Chapter 247: 247
Chapter 247 - Darkness Incarnate (5)
5
Saiben let out a bitter laughter as he met Atein’s gaze .
“You’ve finally called me by my name . ”
It was as Atein had said . Saibein had broken the seal .
Saibein knew Atein’s abilities better than anyone present here . Atein had manifested in this place through Darkness Incarnate, but Saibein knew Atein was capable of monitoring the other members of Reygus’ party . It was the reason why clone users were so scary .
However, this didn’t mean Atein knew everything that was going on in the battlefield .
If Saibein had personally moved to break the seal, Atein would have used Incarnation to stop him . This was why Saibein had used another method .
Saibein wasn’t a clone user . However, he possessed dark magical energy . He was able to create Corrupted beings and wraiths that were under his control .
As he used his large scale magic, he continuously produced Corrupted Beings and wraiths . He had diverted some of them, and he had stealthily hit the facility containing the seal .
Atein spoke .
“You’ve changed a lot . ”
The passage of time was apparent through Saibein’s appearance . In terms of appearance, it looked as if Saibein was the father .
Saibein spoke .
“A lot of things happened before you were revived . You already know this… . ”
“Those experiences pushed you to become my enemy?”
There wasn’t a single ounce of anger in Atein’s expression as he asked the question .
Saibein was his son, yet he had turned his back towards Atein . He was trying to kill Atein . When faced with this fact, it hadn’t bother Atein at all . Only an expression of pure curiosity appeared on his face .
“As expected…… . ”
Saibein was hurt by this truth .
It would have been better if Atein had raged and berated him . He couldn’t see any affection towards him within Atein’s eyes .
“…I see . I mean nothing to you, father . ”
“That isn’t true . You are my son . ”
“You talked about the worth of family . However, the worth you place on your bloodline is different from everyone else . Am I right?”
At his question, Atein didn’t immediately give an answer .
Atein looked at Saibein for a brief moment . There was a slight hesitation before he nodded his head .
“It isn’t the same . Unfortunately… . It can’t be the same . ”
“That’s what I thought . I’ve never once felt that I was an important figure in your life . ”
It had been like that during the Dragon Demon war . Druing that time, the fight had been much more personal to him .
He wanted to be recognized by his parents .
He wanted love, and he wanted to be special to his parents .
He wanted an extremely normal type of happiness . However, it was always lacking in his life .
Atein, who was his father, only acknowledged him as his progeny . He didn’t give any interest or love that was supposed to come along with being a father . Saibein spoke with Atein, but his heart was always somewhere else . There was always a distant look in his eyes . This was why Saibein felt endlessly hurt by Atein .
What about his mother, Aincera?
‘You are the son of the exalted one . You have to be someone that won’t embarrass him . You cannot fall behind the children born to those lowly women . ’
It was hard to imagine it when one looked at the current Aincera, who had lost her sense of self . In the past, Aincera had been a strict and temperamental mother .
Her love was only towards Atein . She had born two children named Rebecca and Saibein . The number of children were proof that she was loved above all other queens . Moreover, the two of them were mere tools that were pitted against the offspring of second queen Tedrin . They were used to show that Aincera was superior to Tedrin
When Rebecca died in the Dragon Demon war, Aincera hadn’t been sad . She was disappointed . Above all else, she was angry .
It was the same when Saibein was defeated in battle . She had been disappointed and angry when he came back barely with his life intact .
‘As if losing to those lowly humans weren’t enough, you brought disgrace to your father!’
…her son had almost died, yet she only talked about him hurting Atein’s reputation . Above all else, it put her at a disadvantage in her competition against the other queens .
Aincera was such a mother .
It would be great if he was able to hate his parents . However, he didn’t possess such a character .
He was hurt and angry, but he wanted his parents to look out for him . He wanted his parents to acknowledge and love him .
“…as I lived my life, I learned a lot of things . Do you know what’s the most interesting thing I learned?”
“I have no idea . ”
“I learned that my emotions towards mother and father was quite common in the world . Neglected children pine for love from their parents . It was easy to find humans that shared the same emotions as me . ”
His father was singularly unique, yet Saibein’s feelings were universal .
“Can you imagine what I felt? You are like a god, and I am your son . However, the relationship between the two of us was quite common . Do you realize how taken aback I was when I learned this?”
His father was the first Dragon Demon and the first magician . He had saved the world several times . He was the Dragon Demon King Atein, and Saibein was his son . Of course, Saibein had thought he was special too . He also thought his relationship with his father was unique . He thought it was something no one else was capable of understanding . He thought their relationship was that singular .
In truth, it wasn't like that at all .
A person may be unique, but the relationship between people weren’t that special . There were countless ‘children’ in this world that understood and shared Saibein’s experience .
“I finally realized it then . I had really special parents, and I was also a rare existence . However, I was a person in the end . Moreover… . ”
Saibein hesitated before he spoke .
“…I knew that father wasn’t someone that could be called a person . ”
It was a realization that threw Saibein into a spiral of despair .
Atein was a transcendent being, and he could never be what Saibein wanted him to be . Aincera took on the caretaker role of the Great Darkness, and she had lost her sense of self . The possibility of her being a person had disappeared .
“You do not hold any attachment towards your bloodline . You aren’t cold, and you do not consider family to be unimportant, but… . From the beginning, it wasn’t something that could move the needle of your emotions . Am I not right?”
“I won’t deny that fact . ”
Atein didn’t hesitate to give his answer . Saibein’s expression crumpled .
“Ha…… . ”
His heart hurt .
He thought he had given up such emotions long ago . Atein had never taken care of him . Atein’s blood flowed within Saibein, yet he was basically like the numerous figures within the Dragon Demon King’s army . Atein only cared for him a little bit more compared to the others .
Saibein knew this to be true, and he had thought he had abandoned any expectation he had towards Atein .
Saibein realized that he had been deluding himself .
When he realized this truth, Saibein let out a sad laughter .
“Thank you, father . ”
“What are you thankful for?”
Atein asked as if he couldn’t understand Saibein .
Saibein spoke .
“I won’t live like you, father . I never expected to confirm my resolve like this . ”
“Hmm . I want to hear more about it . I really do, but… . . ”
Suddenly, Atein spoke .
“Time is up . ”
The ground was shaking . The tremor had started not too long ago . It started deep under the earth, and it had reached the surface . The being causing the vibration had finally reached the surface .
Koo-roo-roong……!
The sound of the ground exploding spread outwards . Everyone’s gaze headed towards the source of the sound . It was where the seal had been placed .
Goo-gwa-gwa-gwahng!
A thick darkness emanated upwards as the facility holding the seal blew apart . Then an enormous silhouette appeared from within the darkness .
Two enormous wings unfolded . The owner of the wings looked as if he was wearing a mask . His face was smooth, and he was larger than Reygus .
<Is he the god of Rest?>
“That's right . ”
When Reygus muttered his words, Atein replied . He recalled an old memory .
“He tried to get rid of desire for humans to fight other humans . ”
6
In the distant past, there was a human that got sick of the fact that humans fought other humans .
Humans were capable of overcoming their human nature that led them down the path of destruction . However, humans were selfish and ugly by nature, so the fight between humans were never ending .
There were countless beings that were capable of wiping out humanity . Instead of fighting the outside threats, humans fought each other . It made him feel anger and sadness towards humans .
When faced with the obvious truth, he tried to get rid of the source that was causing the self-destruction .
‘I’ll eliminate the hate humans have for each other . ’
The desire to destroy each other would be eliminated . He thought everyone would be able to live happily ever after if he did that . If humans had no reason to fight each other, he thought they would work to advance their civilization . They would pursue their happiness .
After long research, he found a way to accomplish this task .
All humans dreamed . Dreams was a pathway to one’s deep subconsciousness . All humans were free with this space .
‘If I control their dreams, I can control how their conscious mind works . ’
With him at the center, he tied the dreams of many humans into one . He created a mental world . In this world of dreams, he made the humans throw away the ‘unnecessary’ parts of themselves .
The humans under his control gained peace .
They no longer hated other humans .
They were no longer envious of other humans .
The humans were no longer… . .
Everything unnecessary was left behind in the dream world . In the real world, these humans started living peaceful and rational lives . Fights amongst humans happened only in the dream world . The dream world was merely a place where they could let out all their dark desires in their sleep .
At a glance, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see a utopia appear within the world .
“…however, the parts that were considered to be ‘necessary’ by the god of Rest was essential to humans . It was needed to be able to live as humans . ”
Atein mumbled to himself .
In the process of creating the dream world, he gained control over countless humans . He was able to become a transcendent being . As the number of humans under his control grew, his power grew . He was able to gain god-like power over the beings under his control .
“It would have been great if he was able to create a utopia . ”
Atein let out a bitter laughter .
Human civilization was at its infancy during this time . Magicians were rare, so the god of Rest was fully capable of taking over the world .
Atein observed the god of Rest for a time span equal to a human lifespan .
The god of Rest had created a power base that would make it hard for Atein to fight against him . That was why Atein continued to research the abilities of the god of Rest . He researched until he could increase the probability of his victory to an acceptable level .
At the same time, he observed if the god of Rest could truly create an ideal world .
In the land ruled by him, none of the usual stressors of maintaining a human society existed . He had eliminated any stressors that would arrive from humans interacting with other humans .
However, this didn't mean that they were happy . After a long period of observation, Atein arrived at that unfortunate conclusion .
‘They could no longer be called humans . ’
They looked like humans . They spoke and acted like humans . However, they were no longer humans .
It was true that there was no jealousy and hate .
However, they didn’t love each other either .
‘If there’s no conflict, people don’t interact with each other . ’
They didn’t get lonely . This was why they had no desire to talk to each other .
Things had to occur in the real world . If not, their conversation had no substance . There was no desire to understand each other .
In Atein’s view, it wasn’t an ideal world .
“It was another form of hell . I came to the conclusion that humanity would end in the long run . ”
Humans lost jealousy, hatred and their fighting spirit . Humans couldn’t identify what they were lacking in their lives, and they had no desire to better themselves . This led to lack of desire, and they lost the ability to take risks . There was no advance in their civilization . Everyone acted as if they were living the ‘ideal’ life .
In this stagnant paradise, birthrate dropped steeply . At that point, Atein gave up on all expectation . After a fierce fight, he was able to seal the god of Rest within the Great Darkness .
<Ha!>
Reygus laughed at the absurdity of it all .
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