Chapter 78: My only regrets

The moment I opened my eyes, the black space around me seemed to disappear. Instead, I found myself inside a spacious room filled with such extreme luxury that even if I continued working until the day I died, I doubted I could ever afford to live in a place like this.

The building itself was completely unfamiliar to me. Its walls and ceilings were covered in intricate designs, and even though I had no knowledge of architecture or structural design, I could immediately tell that this place had been built with an incredible amount of detail.

However, I wasn’t alone. Several people from different races stood around me, all looking just as confused by my sudden appearance as I was by theirs.

"Where am I?" I asked.

An old druid suddenly spoke.

"This is the young human girl. As expected, she was chosen as well."

The others began explaining everything to me, and I eventually learned that another man named Calean had been brought here at the same time. This place was called the Council of Pantheons, a place where beings chosen by the Entity gathered to watch over and help the creations below.

I also learned that the powers possessed by Adin and Erid had come from this very place. Before I could ask anything else, however, a strange white ball suddenly appeared in front of me and entered my body.

"Good luck."

Those were the only words I heard before unimaginable pain coursed through my entire body. I endured it as best as I could, but there was no way to make the pain feel any easier.

After the pain finally subsided, something descended from the sky, and a voice entered my mind.

"This artifact is known as the Orb of Trias."

The voice explained that this would become my personal artifact, and that I would be able to give it to anyone below whenever I wished. It was a strange responsibility to suddenly receive, but there was little I could do except accept it.

Several days passed, and I slowly became accustomed to my new life with the others.

Calean, however, seemed to prefer solitude and often stayed inside his personal space, only occasionally meeting everyone during dinner.

As for me, I eventually became fully accustomed to my new surroundings and developed a daily routine. Every morning, I would wake up and eat in the courtyard, imagining whatever food I wanted before spending the rest of my morning watching the two warriors, Olium and Odir, spar or train.

By lunchtime, I would return to my personal space and begin observing the creatures below. I could spend hours simply watching them live their lives, witnessing their growth, conflicts, discoveries, and countless other events.

Eventually, one hundred years passed within the Council of Pantheons. By then, I had grown used to watching the world below, and I finally decided that it was time to send my artifact down to the world.

However, giving the Orb of Trias to someone myself didn’t feel right. Instead, I buried it deep within a forest, just as the original orb had been buried, and left its discovery to fate.

After that, the years continued to pass.

Centuries went by, and eventually, it seemed as though the Entity had disappeared. Even the other pantheons became confused by his absence, but none of us truly believed that he was gone.

He was the Entity, after all.

Despite the countless years that passed, my orb remained undiscovered. Then, another century went by before the Entity finally appeared once again.

The moment he returned, he announced that he wanted to discuss an addition to the pantheon.

I was greatly excited by the news. After all, we hadn’t had a new addition in centuries, so the thought of meeting someone new immediately caught my interest.

Together, we decided to bring in Wias the Inventor, who had lived during the same period as I had. We also chose another creature named Catalyst, who quickly became one of our favorite creatures to observe.

Then, the same scene happened in front of me once again.

After only a day, Wias adjusted to his new life far faster than I had. He was even overjoyed by the thought that his research could continue for eternity, and it wasn’t long before the two wisest individuals in the pantheon, Wias and Moleius, became extremely close.

Catalyst, on the other hand, became close with the ant king, Calean. The two seemed to have many similarities, and they often spent their time together discussing various things.

And of course, the two battle maniacs, Odir and Olium, were as close as the sun and the moon.

Everyone had someone they could spend their time with.

I looked around the pantheon and watched them all enjoying themselves together. As I stood there watching them, I couldn’t help but realize that, despite having spent centuries with these people, I still hadn’t found someone I could truly call my companion.

"It seems like I’ll be lonely for a while..."

As the years went by, a strange feeling continued to linger within me. I had no regrets about sacrificing my life, and I would make the same choice again if I were given the chance, yet despite that certainty, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.

Eventually, I realized what it was.

I had never experienced the feeling of being a mother.

As a woman, I had always believed that one of the greatest joys in life was being able to care for a child of your own. To watch them grow, to hear them call your name, to protect them when they were afraid, and to see them slowly become their own person.

I wished I could have experienced that.

Sometimes, when I watched the creatures below caring for their children, I found myself staring for longer than I intended. I watched mothers hold their babies close, fathers teach their children how to walk, and families laugh together over the simplest things.

It made me wonder what my life could have been like if I had been given more time.

Perhaps I could have become a mother. Perhaps I could have held a child of my own and watched them grow up right in front of me.

I knew I had no reason to regret my sacrifice. I had saved countless lives, and I had been given a second existence here in the Council of Pantheons.

But even after all these years, there was still one small part of me that wished for something I could never have again.

I wished I had become a mother.

Maybe then, I would have no regrets.