Chapter 785: Within The Root [Pt 1]

"... Who are you?"

As my voice echoed in the indescribably vast expanse, the white-haired Elf in front of me kept smiling. Her clear face depicted no surprise or offence.

She honestly looked just like Emilia. However...

"What do you mean?"

"You're not Emilia. Something doesn't feel right." I muttered, taking a few steps back.

I noticed that I could now move my body properly, but now wasn't the time to be focused on such trivialities.

"So, please tell me the truth. What's going on here? Where exactly is here? And who are you?"

I was sure I died at the hands of the Nether. When all my memories returned, I remembered how the Nether destroyed my body, soul, and all the other duplicates I had made.

With my soul destroyed, I wasn't even supposed to exist. Yet, here I was talking to someone who claimed to be Emilia, in a place I didn't know of.

Everything felt off.

"I see. You have an incredible perception. Or, rather, maybe I made an error in my presentation of your lover..."

She finally admitted to being an imposter. That brought relief, but at the same time, pain. I had truly wanted to be wrong. I had genuinely wanted her to have been the Emilia I knew and loved.

That way... perhaps all I had said thus far would have been real.

"You didn't make any mistakes. I just felt that something was off. Besides, the very fact that you didn't fumble about was a major indication that you aren't her. People aren't perfect... and neither was Emilia."

"I see. Well said."

This lady in front of me didn't seem evil. She also didn't seem to have any terrible intentions. Something within me felt attracted to her, and I honestly felt that she did not mean any harm. However, how could I trust someone I didn't even know?

Besides, if I was still alive, then—

"Can I return to the normal world? I died, and... the people there need my help! Since my soul hasn't been destroyed, then—"

"Calm yourself." Before I even realized it, her hand was on my shoulder.

I didn't even know how she got to me so quickly. It felt as though she had always been there. In fact, when I looked around, it felt as though she was all around me too.

I was honestly too puzzled to comprehend what was going on.

"There's no need to hurry. I know everything that is happening. Besides, I have sent a friend of yours to keep the Nether occupied at this moment. You know the young Midas, don't you?"

"Kuzon is alive too?!" I burst out in surprise, my eyes bulging.

"Indeed. And he's doing a good job at holding the Nether at bay."

My eyes widened even more as she made that statement. My chest tightened upon hearing that Kzon was holding off an entity as powerful as the Nether.

'Just how powerful is Kuzon?'

"I will decide on whether to return you once we are done with this conversation. You will make a choice, and depending on that choice, there will be a consequence."

I could understand her words, but without knowing her identity, or whatever this place was, it was difficult connecting what she was saying to anything coherent.

"You asked me who I was, didn't you? Well, I am Emilia, and at the same time, I am not. I am the culmination of every soul and entity in this world. I am this universe, this reality—The root of the tree of this reality."

As I heard this, more memories flashed into my head—especially my conversations with Solomon, and the discoveries I had made. The more the memories flooded me, the closer I came to the truth.

"You know who I am." She said.

As I looked at her, our eyes connecting in silent understanding, I nodded slowly. It all made sense now.

"You are Aether. The very essence of the world."

In response, she nodded calmly.

"Indeed. Emilia's soul is a part of me. So is yours, and everyone else that exists in this world. I am all of your essences, and everything that has ever existed in this reality rose through my birth."

In essence, she was god itself!

"You're currently in the Root. This is the starting point of this reality—where everything branches out. Some call it the core of existence, while others call it the world's soul. This is the pivotal point of everything that springs forth... my Domain."

As she spoke, she took a step back, and suddenly, majestic lights were projected from her. Golden and white fragments of light, like fireflies, danced all around her.

Finally, her real form materialised in front of me.

Aether had a flowing white gown, with bright golden embroidery around it. Her skin was pure white, and her hair was bright white. Her features were mostly human-like, but this level of pristine god-like beauty placed her beyond anything I had ever seen.

She was beyond transcendent in everything.

As she floated, her gown flowed like clouds of white mist, and golden sparks covered her body. Pure energy—unfathomable—flowed through her and all around her.

"This is who I am." Her voice, now taking on an indescribably pleasant tone, teased my ears once again as she smiled kindly at me.

I was dumbstruck, at this point.

"I have also told you where you are. All that's left is... what is going on."

She was correct. However, something else was gnawing at me. Something that was quite selfish and not really pertinent to the matter on ground, but my mind could not rest regardless.

"You seek to know about the wellbeing of your lover, Emilia." Aether's voice interrupted my conflicting thoughts.

I wanted to deny it, but considering I was in the presence of a literal god, I decided against it. Instead, I admitted to my selfishness.

"Yes. Yes, I do."