Chapter 7: Preservation and progress

After the tournament was over and the meeting between Sarah, Weiss and Eleanor ended, Sarah and Tear started their journey to return to Elysium.

On their way, Tear said to Sarah "You really went overboard this time. Not only did you break your promise to our lord to only be a spectator in this event, but you also informed one of the other countries about secrets that they shouldn't know." Sarah said with a bit of embarrassment "Well… To be fair, I only acted upon little Yi's and Xu's wishes.

Tear said "That doesn't excuse your actions this time." Sarah said "I know that alright. And I also know that I'll get an earful when we get back so you don't have to pester me about it."

Tear says "As long as you understand." After which Sarah asked "On another topic, you said that you had something you wanted to share with me back there. What did you want to say?"

Then Tear said with a hint of embarrassment "I found someone I fancied amongst the people who were after the princess." Sarah says "I see, I see. Was he one of the four you captured?" To which Tear said "That's the thing. He was so cute that I couldn't help myself but to let him go."

Sarah says with a monotone voice "So five in total then. How long do you think until you breed with him?" Tear ponders with a serious look on her face and ends up saying "I think this one will last me about two weeks at best."

Sarah then says "Unknown man. I didn't know you or what kind of life you had until now, but I'll recommend you spend the short time you have left in a way that makes you happy before the spider lady comes." Tear responded with "You sound so mean. It's not like the boy doesn't get anything from it. His legacy will strengthen Elysium in a couple of years."

Sarah said "While I agree that more manpower is always welcome, the means of which you go about it are kind of disturbing." Tear asks "It is only the nature of my kind. It can't be helped that I have to eat the man's brain afterwards."

Sarah said "You know, I heard from Li that it isn't actually necessary for the breeding process. It's just an urge that arachne have after their egg has been fertilized." Tear says "I didn't know that." Then Tear gasps as she realizes something and says "That means that I can also breed with our lord and not accidentally kill him!"

Sarah says "I don't say this because I also have feelings for our lord, but I have to say that I don't think it's a good idea." Tear asks "How so?" And Sarah explains "The fact that the need for arachne to eat the brain of their breeding partner was realized to only be an urge was done by some researchers. With those experiments, the researchers found two things. First was that arachne's body will gain a huge boost in strength when they go through the process of eating the brain. The second thing they found was that it was an excruciating experience for the arachne in question, which caused multiple deaths for the men's side. What I heard is that after it was proven that the instinct to eat the brain will override the reasoning of the arachne who have been impregnated, with the boost in strength, the impregnated arachne was incredibly hard to restrain from killing the man."

Tear says "I see. That doesn't sound too appealing, but at least I know that it can be done. Oh no." Sarah asks "What is it?" To which Tear says "Since the only reason why I haven't bred with our lord was because the contract that we made restricts me from harming him, now that I know that it can be done without harming him, I'm having a hard time restricting myself from trying it out."

Sarah says "I guess we'll have to make a new rule that you aren't allowed to be alone with Faust." Tear responds with "I don't think that would be necessary. I'll just erase the memory of this conversation from ever happening from my brain."

Sarah says "Oh yeah. I forgot you can do that. … A" Tear asks "What is it?" To which Sarah says "I just remembered that Li asked me specifically to not tell you about this when he was telling me about it."

Tear sighs and says "For crying out loud. You sure have caused a lot of trouble during this trip." This makes Sarah laugh nervously. Tear continued with "Whatever. It's not like this trip wasn't without its merits."

Meanwhile at the mythril tower, Li has been meditating ever since he submitted the report about what happened in Lostwood. He was trying to see if he could make some kind of connection to the world, like the tower did back in Odysseium.

After spending time meditating, Li heard a man's voice talk to him in a somber tone "Greeting Li Last. The killer of gods." When Li opened his eyes, he could see a boundless lake of serene water. The sky was blue with some clouds flying above.

Then the man's voice can be heard from behind Li saying "I've expected us to meet, but I didn't expect it to be this soon." Li then responded with "I'll assume that you are the one responsible for us being here."

The man says "I fail to understand whether you mean the place where us two are currently at or the Elysium being transported to Lutah, but in both cases your assumption is half correct."

Li says "I meant the whole Elysium, but still, enlighten me in both matters." The man answers with "This place is… how should I say this? … A place that was made during the summoning of your tower. It is only temporary as it is a scar left by the appearance of your tower, but we can temporarily use it as the connection is being worked on with this world and a foreign world organ. Your way of communing with the tower gave me the opportunity to transport you to this empty space, so you being here is both mine and your doing. As for the fact that Elysium is in Lutah, well that is more of a favor that I felt obliged to fulfill. Then again, the reason why the favor came to be in the first place was because of my own selfish reasons, so it'll be up to interpretation whether it is purely my fault. On second thought, I think Elysiym being in Lutah originates from my separate wish, so I'll take back my previous statement."

Li asks "Care to explain why that person wanted to summon a whole city to another world?" To which the man said "I can't go into detail at this point in time, but I'll say that it has to do with Ludwig Freigner, or as you more commonly know him as, Faust Ilumnos."

Li then asks "Who are you to make all of this happen? A god?" To which the man said "I was indeed one once, but my existence is that opposite from the god of this world." Li then says "So you are Maumar. The counter god." To which the man said "Indeed."

Then Maumar started to walk towards Li, who then asked "Is there a reason why you wanted to talk to me?" To which Maumar, whose voice was getting closer, said "I thought that you were the one looking for answers. I'm merely feeding your curiosity."

Then Li asked "Well since you are here, care to tell me what makes a god in this world and what makes you the opposite of them?" Maumar answered with "You want to know whether you should feel the same way towards this world's gods, to which I answer with that our gods were the ones who built this world from scratch. There were no gods in this world that didn't contribute to the creation of the very fabric of this world."

Then Li could hear Maumar walking past him and then in front of him while speaking "Being a god in this world means that you either contributed to the creation of it, or that you generate what the gods and I call aether. The rest of the world likes to call aether the god's essence."

At this point, Li could see the bottom half of clean white robes in front of him. On the side that Maumar came from, Li could see a pure white hair that was dragged as Maumar walked to where he was standing now.

Then Maumar sat down and Li could see an expressionless face that had black eyes. The eyes were an epitome of the term "dead fish eyes". 

Then Maumar continued by saying "As for me, I'm the embodiment of the abyss that functions as the consumer of aether. I said that I was once classified as a god in this world, but by taking this position, I lose the ability to generate any aether. You could still classify me as a god on the basis that I helped to create this world, but that is something that only the gods remember and it should remain so. To be called a counter god also implies something not to be worshiped, though when some feel betrayed by gods, they often turn to me in their desperation. I can't give them anything other than sending the creatures of the abyss near them, which will in turn attempt to kill any of the higher races."

Li thinks about what Maumar said for a moment, and then Maumar continues "For what I have come to understand, your kin's beef with the gods of your world came from them tampering with your creator's work. For your kind, the concept of religion is something they weren't made to understand, but from what I can gather, the concept of religion wasn't the reason why you fought them."

Li says "That is the gist of it. But still…" Maumar says "Let me put it this way. For the creatures of this world, the gods and I are what your creator was for your kind."

Li thinks for a moment and says "I suppose I have to work on my old grudges." To which Maumar said "You should since you'll be seeing many of this world's gods in the future."

Li asks "I assume it has to do with Elysium being from another world." To which Maumar says "To be frank, the gods didn't know about Elysium until you summoned the tower and almost destroyed the world."

Li asks "It caused that much damage?" To which Maumar said "To put it simply, it was like trying to introduce eyes to a creature whose brain doesn't have anything to work on those messages. In the terms of that metaphor, what the gods and I had to do is make new brain tissue that understands subtle signals that the eyes send. If it wouldn't have been done, the brain in this case would have had a seizure that would have caused irreversible damage. This place is the workaround that we came up with until we manage to incorporate the tower to this world. When it's done, the mythril tower will become one of the things we like to call the world organs."

Li then says "I take it that not all gods will come to see me with a smile on their face." To which Maumar says "There are some that probably will be like that if they come to see you, but I think most will be delighted that you gave this world a more convenient solution to gods interacting with non gods."

Li asks "Was there a problem with it before?" To which Maumar said "For god to interact with their creations, they have to make a direct connection between the recipient and the god realm. This in turn will make the aether that is in the god realm leak out in quantities that aren't healthy to the rest of the world. When the tower will be integrated properly, gods no longer have to make a direct connection between the recipient and the god realm. The tower will become a point of which a god can connect to other realms and send the bleeding aether directly to the tower that will be able to deal with it rather than the recipient. To put it in simpler terms, you could compare the tower to a … Suppressor? Conductor? Landline? … Modem? … Or maybe a router?"

Li says to Maumar "I don't know exactly what all of those mean, but I think you lost focus." Then Maumar said "The point is that the tower will be a very helpful thing to the gods. And on that note I'll say that some gods are dying to meet you."

Li just answers with "Okay, I think I can deal with them." Maumar looks a bit disappointed and repeats "They are "dying" to meet you." To which Li says "I got that."

Maumar says "I mean… GODS are DYING to meet you. Li of the god killer race." Li thinks for a moment and then asks "Are… are you trying to make a joke?" To which Maumar says "Indeed." To which Li says "I see."

There is a moment of silence. Then Maumar says with an even more somber tone "So Atkoosa lied to me." Li asked, "What did they tell you?" To which Maumar said "He told me that you would, and I quote "Laugh his butt off"."

Li said to Maumar "It wasn't really that funny to begin with, but the fact that you said it with the same tone of voice sounded like you were serious about the gods dying." Maumar said "I see. The matters of emotional beings are complex indeed. I need to take this into consideration next time I try "lightening up the mood" as they say."

Then Li asks "If you don't mind me asking, but isn't Atkoosa the god of the sun?" To which Maumar answered with "Indeed. Yet after finally being able to see each other again, he resorted to lying to me." 

Li just stayed silent for the time being, until Maumar continued "But in any case, Atkoosa is one of the gods that wants to come and see you. Would you like to meet them, or rather, are you willing to stay civil with them?"

Li says "I think I can muster enough patience with them if they don't try to sell their religion or anything." Maumar then said "Is that so. Then I have to tell one of the gods to stay put for now."

Li asks "Why? Are they a god who is desperate for followers?" To which Maumar says "Not desperate per say, but he likes to advertise himself more than others." Li was wondering who this god was, but decided to not ask further.

Then Maumar said "I'll give Atkoosa a go ahead to come now, if that's alright with you." To which Li said "Go ahead."

Soon after, someone shouted "Oh! The famous god killer! I can finally meet you!" Li looked behind Maumar's shoulder and saw a man with a smile on his face, long golden yellow hair and golden eyes.

Then the man came closer, sat down and said quite loudly "I heard so many interesting things from you when I last saw big brother." He tapped Maumar's shoulder like an old buddy.

Then Li says "I presume that you are the sun god Atkoosa. My name is Li Last and I'm in charge of the mythril tower." Atkoosa then said "Yes yes. Atkoosa the sun god here. Ready to brighten up your day. HAHA! You know? Since I'm the sun god?"

Li then asked "So why did you want to see me?" To which Atkoosa said "For many reasons, but I'll leave most of them to our future encounters. But let's start with this one. What is a god to a god killer?"

Li then said "For the rell, god's are false rulers of the world. They take what was already there and mold them into their ideal image." Atkoosa says "I see, I see. That is for the gods of your old world, but how about this one?"

Li says "I haven't made up my mind of how the rell would have viewed the gods of this world, but the closest thing I can gather is that they have a valid stake as the rulers of this world." Atkoosa responds with "So you don't fully accept the gods as rulers of this world yet. I see, I see. Well, that is to be expected. From what I have heard, the gods of your original world sound like pieces of work to me. Like… Classmates who didn't do anything in a school project but claims that they did most of the work later when the teacher asks. Or something like that."

Li then says "Sounds close enough, but it would be more close in this example if the classmates edited the material enough to make it theirs. Still, your version gives a person the same feeling that the rell had."

Atkoosa then says "Thank you. Still… what I heard from big brother here, I don't think that the rell were completely justified in their war against the gods of your world." Li is surprised by this and asks "What do you mean?"

Then Atkoosa explains "I give it to you that the rell tried to protect what the original creator intended the world to look like, but the way you all went about it sounds like you were a group of fanatics."

Li says "But the rell didn't have a concept of religion built in them. What you are saying…" Then Atkoosa cuts Li off by saying "Just because the form of a religion that the gods in your world created for their subjects is foreign to you doesn't absolve you from holding onto the history you know like it was your religion."

Li is silent for a while and then Aktoosa continues "Just because you knew how your world was truly created doesn't mean you can't be religious. I duly believe that what you say is right when you say that your kind doesn't have a concept of religion, but that applies only to the religion that the gods of your world forced upon you. You "know" how the world was created can be translated to you "believe" how the world was created."

Li is silent as he keeps thinking. Then Atkoosa continues "You were born knowing how and why the world and yourself were created. You didn't need to pray to any higher being because you knew that the one that once created all in your world has long perished. You wanted the truth to be known to the new kinds of creations that the gods created after your creator."

Li keeps on thinking and Aktoosa says "I don't agree with what the gods of your world did when they tried to remove the past from the records of that world. But do the gods that came after the ones who bastardized the world your creator deserve the same punishment as the ones who did the crimes themselves? What about those who came with the ones who committed those crimes but didn't partake in it themselves?"

Li is speechless and Atkoosa says "Didn't you say it yourself? A child shouldn't be guilty of the crimes committed by their parents."

Li says "At least those who came along with the ones who bastardized the parent's creation should have done something." To which Atkoosa says "Did they not do so or were the rell too blind to see if the innocent put any effort on stopping the guilty?" Li didn't have an answer to that.

Atkoosa then said "To me, the rell sound like they are children who never met their parents but heard that they were heroes and did nothing wrong. And when someone comes talking trash about their parents, they end up in a brawl until one side gets their point across."

Li then asks "What are you trying to say?" To which Atkoosa said "Meaningless." Li asked "What?" To which Atkoosa said "The war between the rell and the gods. It all sounds like it held little meaning if nothing at all. In other words, meaningless."

Both Atkoosa and Maumar felt the aura of the god killer leaking from Li's body, to which Maumar said "Don't take anything to heart. The only truth you need is your own truth. Some may argue, some may bicker, but in the end, what you know will always be the truth for you."

This callmed Li down a little and then Atkoosa says "A way to see things that doesn't leave any space for change. An effective mantra to be sure for some, but not for me necessarily."

All three stay silent for a while, until Atkoosa opens his mouth again and says "Look, all I mean to say is to try to look matters from a different perspective. Did the gods you hate so much really have a choice to do what they did, or was it something that was meant to happen from the start? What if it was your parent's will that you never heard? You may not be able to find an answer to all of these questions anymore, but you can ponder the possibilities that might have been and will be."

Li says "The question of whether the gods had a choice back then was a question that was asked by the rell, but that answer never reached the rell in time. Perhaps…" Li looks at the sky for a moment and says "Perhaps the rell were the ones who halted progress and dismissed the possibility that our parent's gift could be used for something we couldn't imagine ourselves."

Maumar says "If you live in a bubble long enough and you are forced to go outside of it one day, you may do things that you never believed yourself doing. Be it good or evil."

Li was silent for a moment, but then he said "I wasn't in a bubble. I knew very well that the war was a great deviation from what the parent of the world wanted for the rell. It was my job as the witness to remember every event that happened, and thus, every emotion that the rell felt. At the end of the journey, when the decision to build the tower was made, all that was left was sadness, anger and hate. A far cry of what the parent of the world wanted."

Atkoosa then said "Yet you didn't do anything to rectify it." To which Li answered "I wasn't a leader and the pain that the rell felt couldn't be swept away. My job was to remember everything. To remember. Until that one encounter with our sworn enemy. Until…"

Atkoosa looks excitedly at Li, which Li notices and says "I think this is enough chat for today. I have something else to do." To which Maumar said "No you don't. You just want to leave us… or rather, leave Atkoosa wondering what you were about to say. To which I say, be my guest."

Atkoosa then says with an overly dramatic tone and body language "You two are so mean to me. Thinking I'm just some gossip loving god. Fine, I didn't want to hear it anyways. Now go on now."

Soon after Li leaves the space Atkoosa and Maumar were, leaving the two by themselves. Atkoosa then asks Maumar "Did you know what he was about to say?" To which Maumar said "I don't."

Atkoosa then taps Maumar on the shoulder and asks "Then why did you let him go like that? It was just about to get juicy." Maumar just says "Some words are better left unspoken."

Atkoosa just taps Maumar's shoulder even harder and says "That doesn't apply to this!" Then Maumar says "I think I will head back as well." Atkoosa then tries to smooth things out by tapping Maumar's shoulders more gently "Now now. We barely have had time to talk to each other. Why not do it now since it's just the two of us?" To which Maumar said "This is payback for lying to me."

As soon as Maumar finished the sentence, a flood of gods appeared and Maumar disappeared. Now Atkoosa was left to explain why the rest of the gods couldn't talk to the famous god killer.

Meanwhile in the mythril tower, Li rose from his meditative stance and walked to the edge of the tower to look at the city below. A familiar voice, ethereal, male and female spoke to Li "You see Argus? It is not just you who will be walking this world. It's all the life that I have created for you and your brothers and sisters yet to come." It was a memory that Li held dear to him.

He recalled a world that would have felt alien to any other living being Li knew. Plants that were separated but connected at the same time. A tree growing strongly on a floating island upside down as the water flowed to the even bigger floating island further up. Animals that didn't fit a description to any animals that the people of Elysium knew. A bridge of water flowing without ground beneath it to another floating island that was far away from the cliff edge that Li was standing on in this memory. Grass that felt soft on the feet but made a small sound of tiny glass balls breaking. This was the memory of the old Odysseium when Li first came to be and when that person was still with him.

Li asked this person "Since you created all the things here, are they not as valuable as me?" To which the voice said "While the ground you stand on may not be able to do anything as you walk on it, it still can remember the very weight you put on it. Everything I have created is connected by their share of ana. One day, you and your siblings will be able to use ana and mold the world to your liking. This is something other creatures I created can do as well, but none can do it better than you and your soon to come brothers and sisters."

Young Li asks the person "You didn't answer my question, parent. Am I, or am I not as valuable as the world around me?" To which the parent says "It is up to you to decide."

Young Li turns around and looks at his parent for a moment. He saw a tall glassy humanoid figure whose body was transparent and eyes could see something bright moving inside of it. It was hard to distinguish where the body and the surrounding separates. Young Li says to the parent "You like to make things difficult for others huh." To which the parent chuckled a little and said "That is up for you to decide on yourself, child. But still."

The parent leaned forward to pat young Li on the head and then said "If you think life is difficult for you, just remember that the sole reason why I created you and why I'll create your brothers and sisters is because I want you to enjoy yourselves. While there won't be for a while, there will be dark times somewhere along the way. When those days come, I want you to remember that I created you so that you could enjoy living. For there is no better gift you can give to a parent than letting them know that you are happy."

The scene then turns into when Li is watching other rell training hard, be it magic, art, hand to hand combat, smithing, mining or any other thing that their parent gave them. One of the rell comes to Li and says "Argus Argus! You see, I found that if I use ana this way, then we can easily make things happen that way." Li smiles and says "I'm glad to hear it. I'm sure our parent would be proud."

Then another rell comes and says to Li "Argus. I found a new type of creature east of here. I observed it for months and recorded many things I noticed of its behavior." Li says "That's good to hear. Can you show others what you found as well?" To which the excited rell says "Absolutely! I can't wait to see what others think of it!"

Then another rell comes to Li and says to him "Argus look! I made this contraption that can automatically use ana by itself to make water spurt out from it." Li responds by saying "That sounds promising. Perhaps we can use this when we clean things." The rell says excitedly "I didn't even think of that. As expected of the first rell."

Then the scene turns into somewhere that happened way later than the previous memories. In this memory, a bunch of other rell came to talk to Li in a panic. One of them said "Argus, we have spotted something that feels off. Visitors that don't have any ana in them and they seem to be suffering. What should we do?" Li said to the crowd "Fret not. It may be that something from the outside has come to our world. As long as they respect our way of things, we can live in harmony."

One of the other rell says "But we felt that they are changing their surroundings into something that doesn't support ana." To which Li says "Nevertheless, we mustn't act hastily. Send people to talk to them so that we can resolve this peacefully."

Some time later, a group of angry rell came to Li and shouted "The outsiders are molding ana into something that won't breathe the way our parent made it! We cannot reverse the progress and they are adamant on continuing to do so! Please great Argus, what should we do?" Li thinks for a moment and then states "We must find a peaceful solution. We mustn't…" But Li was cut off by one other rell who shouted "They are desecrating our parent's gift! They have brought darkness that wasn't here before! We must make sure that they don't continue to do so!" Other rell shouted in agreement.

Li still said "But we mustn't…" Then one great voice came from the group of rell who shouted "We must eradicate those trespassers! There is no other solution! If they won't stop willingly, then may the end come to them who show disrespect to our parent's great gift!" Many rell shouted in agreement to this great voice.

The voices singing of the destruction of the outsiders hurt Li more and more, but there wasn't any way to quell the anger that was burning in the hearts of the children. So with great displeasure, Li shouted "I hereby declare… May the outsiders vanish from this world… be it willingly… or unwillingly. This… will require a new term. A term for a great conflict that pushes the balance of the world we stand on. Yes… This will be called… WAR."

And so the battle started between the rell and the outsiders. A concept of "END" came to the rell psyche as a new flavor that was never meant to be savored. The end of many creations of their great parent. The end of the life of the creatures of the world their great parent created. The concept… of DEATH.

In a meeting room, Li and other rell were talking. The one rell who spoke the words that made Li declare the beginning of the war has risen as someone who made the decision regarding where the rell would strike next. The special rell said "We have lost eleven of us to those outsiders during this week. We cannot let this stand. Group F will attack the space where the outsiders have retreated their troops. Make sure to kill those who call themselves gods." The leader of group F saluted and went into action.

One of the rell came to Li who said "I talked to Rosha yesterday and I can't seem to find him anywhere Argus. Do… Do you know where he might be?" Then Li answered "I felt his light wither not long ago. I'm… I'm sorry." The rell who came to talk to Li simply said "I see" with a somber look. Then he said "I guess this is how things are now. Talking to someone one day… then finding out that they are completely gone the next… But we are doing the right thing… right Argus?"

Li, not knowing what to say, simply placed his hand on that rell's shoulder and nodded in silence. Then the rell said "Thank you Argus" and left. An alien concept had been discovered by the rell. The feeling of sadness. The reason to cry.

One day in the future Li sensed another rell die. Nothing unusual by now, but he felt like going to retrieve the dead rell's remains. Once he got there, he saw a god with a white hair, golden eyes and a red dot on her forehead. There was great tension between them and Li asked the god "What are you doing here?" To which the god said "The people of this village have prayed that I come to give the dead rell a proper send off."

Then Li said to the god "Us rell don't have an afterlife, so there isn't anywhere you can send us after we die." To which the god said "But you came here because there was a dead rell here." And Li responded with "Since your kind has found a way to use our remains as weapons, we cannot afford to let you use them against us."

The god said "I've only come to give the rell that died in this village a send off. There won't be any remains left after I'm done." Li said "The rell wouldn't care if you did what you wanted to do. There is no reason for any of your rituals."

Then the god said "It isn't for the rell that I've come here for. It's for the villagers who want a peace of mind." Li asks "What does that mean? What do the villagers care about what happens to the remains?"

The god answers "It is something that people do. It is… to show respect to the dead… give a final goodbye and… to soothe their own hearts." Li said "To soothe… their hearts…"

There was a silence for a moment, until the god said "My name is Kalpa, the god who presides over the power of death and rebirth. Please allow me to give Ruck a proper send off and give the villagers some peace of mind."

Li was thinking for a moment, remembering how Ruck, the dead rell, wanted nothing but peace in the village he was dying at in his final moments. Then Li eventually said "I am Argus the Witness. Please… send one of my kindred off so his worries become null." Kalpa smiles and says "I'm not sure if I can go that far, but I'll do my best."

Then the whole village gathered at a place where the ritual would take place. The mythril was placed on an altar and Kalpa started doing her ritual. Before she finished, she asked people to come and say their final goodbyes to Ruck. One by one, villagers came to say their goodbyes.

When every villager had said what they wanted to say, Kalpa said to Li "You too Argus." Li was confused and said "No, I'm fine." To which Kalpa said "Just come and say something."

Hesitantly, Li walked to the altar… thought for a moment, and then said "You achieved great things in your life Ruck the Lappten. Wish we had you for a longer time. Your brothers and sisters will miss you. And I…" Many memories of Ruck came pouring into Li's mind in those few moments, until he started to cry for the first time in his life. Through tears, Li said "I thank you… for being part of my life… Each… and every one of you… my siblings… big brother… will make sure to… to remember all of you… for all eternity."

After Li was done, Kalpa finished the ritual and the remains of Ruck disappeared. After the send off was done, Kalpa and Li talked to each other.

Li said "I didn't think I would ever do this to a god, but thank you." Kalpa said "You are welcome. It seems that your kind has suffered a lot as well." Li said "Yes" and then there was an awkward silence for a while.

Then Li said "I think it's time for me to leave" but as he said that Kalpa said "I- I know this is a bit much to ask as we both are from the other enemy faction, but…" Li asked, "But?" 

Then Kalpa said while blushing "Ca- Can we meet again someday? Not as enemies, but as friends." Li was surprised by this and was about to decline the offer, but then he remembered how she was able to get rid of some of his pain, so he said "Sure, then take this."

Li handed a stone to Kalpa who then asked "What is this?" Li answered "It is a communication stone. The rell use it to send a message when we don't have the energy to do so using ana. This particular stone will send a voice message to my head if you pour some mana into it and I can send my voice to come out of that stone." Kalpa said "Is that so. How convenient."

Li then says "Now if you'll excuse me" and disappears. Soon after Li disappeared, Li received a message from Kalpa to test how it works. Li responded that it worked and Kalpa was satisfied.

The two would talk a lot with each other whilst the war between the two factions raged on.

Long time has passed and one day Li decided to ask "I have to ask, why did your kind do what they did and not just leave?" To which Kalpa answered "Because we were in pain and we were unable to leave." Li asked "You were in pain? What caused it?" To which Kalpa answered "At first we were just desperate and tried to do everything that worked. After bunch of trial and error, we found that erasing lur, or what the rell called ana, was the only way to make our current predicament more tolerable."

Li said "I never heard of this before." To which Kalpa said "It is something that our kind was unwilling to let be known by others. Especially the rell."

Li then said "But you are telling this to me now. Why the change?" To which Kalpa said "I never was able to make contact with any rell and even if I did, if the other gods were to find out, they would make sure I'll pay the price irregardless of my position."

Li then asked "So you are taking a risk by saying this. Are you sure you are all right?" To which Kalpa said "I'm fine if I get punished because of this. I'm tired of acting like we aren't the disease that came to this world uninvited."

Li said "Disease" to which Kalpa said "Yes. That is the best word to describe our situation. It is like my kind is the disease and ana was the antibodies trying to get rid of us. My kind answered to these antibodies by spreading their influence and eradicating the antibodies that were hurting us. At first we just wanted to be able to live more tolerable lives, but now my kind is fixated on removing ana from this world in its entirety."

Li said "I think I understand what you are getting at. I've studied the creatures your kind created and I can see the resemblance." Kalpa answered with "I'm sorry that we came to this world and ruined it for you. We just suddenly found ourselves in this place as if we didn't know anything before we came here."

Li said "It is fine. I now know what to do." Kalpa asked, "What do you mean?" and Li replied "We must make a focal point of ana and make sure that it only exists in one place and one place only. To do this, all rell must gather together and… become one, so to speak. Or more like, become a massive grave. Made of the thing that controls ana the best and focuses the ana to a limited area."

Kalpa said "I don't understand. How can you do that?" To which Li said "It is… complicated to non rell, but to make it simple, there is a special type of ana inside each rell. We call this the original ana. While it may shift and turn, it'll always have the same type of… feeling. The same song that we rell can understand. So what we are basically going to do is release all of our original ana to a singular object and make a barrier that ana can't escape from without the hosts approval. With this our original feeling… our original song will become one and with the closest form we can muster to imitate our parent, we'll use that power to do all that I mentioned before."

Kalpa asked "What'll happen to all the rell then?" To which Li said "All except the host will die for the lack of a better word."

Then Kalpa asked with a hint of frustration "Then why didn't you all do this sooner? Why go through all this bloodshed? Why cause so much suffering between the two sides?" To which Li answered with "None of the blood shed is in vain. For each rell to reach one singular conclusion, there must be no other solution to the problem. At first, the rell were confident we could eradicate your kind from this world. But now that our defeat has become imminent, a solution that allows us rell preserve the remaining gift that our parent gave us in the face of extinction, the answer is obvious."

Kalpa asks, a little more reassured but still saddened, "So… you think that all the rell will agree to this?" And Li answers "While it'll take a moment for them to accept it, the core belief of wanting to observe our parent's gift for as long as possible will make them cave eventually. The message I sent earlier to other rell seems to have caused quite a fuss, but it seems the majority has agreed to do this as our last solution."

Kalpa asks "How can a whole race just… decide to basically kill themselves just like that?" And Li says "It is quite simple. There is one question that can make each rell resolute in this decision. As someone who has talked to our parent personally, I can ask the question that can summarize their feelings. And the question is…"

"As I created you to enjoy it, are you enjoying the life that I gave you?"

"This simple question will make all the rell realize that the purpose of our continued existence has been lost somewhere along the way. And as coexistence isn't an option, the only option is the solution that I came up with."

Kalpa says "That's just too cruel. We'll have to find another solution. Even if it'll hurt my race, I'll do anything for there to be a tomorrow where we can coexist." Li says "I have to inform you that it is already too late on two fronts. One front being that neither side can forgive the other with mere words. The other front being that the consensus has been made between all the rell remaining in this world we once called our home. The preparations have started already."

Kalpa then asks frantically "Then what about us?" Li asks "What about us? I don't understand." Kalpa continued "Don't you want to be together with me? Aren't we…"

Kalpa musters all the willpower she has to say "Aren't we kind of like lovers?!" This leaves Li speechless for a moment. After a while Kalpa asks "Hello? Argus, are you there?"

Then Li says "I… just was too stunned from what you just said. If I understand correctly, lover means… two people partnering up… with the intent of living together… forever and… maybe make… offspring?" Kalpa answers with embarrassment "That…that's right. Aren't… aren't we kind of like that?"

Li uses all of his brainpower to understand the logic behind Kalpa words. Eventually he reaches a single answer that he had learned by observing males that the god's have created. The thing males would say to their female partners when the male is confused but too afraid to ask further "Sure. Whatever you say."

Kalpa asks while flustered "Then if you die, then what'll happen to us?" To which Li says while still being confused "Too bad, I guess." Kalpa says "Too bad? Too bad?! Are you just gonna…"

Then Li interrupts her as he says "It would appear that I have been appointed as the host that will remain. Unfortunately." Kalpa asks "What do you mean "unfortunately"?"

Li just says "Not important, but I'll say that the process will probably make a huge fuss all over the world, so if any of your guys try to come and stop us, then I think that'll cause some problems." Kalpa says "I try my best to convince them to let it go." Li answered "Thanks. That means a lot. The process will begin in about two hours, so if things go wrong, I'll just say that it has been a pleasurable experience to have known you." Kalpa says "Don't jinx that just yet. I'm sure everything will be all fine." Li says "I hope so" and cuts the link.

Then the moment of the process to make the singularity has come. Each remaining rell has gathered in one island that is in most pristine condition when talking about their parent's gifts.

The process then begins and people start to disappear in a pillar of light that is formed thanks to the obscene amount of ana. One by one each rell disappears into the light while Li is making sure the formation holds together since there are no second chances.

Then Li receives a message from Kalpa saying "This is bad. They are coming at you with full force. While I managed to convince a few of them, the majority sees this as a threat. I'll do the best I can to hold them off, so make sure that you make it count."

The process continues for a while, until it comes to the last rell who is becoming one with the ana. It is the rell whose voice was strong that day when the decision to attack the self proclaimed gods happened. The same voice that had become the leading head for the preservation of their parent's gift. The eradication of the outsiders.

He said to Li "So this is it. The final step." The rell looks at Li and says "I'm sorry brother that you'll have to stay and watch the outsiders live in peace after all they have done. I'm sorry that even though you were created first, you will be gone the last. But let that not discourage you, for your sacrifice will be for the greater good of all the rell." Li says "Thanks. It has been an honor to witness all of you. Now go in peace. I'll take care of the rest."

Then the commander rell says to Li "I believe that you must change your name to something else. Something more… fitting. How about… Last. Yes, Last shall be your name from here on out, for you are the last of the rell. Fitting isn't it?" Then Li says to the commander rell "I'll accept this name with honor."

Then with a smile, the commander rell starts to walk towards the light and the last words he hears is Li saying the words "Goodbye Li the audacious." With those words, the focal point was ready and the creation of the tower was done. The giant tower of mythril was finally finished.

Li says while exhausted "Might as well add the name Li to my name in honor for the bravest rell to ever live. Li Last. Funny name to be sure, but it has some weight thanks to its history. Now then…"

Then Li calls Kalpa and says "The tower is now finished. There is nothing that your kind can do to it now. You can stop holding them off." There is no response.

Li calls again and says "Kalpa? Kalpa, are you there?" Then suddenly an exhausted Kalpa's voice says to Li "You done? Great. So it wasn't all in vain. But can you be a sweetheart and bring my body where I can see the tower?" Li says "Sure, but are you alright?"

Kalpa says "It's alright. It's just… took more from me than I had hoped." Worried, Li teleports to where Kalpa is as he knows her location via the stone he gave him. He is also able to teleport great distances thanks to the power of the tower that was just created.

What Li saw was a bunch of gods hovering in the sky, watching Kalpa's near death body. The lower part has been completely blown off and her right hand is all burned up.

One of the gods says "So she was colluding with the rell. For someone like her to stoop so low is a great shame." Li asks Kalpa "Are… Are you alright Kalpa? Can you…"

Then Kalpa interrupts Li and says "Just… bring my body to the tower." Li says "But you are a god. With those injuries, you'll die for sure."

Kalpa says "My kin has already deemed me as traitor so they won't try to save me anymore. You can't heal me because you can only use ana to do so, which will in turn just make things worse."

Li says "If… If we plead, then maybe…" Kalpa interrupts Li again and says "Don't say that. For what I understand, you are… Well, were a big shot for all the rell. You can't just lower your head to your enemy. Just bring my body to the tower that you and your kind created."

Then one of the gods says "Enough of this. Kill the rell." And so a bunch of gods try to attack Li, but he creates a barrier that stops their attack with ease. Kalpa says "Please. This is my final wish. I want to be sent off by dying next to the tower that stopped this war. Please, Argus."

One of the gods shouted "Don't let them get away!" Then, with great hesitation, Li teleports him and Kalpa next to the tower. Kalpa instantly feels the pain of being surrounded by vast amount of ana. She even says "Haven't felt this much pain ever since we first came to this world."

Li stands silent and Kalpa asks him "What do you call it?" Li asks "What?" Then Kalpa asks "What do you call this place? This tower?" Li answers with "I… I thought of just calling it the mythril tower." Kalpa gives a slight chuckle and says "That's it? You ought to do a little better than that. Oh I know! How about I name it? Oh wait, but then all the rell inside will surely be cursing you and me."

Li says "I'm sure they'll understand eventually." After which Kalpa starts to think and says "Well let's see. Hmmm… AH! How about Turris Sepuclrorum?" Li asks "Does it have any sort of meaning?" To which Kalpa says "It roughly translates to gravestone tower or tower of gravestones. Your pick." Li says "I see. That sounds like a fitting name." Kalpa says "Of course. It came from me."

Li chuckles a little and says "As arrogant as ever. You know, when we first met, I took you for…" Kalpa finishes by saying "A proper lady?" To which Li answered with "Yes. A proper lady."

Kalpa says "I act like that most of the time, but when I feel comfortable, I'll act more freely like this." To which Li says "I see."

Then Kalpa says "Too bad for you. You give me the kind of vibe who likes more proper women." Li answers with "I'm not sure what you mean. Us rell weren't really made for romance. In fact, romance as a concept was alien to us before you lot came in."

Kalpa then asks "So which is it?" Li asks "What?" And Kalpa says "Which one do you prefer more? A proper lady or a free lady?" To which Li says "I think both are fine." Kalpa says "A coward's answer. You won't be making any hearts drop the beat with the mindset like that."

Then Li says with complete sincerity, "Well I didn't plan to try and woo any woman in the first place." Kalpa then says "Smooth, but sad. That is smooth but sad. And kind of impressive come to think of it. I mean you managed to capture my heart."

Then there is a long silence. Kalpa says while her life is slowly draining away but still holding a smile on her face "Say Argus. What do you think our children would have been like?" Li says with sincerity "The rell doesn't have reproductive organs so that would have been impossible." Kalpa retorts by saying "Can you drop that for a moment and just say it."

Then Li says "I… I have a hard time thinking of anything. The rell weren't made to… well… if it would have been the combination of us two, I'm sure they would have been… lively." Kalpa says "Yeah, that's what I thought too, but I didn't expect you to say it. Were you once lively then?" To which Li answered "In a way, I was very curious. As all rell were."

After a small pause, Kalpa says "I think they would have been cute. Our kids, I mean. The combination between my beauty and your handsomeness, I'm sure they would have been the most sought after people just based on their looks. I would tell the girls how to comb their hair. How to dress up slightly. Then if they turned out to be tomboys, I'll show them the ways to rock that style. You don't have much of a sense of style so you wouldn't be able to give many tips."

Li then says "Bold of you to assume that they wouldn't have been boys." There is silence for a moment and Li asks "Kalpa?" Then Kalpa says with a weak voice. "Hold my hand." Li didn't quite catch what Kalpa said, so he asked "What?" Kalpa repeated "Hold my hand." Li does so.

Then while holding Kalpa's hand, he feels that the grip is surprisingly strong given how Kalpa is. Then Kalpa says while tearing up "I don't wanna…" Li asks "What?" Then while crying, Kalpa says "I don't wanna go… I wanna… be with you… and then… play… with our… kids… I don't… I don't… I…" 

Li didn't let go. He held Kalpa's hand for a long, long time. Waiting for her to say something. Anything. But deep inside he knew that. That she won't be saying anything ever again. He kept waiting for something impossible to come for a long, long time. Not moving from the spot where he sat when he started holding Kalpa's hand. There was no need as there wasn't going to be need to do anything else if he didn't want to.

And he didn't want to, since he feared that once he let go, he'd lose the person who let him end the suffering of his people.

But eventually, the ana that surrounded them both eventually made Kalpa's body turn to dust. Leaving only a crystal behind. Kalpa's core.

Li sat there for ages, unwilling to move. While he didn't look at Kalpa's face when she was saying her final words, he could picture the crying face of a woman who simply wanted others to be happy. But still a face of a woman who was scared to die.

After a long, long time, Li eventually rose up and began to spend his time doing stuff. Learning to do all the things that the memories of other rell left him. Training his body to do all kinds of things. Building machines and golems alike to do things on this island as well as keeping him company. He did many things.

Eventually he even let outsiders enter the island and roam around freely within certain rules. Then one day a thought came to his head "Now that I can't die before the world has ended, what will I do? I'm getting tired. For so, so long have I done my job as the Witness, as the last rell. For how long can I… for how long must I watch as the gods who took everything from me stand on their thrones while enjoying themselves? For how long?"

And some time later Li thought started to go like "There won't be a day when that happens. Not anytime soon. I'm used to waiting, but it's getting unbearable now that the gods have even influenced me. Making me… sympathize with them? Why thought? They were the ones who started this. They were the ones who started to desecrate our parent's creation. They were…

But they were suffering too. Why did it have to be like this? Why must it stay like this? The others are gone now. Only those gods who laugh at me, the rell and her. Why must they continue to exist? Why must…"

Then an epiphany came to Li "That's it. Kalpa told me about it once. The power that can burn the whole world to replace it with anew. Yes, Kalpa… but she's dead. How can I… The ana… Yes, the ana! Kalpa never had the means to activate her power, but with all the ana gathered here, if we can somehow make something that can use that to activate her power, then I'm sure… Yes. I know what I must do."

Then Li started doing research on how to achieve what he was after. A long, long time passed after Li reached a formula that could make it happen. He took Kalpa's core and fused it together with most of his original ana together with a special type of mithril that came directly from Li's own body. He could replace his own missing parts with what the tower had, but it was essential that he needed his own body that has been used to holding his own original ana.

With a combination of all these three things, he only needed a couple smaller things that would help the process. But one thing that he couldn't provide was actual mana. Mana and ana repelled each other enough to make the tower and its surrounding devoid of it. This means that he must let the egg collect mana elsewhere.

But him doing it was out of the question due to two reasons. One, he couldn't leave the tower unguarded. And two, his own ana would interfere with the egg's mana absorption process too much. This meant that he had to outsource it to someone else.

After a long search, he found couple of like minded individuals who wanted the world to end for their own personal reasons, so Li handed the egg to those people with the words "When the egg hatches, make sure that they think that what we are after is the right path to take by any means necessary. And when you think they'll be mature enough to handle the final step, bring them to me and I'll take care of the rest."

With that, Li let the other people take care of the matters. Unfortunately, one day he received news that they had betrayed him and have decided to use the creation for their own personal gains. This stopped Li dead on his tracks as he had no way of tracing them and he was also too paranoid to leave the island because he feared that the gods would try to do something.

He spent a long time believing that his one chance to end it all was lost, but one day, a real one came to his island with a girl by his side. Li could instantly feel the power that the girl had was undoubtedly Kalpa's. Hope started to spur inside of him. He didn't know for certain that the girl named Sarah was the one holding Kalpa's power before she came to him. He had his thoughts, but he was never certain.

Li thought "The only thing I need to do is shake my hand with her and then I can infuse her with ana and the will of the rell will take over. Then she'll go ahead with the destruction of the world by her own will. Now then…"

Li started to walk towards the real one and Sarah with great anticipation, but then he saw something that he wouldn't have ever thought would affect him so much. He saw that Sarah… was smiling.

Li stopped dead on his track after noticing this. At first he didn't know why, but then he had an inkling of what it could be. With that inkling, he proceeded to go talk to Sarah.

Li said "Greeting Mr. Ilumnos. I see that you have brought a pretty interesting lady to my island." Faust said "Yes. She is… well, she is one of my new legion members. Her name is…" and then Sarah stops Faust and says "My name is Sarah Ylfianos Rosten Ech Alifana Setto Livendig. I heard that you are one of the most knowledgeable people in this world, so I believe you know what that means."

Then Li says "You are… one of the raid bosses that the real ones challenge for materials. If I remember correctly, you are one of the harder ones." Sarah says "That's right. In my true form, I can defeat most people with ease. But don't be fooled by my current appearance either. I'm quite a skilled fighter even without my true form."

Li says "That is quite impressive Mr. Ilumnos. Say, Ms. Livendig, why did you decide to join someone of a lower status?" Then Sarah says "Well… That's because… He saved me."

Li asks "He… saved you?" And Sarah says "Yes. I was in a pretty bad place where my opinion didn't matter. I had to do what other people said almost all the time and everyone acted like I was the most important person, but still mostly neglecting me and my wishes. And then I heard that my destiny was to basically become a punching bag for the real one, so yeah, Faust basically saved me."

Li had conflicting thoughts running inside his mind, but then he managed to mutter the question "Then… If I may ask Ms. Livendig, do you… do you think that you are… happy?" Then Sarah thought for a moment and said with a happy smile "Yes. I am indeed happy now."

Then something inside of Li clicked "Ah. How could I forget? How long ago was it that they taught me that lesson? The greatest gift that a parent could have… yes, I finally understand the true meaning behind those words. One's child's happiness is truly… the greatest thing that a parent could have."

Li then says "I see. I'm happy to hear that you are happy Ms. Livendig." Then Sarah says "Stop calling me that already, it's weirding me out. Why did you ask such a weird question anyways?" 

Then Li says "As a fellow NPC, I was wondering how you feel about your current circumstances." Li thought "I may be the one closest thing you can call a parent, but I have long lost the right to call myself your father because I created you for my own selfish interests. Because of this, I shall never tell you the truth, for I cannot ever be a cross of thought in your mind that thinks "He is my father". Yes, this is my punishment. But…"

Then Li says "Faust Ilumnos." Fausts asks "What is it?" And as Faust is saying it, Li bows down to one knee and says "I, Li Last, ask that I may join your legion."

This confused everyone around them who were present. Seeing a powerful NPC bow down to a player was something unheard of. And those who understood what "join your legion" meant were even more flabbergasted.

This was the story of Argus the Witness and how the tower came to be. 

This was the story of Li Last the Witness and how he became part of Elysium Legion.

In his tower, he stared down at the city after a flashback. For a rell to experience such a thing, it brings much sadness to him. But then again, hope. Hope that he may witness the growth of the people who serve one simple man. A man who was given the keys to rule a kingdom.

After walking back to the city, Li goes and informs Lud about his meetings with Maumar and Atkoosa. And while he was walking to give that report, he found that Sarah had come to give her own report about what happened at the tournament. Li decided to wait the two chat for a while as it warmed his heart to know Sarah was having a good time. But then he heard that Sarah had said the exact thing that she wasn't allowed to tell Tear. Sarah said to Lud "Just… don't tell Li that I screwed up a little. Tear already forced herself to forget about it, so there is no harm done, yeah?"

Then Li stepped in and said "You know, if you did that while she was close to our lord, there might not be a person who we call our lord by now." Sarah, surprised, said while sweating a little "Oh Li? You heard that? Listen, um… It was… Yes! Just a test on my part! I knew exactly that she couldn't cause problems for Faust when we were that far out there. If she would have tried something, I would have been able to stop her in time and then…"

Li says with a disapproving look "You know that Ms. Ti's kin have a higher speed stat than you, right Ms. Livendig?" Sarah, sweating bullets by now, tries to say something, but all she can say is unremarkable words that hold no bearing. While she is stammering, Li just stares daggers at her and her voice becomes quieter with each word.

Then Lud comes in and says "It was a simple mistake Li. I'm sure that it didn't happen on purpose." Li responds by saying, while still looking at Sarah "With all due respect, her making mistakes are what keeps bringing Elysium near its extinction with each crisis."

Lud, trying to salvage the situation, says "Well, I'm sure that she learned from this experience. Right Sarah?" Sarah nods aggressively and shouts "Yes! Yes! I've learned!"

Li stays silent for a moment while looking at the two and then gives a small smirk for a moment until he gives the papers that contain his report and says "Then I'll leave you two be for the time being. Now If you'll excuse me."

Li then leaves the room, and once he closes the door, he hears Sarah cry to Lud "Thank a lot Faust! I thought I'd die there for a sec!" With that, Li had gained more motivation to go on.