[Edanian Journey] Aal

Chapter 9: The Will of the Ancient

I fought my way through the oncoming soldiers and returned to the sanctum. Seeing that I had broken free of the marks, Aal said that I had ultimately found my answer within his commandments. He asked what I, the foremost soul of this age, had come to understand.

I could not deny that there was something to be gained from the trials. But salvation could not be built on sacrifice alone. I demanded that mortals be given the chance to grow strong in their own way.

"The chance to choose our own destinies."

Aal asked whether we could bear the responsibility that came with such freedom, and began to test me in earnest. In the end, I proved the path I had chosen, and with it, the path of mortals.

Acknowledging that my defiance had been more than empty words, Aal asked what I had come to seek. I asked for the <b>wisdom of flame needed to complete Ynix</b>. With that flame, I would stop Hadum and prevent the world's destruction.

Aal then told me of Hadum, the <b>Primordial Darkness</b>. Destruction and ruin, a return to the beginning, and re-creation. Hadum was more than a divine being. She embodied the very providence by which the world moved through its cycles, and killing her would mean rewriting the laws of the world itself.

I answered that if that was what it took to prevent the end, then I would do it. Aal did not share my mortal perspective, but in the end, he awakened the ancient wisdom within me.

"I grant you the Will of the Ancient."

Now it was time to show him the destiny mortals had chosen.