Chapter 974: Alta.n.u.s (11)
“...”
“It’s been a while since I saw Saint Alta.n.u.s having that much fun. Of course, it’s been a while since I actually met her… I couldn’t even greet her properly because she suddenly came in… Do you know her, Father? Did she say anything about me…” Metel asked.
“...”
“I expected it, but it seemed like they didn’t want me to meet Saint Alta.n.u.s,” Metel added.
“...”
“Come to think of it… this item called the hand mirror… and now Saint Alta.n.u.s… Father, just who…” Metel trailed off.
“...”
“So about Saint Alta.n.u.s…” Metel trailed off.
“Saint Alta.n.u.s…” I repeated.
“Yes, about her… Do you—” Metel paused.
Metel couldn’t hide her sudden surprise, and I could tell she was trying to read my reaction despite saying all that just now. I wasn’t sure whether it was because I didn’t look so good or she had realized her mistake, but she went quiet.
“Is it true that the Atenta who came into the room just now is Saint Alta.n.u.s?” I asked.
“That’s…” Metel paused.
I asked the question but I didn’t hear the answer because I already knew the answer.
‘Benigoa was Alta.n.u.s.’
“Benigoa was Alta.n.u.s…” I mumbled.
The answer wasn"t that hard to reach if one were to think about it.
Her image was carved at the dungeon entrance of the Mole Saint’s Cozy Sanctuary.
Nothing else was more convincing evidence than that.
Her actions were clearly different from the other Atentas.
The Underground Temple was a special inst.i.tute, but Atentas was clearly the lowest cla.s.s within the temple. Her behavior didn"t fit someone whose name was taken away by someone saying something ridiculous like she had to serve the G.o.ddess.
Like acting out a character written down on a character sheet, the awkwardness I felt from her didn’t seem so awkward anymore. She was actually acting like an Atenta, and she was doing a bad job at it, too. I just felt stupid for not noticing it.
‘No, I wouldn’t go so far as calling myself stupid.’
I had to have noticed it when I first saw Benigoa, and even if that hadn"t been the case, I had to have noticed it at some point.
I was the one blocking out my thoughts and memories about the truth.
Like last time, I had to have erased my memories this time as well. I was in full control of myself and if it hadn"t been for Metel, my subconscious would have continued interrupting me until the end.
“Father… are you okay?” Metel asked.
“...”
“Father?” Metel repeated.
“Yes, I’m fine, Miss Metel,” I answered.
“...”
“By the way… would you like some coffee?” I offered.
“No, I—”
“You should have some if you’re going to stay up all night studying,” I interrupted her.
“Did I… make a mistake,” Metel asked.
“No, it’s not a big deal, so don’t worry. Here you go. If you have questions, write it all down, and I’ll take a look tomorrow morning,” I instructed her.
“Thank… you,” Metel mumbled.
“I’m going to go into my room and organize some things, Miss Metel,” I told her.
“O-Okay,” she said.
I started to understand the burning questions in my head and the reason why the timeline was unclear to me. I understood why Benigoa couldn’t remember this world and why she inherited Alta.n.u.s’ will.
‘Alta.n.u.s’ existence was erased.’
Alta.n.u.s had entered the iron maiden herself, causing the continent of the past to go down the path of destruction… The story took place after the continent"s manager, Lucifer, was demoted.
The story began after a new order, a new civilization, and a new continent was established. I wasn"t familiar with this world, but Kim Hyun-Sung knew it very well.
‘His first life.’
Alta.n.u.s had sacrificed herself in exchange for turning Kim Hyun-Sung into a regressor.
Up until now, I thought that meant total extinction, but there was a chance that it wasn"t the case at all—no, it definitely wasn’t the case. Alta.n.u.s had disappeared, but Benigoa, who had inherited her will, was still alive.
Although her memories, character, and everything else had disappeared, the continent’s system had left behind Benigoa’s sh.e.l.l to take care of things after her.
Of course, Benigoa wasn’t just a sh.e.l.l.
To be exact, she was a formatted piece of hardware. A computer fresh out of a clean reinstall.
I was sure Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t find anything strange when Alta.n.u.s’ name was replaced with Benigoa. It was highly likely that some of the higher-ups didn’t find anything strange either.
‘The system probably did that.’
Not even Benigoa felt that something was amiss…
This was Alta.n.u.s’ role. She’d enter the iron maiden and ascend to become one of the G.o.ddesses up there. She would then take care of the continent, and she"d eventually sacrifice herself for Kim Hyun-Sung.
I was aware of that fact as well—no, I was in the process of becoming aware of that fact. Regardless of what was going to happen, the future had to proceed according to the timeline that I knew, and my subconscious had to have done something to prevent me from recalling the truth.
‘I needed to completely erase my personal feelings.’
Was it because I might sympathize with the tragedy that Alta.n.u.s had experienced?
‘No, I’m not that nice.’
It had nothing to do with Alta.n.u.s’ tragic ending.
It was because of the possibility that I might confuse Benigoa with Alta.n.u.s.
‘Actually, it might be better to say that I"d sympathize with Alta.n.u.s’ tragic ending.’
That sounded better, too…
This was the summary of my memory issues…
G.o.d of Sacrifice and Revival Lee Ki-Young found Alta.n.u.s to be quite pitiful, and he was heartbroken by her tragic fate and hards.h.i.+ps. However, Lee Ki-Young knew that the future had to proceed according to the timeline he knew, so in the end, he decided to sacrifice his memories and subconscious.
It was necessary to ensure that a variable wouldn"t be born due to his feelings of pity toward her. A variable capable of changing the future couldn"t be allowed to appear. Otherwise, the b.u.t.terfly effect would change the current continent.
‘The problem is that I figured it out.’
Of course, nothing would change just because I became aware of it.
‘This is for Benigoa as well.’
Alta.n.u.s wasn’t one of my people.
‘I just need to be a little more cool-headed.’
Benigoa was my baby. Her sh.e.l.l was Alta.n.u.s, but what was inside her was Benigoa.
Benigoa was here because Alta.n.u.s had disappeared.
Alta.n.u.s had to complete her mission so that Benigoa would stay as her current self.
‘And there"s really nothing that I can do at this point.’
Even if I were to find another way, I had no time to change the course. The timeline was already flowing the way I knew it would flow. Except for this, there was no other way to put the future and the past all on the same timeline.
‘The plan must proceed.’
I felt this need better than anyone.
If Benigoa"s cheesy lore about how she was actually Alta.n.u.s" shadow wasn’t there, then the theories I came up with would end up being true.
“Are there any other variables?”
I checked Benigoa’s status window using Mind’s Eye, but…
‘Alta.n.u.s could have made it so that Mind’s Eye wouldn"t see through her true status window…’
Of course, there was also a chance that my subconscious was playing a trick on me.
It wasn"t likely, but Lucifer could have done something as well.
It was a meaningless a.s.sumption, but if Lucifer and I wanted the same thing, then it was possible.
What if all of this was the process of succession rather than the downfall of Lucifer?
What if all this was part of her plan, and she wasn’t actually being chased out?
‘Maybe she looked really far ahead…’
If she had abandoned the continent after doing everything she wanted to do, then she"d agree to cooperate with me. If this meaningless a.s.sumption had some truth to it… then she’d be worse than Elune.
It would be right to call her a waste product that couldn’t be recycled.
She’d be more of a demon than a G.o.ddess.
While I was quietly thinking of any other variables, I heard a voice outside.
“Father, it’s Templar Genny.”
‘d.a.m.n it, I’m busy.’
“I’ll be right there, Templar Genny,” I answered.
When I went outside, I saw Templar Genny and Guardian Metel looking at each other awkwardly. Of course, I had to greet them with a smile.
“I hope you’re feeling better, Miss Metel,” I said.
“I am…” Metel answered.
Metel seemed to be uncomfortable, as the two kept exchanging glances, so when I invited them inside, I saw her bending slightly forward to enter my room.
“Thank you for your hard work, Templar Genny,” I said.
“It’s fine, Father. I’m sorry this is all the help I can give you. I was pretty busy as well… so I’m not sure if I properly completed the task you gave me…” Templar Genny said.
I made Templar Genny attend the social gathering in my place because I needed someone to fill my spot. I gave him simple instructions like collecting letters or listening to what others were saying.
I was sure the true higher-ups had delivered their message through Father Draktaris, but Father Draktaris wasn’t my servant. I was sure there were things they wanted to tell me directly. More importantly, Draktaris was busier than me, so he didn’t have time to take care of me.
“I want to know if the social gathering went well. I hope that I didn’t make many people uncomfortable,” I said.
“That’s not true, Father. They are praising your holy power and virtue,” Templar Genny said, denying my claims.
‘Really? I knew that was going to happen.’
“So many people wanted to talk to you… so I had to create a list of people who will spend time with you tomorrow at the social gathering. First, there’s the promise with the Grand d.u.c.h.ess and the other Archbishops…” Templar Genny added.
‘It was an obvious reaction.’
I would have been disappointed if they hadn"t shown any reaction.
“I thought you wouldn’t have enough time so I didn’t give a few people an answer… I think it’s best if you take a look and decide,” Templar Genny suggested.
“That…” I trailed off, "That kind of attention is kind of burdensome. I’m not anyone important."
“That’s not true. I overheard the other priests talking about you… and they said that you might be a saint chosen by the G.o.ddess… They also said that you’re a huge blessing to the Underground Temple,” Templar Genny added.
‘I’m not really happy about that.’
Regardless, many other thoughts popped into my head. I was thinking about something random when I heard Templar Genny say, “Saint chosen by the G.o.ddess.”
I tried to come up with a way to put both the future and the past on the same timeline.
‘Why was I called here?’
A way to a.s.semble a future that would fit the timeline better than Plan A.
‘What if… I’m Alta.n.u.s?’
It was a ridiculous a.s.sumption.