Chapter 393 - A World Abandoned By Gods
"Bingo!"
The being announcing himself as the Sovereign winked with a grin. Arthur noticed teeth were sharp enough that they reflected light. However, it didn't make the being threatening, as it had a childish smile on its face.
"Show I kneel in greeting?" Arthur joked, but he was also probing the being in front of him.
"I don't know, I never received any guests here," the being scratched its head and turned toward the tree. "Should he kneel for me?"
Arthur was confused and turned toward the giant tree, which seemed to be as big as the five worlds stacked on each other. He expected a reply, but there was only the hissing of the wind.
"That is true," the allegedly Spirits Sovereign nodded after he heard the hissing. It turned back toward Arthur and waved its hand. "Social norms are a character of humans, and it's something that I don't need. If you need to kneel, feel free to do so."
"Then I will refrain," since that was the case, Arthur preferred against humbling himself. "Can I know where I am?"
"Yggdrasil, the spirit that holds the physical world and the five spirit worlds together!" The Spirit Sovereign beamed as if he was introducing one of his treasures.
"Yggdrasil," Arthur repeated as he gazed at the giant tree before turning to look at the land below them. It was an infinite fog.
"Don't worry about the weather. It's always like that. Only those who can see everything can peer through the fog and look at everything."
"Seers," Arthur realized, and the Sovereign nodded in response. "Do they come here when they try to see?"
"They do. Otherwise, how can they see through the fog?"
'So that's how Sier sees everything. His spiritual body comes to Yggdrasil and looks through the fog.' Arthur realized as he felt like another secret has been uncovered.
"What you did earlier was reckless, Seika of Living Beings," the being gazed at him silently as he opened the gourd to take another sip.
"What are these screams?" Arthur asked with a frown as he looked at the gourds. Every time the Spirits Sovereign took a sip, he could hear howls of agony coming from within the gourd.
"Oh," the Sovereign paused. "You can hear them?" A thin smile danced on its lips. "How truly fascinating. You are just like him, but you are someone else entirely. The howls are from the Abyssal Spirits I devour."
"I see," Arthur nodded and turned to look at the tree. It was humongous, and he could feel a deep connection with it.
"You are not curious about what I'm talking? Shouldn't you be eager to understand who I'm comparing you to?"
"I'm truly not," Arthur shook his head. "You are not the first person to say things like that," he looked around again.
"Are you looking for your friend?" The Sovereign asked. "Is that why you look so sad?"
Arthur paused and didn't say anything. The fact that he just killed Gala within the Spirits Realm made everything else, even the being in front of him now, seem trivial.
"Do you know where she is?"
"I do, and I do not," the Sovereign shrugged. "What you did wasn't something common, and no one knows what is going to happen. The simple fact that the witch knew of such a method astonished me so much that I kind of wanted to see what happens."
"That's a lax attitude from the protector of the realm," Arthur said with a thin smile. "So, she is gone, and I will never know if she succeeded."
"Of course, you will," the Sovereign was confused. "If you meet her again, that means she went through the cycle, and if you do not..."
"Then she died, by my own hands," Arthur looked at his golden hands. "Tell me, powerful being. What use does power have if you can't even protect those you care about?"
"People have different aspirations, but your failure to help your friend simply means you need to get stronger." The Sovereign answered with a smile. "How about we take a tour around Yggdrasil?"
"Sure,"
The two began walking from a branch to the other, and each branch was as big as a highway. At first, the Spirits Sovereign didn't say anything, and Arthur followed after him.
"You met the bookkeeper, no?"
"A twisted bastard," Arthur didn't hold back.
"Haha, he is, he truly is," to Arthur's surprise, the Spirits Sovereign laughed easily. "However, he is also useful because he keeps track of everyone who enters the realm, including their past."
"The Archives of his Majesty," Arthur looked at the long black hair of the spirit in front of him. "Is that where you are taking me?"
"It's the only amusement I have in this world, so please forgive me for intruding on your race's privacy,"
Arthur was again surprised by the being's polite and friendly attitude. He imagined the Spirits Sovereign to be aloft, unbothered by earthly matters and humans. Yet, the being in front of him was as cheerful and as curious as a child.
"I think a background check is necessary to keep your realm in order," Arthur shared his opinion. "Humans might use spirits to harm others, so it's dangerous to allow everyone into the realm."
"That's what he said too,"
"I'm guessing you are talking about the First Seeker,"
"You've guessed correctly," the Spirits Sovereign laughed. "How cheerful he was before I took his feelings. Now, I regret nothing more than doing so,"
"Because you hate feeling things?"
"It's the opposite. I only wanted feelings because of him, and he changed after I took them." As he said so, they arrived at a clear basin of water. "My Archives. Or, as you humans call it, this is my TV."
"I see that you are keeping up with civilization," Arthur was amazed as he tried looking into the basin of water. It was clear, but images soon appeared inside of it. The first image was of a forest and a child.
"Do you recognize this person?"
"Violet hair and eyes," Arthur muttered as his heart felt a twinge of pain. "Is this Gala as a child?"
"Bingo! These archives belong to the witch who frequented my realm. This is not the first memory she has, but it's the first of her most treasured memories."
"And why are you showing me this?"
"Because you want to know about her past," the Sovereign revealed what lay in Arthur's heart. "And this is the first time that I had a visitor. Usually, I meet the other spirits in the five worlds."
"And why me?"
"If I hadn't pulled you from the gap of space, your fate would have been no different from hers: unknown," the Sovereign pointed at Gala's image as he said. "Now, let's enjoy the show,"
Like a video, the image in the water began to move. Gala was handed a small crystal which she looked at with confusion. Her face was dusted, and there were wounds on different parts of her body.
"At that time, the witch hunt was at its peak. Humans thought that witches were shapeshifting monsters because of the gems in their foreheads. Instead, they were a Soul Crystal inherited from their families."
As the Sovereign explained, Arthur saw another witch crouch in front of Gala and tighten the fist in her hand.
"Use this to grow stronger," there were tears in the woman's eyes, and they were violet as well. "I will try to hold them back. Take this and run away, and never look back. Do you understand, Gala?"
"Witches pass down their Soul Crystal to their descendants, and it's the only way for their linage to survive. The witch would then lose its powers while its child would become a witch themselves. A fascinating race, if you ask me."
"If there was a witch hunt, isn't it dangerous to pass down the crystal to her child?" Arthur was confused, and the Sovereign was silent.
"There is always a sacrifice, always," it sighed. "This race turned their soul into a crystal, allowing them to absorb spiritual power from the physical world and grow stronger. However, it came at a cost. Their descendants are born without a soul, and they would die once they reach ten years of age unless they get the Soul Crystal."
"A vicious cycle," Arthur muttered as he looked at the face of young Gala full of tears. "Why did they need to evolve in such a way?"
"Because they needed the power to survive," the Sovereign waved its hand to show Arthur a different image. "This was the world before Demis evolved their powers and humans got hold of artifacts."
The images in the pond made Arthur sick. Countless monsters tore people apart, creating rivers of blood that filled the world. They ran through the Calamity Gates and struck terror in the hearts of the people.
"This is the world that your gods abandoned," the being's rageful voice echoed. "They chose to save half of the people and use the other as a shield."