"Asborn." That name was spoken with a hint of disappointment. The brightest light did not dare to look in his face. "Perhaps, we had put too much faith in the young monarch."
"Weren't you the one who strongly opposed sending troops to Earth?" Sung Jin-woo looked down at the rulers with a cold, icy gaze. High-ranking shadows, who stood by their master's side, felt the utterly suffocating pressure radiating off of him.
The brightest light spoke once more, "We bled for eons for a meaningless war, only to take part in another. The army of light has become stagnant; the world tree that gave birth to our angels of light is slowly withering away." The brightest light's tone became more dejected. " It is only a matter of time, the Itarim would claim us all,"
Jin-woo leans forward in his seat, intrigued. "The brightest light had never shown any defeatism throughout the eons of war. Why the sudden change of mood?"
The brightest light turned around with all his hands behind his back, watching the ethereal light cast brightly into the halls of war. "Earth, we knew, is no more. Why must we continue like this? Our purpose has lost all its meaning. And you know all too well that the path of revenge does not sit well with us."
Jin-woo chuckled at their answer. "I never intend to force you all upon that path, while another is still open." He brought out a locket from his pocket, which began the dance between his fingers before opening it up. In there, he saw the photo of his wife and son. His son... he should have been 22 by now. So much time has passed already.
He could only give a bitter smile as he muttered, "I am sorry, Chacha, I could not keep my promise to come back to you." He finally sighed as he put the locket safely away. The shadow monarch's eyes were filled with unending resolve. "I will put all on you on the path of hope. Even if it sounds foolish to some of you. Humanity, even with all its flaws, has still one thing right for believing in it. Even if the reality looks so bleak."
Another light spoke up, not understanding the meaning of hope, "You speak of hope. But hope cannot thrive without a plan, Ashborn."
"No, a plan does not necessarily have to be as clear as water," Jin-woo interjects, "The concept of a plan is already enough for it to thrive".
"So then, tell us, monarch of shadows. Do you have anything on your mind that you wish to convey?" The brightest light asked.
Jin-woo smirked at the words spoken by the ruler, "Perhaps, we could use the cup of reincarnation again."
The rulers murmured in confusion, but finally, after a while, one of them spoke up," The cup of reincarnation is already spent. The last drop of it was already offered to you. No method could fill that cup again."
"And if I say there is?"
"As I said, there is no method to fill the cup again." The ruler argued. "Only the absolute being could fill it. Only something of similar power could fill it up."
"And what if we use a fruit of the world tree to fill this?" Before one of the rulers argued any further, Jin-woo went further, "The absolute being created the world tree. The world tree created living beings, just as the absolute being created us."
The hall went silent for a moment. The rulers began to understand what Jin-woo truly meant. And that understanding is incredibly dangerous; if they play their cards right, this could turn into an endless loop, where endless possibilities could be explored. "We don't even know if this is even going to work in the first place."
Jin-woo could only smile at this, "That's why I told you all, to put all your faith in hope."
The rulers finally relented. "I hope your plan will work asborn". The ruler began to arrange themselves into a semi-circle, and channeled their magic with their hands raised as they chanted in an ancient tongue.
The hall became dense with magic to the point that it became visible to the naked eye. The magic begins to flow like a whirlpool and slowly turns into a blinding light. That light gave way to a circle-like portal.
Jin-woo was all too familiar with it; this is what hunters would call a gate.
"Asborn," the brightest light called as pointing at the gate with the golden hue," beyond that portal lies the world tree. Its fruit will be yours to take."
As he went past the threshold of the gate, he was met with a change in scenery. The gate birth wide open into a brightly coloured, flowerly plain. Magic danced around like butterflies in search of nectar. In the far distance, the world tree could be seen. He could feel the whole plane breathing, but its breathing is waning, decaying. Without the absolute being to sustain itself, it will eventually die a slow and painful death. And yet it still tries to fulfill its original purpose without any thought. It still bears fruit that, in turn, fills the ranks of the army of heaven.
The man walked forward, his hands almost touching the long, lush grass. Maybe in a different time, or in a different state of being, this could have been his origin. But he did not let that thought linger; after all, he had a mission, something to return to.
The closer he got, the more distorted the air became. The decay was already at an advanced state. Jin-woo finally arrived at the base of the world tree and went to sit in a lotus position. He took a deep breath before muttering his first word in this place.
"Arise"