Chapter 328 – SUN G.o.dDESS SOLAR
There were seven archangels in the world called Heaven.
They were not seven in the beginning.
The first being to be born was Auriel, the archangel of judgment.
She was born out of necessity.
The Heaven before her was a world where evil from chaos spread, so it was not an exaggeration to call it like h.e.l.l.
The wishes of the angels gave birth to her.
The hopes of the angels who were groaning under the pressure of evil brought the archangel of judgment into this world.
Auriel judged the world.
After forging a hundred swords with her own hands, she along with the angels who followed her soon destroyed the evil that pervaded Heaven.
She purified the world.
As she stood in front of the chaos, she instinctively realized that her mission was over.
Because a second archangel was born among the angels.
Auriel’s role was to judge.
Now that the judgment of evil was over, it was the role of another archangel to rebuild the world.
One by one, new archangels were born.
Raguel, the archangel of justice.
Eros, the archangel of love.
Raphaela, the archangel of healing.
Sariel, the archangel of death.
Gabriel, the archangel of the moon.
And the last archangel, Solari, the archangel of the sun who would bring light to the entire celestial world.
Auriel loved and cherished all her siblings, the archangels, bus she especially loved Solari.
“Solari…”
At the highest place in Heaven.
Auriel stood with her sword hanging from her waist as she watched Pleiades before moving her gaze further away.
She stared at h.e.l.l that she had gone to a long time ago, just before it swallowed Heaven.
Solari no longer existed.
She already lost her life hundreds of years ago.
Eros, the archangel of love, and Gabriel, the archangel of the moon, who descended with her to Pleiades also no longer existed.
The seven archangels became four, and Auriel swore to avenge Solari.
“Auriel, are you there?”
At the cautious call, Auriel turned her head. She could tell who it was without looking.
It was Raguel, the archangel of justice.
“I want to tell you something.”
Auriel nodded. She herself had a story to share with Raguel.
“Come this way.”
Raguel had a gloomy smile at Auriel’s gentle call.
She felt bad at the changes that occurred to Auriel after Solari spread her light and died.
But they needed to talk about the movement of h.e.l.l.
The movement of the overlords who went from seven to five.
Hearing Raguel’s story, Auriel closed her eyes for a moment.
She remembered the face of Solari who always brightly smiled like the sun.
***
“h.e.l.lo?”
An archangel with red hair.
She had a bright smile and a pleasant voice that made one feel better from just witnessing it.
There was a playful face under the halo of light that was like the glory of the morning.
Cordelia was momentarily speechless.
Records often mentioned Solari’s appearance.
Solari was the most beautiful and charming of the seven archangels, and even the demons of h.e.l.l could not help but love her.
It was not a lie. It was the truth.
Virtuousness.
A woman who was not just beautiful as any other expression did not suit her except for virtuous.
But at the same time, she was very friendly.
One could talk to her at any moment like an older sister or a friend.
She had eight wings and a golden halo that symbolized the glory of the morning.
Cordelia unknowingly put her hands together.
Because she wanted to pray.
However, Solari slightly narrowed her brows as if she was troubled with Cordelia’s actions, and soon said with a mischievous smile.
“I’ll say it again. h.e.l.lo.”
And when she waved her hand a bit, Cordelia also came to her senses. Cordelia awkwardly raised her head and greeted the other.
“H-h.e.l.lo. I mean, good morning.”
When Cordelia greeted with a blushing face, Solari laughed like Kajsa.
“Cute.”
“Uh, umm… yes.”
There was no need to answer, but she still answered, so Solari burst into a brighter smile.
“Haa~ so lucky. You’re such a cute and lovely child.”
Solari muttered as if she was talking to herself before silently sitting down.
The wind blew under the blue sky, and petals flew over the white flower field.
And she gestured with her hand.
Her eyes told Cordelia to come and sit here.
Cordelia hesitated for a moment but soon gathered up her courage. She faltered a bit before walking over Solari’s side and sitting down next to her.
“Come closer. I want to hug you.”
“Excuse me? Uh… yes.”
Cordelia was someone from Solari’s lineage.
This metaphor might be a bit excessive, but Solari was like an older sister, mother, and distant ancestor to Cordelia.
“Yes, you’re cute. You’re warm. You’re nice too.”
At Solari’s words, Cordelia’s face reddened even more.
It was because she felt ecstatic from being complimented by Solari rather than because she was being hugged like a teddy bear.
“Thank goodness. I’m glad a child like you came.”
“A child… like me?”
Cordelia whose face was buried in Solari’s chest then gently raised her head and asked.
Come to think of it, what’s with this current situation?
Isn’t this the Tomb of Solari?
Then who in the world is this woman in front of me?
Is she a phantasm like Gallus outside?
“Yes, that’s right. I am a phantasm. I am.. the traces? The scars? The residue… made up of the lingering affection left behind in Solari’s tomb, the wishes left behind by the people who missed Solari, the sadness… Well, I can’t feel sadness in the first place though.”
Her last smile appeared to be very sad, so Cordelia unconsciously wrapped her arms around Solari who smiled again.
“You’re very nice. Yes, you’re good-hearted.”
After stroking Cordelia’s head a few times, Solari lightly pinched Cordelia’s cheek.
“Wow, look at this softness. It’s amazing.”
And she continued to pull it.
Cordelia was often pinched by Jude these days and had gotten used to it, but when Solari spoke like that, she could not help but feel strange.
“Oh my, you’re cute. I would like to keep playing with you… but I can’t. He’ll get angry if I continue.”
“Excuse me?”
Wait? Who is that ‘he’?
“Oh, that guy. That very jealous guy.”
At that point, Cordelia knew who Solari was talking about.
So Cordelia raised her voice again.
“Jude! Where is Jude right now?”
“He’s facing me in another flower garden. But well… he’s amazing.”
“Excuse me? What? D-don’t tell me…”
“No, wait. I don’t know what you’re thinking- no, I know, but it’s not like that. Yes, really. He’s not interested in me, I think?”
“Excuse me?”
Aside from the embarra.s.sing things she previously said, what’s with those last words?
He’s not interested?
“Well, he hurt my pride a bit, you know? Do you know what he thought of as soon as he saw me?”
“What is it?”
“As expected, Cordelia is the most beautiful.”
Cordelia’s face became a mess.
That idiot! Idiot! Idiot!
What the h.e.l.l are you talking about!
“He didn’t say that. That was what he was thinking.”
Solari giggled and could not help but pinch the cheek of the embarra.s.sed and happy Cordelia again.
“Anyway, don’t worry about Jude. You’ll see him soon once we’re done with our business.”
“Our business?”
“Yes, business. It can’t be Jude, it can only be you… Although your mind is full of naughty thoughts, you’re someone who is undeniably nice, pure, and pretty… After all, it’s something that can only be done by you who is the perfect person to be my successor.”
Cordelia blinked her eyes again.
“Successor?”
“Yes, successor. Well, it’s not like I’m going to turn you into an archangel right now. I don’t have the ability to do that.”
Solari shrugged before standing up from her seat and touching her halo.
“Solari’s halo.”
Her crown.
The divinity of the sun.
“When Solari died, there were already no angels left on earth. The connection to Heaven was cut off – no, it was a situation where it had to be cut off.”
The sunset spread across the blue sky.
Night came with the twilight, and the glory of the morning awakened from afar again to brighten the dawn.
Solari stood below it.
She spread her eight wings and gently removed her halo that was like a small sun. She placed it on top of Cordelia’s halo.
“It has been a long time since Solari died. In the first place, she died because she was in a state of exhausting so much of her power. That’s why there isn’t much power left in this halo. But the G.o.ddess of the sun will always be with you. And surely… it will shine with the light of the sun when needed.”
Solari’s halo became one with Cordelia’s halo.
A soft and warm light enveloped Cordelia’s entire body.
“It’s not the first time that you’ve been here. But this is the first time I’m doing this. I’m glad that I was able to pa.s.s it on to you at least for the first and last time.”
What is she talking about?
I don’t understand.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you in detail. But you’ll find out soon.”
Cordelia could no longer see.
Her eyes slowly closed, and Solari’s voice gradually became weaker.
“The past always flies towards the future. No one can be free in the face of the unyielding flow of time.”
“Cordelia.”
“Child of destiny.”
“Please.”
“Please… save…”
Her voice was no longer heard.
Instead, different memories made itself known in Cordelia’s mind.
She became a demonic human and killed her own older sister.
She beheaded Maja in front of Jude himself.
She, together with Lucas who had become a demonic human, fought Jude.
She smiled as she saw Lucas and Scarlet having their wedding ceremony amidst a place in ruins.
And the last memory.
She held hands with Jude as they whispered their last words of love and died together.
In the midst of the confusing memories, Cordelia cried. She wept as she cried out loud to Jude.
Solari watched such a Cordelia.
She thought as she watched Cordelia inherit the halo of Solari.
The unyielding flow of time.
A feeling that something was out of place.
Incomplete memories.
So the plan was incomplete.
No, even if their memories were complete, the reality was that failure was inevitable.
Would a miracle happen?
Would they be able to create a miracle?
A crack appeared in the golden sky. The earth was scattered by the wind, and the shattered sky sparkled as it fell down.
Solari looked at Cordelia again.
To whom should a G.o.ddess pray?
She did not know.
But Solari put her hands together and prayed for Cordelia.
“Please… I hope that you will succeed.”
May that guy’s will create a miracle.
Solari looked at the sky for the last time.
She thought of a possibility under the crumbling sky.
That brazen guy.
The other child of destiny.
He did not expect a miracle to happen, but he shouted that he would surely do it.
“After that, I hope that they will be happy forever.”
Solari smiled quietly. She no longer watched as she hoped and prayed once more.
Light covered the world.
Solari then disappeared.
***
“…-delia!”
A voice was heard.
“Cordelia!”
The memories were gone. The memories that filled her head disappeared like grains of sand flowing between her fingers.
“Cordelia!”
“Jude!”
She came to her senses. She screamed and opened her eyes, finding him in front of her.
Jude Bayer.
A person she loved no matter how many times she was reborn.
Her eternal companion.
“Are you okay? Do you feel sick?”
“I’m okay. I’m okay…”
She was really fine. There was no pain anywhere. However, her tears continued to flow down, and Jude tightly hugged such a Cordelia.
The warmth of Jude.
The scent of Jude.
The sad memories were gone.
Cordelia barely managed to calm down and sniffed a few times before gently pushing Jude away.
“Here, blow on this.”
“Puuuuuf!”
After blowing her nose on his handkerchief, she was finally ready to look around.
“Where… are we?”
They were not in the Tomb of the Star.
They were in a completely different place.
A meadow? A plain?
It was night, but the exact time was unknown.
A somewhat warm air.
Moist wind.
‘Summer?’
Cordelia blinked her eyes and looked at Jude again. Jude was looking at the sky and not the surroundings.
“Jude?”
He did not immediately reply to her call. Jude was staring at the sky with a serious expression and gritted his teeth.
“We have a big problem.”
“W-what?”
She quickly followed his gaze and looked up the sky, but there was nothing particularly strange about it. There was no such thing as a meteorite falling from the sky, or the sky turning red like blood.
She recalled what had happened.
She thought that she had properly inherited the halo of Solari, though she had yet to use it.
But it was at that time.
Cordelia suddenly blinked again.
She realized the reality in a completely different way from Jude.
The heat.
The humidity.
The change of season.
“Time has pa.s.sed.”
Spoke Jude.
He judged it by looking at the changes in the constellations.
It was spring when they entered the Tomb of Solari.
But it was summer now.
At least two months. Perhaps three months had pa.s.sed. And what that meant now…
“WAAAAAAAA!”
“SHOOOOT!”
“CAPTURE THE CASTLE!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Jude and Cordelia reflexively turned their heads at the shouts and roars they heard from afar.
And they finally realized where they were standing now and what had happened in the past three months.
The Cilates Plains.
The border between the kingdom and the empire.
“War… has begun.”
After the civil war, it was the war between the Sälen Kingdom and the Argon Empire.
Jude and Cordelia jumped to their feet. Instead of saying anything else, the two flew towards the place where the battle was taking place.