Chapter 419
And then it struck him. His father was powerful, a being so vast, so that human emotions were perhaps... insignificant to him. His farewell hadn’t been cold; it had been... detached. Impersonal. Not because he didn’t care, but because his perspective was so different, so far removed from the human experience.
The remnants of the feast lay scattered across the table, a testament to the joyous, if slightly blurry, celebration. Laughter still echoed softly, interspersed with the contented sighs of those pleasantly inebriated. Even Ikem, a demigod of considerable willpower, felt the warm fuzziness of the wine. He savored the feeling, knowing it was fleeting. He wished this could last forever, this bubble of familial warmth and carefree joy. But the time had come.
He rose, the movement surprisingly steady despite the copious amounts of wine he’d consumed. A hush fell over the room, the lingering merriment replaced by an anticipatory quiet. His children, his people, looked at him with a mixture of love, awe, and a touch of trepidation. They knew what this meant. This was goodbye.
Ikem surveyed the faces before him, each one a reflection of himself, a piece of his own being. He saw the playful glint in Zephyr’s eyes, even in his slightly drunken state. He saw the quiet strength in Terra’s expression, the unwavering loyalty in Ember’s gaze, the boundless spirit in Ripple’s smile. They were his legacy, his greatest creation, the embodiment of everything he had strived for.
He cleared his throat, the sound resonating in the sudden silence.
"Time to address the people" He said as he began walking out of the throne room to the gate of the palace now filled with millions of apelings turning their sight towards the palace waiting for him.
"My children," he began, his voice strong and clear, "my people. Today, we stand at a crossroads. A turning point in our history. The journey I began so long ago, a journey ordained by my father, the Origin God of Nature and Curses, has reached its culmination."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the crowd. "Many of you know the story of my departure. The trials I faced, the battles I fought, the sacrifices I made. I did it all for you. For the future of our people, for the prosperity of our land, for the preservation of the unique gifts that flow through our blood."
He took a deep breath, the weight of his impending ascension pressing down on him. "My father’s farewell was... different," he admitted, a hint of wistfulness in his voice. "It was a charge, a test. A cold, distant decree. There was almost warmth, no emotion. Just a task, a challenge to be overcome."