Chapter 109: The Honored One Wears the Crown
In the ancient War of the Gods, the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of Procreation, now sworn enemies, had fought a great battle in the world beyond. In the end, the Goddess of Life, bolstered by the faith of the Sky-Winged, had defeated and killed her rival. The fallen goddess's body had plummeted to this world and, upon impact, had transformed into a font of crazed divine energy, creating the Godfall Land, a place that devoured all who dared to enter. That was the truth of its origin.
The Goddess of Life had thought she was safe after her victory. But the Goddess of Procreation, even in death, had left behind a final curse, a poison that had slowly corroded the Goddess of Life's own body, until her soul had been suppressed and her body had been taken over, and she had been transformed into a new Goddess of Procreation. But before the usurper could complete her takeover, she had run into Rhodes and his party. And then came the battle with a god.
"The final battle," Rhodes said, his voice a low whisper, "was far more brutal than I had ever imagined. The power of the Goddess of Procreation is a dark poison, a poison from the very source of life, a poison that can corrode all things and taint the very soul. And when I dealt her the fatal blow, my own body... was also corroded."
But in truth, Rhodes had not been the only one.
Norne hesitated, wondering if he should say it.
When Rhodes's sword had struck the final blow, the goddess's crazed divine energy had washed over them all. In the heat of the moment, he had thrown Athos to Serie, who had used it to create a barrier to protect them. And though she had acted instantly, someone had still been tainted. No one had noticed, not even the person himself. And Norne had only realized it ten years later, after they had begun to adventure together once more. He had been acting strangely then, muttering to himself, his face sometimes contorted in a pained expression. He had asked him about it, but he had just said he was fine, just a little tired. Perhaps the corrosion had already begun then.
And then, one morning, his dearest friend had disappeared. And by the time he had finally heard news of him, he had become the first Demon King, Asmodeus, and had brought a new wave of disaster upon the world.
Rhodes's voice continued, pulling him back to the present. He held up his pale hand, and in the moonlight, Norne could see the faint black lines under his skin, lines that radiated an ominous, dark energy.
"My body was completely destroyed, my soul tainted," Rhodes said, his voice as flat and distant as if he were telling someone else's story. But the danger, the terror of it, made Norne's blood run cold. "To survive, to prevent myself from becoming a vessel for the god, I had to choose this path." He paused, as if trying to find the right words, or perhaps reliving the memory. "I destroyed my own body and, using the authority over life, created a new one for myself. And then... I began the process of reincarnation."
The reincarnation spell was something he had created while he was creating his new body. It wasn't a transfer to another person's body, nor did it change his appearance or his memories. He was still himself, just in a new vessel.
"But it took a long, long time. Thirty years, to transfer my soul to this new body." He slowly clenched his fist, the movement still stiff and awkward. It was clear that he had not yet fully mastered his new body. "It was like trying to string a taut string on a fragile piano. I had to put all my energy into tuning it, to slowly accustom my soul to this new and fragile vessel. A single misstep, and my soul would have dissipated, or the body would have collapsed. And so, even now, this body is still weak, and cannot withstand any great impact."
Norne stood frozen, as if he had been turned to stone.
A wave of shock, followed by an overwhelming guilt, washed over him. He had imagined a thousand reasons for Rhodes's disappearance—trapped in some hidden dimension, or having taken the goddess down with him—but he had never imagined a 'reincarnation' so cruel.
Thirty years. Thirty long years, not of wandering, not of exploring, but of struggling on the brink of death.
He looked at Rhodes's pale face, a thousand words caught in his throat. In the end, all he could say was, "You've... suffered."
Rhodes just shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. "To see you again, to see you wear that crown... it was all worth it."
Norne took off his crown. He still remembered what Rhodes had once told him: if you ever become the king, let me wear the crown for a day, just for the thrill of it.
And now, he was here. "Will the weight of the crown be too much for you?"
Rhodes understood. "It should be fine," he said, and reached out with a pale hand to take it.
He had no desire for the responsibility of a king. The crown was a symbol of both honor and burden, and he only wanted to wear it to fulfill a childish wish. The cold metal touched his fingertips. Norne's crown had been forged from an ancient elven oath; it was a kind of magic.
He lifted it and, slowly, placed it on his own head.
The honored one wears the crown.
But this time, there was no cheering crowd, no adoring gazes. Just two friends, reunited after a long time, in the quiet of the royal chambers.
"How does it feel?" Norne asked, a hint of nervousness and anticipation in his voice.
Rhodes closed his eyes for a moment, as if savoring the feeling. Then he opened them, a self-deprecating smile on his lips. "It's... much heavier than I imagined." He gave a slight shake of his head, as if afraid it might fall off. "The hopes and the future of a nation, of a people... it's a heavy burden. Norne, you've... had a hard time."
A joke, a silly remark from years ago, and Norne had actually made it a reality. He had founded the first human nation in this world. The hardships, the struggles... he couldn't even begin to imagine.
He carefully took off the crown and walked over to Norne, who bowed his head slightly, allowing him to place the symbol of responsibility and hope back where it belonged. He looked up, his eyes meeting Rhodes's, a thousand words, a thousand emotions from thirty years, passing between them in that single gaze.
"You're back," he said, his voice choked with emotion. "That's all that matters."
He took a deep breath. "Everyone is still here," he said, beginning to tell him of all that had happened in the past thirty years. "But none of us are the same as we were."
(End of chapter)
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