Episode 233. Ayura (2)
Regeneration.
Unlike Ron, Jin wasn't aware of the power he had gained when he ascended to Genesis.
"Regeneration... Are you saying that I have gained such a power?"
"Originally, a being that reaches Genesis immediately realizes what new power they have gained. It was the case for your father, Cyron, your brother, Vahn, and even Dante's grandfather, the former Sword Emperor."
"But unlike them, it didn't come to me clearly. I definitely became much stronger than before... and I did have a vague feeling that I could recover something that was broken or injured. But I couldn't say for sure that this was the power of regeneration."
"It couldn't be helped. That's because the power of regeneration you gained was not complete."
Ayura gently caught a golden aura circulating near Jin.
"Unless you were a being with a divine status like me, you would have no idea what kind of power is contained in this aura. One would only think that it's a special power where aura and magic are mixed. But this mysterious power has a potential that dare I say, no one can know its depth and size. Even in its incomplete state...."
"May I ask how you immediately knew my power was incomplete?"
"It's instinct. The moment I faced that power, a memory came to mind. It was the memory of the moment I was being created. It must have been the day when I was being created from the fragments of the Sun God, Kinzelo."
Ayura was certain.
He said that the power of regeneration that Jin possessed must be exactly the power that the Sun God handled when he was complete. Ayura had never seen the Sun God directly, but he instinctively knew it.
"Sun God...."
"The power you've obtained is certainly related to him. But he is fragmented into countless pieces, so it can't be complete."
"So, in order for Jin's power to become complete, does he need to find and absorb the fragments of the Sun God?"
In response to Hedo's question, Ayura shook his head.
"From the beginning, Jin didn't obtain his power by absorbing the fragments of the Sun God. Perhaps it was manifested the moment he ascended to Genesis, where there was a point where Jin's will and the Sun God's will matched. So, I'm not sure about absorbing the fragments of the Sun God. It might have an effect, but....."
Ayura released the golden aura and paused for a moment.
"If he gains the complete power of regeneration, can we really call Jin a human? The complete power of the Sun God can reverse all destruction and death just by will. It's terrifying for a person to wield that."
The colleagues who heard the explanation all nodded.
What Jin aimed for was life as a human, not becoming a god who controls life and death. Jin never wanted to become a god, and it was the same now.
"But even so, I said this power could alleviate Jin's agony a bit. Now I'll show you why."
Whoosh-!
Suddenly, Ayura tore off one of his wings on the right side with his hand. The group was shocked by the sound of flesh tearing and bone ripping.
"Ah, Lord Ayura!?"
"Don't worry too much, it's not that painful. Ugh, it's hard to rip it off by myself. Help me. Don't cut it with a sword. It's also my own atonement."
As Ayura continued to tear off the second wing and groan, the colleagues had no choice but to follow his words.
When all ten pairs of wings were torn off, Ayura's body was stained with red blood. However, surprisingly, there was not a single drop of blood on the wings laid before him.
"These wings originally belonged to another god, not me."
"Another god, you mean...."
"The God of Hope, Numerus. They were his."
- If any god causes too much chaos among the people, Ayura threatened them under the guise of a meeting. Before I was born, he even once wiped out a god. I think it was the God of Blessings.
- Really?
- There was also a time when rumors were rife that Ayura might have wiped out the God of Hope, Numerus, among the dragons. Anyway, he's a radical one.
Jin remembered the conversation he had with Murakan during the past Sacred Kingdom incident.
"Eight tears and a hundred drops of blood. To humans, that's all the legacy that Numerus left behind when he was destroyed by me. Half of it is true. But before I finished Numerus, I kept his wings. Though they take the shape of wings on the outside, they are his solidified will."
The colleagues alternated between looking at the wings on the ground and Ayura.
"Numerus and I could be called brothers. Born at the same time, from the same fragment... and we each became the gods of peace and hope. We were on very good terms. Then why do you think I destroyed him?"
"...I think it's because Numerus intervened too much with humans."
"That's right. He loved humans too much. So, he used his abilities to resurrect those humans whom he especially loved. Those who should have ascended the path of reincarnation or fallen to hell, continued to live perfectly healthy lives. There will likely be several stories about resurrection among the ancient myths and legends that have been passed down among you humans. The legends from before the founding of Vankela are all true."
Numerus incurred Ayura's wrath just before Vankela was founded. Ayura had tolerated Numemus's transgressions for quite some time up to that point.
"I decided to kill him when he first performed a large-scale resurrection. Have you ever heard of the mass resurrection of the Arlehin Kingdom?"
His comrades all nodded. The story was about how the entire Arlehin Kingdom was resurrected the day after the kingdom was destroyed by a sudden flood, and most people living in the world knew this legend.
"After that incident, I judged that I could no longer let Numemus be. So, I went to him, and he knew I was coming. He asked me to stop him. He was going mad from the cost of resurrecting people."
Ayura thus destroyed his brother god, Numerus .
In the process, his body was broken, and the eight tears and hundred drops of blood that flowed from him scattered throughout the world.
"But I did not think that his love for humans was unconditionally bad. It was just the method... So, with the idea that there might come a day when his power could be needed, I kept his will like this. And fortunately, that hunch has become a reality."
Ayura looked down at the wings.
"These wings, or rather the will of Numemus, have no power in themselves. But if they are combined with the power you have acquired, you can defer all the deaths that have spread in the kingdom today."
"Defer death...?"
"It means that my children who died today at the hands of the demons can exist in the form of souls in the kingdom. Until you die, they will be translucent souls with their appearance and all their memories from when they were alive. It's not a complete resurrection, but it's also not a complete death."
Like Teben and Zhen in Marriet Hister's legend, the people of the kingdom were able to defer death through the will of Numemus and Jin's power.
"...It seems you are making a choice similar to that of Numemus in the past."
"That's right. But I'm not deferring the death of my children for my happiness. It's a choice for you. Also, it's a choice made because the one who acquired the power of regeneration is not someone else, but you, Jin."
At these words, Jin looked at Ayura in surprise.
He felt as though Ayura had somehow sensed his regression, and Ayura nodded as if to confirm his suspicion.
The moment Jin confessed his regression to Paelito, Ayura had been listening to his voice.
"The deaths on your path are not your responsibility. They are perhaps the responsibility of the entity that made you so. But when you reach the end of that path... I have a feeling you may not be crushed by so many deaths. There must be a reason why you gained the power of resurrection as soon as you became Genesis."
Hedo and Dante did not understand what he was saying, but they did not ask.
"The will of Numerus is merely a tool to alleviate the sorrow you experienced in the kingdom today. Even without it, you could have postponed the deaths of my deceased children. Not in the form of souls with their original appearances and memories, but only in the form of golden light. Touch one of the wings in front of you."
When Jin touched the wing, he felt a group of believers who had died nearby awaken in spirit form.
Dante and Hedo were startled and opened their mouths at the sight, and the newly awakened believers also screamed in surprise when they saw them.
[Woe, wow! Oh, Lord Ayura!]
[Are we not dead? Why is my body so transparent ...!?]
Believers were waking up all over the kingdom without a break. Without the will of Numerus, they would have woken up in the form of golden light, unable to express their will.
Jin repeated in his mind what Ayura had just said with a flustered heart. When you reach the end of the path, maybe you won't be crushed by so many deaths.
"Someday, you may be able to give them real life again. A real life to those who died futilely swept away by you and those with great power opposing you... not the twisted resurrection that Numerus did in the past, but a real life."
The life they should have enjoyed, which had disappeared due to your regression.
Ayura whispered to Jin. Dante and Hedo didn't hear his words because they were looking at the spirits who were just starting to get up.
"So don't collapse under guilt, Jin. You must never collapse in order to give back life to those who died like that before, those who will die like that afterwards."
Jin nodded.
Hope was blooming in his chest. The heavy guilt he had to bear because he was a returnee, maybe someday he could completely shake it off.
"Well, this was my last duty. Jin, wake up all my children who fell in the kingdom today. Dante and Hedo, go and deliver the message. I need to explain the situation to my awakened children."