Chapter 200 - The Shadow's Memory ( Part 2 )

The night sky flickered. Constellations started to change position. The very fabric of the universe seemed to strain under the might of the unleashed power.

Eclipse spoke calmly.

This one was the first real Sword King.

Jennie remained silent.

Grey Heart did not fight like Leonis. He was not only faster than anyone she had ever seen. He was also stronger and more skilled. Each of his strikes brought power of the seven swords. Each of his steps shook the world. Each of his breaths changed the reality around him.

There was something horrifying about him.

He was not fighting monsters. He was not fighting demons.

He was fighting gods.

Jennie's face darkened.

"Why?"

Eclipse didn't respond.

The memory shifted.

Jennie found herself standing in the middle of an enormous divine realm.

It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. The skies of that world were golden. The clouds were silver. Crystal mountains, diamonds rivers, eternal light emanating everywhere. Everywhere. It smelled of eternity.

There were countless number of Gods under the golden sky.

They were beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Everything mortals were scared of and prayed to. Some of them had perfect bodies and faces. Some had absolutely incomprehensible and terrible forms.

They were arguing.

"One God rose up and spoke out. He was tall and mighty. His hair was like the fire. His eyes were like the molten gold.

"Humanity has become dangerous."

A Goddess answered him. She was elegant and cold. Like ice. She was as beautiful as the ice itself.

"They are still young."

"They destroy the world."

"They also create."

"They wage wars."

"They also love."

"They will eventually challenge us."

Jennie remained silent.

The Gods disagreed.

Some of them wanted to protect humanity. They spoke about compassion and mercy and about potential of their hearts.

Some of them wanted to destroy humanity. They spoke about hatred and fear and about the threat that they posed for the divine order.

Then...

Miasa appeared.

Goddess of Creation.

Jennie felt her heart tightening.

She was beautiful. More beautiful than any of the other Gods. Than anything Jennie had ever seen. Her hair was glowing with the light of the starry sky. Her eyes were filled with the eternal wisdom. She radiated warmth and love. But there was also sadness in her expression. Sadness that came from unbearable burden.

Miasa stood between both sides.

"Enough."

Her words sounded in the divine realm. They were soft, but carried the absolute power.

The Gods stopped.

"Why do you defend them?" One of them asked.

"Because they are alive," Miasa answered.

"You cannot say it as a reason," Another God laughed.

Miasa looked to the mortal world. There was something that the other Gods couldn't understand in her gaze. Something that transcended everything that was logical.

"It is the only reason I need."

Jennie looked at her.

For the first time...

She saw Miasa not as the goddess who reincarnated her.

But as one standing against her kind.

The memory shifted once again.

The Great Demon War started.

But Jennie realized that something was wrong.

There were not just demons among the enemies.

There were Gods fighting each other.

She watched as divine creatures fought each other in the sky, their battles shaking the very foundations of the reality. She watched human kingdoms getting caught in the war. Their cities burning, their people dying.

Grey Heart stood in the middle of it.

With Astraeus in his hand.

He fought with seven Divine Swords. They have been scattered in the wake of the Shattering, but now they came back. Attracted by the power of their source, forced to serve the one who possessed it.

Each blow of Grey Heart caused different phenomenon.

Thunder.

Ocean.

Fire.

Shadow.

Light.

Creation.

Destruction.

Jennie watched it all in disbelief.

"He fought with all seven?" She asked.

Eclipse replied, "He wielded them as one."

Grey Heart defeated army after army. He destroyed the demon legions and the divine hosts. He stood against the heavens themselves and he didn't bend down.

But it cost him a lot.

Slowly but surely his heart turned grey.

Jennie watched as the light was disappearing from his eyes. She watched as the smile disappeared from his face. Replaced by the empty stare. She watched how his emotions were leaving him one by one.

His emotions disappeared.

His smile vanishing.

His humanity was gone.

Jennie whispered, "He became the Sword King..."

"Yes," Eclipse answered.

Then:

"And lost himself becoming one.

Jennie clenched her fists.

She understood.

Too well.

Leonis has walked this path before him. He had shouldered the burden of the world. He sacrificed everything for the sake of others. He has become the Sword King. The legend, the hero, the weapon.

And in doing so he lost himself.

The difference is that Leonis had people around him keeping his humanity.

Arthur. Lucas. Roxy. Snow.

And Lilia.

Jennie closed her eyes.

I won't make this mistake.

Grey Heart raised Astraeus.

The Gods descended.

The battlefield turned into the storm of divine power. Light and shadow. Thunder and ocean. Fire and creation. Kingship and wrath. All these powers clashed against each other.

It was beautiful.

It was terrifying.

It was the end of everything.

Then Astraeus cracked.

Jennie's eyes widened. "No..."

The powers inside of the weapon started separating. They were tearing each other apart. They were trying to break free from the unity.

BOOM!

Astraeus broke.

Seven Divine Swords scattered all over the world.

Excalibur.

Leviathan.

Tempest.

Aurelia.

Eclipse.

Gram.

Genesis.

They scattered all over the world. Each of them disappearing into the different directions. Across continents and oceans, mountains and deserts, through time and space.

Grey Heart knelt.

Battlefield became quiet.

World Tree started to wither. Its leaves falling down like tears. Its branches cracking like bones. Its roots withering like dying veins.

Eclipse's voice became faint.

The Divine Swords were scattered.

Jennie looked at the ancient warrior.

Grey Heart turned towards the heavens. His eyes were already empty. His expression was void. The grey mist covered his whole heart.

And he whispered:

"Was this what you wanted?"

Nobody answered.

Then Miasa appeared.

She walked towards him. Her steps didn't make a sound on the broken ground. Her presence was warm and comforting. The light in the darkness.

But then the vision changed abruptly.

Jennie suddenly found herself in an entirely different location.

Silent room.

Not a battlefield.

No Gods.

No swords.

No monsters.

Nothing but silence.

It was a small room with simple interior. White walls, pale light coming through the window, a bed in the corner.

Miasa was standing next to a cradle.

Inside, there was a newborn soul.

Tiny light.

Grey.

Jennie gaped in shock.

"The soul..."

Miasa stretched out her hand towards the infant.

Her fingers were trembling.

Fingers of a goddess.

Tears were falling from her eyes.

They touched the newborn soul.

Where they touched the grey started fading away, making way for warmth and light.

The soul gradually gained the shape of a child.

A boy with silvery hair and golden eyes.

Miasa whispered softly:

"Forgive me."

Jennie's eyes were fixed on the scene.

"What..."

Eclipse stayed silent.

Miasa touched the child's forehead with gentle respect of a mother about to leave.

"I couldn't save them all."

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"I couldn't stop the Gods."

She closed her eyes.

"So I must choose."

Jennie took a step forward.

"Choose what?"

Miasa turned her gaze to the child.

Love and grief, guilt and hope were visible on her face.

One life.

The vision was starting to collapse.

The room was falling apart, the light fading away, the shape of the child dissipating.

Jennie was able to catch the last words said by Miasa.

"Forgive me..."

Then everything disappeared.

Jennie woke up abruptly.

She sank down on one knee, breathing deeply. Her heart was pounding and she was drenched in sweat. It had been a lot.

Roxy caught her before she fell. "Jennie!"

Snow came running next to her. "What happened?"

Jennie panted, shaking.

She looked at Eclipse.

The black sword was calmly floating in front of her.

Jennie slowly got up on her feet.

"I saw the beginning."

Roxy was puzzled. "The beginning of what?"

Jennie looked at the sword.

Her voice was calm but full of revelations.

"The Divine Swords."

Then she explained her vision.

The World Tree.

Alas Ramus.

Astraeus.

Grey Heart.

Divided Gods.

Miasa.

And the newborn soul.

Roxy was silent.

Her eyes were huge.

Snow's expression was serious now. His white tail went down and his voice was unusually soft.

"The Divine Swords... they all come from the World Tree?"

Jennie nodded. "Astraeus was forged from the World Tree. But when it was destroyed, its fragments turned into the seven Divine Swords."

She stopped.

"It means that Excalibur, Leviathan, Tempest, Aurelia, Eclipse, Gram, Genesis... They are all the pieces of the same weapon."

Roxy whispered, "And if someone gathers all seven..."

"They will be able to reforge Astraeus."

Snow's fur was standing on end. "That would be..."

"Enough power to challenge the Gods."

Jennie looked at Eclipse.

"Something doesn't make sense."

Eclipse didn't answer.

But it slowly moved towards Jennie's hand.

Jennie took the sword.

Darkness surrounded her arm.

It was cool but pleasant, familiar chilly sensation of going into shadow after hot sunshine.

Then Eclipse spoke.

I remember Grey Heart.

I remember Leonis.

But I choose you.

Jennie closed her eyes.

"I understand."

She looked at four swords surrounding her.

Excalibur was glowing with golden light. The Sword of Kings was pulsing warmly, its aura strong and trustworthy.

Leviathan was shining with deep blue light. The Blade of Oceans radiated patience of thousands of years gone by, its power calm and endless.

Tempest was crackling with silver light. The Blade of Storms was dancing with restrained fury, its lightning eager and wild.

And now...

Eclipse.

The Blade of Shadows.

Dark and silent, patient and vigilant.

Four Divine Swords.

Four powers.

Four fragments of Astraeus.

Four pieces of the World Tree.

But Jennie didn't feel like a hero.

She didn't feel like Sword King.

She only looked at her own hands.

Her rough palms, scarred fingers.

The hands of a warrior, yes.

But also the hands of a person who had held friends, wiped tears, reached for love.

"I don't want to become Grey Heart."

Roxy smiled.

Her expression was warm and encouraging.

"You won't."

Snow nodded. "Because you are annoying."

Jennie looked at him.

Her expression was blank.

"That's your reason?"

"Very important reason."

Roxy giggled.

The sound was clear and ringing in the chamber.

Jennie smiled.

Then Eclipse spoke again.

You are not Grey Heart.

You are not Leonis.

Pause.

You are Jennie.

Jennie's smile slowly spread across her lips.

It was a real smile.

Warm and genuine, the smile of someone who had finally understood who he or she was.

"Yeah."

She looked at the exit.

"Let's find the others."

Somewhere far away...

In an ancient castle hidden in Forbidden Battlefield...

Something awoke.

A corrupted sword opened its eye.

It was an awful sight.

A black blade with red tints, tainted by darkness, fueled by anger.

Its eye was a burning crimson slit.

Gram.

The Blade of Wrath.

And somewhere in the dark shadows, a Demon General smiled.

"The Blade of Shadows has chosen its master."

His eyes glowed red, his voice was harsh.

"Then let us see..."

He moved forward and shadows swirled around him.

"...whether the new Sword King will survive the truth."