Life and creation are always accompanied by death and destruction. It's unavoidable. Life is precious because it ends. And broken things can be remade, maybe even better than before.
Around half of the structures in Vermaris lay in ruins. Of course, people have died. Despite foretelling, people courageously rallied and confronted the impending doom head-on, hoping to protect their homes and loved ones. Some hard work and sacrifices do end up with proper rewards, and some stories do have happy endings, or are they happy beginnings?
Just as before, victors will cherish that of which they were protected, mourn what they lost, and will eventually move on without forgetting. They will start rebuilding.
Presently, any civilian or soldier who had enough strength to move could be seen carrying the wounded to medical facilities. Administration staff who managed to survive are currently working on securing supplies, food, and medicine, preparing for the upcoming days. They were supervised by Dhalia.
It has been an entire day since the war ended. Most of the people who fought in the forefront are receiving treatment, including the Bloodwolf party. Although they were in a critical condition, the priests managed to stabilize their vitals, recovering enough to move around. At least most of them.
Unfortunately, there was no news of the leading figure of the war. Only a scarce few knew that he threw himself into the void. Originally, the plan was to tie him with Elara's "Chains of Reverence" and pull him back after some time, but Azrivel's arrival completely messed things up. Rumors were already circulating about his death throughout the continent. But not a single person who fought beside him believed those. And it's not like people have given up finding him.
Elara was conjuring a locator spell with the help of other mages. Considering Theon was last seen going into the void, there was no telling the spell might actually succeed. But even a 1% chance is still a chance. Multiple-layered magic circles were drawn on the ground, and Elara sat in the middle. In her hand was the broken sword that Theon had used for the past year. She helped him with the design. Since this item connects both of them, it was the best material.
She finished chanting and closed her eyes, allowing her consciousness to wander.
She could only see an infinite void of nothingness. Only her consciousness was here, so there was no discomfort. She could only maintain this state for 5 minutes, so the time was of the essence, and she could faintly sense where he was. She started moving towards him while calling out his name.
.......................................
Theon, …. Theon, wake up.
Theon heard a faint sound coming from far away. A familiar voice.
After everything he went through, his body should already be in pieces. But for some reason, he felt no discomfort. On the contrary, he felt relaxed and peaceful. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was rays of sunlight through fresh green leaves.
He was lying on the grass. The sound of the leaves rustling against the wind and the mint green grass was caressing his face. He slowly sat up and looked around.
It's a valley surrounded by mountains. The entire valley was covered in green grass and Lily flowers. It was beautiful.
Further away, underneath another tree, he could see a silhouette of someone. Theon took a deep breath and tried to move towards them, but he suddenly fell down. His body was not listening to him. Or to be more accurate, he didn't know how to walk. It was as if he were taking his first steps. He fell down over and over again. It was embarrassing.
After some effort, he started walking very slowly and awkwardly towards the other person. What he saw left him dumbfounded. It was a woman, half sleeping. She looked really familiar. She looked just like Elara. The resemblance was uncanny. The only difference is that she had bright red hair.
As if sensing a presence, she slowly opened her eyes and stared at him with deep purple pupils. As if recognizing him, she gave a small smile and yawned.
"Did you finally wake up, kid? And even taking your first steps? MY my. Don't be in such a hurry to grow up. We have a lot to talk about."
She slowly got up and brushed the grass off.
Theon looked at her with confusion. Why was this woman talking to him like a newborn?
She came closer to him and raised her hands.
"Whaa"
Suddenly, she started pulling his ears and running her fingers through his hair.
" Mmm, two ears, two eyes, a mouth, two arms, and two legs, lungs, kidneys, and one heart. Looks like there are no deficiencies."
He suddenly took a step back. Seeing his wariness, the woman coughed
"Ah, sorry, kid. You came here in such a messed-up way. I had to put you back together carefully. Onetime, I accidentally replaced someone's eyes with a set of ears. That guy is still cursing me."
Theon was still staring.
"Mmm? What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Theon regained his composure. The last thing he remembered was cutting off the horseman's neck. He looked around. This place was similar to a garden in a fairy tale. But it was not an illusion. This place felt real.
"Am I dead?"
He asked while looking at the woman. She smiled.
"So, you can speak. I was afraid that I messed up your vocal cords. No, you are not dead."
Theon looked at her calmly.
"On the contrary, you are being born. Reborn, as an Ascendant."
"Reborn as a what?" Theon asked curiously. It's a new term.
"An Asendant, also known as The Unwriten, are beings who stepped on legends, earning the right to become more than what they were. A being with infinite potential to eventually become anything."
Theon still kept looking at her as if not understanding.
The woman shook her head with a wry smile.
"No need to act like an amateur. You already know what's happening. This has always been your goal, hasn't it? The great suicidal plan you and Adrian concocted."
Right. The plan. Theon now started remembering. A lot of things went wrong, and he lost a lot, but he somehow managed to achieve his target.
"So, it actually worked." He said while smiling softly. Small tears started appearing in the corners of his eyes, remembering everything he went through in the past year. He had broken his body. Burned his soul. Lost almost everything he had just to prove that he was enough.
"Yup. I'm actually surprised that an outsider of all people figured something like this out. So far, everyone else who reached this place did not know what they were doing. You are the only person who planned this incident."
She kept talking.
"Both of you were amazing. One person figured out how to trick fate, and the other succeeded with his own will. It's a shame we will not be seeing him anymore."
Theon did not ask about Adrian. He was tired. At this point, it looked like everyone, and their dogs knew about the transmigration.
The woman clapped her hands.
"Right, that's enough boring talks. Let's get to the good part. Your life as a human is coming to an end. What you will become from now on will solely depend on how you live, your decisions, and your achievements. You will have to give up the things you did not earn, Theon. And embrace what you have left."
She came even closer to him and spoke slowly.
"When I say your achievements, that does not include Adrian's. So, you will have to give up everything you received from him."
Before he could even process what she said, she shoved the book she was reading into his hands.
"Come, let's take a look at your way of life, the consequences of your decisions, and everything that could've been."
She started walking ahead. Theon took a look at the book she was reading and was amazed. It was really familiar.
"The Kingmaker Chronicles: Dawn of the Manaless Prince"
The woman suddenly turned around and spoke.
"Oh, I did not introduce myself, did I? I am Pandora, the keeper of stories."