Chapter 541: A Mother’s Legacy

Alexis stared at the marks before moving fast towards him, grabbing his hand to take a better look at it.

Aether hesitantly pulled back, not understanding what was happening, but the woman wouldn’t let go, as a wicked smile appeared on her face.

"Would you look at that... how fun. You’re its Vessel, aren’t you? The Vessel of our God."

’Our God? Are you kidding me? Out of all the Gods, the one that has blessed our land is the Abyss?’ He frowned slightly..., but at the same time, it did make sense if he looked at it.

His father didn’t seem to be proud of it, hence why he had hidden that fact from him, but many knew about it; he remembered people talking about it on his ninth birthday... and now their words made sense.

...

Alexis wasn’t lying... the Abyss really was their God.

But... everyone on his birthday spoke badly about the Abyss, in a negative tone, and yet, she seemed to be almost devoted to it... did she believe the Abyss was some sort of saviour...

’It’s said those who see the Abyss are marked with such color...’ Aether’s eyes widened as he remembered hearing this in the conversation between two nobles at his birthday party... the color of his eyes... he got it from his mother, which is why his grandma, of course, had the same color...

Was that what they were referring to that day, to how Alexis was devoted to some degree to their God... but then why speak in plural? It made it seem as if, in general, people with that color liked to believe in the Abyss, not just one person.

’So... does this mean, everyone in this place...’ ... But if that was the case... then what would that make of his mother? If her family was associated with the Abyss, and its devotion to it... then did she also fall in that category?

Aether, on the other hand, instinctively moved towards his pin, remembering its description... ’So it really was about her... but.’ Taking his hand away from Alexis, who still had the smirk on her face, he bit his lip.

If the pin had gotten sealed the moment his mother had died, then what did that mean? ’She had been carrying a relic created for the Abyss... one meant to help its Vessel...’

...

His jaw felt slightly, as he looked at Alexis with wide eyes.

"Oh, what happened? Did you realize something?" She chuckled, getting up to her feet. "In this small town, you will be very welcome, Aether, but as a relative, and also as our mighty God’s child. I’m sure you might have guessed, but we think very highly of the Abyss."

...

Aether closed his mouth as a small frown appeared on his face. "... When you gave my mother this pin... did you think she was somehow going to awaken as the Vessel... or perhaps you thought that her child would?"

This... was a hard pill to swallow, and he really thought it was the former; even if it was also bad, the latter was just... world-breaking for him. It made him ask himself a lot of questions.

Alexis chuckled. "Both, really. We did wish your beautiful mother was going to be our salvation, but after she awakened, things changed; she was the first one to show signs, as shadows seemed to be a lot nicer to her, so if not her, then maybe her children. I was both mad and happy when she chose Alar; I hated him, but knew his power, and the power his descendants were going to have; we didn’t make her do it."

She sighed. "She loved him with all her heart; she even distanced herself from us and our religion, but the pin remained to be worn by one of her children just in case. Your sister came first, Sofia, but she awakened at a young age, with no hope of being the Vessel. So she was never given the pin"

She pointed at him. "Then you came, and here you are, the chosen Child of our God. We got lucky... though, trust me, you shouldn’t be mad at her; I’m sure she really hoped with all her heart that you weren’t chosen, and she would have thrown away the pin if it wasn’t permanently bound to her."

...

"You know," Aether said, his frown still not gone, even worse now. "From what I see, it almost seems like she was forced into this religion of yours, or whatever it is."

The women scoffed. "Force? Not at all; she was the one who chose to bear it. After all, you can’t transfer relics if you don’t want to, so I couldn’t have forced her."

...

"She was very loyal at first, but after she wasn’t chosen, she slowly started to distance herself from the Abyss, and then that damn Alar came and stole her heart away."

Seeing how Aether’s expression still hadn’t softened, she sighed. "You should know, Aether, the Abyss has done a lot of good for this world, for our Kingdom, that is. All its bad reputation comes from battles we don’t know the full story of; no one knows why the Gods fought, so can we really say who is bad and who is Good?"

... Aether frowned, but it was different this time, not because he was mad, but rather, because what Alexis had said did... make sense. There was hardly any information about the past, so he couldn’t know what had happened...

And really... as much as he wanted to say how bad the Abyss was, and how it has made his life a living hell, it hasn’t actually done that much; only a few times has he lost himself to it. The only bad part was his threshold, but he hasn’t had to worry about that all that much; he had pretty strong abilities, and... there was also the fact that the Abyss, if it was the voice from before the day he awakened, had tried to save him from the attack.

So was he... really that bad?

...

"If you wish to stay a little longer, I can tell you a lot more about the Abyss, and I’m sure you would be more than happy to hear some of these things," Alexis said, winking at him.