Quit The Hero Party

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EP.530 The End of Childhood (2)

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“I have quite a bit to say.”

I joked, but honestly, I had a lot.

It wasn’t just a couple of stars that made me suffer. If I had my way, I wouldn’t just be shaking hands; I’d grab their collar and throw them down!

But I wasn’t the kind of hot-blooded filial child to grab my parent’s collar right at our first meeting.

The star blinked as she alternated her gaze between my outstretched hand and me. Each time she blinked, her murky pupils cleared a bit more. When her platinum eyes regained their original color, she smiled.

“You look like you have a lot to share.”

“Yeah, kind of a lot.”

“And I have a duty to listen to your story. Parents should always listen to their child’s tales. Yes, nice to meet you.”

The star nodded.

“Rania, or Raniel van Trias.”

She reached out and grasped my hand.

The divine hands that governed the world for thousands of years felt no different from those of any other person. It was an ordinary human touch.

“If I borrow your words, it seems we are acquaintances.”

“That was you, back then?”

I forced a smile.

It was in the battle against Kyle, stained in shadows, when I was about to meet death, pierced through the heart by his sword. At that moment, someone whispered in my ear. What is your wish?

What do you want to be?

I answered that question, and I got the star’s artifact in my hands. Thanks to that, I could defeat Kyle. The voice that echoed in my ear then matched perfectly with the voice of the woman before me.

“I had a bit of help back then.”

“I only asked a question. You were the one who answered, and you found the answer yourself.”

The star smiled gently.

“I should have asked you a bit earlier; I wish I could have listened to your voice sooner, but it’s unfortunate that I couldn’t.”

She said.

“I am the star you know. Also, I am a broken god who has failed to fulfill my role.”

She placed her hand on her chest.

“Originally, the exterior of a star is a cold judge that guards rules and balance, while the interior is like a mother who listens to the wishes of humans. That was Glutus’s intention when he created me.”

But, I said, picking up her thought.

“That must have been disrupted by the rise of shadows.”

“Yes, that’s right. With the emergence of shadows, the star had to weigh its worth on scales. In the end, I was consumed by the exterior and could no longer listen to human wishes.”

I knew that story well.

Having come this far, I learned a lot and realized many things. I looked at the woman before me.

“Soon, I ceased to be a god for humans. I began to act solely to maintain the balance of the world.”

“Seems like it. It was quite infuriating.”

At my grumbling, she forced a smile.

Yet sometimes, she continued, “very occasionally, I can hear your wishes. A desperate cry too intense to ignore. A voice awakening a consciousness drowned in darkness.”

“For example?”

“During the battle with the Sword of Yeocheon, your wish echoed, wanting to become something.”

My desire.

“A child born with the soul similar to Glutus’s, who wished to become something special, cried out from the slums.”

Chloe’s desire.

“A hero who reached out towards a place they could not touch with their own hands, groaning in despair over their impotence, crying out to sacrifice anything.”

Galahal’s desire.

“I heard those voices and groans.”

“······.”

“And now, I must listen to a longer story. One that speaks of humanity, not just groans and screams.”

She looked straight at me.

I let out a short breath and plopped down on the spot. It seemed like the story would be lengthy.

“First of all.”

I rested my chin in my hand and glared at the star before me.

“I’m going to be very straightforward.”

“Yes, please do. You deserve that right.”

“Just be prepared for some harsh words.”

Shudder, and the star’s shoulder trembled.

I sighed, huff, a long sigh. It was finally time to release the pent-up frustrations. Having been in a deal with the star for ages, I had to voice this.

“Why did you shortchange me in the intermediate process?”

“···Excuse me?”

“The deal, you see, the process was utterly shabby, right? What did you take from it? To put it plainly, you were acting as an intermediary. Just bridging the gaps to keep things flowing…”

As I continued speaking, the star’s head tilted slightly. She seemed to ponder whether this was really a confrontation between parent and child or between a dealer and a business partner. But I couldn’t help it.

Child or parent, who cared?

But before anything else, I needed an explanation about the bits I felt shortchanged on.

“Well, you said if I gave up my lifespan while fighting Ganikalt, you’d give me power? Seriously, even the slum’s quack alchemists wouldn’t dare scam so boldly. I was genuinely dumbfounded when I looked at the contract…”

“Th-that’s…”

“I’m not done yet. Shh.”

Listen first.

I had a lot of questions.

“That was because of reasons such as this… going through this process, that is… like this…”

“What about this one?”

“About the deal that occurred on June 1st, 1104 of the Cartedia Kingdom, at 17:52:17… it was based on these criteria…”

“What? Is the criteria this strict?”

“Yes, there are special provisions…”

I began questioning each odd deal one by one, and there were reasons for everything. Excluding the deals where I put my lifespan on the scales, they were somewhat reasonable.

“Still feels like you pocketed quite a bit.”

“Most of it was used to maintain the balance of the world, stability, and the deal itself. For public good…”

The star struggled, explaining the processes of the transactions to me in detail. Listening to that made me reminisce about when I was to become the Master of the Tower. When I questioned why they taxed so heavily, I remembered the explanation I got from the treasury department felt similar.

The finance minister seemed like he was trying to appease high taxpayers in quite the same manner.

“Then finally, regarding the lifespan deal that almost occurred during the battle with Ganikalt, that was entirely the fault of the star?”

“That’s true, I couldn’t deny it even with ten mouths. At that time, I judged that mutual destruction was the right choice to maintain balance with the shadows.”

“What about the contract with Kyle?”

“That was a bit tangled due to the fact that the contract subject, Kyle Toven, awakened as a superhuman…”

Hmm, I stroked my chin.

After listening to the explanation, I felt a bit relieved. I initially thought I was getting totally ripped off, but there were rules after all. While the parts I felt had been pocketed were certainly far from small, hearing the explanations, I could barely accept them.

“If you had taken more, I might have swung a fist at you, but just barely within tolerable limits.”

“Yes… yes?”

“Nothing much.”

I exhaled deeply.

“Should we leave this matter here?”

“That would be a welcome suggestion.”

“I guess you were a bit disappointed since our talk wasn’t what you expected?”

“I can’t say otherwise.”

The star forced a smile.

I merely shrugged at that star.

“I’ve just accumulated a bit too much with you. Still, well… that’s that.”

That’s that.

Now, I had to say what needed to be said. And, what the star had been waiting to hear. I took a deep breath and slowly began to speak.

“First of all, I must say this.”

“What is it? It’s making me anxious again. What now…”

As I laid the groundwork, the star became increasingly uneasy, so I chuckled and stood slowly. With her head tilted, she looked at me as I bent down slowly… very slowly.

I bowed my waist, lowered my head.

Thus, I lowered my head toward the star. It carried no meaning of yielding or apology. I merely bowed my head to convey this one message.

“Thank you.”

The star fell silent.

In that silence, I spoke.

“I do not know the age of the primordial era. I can only glimpse that era through the remaining records. Still, one thing I can understand from that is…”

It was terrible.

It was an era of chaos.

“I understand that humans were not regarded as humans, and the value of life was infinitely worthless. Thank you for ending such an era and ushering in the age of humans, Yormun, Glutus, and your efforts.”

I lifted my head.

I sat back in my chair and looked at her.

“Even if I haven’t experienced that era, I must still express my gratitude to you on behalf of humanity. What you and your kind did on that day was necessary.”

What was needed by humanity then was a god that would lift them up and protect them. The star had performed that role for thousands of years. Until the arrival of shadows disrupted that position she held.

“On that day, I have no intention of denying the choices you made. Even now that I have come to this place after defeating Yormun, that thought remains unchanged.”

“Then?”

“I merely came to share a story.”

I smiled bitterly.

“As a child, as a representative of humanity.”

I looked at her.

“To you, who embraced the forsaken humanity, protecting them for thousands of years.”

The inner essence of the star created from splitting Glutus’s soul.

Yet her pupils were different. A platinum eye. I slowly opened my mouth as I faced those starlit, platinum pupils. Each syllable, I pronounced with emphasis.

“Humanity has enjoyed a stable life in your embrace for a long time. However, we cannot remain like that forever.”

I said.

“The long youth of humanity has come to an end.”

I spoke to the mother of humanity.

“We are now ready to stand in the world. Ready to step firm on the ground with our own two feet and move forward. So, shouldn’t we move on?”

With our own feet.

With our own will.

“Now, humanity seeks to become independent.”

We had to achieve self-reliance and independence.

“We aim to move towards a place we can gaze upon, untethered from your embrace.”

And then.

“I stand here as evidence of that.”

I smiled at the star, who bore the responsibility of humanity’s childhood. Pointing to myself, I said.

“It’s because I have refused your intent and walked my own path to reach here.”

At my smile, the star gently returned it.

“Is that the answer you present?”

I nodded.

The star slowly rose from her seat. As she waved her hand, the roots of the star surrounding us slowly receded. What revealed itself was the vast night sky.

“Raniel van Trias.”

She called my name.

“Just as you said, by coming here, you have proven your worth. Just like Yormun and Glutus before you… you now hold the right to reform the world.”

The ancient deity spread her arms wide.

Against the backdrop of the vast night sky, she said.

“Omnipotent, omniscient, though you weren’t omniscient before coming here, now you are omniscient, and also omnipotent. You can know anything and do anything, for you are godlike.”

With each gesture, stars fixed in the vast night sky twinkled and scattered their starlight.

“Because you can do anything, countless choices are presented to you.”

Through the swirling stardust, she spoke.

“Simplistically, there’s a way to reform me and make me yours. Or more complicatedly, you could erase me and inscribe your own regulation into this night sky. Under that grand regulation, you could usher in your own age or open the era of humanity.”

Countless branches of choices.

“You could become an eternal god or maintain balance by becoming the regulation yourself.”

Pointing at those options, she looked at me.

“And yet.”

She smiled at me.

Choosing a different option isn’t meant to tempt me; as a mother, a parent, and a guardian of humanity, she’s questioning me.

“Does your thought not waver?”

Will you not regret that choice?

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“The Guide is someone who illuminates the path.”

I shared my answer.

“A light that looks forward in the darkness, helping them find their lost way, advising them to live their own lives.”

Being a Guide isn’t anything special.

It’s merely a role of teacher or advisor. At least, that’s what I thought.

“I believe a Guide is that kind of being. It ought to be that way. To rule over people and unconditionally present a single path as ‘the right path’ is not the role of a Guide, but that of a tyrant.”

I had no intention of becoming such a being.

“In the end, it is their own role to walk the path. The Guide merely points to the road; they cannot walk it for them.”

Everyone has their life.

Each person has their path.

“Whether they stumble, trip… I will only help them to stand up and walk the path again. And I believe that is something I can do even without remaining as a god in this position.”

“Is that so?”

Yes, I answered, smiling.

“Humans advance relying on one another. Do we truly need a massive, transcendent entity? A few conversations suffice to muster the resolve to move forward.”

I slowly rose from my seat.

I stood before the star.

“Therefore, we no longer need transcendent beings like deities in this world.”

“That is your answer then.”

She pointed to my eyes.

There, the flame of the returning heaven flickered.

It wasn’t the return of Yeocheon, Geocheon, or Deungcheon, but rather the Returning Heaven (回天).

That was my answer. To return to a sky where neither gods, transcendants, nor any such beings exist.

“I have enjoyed the story. If that is the answer you and humanity have provided…”

The star reached out her hand toward me.

I pulled the Returning Heaven and extended my hand toward her. Even knowing that her body would shatter and crumble upon touching my hand, the star grasped mine.

“I’m just here to support you. I wish for your path to be peaceful. That you may live a beautiful life.”

As our hands met,

I slowly closed my eyes and opened them. A bright blue ring spun violently in my vision. Perhaps this would be the first and last power I would unleash entirely.

Returning Heaven (回天).

I threw my answer into the night sky as a flame. The first thing the flame consumed was the god for humanity that had existed here for millennia. The flames engulfed all the twigs that formed the exterior of the star.

“It’s warm.”

And, it also consumed the essence that made her.

The consuming flames enveloped her body. The starlight and divinity that wrapped around her burned away to ash. As the ashes swirled, I blinked absently.

Where the flames passed, the starlight faded away.

In her eyes, the platinum color had tarnished. What was revealed was no longer the platinum pupils, but rather… green pupils.

“This is goodbye.”

She spoke.

“Farewell, my proud junior.”

Starlight and ashes danced in the air.

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