Chapter 707 Erased Memories
'The last of the real blood of us Godbeasts'?!
This statement made Daneel instantly widen his eyes, and seeing this, the Shapeshifter chuckled.
"Haha, I knew that would catch your interest! Did you think that Fenoras was the only one who cared that our Bloodlines should be passed down? Any race is concerned with self-preservation, first and foremost, and we are no different. Unknown to even him, we came together to create a last bastion where we hid a few weapons, and more importantly, our blood. This blood is the same which is passed on when we grant someone our Bloodline, so it can be used for this purpose. Everyone thought that we died during the Apocalypse, but instead, our plan was to perish there, before the Madness took us. At least, that is the decision we made, and I doubt that there was any change. After all, this is just a wisp that only knows what happened before it was implanted as a Hidden Bloodline."
Daneel honestly couldn't believe his ears. After obtaining all of the memories of the Emperor, he had begun to think that there couldn't be anything from the past that could surprise him.
However, in this matter, he had already been proven wrong not once, but twice.
The first time had been the discovery of that village, and the second was now.
As Daneel remembered that village in this manner, though, he suddenly got a suspicion.
"Did you…perchance also establish an organization that would survive and place those who were born with Hidden Bloodlines in situations where an Awakening would happen in their future? When they are children, itself, I mean."
Daneel was about to explain further, but he suddenly once again remembered that he was an open book.
As his memories had already been read by the Shapeshifter, he must already know what he was talking about, and when the stylish man raised his eyebrows and looked at Daneel, the King of Lanthanor almost began to feel proud that he had made that connection.
Yet…the answer of the Shapeshifter wiped away that thought.
Scoffing, he said, "Pfft, why would you get that impression? Haven't you already realized that we Godbeasts believe in destiny? Doing something like that would directly go against that belief, don't you think? If our Bloodline is going to Awaken, we wish for it to happen in natural ways. The Emperor wanted this, too, even though he and your race never believed in destiny because you could neither see, or detect it. We called you foolish behind your backs for this reason, but I seem to be straying from my point. Yes, I noticed this in your memory, too, but I cannot imagine, for the life of me, who might be responsible for such a crazy idea. I will not state my opinion about this, but I can tell you one thing: even in the erased memories of the Emperor, you will not find a clue regarding this, as Fenoras believed, just like us, that the Hidden Bloodlines would naturally be able to Awaken when the continent's Will felt a need for that to happen. They would naturally gravitate towards situations that would cause it, with no intervention needed, whatsoever."
At first, the answer had made Daneel nod, as it was logical. Even before, the Shapeshifter had spoken about destiny, but Daneel had thought that it might just be a normal term he had used, instead of a belief in something that almost sounded like a religion from Earth. When he found out that it was the latter, it was quite surprising, yet…it was nowhere near the other thing that stood out to Daneel in the man's long statement.
"Wait…erased memories? What the hell are those?"
He couldn't help but curse, as it had hit him out of the blue. Xandar had even mentioned it casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
This resulted in the man smiling and saying, "Did you really think that you knew each and every thing that Fenoras did just because you accessed the memories in that remnant of his?"
Daneel answered automatically.
"Of course! There are no days or even moments of time that are missing…"
Raising a hand and laying it on Daneel's shoulder, Xandar interrupted him and shook his head while looking into his eyes, as if he was speaking to some naïve kid who had really dumb assumptions about the world.
Daneel almost felt like snapping at him, but he controlled himself.
After having his moment of fun, he opened his mouth and finally said, "Consider this. What if an advanced force whose means we cannot even imagine arrives and takes control of an Empire Spirit? If you were that force, wouldn't you break through the seals and forcefully go through the memories left behind in the remnant to find all the details of all the secret plans that might be there to stop you from invading and thoroughly wiping out the continent?"
As soon as he heard this, Daneel, who had been sitting with his back straight ever since he had given his answer, collapsed against the back of the chair as he imagined the scenario that the Shapeshifter had just placed in front of him.
Indeed…wasn't that a vulnerability that might just spell their doom?
It really would be the prime priority of any invading force, and just thinking about all the information that was present in the Emperor's memories regarding the Big Four and the Bloodlines falling into the hands of their enemies made Daneel shudder.
Xandar spoke again after seeing that Daneel had clearly understood the implications of what he had said.
"For that exact purpose, Fenoras was going to erase some of his memories in all of the fragments he would be leaving behind. He, himself, wouldn't remember that they had happened, and even if this worst case scenario occurs, all might not be doomed. I can guarantee that they might only be one or two things, but mark my words: when the time comes, they will make a difference. Of course, in the same way, our bastion's goal was also to accomplish the same thing. So, do you want it or not?"
Daneel nodded right away while trying not to let hope bubble up inside him on hearing this.
Since as long as he could remember, fighting against the Church, even with the Grand Inheritance, had been an almost hopeless venture.
After all, it was a valid thought that they might have as many Heroes as Angaria had Champions, which would mean that if, no, when they came in full force instead of only diverting a few resources to this endeavor like they had been doing so far, it was very possible that the war might just involve them being completely dominated and destroyed.
Still, Daneel had marched on with confidence in himself, and even now, it wasn't wavering. He was confident that he would figure out a way, yet…the thought that there might be some help where he had always expected there to be none, did give him quite a considerable bit of encouragement.
It was not that he had needed it, but having it felt…good.
Yet, after thinking for a bit, Daneel made a decision.
Although he knew this now, he would proceed as if nothing had been revealed to him. Whatever was hidden would be revealed when the time came, but he would not depend on it. No, the more ready they were to meet the Church, the better it would be, and the more people they would be able to save, so the King of Lanthanor decided on this and looked up to meet Xandar's gaze again.
"All right, then, my time will also be up, soon. This wisp was never supposed to be able to function for long, and defeating your defenses took quite a bit of effort. I have no advice to give to you, but I do wish to tell you one thing. Thank you. Thank you for choosing to fight for this land that I, and all other Godbeasts call our mother and deity. On behalf of all the Godbeasts of Angaria, I wish you luck, and I hope you succeed. Now, coming to our bastion. We aptly named it the 'Treasury of the Gods', and even though I wish I could change the rules for you, you will only be granted access. We put something special in place there to only award those who are worthy with the precious resources that we died to produce and save, so you will have to do certain things to obtain them. Just go to this place in the continent and say "I may take many shapes, but the shape of my heart shall forever stay true: I come in the name of Xandar, Seventh in the Line of The Noble Seven, and I beseech you to grant me entry." It's a password, of sorts, but take special note of the intonations I just used, because even if one of them is wrong, you will die. Understood?"
Daneel nodded seriously and asked Xandar to repeat once, and after that, he closed his eyes and memorized it.
After all, he couldn't expose that he had the system, which meant that he didn't need to do this.
When this was done, Xandar clapped Daneel's shoulders one last time and said, "I hate sappy goodbyes. So get the f*ck out of here, and go take the world into your hands. Farewell, King."
With these words, Daneel watched as the sight in front of him…broke, into tiny pieces, following which he fainted.
When he woke up, he was once again in his quarters, and as he asked the system how much time had passed, the answer surprised him.
An entire day had gone by.
After this, though, Daneel did something completely natural.
He took a step forward.
Only….that step made him fly forward, and with a loud sound, the King of Lanthanor hit the wall of his quarters and slid to the ground.
However, the strange thing was that he wasn't hurt at all, and just as he was about to ask the system what the f*ck had happened, he realized something he had forgotten due to all that had happened during his baptism that had been supposed to go 'smoothly'.
He…was finally a goddamn Champion!
Granted, he was a Champion only as a Fighter, and he had one of the trashiest Bloodlines possible.
However…a Champion was a Champion, and they just couldn't be compared with a puny Warrior who had been stuck in that realm for so long.
Standing up gingerly, Daneel tested the newfound strength that he felt throughout his body.
This must be one of the most undramatic breakthroughs in the history of the continent, but that was just the power of Bloodlines.
Any Bloodline Possessor, even if they had pretty low talent, would be able to cross the chasm that stopped so, so many if they were able to endure the Baptism.
Daneel was overjoyed, as he had missed the feeling of seeing his strength grow. It felt like it had been forever since the last time it had happened, and right now, he felt a burning urge…to fight.
Recently, he had been doing just a little too much of scheming, and he longed for the raw feeling of getting into a fight with no holds barred.
Win or lose, that adrenaline rush and the experience of feeling one's red-hot blood pump through their body could not be replaced by anything else.
Pausing, he considered his options.
The first was Faxul, but Daneel didn't want to choose this one, as he was pretty sure that he might lose. It wasn't that he would feel ashamed. No, he had already seen his friend getting a bit arrogant, and if this happened, it might shoot through the roof.
The objective was to only battle as a Fighter, so he needed a better target.
Getting an idea, Daneel instantly touched the communication trinket at his waist and said, "Rayen, meet me in the underground dueling ring in 10 minutes. I have something I need to…er, discuss with you."