while, his Solaris bloodline had been suppressed by something far greater. A divine presence that was unknown to Leon until today.
"She was… and she was beautiful."
Lucas's eyes glistened with fondness as he recalled the sweet memories he shared with the transcendental beauty. As a perfected being of nature, Aluria didn't possess a single blemish on her face. She was literally sculpted by a god, and her features would make even the holiest men blush.
No wonder Lucas, the man destined to bee the next Solaris Lord, would abandon his Knight's oath and stay with her.
"W-Was? D-Dad, where's mom?"
Fearing the worst, Leon fumbled his words as his pupils shook violently. When he'd left, Aluria was already on the verge of collapsing due to ill health. So naturally…
"Don't worry, she's safe for now."
Fortunately, Lucas quelled Leon's misunderstanding with a firm shake of his head.
"Aluria… while she was the mermaid demigod, her life was tied to the sealed god. Or rather… the seal itself."
"..."
Amon closed his eyes as he absorbed the information he'd just gathered. Sure enough, it all lined up with what was described in the books, which meant that nothing had deviated… yet.
"Over the years, the seal weakened due to decay, but it was still manageable. As long as nothing happened to Aluria, the god would remain sealed for thousands of years more. But… we mitted the cardinal sin."
"Cardinal sin?"
"Aluria got pregnant."
"A-Ah!"
It was a tale as long as time.
Man and woman meet, fall in love, and the seeds of their relationship flourish.
In any other occurrence, it would be a cause of celebration. But in this case, it was a recipe for disaster.
"As the Priestess of the lake, Aluria's destiny was to guard the seal, preventing the emergence of the fallen god. Getting pregnant would only weaken and destroy her body. Initially, we thought to… terminate the child, to protect the seal and prevent the deterioration of the seal."
Lucas casually revealed that they were about to abort Leon, creating a tense atmosphere in the room. However, none of them acted on it. They watched sadly as the weathered old man spoke with remorse.
"But Aluria… wished for the birth of the child. Our child. That's how we brought you into the world, Leon."
"Dad…"
"I knew that it was wrong, but… I also wished to see you born. In the end, we thought to share the burden of our sin, but unfortunately… the punishment all went to Aluria."
Lucas gazed longingly towards the lake, sending everyone else's gaze towards the serene water body.
"For the first few years, it was fine. Aluria's body got weaker, but she could still function as a human. But as time passed, the sealed god started to awaken, and her power was unable to hold back its wrath. Bit by bit, she lost her humanity, and eventually, to prevent herself from causing any harm, she reverted to her primal state. A deity of water."
"So… mom is currently locked in the lake?"
"Yes," Lucas nodded sadly. "On occasion, she will show herself as the mermaid demigod that summons a horde of mermen. I would fight off that horde alone, but I would always do so with a smile. Because that's the only time I would get to meet her and know that she's still alive."
Forced to fight his lover until her death, Lucas was at his wits' end.
There was no salvation, and the only thing that could stop this endless cycle of madness… was their ultimate deaths.
"That's why I sent you away, Leon… Aluria couldn't bear to let you see her fall into depravity. She couldn't bear the thought that one day… her harpoon would be pointed at her own son."
"Mom…"
"Also, we didn't wish to let you witness our deaths. It's okay if you could live happily in the Solaris House, to marry Ellahan and bee the new Hero."
"What kind of Hero would I be if I can't even save my own family?!"
Instantly, Leon protested. He was incensed, filled with rage and despair. Leon was called the Hero, the messiah who would save the world. But if he couldn't even save those closest to him, what good was that title?
"I know… I'm sorry if I would have reached out sooner…"
The father-son continued their tear-jerking reunion with sorrowful tears, but Amon had had enough of this chitter-chatter that was getting nowhere.
"Hah… Stop crying and let me know the state of the seal now."
"W-What?"
"Sir Lucas, I told you, didn't I? I have a way to save your wife. But, I need to know how bad the state of the seal is."
While he had bee a little more human, Amon's tendency to cut through the emotional talk remained. At this point, even Yue felt annoyed at Amon's lack of passion.
"Hey, at this time you should let them cry it out!"
"Crying won't help anything. Every second we waste, the seal weakens. The faster we fix this, the sooner we can save Leon's mother."
"You…"
Yue held her head, pletely at a loss for how to deal with her lover.
"No, you're right… There's plenty of time to cry afterwards!"
Shockingly, Amon's greatest help came from none other than Lucas himself. Standing up from his broken chair, he led the way towards the misty lake, where not a single ripple could be seen. Closing his eyes, he placed his fingers on the lake's mirror surface, and the atmosphere turned tense. Only after a good minute did Lucas finally retract his fingers and say:
"The seal is weakening rapidly… We should have about a year at most. No, maybe half that time."
"How could you tell?"
Yue questioned as her inquisitive nature took over.
"I'm bonded to Aluria. Although she had returned to the lake, I can still feel her essence. As long as she remains alive, I can sense her life force. And as long as she's alive… the seal will remain intact."
Lucas explained without pause.
"But, she's weakening rapidly. If we don't do anything within these six months, she'll perish and the seal will disappear pletely."
"That's plenty of time," Amon spoke confidently. "In fact, we can save her right now if you're up for it."
As if he had heard the most ridiculous thing of all time, Lucas furrowed his brows and stared right at Amon. Taking a moment to pause, the aged Knight took a deep breath in before asking the vital question:
"... I should have asked this first, but… what's your plan?"
Amon stared right into Lucas's eyes with a deadpan reaction, he said:
"Well, if the sealed god is the one who is killing Leon's mom, let's just release it and kill that god."
"..."
"..."
At that moment, everyone froze. Lucas dropped his jaw, unaware of how to react to the sudden 'brilliant' plan. Leon paused and blinked rapidly, somewhat expecting such a plan. As for Yue, she sighed heavily, and for the first time, she second-guessed herself for expecting anything different.
Yes, Amon was such a character.
If there were an obstacle in his path, he would destroy it head-on. No gimmicks, no secret plots. Just pure, unadulterated strength.
"You… What are you talking about?! That's a GOD!!! An entity that can change the reality of this world! We can't just release it and hope to kill it!"
Lucas was beyond irate. If killing that entity, the being sealed within the lake, were that easy, he would have done so long ago; however, the sealed god was anything but weak. Its energy alone was enough to create the crazed mermen, and the seal was so powerful that it turned a water deity into a mermaid demigod.
"Well, I get your fears, but you're mistaken about its identity. That thing isn't a god… but a pet."
"... a pet?"
"Hmmm, to be exact, it's a mount. A mount of a Titan."
Amon cracked his neck and began explaining the lost history to everyone, who only knew the entity sealed in the lake as a God.
"I'm sure you've heard of the Age of Titans."
"Y-yes," Lucas nodded apprehensively. "But, wasn't that just a legend?"
"Oh, the Age of the Titans was real. The Golden Dragon Progenitor explained the history to us."
Yval, the Golden Dragon Progenitor, gave her life to seal the remnants of the Titans in the Necropolis of the Gods. However, given that Lucas had left the Solaris House for over two decades, it was natural that he was unaware of that.
"And the God that your wife is sealing, isn't a god at all. It was a remnant of that age."
"... you said that it was a mount of a Titan."
"Yes, the mount of the Ocean Titan…"
As expected, there wasn't any deviation in this. All the while, Amon had been interfering with the Demon Cult and had left the Titans pletely alone. A big reason was that he had hardly any clue about the abilities of the Titans.
In [Bright], he only knew up to the Fourth Calamity. Anything beyond was pletely new territory and was filled with gaps from Yue's previous timeline. That's why he had left the Second Calamity to the last possible moment, to prevent any deviations.
But now… There was no need to hold back.
"Thalassa, the Ocean Devourer. That's the identity of the monster that is threatening your wife's life, and I know how to kill it."
User Comments
0 comments from readers