Episode 233. Ayula(1)
Jin looked up at Ayula.
Looking again, hundreds of golden lines of power extending from Ayula's body were connected to the light Jin left for Lani.
And Ayula no longer felt the same power as before. Jin intuitively knew what choice Ayula had made.
"Ayula, you didn't."
[From the moment I decided to save these two people, I could no longer maintain my status. If a god like me intervenes in the human world so much and there's no price to pay, it's too dangerous.]
Death.
Ayula saved Dante and Hedo by trading her own death. The moment Phaelito's sword fell on them, Ayula had summoned them to her inner world.
Many immortals in the world use summoning or space jumping without much restrictions, but it was a different story when a god used it to save someone.
Dante and Hedo only realized the sacrifice Ayula had made after hearing the conversation.
"Ah, Ayula? You're saying you chose to perish to save us?"
[Yes, Dante Hayran, the Sword Emperor.]
"I am... I am a knight of the empire! A knight is a human who can die fighting for his beliefs at any time. You, a god, threw away your life for Hedo and me?"
The joy of being able to see Jin and his companions again quickly faded in the shock. Dante was almost yelling in anger.
"If Hedo and I disappear, someone else will take our place, but if you disappear, what will happen to the kingdom, the order you manage? I... I didn't know you had abandoned all that to save us...!"
[So, you don't like it?]
"I don't. If I could stop it...!"
[Ha ha, there's no turning back. So don't be so angry, Sword Emperor. It's cute, but if you hate it so much, it hurts me.]
"....I also agree with the Sword Emperor, Ayula. Of course, I didn't believe in you, Ayula, and I am a man who values the lives of my lady and comrades more than you, Ayula. Nevertheless, the choice you made... I'm not sure if I have such a value, even if the Sword Emperor doesn't. If you had saved only the Sword Emperor, could you have avoided annihilation?"
[Yes, I could have avoided it. If only the Sword Emperor had been saved, I would still exist as a god.]
"In that case, if I may, you should have saved only the Sword Emperor....."
Jin didn't know what to say, so he just listened quietly.
[Jin, Dante, Hedo. Kids, listen. The reason I helped you and saved you is because I am certain that you have more tasks to perform in this world than what I have left to do.]
"How can we possibly do more than Lord Ayulra..."
[Sword Emperor, I am a god.]
Ayula met Dante's eyes.
[And a god refers to the immortals bound by fate. Therefore, even though gods possess much greater power than mortals, they cannot transcend their destiny.]
[Unlike mortals, immortals are bound by fate. That's the weight of immortality.]
Jin recalled what Ameris had said the first day he met her.
[You asked me earlier what will happen to the Holy Kingdom and the peaceful order I govern when I am gone. Let me answer that. The Holy Kingdom will rise again through the strength of humans. And as always, they will pray daily for peace. Even if I can no longer hear those prayers.]
"I can no longer hear those prayers," Ayula's voice trembled slightly at those words. The god was grieving.
[But will the concept of peace itself disappear from the world because of that? No. There were times when I, and everyone else, believed it would... but not anymore. Even if I cease to exist, someone, children like you, will continue to fight to protect peace. In some ways, you have fought more fiercely for peace than I ever did. I merely existed under the name of peace.]
Ayula gently moved her wings, stroking the heads of the three.
[That's why, in moments like this, for people like you, it's right for immortals like me to sacrifice ourselves, a hundred times, a thousand times over. Perha h ps this is what my existence was meant for.]
Tears flowed from Dante's eyes. The last remnants of Ayula's divine power shone and glittered in his tears. Ayula laughed, as if he was admirable.
[That should be enough to answer your question about my decision. And now, I don't have much time left. I hope you can help me fulfill my final resolution.]
Dante and Hedo did not speak any further about Ayulra's sacrifice. That would only be a waste of Ayulra's remaining time.
"We will help with anything, anything at all."
"What can we do to help?"
[Firstly, Dante and Hedo, there's nothing you need to do right away. Once uhh Lani wakes up due to Jin's decision, you should focus on recovery. You will have a lot to do once you're recovered.]
"Jin's decision...?"
Jin knew what this meant.
"Now it's my turn to make a choiice like Ron did in the past, Lord Ayula."
Ayula nodded.
As Ron had saved the dying Jin with the light of Genesis at the time of the Gyeomhwang Palace, it was now Jin's turn to save Lani in the same way.
[I couldn't save Lani while saving the two of you. In the midst of my sorrow, I realized that you had left the light of Genesis in that child.]
When Lani became transparent, Jin thought that the light had naturally remained.
But that light was definitely something he had left. As soon as he ascended to Genesis, what he unconsciously wanted most was the survival of his comrades, which had settled in Lani who was next to him.
[You know, Jin. If you want, you can retrieve this light and reclaim it for yourself.]
"If I do that, the power of Genesis I've gained will be complete."
[Yes. But you won't make that choice.]
"Of course. I will save my friend."
Objectively speaking, Lani is just a Holy King with unusually strong divine power.
Although she has tremendous healing ability, she could not be said to be of more value than breaking the perfection of Genesis that Jin obtained.
But to Jin, saving Lani was a more valuable act.
In the future, what was more demanded in transcending the fate waiting for him and the world was clearly people, not power.
"I can get power anytime. Even if I lose that much, I am still Genesis. Even if I lose everything, my choice would have been the same."
Ayula imagined Jin keeping the power of Genesis all to himself without saving Lani.
SHe is not Azmil, and even Azmil can't fully see the future of Genesis, so she couldn't know.
At the end, there seemed to be a result of corruption like Paelito. However, she couldn't picture Jin becoming like that.
[Hehe, to be honest, I was a little worried about what if you said something different. So I nailed it down in advance that it was thanks to you that Lani was saved. But wouldn't it be disappointing if you make a different decision? Of course, it's not that I didn't trust you that I thought that.]
"You were conscious of the unique devilish charm of Genesis."
Devilish charm.
Ayula was worried about the devilish charm that Jin would carry from now on, not Jin himself.
[I think you will overcome even that well. Now I can't imagine you becoming a monster of the devilish charm.]
Jin approached the light connected to Ayula's power. The light was pulsing like a heart.
There was no need for Ayula to give any specific instructions. As a newborn life breathes and moves without anyone telling it, Jin could naturally handle that light.
When Jin gently grasped the light with both hands, the light that leaked out between his fingers gathered upward.
The light soon took the shape of a person, and shortly after, it became Lani.
Lani was unconscious, but she was merely asleep. Dante slowly descended to the ground and embraced Rani.
[She will wake up tomorrow. By then, my disappearance will not have ended, so I will be able to say goodbye to her as well.]
Resurrection is originally possible only with the Tears of Numerus.
Now, Ayula was replacing those tears with her remaining body, will, and the light of Genesis given by Jin. The party looked up at Ayula, who was noticeably darker than before Lani's resurrection.
Lani would be very sad.
But there was no chance of collapsing in sorrow. She was a person who would rise the kingdom again and fight to protect peace.
"Now I have to finish the last thing and leave."
Ayula said, landing on the ground. Ayula's voice no longer resonated with the divine echo unique to godly beings. He had completely lost his divine status.
"Jin."
"Please speak, Lord Ayula."
"What are you most afraid of?"
Despite the sudden question, Jin did not hesitate at all.
"I am afraid that even though I have gained such a strong power, something like this might happen again. I'm scared that what happened today in the kingdom might happen again."
Not being able to protect the people to be protected, and not being able to prevent the death of loved ones.
That was the thing that still made Jin the most afraid. If the moment for his devilish charm to explode ever came, it would definitely be due to such a thing.
"If a great battle continues, it's inevitable that tragedies will also continue. You're more afraid because you know it better than anyone."
"Yes."
"Let me show you a way to relieve your agony a little."
Jin's eyes widened.
"What kind of... method?"
"Why are you so surprised? You have always agonized over the death of innocent and powerless others. Every time you fight, you agonize without a break. Of course, that will has been closely involved in forming the power of Genesis you've obtained."
"Ah...!"
"Before I lost my divinity just now, I looked at the properties of the power of Genesis that you had reached. One of them was... regeneration, exactly that."