Realm of Monsters-Chapter 705: Archive
Chapter 705: Archive
Aurelia ran through the woods, the ashen trees blurring at the edge of her vision. She ran with every ounce of energy she had left in her body, even as she bled between her legs. Her muscles burned as needles stabbed them. The thought of her mother’s passing tore at her heart worse than any sword. And through it all, the baby in her arms cried incessantly.
Stryg watched from his mother and infant self from a distance. Aurelia’s tear-stricken eyes and gasping breath were like his own. He could feel her pain leeching through the memory.
A root hidden by fallen leaves caught Aurelia by surprise and she fell with a scream. Turning as best she could, she cushioned her son’s fall with her own body. Aurelia lay there on the ground, staring up at the moonless sky filled with stars.
“What are you crying for?” Aurelia whispered in a broken voice. “You’re alright, aren’t you? I’m the one who fell and hurt my back. I should be the one crying…”
The baby’s cries somehow grew louder at her words. His every breath was a small, ragged gasp. He was struggling just to breathe and still he cried.
“Why… Why can’t you just SHUT UP!!!” Aurelia screamed, her voice breaking down into a hoarse cry. She curled up around her baby and wept for all she had lost.
Despite knowing his mother wasn’t in a sound state of mind, her words were still daggers of guilt slowly piercing his gut. He could do nothing but watch his mother struggle for her life.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry,” the older Stryg whispered in a choked voice.
An owl hooted in the distance. Stryg glanced up to see a massive white owl standing on a branch, high up in a tree. Its lilac eyes stared down at the goblin and her child.
It took Stryg a moment to recognize who he was looking at. His father had been there, though Aurelia did not notice him. Death’s focus wasn’t on her, but rather the baby. Stryg realized his father was evaluating him.
After a long moment, the owl leaped off the branch and flew silently into the night. And just like that, Stryg knew he was unworthy. Most hybrid offspring of titans did not inherit the blood of chaos; they were mortal. Stryg was meant to be no different. He was an anomaly.
Holo had told him that when they had met, Stryg had exhibited very little chaos. The chaos within his second heart had only grown since he had awakened his chromatic abilities, only growing faster after his experience at the Shadow Lake, and finally reaching maturity during his battle against the dragonbane.
But here, at this very moment in the dark forest of Vulture Woods, the blue infant in Aurelia’s arms was nothing more than a crying, mortal baby.
“This is all your fault,” Aurelia mumbled to her child.
Stryg grimaced at her words. He looked into her yellow eyes and saw the desperation and loss within. She was lost. And she was alone. “Is this why you never told me the truth?” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Because you didn’t want me?”
“This is not what you envisioned for your life, is it?” a deep voice rumbled.
Aurelia sat up in shock and looked around worriedly as frost-mist began to rise all around her. “W-Who’s there!?”
“You know who I am, child.” The frost-mist slowly melted away and revealed a giant frost wolf towering over her. The wolf had a snow-white coat and deep scarlet eyes that seemed to bore right through her.
“Lunae,” Stryg whispered. She had been there? On the moonless night he was born, Lunae had been right there. Why?
The memory abruptly fell apart in shadows and Stryg found himself in the pitch-dark world of the book of memories once more.
“No!” he yelled. “Show me what happened next!” he demanded the orb of light hanging above him. “I know you can understand me. Take me back to that memory.”
The keeper of memories floated down from the sky until it was standing at eye level. “Apologies, that was the last of the memories Aurelia Veres placed within my archives.” It spoke with Stryga’s, but it was slightly off.
Stryg jumped back a step. The voice reminded him of the memory spell infused within Krikolm and how the sword had spoken with the voice of his ancestors. “What are you?”
“I am a magical construct memory archive imbued with the partial essence of Stryga Veres. You may call me Archive,” its voice echoed through the darkness.
“Her essence…? Is that why you sound like my great-grandmother?”
“Yes. I was created by Stryga Veres for the sole purpose of storing and accessing memories of the Veres bloodline regarding incidents related to Stjerne, god of the stars. Simply give me the command, spoken or silent, and I will accede to your wishes.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Okay, I think I can work with this— you, I mean,” Stryg nodded to himself.
“Excellent. I am currently linked with your mind and will serve as your guide throughout your stay within the archive’s mental space. Would you like to store memories regarding Stjerne within the archives?”
“No.”
“Would you like me to show you the memories stored within the archives?”
“Yes. I want to see the rest of that last memory of my mother.”
“...Apologies, I cannot accede to your wish. There is no more left in that memory.”
“That can’t be,” he shook his head. “My mother wouldn’t have left half a memory in the book. Within you,” he corrected himself.
“Stryga Veres created me to store memories regarding encounters with Stjerne.”
“Yes, you told me that. And my father left that memory already, I get that. But not all the memories I’ve seen have my father in them.”
“...The past owners of this book stored only memories related to Stjerne.”
Stryg sighed. “I understand, Archive, but what about the memory of my grandmother? She spoke to me. That wasn’t about my father, right?” 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
“Past owners can choose what to store within my archives.”
“So you’re not technically limited to only memories of Stjerne. Okay. I want to see the rest of my mother’s last memory. The part I didn’t see.”
“...Apologies, I cannot accede to your wish. There is no more left in that memory.”
“I don’t believe you. Why would my mother only place half a memory within you? It doesn’t make sense. Show me the rest.”
“...Apologies, I cannot accede to your wish. There is no more left in that memory.”
Stryg glared at the keeper and began to channel Purple and Brown. He placed his hands on the orb and cast a mind spell upon it. If this place was built from brown and purple magic, then he could influence it just the same. “Archive, I am your owner, right?”
“Correct.”
“Then I order you to show me the rest of my mother’s memory.”
The orb’s white light glowed slightly brighter. “...Apologies, I cannot accede to your wish. There is no more left in that memory.”
Stryg grit his teeth and pushed his magic further. “Show me what my mother was hiding. Did she not want me?”
“...Apologies, I cannot accede to your wish. You have seen everything in these memories.”
“These? Are you implying there are memories I haven’t seen? What was my mother hiding? Tell me.”
“...Apologies, there is nothing left in your mother’s archives—”
“—Are you sure about that?”
The orb remained silent for a long moment. “...Yes.”
“Damn you, show me the memories I haven’t seen!”
“As you wish.” The orb flared brightly with violet light.
Needles of agony stabbed into his head. Stryg released the orb and fell to his knees, clutching his head while roaring in pain. The orb of light abruptly flickered out and vanished. The darkness melted away all around him and Stryg felt himself falling.
Lunae was looming above him in her wolfen form, mere centimeters away; fangs bared, silver eyes staring down at him. Aurelia’s cry sounded in the near distance. A small, chubby blue hand entered his vision as if it were his own, and touched Lunae’s nose. The goddess blinked in surprise.
The world faded back into darkness and Stryg was falling once more. He landed hard on his back. The pain stabbing into his head began to fade away and the darkness melted into a blue sunny sky and a red canopy of leaves. He was in Vulture Woods.
He felt the grass underneath his hands and sat up. Ashen trees surrounded him from all sides. He glanced around, searching for Aurelia, but he was alone.
A toddler ran and stumbled out of the trees and right in front of him. The little blue goblin lost his balance and tipped over, but caught himself at the last moment. Straightening back up, the young Stryg went right back to running through the trees as fast as his short legs could take him.
It was odd seeing his child self. Whatever frustration and pain he felt before was offset by the sight of the toddler; he looked so innocent with that bright look in his eyes. Stryg could not remember a time he ever felt so free.
Accustomed to the world of memories, Stryg stood and followed his toddler self, while keeping an eye out for Aurelia. She had to be close by.
The toddler kept walking in a beeline, cutting past trees and bushes, determined to get somewhere. Stryg didn’t recognize this part of the forest. He wondered if the child even knew where he was going.
Suddenly, the trees cleared and revealed a small, lush grove with a pristine pool at its center. It was startlingly calm, save for the giant white wolf lying beside the pool.
“Lunae?” Stryg whispered. What was she doing here? What was he doing here? How was this even possible? He had met Lunae before?
“Luma!” the toddler pointed at her.
The wolf cracked a silver eye open. “Ugh, the little pest has returned.”
The toddler laughed in delight, then ran to her and clambered up her fur. Lunae rolled her eyes and huffed, but she made no effort to stop him.
Stryg stared at the two in shock. Since when did a goddess allow a toddler to climb atop her like some sort of tree?
He frowned and looked around. Where was his mother? Was she watching her child from afar? Is that why he couldn’t see her?
Stryg glanced back at Lunae, only to find his child-self sitting atop her head, playing with her ears. Lunae would flap one ear and he would giggle and try to grab it, but she would lower the ear and raise the other. It was like a game of cat and mouse and the toddler was losing terribly, though he clearly couldn’t be happier.
Lunae didn’t bother to get the child off her head; rather, she cracked a smile.
“Is she actually playing with him? With me?” Stryg wondered in disbelief.
He gave one last look around the small grove.
My mother isn’t here, but this is her memory. Unless—
His eyes widened as an impossible thought began to take shape in his mind. He slowly looked back at the little Stryg laughing and playing with not a care in the world. “Archive, whose memory is this…?”
The orb of light appeared next to him. “Yours, as requested.”
