Capítulo 509: A Mother's Touch
A deluge of energy, of life, fills me, revitalizing every single mote of flesh and bone within my body. Each of my organs sings with praise as they are finally relieved of their stresses, the God's demise the cause. I feel... invincible, utterly Divine in every way. Memories flash past my eyes, behind my skull yet overlapping with the scenery.
Everything. It all flashes past my eyes backward, from this very moment to the beginning. I relive my own birth, dug out of a dead woman's womb. A pair of downcast eyes welcomes me into this world, bloody tears dripping from his eyes. Killian Graves stares down at me atop the corpses of tens of thousands with a soft smile.
"You. You'll be better than me. Hmm... I wonder... What should I name you? Oh. I know. The one doctor who was nice to me. The only one who was ever nice to me. Wyatt Harvington. I like that name. Wyatt. I cannot wait to see what you become, Wyatt. But first... I have to hide you. Vincent is coming home soon."
The memory lasts for a fraction of a second, confusing by how it reverses even further, ending with me in not a womb but an egg. All the way to the point that Ether and the resident agony of my birth mother consolidate a new soul within the egg. And rapidly, I am created. Suddenly, it all vanishes, all of it, the coolness of existence and the warmth of reality. I am brought back to the truth of my world. So that's who I'm named after... Interesting.
My arms raise on their own, as it feels like the rays of the sun on a warm summer's day, just walking out of the house. I can almost feel Ma calling for me. Almost.
Inside my body and soul, both as they are now one and the same, I watch the nine Sigils compressed into a tiny mote. An aura of something hardly discernable even to my perception squeezes them tightly before the Sigils themselves begin to emit that aura.
Limitlessness.
Right. Sigils are the fundamental parts of a Concept, unreachable without enough or the right ones. Someone with all the Sigils of a Soldier could never resonate with the Concept of Thoughts, but they might reach Strategy or something of the like. Because... if they could, then they would never have resonated with the Sigil that would have led to Thoughts. I see. It makes sense why I resonated so heavily with mine. Freedom above all else. Freedom of the mind. Freedom of the body. And Freedom of the soul. With true freedom comes limitless strength.
I enjoy the sensation running through me until something happens that I was absolutely not expecting. The nine turn to one, and then... the one assimilates, vanishing entirely into my soul.
The Sigil and I are no longer separate. There is no demarcation of power. or split. There is simply... us.
Closing my eyes, I let the words come, my Limits revealed to me as I twist the understanding with my mind. The cosmos itself speaks to me through the Concept I've imbibed, and its words are the same kind as Gluskab's as those are the ones I've come to enjoy.
Limitlessness. The final frontier. A man has walked from the decadency of safety and leisure into the limitless beyond.
This is the end of one road, where all eventually meet should one persist with enough perseverance. But where one road ends, another always begins.
Limitless does not mean all-powerful. It means to embody the act of never settling to be weak. It means always to grow. It means to be
Limitless, eternally reaching higher.
It means to be
The Intrepid Strife, perpetually in a struggle without a wavering bone.
It means to be
The Trinal Wendigo, never alone yet always hungry for more.
There are no more steps to fly higher, no more ceilings to ruin, no more heights to climb. There is only the long road of life, of improvement, of Limitlessness for you to follow.
You are unique in all the stars, a singular being, the only one to possess your Concept, as all are. But beyond that, remember, it is the journey that has shaped you. And not all journeys are the same.
At this height, you may know who I am. The one who has already delivered this information. It is simple. I am you. Your heart. Your insides. Your soul. Your being.
I am all things you could be and all things you will never be. I am the Concepts you embody and those you despise. I am your potential and your loss. I am all future and all past. I know all and nothing. I am all and no one. We finally meet, even if it shall be our final conversation.
This will be our only gathering until the soul enters the void. Only at the precipitous divide between reality and the soul of a mind may we speak.
I am the reflection you see in the mirror. Not the one that stares back at you. I am the hidden molecules beneath it all, the space, the time, and the laws that underpin it. I am as mundane as a rock and as complex as a steam engine.
So few have ever met their Rock. There is nothing that I know that you do not have access to and nothing that you do that I do not. I am you.
You are me. We are we. We share a shadow and fight over the light.
Hello, Limitless, the Trinal Wendigo, the Intrepid Strife.
Hello, Wyatt Iron Graves.
It is a pleasure to say goodbye.
My mind floats in an empty space as the words sink into my skull, eternally lingering there like an implant. These sensations, this information, is not something I'll ever forget. Then, I nearly fall to the earth, my chest caving in and out rapidly with meaning.
It is confusing, but I think I understand what my Rock is saying. All beings have a Rock, a tether to the fabrics, to the laws that govern reality. If we didn't, we wouldn't exist. We wouldn't live. We wouldn't... anything.
There would be no knowledge, for there is nothing to learn. There would be no moving, for there is nothing to step on. There would be no forward as there is no past. There would be nothing for the Sigils to be drawn to, nothing to bear the soul within.
It makes sense. And it is through this tether that Gluskab used to work that I can now touch. Nevertheless, I don't believe I'll ever find mine again. As it said, it is not easy to touch one's own Rock.
It is the same as if a mundane man were to touch both his belly and his spine with the same fingernail. Impossible. And yet, under the ascension of Godhood, it all melds and merges onto one plane, letting that finger touch and convene with both at once.
A horrid explanation for Blodwyn and Lily, but it's the best I can manage. I'm sure Earl will come up with something better.
Finally, though, I open my eyes for a dead God to be resting at my feet, shriveled and desiccated.
My Rock told me something very important. I know all that he knows. That means...
All the secrets of my Sigils have been revealed to me, and that includes what my Divinhood is. I figured out most of the past ones, so this one is the most important.
I raise my hand to the sky, cupping the air above it as I feel reality move as my soul wills. It's different to my Dominion. All Dominions are the soul directly affecting the world, but this is... something else.
Watching... reality shift to my whim, I realize how inefficient Dominions are, even if they are world-shattering.
Limitless changes all to be better, to be stronger, to be a greater version of themselves. A weaker version existed when I barely poked at the Concept, but now... I watch the air in my hand transmute from the dusty and depraved motes into purified wind. Leaning forward, I breathe in it, savoring the clean air after such a long battle.
I see now why Natural Gods are said to be so weak compared to Unnatural ones. If I was born with this power, I'd never think of or develop any way to use it beyond simply enhancing my physical body, finding all other methods useless or worthless.
My Divinhood is superficial at a glance but complex upon investigation, not far in the idea from just what the Conceptual Ether did. All things can be enhanced in every way, whether I will do it or in a certain direction should I desire it. Of course, even Limitless cannot do it all.
I can already feel a sting within my soul from commanding the Concept. After all that I've been through, it's a miracle I haven't just collapsed.
Furthermore, as I force Limitless onto my right hand, I feel the bones and metal fuse, overtaking the flesh as the blackened surface shows to the air. It is not unlike One Heart Beats For Three, which will complement my Divinhood wonderfully.
I swiftly recede Limitless from my hand, and the changes revert gradually. In my heart of hearts, I know that should I affect something enough, it will stay the way I push it. I could... create... just as others have.
Louis Fern's Balance must be something like this. Otherwise, the Court wouldn't have ever been made. For now, though, I must save my energy. Ether is not as important for Gods.
The soul is the most critical element for both Dominions and Divinhoods. At the height of heights, it is the self and the soul that ends all. Furthermore, much of my Sirza, which Naturals do not possess, depends on my soul. Still, though, Ether is the difference between Unnaturals and those born as Gods. The latter have not mastered it. But me? I'm not Remington nor Isaac, but I'd say I'm pretty damn good with my Ether. Enough for a Sirza, something no Natural has.
Yet, as I look around at the devastation I've left behind, I am left with only cheerful thoughts of my advancement. For hundreds of miles, there is nothing but rubble and destruction in every direction. I might have gone far from Onyx Gate specifically for the battle, but it still pains me to see such ruin. There is no one to ask but the silence of potential millions.
I'm just as bad as him, aren't I?
No. I'll never be Vincent Harvey. I moved my fight. Plus... my actual advancement... it didn't hurt anyone. It was only the fight beforehand. But Vincent's wasn't much different.
I...
No. I am not him. I am me.
Or am I?
I've killed so, so, so, so, so many people. Both intentionally and not. How many Motherbound have I torn limb from limb? Many are mindless, but not all are. Many are living, thinking things. Sure, they are twisted, but still... And beyond that... how many casualties were in this last battle that I'll never even know of?
What about the one against Flint?
How many have I killed in the past day? Hundreds? Thousands? More? How many did I not notice? How many...
The past year? Thousands? Millions? I don't have an answer.
I stare at the calloused palms of my hands as the black waters of the Cardinal fizzle out into crimson stains, practically dragging me to the bloodshed directly. Grinding my hands against my tattered clothes, I attempt to get rid of the color, but I can't. The stain only spreads. The dead will never leave me.
That very first man I killed. His face is so clear. The redness in his cheeks, the bulging of his eyes. The final gasp of agony. It bounces around as I imagine a million of those copies in different places and times.
There was no time to check wherever I'd slam Ojibwe to, nor where I'd land when hit. Was a family hiding somewhere near a crash? Were they crushed by the mangled earth?
Was some little girl like Esther killed by me?
I... I wish I could ask my Rock. I reach for my head and scratch my hair while the two with me pipe up, but their words don't get very far. Another voice joins in, overpowering those within my skull.
"Little one. You did it."
I wrench my neck to the side, finding Aniwye walking toward me with a limp. Her right leg is broken, bone jutting out bitterly at the femur. I point to her injury, a thought already in my mind.
"Did I—?"
My mother waves her hands, which are no longer as giant as they once were. She's still large for a human, but nothing impossible to reach. Aniwye steps closer to me, Ether warping her leg back into shape with her mind setting the wound into place.
"It does not matter. I had to watch, no matter the price. Do not blame yourself. I'll be fine. It is you I am worried about, dear. I can see the pain in your face. In your eyes. In your soul. You are concerned with the havoc, no?"
How does she know? Aniwye smiles softly at me just a few feet away, utterly ignoring her own pain. I... I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do.
"I... You—How?"
Aniwye chuckles softly, an identical copy of Ma's lively laugh. It makes me feel warm inside, like Ma's hugs did during the cold winters. Like...
"I'm your mother, little one. Of course, I'd know. I've been watching. Always. I might have left for theinitial battle, but I kept an eye on you. There was little I could do to help, but I knew you'd fight better with me there. Now. Tell me what is wrong."
Her gentle voice is the exact opposite of the first time I heard her. I remember how much she didn't want to do with me. How cruel and maddening she was. She... was scrambling to find something to put her together. Back then, she only looked at me to satisfy her promise to my father. Now, she has changed. And so have I.
The old me... he'd call me a monster for what I've done, an irredeemable one. The current me... heh... I'm debating whether or not I am one. A significant change.
"I've killed so many things in this fight. And all the others. I... I'm as bad as Vincent, murdering a plethora of life in my own pursuit of power. If... if all this is over, won't we just fight again? And again? This will never end, will it? Usen is just one enemy for us. Vincent will likely be the next. And... past that... what do we do?"
Aniwye steals another step toward me, skipping right past the God's corpse as if weren't ever there and placing a hand on my shoulder. She peers right into my eyes, those pinkish-purple pupils too vibrant to ignore.
"You are right. Once Usen is dead and all her loved ones have been turned to ash, more wars will ensue. Whether it is against the prideful demons, the scheming Pygmies, the rowdy Nahullo, or some other threat, it doesn't matter. It will come. Eventually. That is as certain as your Limitless is. You and Vincent..."
My mother's gaze turns to the distant west, and we both find the vibrating sky beneath the swimming shadow of the sun. The battles there are still ongoing and likely will not end until the Mother Below appears in person. In fact, she might already have.
"... Vincent Harvey will not stop with Usen's power. He is... hungry. It is to his core. The man is a concoction of paradoxes and hypocrisies that elevated him to his station. He wishes for there to be no kings, and yet, he desires to be the grandest of them all. He wishes for none to take power, and yet all he does is steal. He wishes for Sigils to vanish, yet he is their greatest beneficiary. Though... if he were not all those things... this world would have already been lost. Is he Vincent Harvey, the human? Or Vincent Harvey, the God Of Desolation? He will have to choose."
I open my mouth to speak, but Aniwye gives me the same look Ma used to when she was on a roll. I stay quiet.
"You will fight him. I know you will because I know you. Either before or after Usen is dealt with, you two will cross Concepts. There, we will find out whether the Endless or the Limitless reigns supreme. And after, when you stand amongst the ashes of billions, you will prove to me and the world why you are better—how I raised you to be."
Aniwye cups my face with both of her hands, squishing my flesh slightly as she speaks directly to me. I can't look away, nor would I want to.
"You will not desire kingship nor kinship. You won't seek another war. You won't expand your power without end. You will sit. And you will cry. You will cry for those you have lost. You will weep for those you have not yet lost. You will ball even for those you have slain yourself. You will shed tears until your great lungs are out of air. And I will be right there by your side, watching as always, little one."
My mother pulls away and steps to the side while hugging me with one arm. She points toward the southwest, where Onyx Gate must be.
"You are not a monster. I have seen many. I know what they look like better than anyone. I fell in love with one. But you? You are not a monster. You are a man who has survived his monsters and will survive many more."
And still, without letting me get a word in, Aniwye pushes me forward with her hand. She smiles as I stumble slightly, still unused to my newfound strength.
"Steady your gait. I raised a God, not a baby. Go and save your world, little one. I was not idly watching. I made sure you did not kill wantonly. You did good. You are good. And so are your siblings. Keep him safe, you two. I need to go check on my monster."
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