"I broke the cycle? Isn't that giving me too much credit? After all, the only thing I did was die miserably... How could an old man who had only 'lived' in this alternate world for a few seconds change anything?" I asked the questions I held in my heart in disbelief. Even after accepting the fact that I was summoned twice at the same time, there's no way an old man like me could have done anything significant enough to make a actual difference!
"You may not be able to believe it, but I'm telling is the truth! The fact that you existed was something which changed the entirety of Sphera and its residents as they knew it. To the point that both Druids and Fiends stopped their endless war and formed a peace treaty in reconciliation." The faceless man seemed amused by my reaction as he answered my question in a sincere tone of voice.
"Just get to the point." I said in dissatisfaction.
I hate it when other people beat around the bush. It usually means they're hiding important details!
"The summoning ceremony usually picks someone from your world as a wielder randomly. If you were to have just been summoned by the side the Druid Race, it wouldn't have mattered if you were old or not because the Divine Sword of Light would have empowered you with enough strength to fight the wielder of the Divine Sword of Darkness anyway. With that power given by the Divine Sword, you would have been able to live until the next summoning ceremony with no problems, but the incident that happened at that time were out of the entire world's expectations.
You were caught in both the 'Totem Summoning' and 'Hero Summoning' ceremonies at the same time. Your entire being was split into two bodies after you had been summoned, and a weakened version of you appeared in the lands of both races as a result.
You were already weak due to age, but after having your life-force split due to the summoning ceremony, both clones of you that appeared in Sphera died straight after the ceremonies had been completed. However, your story doesn't end there because there were a lot of things that happened to your strong soul following after your sudden departure." The faceless man stopped for a moment to pridefully glance at my shocked expression before he continuing his long explanation.
"The Divine Sword of Light decreed the protection of the Druid Race and eradication of the Fiend Race, while the Divine Sword of Darkness decreed just the opposite of its eternal archenemy.
Even after your death, the powerful empowerments these two Divine Swords you possessed still continued to affect your soul, but the contradiction in the decrees that restricted your actions caused the Divine Swords to attack one another just like the sacred Gods that created them.
Quite an ironic situation, if I do say so myself...
They both fought and destroyed each other yet they didn't fade into nothingness, instead the magical energy sealed within the two Divine Swords merged together to create something between both Light and Darkness, something akin to a God but also closer to the existence of a Devil. If you haven't already guessed: That 'something' created by the miracle of your summoning as a Hero and Totem, was me!
You can call me 'Enigma', the one who will now be known as the Eclipse God!" The faceless man respectfully bowed as he finally introduced himself using his true identity. The shock I felt from knowing what he is was stronger than what I would have felt if he was just a 'God' with no backstory.
Although I don't understand anything about 'magic' in this world, that doesn't mean I wasn't able to understand what he was implying with his words. I also found that there's no reason for him to lie about his origins remembering my current condition.
I have nothing of value to a God. If he wanted my soul, then he's already got it judging from the fact I'm already here. There's no need to feel suspicious about this guy that was so straightforward about informing me about what had transpired.
"Then what will happen to my soul now?" I asked with furrowed brows.
"That is for you to decide. After I was 'born' due to the destruction of the Divine Swords, your soul had stayed here in this dimension to accompany me. The restriction created by those magicians came into affect a hundred years afterwards. You have now awoken exactly a hundred years after being summoned, meaning the bond formed from the contract that connected us has already been broken.
My existence is now completely independant in this world but my gratitude towards you for 'creating' me had never faded. I want to repay you for... umm... for... existing?" The last words the man spoke seemed to be filled with utter confusion. It started off as a reply but slowly ended up as a question.
However, the message he was trying to convey was something I understood. It would be abnormal if he could be clear-minded when talking about these bizarre events concerning his 'birth'.
"If you want, I can create a new race from scratch and turn you into the strongest being in existence. You could even occupy the position of an Apostle as well. What do you think? It is your choice what you want to do from this day forth. I will help you accomplish anything your heart may desire." The faceless man shook his head and sighed. It seemed that he really wanted to repay me in any way he could for giving him life. This awkward and strange relationship we now had wasn't something that would ever formed if we were on Earth.
I can't be called his 'father' but I can't deny that I'm definitely considered the 'reason he came into existence'. I guess I should just shrug it off and say that he respects me as someone with higher seniority...? No wait.. Argghhh! This is so confusing considering he was formed from two godly beings.
Now for my decision: What should I do?
If this faceless man named Enigma DOES have the power to create an entirely new magical race from scratch, then wouldn't becoming a powerful life-form who could rule over others be great?
Wait... Even if was to become a totally different race that could be considered the strongest in Enigma's opinion, will becoming the strongest that really make me happy? Wouldn't such a high and mighty status make me just be as lonely as I was in my previous life? I don't want that to happen again...!
"Forget it. I don't want to become an outsider to humanity. I was a human in my past life anyway. Let me ponder a little before answering." I answered in an uncertain tone. Only after properly taking in his heavy words did my expression change, I felt like I remembered an important issue from my past life!
Then I realised that I took the 'favour' of this so-called Eclipse God a little too lightly...
I pondered deeply and looked back at the regretful life I lived, a life filled with hopelessness and agony. If I was to start over one more time, then there's no way I'd have lived the same way I did in my youth.
"Can you give me another chance at life?" I asked in a trembling voice. It was the first time in many, many years my heart was so moved. The look I give the faceless man is one filled with hope.
"No problem. I can reincarnate you as a human but with your memories intact, but is that really all you want? Oh! I got an idea! Why don't I impart you with my own personal, unique, terrifyingly deadly Mana Attribute? It will definitely help you protect yourself in this world that's mostly dictated by strength." The faceless man's mood seems to have improved as he started to get excited about helping me.
"What's a Mana Attribute?" I couldn't help but ask as I heard the new term.
"It's a little complex, so I'll explain it step by step, while simplifying it a bit.
Within the Soul of every living being of the Mystic Realm is a power most call 'Mana'. This power originally had no use to the living, but each God is able to give their divine protection to the Races they've created in order to empower them using this world's energy as a medium.
The Druids originally had very strong Mana of the Sun and Time Attribute within them, allowing them to touch upon the concepts of time and 'natural radiance'. However, after they lost their 'God', the purity of their Sun Attribute dwindled. The exact same thing could be said for Fiends as well.
It's not like they lost their ability to use Mana, it's just that their innate Attribute became less pure over time. This made it impossible for them to touch upon the same kind of great power their ancestors did. They're now calling their powers to be that of the Light and Dark Attribute respectively.
The world has changed in the time that we have slept and more True Gods of different colours have entered this world in our absence. The Druids became known as 'Humans' after degenerating to having less Mana than most races but still retained their innate wisdom. The Fiends on the other hand had been cursed as mere 'Beasts' since the only thing they had left was their immeasurable physical prowess and reproductive capabilities.
Since you want to reincarnate, I can only choose a weak Human as your vessel. Well... That's unless you want to choose a Beast as your spirit's vessel instead!Please be careful though as I will be unable to help you out after you've left this dimension of mine. The only things I can give you for protection right now is the Sun and Moon Attributes along with the Eclipse Attribute I'd created by combining both of them..." The faceless ma- I mean, Enigma, said with concern.
I felt grateful for how he worried about me but didn't let it show on my face. Now that I think about it, weren't all my brothers-in-arms similar to him?
"Thank you, Enigma, for taking care of me while I was asleep." I laughed before thanking him without any reservations. As a mature adult, it was best to be straightforward regarding stuff like this unless the one I'm talking to an enemy that I'll fight one day.
"Don't thank me when you have no idea what exactly 'Attributes' are. You don't even understand how they will significantly affect your growth.
You, as the former wielder of both Divine Swords of legends, are the only person who even qualifies to receive my Eclipse Attribute I formed... Don't you want to test it out a little?" He responded with his own laugh. Although Enigma didn't have a face, I could tell that he was smiling ear-to-ear right now.
"No worries, it will all be fine! I'll find out about it after reincarnating. I can't wait any longer!" I replied while casually shaking my head. The fact that I was about to be reincarnated had already sank into my heart~ I no longer cared about the trivial stuff and wanted to reincarnate as soon as possible!
"It was the least I could do. Now, just get going through that door. After all, I might change my mind and force you to stay here if you don't..." Although his words sounded harsh, his voice was gentle like a summer breeze. A door appeared behind me just as we finished our goodbyes. I first turned my body around to walk towards the door before I looked back at my new friend while waving my arm.
That's right! I can definitely consider him a friend of mine now. There's no way I can call Enigma an acquaintance after all he did to help me 'restart' with a new life.
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity... I'll see ya later!" I thanked one more time before saying the last of my goodbyes. Then I turned around and entered the mystical door without hesitation.
The world around me distorted once more, but this time I felt that all my senses had been cut off. This unexpected occurrence caused me to be surrounded by a deathly silent world of darkness. A light sparked before me as I regained my sense of sight and hearing once more. The first thing I saw with my two eyes was a woman who was holding my tiny baby body preciously like a priceless treasure.
Her smile was warm as she kissed my forehead affectionately. I focused my eyes a little more and saw that her appearance was quite beautiful. One would think that she was merely a teenager from her looks alone, but the mature air that surrounded her body made me feel as if she wasn't someone with a simple past. If her age was actually as young as she looked, then I'll be troubled if my father is that young as well. I know that youthful husbands of this kind of age are usually more lustful than their wives.
Though I think I should stop thinking such nonsense and focus on the future instead. To learn this world's language is my number one priority for now, and the second one... maybe I should try to understand this new form of energy I can feel coursing through my veins.
I can practically 'sense' intangible streams of energy within me as if they were my own limb. This must be the so-called 'Mana' Enigma was talking about in that strange bright and dark world.
It looks like living this new life is going to be one interesting adventure!