The landscape—every crystalized red structure, every stump-like form—each one, all...
Were once alive.
A lifeform that couldn't be transformed into wandering Corrupted, dead without a single trace of a past life.
Valtor's jaw clenched, a muscle tightening. He had never once felt powerless. He had never once... had this weakness. Except after hearing what the goddess had said, and during that last moment when everyone he knew was wiped out.
His lips pressed into a thin line, and he dropped his head, understanding HALF of the goddess's pain.
She couldn't do anything to protect anyone, and this pain would linger deep inside, even after she disintegrated.
Another of her tears dropped into the lake. A soft ripple formed on the surface, echoing throughout the cave.
That lake—the clear water—was her tears, which had fallen to the ground for hundreds of years without drying up.
If only there were a way to dry the tears of a goddess... one would first have to live in the pain of what caused such grief. FOR GODS DIFFER FROM MORTALS.
"Valtor," she finally spoke, gaining his attention. Her light was slowly dimming.
She would be gone soon.
"... I failed them, Valtor. Those I swore to protect, my Powers... my hands couldn't shield them from Chaos. I weep, not for my weakness alone, but for every soul now lost to the Void. If I, a goddess, feel this pain—how could they not?"
She dropped her head with a soft smile, eyes on the lake, searching for the emptiness.
"Listen to the silence left behind, the quiet where voices once laughed, where hearts once beat. Do not mistake absence for peace. It's an emptiness so deep, so final, that not even the gods can undo it."
No thoughts could form in Valtor's mind. He couldn't speak a single word. Nothing.
He only listened, weighing her grief, watching as tiny bits of her face disintegrated into dust, fading into nothingness.
A sorrowful death.
Then, Valtor finally found words, his voice soft with desperation. "Is there a way you can survive? Can I help you?" He asked.
"No… and even if you could, I wouldn't accept it..." Elneal turned to the Crystals, her gaze distant. "I have lived for a thousand years. I have witnessed the living die out of their own life cycle. I have kept things in order. But if there was a wish I could ask the First Creator to grant me… I would wish that I never saw the gods wiped away. I would wish I had died alongside.
"But instead, I fell from the heavenly realm. With every height I passed, my energy faded, my limbs were devoured—all to stop Chaos from feeding on the souls from the mortal realm. I heard them scream for my help... but then, gone. And when I used my final form, one that shattered this realm with a crack…"
Here, a thought crossed Valtor's mind, 'So, that's why there's a cliff on the surface.'
"... I was not fighting Chaos itself, but the darkness which trailed behind," She let out a weak breath. "At least, if I could have saved just one realm before I died, I would have felt fulfilled. But the darkness was stronger than I ever imagined. A force no one can stand against. A force I can say, only the Beginning can fight… yet I tried. And I failed—"
"DON'T SAY THAT!" Valtor suddenly yelled, his eyes squeezed shut.
Elneal's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected him to raise his voice like that.
"YOU MIGHT HAVE FAILED! BUT YOU TRIED! YOU FOUGHT TO PROTECT WHAT YOU WERE GIVEN TO HOLD! YOU STOOD TO KEEP THEM SAFE! EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T WIN—YOU MADE AN EFFORT! THAT EFFORT IS YOUR WIN!"
Those last words echoed through the Cave, and, When Valtor opened his eyes, he found the goddess smiling so widely… it touched his heart.
"Such warm words, but, do you know you're destined to bring destruction?" Elneal asked gently.
"I don't know!" Valtor replied, his voice at this moment sounded raw, but his eyes were locked on hers. "I don't know what to think anymore! What else to believe! I don't want anyone to end up like the Corrupted… or be the aftermath of The Finality!"
Elneal's gaze softened, but her next words made his heart race, "The Finality is also called The Annihilation. The End of Existence. Nothing would exist. No life. Imagine never existing at all—never being born, never living a life… Yes, that is The Finality."
"I am the one who would bring an end to everyone?" Valtor asked.
The goddess only nodded.
"But—"
"You can choose your path, Valtor. I see that you can." Her voice was calm, "Your death is tied to The Finality, but your life—who you are now—I can sense both darkness and light struggling within your soul. But your path is already clear… Come closer, Young Monarch."
Valtor stood up and stepped forward. He was taller than the goddess, so he had to squat into the water to meet her height.
"Let me tell you something I learned after fighting Chaos one-on-one..." Elneal's voice lowered. "You cannot destroy it. But trapping a great darkness like it—by whatever means possible—can restore balance."
She touched her forehead to his, "I grant you three blessings."
"Me?" Valtor murmured, confused. "A Supreme goddess's blessing?"
Not that he wasn't thrilled to receive a Supreme Goddess's gift—but why?. She has just spoken about Chaos, but somehow now, she transferred blessings to him.
Elneal replied to his previous question, "Yes! You!," Her light dimmed slightly as she transferred her energy into him,
"Chaos has swallowed this world, but hear me, Young Monarch—Creation still breathes in those lost ashes. You hold the power to end existence, but your actions can reshape your prophecy."She sighed. "I myself will soon die. But tell me, what does power mean if it only leaves emptiness behind? So, I grant you three blessings."
Her remaining life force flowed into his soul, and in that moment, Valtor understood why gods and mortals were different—THEIR ENERGY DIFFERED ON A SCALE BEYOND IMAGINATION.
"One—Valtor, I grant you THE ARTISAN'S TOUCH. The power to build. Not just metal and gears, but weapons and tools infused with Ni—strong enough to fight the darkness of Shadow monsters lurking in your world. They call it the Techno-magic act, you would be a Legendary builder."
A blinding orange light radiated from Valtor's hands after her words. He squinted, struggling against the brightness, feeling the tingling aftereffect settle deep in his palms.
"Two—Creation isn't just craftsmanship—it's the ordeal of understanding." Elneal's voice echoed in the cave. "Your world is filled with monsters beyond your knowledge. Some cannot be tamed. Others carry a life force that shifts in the blink of an eye. I grant you—THE BEAST MASTER, TAMER OF THE WILD."
A shocking force ripped through Valtor's chest—so powerful that, if this had been an attack, he would have spat out blood.
Yet slowly, it settled deep within.
"Lastly, There is a moment in every journey, where time is Effective and Efficient, where a single second of choice and hesitation leads to ruin. I grant you 5-seconds of HYPER-GOD-SPEED!. Every second can cross distance so wide, and far that even the flash of a lightning bolt, the speed of light, would be slow to compete with. Use it well, for it shall never return."
After those words, she didn't speak at first. Instead, the goddess exhaled, her forehead lifting from his.
Valtor got up, radiating her life within, which settled in slowly.
He looked at her, only to see that her time has come to an end.
Then, before he could comment a word of gratitude, she said, in barely more than a whisper...
"Thank you for coming at the right time, for making me not to experience the shattering of this world, To speak to me, a company which I long desired. Then again, for your thoughtful words...
"And Thank you... For the water... I tasted a drop... Enough to quench my throat... After a decade..."
Those were her last words before she disintegrated.
****
Valtor pulled himself up onto the Cliff, panting after falling on the surface, carefully, to prevent getting scratched by the crystalized red structure
He had gotten few seconds to leave the cave before the pulsing crystals which served as the last source of light finally turned dim.
He slowly stood up, stretching out, "I'm so happy the slope was so smooth, if not, I wouldn't have climbed up stressfully!" He said without a hint of sarcasm.
Then, he turned to look at his hands, "Artisan's Touch, Hyper-god-speed... And... What else again?'
He carefully patted his temples, trying to remember, when suddenly someone grabbed his wrist of the other hand.
Valtor jolted backwards, only to be the one in complete shock, after seeing a boy holding tightly on his wrist, before yelling out after gasping for breath, "HELP!."