Adtraic Verity: Journey For The Truth -
Chapter 127
The smooth ripples of the water followed behind the rowboat as it left the docks and into the forest of wet stones, sailing through the gigantic underground ocean of water.
All those bumpy ripples shocked the starry-magical pattern of the liquid, as if disturbing and caressing the pool to simmer down.
To the left in the cavern there were smaller rocks, to the right there were slightly taller rocks, reaching a little bit to the ceiling. Water dripped from the cracks and tree roots in the ceiling, bumpy stone walls fissured with fingerlings of vines and moss, and a stagnant air of wet stone lingered everywhere among the colossal underground lake.
It took a couple minutes for Aletha to get used to the movements on rowing.
After that, Aletha became a natural at rowing.
While they glided through the vast expanse of water, Aletha bent down and looked at the reflection glistening on the surface. The stunned look on her face blended by the surreal noise around her forced her to comment at the land’s beauty.
“This place is gorgeous! Wow, I can’t believe all of this underground, how is this place not buried yet? I…Is that actually glowing gemstones underneath the water?”
The blue-haired man nodded his head and looked down at the water with her, answering with a calm but gravelly tone.
“Yes.” A light, wise smile emerged from his face; noticeably acting different in comparison to in the docks. “Say, are you curious about how they got here? I can tell you if you want. Ya see, I know a lot about the history of Clearstar and this huge cavern, yeah? From the birth of its formation, to the reasoning behind those roots you see below, I know a lot.”
“gasp Really?”
Another chuckle came out from the man’s mouth.
“Yeah, just place your paddle down. If we continue at the pace we are going, then, heh heh… we might not even have enough time to talk.”
“Okay!”
Excited, Aletha slowly placed the paddle down, her face beaming with pleasurable anticipation.
For a moment, the boat stopped at an open space surrounded by glowing blue gemstones, with roots winding down the seabed and the cold walls. Sensuous enjoyment of the outward show around Aletha could not settle her down– for all Aletha had wanted was more knowledge. As dazzling fish swam underwater through the open seaweed, a thought emerged in her, watching the man grab a toolbox near the row boat seat.
(I know I’m concerned for Rinnea, but come on! This place looks stunning! You know, maybe I am not so concerned about The Necklace after all. As long as Drimi’s soul is still alive, then I know for a fact she is safe!) Looking back into the water, Aletha continued with her thoughts.
(But… I don’t know, I feel wrong saying that. Throughout those ten years of world-traveling, nothing felt connected to me because… all those worlds simply weren’t my home. Despite the distance from their corresponding stars, those thousands of worlds I and my brother have been to all had life. But now that I finally returned to this world, it’s as if I am wandering all over again.)
A sudden chill ran up her spine, not realizing that she was mumbling out loud.
“These mortals that I met throughout the time being the present… are so… different from the ones I met in the past. They are not like the gods and goddesses I met in the nations of Gwenneg, Azazel, and Cleira, nor the humans within those cities in the mountains and valleys of that dream paradise. I…” She gulped. “Realized… that those mortals from the past incarnation of Gincad didn’t treat me like they did their friends, or any other mortal, but as if I was an outsider, a higher-supreme being. Were they shy because of my appearance? Were they scared of me? Or worse, were they scared of my family?” A trembling, stressed, and high-pitched voice came out after that last sentence. It seemed as if Aletha was clueless about her world, feeling such a cold and bitter feeling of loneliness; as if she was separated and secluded from the beings.
To put it in other words, imagine you were the child of a royal family, living in a castle established on a tall mountain overseeing your kingdom. Your parents tell you that you could meet with anyone from inside the boundaries of the castle. But there were only a small few that matched your same authority, so your curiosity got the best of you.
For years you were restricted from interacting with the outside, but after a long time, you were finally free, you had the freedom to wander around. But the glances that the people gave to you looked fearsome and scared, as if one tiny mistake would ruin everything.
Now replace the castle with Cleira, and the Kingdom as the rest of the world of Gincad, and you with Aletha. That was exactly what she felt during that time. And…
Aletha continued as she turned over to the sparkling granite suspended on the ceiling.
“Was that what the souls of the dead felt like when they tried to contact the living? Were they sad that they couldn’t contact their loved ones that were alive?” Inexplicably curious, the blue-haired man bent over and turned around with his surroundings. He mumbled as the thumps of Aletha’s heart slowed down and the chilling feeling of remorse ran through her stagnant body.
“Souls of the Dead? Just how much do you know, stranger?”
Reflecting on the past by staring into the reminiscent pool of pure, crystal sapphire-blue water, Aletha answered with a serious tone.
“Oh, wait a minute… y…you want to know more? Well, I guess I can tell you. But in exchange, you should tell me what this place is about, because I’m just so eager to learn more about this place. I feel like I want to spend more time here.”
As the man looked back at his shoulder, brushing off the dust on his clothes, he gave a thumbs to Aletha and accepted.
“Of course I’ll do that, it’s my duty. Goodness, I never expected your mood to shift so suddenly.”
Aletha hung her hand down over the rail of the boat, replying with a slightly tame tone in her voice.
“Oh please, my mood is all over the place right now. It’s just… for some reason, the moment we entered this area in the cavern, I feel as if my emotion has completely changed.”
A glittering look came from the man’s eyes. He nodded mutely, speaking with a frosty calm.
“See, I feel the same. This lake carries a lot of burdens that I can’t begin to describe. There’s just something wrong about this area compared to the other segments of Clearstar city. As if this place tainted my sadness and reminiscence. Do not worry, stranger, I know this feeling would NOT last. Actually…” He sat eyeing her with a stonily look on his flint-blue eyes.
“This is why I usually stop the boat here in this spot. The same thing happened to the other outsiders that sailed with me on the boat. I remember that each of them shared their incredibly sorrowful and remorseful stories. Some more horrifying than the last.”
The conversation just continued on and on, but Aletha was indulged upon this, even interested, embracing this moment of calm and peace. The man continued.
“Yeah, I remember now. Like this one blonde-haired boy who told me that he was trying to fulfill his deceased parent’s wish by completing a map of the entire world they made. I just couldn’t forget that smile on his face after showing every single corner of Clearstar, he was pleased by my actions, and that he gave me his toolbox. I remember I sailed to places I never thought possible.”
Aletha’s eyes widened in shock, retracing the man’s words.
“Wait… so you’re telling me that boy had also done this same exact thing like we are doing?”
“Yes… yes. I honestly can’t remember much because of just how many people wanted to sail with me.”
Then, as the boat slowly steered through the rocks even without paddling, the man continued with his recapturing of his memories.
“And then, not long after there was another, a pink-eyed woman with long blue hair, who told me that she wanted to relieve her sadness by traveling to Linuxinia. It was an unbelievable experience. When we arrived at this lake, just as you did, this truthful aura that surrounded this place made her reveal that she was here not for relief, but to find her brother. Not long after, as we approached the dock, we saw the spirit of her brother, telling her… “Don’t cry. Don’t let the past take effect on you. It’s your future that you should worry about now, not mine.” I can’t believe the river of tears that woman made after.”
“That’s why I looked at you like that, because there’s some sort of aura around you that gives off something special, as if you know a lot. Anyways, not to get side-tracked, I’ll just brief it down a bit. I also have a problem of mine as well”
He shook the useless quotes aside and fiddled with pebbles, mumbling as Aletha’s gray eyes daggered through the man’s with interest.
“I’m curious about what you mean by The Souls of The Dead because… not long ago…” He tried not to strike a tear. “…I lost a lover of mine. She was… a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and amber eyes, an appearance worthy of my love. But I lost her to a strange metal mountain buried deep in the depths.”
“Strange metal mountain?” Aletha stuttered as she remembered the large structures she interacted with before. “W…Wait, could he mean those metal arms and wires in that place I saw before?”
With his hard hearing, the man couldn’t hear Aletha, and so… he continued, despite the comment.
“The days after I lost her, every time I woke up at the dawn of a new day, I was greeted by sobbing and cries of what sounded like a woman. But when I awakened from my bed, that soul disappeared. I feel like she was sad that she couldn’t speak to me. Please… if you tell me and explain what was going on, I will tell you everything about Clearstar, and maybe serve you as a guide once we reach the main plaza.”
After a few moments of chilling silence, Aletha assented the man’s offer in precisely the right terms.
“I am sincerely sorry for your loss. I wish I knew your full story, but unfortunately I never saw it… so I am not sure.” As she looked over to the wall of glowing crystals dug deep under the water, Aletha resumed. “Years ago, I heard from allies of mine that there were rumors of a cloned realm called the Afterlife; where the souls of the dead get transported to a separate living space that matched the same exact appearance of their world, or so it thought.”
The man lifted his feet off the water and sighed.
“Really? So, are you telling me that my lover is still out there? Is her soul still watching me?”
Aletha shook her head in doubt.
“No… I don’t think so. Not as far as I’m concerned. That was only just a rumor. However…” She pointed her finger up to the window above her head. “There was one belief I had about the Afterlife. I remember hundreds of years ago, I’m not certain if that time was correct, my memory is still blurry, I had a similar discussion about that same topic. It was from my father.”
“Papa, what are those strange white stone thingies on the ground?”
A cozy fireplace stood among a comfortable room with a large sofa, tables, and books all around. Only the voices could be heard. One was a deep, soothing, and masculine voice, while the other one was a high-pitched, child-like, and playful one. The deep, resonating voice could only belong to…
“White stone thingies? Dear, just what are you speaking about?”
The little girl who seemed to look like a eight-year-old, answered her father with a loud voice.
“I’m talking about those crosses in the garden outside! They’re everywhere, and they even have names of my friends that disappeared. Father, do you think they are safe? What are they doing there?”
“Oh…” It sounded like the man tried his best to hide the truth about it, trying to explain it as friendly as possible. “Aletha, dear, those are… just imprints of the people you met. They are fine, somewhere up in the clouds. Once you’re strong enough, and your time is ready, you’ll reunite with them soon.”
The father, despite most of his face not being seen and blurry, had softened his frown to a quivering smile, struggling to explain, whispering to himself as Aletha jumped up to his lap with an excited look.
“I can’t lie to her anymore. I guess… My daughter is old enough to know now.” He muttered with a soft voice.
As the father patted young Aletha’s head, he took a deep sigh and whispered to her as she sat on his lap.
“You know dear, your mother always said to me that you had a strong curiosity for everything. Even when you were as little as a toddler, you always tried to crawl into spaces without us knowing. And, now that I see you’re old enough, I guess I can tell you the truth.”
Young Aletha raised an eyebrow.
“Truth…?”
The father gulped and scratched his head.
“Yes, truth. The truth about the fate of your… friends.”
At that moment, the warm smile on little Aletha’s face slowly dropped down to a disbelieved frown, hearing the wise words from her father’s deep but soft voice.
“You see, unlike us… mortals and gods below our ranks don’t have much time to live like our family. Life for them is to be cherished for every second and not wasted unless they are happy with the method they waste. Life for mortals is about forming beautiful memories, and helping others like them to create more memories with them, so that their lives would move on. Because sometimes, memories are what build the foundation of the future and what carries the existence of them, even after their passing.”
“Daddy, you’re speaking big words again!” Young Aletha exclaimed as she pinched her father’s cheek. This didn’t hurt him, of course it didn’t.
Instead, it made him happy knowing that this pinch would be what he would remember from Aletha; treating it as if it was some sort of ‘punishment’ for telling his daughter the truth. Before the warmth of the calm moment faded, Aletha’s father shut his eyes and delivered a harsh reality to Aletha.
“But like the universe, sometimes all good things must come to an end.” He looked up to the light streaming through the curved-window of the castle, carrying young Aletha’s entire body as if she was some sort of ball.
His strength alone was enough to match the sheer power of a grizzly bear, if not a giant, and the height of him was so tall that Aletha could hardly see his face.
Despite being extremely brawny, the father’s voice sounded as angelic and beautiful as a glorious dove, treating Aletha and the rest of his family with respect. That was most of what Present Aletha could remember about her father.
Other than that, because of the awakening in that ocean near Pladtioa all that time ago, most of her memories about him remained a mystery.
As young Aletha was carried by her father, walking along the room, her father continued.
“You see, beloved daughter, in this world, when mortals or anyone of that matter, even gods pass away, their souls would be transported to a separate realm called The Afterlife.”
Young Aletha’s eyes widened in shock, staring at the prosperous civilization behind the white balcony, at the bottom of the cloud-piercing mountain. She mumbled as she scratched her bottom.
“A… Afterlife?”
Her father slowly but gently placed young Aletha down on a small chair, while he stood near the railings of the balcony, his hair flowing with the wind.
“Yes, daughter. The Afterlife. It’s a beautiful realm that is composed of every memory, desire, and hate from souls; an endless plain that has varying sectors one or another.”
A pouty face formed on young Aletha.
“Please dad, stop speaking with such big words! I can barely understand them!”
A light chuckle came from him.
“Okay, okay… for you daughter, I’ll speak as simply as I can.” He took a deep breath and explained while sitting next with Aletha. “Each soul has a memory and desire they use. The Universe find ways to either reward or punish the souls for what they did. In there, they are not as brutal and harsh as what people say they are. The harshest punishment that is given to mortals is something one would not respect. Individuals that are corrupt and refuse to divert themselves from sinning, would be given a realm called loneliness.”
“Loneliness?”
The father nodded.
“Yes, loneliness. Mortals are forgiven if they sin, only by taking the life of another, would they be smite. The punishment of loneliness is only given if they refuse to change themselves from sinning. On the other hand, mortals that persist in changing themselves would be given a greater gift.”
Young Aletha sighed and tried to comprehend the words, scratching her head and acting like any other child would.
“Ooo, gift? So, when people pass away, they get given a gift?”
The father immediately interrupted.
“Only if they don’t cease themselves or cheat their way, and go through the natural route. Souls that have gone through nature will be given a gift, one greater than the others. If the mind believes that they are good, then they will be given their ideal paradise fabricated by the combination of dreams, desires, and love.”
Young Aletha retraced his words.
“Ohhh, so what you’re saying is that when a mortal or anyone passes away, they will be transported into anything they could ever dream of?”
“Yes. You are smarter than I thought, I am proud of you.”
The father commended Aletha as he walked around the hallways of the castle with his daughter. Then, he continued on with his explanation.
“But the reward varies. If one is slothful and doesn’t do much, they will be only given a small piece of their Paradise, since they haven’t gone their way to help others build memories. When one is helpful and does more virtues, then they will be given an even greater version of their Paradise. This continues on and on.”
With curiosity, as the white birds and flowers dazzled among the garden next to them, young Aletha looked up to her father and asked.
“Oh, so what if a person does not sin at least once? Would they be given a greater and unbelievable paradise than the others?”
The father’s eyebrows lowered, kneeling down and waving his finger, answering with a truthful voice.
“There’s no such person. Everyone, including gods like us, have their mistakes. They DO sin, but many– if not most, try to change themselves even if they fall into the corrupting nature of sin.” He plucked a white flower off from the garden and placed it on Aletha’s palm, continuing in a gentle voice.
“No one is perfect, nothing is perfect, and the universe is not MEANT to be perfect, daughter. Life is made of mistakes. But those mistakes lead to successes, if followed. Perfection is an illusion, dear. It’s the driving force that tries to make us the best we could possibly be. But no matter who we are, everything has to have at least some sort of form of mistake.”
While he rubbed young Aletha’s head, he whispered pleasantly.
“Someday, dear daughter, I want to see you make mistakes. I want to see you to sin, but never for you to deny change and submit yourself to sin. I want to see you learn from your problems, use those memories to transform yourself, so you can be as strong and powerful as you can be. Because even if those mistakes happen, sometimes, if you have enough motivation, you can eclipse those mistakes with your successes.”
Taking a deep breath, he embraced Aletha warmly.
“Remember to love yourself and embrace failure, because with enough courage… you, yourself… could make your own paradise.
Before anymore was heard, the memory flashed back into the present, back to the boat, where Present Aletha informed the blue-haired man on everything that happened and was said at that specific moment of time.
“…you, yourself… could make your own paradise. Those were the last words I remembered from my father.” Aletha said in a reminiscent and trembling voice.
The man froze still in shock and disbelief, feeling the wave of knowledge pour into his mind. So much information just about the afterlife, and all of it came from this one moment. Now he questioned whether or not he should inform her about the history of Clearstar, since so much time had passed.
Wrapped in a veil of lassitude at the sudden tsunami of memories and information coming from Aletha, he grabbed his paddle and replied with a quiet and gentle tone.
“That makes… all the much sense now that I think about it. It’s… unbelievable that you know this much about The Afterlife. I think I can look at this world with a new glance with this… knowledge.”
Aletha slowly nodded her head and grabbed her paddle, rowing the boat through the lake and forging their path onward to the town.
“I’m sorry about that. I guess I got too carried away.”
“No no it’s fine. Actually, I have an idea. Maybe you should share this information with everyone. I’m sure they would appreciate that as much as I did.”
As a quietness brooded on the air, Aletha agreed and smiled faintly.
“You think so? I mean, I only did this because I felt something was forcing me. But if you really say so, I’ll try.”
Now that the man thought about it, he answered.
“Y… You don’t have to. It’s a suggestion. With all that said, as you were explaining such an amazing memory, our boat was moving on its own. I think at this pace, we will approach the docks…”
And then, there it was… after a long discussion among a magical reminiscent underground lake, the entire expanse of the rest of Clearstar city was now just right around the corner.
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