The roof of the Palace of Lanthanor was a place that he had never visited much. Right now, he found himself on it, gazing out at the last of the stars that were still present while the large droplet of blood floated in front of him.
Letting out a deep breath, Daneel lowered his eyes and fixed them on it as he started to study it again, with the hope that he might find some clue as to what was waiting for him within.
The second stretched on, but there was nothing else to be seen or felt except for that urge to bow that he had felt the first time it had appeared in front of him. The other droplets had all been stored in a different place, but the absence of their reverence did not diminish its grandness at all. Like a ruler who stayed a ruler even if there was no one to bow to him, the drop of blood hung there supreme.
With a sigh, Daneel conversed with the system to make sure that all of his precautions were in place. Even if the worst happened… He had ensured that the war effort would not be affected too much, so when the system told him that it was ready, he raised his hand and placed it below the droplet.
A touch of his finger was enough to disperse the barrier around it which had been magnifying it until now. With the barrier gone, the droplet looked tiny, but when he took it in his hand, it felt so heavy that it threatened to smash him to the floor.
It might be another trick of his mind, or it might be true… but whatever the case was, Daneel was sick of the mystery that it represented. So, without any more hesitation, he closed his fist and stepped out with his mind to enter the world that was waiting for him.
Surprisingly, his consciousness pa.s.sed through without a hitch. Usually, there were defenses to stop such things from happening as it was always risky to allow foreign consciousnesses to invade a part of someone"s body. It was the opposite if they were invading someone else"s consciousness, itself, as they would have complete control of it, but because they were not present in their complete form in this case, the G.o.dbeasts always tended to take the decision to be safe rather than sorry.
Yet, this droplet had welcomed him as easily as if it was a part of him, so it p.r.i.c.ked his suspicion so much that Daneel completely slowed down and stopped to see where he was.
The last time, he had directly entered the room where he met that being, but now, he saw that he was on a small sc.r.a.p of land in the middle of the sky.
Above and below, there was only nothingness. Floating in the middle of nowhere, the island seemed to be extremely fertile as it was filled with lush gra.s.s and flowers and trees of all kinds.
It was only the size of a large room that might fit 50 people inside it, and as Daneel walked forward, he knew that he would be able to scan it all without any problem in just a second.
For the second time in a few minutes, he wondered whether he had made the right decision to leave the system behind. On asking, it had told him that it might be able to come along because of its upgraded state, but because the being with whom he was going to converse was one whose power was unknown and unheard-of, he did not deem it wise to expose the existence of the system which was an all too real possibility.
That member of the Divine Seven before had read his past as easily as if it was a book lying in front of him… what guarantee was there that this being might not be able to detect the system, too, which was something that had not happened in all his time on Angaria?
He was alone, but he had always strived to make sure that he would never be incompetent even if he was deprived of the system at any time. Of course, the task that he wanted to accomplish was simple, but still, this thought gave him strength.
The scan of his surroundings revealed that there was an area right in the center of the sc.r.a.p of land which he could not read, so Daneel directly made his way there.
When he bent aside the last hanging leaf on his path, he came upon a scene that made him stop and stare.
An old woman dressed in a loose, archaic gown was sitting in front of a harp while her fingers strummed its strings with a rhythm that could hardly be missed. The soft music that filled the area was calming and soothing, but that was not the feeling Daneel got when he saw what was behind her.
A void that sucked in all light and left nothing but darkness within was present right behind her back.
It wasn"t its peculiarity, or the contrast between it and the land that shocked Daneel, though.
Within it…he could feel power of the sort that he never thought could even exist. It crossed, no, bounded over the threshold of anything that a Hero might be capable of, and as soon as he felt it, Daneel was so captivated that he automatically made his way forward in a bid to step closer and see just what it was.
"Who goes there?"
As soon as he came into her view, the woman seemed startled but Daneel didn"t care much about her. His senses had told him that she was just a normal human being, and although he did not know why she was present here, he had guessed that she might be a captive consciousness of whatever being this droplet belonged to. The legends did tell of powerful G.o.dbeasts taking in the consciousness of enemies or even friends for all kinds of purposes, so deciding that she must have arrived here in that way, Daneel did not see her as a threat.
She was standing right in front of the void, though, so he had to stop himself and look at her.
Her features were plain, albeit extremely wrinkled due to age just like the rest of her body. She was hunched over in front of the harp while sitting on a rock, and below her, her legs flopped lifelessly and swung in the air, almost as if she had no control over them.
The allure of the power was strong, and as he a.n.a.lyzed it, he quickly saw that he might have struck a jackpot. It seemed that this droplet might hold the key to power he did not even know could exist, and the consciousness that was supposed to protect it might have died.
He had to go closer to confirm this, though, so he impatiently gave the answer to the old women.
"I am Daneel Anivron, G.o.dking of Angaria. I do not know which age you are from, but in this age, I am the ruler of millions whose fate depends on me. Now, I implore you to move, as the key to saving them might be behind you."
Surprisingly, after she heard him, she burst into laughter and said, "G.o.dking? Really? I knew G.o.ds and Kings in my time, but none of them were as arrogant as you. What kind of a G.o.dking can you be if you need external power to save those who rely on you?"
She continued laughing then, which made Daneel suddenly get angry. The fate of so many was at stake, but here, he was being delayed by a normal human who was mocking him without even knowing anything about him.
Time was always a tricky thing in places like these, so he had decided to leave as quickly as possible. Hence, even though he knew it might be rash, he conjured a boulder above her that was even bigger than the island they were on and said, "Move, or be crushed. Time is short, so I do not have the luxury to chat."
His consciousness was still that of a Peak Champion who was stronger than any Champion in the history of Angaria, and with this display of power, he seemed to have scared the old women.
As she raised her hands in defeat, the mocking expression from before vanished and was replaced by one of fear.
"Apologies, apologies! Please don"t crush me! But ever since I"ve come here, I"ve never been able to move my legs… can you please help me?"
Daneel did feel a little pity as he heard this, so he instantly made the boulder vanish and said, "I acted rashly, so I am the one who should apologize. Yes, let me help."
The void was small and so close to the woman that he had to carefully move lest she fall into it and perish, so Daneel chose to cast a precise spell.
Strangely… his Will dissolved into nothingness when it neared her.
He had no Mageroot, so the spell casting he was doing was simply the act of focusing his consciousness and making things change.
Thinking for a bit and deciding that the void must be the one responsible, he walked forward decided to use his body, which represented his consciousness.
He arrived in front of her put his hands on the boulder on which she was sitting, but again… no matter how much he exerted himself, she just wouldn"t move.
He kept trying, though, with the power from the void continuously calling to him. Yet, there was no change, and at one point, he even moved a different boulder nearby to make sure that it wasn"t the property of this land to maintain its form.
As if she was bored due to him taking so long, the woman began to play the harp again, but this time, she also sang.
"What is hidden is clear,
what is clear is hidden,
O such are the mysteries of Angaria…
What you see is false,
but what is truth cannot be seen,
O such are the mysteries of Angaria…"
In this way, the song went on and on, and finally, Daneel fell on the ground, helpless.
It just wasn"t possible. Either the woman was the heaviest being in the world, or…
Just like that, it clicked. The music, the song, this place, the void… All of it suddenly made sense, and at that moment, Daneel felt like a fool.
He instantly got on his knees and bowed, and when he spoke, it was in a voice filled with respect.
"I have been blind and stupid. Please, forgive me and show me the truth."
The music and the song stopped, and when Daneel looked up, he saw the old woman smiling at him.
She blinked, and as he blinked with her, the land changed.
Daneel did not notice this, though, as his gaze was firmly fixed on those eyes, within which he had seen something he could hardly believe.
In them…he saw the entire continent of Angaria, and right away, he got an inkling of who she was.
When she spoke, it was in a voice that came from all directions, at once, and hearing her, Daneel sighed, then smiled.
"Welcome, son of a different world. You gave me your name, so let me give you mine. They call me…Mother."