"This place…? Where am I?"
Ezesinachi found himself amid a very bizarre space. Everywhere his eyes go, he saw the sky surrounding him with stars, galaxies, and all other celestial objects flying around glimmering in their dim shades of myriads of colors.
It was beautiful, majestic, yet also felt… lonely.
"Welcome my lord, to the Stream of Memories."
Then he saw Dov standing before him, completely unarmed, but with the blue eyes on his mask glowing profusely, even brighter than any of the celestial objects he saw in this space.
"Night Bear? I see… I'm dead, am I?" An abstract mix of sadness and relief was painted on his gloomy brown face.
"Yes… yes, you are." Dov's tone was as monotonous as ever, with his body completely still, as if he's not breathing.
"Then? Where's my mother? What is this place?" The Chief asked. He didn't seem to have any intention to be angry toward Dov for killing her. Everything had passed, and his only desire was to enjoy his days in the afterlife with her.
"Patience, I'll explain everything."
After Dov finished his sentence, the sky between those two began to crack, breaking the silence of this sacred place. Then slowly it got bigger and wider, till it pop and shattered.
A hole was made, and from it, rivers of memories began to flow, surrounding the two with scenes and records of Ezesinachi's life as its streamed like water. They can even hear the sounds of each river.
"As I said, this place is the Stream of Memories, a place where we can rewatch all pieces of memories you had throughout your lifetime." Dov explained while both of them as they gazed at the river before them, showing the recollection of Ezesinachi being born. "This is one of All-father's abilities which he used to watch the memories owned by the guardians of his soul pieces (essences of elements)."
"I can bring anyone here by devouring them with [Devourer]."
"Devourer?" Ezesinachi asked as the river between them continue to flow.
"The name of the gun I used to kill you."
"Ouh…"
Silence ticks for a couple seconds. It was quite awkward for the Chief to know about that. While that happened, the stream showed them the memories of his childhood. Smiling and all happy, playing without worries with the younger Emilohi.
"So… why did you bring me here, Hunter? Surely, it's not just to cherish the recollections of my life, right?" Ezesinachi giggled to dissolve the tension.
"Negative. I'm here to see why you are suddenly aiming for human extinction." When Dov said it, the flow of the river went faster and faster, no eyes can follow what current memories are being played. "You see, my lord. The one who asked you to join them in the grand scheme of ending the human race is not the real All-father."
"No- not real? What do you mean?" Ezesinachi was so confused, that he thought his hearing was damaged for a sec. But then he quickly realized that he's but a soul.
"The Guild called him or her or might even be them, the Pretender." Answered Dov.
"That's preposterous! I met him multiple times already! And the one who invited us for the advance on mankind is the exact same person! Well at least… they look, sound, and smell exactly like him." Ezesinachi suddenly had his share of doubt. Because it's almost impossible for the Guild to carry out misinformation.
They know things that even the nine Champions of Elements don't know.
"That's why we're here, my lord."
Dov brought the stream to the first-ever meeting between Ezesinachi and the All-father. It's about 10 years ago when All-father came to visit Lustmist together with the Shaman.
All-father has the appearance of a young boy, as his body's characteristic got reverted to that of a child due to him depleting his power of creation. He's not a god after all, so even he has his limit. So he took a deep slumber for more than a thousand years then woke up as the All-father they all currently know.
His hair was brown, with 9 stripes at the front left shaded in the color of each element. This showed that he had collected all the pieces of his soul. His skin was light, and his eyes were bright green, shaded like the twilight sun.
If one were to meet him, they'll smell a scent of a blooming hyacinth. No one can be more fragrant when he's around.
"Is this your first encounter?" Dov asked.
"Yeah… I just got promoted to Rhodium rank at the time. Mistress Dynesdân the Inferno Dragon, one of the 18 disaster dragons, who is also the syndicate master of the Scarlet Mother syndicate asked me to visit her in our syndicate headquarters at the center of Lustmist to celebrate my promotion." Ezesinachi answered.
"All-father was there at the time to discuss something with her. I was to wait till their meeting was over. And when it did, he greeted me on his way out of her keep."
"There wasn't much interaction between us. He was also suppressing his aura back then (all the nine Champions have a terrifying commanding aura that can put people to fear and submission, All-father has the strongest one)."
"But it was a pleasant moment nonetheless, especially since I got the chance to smell such fragrant flowery scent." He's done explaining the scene with a satisfied smile.
"Moving on."
Dov once again sped up the river between them onto the next memory of Ezesinachi meeting the All-father. He then proceeded to describe the scene just like before, and this process continued until they arrived at his memory of three years ago.
"This one was when my father just died, and I got summoned to replace him as the next Chief." Ezesinachi got a bitter look on his face.
"All-father and his group paid me a visit during my coronation, send me his condolence and congratulate me on being the next leader of the dark elf." The Chief went on. "He doesn't look so pleased, however."
"It's natural. All-father hates seeing a leader's end. He even shed a tear when he killed the Dragon Patriarch." Dov said. "He respects anyone who's fit to lead. No matter if they're good, just, evil, or even cruel."
"Those who move the hearts of the people, whether through love or fear, have something to admire." The Hunter went on. "That's what he taught me."
The Stream of Memories continued to flow, and this time, All-father came alone. He was in the Chief's office together with Ezesinachi, Ikemba, Emilohi, and another male figure who is the provost, the religious leader of the Shrine of Consciousness.
"Ahh… I think this is where it all started." Ezesinachi commented.
"Where it all started?" Dov asked him to elaborate.
"Our grand plan to make the dark elf thrive and prosperous." The Chief answered with a proud smile. "At this meeting, All-father told us that we might be a lust creature, but we're also an elf. Means unlike demons, we can eat food as other creatures do, we don't have to consume lust as our primary substance to survive."
"I see… so that's why there are corps and farm animals surrounding the shrine." Dov nodded understandingly.
"Yeah. When the demons are having a crisis with most humans being dead, the dark elves can continue to grow independently." The Chief looked so excited about this plan, even though he won't ever experience it.
"It is clever… but for someone who knows All-father, it's easy to tell that it was not something All-father would suggest." Dov watched every moment of the meeting with great focus.
"Huh…? Care to explain?" Ezesinachi quickly lost his smile.
"First of all, All-father knew about the human Queen's decree called 'Desperate Mating Seasons', which is for every human to continue mating and raise children. Male children will be sent to the military, while female children to farms and workshops. It was a scheme to rebuild humankind that had already existed since after the Great Dragon War, which wiped out almost everyone in the royal family."
"Humans were able to build a massive army thanks to this, which lead to the siege of Drakenvale and the death of Dragon Patriarch, resulting in a phyric victory for humanity."
"That's how the human-dragon conflict ended." Dov explained.
"Ahh yes, I sometimes forgot humans can reproduce that easily." Ezesinachi awkwardly scratched his head, realizing the hole in their plot.
"Even at this moment, there are already lots of male children and teenagers who are strong enough to slay a dragon," Dov explained further. "Humans might have a short lifespan, but their growth is also a lot faster than other races."
"Then, if that's the first… what's the other?" Ezesinachi was curious yet also scared to know how much he screwed up.
"All-father is always consistent with his creation." The Hunter answered.
"Consistent?" The Chief had trouble interpreting it.
"It means when he already set the concept of the dark elf as lust eater, he won't change it to be a food eater. He created the human race, he won't ever delete their existence."
The Chief froze when he heard that. He realized he once heard something like this before, especially with his mother being a woman who worships All-father with every breath she's able.
"Sure if his creation wants some change he can support it, like how he condoned interracial hybrid babies, or how he supported the adventurers and their system. But it never him who initiate it."
"Him killing the Dragon Patriarch was a request from a lot of his creations, not because he wanted him to cease from his earth."
"He grants people's wishes, not dictate them."