Chapter 15: 200[0] Years Ago…
"…I can't believe I'm doing this." Riku thinks as he stands before Mithos the man who also goes by the name of Yggdrasill, the leader of the organization Cruxis. Though the teenage Overlord keeps a brave expression as he stares down at him, his mind was wrought with doubt and a slight tinge of fear. Meanwhile, Mithos smiled at him with an eerie vibe of confidence surrounding his body.
"So then, where shall we talk?" Mithos asks in a polite tone. Riku replies with "Is here not to your liking?" While trying to keep an air of confidence around him.
"And risk the possibility of being found out by the others? I am not ready to reveal myself just yet, not until the Chosen is back to a perfect condition for Martel to inhabit." Mithos explains in a rather quiet tone. Once he's done, he walks beside Riku's body as he heads for the door while stating "I have a place in mind. Follow me."
The teenage Overlord feels a quiver of concern shake through his nerves, and before he faces the man he asks "And how can I trust you to not take me back to Derris-Kharlan the moment I leave the house?" Mithos pauses in the middle of the doorway, and with his hand waving out he assures the boy "I only wish to talk…For now. But if you wish to doubt my intentions, you can just stay in here and remain ignorant of the past."
Mithos walks out of Altessa's house, and as Riku grips his right hand tightly he ignores his inner hesitations and turns around to follow the half-elf outside while stating to himself "I can only regret things in the afterlife…" Once outside the house, Riku watches as Mithos faces him and summons forth his own angel wings, which had multiple "feathers" with a rainbow coloring spread across them all.
"Let us fly atop this traitor's home. That will keep us out of earshot of the others." Mithos says before he flies off of the ground and heads to the very top of the rock face Altessa's house in built into. Riku watches him for a few seconds before kicking off the ground and quietly flying after him. The two land atop the smooth surface, and the teenage Overlord stands to his side as Mithos glances out at the sky afar.
"The moon looks nice tonight, doesn't it?" Mithos says as his eyes glimmer in the face of the glowing full moon. Riku faces the half-elf and says to him in a serious tone "What do you want from me, Mithos?"
"Heh, impatient, aren't we? I guess even with the powers of a god, you're still just a human." Mithos comments in a stoic tone of voice, leading to Riku stating with his expression looking a little more irritated "I'd prefer it if we didn't bring our races into this conversation."
"…You are in no position to demand something from me, even with your title…" Mithos then turns to face the teenage Overlord, commenting in a callous tone of voice "Especially since you lack the strength expected of someone of your rank."
Riku grimaces, since Mithos' words reminded him that the half-elf had a reason to not flinch in the face of anything he says. "I can't believe someone like you would be allowed to know how my powers work, especially before I did." The teenage Overlord comments in an annoyed tone.
"Well then, shall we begin?" Mithos ignores the boy's comment and offers him the chance to start the conversation they came out here for in the first place. Riku, nervous because of how powerful Mithos was in comparison to him at this moment, starts off with the most glaring question "…How do you know the original Elemental Overlord?"
"It was two-hundred years ago when he came to our world-" Mithos begins to explain himself, but immediately Riku interrupted him with a surprised expression on his face "Wait, that's impossible. The Elemental Overlord died two-thousand years ago."
"…You are surprisingly ignorant about how the universe works." Mithos bluntly replies, leading to him then explain "The answer is simple. The flow of time varies between different worlds. What would be one year on this planet would be ten on the Elemental Overlord's. Hence why our meeting took place two-hundred years ago for me."
"…That's right, now that you mention it, a friend of mine did explain that to me before." Riku says after a moment's thought, leading to Mithos grinning slightly and stating "Excellent, so you aren't entirely ignorant. Now, as I saying…"
Two-hundred years ago, we find the original Elemental Overlord approaching Mithos, whose body was aged up to that of an adult as he was currently taking up the identity of Yggdrasill, leader of Cruxis. Yggdrasill sat on his throne in Derris-Kharlan with Kratos off to the left of him acting as both a guard and an observer. "So, you are Mithos Yggdrasill, the ruler of the divided worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant" The Elemental Overlord stated in a semi-respectful tone.
"And you are the Elemental Overlord, the higher-ups' so-called 'Precipice of Eternal Light'. I have heard many things about you." Mithos says in a stoic voice as he leaned his head against his right hand, whose elbow was placed against the arm of his throne. "So you learned of me from the higher-ups…Interesting." The Elemental Overlord said without the slightest bit of concern in his voice.
"So tell me, Elemental Overlord. What brings you to Derris-Kharlan?" Mithos asks. The Elemental Overlord is swift and to the point in his words "For 3,800 years, you have kept the worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla separated from each other, and your army of half-elves have harvested the bodies of thousands of humans for your Exspheres. With these along with your Chosen system in mind, I have come here with an offer. Return the worlds to their original state and bring an end to both your Exspheres harvests and the Chosen system."
"Hmm…" Mithos was intrigued by the Elemental Overlord's offer, but specifically pointed out "How interesting. You come to me with an offer, but it sounds more like a demand. What is your end game if I refuse your 'offer'?"
The Elemental Overlord draws his majestic sword, causing Kratos to go for his own before Mithos leans forward and stops him with a single hand gesture. The Elemental Overlord states "Then I will kill you and your ally and restore the world myself."
"Hahahah…" Mithos calmly laughs in the face of the Overlord's bravado before commenting in a quiet voice "You have no power here, Elemental Overlord. I was warned by your higher-ups about your visit, so naturally, I was told exactly how to deal with you were you to go out of control."
"If you approach me, I will use the Eternal Sword to manipulate time and space, taking you to the planet and weakening you to the point where I will be able to kill you with ease." Mithos makes his plans known with confidence bordering on arrogance, and the Elemental Overlord pauses in place while lowering his sword slightly.
"So we are both threatening the other with death. But I have reason to believe that if we were to both execute our threats, you'd come out on top…Very well, if I have no power here, then perhaps you'd like to ask something from me in exchange for reuniting the two worlds?" The Elemental Overlord asks.
Mithos smiles slightly, and nudges to Kratos to send him away from the area. Once the lord of Cruxis was alone with the Elemental Overlord, he said to him "So you'll be willing to give me something in exchange for the world to return back to the way it was before I divided it? You truly must desire for things to return to the way they were, even if this is not your home world. Very well…"
In the present, Mithos finishes his explanation off for a moment as Riku steps back nervously and comments "So that's what this is about…You settled on a deal with the Elemental Overlord, and he died before he could fulfill it. So now, you want revenge on his successor."
Mithos looks at the boy and comments "If that were my intention, I never would have sent Kratos to retrieve you. And you are also wrong about the Elemental Overlord failing to fulfill his end of the deal…Because in the end, he never intended to deal with the task himself."
Riku pauses in place and his body twitches slightly despite what Mithos said, and he asks of him "What do you mean by that?" Mithos replies to the best of his ability "I would almost think that the Elemental Overlord was precognitive with the way he handled my bargain. He said that while he couldn't give me what I wanted, if I were to let him live, then one day I would get exactly what I deserved from his successor."
"It took 200 years, but sure enough…Another Elemental Overlord has appeared before me, ready to fulfill the deal the original gave to me." Mithos spoke of this event in a merry tone of voice, and with Riku utilizing a piercing glare he asks "What could you possibly require from me, Mithos Yggdrasill?"
Mithos extends his right hand out and says "Elemental Overlord, with your powers, I want you to revive my sister, Martel." The clearness of the half-elf's request took Riku entirely off-guard, and he pulled his head back while looking down at Mithos with a surprised expression. "Y-You can't be serious…"
"Of course I am. The Elemental Overlord made it quite clear that one who can form a perfect balance between Light and Darkness is capable of reviving the dead. My sister's body has been preserved all this time, which means all I need to do is bring you to Derris-Kharlan so you can complete the task. But I've seen that attempting a forceful capture is not helping, so I will offer you the chance to come willingly." Mithos explains.
"…So if I understand what you're saying, if I were to revive Martel, you'd restore the world, abolish Exsphere harvests, and never let another Chosen exist?" Riku asks. Mithos nods his head and replies "There'd be no point to a Chosen if my sister is revived, especially when the world becomes one again. And without a Chosen, the Exspheres won't need to be harvested to induce suffering within them."
The teenage Overlord thinks about Mithos' words and weighs them against the struggles the group had been dealing with along with the events that would transpire later on. It doesn't take long for Riku to respond with "…I don't believe you." His expression changes to one of surprise, as though those words were spoken subconsciously.
"I am a man of my word, Elemental Overlord. Are you saying you won't finish the deal your predecessor started?" Mithos asks. Riku, having already delved into this matter, puts on a brave face and says to the half-elf "I'm not ignorant of your plans, Mithos. You expect me to believe that you will abandon your 'age of lifeless beings' plan once Martel is revived? You want to end discrimination by making everyone the same because of Martel's last words to you."
"Hmm…Now how would you know any of that?" Mithos comments in an intrigued tone, and Riku pulls back upon realizing that he let slip information that he shouldn't have. Trying to keep on subject, the teenage Overlord mentions "But tell me the truth, you wouldn't give up that plan, would you?"
"Of course not. I promised my sister a world without discrimination. To do that, I have to make everyone a lifeless being." Mithos makes his response obvious, leading to Riku turning his body towards the front of the cliff and saying "…Then I have no intention of helping you, regardless of what the original Elemental Overlord said to you."
Riku is about to jump off and head back into Altessa's house, but Mithos then asks him "What makes you so confident in the Chosen group's foolish journey?" The teenage Overlord pauses in place and straightens himself upright before he faces Mithos again, commenting in a puzzled tone "Why do you ask?"
"It only makes sense that you would deny my deal to revive Martel if you had a heavy deal of faith in whatever foolish plans the Chosen and her friends have up their sleeves." Mithos explains, leading to Riku glaring at him in a puzzled manner and commenting "That and I could never agree with your lifeless beings plan."
"I fail to see why you wouldn't. Isn't the goal of an Elemental Overlord to keep the worlds in balance?" Mithos asks, leading to Riku immediately stating in an annoyed tone "You have been misinformed."
"That's certainly interesting. So you are not out to protect the world." Mithos interprets Riku's words in that manner, leading to the teenage Overlord brandishing a pointer finger his way and bluntly stating "I want to protect the world, but I don't care anything about this 'balance' that those 'higher-ups' want me to uphold…Especially if it means helping to fulfill your insane plan."
"You call my plan insane, and yet you follow the blind efforts of the Chosen and her friends. Tell me, what benefit is there to following them if you want to do the right thing?" Mithos asks in a stoic voice, to which Riku folds his arms against his chest and replies "For one, the Chosen isn't attempting to strip the entire world of their individuality."
"Stripping the world of individuality? You say that like it's a bad thing." Mithos says in an unnaturally calm tone, and as Riku stares at him in disbelief the half-elf continues to explain "Tell me, Elemental Overlord, what is your view on discrimination against half-elves?"
"…It's definitely a terrible, terrible thing. But you know, your actions haven't done anything to make humanity's opinion of your kind any better." Riku bluntly points out to the half-elf, leading to Mithos laughing and commenting "Haha, how expected of humans. They have this image in their heads that they are the dominant species in the universe, that nothing can ever be superior to them. Anyone or anything that is different from them is thus killed or suppressed to prevent the possibility of humanity being surpassed by any other beings."
"You're a real piece of work, Mithos Yggdrasill." Riku replies with in a cold tone, to which Mithos goes on to mention "Heheh, I don't see you denying what I've said."
"No, you're right." Riku folds his arms against his chest and says to him "There are humans out there who are exactly as you describe them, but there are kind humans around as well. You can't tell me you didn't notice Lloyd's kindness towards you, right? He accepts half-elves just fine, as long they aren't going around killing humans like the Desians are."
"Heheh, Lloyd is an idealistic fool, he knows nothing of how monstrous his own race was before the worlds were split apart." Mithos responds in a callous tone, which does nothing more than anger Riku considering the front the half-elf was putting on around the group. The teenage Overlord says to him "Don't you dare say another word."
Mithos ignores Riku's demand and waves his right hand out while smirking and explaining "For one-thousand years before I split the world in two, Tethe'alla and Sylvarant fought each other merciless for control of magitek. They slaughtered each other, bathing battlefield after battlefield in blood and corpses. They didn't care how many resources they wasted so long as they succeeded in obtaining power."
"Eventually, humanity did what was expected of them, and shifted the blame towards the half-elves. To extend their pathetic war, humanity enslaved half-elves and forced them to fight and build weapons. Of course they wouldn't blame themselves for the war, that would only be rational, and humanity is an irrational mess. And for all the effort I put into stopping their petty war by splitting the world in two, how did they repay us?"
"They killed my sister. Took her life right before our eyes without a single regret in their actions until the very moment they died. Even with their reason to fight gone, they kept their self-born hatred of half-elves and tried to kill them. It's pointless to try and fix humanity, they are incapable of learning anything from their actions." By the time Mithos was at the end of his little triad, Riku immediately snapped at him and said "You think humans thought nothing of your actions? They wrote stories about your journey, called you a hero! You can't judge all of humanity just because one person killed your sister!"
"…Hehe, yes, the 'stories' of my exploits. Have you even read any of those stories yourself? Humanity has twisted those tales throughout history until nothing remains of the original. The most obvious omission was that in those stories, Mithos the 'Hero' was not called a half-elf. After all, why should humanity be indebted to a half-elf? A legend is only good if it's exactly the kind of thing that can inspire future generations." Before Mithos could continue any further, Riku steps directly in front of him and grabs him by the collar of his shirt, lifting him up off the ground and putting him close enough to his face that he would be able to see his burning glare and vicious scowl.
Mithos' expression doesn't change much as he lets Riku say to him with a tone of intense fury "I am getting sick and tired of you trying to justify everything you've done over the last 4,000 years. Any sane person would have realized just why doing all this is wrong! I'm sorry your sister died, but do you think she would approve of anything you've done if she were to come back to life?!"
"Why wouldn't she? I am giving her exactly what she wanted…A world without discrimination." Mithos replies with the utmost stoicism, and he the continues on by mentioning "To think you would have the guts to touch me despite knowing I could destroy you the very moment you prove worthless to my goals."
Riku glares at the half-elf for a more seconds, and after a rough sounding scoff he drops Mithos back onto his feet and takes a couple steps back. "I'm not afraid of you Mithos." Riku states as he swings his right arm out and summons forth his sword before brandishing it at the half-elf.
"I could see how nervous you were around me before. What could possibly have changed to make you think you can face me in battle?" Mithos asks, to which Riku boldly replies "I have no intention of fighting you here, I am just making a point. I would hope you wouldn't plan to fight me here either."
"Why not? I have two options to revive my sister, I can get rid of you at any time I want." Mithos explains. "Except right now. If you try and combat me, even in my weakened state, you'll more than likely bring the entire cliff side down. The Chosen will die along with me, leaving you with no choice but to wait longer for your sister to be revived. Are you really willing to risk that?" Riku explains in a calm tone.
Mithos grins at the explanation Riku gave him, pointing out in an impressed tone "Well-played, Elemental Overlord. But I never had any intention of fighting against you now, so lower your sword." The teenage Overlord takes pause at these words to read the half-elves' intentions, and then dispels his blade without another thought.
"Hehe. Now then, I think we've both gotten almost everything we've wanted out of this little meeting, but before we depart there's just one more thing I want to ask of you." Mithos says. Riku stands in place and waits for him to ask the question with a light scowl on his face. "What benefits do you think will arise if the worlds were to reunited?"
Riku extends his arms out on both sides of his body and comments "For one, the worlds will no longer have to fight for control of mana." Mithos immediately counters this point by reminding him "Instead, they will simply fight each other again to control the magitek weapons buried around both worlds. The way things are now, the worlds may be fighting, but it's a mostly indirect conflict. Humans aren't trying to kill each other for control, and even though Tethe'alla is aware of Sylvarant they haven't tried to impede the progress of the Chosen's journey."
"Heh, Sheena would tell you otherwise." Riku comments, to which Mithos replies with "One failure of an assassin doesn't negate 4,000 years of negated conflict between humans. My methods have prevented needless war."
"Right, because subjugating and farming humans in your little ranches is a much better alternative. We have a name in history for people like you on our world, Mithos." Riku says in an incredibly unamused tone of voice. Mithos replies without a care in his thoughts of words "Humanity desperately needed to be humbled by the race they tried to control, such extremes were necessary for that to be accomplished."
Riku growls at Mithos' and tightly clenches his right hand into a fist, but doesn't say anything at the moment. The half-elf comments "If by some miracle the worlds were reunited and the Chosen system was disbanded, what do you and the Chosen's group plan to do to stop humanity from destroying each other again? Another thousand year war is all that awaits if that were to happen. But if you have another solution, I'd be glad to hear it."
"Well that's simple, you just have to…" Riku immediately goes for an answer, but midway through his sentence he found himself at a loss for words. After everything else he had argued against with Mithos, it was this question that the teenage Overlord couldn't answer at all. He stares blankly at the half-elf as he smiles, and after a few more seconds Mithos says "As I suspected, you haven't considered the consequences of your little venture."
Riku wanted to reply, with all of his might he wanted to shut Mithos up and end this matter here and now…But that would prove nothing. The half-elf had given him the first legitimate question in this entire conversation, and if he didn't find an answer for this he would be considered a fool for killing Mithos.
The noise of footsteps is then heard down below, leading to both Riku and Mithos looking towards the entrance of Altessa's house to see Raine exiting it with a bag filled with research books. Mithos turns towards the teenage Overlord and says to him "I suppose we can end this now. I am going to let my partners know what happened here between us and then return before the others awaken. Meanwhile, you can go back down and continue to pretend to be the messiah that tries desperately to solve every problem on his own."
Mithos flies off with his angel wings as Riku turns and gives him one final, surprised glare. With his face twitching in anger, the teenage Overlord could only proceed to let out a tired sigh as he loosened his muscles and turned towards the bottom of the cliff side. Leaping quietly off the rock, the teenage Overlord gently levitates himself behind Raine and lands. The half-elf was busy digging into her bag to make sure that she had all of her supplies, while Riku lifts his right hand up and says "Hey Raine, what're you doing up?"
The half-elf flinches in surprise and nearly spills some of her books out of her bag as she pulls her arms out. Once she collects herself, she recognizes Riku's voice and lets out a relieved sigh, saying to him in a quiet tone "Oh, it's just you Riku…I forgot you were keeping watch."
Raine turns around to look at the teenage Overlord, saying to him honestly "I'm going somewhere for a bit." Riku nods his head in understanding and comments "You're going to find the Otherworld Gate, aren't you?"
"…Heh, my intentions were obvious, weren't they?" Raine comments in a rather pleased yet embarrassed voice. Looking at the teenage Overlord with a serious expression, the half-elf asks of him "Please, can you not tell anyone that I'm leaving for a bit?"
Riku walks up to Raine and places one hand on her right shoulder, looking her straight in the eyes with a smile on his face as he mentions "This is important for you to deal with, I can understand that. But it won't take the group long to piece things together and come after you. For now though, you won't have to worry about me going back inside and telling anyone."
"I know that…But still, thank you for doing this for me. I'm going to take one of the Rheairds with me now, so good luck with your guard watch." Raine says, to which Riku replies with "Just don't try and run into any Desians or Papal Knights."
Raine reaches into her bag and pulls out her staff, extending it past her arm length while giving the teenage Overlord a confident smile and stating "I won't get into any trouble, but thanks for being concerned."
The half-elf looks at the teenage Overlord for a few seconds with her smile still present, and after a thankful nod she turns around and runs off towards the direction of the Rheairds. When Raine is far enough away, Riku says to himself "You aren't the only one who needs to find an answer, Raine…But at least I know you'll be successful…" With melancholy concerns on his mind, the teenage Overlord turned around and went back into Altessa's house for the time being…
Next Time: My Sister, Your Sister