The Gamer's POV-Chapter 210: Once Upon A Time [1]

’Wake up, Cedric...’~~

...

’Can you hear me, Cedric?’~~

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’Cedric?’~~

...

Cedric’s eyes slowly fluttered open. His vision was blurred but slowly, it began to settle and when it did, the first thing he saw was the ceiling of a large chamber.

He blinked slowly, and when he drew in a breath, he could smell soot in the air.

’Where am I?’

He groaned as his entire body ached, but surprisingly, it wasn’t too much that he couldn’t sit up.

’What happened? Didn’t I die?’

He could immediately tell that the pain in his body meant that he didn’t die. However, he was also confused because although he was feeling pains in his side and his jaw, it was not as searing as it should be if he didn’t die.

The blunt trauma from the mace and the punch should have left him unable to move, yet here he was, drawing breath without his lungs collapsing.

Slowly, he pushed himself off the floor, then his eyes caught what looked like a bowl with a bit of medicine in it.

Cedric’s confusion deepened.

He looked around the chamber that was lit up by braziers casting eerie blue flames against the damp stone. As he swept his gaze around, Cedric could see that the walls had paintings on them, but he didn’t linger because he suddenly flinched when he heard a sound like the page of a book being turned.

He quickly turned fully, then saw that seated on the ground behind him, with his legs crossed, was Argentos.

The creature looked remarkably calm with his eyes fixed on the tome in his lap. He didn’t look up immediately, but the corner of his mouth quirked into a faint, knowing shadow of a smile.

Cedric stiffened and was about to instinctively summon his bond, when Argentos spoke without looking up from his book.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you."

The voice was calm, yet it carried a weight that made Cedric’s hand pause mid-air.

Cedric thoughts began to race and he called immediately called out to Aika.

’Aika?’~

’Yes.’~~

’I do not understand. What is happening?’~

’I have no idea too. After you were knocked out, they brought you here, and one of them began to nurture you. I couldn’t get you out because during the last one week, there’s been at least three hollow ones watching over you at all times.’~~

Cedric’s blood ran cold. One week? What the hell was happening?

He turned to Argentos who was still reading, and asked, "What is this? Why didn’t you kill me?"

He felt extremely weak, so his voice was barely audible. Argentos looked up from his book and locked his eyes into Cedric’s. The blue light from the braziers reflected in his pupils, making them look like two cold, distant stars.

As Cedric stared into those beautiful blue eyes, he couldn’t help but feel like he was staring into the sad eyes of a human.

’Why does it feel like I’m looking into the eyes of a man?’

Argentos sighed and finally looked away. Then, in a low, somber voice, he muttered, "You failed. So, I will kill you. Just as I said I would. However, before that..."

He looked up at Cedric again, and this time, it looked like he was pleading. "...would you like to hear our story?"

’Huh? He wants to tell me his story?’

That was so out of the blue that Cedric was stunned for a moment.

He didn’t know why, maybe he was curious, maybe he just wanted to delay the inevitable, but he nodded to Argentos.

When he did, he was sure he could see a small smile touch the creature’s lips.

Argentos looked up, but was quiet for a moment. Eventually, he pointed to the wall by the side which was filled with paintings of people. Cedric followed his hand, studying the paintings properly this time.

He could identify what looked like a garden, and in this garden, people were kneeling around a pregnant woman who held a flower in her hand. She looked radiant, her presence filling the frame with a sense of peace that felt alien.

Small children seemed to be playing in a different section of the garden. They were running around fruit trees and fountains, and amongst these children, monstrous babies could be seen. These babies held what looked like dolls made of clay.

Several meters beside the babies, an even more beautiful garden stretched out. And in that garden, humanoid creatures with goat heads were lounging amidst the tall grass.

A mixed look of understanding and confusion crossed Cedric’s face as he studied the paintings.

"It seems that you have already figured out the paintings," Argentos said, his words causing Cedric to suddenly turn to him.

"It’s the first ring. Or what used to be of it?" Cedric asked weakly.

"The first ring?" Argentos seemed a bit confused, but then he bobbed his head back. "Oh... is that what you humans from the cradle call this realm?"

Cedric arched a brow. ’Cradle?’

Now, he was even more confused. Was that what the realm of the empires was called?

Cedric grew lost in thought, only for Argentos’s voice to snap him back.

"This realm is called Hortus Conclusus. It was a beautiful, beautiful realm belonging to the goddess, Proserpina." Argentos turned back to the paintings, his voice heavy with nostalgia. "In fact, I once overheard the first brother of our goddess say that it was the most beautiful and most vibrant out of the seven realms belonging to the royal family."

"Huh? Seven realms? Royal family? Which Royal family?"

Cedric was having quite a hard time understanding the creature.

Argentos looked at him, then exhaled. After thinking a bit, he lowered his head, "More than a thousand years ago, there was once a powerful family consisting of the Father, the Mother, and their six children. They all lived in the realm of the father known as the cradle."

’The cradle? Our world is the realm of the father?’ Cedric thought as he tried to process the information.

"I do not know about the realm of the mother," Argentos continued. "But as for the children, what I do know is that out of the six children, only five were blessed with realms of their own."

He looked at Cedric with his piercing blue eyes. "This is the realm of one of the children. The youngest sibling, Proserpina."

Cedric began to feel a slight headache throb at the back of his head. Ignoring it, he asked.

"If they all had realms, why didn’t one of the siblings have one?"

"I do not know," Argentos replied. "What I do know is that the family were not on good terms with this sibling."

When Argentos said that, Cedric felt the headache at the back of his head suddenly intensify.

However, he tried to suppress it and not let it show. He needed to get as much information as possible from this creature.

Fortunately, at that moment, a message popped up.

[The exclusive attribute Gamer Privileges has detected a distraction from immersion in the Gamer.]

[Cause of distraction: Pain derived as a consequence of prying into the nature of the gods.]

[Gamer Privileges has activated a Non-diegetic barrier.]

[Due to the effects of the Non-diegetic barrier, the Gamer has been granted a slight Pain mitigation.]

’Nice one, gamer privileges.’ Cedric’s lips weakly curled up slightly when he saw the notifications.

"Anyway, I digress." Argentos waved a hand dismissively as he pointed back to the painting. Then he continued, "Although this beautiful realm had lots of wonderful creatures, they were lots of humans too."

He raised his metal hand and rotated it slowly, then said. "Just like us who were once human."

Cedric’s eyes widened and he turned to Argentos. "What?"