Finding my Parents in Another World-Chapter 59: (Zoe) Champion of the Goddess

Zoe didn’t know how to respond. The artificial Zoltran had given her a lot of information, in too short a timespan to digest everything.

"So wait," She said, thinking furiously, "you fought besides the Kingdom of the Goddess during the Great War?"

"Indeed." Came the swift reply.

"In this form?"

"Of course not. I was a premier artificial being created by the Goddess. I was in prime adult combat form." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"So then why this form now?"

Zoltran looked away, anguished. "Because that’s the last instruction the Goddess gave me."

"You saw the Goddess after the War ended?"

"No. No one ever saw her after that. But before the end of the War, before the final confrontation in Ciudad De Oro, our previous Champion was slain in battle.

The Goddess was shook by that. Shook yes, but not broken no. Even at that time she alone had the foresight to see what dangerous weapons these Treasures that the Champion wielded could be in the hands of our enemies. Therefore the Goddess took nine of the best of us, the most trusted of the artificial beings that the Goddess commands and told us to safekeep these Treasures. One treasure for each of us to safekeep."

"And thus you were chosen as the guardian of the Spear?"

Zoltran nodded. "Of course all of us protested tremendously. We wanted to stay beside the Goddess, support her Kingdom especially when it had just lost its strongest warrior. But, the Goddess kept repeating that this was more important. That stopping Apocalypse was much more important than that useless War."

Zoltran fell quiet, his eyes downcast.

"But what is the Apocalypse?" Zoe repeated once more.

Zoltran looked up, more in frustration than anger and almost shouted out, "I don’t know! Who are these kids? Who are these villagers? Where is the Goddess? I don’t know. I have spent the last thousand years searching for answers and I have found none."

Zoe decided to change her direction of questioning, this line was leading nowhere.

"You said I can’t open this Tower like this?"

"Tochte Tower yes." Zoltran answered nodding.

"What is this Tochte Tower?"

"It holds the next part of the riddle."

"The riddle?"

"Yes the answers to your, and mine, questions. They are inside that Tower, but that Tower is not accessible inside this Spear. You need to find the next Treasure of the Goddess to progress further."

Zoe took a sharp breath. She had never considered the possibility that these memories, or history as artificial Zoltran called them, were actually trying to tell the story. The story of something, now what that was she didn’t know.

"Wait you said I need to find the next treasure?"

Zoltran nodded. "Haven’t you guessed by now? You are the next Champion of the Goddess."

.XX.

Zoe stood still for a moment dumbfounded. Even when she spoke after that, her throat was dry.

"Wha...what do you mean? Surely you are making a mistake?"

"No mistake. You have the mark of the Goddess on you."

"The mark of the Goddess?" Zoe looked over herself, but she didn’t see anything unusual.

"Yes, the mark of the Goddess identifies the next Champion. That is how it used to work when the Goddess was with us. After she disappeared, there was no more Champions for a thousand years. For these years I beckoned suitable people to come and find the Spear, just so I could hope, I could find another with the mark.

Alas there was no one and for a thousand years I have been forced to trap soul after soul in this wasteland, until I could find the next candidate."

A chill went over Zoe. This being was responsible for those voices she heard from the Spear? For holding the souls of its Holders captive just so they could find the presence of a Goddess who had abandoned them?

A look of disdain came upon Zoe’s face almost involuntarily. Zoltran noticed it and gave her a wry smile.

"Judging my choices huh? Well I don’t blame you. From your perspective I must seem like a monster, forcing innocent warriors to become soulless husks, all because I wanted some sign of the Goddess. But," here Zoltran’s eyes flashed with passion, "but I want you to understand Champion.

My devotion to the Goddess is matched by no other emotion.

The Goddess has given me life, given me purpose.

For the sake of the Goddess, I can set fire to the whole universe if required.

And my purpose has been fulfilled after all, because you are in front of me. I have received confirmation that the Goddess yet lives, she has not abandoned us yet."

"You must be making a mistake. I don’t know your Goddess and I certainly don’t have her mark on me."

"But you do." And for the first time a genuine smile came upon Zoltran’s face. A smile of contentment. A smile of freedom.

"And now my vigil is ended."

With those words everything began to fade. The world, the burning smoke, the tower in front of her, and finally the artificial being in the shape of a child. Everything began to turn white. Zoe opened her mouth, so much was still unclear, she had so many questions! But no sound came out. Her form began to waver, and as the fading world around her began spinning, Zoe could hear one phrase being repeated again and again from the fading Zoltran.

Apocalypse

.XX.

There was a faint ringing sound in Zoe’s ears as she opened her eyes. She looked around frantically, half expecting that cursed green pasture to return around her.

Instead she found herself back inside the Caves, with AD looming over her.

"It seems you are back to conscious." The artificial being said matter of factly.

Zoe sat up and groaned. Her body pained from the exertion of the fights, and her mind pained with another kind of hurt all together. She looked up warily at AD.

"Did you know about the artificial being inside the Spear?" She asked, fully expecting AD to decline to answer.

The robot cloud shimmered around thoughtfully before she replied, "Affirmative, I was aware of the existence of Zoltran."

"So you know about Apocalypse and the history Zoltran talked about?"

"Negative. I have no information regarding this ’Apocalypse’. I only possess the information that the Goddess of Bounty chose nine of her artificial beings to guard her treasures after the fall of the Champion."

"Then do you know about the mark of the Goddess Zoltran spoke about?"

"Affirmative. The mark of the Goddess is a sign bestowed by the Goddess on mortals that she seems worthy of fighting beside her as her Champion. Only one mortal at a time is awarded this distinction."

"And I have the mark on me?"

AD was silent. For a long while. In fact Zoe began to wonder if the robot cloud had started malfunctioning when she finally spoke, "Affirmative, you do."

"And you knew that?"

"Affirmative. That is why I helped you in this fight."

And why you weren’t surprised I came back to consciousness.

"Tell me AD, did you know what the previous Holders were walking into when you led them into this cave? I mean of course you would have seen the absence of the mark on them, and yet you still led them to Zoltran to loose their souls forever?"

"Negative."

"What?" Zoe turned around surprised.

"Negative. I warned previous Holders multiple times that they did not posses the mark and therefore were destined to walk to their eventual defeats. However in most scenarios my warnings went unheeded."

Zoe frowned. Was this being lying? Somehow Zoe doubted that AD would be capable of the emotion necessary to warn people that they were walking to a fate worse than death. But again, on the other hand, Zoe also doubted AD would be capable of lying so brazenly.

I’ll choose to believe her.

Zoe let out a low sigh, and then suddenly another thought came into her head.

"Is the mark visible to humans?" She asked the robot cloud.

"Negative. Only the Goddess herself and artificial beings created by her can see the mark."

"Hmm, I see."

So neither Famina nor Father Andrews knew.

Zoe turned around, and then noticed the object she was clutching tightly on her left hand.

The Spear of the Goddess.

In her hands now, the weapon looked much like an ordinary spear but even now Zoe could feel the divine power pulsing within.

"Is this mine now?" She turned around and asked AD.

"Affirmative. The Spear of the Goddess is hereby bestowed to the new Champion, Zoe. And along with the Spear, you are also the owner of this."

AD held out her hand. There was a momentary shimmer and then as Zoe looked at her palm, she saw a key had materialized there. The key was golden, engraved with some unknown symbols, and one known symbol.

The number 3 was inscribed in the middle of the key.

"Wh...what is this the key to?" She asked hesitantly, unsure if the robot cloud would acquiesce this time.

"This is the third golden key to the Secret Library of the Capital of this kingdom. And now you are its sole owner."