Worldbuilding chapter
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"Umm, Blade... I can explain," I said, hanging upside down as I met her cold gaze. She stood there, arms crossed, exuding a chilling calmness.
"What explanation could justify bringing a child into our room?" Her voice was icy, and I felt a shiver run down my spine, knowing she was looking at me coldly even through that blindfold.
I gulped, struggling to find the right words.
Blade turned her attention to Alden, who stood frozen, clearly overwhelmed by her presence.
"Please, Blade, leave the kid out of this. I'll take care of her myself, you won't have to deal with it," I pleaded, desperate to defuse the situation. But with a heavy sigh, Blade turned her gaze back to me.
"And how, exactly, do you plan to take care of the child when you're... a sword?" She snapped her fingers, and I felt my body begin to disintegrate, breaking apart piece by piece.
"M-Mister!?" Alden shouted, panic evident in her voice. "Don't disappear on me!"
My true form, a floating sword, appeared in the room, hovering silently.
"Y-You! What did you do to Mister?!" Alden glared at Blade, her small fists clenched.
Blade who saw this raised an eyebrow and a small interest piqued from her interest.
'Master! Don't die on me, I beg you!' A young man's plea from an unknown origin echoed inside her head, yet the memory alone felt familiar.
"Relax, kid. I'm still here," I floated beside Alden, trying to calm her down.
"M-Mister? Is that you?" Alden looked up at me, wide-eyed with surprise.
"Yup, this is me. My truest and purest form," I said, shimmering slightly to show off. "Cool, huh?"
"..." Blade remained silent for a moment before asking, "Chrone... where did you get her from?"
"Uhm, well... I found her in a back alley. Why?" I responded, trying to sound casual.
Blade exhaled a tired sigh, her expression unreadable, "So be it. If you take care of his daily needs and ensure he doesn't become a nuisance to me, he can stay."
"Yay! Wait... him?" I looked at Blade in confusion.
Too exhausted to explain, Blade simply turned and returned to her bed, ignoring the question.
"M-Mister, where's Mommy?" Alden's small voice
Remembering I promised Alden to bring her to a new mom only to go into ruin, I panicked and wracked my brain for a solution.
"Umm, I- I'm you're new mom!"
"Yes! I'm your new mom, but I came from a faraway land, so we pronounced 'mom' differently!" I spun around, showing my non-human form to convince Alden.
"T-Then how do I pronounce mom?" Alden who was fooled asked.
"It's pronounced 'Fath-her' it means faithful mother!"
"Father? Th-then you are my Father"
"Yes! I am your Father!"
Blade who was eavesdropping on the conversation felt at a loss and went back to sleep.
~1 month later~
"Father, Father, look!" Alden, now dressed in clean clothes, excitedly pointed at a bard performing music in the street.
Over the past month, Alden had transformed. Once shy and malnourished, he was now more outgoing and healthier, his previously skinny frame filling out. He had only recently started eating more, whereas before, even with my constant nagging, he barely ate the minimum to survive.
Oh, and I found out Alden was actually a boy. His long hair had been grown out because his father planned to sell him to a slave merchant—female children, especially blonde ones, were in high demand. The thought made me burn with rage. If I could, I'd bring that man back to life just to stab him again!
"Father?" Alden asked, noticing me lost in thought, his voice small and worried as if he'd done something wrong.
"Sorry, I got distracted for a bit. Let's go check out the bard." I shook off the anger and led the way toward the street performer, who was singing a captivating tune.
As we got closer, I noticed the bard's eyes were closed, fully absorbed in his performance.
"Oh, he who commands lightning swept the land of its sins,"
"And he who sacrificed himself to the evil god, shielding us from their schemes," he sang, his voice soft yet filled with passion, as though he was recounting a memory rather than a tale.
"He made a pact with the divine to seal the origin of all sins,"
"The greatest sacrifice humanity has ever seen."
The song reached its emotional peak, and as the last note lingered in the air, the bard opened his eyes, finally noticing us.
"Oh, I seem to have attracted an audience," he said with a soft voice and a smile.
"I liked the song. What's it about?" I asked, curious about the story behind the melody.
"Oh my, you haven't heard this tale? You must be new here," the bard said with a raised brow.
"You could say that. We've only been in the city for about a month, waiting for the festival to begin."
"Ah, that explains it. Allow me to share the full tale then," he said, straightening his posture. "This is the story of a hero, blessed by the divine, who swept evil from the land with just the swing of his sword only to imprison himself along with the greatest evils."
He strummed his mandolin and, taking a deep breath, began to sing again, his voice soft but powerful:
"On a stormy night, a divine song descended,
Accompanied by it, the birth of a new sun…"
The bard sang of a boy's birth, marked by a holy song that echoed from the heavens. The child had eyes that shone with a golden light, clear of any impurity. His parents knew from the moment they laid eyes on him that he was destined for greatness.
But shortly after his birth, a divination was given: Danger and fame will always follow your child, and his greatest torment will come from his birth parents.
Fearing for their son's safety, the parents entrusted him to another family, distancing themselves to protect him. As foretold, fame followed the boy as he grew. He became a legendary figure, slaying mighty beasts and leading a crusade to cleanse the land of demons. Eventually, he rose to become the first king of the Golden Kingdom.
But true to the prophecy, danger followed in the form of his parents. Hearing of their son's accomplishments, they decided to reveal themselves, making their way to the kingdom. However, during their journey, they encountered the Original Sins, the ancient beings who had survived the crusade.
When the king prepared a grand feast to welcome his parents, what arrived were not his true parents, but mere puppets—husks of their former selves. Enraged by the sight, the king swore to the heavens that if they granted him the power, he would seal the Original Sins forever, protecting humanity from their grasp.
Before long his prayers were answered, and a divine light descended, blessing him with the power to lead a new crusade. and before long he was successful. However, before he could seal the Original Sins, a voice from beyond the prison echoed in his mind:
*We have your parents' souls. Locking us away for eternity means you will banish them from the cycle of reincarnation.*
Panicked by the revelation, the king loosened the lock, choosing to fight the Original Sins for the rest of eternity to take back his parents' souls.
~~
"Wow! I want to be a hero like that!" Alden said excitedly, his eyes wide with admiration.
"Haha, if you train hard in swordsmanship, you might be as great as him one day," I said, ruffling his hair.
"Huhu, I'm sure of it," the bard chuckled softly, setting his mandolin down and gazing at Alden with an approving smile. "With eyes as clear and golden as yours, I have no doubt you'll achieve great things."
He then turned to me, his tone more serious. "And you… raise this boy well." With those mysterious parting words, the bard gathered his belongings and disappeared into the crowd.