Epic Of Caterpillar

Chapter 2616 - 2617: Abandoned Eden

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After having selected the [Angelic Spear Knight] Class, Frank ended up being transported to a strange place, or perhaps another world entirely.

It was an abandoned, gigantic cathedral, where the statues of seven angels, which were slowly falling apart, adorned its ruinous interior.

For a moment, as he looked around in confusion, he noticed something about the largest of the seven statues, which stood in the middle of all.

He had heard a strange voice at the beginning, and by looking around, he stopped into this statue; her beautiful appearance made him quickly recall someone.

"Wait, that's… It looks a lot like her, does it? You're… White?"

The statue, which was missing an arm and a part of her torso, suddenly glowed. Its cracked, rocky body began trembling, as tiny pebbles fell from its cracks, worsening its situation.

And out of nowhere, the statue's empty eyes shone brightly with the color of gold, making Frank squint his eyes, as he suddenly heard her voice once more…

"White? That's not my name."

"You can talk…?!"

Frank was surprised, but he quickly calmed down. Yeah, it was pretty obvious the voice was from her now.

And another thing, that voice the statue had been simply way too similar to the voice of White, the Angel that the Spear he had traced had transformed into.

"Yes… Whatever is left of me can talk. I don't know… just for how long I've been here."

"For how long? Wait… If you're not White then who are you?"

The statue paused for a moment, but then her eyes glowed brightly again after her light had disappeared altogether for a short while.

Her voice was directed towards Frank.

"My Father gave me a name, Michael."

Michael.

The name of one of the Archangels in the service of God.

Most people could recognize that name even if they weren't even Christians.

It was one of those names most people could recognize easily, aside from Lucifer and Gabriel.

"Like… the archangel?"

"Yes… I am… I was… I was… an Archangel… I…"

"S-Slow down, you don't have to push yourself…"

Frank grew worried, seeing Michael's body trembling and gaining more cracks.

"What happened in here? Why am I here? D-Do you know something?"

"…"

Michael remained silent for a moment.

"Yes… I see… I think I understand why you're here, young mortal."

"Why?"

"You've chosen a path that not many can access to. You've chosen to mark your soul with our blessings. Alas, you've come too late… Our Old Kingdom, and what it was built upon… is long gone."

"What happened here? Wait, a mark in my soul?"

"A great catastrophe happened here… Our dear brother betrayed us… Hell broke loose. Father's wrath covered everything. We did all we could… but at the end, we ended like this."

"Like statues? Wait, the other statues are…"

"My brothers and sisters… We were sealed away by Father, after he became paranoid we couldn't serve him well after our brother betrayed him… Our love and loyalty to him would never cease… and yet… he chose to not trust us."

"…"

Frank fell silent for a moment, gripping his fists tightly.

"This must be somehow related to my Class Change… I came to another world… Maybe because of the World Traveling Ability? Even if it was locked…"

"Young man?"

"Ah, sorry… I was just thinking something… Is there a way to unseal you all?"

"It would be pointless… we are slowly falling apart. Our strength mostly gone… In a millennia or two, we'll disappear, forever."

"Really? But there must be something I can do for you! To help you… To save you!"

"…But why do you strive to save complete strangers? You may not earn anything from this…"

"I know but… You… maybe you don't remember? But you… you helped me, Michael. You sacrificed yourself for me, for my friends… you gave away your life like it was nothing."

"…I did?"

"Where I come from, you're a White Spear, someone named Elfina can summon you, and I used my magic to trace you, and replicate you. That replica… she looked exactly like your statue when she turned into her Angelic Form. And she seemed to know something about me, something I must learn…"

"…"

Michael remained in silence for a long while, as if she had fallen asleep.

Frank grew worried, sighing, as he sat down over the cathedral's floor.

Until…

"You're a strange one… You possess the power of someone that can traverse worlds, universes, and even realities… I have no recollection of what you said, whatsoever, after browsing through all my memories."

"So… I guess it wasn't you…"

"No, it could have been me. Young man, do you know what the Root is?"

"The Root?"

"It is the End and the Beginning of Everything. where All of History, in all Universes, connects. Born from the Primordial Origin World itself when it was destroyed, and where its endless fragments turned into endless universes, interconnected like roots with one another."

"W-Wha…?"

"Worlds, universes, they create mirrors of one another… Sometimes, unique beings are interconnected between universes, realms, dimensions… We are like that. As the children of Father, a Primordial that exists in every Universe in one way or another, there's always a version of ourselves in such universes."

"Then what does that has to do with the spear and… the Root?"

"You most likely met a recreation of me, a piece of my own self, of my Records from the Root itself. whoever created that spear was probably not the friend you're describing, but a much more powerful being, perhaps the child of a Primordial, the only ones capable of accessing the Root through their Powers."

"Oh wow…"

"The Records of the Root expand throughout all Creation… It makes me happy, young man. That somewhere else… I might have done something good."

"Is there really no way to help you? I… Can't I bring you along?"

"The reason you're here is to pass a special trial. But we no longer have the equipment for it… However…"

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FALSH!

Suddenly, all of the other six statues glowed with small auras of their own, unifying at the center of the hall into a large divine circle. The circle glowed brightly, spinning around and expanding into ancient angelic writings Frank couldn't understand.

The divine power coming from that circle was immense, and he even felt ripples in space, as if it was distorting space and time itself upon its creation.

"My brothers and sisters, or whatever remains of them… They want to honor their legacy one last time. Step into the circle, young man. You will become the last Angelic Knight."

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