When he heard the name of the G.o.dbeast he was bowing to, Daneel"s thoughts flew as swiftly as lightning.
Mother? Could this be the mother that he had talked about multiple times during all his time here?
That was the first thing that came to him. He was the one who had made the word "Mother" synonymous with the land that had given them birth, so it was to be expected that this was what he would a.s.sume first.
And of course, all this started after resigning himself to the fact that placing himself at the mercy of these G.o.dbeasts would always expose his past.
In fact, when she had called him "son of a different world", he had had to try hard to not shake his head.
It took only a few moments for Daneel to dismiss this first reasoning that came to him, because there was no way that Mother Angaria could bleed, and that a droplet of her blood could have been obtained by the Treasury of the G.o.ds.
Mother Angaria was real, yes. But history, the present, and the system all agreed that she was the Will of the World that all mages used every day. She was the personification of the land that was their life, and it was definitely impossible that she was a being of flesh and blood.
This made him remember exactly where he had gotten the blood. He had obtained it from the Treasury that was created by G.o.dbeasts… So was this their mother?
Right away, he got the feeling that he was on the right track. If history was to be believed, G.o.dbeasts had been present even before the Order came into being. They had been dwelling on the land long before humans had risen in power, so was it possible that they had all descended from one being?
Knowing that he had caught the scent of the truth, Daneel let himself continue the a.n.a.lysis. What kind of power must a being that had given rise to such incredible creatures possess? What kind of power would he be able to wield, if he managed to obtain her approval?
Dreaming of this felt nice, and it even seemed to be a dream that might just come true due to everything he had experienced inside the droplet so far. She had placed a test for him whose objective he still did not know, but had she not looked at him with kindness after he pa.s.sed?
Right now, he was using the Basilisk"s Breath to think, so the old woman was still looking at him while the land continued to expand. The echoes of her words still hung in the air, and it did not require a scan to understand that the land they were on was quickly becoming Angaria as it might have been during the very beginning.
On the outside, he continued to look at her, but suddenly, he felt naked. Looking into her eyes, he could see all of his thoughts reflected there, so for a moment, Daneel wondered whether he should at least attempt to obtain some privacy.
The notion seemed foolish as this was her world, so seeing that she was still smiling graciously, he continued to think.
Alright, she was the mother of G.o.dbeasts. After scanning my memories, she already knows about the threat that Angaria is facing. So she must definitely want to help, right? After all, this is her hom-…
It was then that it finally came to him. A mother"s primary concern would almost always be her children, so in his mind, she must have searched to see how they were doing now.
And if so… She knew about the war.
She knew about the extinction of almost all G.o.dbeasts, and she knew about the primary role that humans had played in that battle.
If so… would she want to help them now?
That thought lingered in his mind, making him feel fear and anxiousness and regret as he suddenly thought that it had been a very bad idea to come here.
He had seen what she was capable of… So she could definitely destroy him with a thought. If so… Was this how his story would end? Would a misstep on his journey to save everyone end up condemning him to an eternal slumber?
These questions made Daneel shake all over, but he froze when the silence around him broke.
And the reason this happened… was that the Mother started to chuckle.
Daneel didn"t know what to make of this, so he watched with a bewildered expression.
When she finally spoke, he hungrily devoured each and every word she said as they would tell him whether he would live, or die.
"Your mind did not fail you, young human. Yes, I am the Mother of all G.o.dbeasts. Yes, I can hear each and every one of your thoughts. And, yes, I did see the fate of my children… But you"re wrong to think that I would be vindictive enough to take out my anger on your species."
A sigh of relief unlike any that had ever pa.s.sed his lips came from Daneel, and in the pause that she took, he fell back to the ground as the tension had been too much to bear.
"I think I must apologise for not making my intentions clear as quickly as I could. I am old, you see… And every thought that this piece of me must form takes a lot of time. Every second you spend here, many minutes pa.s.s in the outside world. But do not worry: I"m sure that I am well worth your time."
Walking forward, the mother stretched forward her hand which Daneel took after a few seconds of being in a daze. It was finally his senses which told him that she was speaking without any ulterior motives, and this became confirmed when she continued after he stood back up.
"It is sad, yes. Together with the Will of the World, I gave birth to so many of them and tried to teach them as best as I could. Alas, the Energy levels—as you call them—started to fall, so I had to give myself up if they were to live…you see, if I had not made the sacrifice, the fall of Energy would have been too quick for any of my children to survive. You humans were still present then, hiding in your caves and subterranean cities, and I see that I was not wrong when I saw in you great potential. I tried to tell all of my children to share the world they had been born in… but sadly, I had to die before I could make them listen. Even in that moment when I felt all of my strength being drained… I knew that only doom awaited most of them. Do you know what made me keep going? Do you know what made me take the decision to give myself up instead of smiting all of you? I could have done it. Oh, yes, it would have taken just a single second. The men and women of Angaria today call you wise… So tell me, why didn"t I do it?"
Daneel was taken aback by the question, but after a second, he started to think. He tried to put himself in her shoes, but try as he might, he could not see the logic behind leaving behind a potential threat, knowing that there was a very high chance of them killing his children.
But after that, he began to think about why the War of the G.o.dbeasts had even come to be. Things had reached such a state then that just the battles between the G.o.dbeasts, themselves, had started to kill tens of thousands of them in collateral damage, so suddenly…he could see the answer.
Before he could give it, she spoke again.
"Yes…you are wise. Even if I ended the story of your ancestors, there was a high chance that they would kill each other. They would leave our land in such a weak state that it would be ripe for invasion by others, and so, they would have been enslaved or killed off anyway. But that was only part of the answer. The other part…is that I saw their salvation in you. I saw the kindness that many of you tended to have, so one day, I trusted that there would be someone who would form a bond with one of my offspring that would ensure in the continued existence of at least some of them. And now…it gives me great joy and peace to see that my premonition was true."
Daneel took a step back as he heard this.
How powerful a consciousness should one have to be able to look tens of thousands of years in the future like this?
Amidst his shock, the old woman walked forward and put a hand on his shoulder.
She was warm, and she almost reminded him of his own mother. But when she spoke, all of these thoughts left his mind, and he suddenly became filled with delight.
"You are whom I saw all those years ago. You will ensure that my children will live on. All I ask is that you give a chance to more of them, like you have to the one who breathes again on the continent today due to you. In return… I will give you everything. So, what do you say, young human? Will you help an old mother look after her sons even though she is dead? Will you be the father that they never had? Will you usher in an age of harmony unlike any in history? Answer, and if all the information you have about the enemy is precise, the war will be yours to win."