Chapter 33: [The All-Father]
"Kind of?" I answered.
Hmmm. Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t do it as Adam but as Falcon. Creating a name for Falcon would work better in the future since Adam’s name is already widespread enough. Not much is known about Falcon. Having a feat in the name of each of the ’Brother’ of the ’Brotherhood’ would be nice and helpful in the future. I pondered it before looking at the All-Father as I asked,
"What brings you here?"
To be fair, after the whole shenanigan with Laplace, talking with All-Father became quite easy. Despite our initial talk being lacklustre, his view took a massive shift when he saw the ’real power’ of Adam and Neptune. He viewed me, or perhaps the ’Leader’ of this organization, as someone who is at least equal to him. As for why he was so favourable towards us...
He did indeed say that he was ’getting bullied’ by the Primordials. Poor guy, despite being the highest of the gods, he is just another puppet for the primordials.
"This temple..." the All-Father thought about it for a few moments before continuing,
"It is a gateway to the Spirit Realm."
I paused for a moment, waiting for him to speak, but when he didn’t, I added,
"I already know that it leads to Arhinam."
"..."
The quest told me.
"I want to know about the Miasma," I explained.
His eyes widened for a moment before giving out a slight sigh as he mumbled,
"Of course you do," and then he focused on me and continued once more. This time explaining in much more depth than before.
"It’s a world created by the Primordial of Laws, the one who defined the extent of what is allowed and what is not, and the one who controls the strings of truth of all beings, The Puppeteer."
My eyes widened for a moment, as if shocked by the whole thing. No... I was really shocked!
The fuck! It really does involve a Primordial! I cursed in my mind as I heard the All-Father. This was something I somewhat expected because of the quest name, even so, to guess about it and to hear it for real are totally two different things!
The All-Father, looking at my expression, smiled a little.
While I didn’t really see it, I felt like I saw him relieved by the expression that I made, as if he saw something ’humane’ in someone he considered a monster. He continued after a momentary pause,
"As far as I have been told, the Puppeteer once desired a world, so he created it. Later, when he got bored with it, he let it go. That world, present in a place which was closer to the edge of the world, started getting corroded by the Miasma of the Non-Existent, and was soon shut off by the Eternals, to stop it from spreading into the world of Zarraf. Though I suppose the miasma was far stronger than anybody expected, and over centuries, it had spread outside Arhinam.
Our work, mine and Alepsia’s, was to use the Light Magic to clear the Miasma every week from spreading out of this area. We both use a portion of our power to control it, but we are yet to find a way to stop it from leaking from that world once and for all.
Which brings me back to the crucial question that I asked. What are you doing here? Or perhaps, what reasons do you belong here at this time? Are you here as a member of the Brotherhood, or are you here because you are a Fate Weaver?"
The Lore deepens!
I sucked in my breath, taking it all in! Damn, I never knew this place was THAT special.
If my senses aren’t betraying me, then the Primordial, the Puppeteer is just inside that gate waiting for me. Or perhaps he would be there somewhere inside that world.
Enchantress had said that I have to meet with the other Primordials to unlock the rest of my restrictions. There were also the Trials and stuff. Does that mean I have to complete a huge trial inside before meeting the Primordial? Or will he appear early, give me a trial, and then unlock my restriction once I complete his trial? I pondered deeply. It wasn’t something that I could have concluded within a few seconds.
The only thing I knew was that the Primordials cannot appear in real life, or else everything around them would shatter. So them being in a special area, which in this case is a creation of their own, doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Maybe this place is the place where the Puppeteer lives? Maybe the other Primordials also have their own hidden areas or realms? Though... all speculations until I find out by myself. If I wanted to confirm it, I would need to enter the world that the Puppeteer created.
On that note, what difference does it make being a Fate Weaver and someone from the Brotherhood?
Looking back at the All-Father, I gave it an ’all-knowing mysterious’ smile before questioning back, "Why can’t it be both?"
"Both, huh? Well, it can be in certain ways," the All-Father pondered before asking,
"Then let me rephrase the question. What are you doing here, clearing the miasma? It is, in a way, a good thing, but only for a short time. You may not have known, but without the guardians, this place won’t have anyone to take in the excess Miasma, and soon it will spread to the entire Zarraf. Do you have any methods to remove the miasma permanently or block it from leaking through the temple?"
So the guardian’s role was to absorb the miasma while Alepsia and the All-Father erased all of it from the guardian. Or perhaps they could only clear a portion of the Miasma without killing the Guardian. That way they won’t have to come here daily or be present here every minute in case something goes wrong. I sighed, realising that killing the Guardian was a heavier mistake than I thought.
"I do know how to clear the miasma," I answered with a half-truth, calming the All-Father before I gave a slight pause and asked,
"Can you tell me more about the world inside the temple? And if possible, how does one open the gate?"
There was a dubious look on his face before he narrowed his eyes at me. As if trying to read what I was trying to do here, he simply started for about a dozen seconds before speaking,
"Well, you have already killed the Guardian. Even if you are just lying, the mess you have made is quite a big one. I would rather have you side with us and help when the time comes than let the world die."
He put out his thoughts without a hint of malice in them. I think I even saw him smile in relief there for a moment. There was a high chance he had seen through my bluff, but because I am a Fate Weaver, he is betting on the possibility that I can still fix this? Or is it something else entirely?
Just where does his trust come from? I pondered as I continued listening to the All-Father.