Chapter 3185: Mundane Fortune |
The journey had been long, but it had not been easy.
During the dusk of the Age of Gods, the mortal realms were still ruled by the Creatures of Corruption. Humans had carved out a place for themselves under the sun, but they were still on the defensive, fighting fiercely to safeguard their settlements.
Even though humans were steadily growing stronger as time went by, they were not ready to challenge the abominations for dominion over the world just yet. That would only happen when the Age of Heroes arrived, prompted by the fall of the First Kingdom and the rise of Transcendent champions who had divine blood in their veins.
So, Cassie endured a fair share of daunting battles as she searched. Some she had escaped unscathed, while some left her wounded and battered. She sought refuge among humans while she recovered — she needed to learn what they knew to reach her goal, anyway.
News brought by merchants from distant realms, old legends, rumors of strange occurrences that happened far away... Pretending to be a wandering fortune teller, Cassie learned a lot.
She learned even more from her intuition and innate affinity to revelations and fate. However, the item she was searching for could not be discovered that way — it was as if all clues about it were hidden by fog, obscured from her senses.
She continued her search.
Sometimes, she traveled with merchant caravans and temporary companions. Sometimes, she traveled alone, accompanied only by her memories. The company of those she called upon was not unpleasant... but even if they were with her, she couldn't help but feel alone.
Time passed.
She was too tired and wounded to put a lot of effort into avoiding a conflict, and she didn't want to subjugate the city if its rulers acted against her out of fear, arrogance, or greed — so, it was better to remain unnoticed.
Sitting on the ground near a fountain in the main square, wrapped in her tattered cloak, Cassie unfurled a small rug in front of her and placed a chipped bowl on it, laying a small pile of carved bones by its side.
Her hair was covered by the hood of her cloak, while her face was hidden behind a veil. Her wooden staff lay nearby. She looked unremarkable and shabby — a vagabond who made a living by fooling gullible people, no doubt, instead of a demigod powerful enough to destroy the entire city... and beautiful enough to make countless men spill blood.
Cassie's appearance had never caused her trouble in the real world, but here in the Nightmare, she had learned to hide it. She did not want to launch a thousand ships, after all.
Soon enough, the first client arrived.
“Huh. A fortune teller?"
A copper coin fell into her bowl.
"Come on then, tell me my fortune."
Cassie reached for the bones and scattered them across the carpet. There was no point in doing so, but people believed her more willingly that way.
‘A copper coin...’
She hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Praise be! What luck. Congratulations, your home will welcome the fourth child soon. This time, it will be a son."
There was a moment of silence, and then an excited shout.
“A son! Finally!"
Her client paused, then asked with suspicion:
"No, wait. Are you blind?! The bones fell in a circular pattern. That clearly means misfortune!"
Cassie tilted her head a little.
"I am indeed blind.”
The man scoffed.
“What can a blind fortune teller even see?"
Cassie smiled behind her veil.
“I can see a plump, healthy boy..."
The man cursed a few times, then stomped away.
Before that, however, he did not fail to look at her tentatively and take the coin out of the bowl without making any noise.
Cassie did not care. What use did she have for money?
But still.
‘Bastard. I was going to tell you that your handsome young neighbor is the boy's real father, but oh well!’
It was better that way, anyway. She had learned long ago that people only got angry and confrontational when she brought them bad news, accusing them of spreading lies no matter how truthful her words were. They only believed what they wanted to hear.
There were more clients after that. Cassie easily played the role of a downtrodden fortune teller.
“What luck! Your son will be promoted by the lord soon. He will even receive precious silk as a reward..."
“Heavens above. I can see only good omens in your future. Have you offered a sacrifice to the gods recently? The gods must have been pleased..."
“Don't fret. Fortune smiles upon you. Your younger sister will indeed be wed before you — however, you'll meet your future husband at her wedding. And he will be the most handsome man there, by far..."
While making predictions, she listened. And as people told her about their simple lives, she learned a great deal about the city, its citizens, and the realm.
The lord here was a mighty warrior who worshipped Beast God. There was a rivalry between him and the Transcendent Monster, a great tiger, who lived in the woods. The two often quarreled and fought, but defended the city against Creatures of Corruption side by side.
There was another city across the mountains from here, ruled by a priestess of Storm God. The priestess was old and nurturing a successor — the temple she ruled had been built many centuries ago, and its influence spread across the entire realm.
...A young shepherd had, apparently, witnessed a goddess bathing in the stream and became enamored. So enamored, in fact, that a stone he had sat upon in a daze split nine months later, revealing an infant — whose skin was so tough that no sword could pierce it.
Cassie was not sure how the locals had learned that the baby couldn't be pierced by a sword, but still made sure to file the rumor away into her endless memory. There were countless strange stories like that in there, already.
Soon enough, another client sat down in front of her, wearing a troubled expression.
“Say, fortune teller... how soon will my cow recover? No, really, I need to know! She has been taking it easy for an entire month. Does she have any shame?!"
Cassie regarded the man quietly, tilting her head slightly.
Eventually, she spoke:
"I didn't expect to meet you here."
The man blinked a few times.
“Huh? Do I know you?"
Cassie sighed.
"It doesn't seem that you trust my words, though."
The man frowned.
"Hey! Stop stalling and tell me about my cow!"
Cassie turned slightly.
"I wasn't talking to you."
Before the man could answer, his eyes glinted strangely. In the next moment, a tall figure appeared beside him, looking down at Cassie with an inscrutable gaze.
The man flinched and reeled back, shocked and confused. Looking up, he paled and tried to crawl away.
"A... a daemon! Gods, save me!"
The man who had appeared out of nowhere frowned, turning his head slightly to watch him escape.
“Do I look like a daemon?"
The retreating figure reflected in the man's mirror-like eyes. He frowned.
“That fool has never seen a daemon, so how would he even know what they look like?"
Shaking his head, he turned back to Cassie.
“And yes, Lady Cassia. I do, indeed, doubt that you had no expectations of meeting me here. The world is vast, after all. What are the chances of us stumbling into each other by chance?"
Cassie smiled faintly.
“Well. I might have sought you out on purpose."
Mordret sat down in front of her and remained silent for a few moments.
He had spent countless years in the Nightmare, already. At first, he had remained with Mirage near the Mirror Lake, where this version of him had been born. Later, he escaped the reflections and went to explore the world, hiding in people's eyes and experiencing life after life as a silent witness.
He had been the reflection of countless men and women by now, having seen the heights of virtue and the depths of depravity, having accompanied slaves and kings, soldiers and farmers — numerous faces all fusing together, slowly driving him mad.
There was a simple reason why he had chosen such a strange existence.
It was because Mordret had no Domain. His brother had built himself a mighty Domain — millions of vessels carrying the fragments of his soul, all united under the banner of the King of Nothing. But all of them had either been destroyed in the war against the Dreamspawn or consumed in an attempt to conquer Apotheosis.
This Mordret, however, had never destroyed a soul to take possession of someone else's body. He felt no desire to, and found the very idea distasteful.
He had only ever created one Reflection — and left it behind in the real world, where it was desperately needed.
There was no Citadel that he ruled, either. So, Mordret entered the Nightmare with nothing... and, as a result, he had experienced no unmaking.
Which was both a blessing and a curse.
It was a blessing because he had not been destroyed by it. It was a curse because he had not been changed by it.
Reaching the second trial of the Nightmare, Mordret had been no closer to Apotheosis than before entering it. So, having deduced what should have transpired, he endeavored to correct that.
That was why he had spent centuries submerged in the lives of countless people — experiencing all their hopes and aspirations, heartbreaks and sorrows, trials and triumphs. Observing the world through countless reflections and trying to learn what it meant to be a god.
Mordret was not sure that he had learned a lot about godhood. However, he had never experienced mundane life before... so he learned quite a lot about what it meant to be human, instead.
He wasn't sure if he liked what he had learned.
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