Chapter 232: History of Janus

Right now, although her speech seemed to have taken up at least five minutes, in the outside, it had only been five seconds.

And yet, this is still less than 1% of the ‘truth’ that this game world hides.

Everyone in the cellar dungeon was aghast. They don’t know it but they could that feel something was different.

Terra, of course, wouldn’t care about them since she had a limited time and she chose to use the last bits of her power; whatever [authority] she has in the main system that runs Terroa, much like Janus had done at these passing moments, to transmit the words that Siva very much needed at this time.

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Because…..

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She was the one who laid the [seal] on his memories so as soon as Siva lifted the first seal, she was the first to be notified…

That’s why she emerged.

Or perhaps it was also triggered by something else akin to her ties with the original [owner] of her face… that which this [avatar] was molded…?

Yet, she had to emerge nonetheless for it was all preordained by Janus and driven forth by his last sacrifice for the sake of Terroa.

Everything….. that was happening right now had been planned by Janus.

Janus may not be able to generate miracles, but he was a God of Creation… he creates destinies and connects fates!

He, alone, could control events to connect fates and destinies, thus enabling karma.

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Terra’s [soul] transcending into a guardian spirit and, by chance, watching over someone with a close relationship with Rex Kingsley… had been planned by Janus.

RPG: Terroa is a game that [collects] legends, myths, stories, tales, and current events via the internet and use these elements to generate the quests and missions for players to undertake, but… there are millions of players of Terroa…

No amount of computer technicians and geniuses can manipulate these floods of information that needed real-time adjustment and consolidation abilities to be patched together to create not only the sense of adventure, mystery, and puzzle solving, but also the sense of fulfillment for the players/citizens who loved to hear, read, and even experience fantastical lores and legends.

As such…..

They needed an AI to do this job.

[Janus]

He was the one who manipulates these information and creates the missions, connects events, adjusts the driving ‘triggers’ for the NPCs to give away the clues and as well as the needed requirements for these quests real-time…

In other words, he creates the fated meetings and establish necessary ‘destined’ events between players and these important NPCs, thus, creating [karma] within the world of Terroa. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

He exists within two worlds at once and yet, these two are of separate beings themselves but part of a single entity.

It’s like cleaving an apple with the two halves now becoming two separate purposes for two worlds.

And yet… their minds are controlled by [Janus]…

…or at least their purposes.

In that regard…

One may just ask why there were NPCs that could match players in strength, or even to the point that they could surpass them, but still not choose to be in an open hostility and choose to hide their existences in caves or whatever place they deemed to find solace?

Or why there were normal conversations, jokes even, between NPCs and players?

Or why it was taboo to tell, inform, or give even the tiniest of a notion to an NPCs that they were NPCs…?

…..or why at times that this world felt almost as real and as material as the real world…?

……..or why certain items can be brought to the real world in the form of (.itm) files?

…………or why is it that people can feel fear from players and even NPCs that’s so real victims even bring these experiences even in their dreams?

……………..or why there are NPCs and players who chose to cohabitate and sired NPC children and created a family inside the game?

………….or how was it possible that inside Terroa is a time-frame three times faster than earth’s?

...….or let’s not go further and just talk about the how and why of this very moment where Scion, a player’s game avatar, had been taken over by the will of an NPC?

How is it possible that there was another Siva in the player avatar named [Siva]…?

These [secrets] were few of the reasons why Janus wanted to protect this world.

Because if these secrets were leaked in the real world, then not only WW4 will erupt… but perhaps…. the world will forever be in control of just a single man.

Janus… had to protect these [secrets]… the truth that he would be willing to trade his divinity, his soul, and even his [memories] in order to protect.

And yet, in all his effort, his enemy…

…..the miracle worker, The One…

…..the creator of the [Terran Universe]…

…..the one who wanted to destroy the world of Terroa where all fates connected to the original goal of the Terran Universe converges…

Alfred Pegasus…… this person, with all his talents and capabilities, had succumbed to his greed and selfish ambitions to absorb this world and its secrets just so he could be the only one to become Immortal…!!

In order for his plans to succeed, during the very beginning phases of the creation of the Terran Universe, he inserted a tumor, a virus, and gave it a sentience that embodied and personified his own greed.

This tumor of this innocent universe… gave himself the name [Mefisto].

She, Terra, could only watch…

As all of the souls inserted to take their roots and flourish in the worlds created alongside Terroa were devoured by this tumor in his desire to take charge of his task, Janus began to plan against Mefisto.

Still, despite Janus successfully raising, nurturing, and fostering countless souls that ascended into Immortality and even Godhood, rinsing themselves of the shackles of the Heavenly Laws, Mefisto still evolved and still managed to reach the point that he was just one step away from completion.

On this last step, Mefisto corrupted some of the divinities and deities that Janus painstakingly developed throughout the eons, and sent them against The Trinity Gods, that which led to the War of the Gods… at which then led to the entire Terran Universe [system] almost collapsing from the stress of this rapidly developing war…

And just almost in time… the embodiment of the third Trinity God, [Shiva], appeared.

In order to protect Siva, the divinity of [Shiva], from being corrupted, Terra chose to leave the protection of the [system] and subjected herself to the uninhibited attacks of the corrupted army of Gods and Immortals.

Janus and his ‘students’ fought this bitter war in order to save Terra but in the end, for her to survive, they had to cast away her divinity and put her soul into a mortal vessel.

In exchange for Janus being cast into mortality and the Gods and Immortals under his banner becoming Guardian Spirits… locked in a cage.

This move bought some time for Janus to re-plan against Mefisto but it also, in turn, enraged this incomplete Mefisto.

Mefisto’s “LAGRAM Alliance” scourged the starry universe, devoured every world they could find, and eventually found Terra who was living in the world named after her.

The unprepared Terrans could only cast their survivors in many directions and this included Terra who was trapped in the cycle of rebirth on a mortal vessel, waiting the day when she will be [unlocked].

Eventually, she found her way to a planet called ‘Terroa’ who was plagued by The Alliance but yet to fall for some odd reason.

Through the years she spent in this planet, the incomplete Mefisto ultimately tracked her to this place and brought forth the maximum forces of The Alliance and invaded without restraint.

By the time that this happened, almost all the worlds within the Terran Universe had fallen and perhaps their last line of defense, or their last hope, had eventually been Terroa.

It was the time of the War of the Braves.

Terra and nine friends fought this bitter war and just in time when she recalled her memories of her divinity, [Siva] descended to the skies… and saw the devastation of the war, ending Mefisto in that moment, summoning the wrath of The One, saving Terra… but ultimately paying a high price.

*****

Recalling all this, Terra opened her eyes and the gentle touch that she used to fix Siva’s hair was even warmer and more motherly than anything.

These were bitter sweet memories for her but she still delighted on this because in that memory were Neth and her friends, the ‘Tsundere Knight’ Lunette, and many more things that she was fond of.

Perhaps it cost her to ultimately cast off everything else, including her life and all, but she was happy… because in the end, not only she had protected this world, but she and Janus had also established their last line of defense against the ambitions of Alfred Pegasus.

And this defense… was a person she’s fixing his tussled hair.

Terra spent one last glance at a message window that was displayed on Siva’s vision.

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[Recovery Options: 1]

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Before, it had [two] and now, it was down to one.

She made a sigh, and smiled warmly at him. “Your gift of choosing between mortality and divinity… that’s the reason why I chose to sacrifice my divinity back then to free you of the burden your gift had brought upon you… You are the only one of the countless deities who had the ability to choose Mortality and Immortality. But I am the only one who can free you of the burden of your memories while Janus created the opportunity to let you go back to the life that you should live…”

At this point, Terra had a look as if she was reminiscing as she looked at Siva eye to eye as if remembering the memories of those days.

Then, she looked towards the wall of the cellar dungeon as if her gaze were piercing through space and locking on to that ‘golem’ before shifting towards the hangar bays to the west.

She then looked back at Siva warmly. “Silly child, this world… had nothing more that you should be concerning yourself with… aside from the fact that you have a family member who, in my opinion, is already on his way to safety at this moment —only if you’d let go of that hate and release their bodies’ spirit.”

“Mother I…” Siva stammered but he lowered his head, clenching his fist. The tears in his eyes is yet to dry and stop, as his body shook and he gritted his teeth to try to release his hatred even for just a little bit.

“I understand your concerns, child. But don’t let your hatred of the other children cloud your judgement and reason… they too… had just been pushed by the will that is called ‘Survival’… they did it for me, so don’t blame them. It is because of our common enemy that we should be united, not the other way around where we all move with an excuse driven by the will of The One’s greed…”

Upon remembering the end of that war, 56 years ago, Siva teared up again and began to sob like a silly child who dropped his candy.

[Shiva] is Siva’s divinity, and the him, right now, is [Siva] who had remembered everything that Terra had done to protect him at that time.

“Let go of your spirit, at least for now… try to use your gift, understand their pain… I am not just your mother. I am the mother of all living souls of this vast Terran Universe.”

Siva really felt hate whenever he recalled how that war ended 56 years ago.

His fist trembled, his arms shook, his body looked like it was shivering from cold as he ‘tried’ to let go of his hate… the only thing that he found to be his only redeeming factor.

“Siva… please…”

The reason why he can’t seem to let go of this hate, especially now, is because not only did the survivors of that so called “Janus Alliance” not help them in times of their need, but they, given his authority and power at that time which called for their help, despite having been freed from their cages using his own powers, did not take even a single step to help Terra survive the war.

What more… at that time, he ‘remembered’ who he was in the real world and thus, when he saw Terra’s face having the face of his mother in real life, all the more he embedded this hatred to his very bones.

He watched her sacrifice herself in order to lock his memories and his desire to end the very world that Terra and Janus fought to protect because of his hate.

In the end, he used the last of his power to lock those bastards down in the very same cage that he opened himself.

Right now… for Terra, Siva was trying his best to hold his hatred in.

*****

As such, the area that his [spirit] had influence in gradually subsided, eventually reaching that point where the Cyclone Jack was about to board the out of the city hovered above the street of Alexandria.

When City Lord Billion felt the ‘gravity magic’ got dispelled on him, he didn’t linger for a moment before he yelled for Jack to run and get away.

“Don’t look back! Just go!”

One of Jack’s team jumped on the pilot seat and piloted the Cyclone.

Jack peeked one last time towards Billion and the two could only nod at each other while the former held the kid safely while the hatch door closed and the dry turbid winds of battles whipped their faces dry.

At the back of the Cyclone, the burst engine let go of a concentrated amount of burned firestones and compressed air.

BOOM!

The Cyclone left a black trail of afterimages as it tore through the distance of a kilometer in a mere two-three seconds.

The members of The Legion could only curse and bitterly fight their way and kill Billion’s party who continued to block their way.

Still, Billion had no regrets even if he dies here…

He had done a meritorious job for The Union and he was sure that given the size of the quest that [The Providence] entails, he has a 100% chance to get a reward.

*****

No one knew of what they were talking about aside perhaps for Thorn who had an inkling sense of familiarity to this topic.

And yet, as familiar as it is, and although he could connect this ‘familiar’ topic to that which he once saw on his father’s desk computer that day, the very notion of ‘Immortality’ itself was an incredulously ridiculous thought.

More than that, Thorn could pick up some clues from Terra’s words that ‘Siva’s memories’ were sealed for some reason.

If that is true, then perhaps when she said that this ‘Siva’ is the divinity part of the Siva that they have been talking about, then that so called ‘Project Salvation’-something on his father’s computer had perhaps something to do with Rex/Siva’s sealed memories.

If so, Thorn could only grit his teeth and wish, hope, and pray, that there would come a time that he doesn’t have to draw his sword and cut down Rex’s [Siva Avatar] himself.

—of course, right now, Thorn has no idea that Loni, his very Vice Captain herself, had just become an agent for the completion of Project Salvation which her grandfather piloted.

“Rex… you have to hold on…” Thorn could only pray innately to his heart.