Dragon Maken War - Chapter 217

Chapter 217: 217

Chapter 217 - Stolen (4)

8

-It has been a while, Atein .

When Atein finished his speech, a half-transparent show-white ghost of a girl had appeared in front of him .  She possessed white-blond hair, and her horns were gray like that of a boulder .  She was a Dragon Demon girl possessing slate-gray colored eyes and Dragon Demon stone .

“You’re are correct, Kayalia . ”

Atein wasn’t surprised at her sudden appearance .  He spoke to her .

Almarick had flinched in surprise .  After he had revived, this was the first time Kayalia had shown herself in front of Almarick .

Atein continued to speak .

“We occupy the same world, yet we cannot meet . ”

-That’s right .  I feel much when I am near you, yet I can never reach you .

Kayalia moved closer to Atein .  As she spoke, she placed her hand on his face .

Atein’s true essence was also within the Great Darkness .  Kayalia was able to experience reality through the Great Darkness, so she was technically always with him .

However, the two of them never met within the Great Darkness .  Atein was always living in the current era through his reincarnated selves .  Until he had revived, his consciousness had never been put to sleep .  He had always been a step away from his reincarnated selves as he observed their lives .

Suddenly, Kayalia glanced towards Aincera .  Aincera once again had a blank expression on her face .  She was just observing the situation .

-Unni .  No, Aincera… .  You really lost all emotions that isn’t related to Atein .

Of course, Kayalia was here as a false image, but her gesture towards Atein had been something one did to a lover .

The past Aincera would have raged .  However, she wasn’t showing any emotions .

-You did something you shouldn’t have done, Atein .

“I won’t deny that .  I had no choice, but to rely on her . ”

He could have chosen not to assign the custodianship of the Great Darkness to Aincera .  However, his gamble would have turned into a bigger uncertainty if he had done so .  

As her sense of self wilted away, Aincera continued to be the custodian .  It allowed the system called the Great Darkness to remain intact even to this day .  Atein truly felt thankful towards Aincera’s sacrifice .

“It is what I wanted to do .  You majesty did nothing wrong . ”

Aincera stepped forward in defense of Atein .  Her attitude was resolute .  Kayalia more sad as she watched Aincera .

-It is unfortunate, but the Aincera I knew is dead .

There had been no love lost between the two .  However, the fact that Aincera was gone saddened Kayalia .  It was a novel turn of event .

The Dragon Demon King’s first queen Aincera was dead .  The only thing left behind was a ghost of herself .  The only thing left within her was her love and obsession for Atein… .

Of course, she would be freed from her role as custodian of the Great Darkness now .  The humanity, which had been worn away, might slowly recover itself .  

However, even if she recovers her sense of self, would it truly be Aincera?

-Atein, I know that you weren’t able to perfect my technique .  You weren’t able to maintain 

continuity between your lives .  This is how it could all go wrong .  

Kayalia let out a sigh of grief .

In the past, she had partnered with Atein through a deal .

Her human body had been dying, and Atein had provided her with a Dragon Demon body in exchange for her technique .  In the process, Kayalia had become known as Atein’s pupil and third queen .  She gained notoriety, and she had been feared by the humans .

Kayalia had been using her unstable reincarnation technique to live and die as a human .  She had agreed with the ideals being pursued by Atein .  However, there had been sacrifices in the pursuit to achieve this ideal .  At one point, a human had saved her .  He had spared her after he had intended to kill her .  In the end, she had died with doubt in her heart .

Then she was made to live in the Great Darkness by Atein .  She had been asleep for a very long time, and she had been awakened by Reygus, who had awakened as an Undead .

-You tried to fix the problem of my technique, and in the process, you wanted to make good use of the time it would take to pursue such an endeavor .  That is why you kept reincarnating as a human?

“You guessed right . ”

It was as Kayalia had surmised . When Yuren and Atein from the past had exchanged questions and answers, Yuren had held back a piece of information .

Atein had failed in fixing the problem within Kayalia’s secret technique .

In the process of dying and being reborn as a different existence, one’s sense of self deteriorated .  The degeneration was inevitable . There had been no way for him to solve this problem .  

There had been two main reasons why one’s sense of self deteriorated and changed in the reincarnation .

The first problem was the fact that the awakening happened after the basic personality traits had been developed .  That meant the past personality mixed with the current personality .

The second problem was the fact that one’s body had changed .  The mind was influenced much by the body .  An easy example was the change of a male mind when placed in a female body .

In the end, Atein had given up being reincarnated as someone else .

‘I can’t choose to be reincarnated as someone else, .  Therefore, I had no choice but to revive my original body . ’

It took a very long time, but he used the technique of Reginor the last Alp .  He had restored his dead body .  He wasn’t reborn .  He didn’t have to worry about the change and deterioration of his sense of self that came along with being reborn in a different body .

However, he felt it was waste of time to stay asleep inside the Great Darkness until his revival .

‘I want to know about the humans . ’

A large experiment called the Dragon Demon war had failed .  Atein had realized that he was woefully ignorant about humans and Dragon Demons .  After his revival, he would need to start a new attempt, and he didn’t want to repeat his mistake .  He needed to become more educated in that department .

That was why he had started his reincarnation cycle, while he placed his sense of self within the Great Darkness .  He observed his reincarnations from a perspective that was a step removed from their lives .  He continued to learn information that he hadn’t known before .

Kayalia queried him .

-You experienced living several human lives, yet your conclusion hasn’t changed?

“Kyalia, you already know what choice I’ve made . . ”

Atein knew this to be true through her tone of voice .  Kayalia also didn’t deny the fact .

-Yes .

“I won't’ change my mind . ”

-You experienced your reincarnated self disagree with you after finding out the whole truth .  Doesn’t that affect your decision?

“You also know about Yuren Rizester?  It seems you are much more than I had assumed .  It seems you’ve become a transcendent existence . ”

-It isn’t an uncommon occurrence .

“Yes .  There are times when I labored to devise a plan, and it only resulted in trash results .  On the other hand, there were those that exceeded expectation .  Yuren’s life was like that for me . ”

-What do you mean by that?

“His life was quite moving .  He decided to throw away his own life for his comrades, and even after knowing the full truth, he was resolute in his beliefs… .  I was moved by his will . ”

Amongst all of his reincarnations, Atein had interfered the most with Yuren’s life .

The reason was simple .  His revival was getting close, and Azell had awakened in this era .  Azell had overcome Atein’s curse .

He had learned through Yuren that his descendants were living in a state of madness, so he had awakened Yuren’s consciousness .  He pushed Yuren to betray the Plain of Darkness .  He guided Yuren to become a member of Azell’s party .  Azell was able to kill him, and Atein wanted to know Azell the human .  He wanted a deeper understanding as to who Azell was .

He had made preparations long time ago .  The fact that Yuren was Carlos’ descendant was part of Atein’s calculation .

“However, Yuren is an exception .  He cannot shake my resolve .  Even if his life was moving, it was merely one life . ”

Yuren’s life as a human had exceeded Atein’s expectation .  This didn’t mean Yuren’s life could be used as an absolute yardstick for judgement .   After Atein died, he had experienced 14 reincarnations .  Yuren had merely been one of them .

“I gained certainty through the Dragon Demon war and my reincarnations .  Even if there is an event or a being that leaves a strong impression, one or two outliers cannot overturn the tide .  What if one person does good, and there are ten thousand people doing small wrongs?  Which way should I adjust in such a situation?”

Should he adjust to the excellent and prominent person?

It didn’t make any sense .  If he was making a small organization, it might be possible .  However, it was possible in a society where many had to be embraced .

“Kayalia, didn’t you despair at what you experienced as a human?”

-I did .  But… .

<Hmm .  Wait a moment . >

Reygus had been listening to the two talk, but he butted in at that moment .  When everyone’s gazes were on him, he spoke .

<Your majesty, there is something we need to talk about right now .  It keeps being pushed backwards . >

It was unlike Reygus .  He spoke in a respectable manner .  It was the same way he had spoken to Atein during the Dragon Demon war .

Atein queried him .

“What do you want to know?”

<Your majesty’s goal… .  No, I know that your goal is to make this world a better place .  How are we going to accomplish that goal?  Will we once again gather people for a war?>

“No .  I don’t plan on using the same method .  We’ve already lost once before .  We also saw the madness caused by the war .  We saw how the war could change the participants of the war .  That is why I’m going to choose another method . ”

<What is that method?>

“Surveillance and restriction . ”

<Mmm?>

When Reygus tilted his head in confusion, Atein smiled .  From Reygus’ perspective, Atein’s smile somehow made him look like he wanted to cry .

“It doesn’t matter what era one is in .  Humans do not trust each other’s good will . ”

Atein thought about his memories from the distant past as he spoke .

“There might be trust between people that know each other very well, but as a race, humans do not believe in the goodness of people .  At a basic level, the law of human society is based on self-interest and bad intentions .  Humans assume that respect won’t be had if one’s opponent isn’t afraid .  Everything is built upon the assumption of fear . ”

<Hmm .  You are suddenly talking about an academic subject .  Will it take long?>

“I guess you are bored, but this story needs to be said .  Reygus, you have already seen a part of my solution . ”

<Where and when did I see it?>

“Guardian Shadows . ”

<Mmm?>

“It’s a barrier capable of stopping our former comrades, who had been swept up by madness .  We are enemies, but I can only express my respects towards Carlos Rizester’s ingenuity .  We lost our precious friends Aunsaurs and Baldazark to him .  Moreover, his machination made us lose Belrun and Iksseru .  In fact, we should consider us to be fortunate that the damage had stopped there .  I never expected him to bring about a part of my plan in such a fashion .  Carlos didn’t know about my plan, but he came up with the idea of creating the Guardian Shadows by researching the potential possessed by the Great Darkness .  While I saw the Guardian Shadows in action, I felt indignant by the fact that I was a step behind him . ”

During the Dragon Demon war, Carlos had surprised Atein several times .  Carlos was like Azell .  He was a human chosen by his era .  His accomplishments couldn’t be explained merely by his genius talent .  In his 20s, he had reached the status of archmage, and he was able to change the fate of the world at such a young age .

“The most surprising part about the Guardian Shadow system is the fact that they are able to seek out those that are called the Dragon Demon king worshippers . ”

The Guardian Shadows were an existence with a foothold in the Great Darkness .  However, when it came down to finding the Dragon Demon king worshippers, they used other beings totally unrelated to the Great Darkness .  All the humans of this continent became informants that provided information regarding the Dragon Demon King worshippers .

Carlos’ magic had allowed him to transcend the restriction of the Great Darkness .  The Guardian Shadows were established upon the foundation of the Great Darkness, but it was self-sustaining now .  It had left an indelible mark on this world .

“My plan is similar to the Guardian Shadows .  I want to create a system that can monitor the intelligent beings of this continent .  No one will be free from the surveillance, and no action will be concealed . ”

He already had a surveillance net called the Dragon Demon King worshippers .  If he wanted to, he could see anyone that was connected to the Great Darkness .  He could even hear their thoughts .  

“I’ll create laws that need to be upheld, and I’ll create peacekeepers that’ll carry out the judgement . ”

The peacekeepers didn’t have to be alive .  They wouldn’t’ be influenced by emotions or human ties . They would become a part of the system where a judgments would be made based on logic .

“Those that break the law will be punished, and they will become part of the system . ”

Those that broke the law will be turned into beings that won’t be influence by emotions .  They will become something akin to the Guardian Shadows .  They will transcend the restriction of time and space .  They’ll take on the role as peacekeepers .

“Beings that threatened the world will be ferreted out, and those that does something dangerous will be suppressed .  We will no longer have to be dependent on the good wills of others .  It will no longer be a gamble as permanent peace will come to this world . ”

At its heart, this system didn't look too different from the system that made up the human nations .  However, there was a fundamental difference .

Humans and Dragon Demons couldn’t interfere with the system .

The system would be governed by an absolute value system that was unaffected by greed and emotions .   If the system was described in an extreme manner, the humans and Dragon Demons would be cattles living within a fence .

<That means…… . >

Reygus was struck dumb as he spoke .

<Atein, you no longer trust the humans and Dragon Demons?  Are you planning on taking away their choice to do evil?>

Was he too surprised?  Reygus’ way of speech had returned to normal .  Instead of pointing that out, Atein answered with a blank expression on his face .  

“That’s right .  It saddens me, but the transition of generations will occur soon .  It is the only way to protect everyone from the confusion caused by it . ”