Time loop was broken by the professor burning down the world tree, Kalpavriksha. It seemed as though they had been working on it for a while and most, including me, were too out of loop. Even amongst the ascendents, the details weren't known by everyone. The king and the professor worked their way around the new information I had found and learned more than what they had in past time loops. It seemed like in past iterations, they almost never learned about Askai or they weren't able to learn enough before disaster. I yet unaware... what disaster?
Initially I had thought the disaster was a full out war between humans and beastfolks but it seems impossible now that the two sides are in talks of trades. There has to be something more than this. This all seems too good to be true.
Layla and I had decided to go to heavens and see if I have achieved my goal as the apostle. That now I can convert everyone into following these four gods. Have I achieved my goal of ridding the world of corrupt usage of religion...
The hall seemed as expected.... Pure white. It was almost insane as the vastness of this place felt suffocating and in some capacity, claustrophobic.
"Hmm? Where are those four fools...?" Layla looked around as she saw no traces of the gods.
"Let me look around." I said as I moved around the castle using my flight ability. But before I knew it, I was totally lost. Maneuvering around the corridors, I came across a room that had a chained up door. I knew I was supposed to keep out and so as any person, I used fire magic to melt down the chains. I entered the room that had exactly one thing inside. A golden seed sitting atop a mantle made of pure marble. The seed shined so bright, it had the room completely lit by itself.
As I walked closer, I felt a hand pull me back. It was Layla.
"That thing... It's the origin's remains." She told me.
"That seed is...?!"
"Shh. Anyway, you shouldn't get too close to it. The origin's powers don't adjust to those around it. Origin's powers are... weird. It's like a parasite and will stick to whoever is near it but the worst part is that more often than not it just kills the host."
"So.. origin is... a parasite?" I asked.
"No... the origin and it's powers... I'm counting them as two entities. Think of it as a flame on a wooden log. The origin is the wooden log and the flame is the power I'm referring to. The flame may always stick to the log but it still gives off heat... get too close and you can also set yourself on fire. Just an analogy... don't take it as literal. But origin's powers don't adjust so even us five gods don't like using the authority as this power takes too much toll on even us. Makes you wonder how strong origin was in their prime."
"I... see." I took a couple steps back and sighed. "Did you find the gods?"
"It looks like they don't exist anymore."
"Huh..? HUH?! You can't just say that! What do you mean they don't exist anymore?!"
"Stop shouting. Time loop was probably involved... Or maybe something killed them? Well... latter is impossible so maybe they got erased or something?" She suggested.
"Why are YOU of all people theorizing? Aren't you a literal god? Shouldn't you know?"
"Hm..." She thought about it for a couple second before walking towards the origin. "Exit the room."
I did as told as she picked up the seed and did something to it. Seed starting glowing bright golden before shooting right into me.
...
I woke up with a slight headache. I wonder if I passed out but what I saw in front of me was a fuel for nightmares. Angels were weeping in a pure white barren hall. Countless wingless and eyeless angels. As I approached them, none acknowledged my existence. I tried healing them but it didn't work. Their weeping scratched my eardrums causing immense pain. I fell to my knees cupping my ears tightly as the pain became too great for me to even handle.
"Beastfolks are not responding kindly... what should we do sir?" Jeyma cried out.
"I... think we have to take the step two. We have tried our best already." Said a being I had never seem before. The person seemed androgynous in nature. I couldn't pin-point a gender but a part of me was totally enchanted by the being in front of me as the cries of those weeping angels faded into nothingness. The voice of this being was so soothing that I could not find words to even begin describing it. I was just in awe of their perfect form. Pure white hair that reached their shoulder. Pure white eyes that held so much life and peace. The way their eyes were shaped, their nose, their lips... it all gave me some sort of peace and love. But a cry for help brought me back to my senses.
An angel fell to this being's feet weeping.
"My lord... my creator... my parent... These natives have refused to heed to our conundrum... They tried to kill my brethren. They chopped off our wings, slayed our Pegasus! What shall we do, answer me, my lord!" The angel cried out.
Wait... Jeyma... angels and that being is the parent...? Wait?! Am I...?
...
I suddenly woke up again in a different room. I was covered in blankets and Layla was sitting on a chair by my side.
"Finally woke up?" She asked.
"I... I think I've pieced it together!" I quickly stood up and held her arms tightly as I stared into her eyes like a maniac.
"Piece together what?"
"That... That the history was rewritten in past at some point! When the professor burned Kalpavriksha, I wondered how many times history had been rewritten... I was questioning if what we knew... what we read was even true or not. Now I know... I know! Someone changed history. Someone re-wrote it!! In reality, the origin begged beastfolks to let him and his angels reside on this planet but the beastfolks of that time refused to help but on top of that attacked them! That seed... that seed! Yes! What was it?"
"Huh? Some fragments of the origin actually... It wasn't exactly a seed but just a capsule like fragment but whatever... You're saying you saw memories of the origin when you touched that fragment? But... then why don't I remember that happening? Did origin re-write memories of everyone to favor humans?"
"I don't know... It could be that origin didn't want people to reach a conclusion that beastfolks were the first to attack. It could be that origin became the sole villain here. People on both sides believe origin attacked first and occupied the land of beastfolks and pushed them to the other side. If origin became the instigator then no one would really think much of it and move on from it after some time. This changes everything we know about the situation. So far I was considering the gods and the origin to be the villain but if what I saw was true then... then! That means it was the beastfolks of that era that were the problem."
"Catch a breath..." Layla sighed as she contemplated what I had just said. "Kalpavriksha doesn't hold deleted memories... it doesn't have restoration so... what's lost is gone forever. Origin still needs time to restore it's power. If what you saw were indeed memories not a random dream then I think we might need to revisit the entire history all over again. This is indeed an interesting development. I will look into it and while I do that, you can either rest or go back to Grumania to see your girlfriend and classmates if you want but just know that they will still be wary of you since you're still technically dead." Layla said before getting up and leaving the room.
Once she was gone, I laid on the bed again and stared at the ceiling.
"I should leave it up to Layla for now... I should go meet Lizette instead..." I sat up thinking about her. I felt a warm feeling as I thought about her. She was always kind to me and so our bond deepened. My parents were never there... never kind so I don't understand what a family member is supposed to be like but often times people commented how Lizette and I fought like siblings. I am grateful to her even if our time together was short. Despite everything, she never gave up on me. I will do my best to make her believe I'm the real Kenji.