Child of Destiny

...

"How about you summarize everything for us a bit?" asked Archimedes after a long time of being silent.

Hearing that, Shin pursed his lips a little before muttering to himself. "So, where should I start?"

After thinking for a couple of moments, Shin started arranging the pictures of murals on the virtual screen according to his understanding. He then started talking right after organizing them.

"As you can see these murals are telling us something – and it is obviously about this so-called war between the Wingmen Tribes and Black Nagas that existed for generations."

Shin paused for a moment to move a couple of murals to the side and enlarged some of them that were showing the 'protagonist' and 'antagonist' of the story that the murals were telling them. "As for these guys, I suspect that they were the so-called reincarnations of the same beings."

"– The very first 'Bird King' and 'Snake King'," he added while pointing at the first pair of murals where a gigantic golden bird and massive black snake were drawn.

And with another shuffle of murals, Shin showed them the battles of the two monsters. "Both of them have a fair share of wins and losses.  And through the passage of time, they are getting more and more powerful than they are in the previous generation."

"Aside from that, they are also evolving whenever they win a battle since they are consuming the losing side after every victory," emphasized Shin as he pointed at the different forms of the golden bird and the black snake was taking after a specific battle.

"Well, all of what you said is possible, but the question is why are they fighting each other and also why they keep being reincarnated after losing a battle," asked Arthur unconsciously.

Hearing that, Daulla couldn't help but nod her head while adding. "Actually, it is much harder to believe that they are still able to reincarnate despite being devoured by the other side right after losing."

"About that… Well, I'm also not sure why and how," answered Shin with a sigh as he also didn't know how to answer those questions. From what he knew, he was still missing some of the most crucial parts.

And while he was troubled thinking about that, Solus suddenly materialized beside him and said. "Let me explain that part, my lord."

"Eh!?" The group was surprised at her sudden appearance, especially Cloe who was not aware of her existence for far.

Moreover, she couldn't help but look at the beautiful elemental spirit from head to toe, checking her figure and appearance. And immediately after her 'assessment', she suddenly threw a deadly glare at Shin that even sent some chills on his spine.

Meanwhile, the man in question tried to escape his current predicament by quickly looking at Solus while saying. "Oh~! You are finally awake? I thought Hanzo is the only one that needs some rest after what happened in the Blind Abyss Empire, so I'm quite surprised when I discovered that all of you were in a slumbering state when I got back."

"I apologize for our absence on behalf of everyone," said Solus while bowing at Shin.

And after a quick moment of pause, she immediately explained. "The others need to recover their strengths after overexerting themselves during our recent battle; especially the Great Ancient Spirit. Meanwhile, me and the twin tigers are still trying to familiarize ourselves with our new bodies."

Hearing that, Shin nodded his head before asking her to hurry up and start saying what she wanted to say before Cloe could even kill him with her fierce glares.

"As for the matter between the Bird King and Serpent King, they are currently in a never-ending battle because of the curse cast upon them by the previous Goddess of Sky and Earth," said Solus, starting to narrate what she knew.

"During the early times of the Warring Era, there were some races that refused to join the battle for dominion as they preferred having a peaceful life. They choose to isolate themselves away from the chaotic war going on during that time."

"And one of such races were the creatures worshiping the Goddess of Sky and Earth, the Skyrider Race – the true Ancestors of the Wingmen people of the current time."

"At the time of peace, a talented Skyrider was born. He possessed an unrivaled talent and power since the that he was born. And because of that, the Goddess became fond of him and gave him her blessing by naming him 'Garuda'. Due to that, he became more powerful and much stronger than he used to be.

"But through the passage of time, Garuda became unrivaled on the whole race; no one can match his talent nor his powers. And this led him to be bored and tired."

"He couldn't find the way to advance further since there was no one in their Race who could match him. And due to that, his homeland became a cage that was preventing him from flying higher."

"He then got a desire to go outside and challenge a much powerful individual so that he could improve his strength. He wanted to find a fuel that could light the fire within him."

"Having that mind, he broke the taboo of his race and went outside to venture out of the world. There were even some youngbloods who joined and followed him."

"When they got out, they immediately discovered the chaos rampaging around the world during that time. And since they were young and hot-blooded, their desire for combat was immense."

"They joined the war and won quite a lot of battles. They continued to claim victory after victory until they met their rivals, the Ancient Serpents."

  "The rivaling races fought against each other for a long time with both sides having a fair share of victories and defeats."

"One day, while Garuda and his men are recuperating from the injuries that they got from one of their fights, a certain general from the Serpent Army suddenly discovered the homeland of their mortal enemy. And with his lead, they slaughtered all the Skyrider Race residing in that place."

"Since the experience in actual battle was quite huge, the Skyriders were no match against the forces of the Serpent Army. Naturally, the news that their homeland was being attacked. But it was already too late when they arrived."

"Enraged of what had happened, the Goddess of Sky and Earth broke a divine taboo to cast a curse on both Garuda and the general serpent who slaughtered her people."

"Garuda was cursed for breaking the number one rule of their homeland which was leaving its premises and getting involved with the war outside. The Goddess believed that it was because of what he did, their homeland got dragged into the war."

Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but mutter with a quiet voice. "Some rules about karma I guess."

Solus nodded her head at Shin when she heard that before continuing. "As for the serpent general, who also became the Serpent King at the current time, was obviously cursed due to the crimes that he committed; especially the massacre of the Skyrider Race."

"The exact words of the Goddess of that time were 'Since both of you want to fight, then I will grant you the power of infinite reincarnation so that you can battle each other for the generations to come'."

"Alongside them, even their descendants were also involved in this, which were the current Wingmen Tribe and Dire Nagas. And that was how everything started."

After that, the room suddenly turned silent once again as everyone was trying to digest all of the information that they got.

A few moments later, Arthur pointed out yet another question. "If one of the gods got involved, then why did the Serpent God or something didn't do anything during that time to protect his own people?"

To which Solus immediately replied. "The God of Serpents is a cunning one. During that time, even the heavens are also in a chaotic state, so he just chose to sacrifice one line of his offspring in exchange for some compensation from the Goddess of the Sky and Earth."

"So, maybe that is the reason why the Naga Race doesn't have a sub-race during the start of the game," muttered Shin.

And hearing that, Leonard also nodded his head and added. "I guess some of the Beastmen races that are unavailable to the public also have similar histories."

"Setting that aside, how are we going to stop this so-called war between the Wingmen Race and Black Nagas," asked Archimedes, pointing out their main issue.

Hearing that, the room turned quiet once again as everyone was waiting for Solus to answer the question.

Solus thought to herself for a moment before giving an answer. "There are only three possible ways to stop this never-ending war."

"First is to prevent either side from being reincarnated. Even if their souls can repeatedly be reborn once again, there are still some conditions that need to be met before that."

"Like for example, casting aside a part of their powers and hiding it from their rival. So, even if they lost a battle somehow and got devoured by the other, a part of them is still hidden somewhere to help them for their reincarnation."

"It is going to be even more helpful if a part of their soul manages to escape since they will not lose their current memories even after being reborn."

Hearing that, Shin unconsciously looked at the golden horn sitting on the corner of his inventory. 'So, that is the real reason why Garuda gave these powerful 'blessings' to the Tribe Leaders.'

And that was when Solus suddenly added. "All they need to do is gather these powers together alongside a suitable vessel that can host their souls."

At this point in time, the group simultaneously turned their heads at Archimedes as they all knew that he was the so-called vessel mentioned by Solus.

"Continue," said Shin after a brief moment of silence.

Nodding her head, Solus immediately resumed. "The other method is to capture either of the souls and seal them in a certain place where no one will discover them. Capturing both of their souls is also possible – in fact, it is even better to have both of their souls sealed."

After that, Solus paused for a moment to see if they had something to say. But when she saw that they didn't have anything to comment on, she immediately continued. "As for the third and final method-…"

"It is just looking for someone who is strong enough to lift their curses and free them from the infinite reincarnation."

Ugh!

Hearing that third option, everyone couldn't help but groan a little since she made it sound so simple even though it was actually pretty much impossible to do; she was practically telling them to look for the real Gods inside the game!

For all they knew, such existences were only possible to find at the latter stages of the game. Heck, it might even be longer.

Due to that, Silence descended inside the room once again as everyone was trying to find a solution to solve their current problem.

During those time, Shin suddenly remembered what Kayne had told him during his 'interrogation', or more like torture.

At that time, Kayne told him that the Three-Headed Snake was currently in an incorporeal form. Having that in mind, Shin suspected that it suffered a severe injury from its most recent battle against Garuda; or it might even be caused by a different being that was as strong as it.

While he was thinking about that, Shin's attention was suddenly caught at the little specks of light flying around Leonard.

"Incorporeal form, injuries, and Elemental Spirits," muttered Shin quietly to himself. And while he was murmuring about those words, an idea suddenly entered his mind. "Eh!?"

And because of that, he couldn't help but raise his head while saying. "I think I got a solution."

...…