480 Holy Son (2/2)
”We underestimated her. I didn't realize until I found her secret lab that she had never thought of using the holy blood as a bargaining chip with the Sacred City. All plans in the purgatory were to pave way for her final goal. We helped her pave this road so that she could…implant the holy blood in her own body! She wanted to create an unmatchable miracle. She personally turned a human into a natural catastrophe and carried it in her womb!
”I used ten months to find her in a village besieged by demons. When I found her, she was close to death and I thought she had failed. I was wrong.” Gaius squatted down. Holding Charles's face, his eyes grew wild. ”Charles, she succeeded! She created you! Different from the 'vessels,' you're the only physical incarnate of the holy blood in history!
”Don't you feel it? You're different from the others. You were born to rise above all. Your nature determined your difference from the average man. When I saw you again, I knew that she truly had given birth to God's child! The Bible was correct. Charles, you will walk on this earth in place of God, revaluing all.
”You came to this world so we will muster our troops and once again shake the skies, seas, and land. You will shake the world! All treasures will come for you and create the temple of glory for you!”
Charles stared blankly at the fire in Gaius's eyes. He seemed to had heard a horrible joke, so horrible that he could not even smile.
”Liar…” Charles choked. Using all his might, he shook off Gaius's hand. ”You're all liars!” Clutching his throbbing head, he mumbled in pain, ”Mother… I remember she was pretty when she smiled. She was still smiling when she died!”
Yes, that woman had been smiling.
”When she saw me, she smiled so gently…she's a good person, I remember, she'd rather die than kill me…”
She was not a freak. She was not!
”I remember it…I always remember it…” Charles sobbed in pain. With the last of his strength, he screamed at Gaius, ”She clearly said in her last moment…she said she was happy!”
Gaius looked at him silently. He allowed Charles to scream in hysteria and accepted the blows without moving. He allowed Charles to shake him in craze.
Finally, Charles had no more strength. He knelt onto the ground like a poor thing without bones. Tears and snot streamed down his face. He bowed his head to Gaius. ”Let me go, sir.” Kneeling, he tugged at Gaius's pants and mumbled, ”Let go of me and my teacher. I can even lick your boots. I just wanted to make some money for Professor. I'm not even a good musician, sir. You must be wrong. I'm not the child of some god. I'm just a failure.”
”Charles, why can't you face your true self?” Gaius petted his hair gently. His eyes were soft and filled with pity. ”Fate is the key. It had already awakened your true nature. You're different from before.
”The average man cannot choose their fate but you can create a different future. It is supernatural power and the foundation to reach the Originator. It had chosen you. You are now its owner.
”The new era will come. We are all dirt before its wheels. Everything will change because of you. This is a destined revolution and I cannot stop it. No one can.”
Charles stopped speaking. He just cooled down as if all warmth was taken away. Finally, he raised his pale face. His eyes were like dead ashes. He begged the man before him as if begging for salvation.
”Mr. Constantine, everything you said to me…you're lying, right?”
Gaius looked away, not daring to meet his eyes. After a long while, he nodded slowly. ”Yes, your mother is just a poor mute woman who was taken as a lab rat. Everything I said was a lie.” His back was to Charles and his expression was hidden.
A slimmer of hope lit up in Charles's eyes. He crawled up and asked fearfully, ”Was her life happy?”
After a pause, Gaius shook his head. ”No,” he murmured. ”She was the daughter of a poor fisherman. She sacrificed herself in exchange for money to cure her brother. She was a kind woman and always had been. She sacrificed everything for you.”
”I knew it!” Charles tugged his sleeves. ”Was Professor forced like this too?”
”Yes, I used the past to threaten him and force him to work with me.”
”I see.” Charles smiled. He was clearly crying but he was happy as if finally freed. He embraced Gaius in gratitude and said excitedly, ”Then…can I still go home?” He was full of anticipation. ”Like before, everyone's happy together. I can still fool around with Yezi, give Professor trouble, mess around with Bai Xi, and scare kids with Old Phil at night… Sir, I can still do that, right? I know you have solutions.”
Gaius closed his eyes sadly and did not answer.
”Sir?” Charles's smile froze on his face. Crying, he grabbed Gaius's shoulder. ”Sir, why aren't you speaking? You aren't lying again, are you?”
”I'm sorry, Charles. I can't do it.” Gaius shook his head. ”You deserve everything but only this is impossible.”
This was the last judgement.
Charles stopped crying and stopped smiling. It had finally dawned on him; he finally understood the future waiting for him. He hung his head in hopelessness as if he had lost his soul.
Gaius reached out. He wiped Charles's tears and snot with his handkerchief, wiping his face clean. Under the dim firelight, Charles seemed to have been reborn. The blank face was beautiful as if made by God. It was flawless, despite the fact that it was lifeless.
Boom! Another explosion came. The entire place seemed to shake on the brink of collapse. Cracks snaked across the walls. They did not have much time left.
”Come with me, Charles. Come with me.” Gaius reached out with solemn eyes. As if he was facing a powerful deity, he requested humbly and gravely, ”You are the child born from the holy blood. You are different from the pope. You are the one who should inherit the Holy Cauldron. You will make this world better!”
Staring at Charles's face, he said hoarsely, ”I swear to you, I will bring you back some day so you can take back all you deserve! Someday, you will take back the life you lost!”
Charles looked in silence. After a long, long time, fire lit up in those empty eyes again. Like thunder colliding with fire, the power was overbearing. Looking at Gaius's hand, he reached out and grasped it.
As if grasping his last salvation, it was filled with hope.
-
The shaking grew in intensity. Deep under the secret territory, in the lowest level of the purgatory, Wolf Flute stood with his lantern. The light illuminated the top secret archive. The dust-filled room was completely silent. Not even a ghost would stay here.
Wolf Flute walked in the darkness. Following the signs, he opened a door and studied the files stored there. After all these years, the files had aged. Shelved by category, the documents smelled like old paper and had all yellowed. These records of past experiments were placed here, sleeping where no one would ever visit.
Wolf Flute murmured the numbers in his mind and pulled out the innermost document. Confirming that it was the right one, he nodded and brought the lantern closer. The flame crawled onto the paper and swallowed it.
Wolf Flute let go, allowing it to fall onto the ground. The flames spread like an insatiable creature, gradually sweeping the entire archive into its belly. Thus, the last trace of the past disappeared with the fire.
Wolf Flute turned and left.
In the spreading fire, in the ashes, the remaining ink marks seemed to come to life. They danced in the fire. Wind came from somewhere and the picture between the pages floated out.
The woman who had died danced in the fire like a butterfly.
The buried stories disappeared. No one would ever know about them.