บท 113: Gehenna - The Truth of the World

Athena was standing in front of the crystal that shattered every second, staring at Ytria with menacing eyes.

"Who are you?" Athena asked and then shook her head. "No... The right question is "What are you", no?"

"Hm..." Ytria smiled kindly. "...I am Ytria and I am the one and only Tormentor..." Ytria paused for a moment and then with a longing look she looked into Athena's eyes. "... and I am Helena."

"!!!"

Athena made a hard and confused expression upon hearing that allegation, and seeing this, Ytria asked them to help her out of the crystal and after she was free, she explained how she broke the seal.

When Ytria drained Athena's mana, she was actually taking back some of Athena's dark mana that originally belonged to her and along with that, Ytria also took the seal that was attached to Athena's soul, thereby freeing herself.

"So Master Gion didn't need to die?" Eun asked with a rueful expression.

"I'm sorry..." Ytria said. "But it was better this way."

The truth was, Ytria was relieved that Gion was gone. She had spent four thousand years being visited by Gion every day and it had become frightening and disgusting. She finally understood why Nimo didn't like him and wanted her to be careful around him.

Eun and Neu weren't used to emotions and it was the first time they had experienced so many emotions at once. They didn't know what to make of all those feelings as they didn't even know what those feelings were.

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Athena hugged them. "It's going to be okay. I'll be responsible for you."

After that Athena teleported along with the others there to the living room of the castle of Gion and there they started to talk.

"And then, "Helena"..." Athena said making several air quotes, emphasizing the intonation of the name. "I imagine you have an explanation for everything I've been getting involved with lately refers to you..."

"I do, but it might be a little long..." Ytria said.

"I am immortal." Athena leaned back in the armchair she sat in. "I have all the time in the world."

"Well then..." Ytria started to tell a long story. "....And this is where we are."

"So that's why Athena had that ridiculous amount of mana even though she hadn't done anything for three hundred years?" Anemus asked with disbelief in her voice and face.

"Yes and no... While she also had some of my mana, she had also accumulated a ridiculous amount of mana during those three hundred years." Ytria answered and looked at Athena. "Not that the amount now is any less astonishing..."

All that was too much for Athena to assimilate and she still couldn't believe that Ytria was Helena, even though they shared the same face. This made Athena deeply lost in her own thoughts where she asked questions which she herself answered.

"The biggest reason she became a Tormentor three years ago was because she had my mana in her when she learned dark magic." Ytria continued. "Of course, her killing a lot of people didn't help at all and I had to interfere when she started devouring souls... Otherwise he would have turned into a demon."

"Huh? Devoured souls? What is she talking about, Athena?" Anemus asked perplexedly.

"Huh? What?"

"…I know it's a lot to process, but I want you to understand that most of the things I did to you were for your good."

Athena looked at Ytria with a complicated expression. "No, I'm fine about that. Are you really Helena?"

At that moment, Anemus, who was ignored, narrowed her eyes as she felt a pang in her chest. That was jealous of her saying that there was something wrong between Athena and that woman.

Anemus got up from where she was sitting on the couch with Neu on her right and Eun on her left, and walked around the room, circled Athena who was sitting alone in an armchair and hugged her lover from behind while staring at Ytria as if marking territory.

This was not only because Athena ignored her and continued talking to Ytria as if it were nothing, but also because Ytria had said she loved Arthur, meaning she loved Athena and it made Anemus jealous and alert to Ytria that continued talking to Athena while trying not to look at Anemus.

"So was it you?" Athena asked with a confused look. "You were that thing that stuck its hand in my chest in the temple of all the gods?"

"Ah! Yes, it was me." Ytria admitted with a smirk. "I wish you weren't influenced by the gods of this world. Know-"

"Give me back." Athena interrupted Ytria with a cold look.

Athena didn't know whether or not what Ytria said was true, but that didn't matter at the moment. Athena found it outrageous that Ytria had stolen what belonged to her.

Ytria made a confused expression, thinking she had heard wrong. "What did you say?"

Athena stroked one of Anemus' arms that looped around her neck from behind and, almost in a monologue, she said. "That day, I intended to make Nath take back only the class she imposed on me, but the skills and spells... that I intended to keep and you took them from me. Give me back!"

"Huh?!" Ytria looked dumbfounded at Athena. "No but-."

"Helena, give me back what's mine!" Athena repeated in an authoritative tone.

Ytria made a complicated expression. She was disappointed and depressed as she imagined that as soon as Athena knew she was Helena, she would hug her with longing. But that didn't happen and now Athena was practically fighting with her for something she shouldn't have.

"I can't do this and I'll explain why." Ytria said and without waiting for an answer from Athena, Ytria started talking about her reasons.

The shattered soul that Ytria left behind lived for four thousand years as a ghost traveling through the streams of mana that intertwined through the millions of mana crystals scattered around the world and now, the memories and knowledge that the fragment acquired, belonged to Ytria.

Mana, in addition to being the source of magic, was also a great archive of world history. Everything that one day happened was kept in the "memory" of the mana and Ytria that was "swimming" for millennia in this great river of information, had acquired a great amount of secrets.

One of those secrets was that the world already existed long before Asherah and her children arrived there and the only god, or creature close to being a god, that existed there was the king of dragons, but dragons were also outsiders, there was no god born of this world.

When Asherah arrived in this world, being the most powerful goddess that existed there, she proclaimed herself to be the creator goddess of this dimension and for a long time she stayed that way until the birth of Uran.

Uran was born of Asherah with two divine essences, but these essences belonged neither to Asherah nor to Jehovah.

".... In mana it didn't say where these essences came from, but..."

Uran had been born a complete goddess, a powerful existence that could create life and worlds as she chose, and there would come a day when she would be even more powerful than her mother.

For some reason Asherah feared her daughter and instead of loving her and guiding her to become a benevolent goddess, Asherah resolved to seal Uran forever.

"....It was then that, in a confrontation of Asherah and her children against Uran, the world had half of it destroyed...."

Due to the difference in power, Uran, who wasn't strong enough to confront her mother and siblings, was defeated, sealed and cursed by her own mother.

".... One curse would prevent Uran from using her powers and the other..." Ytria thought of a simple way to explain for a moment. "Simply put, it would make Uran a kind of living battery for Asherah...."

With Uran's defeat and sealing, the dragons and fairies, who lived in this world and didn't take sides, were somehow submissive to the gods and helped in the rebuilding of the world.

"....After the world was rebuilt, using the powers she had stolen from Uran, Asherah changed the memories of everyone in the world, even Uran herself, of what happened...."

The world came to believe that Uran was an evil goddess and Uran came to believe that she was the one who did something wrong.

"....To prevent any of her children from turning against her and aiding Uran, Asherah separated the gods from the mortals by banishing the gods to the divine plan...."

Time passed and over time, the story was gradually being forgotten or distorted in fables and legends from generation to generation.

"....Athena, from what I can see and feel, you are already one step away from becoming a goddess. If I give you back the powers of Death, as soon as you become a goddess, you will be under Asherah's control and will be banished from the mortal plane. Is that what you want?"

Athena was again without reaction as she knew Ytria was telling the truth. This time she was sure that nothing Ytria said was a lie. That's because she used a skill that allowed her to discern between what was a lie and what was true. Athena didn't know what to make of so much information and with her head down, she analyzed everything she had heard.

(That's why all the versions I heard about Uran and what I remembered about her didn't fit. This world is such a mess...) Athena took a long, anxious breath and kept thinking. (But then why was Ytria corrupted by Uran? And there's also that Naph reaction when I talked about Uran...)

Athena rubbed her temples and growled at the feeling she would get nowhere with so many questions on her mind.

Realizing that Athena was practically burning her brains out with questions, Anemus pulled hee lover by the shoulders, making Athena look at her, and said. "Why are you making things so complicated? In the end you'll do what you want....What do you want to do?"

Athena looked Anemus' green eyes, smiled and so looked at Ytria. "I want my powers back."

Ytria turned pale and abruptly rose from her seat. "Haven't you heard anything I just said?!"

"Calm down..." Athena waved her hand frivolously. "I didn't say I want it now, I have a plan." Athena stood up holding Anemus' hand. "But first let's get back to Basilian. I have two funerals to do and one bastard to heal."