Behind the Regression
Behind the Regression
Actually, he just wanted to confront the tree and asked it how he'd be able to follow Soleil Rosenberg in her next life. But he got something better than confronting the Great Fire Tree that betrayed them for Aku/Auro Moonchester.
And after gaining something beneficial from the garden, he froze it with his ice power.
"Until the end, Soleil is one step ahead of me," Kalel whispered to himself after he planted a branch of the Great Fire Tree. To be precise, it was the branch that Soleil purified when she "burned" the whole tree. "I should have known that the Great Fire Tree has been corrupted when it started siding with Auro Moonchester when it was supposed to be neutral."
<"Auro Moonchester, with the help of the Moon God, turned the Spirit of the Great Fire Tree with human memories and emotions,"> the branch of the Great Fire Tree said. <"Just like how the Moon God turned Auro Moonchester, the last moon, into a human.">
"Is that the reason the Great Fire Tree believes that Nia Moonchester was his "daughter?""
<"That's correct,"> the branch said. <"The Great Fire Tree has been too manipulated that only purification could get him back to normal. But Soleil Rosenberg didn't have enough Mana and flame to purify him completely since she cursed Nia and Auro Moonchester first. Thus, she was only able to purify a branch– and that's me.">
"Soleil still did a good job," he said. "It was as if she knew I'd come after her, so she left you for me to find."
<"I'm just glad that you found and save me, Nystrom.">
After finding the only branch that Soleil managed to purify, he immediately took it away and brought it to the North– the land that he governed.
He chose the cave that only he and Soleil knew. After that, he planted the purified branch in the snow. And later, once he got all the information he needed to follow Soleil, he would bury the cave in snow so no one else would find the purified branch.
"I didn't save you just because I wanted to," Kalel said sternly. "Tell me everything I need to know in order to follow Soleil."
<"You can't follow Soleil Rosenberg at the moment because her soul was sent to a different world,"> the branch said. <"Moreover, the Plane is currently under the Moon God's control.">
"Then what should I do?"
<"You need the Red Phoenix's help.">
"Winchell?" he asked, then he frowned. "Why him?"
<"Then would you like to kill your son?">
He froze when he heard that. "Excuse me?"
<"Soleil Rosenberg's heart is still beating inside Julian Moonchester's chest,"> the branch explained. <"Because of that, this world considers Soleil Rosenberg to be alive. If you want to be with her again, then you have to end this world first. The only way to do that is to regress.">
"Regression?" he asked, then he nodded. "I'm a god, so I won't lose my memories. I'll be fine even if I regressed."
<"That's the problem, my lord– you have to pay the price of your regression with your memories.">
"That goes against the law of nature," he insisted. "Soleil may lose her memories because she was never considered a full-fledged god. But I'm a different case. Moreover, I can't afford to lose my memories."
At least one of him and Soleil must keep their past memories.
<"My lord, we're talking about the end of the world here,"> the branch scolded him. <"Sacrificing your memories in order to end this world and start anew is a small price to pay.">
He let out a frustrated sigh. "Does the child really have to die?"
The child he was talking about was Julian Moonchester.
He knew it was the child that he and Soleil conceived for a selfish reason. But Julian was still their son. He was aware that he had neglected him in order to deceive Kyro into believing he was unconscious all this time.
Thus, as a way to compensate for being a failed father, he wanted to let Julian Moonchester live longer, at least.
[Auro seems genuinely fond of Julian, so the boy grew up well even without me.]
<"As I said earlier, this world still considers Soleil Rosenberg to be alive because her heart is alive in Julian Moonchester's body,"> the branch explained in a frustrated voice. <"I know it would be too cruel for you to kill the child you neglected, so let the Red Phoenix do it.">
"Do you think Winchell would listen to me?" He scoffed. "He hates me."
<"The Red Phoenix will do anything and everything for Soleil Rosenberg,"> the branch said. <"If you don't want to work with the Red Phoenix, then just kill your own son.">
Kalel let out a frustrated sigh. "Tell me where to find Winchell."
***
WINCHELL felt it after he crushed Soleil's heart in his hand.
Yes, it was the heart that he ripped out of Julian's chest. He didn't know if the child survived or not because he almost died escaping from Auro Moonchester earlier. That bastard had Kalel Nystrom's ice staff, and ice was one of his weaknesses.
[It's one of the reasons I don't get along well with that Kalel bastard.]
Thankfully, he disappeared before Auro Moonchester could harm him.
[I didn't disappear on my accord, though.]
He was suddenly engulfed by a blinding light earlier. And when he opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.
[Argh, what kind of moving vehicle is this?]
He found himself inside a vehicle flying in the sky. There were small windows on either of his side, so he could clearly see the clouds outside. There were a few seats inside that cramped space, and the people occupying those seats were looking at him strangely.
Was it because of his flaming red wings that he had to fold because of the cramped space?
[This isn't my world.]
But he instantly spotted a familiar face.
[There you are, Soleil.]
He ignored the ladies dressed in strange clothes and short skirts who tried to stop him. His eyes never left his sister's face.
[She doesn't recognize me.]
That should be normal.
Soleil wasn't a god, so it was natural for her to lose her memories. But it still hurt to see his beloved sister look at him as if she didn't know him.
"It's time for you to return to our world, Soleil," Winchell told his sister who seemed to be frozen in her seat. When she didn't react, he got down on one knee. "I'm here to pick you up. This world doesn't deserve you."
"I-I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're saying," Soleil said, then she looked around her as if she was asking for help. "My name is not Soleil."
It made him sad to witness his own sister afraid of him.
But it was pitiful of her to ask for help silently.
[The real Soleil wouldn't ask for help from weak people.]
Moreover, the humans in that flying vehicle wouldn't be able to help Soleil anyway. Even though those puny humans were yelling at him, they still couldn't take a step near him out of fear. And he preferred it that way.
[We need to get out of here now.]
His thoughts were interrupted when he realized he could hear two heartbeats inside Soleil's body. The other heartbeat was weak, and it belonged to another soul.
He knitted his eyebrows when the realization hit him. "Soleil, are you pregnant?"
Soleil looked shocked by what he said, then she hugged her stomach as if she wanted to protect her child from him. "H-How did you know that? Who are you?"
He ignored his sister and focused his eyes on her stomach.
The child in Soleil's body had the same constitution as Julian Moonchester. How did that happen? Did Kalel Nystrom reincarnate in this world, too?
Well, it wasn't important at the moment.
"That child is the gate that will help us regress," he said, then he looked at his sister with a cold look on his face. "That child has to die."
Soleil looked horrified at his words. "What are you saying, you psycho?! Get away from me! I won't let you harm my baby!"
"Do you not want to meet Kalel Nystrom again?"
His sister fell silent upon hearing her husband's name.
He couldn't help but smirk bitterly.
Soleil's memories didn't return, but her face softened up after hearing Kalel Nystrom's name as if her heart remembered that bastard.
[Argh, that gave me goosebumps.]
"Soleil, you'll meet Kalel Nystrom and your children again if we regress and do things right this time. But first, we have to get out of this world," Winchell whispered to his sister, then he unceremoniously stabbed Soleil's stomach with his hands after he moved her arms away. His sharpened nails put a hole in her stomach, and it hit the fetus inside. It pained her to see his sister's face distorted with pain, but he had to do that. "I'm so sorry, but I'm doing this for you and our clan, my beloved sister."
"Bastard," Soleil said weakly, her tears falling down her cheeks as she grabbed his shoulders tight. "I will never forgive you…"
After that, he burned the weird flying vehicle to ashes.
***
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