Old Knight Enters Retirement (Temporary)

??? POV:

(Where am I?)

I opened my eyes and only saw a sea of white.

A blank canvas might be a more apt description since I could not see the ground or the sky. It was like I was floating and facing a blank wall. No matter how I try to move, I can't seem to progress forward.

Now that I think about it.

I tried raising my hands to my face.

Nothing.

Then I attempted to look down.

Nothing.

Finally, I tried touching myself but felt nothing. It was more like I couldn't feel anything at all.

Well, this confirms it, I'm in the afterlife. Guess I died against the Demon King. Knowing me, I probably dragged the genocidal *sshole down with me.

All of a sudden, a low feminine voice entered my ears.

[Indeed you have, I am proud to say.]

(!?!)

[Relax, child, I have watched over you for many years, and you should know very well who I am. I was the one that gifted you your powers, after all.]

(No way! The Goddess Ishta!)

Hold up! I shouldn't rush to conclusions.

Given my current state, it's highly likely that I'm speaking to Ishta. However, it's possible that the voice I'm hearing belongs to a malignant entity that wishes to trick me and use my soul for nefarious purposes. Though I may have died, I shall never stop my crusade against evil and injustice!

[That I am glad to hear.]

(?)

She's able to read minds!?!

[Not quite. It's more like I'm able to read your facial expressions. Rather than reading your face, I'm reading the emotional fluctuations of your soul. Although I can read surface thoughts.]

So, an empath with mind-reading abilities? And what's this about reading my soul?

[Something like that, yes. An ability you get from being the Creator of all life on Solaris. You don't have to worry about your soul. I already checked it for any signs of anomalies or corruption.]

Looked into my soul!?! How do I know if it didn't get messed up by the inspection!?

[Don't worry, it was just a quick scan, I didn't touch any of your memories.]

[Anyways, I'm going to have to keep our conversation short. If I drag our conversation out too long, the Gateway will close.]

Gateway?

Why on, Solaris, am I receiving more questions than answers!?

[Woah! Chill! I'll get to it in a sec!]

[Good gracious! You'll burst a vein if you keep freaking out like this!]

Is this really the Goddess speaking to me? The last time I talked to her, she gave off a graceful and motherly aura that soothed all that listened to her. Her voice was simply dazzling! It could tug at the heartstrings of even the most cold-hearted men to do her bidding if she wanted to!

However, the being I'm conversing with now is like my good-for-nothing, laid-back mentor who lived a debaucherous life of alcohol and women and was useless in everything besides his swordsmanship.

[How rude! I can assure you that I'm Ishta! The very Goddess you people worship!]

[Watch closely, I won't show it twice since we're on a tight schedule!]

[3rd Person POV:]

Everything suddenly turned dark before being replaced by a large room filled with expensive and fancy furnishings that only royalty and high-ranking nobles could buy.

In the center of the room was a king-sized bed made of Elven Oak.

Lying on the bed was a beautiful, gold-eyed, long, straight silver-haired woman in her early twenties wearing a green dressing gown and holding a baby with the same gold eyes. Unlike his mother, the baby had beautiful flaxen curls rather than the silver hair his mother had.

The baby had such an adorable face that when he grew up, he would have become one of the most handsome men on Solaris.

Charles ignored everything in the room, including the baby, and focused his eyes on the woman lying on the bed.

Although Charles had only known this woman for five short years before she died, she was one of the closest people to Charles.

The woman did not die a plain death like getting tuberculosis or an accident from falling off a horse.

She was torn limb from limb, gutted, and humiliated. What remained of her body was hung from a stake for the public to see. She endured all this to protect her son, the baby in her arms, who had survived but bore first-hand witness to the tragedy inflicted upon her by the vile Demons sent by Destryos, the Demon God.

The boy would swear vengeance against the Demons and train to become one of the greatest heroes of the time.

But that will be a story for another time.

Charles looked down and saw that he had regained his body and was dressed in his usual dark suit and cape. Even his white arm armour and black greatsword were with him.

He took a step, and seeing that he could move, Charles walked toward the woman until he was beside her bed.

His eyes suddenly became filled with sadness and longing. Leaning closer to the woman, Charles stretched out his unarmoured hand and attempted to touch her cheek.

Charles' hand made contact with the woman's cheek. It was warm, soft and full of life.

Shocked that he could make physical contact with the woman, he uttered a single word under his breath.

"Mother."

As if on cue, the woman, Charles' mother, turned to look at him. Before Charles could react to this sudden development, the room disappeared, along with Charles' mother and the baby she was holding, and Charles found himself back in the white void he awoke to.

[Author's Note: You probably all know who the baby is.]

Charles POV:

[You believe me now, right?]

"Yes."

This person is indeed Ishta. My mother, the previous High Priestess of the Ishtaris Church, always wore a veil that hid her face so no one could uncover her identity. The only person who could have possibly known her face was me and the Goddess Ishta.

[Glad to see you believe me now. Do you want to listen to what I have to say now?]

"Yes, your heavenliness. Please forgive my rude conduct earlier."

[No worries. If I were in your shoes, I'd do the same.]

I let out a sigh of relief and paid attention to the Goddess.

[As you probably guessed, you died, but you successfully managed to drag my Brother, Destryos' creation, down with you.]

[Many lives were lost, but the Coalition won and defeated the Demons.]

That is good to hear. I was afraid that I may have died a meaningless death and failed to subdue the Demon King. Causing the world to forever fall to the clutches of Darkness.

[Don't be so dramatic! Even if you died, I could just ask Ouranos to wipe out everyone on Solaris and begin things anew.]

[Author's Note: For those who forgot, Ouranos is the God of Death.]

...

What a scary woman. I'm glad I managed to defeat the Demon King, or all my friends would have died.

Wait a minute! My friends! What happened to them!?

[About that child, I am happy to say that most of them survived, but...]

[Some have died.]

No.

Grief and regret filled my heart.

Please let it not be her.

I'd gladly cast myself to hell if it would prevent her death.

I'd do anything.

Just please.

Not her.

Please.

No-

[Calm down! That elf wasn't among your comrades that died!]

"Thank goodness."

My heart rested easier knowing Izelia was still alive and well. Though my heart still grieves for the loss of my comrades.

[I wouldn't be too sure about that, I just checked on her, and she was crying a lake of tears.]

[Moving on, the ones who died were Arkises and Restina.]

[Arkises sacrificed herself to create an opening for you to slay the Demon King.]

[Restina was killed by Vilitor and Kayritus. Before she died, she used the last of her powers to heal and strengthen you in your most crucial fight against Notoros.]

"I see."

Although I'm grateful to hear that Izelia is safe, it still saddens me to learn some of my closest friends and comrades have died.

[Be at peace, child. The Nocturne has wandered the earth for many years, and she is glad she can finally rest in peace.]

[As for her young friend, she knew full well what she was getting herself into.]

"You're right. I shouldn't be moping and insulting their brave sacrifices that helped liberate Solaris from evil forever."

[About that child, Solaris isn't free of evil yet.]

...

What?

[Precisely what I said, although you defeated Notoros, his generals are still alive, bidding their time to strike. I fear that they seek to resurrect the Demon King.]

Hold on.

How did I defeat the Demon King again?

I tried racking my brain to search for those memories, but the latest memory of the battle I can recall was when the two armies charged.

[Our time is running short. All you need to know for now is that the Demon King absorbed the souls and powers of the previous Chosen before you. In desperation, you used a spell that would imprison Notoros at the cost of your life. Although you won the battle, you only delayed the war.]

No.

Did everything I do delay the inevitable?

Is Solaris going to be destroyed by the Demons?

[Don't be so dramatic. Although Notoros will walk the earth again, you still have a chance to stop him.]

"Really!?"

[Indeed, this is what I wished to discuss with you. You are the only Chosen out of the Seven that I've blessed who's managed to defeat that abomination created by my brother. Unfortunately, you have died, and I am forced to reincarnate you. The time it takes for you to reincarnate back into the world of Solaris is too unpredictable. By the time you are born, Solaris may have already been destroyed by the Demons.]

[I also can't just resurrect you since that would be breaking one of the Primordial Commandments. However, I managed to discover a loophole.]

[I won't bore you with the nitty-gritty details, but you know about Reality Cracks, right?]

"You mean those portals that lead to other worlds like where Mina Asami came from?"

"Will I be going to another world?"

[Bingo.]

[Rather than travelling to another world, I'll reincarnate you into a world under the jurisdiction of my sister, Lunara. You don't have to worry about the language barrier since Solaris and Lunara share the same language.]

[I won't reincarnate you as a baby since I don't know when the Demon King will resurrect, so I'm just going to fix your old body rather than give you a new one.]

[Basically, you can treat your stay in another world as a vacation until I "accidentally" create a Reality Crack, which leads back to Solaris, where you will conveniently show up and finish Notoros once and for all.]

[After that, you can spend the rest of your life with that elf.]

[Any questions?]

This deal seems way too good to be true.

Reincarnating with my body intact in another world where I can do whatever I want and rest without worries, then going back to Solaris and spending the rest of my life with Izelia?

Besides killing the Demon King, there's gotta be another catch.

[You're right, there's a catch.]

Knew it.

[I didn't want to tell you this because I wanted you to enjoy your well-deserved break, but I see you can't help but pry into the real reason.]

[*Sigh*]

[Alright, here's the truth, my sister, Vera, is experiencing problems with her world. Not as problematic as Notoros, more on the level of one of his four generals. Even one Saint like that knight and elf companions of yours should be able to deal with it.]

[Unfortunately, my sister spoiled the inhabitants too much. The peaceful lives that they had caused them to become weak and their technology level to be quite outdated. Due to a lack of a great evil that threatens all of their livelihoods, the only conflicts they have were petty wars of self-interest that they wage against each other. With everyone weak and unwilling to cooperate with each other, they would without a doubt be crushed by a powerful external force.]

[So-]

"You want me to help stop the threat of that world."

[Yes, despite my sister's stupidity, she has a lot of authority, almost on my level in the Council. If I lend you to her, she'll back me up and probably overlook my actions.]

[I am sorry that you have to go through this again, child, but know that once you complete this request, I will reward you greatly, and you may spend the rest of your days with your beloved.]

Guess there really is no such thing as a free lunch.

Well, at least it's better than getting reincarnated and losing my memories, especially the ones with Izelia.

Once this whole ordeal is over, I will finally be able to learn her answer.

"You do not need to apologize. If you hadn't interfered, I would probably never meet Izelia again."

[Fufufu! I see you really like her! Very well! I will allow you to write a message and send it to her. I will personally deliver it myself.]

Really!? That would significantly lessen my worries!

But what should I write?

Should I tell her I'll be going to another world? Or how I'm being given another mission by the Goddess? Maybe I should say that I'm alive and well and that she should wait for me.

Ugh! I have so much I want to tell her that I can't put it all into words! Otherwise, it'll become an entire damn novel!

[Frankly, you can put all that into a chapter with less than 2.5K words.]

?

[Nevermind that, if you want my advice, I feel that you should keep your message short, with several meaningful sentences that'll have a deep impression on her that she could never get out of her head.]

"Hmm, not a bad idea."

"Thanks for the advice. I think I know what to write now."

[Excellent! Let me get you some writing utensils!]

A white quill, a bottle of black ink, and several pieces of parchment appeared before me.

[Whoops, I forgot to give you your body.]

I looked down and saw that I regained my body (again).

Without further delay, I grabbed the quill, dipped it in ink and began writing the letter I would send to Izelia.

[A Few Minutes Later.]

[Are you sure that's what you want to send? You probably won't be able to communicate with her for up to several years.]

"Yes, I am sure."

[Alrighty! I'm sending it now!]

The letter I wrote turned into gold particles before my eyes, transforming into a white dove and flying off to deliver my message.

Now that's done, I have no more regrets.

"It's time for me to go now, right?"

[Yup! I'll leave the transportation method to my sister. Good luck, and have fun!]

...

Hold on!

How will I be transported!?!

Before I could get an answer from the Goddess, I felt the world spin before my eyes before everything went dark.