He saw more of Ferrtau's living chronicle. His archenemy had been well-known, famous even, and loved both by his peers in the Radiant Order and the common people across the galaxy. Ferrtau had become the first human Conduit – or aethereal, as the Knights preferred to say – after the beginning of the Æther Age somewhere at the turn of the sixth century RE.
Airo sat in a defunct office near the top-most hangars of the hidden base. The room had probably been used by an air force commander or whatever equivalent the Radiant Knights had. The furniture was comfortable in an old-fashioned way and the decoration was in a similar retro style. It made Airo feel more at home, and perhaps it was the reason he had chosen this place to review the life of his archenemy.
He browsed through Ferrtau's life, seeking relentlessly for any weaknesses he could expose. Yet try as he might, he found only instance after instance of exemplary strength of character for which the Lightbringer had become renowned. Time and again Ferrtau had demonstrated bravery, wisdom, and utmost compassion, living as a paragon of the virtues the Order of the Radiant Knights held as their guiding principles. And always at his side had been Kalessia, a gentle giant as noble and bright as her soulkin. Both of them had been inseparable, whether they had been on a peace-going mission, on the battlefield, or during mutual leisure time.
Their devotion to each other was the closest thing Airo had managed to target as leverage. Yet Kalessia was dead, making this potential exploit moot; and she had been away from Ferrtau before her demise, possibly for an extended period of time. Why or how was a mystery.
Airo suspected the reason for such untoward separation was the root to what was happening on Terra Para. It held the key to uncovering his archenemy's deepest motives. With this in mind, he loaded Ferrtau's living chronicle from the mark where he had reached, and activated the power armor's simulspace environment.
The landscape was a breathtaking sight.
They both were at the coast, the local star bright in the sky. The ocean waves lapped gently at the white-gold beach. The cape on which they stood rose proudly toward the horizon, defiant equally against the tide, the light, and the wind. The shoreward breeze carried the tender aromas of the sea, salty and refreshing and rich, and the alien daylight bathed everything in soft emerald hues.
It almost reminded of home, of Arceria, if it wasn't for the mountains of ruins stretching along the coast as far as the eye could see.
Kalessia lay curled, her titanic form a veritable mountain on its own, and Ferrtau was reclining on her foreleg, his armor and clothes cast aside, his naked body all flawless physique. She had lain her massive head next to her foreclaws, so they could trade loving gazes. The two of them conversed at length, yet no words were uttered, their thoughts shared directly in their minds.
Why people want to fight so badly?, she asked. I mean, I understand their concerns: I, too, am scared of the Black Void, and I know even better than most what it could truly mean for our galaxy. Yet there are still so many worlds out there! Millions of stars waiting to be explored, and it will take aeons for all of them to be colonized – perhaps long enough for even a dragon to die of old age.
That is the point, he explained. There are so many stars left, yet now they have become finite. For most, the Universe is no longer endless; it now has a terminus, an implacable border unable to be overcome by any means known to us. That is the reason behind the Axiom Crusades: the path of all sapient life is narrowed down to concrete parameters, and everyone wants to realize their visions and dreams of the future in the limited time that remains.
Yet that time is billions of years away! So much time... It is akin to infinity in and of itself. Certainly we could find a way to overcome the Void by then, yes? I do not believe it to be an unbreakable barrier. People have always been bound by barriers which have seemed undefeatable at the time: before faster-than-light travel, before space travel, before magic, before imagination... maybe life itself had seemed an insurmountable barrier to the Universe once. No, I think the reason for all these wars and atrocities is different.
You are right, my love. The reason is different. The Black Void is merely a pretext; just like the fall of the Transhuman Order was an excuse for the Supremacy Wars. In reality, what people see is opportunity: a chance to assert their power, to force their ideals, and to impose their will upon the rest of world.
But why people pursue conflict so zealously? Certainly they are aware cooperation and unity are a better alternative. It is shared triumph which has given us a place among the stars, after all. While strife... selfishness... shunning the Way... it only brings misery and pain, she hrrr–ed silently, casting her thought wide to indicate the surrounding destruction.
Everyone has their destiny, came his quiet mindwave. People sleep. People dream. People strive toward what they feel is the very best in the absolute totality of existence. Everyone walks the Way. Everyone is part of the Fire Eternal. Everyone is loved unconditionally by the Goddess. And everyone is destined one day to Ascend.
Then why... why are we here? What truly means to be Radiant Knights if our duty is already done?
Remember the Pure Vow, my love: We are to be the examples. The guiding light that forever points toward the Celestial Way. We are the guardians, the protectors, the wardens, and the watchers of the Fire Eternal. People often forget to awaken, embracing sleep instead, because a dream can exist in either state. In sleep and in wakefulness there is both freedom: freedom of pattern in the former, and freedom of purpose in the latter. When one sleeps, they become a mirror of the entire Universe. And when one awakens, they become the one Who They Truly Are. When one sleeps for too long, they forget they have their own Way to walk. Our purpose, as Radiant Knights, is to remind people they have their own path to enlightenment. Yet we cannot force them to take that path, for this will take their freedom of choice away, and we ourselves will become merely mirrors of the ideals we strive to live with every conscious moment. Remember, my love: We Are One.
I... remember... yet... all this..., her mind again wandered toward the scar of destruction that marred the majestic landscape.
Hey, stay with me, he embraced her with a gentle thought. What you see before you now is what has already happened. Dwell not on it. Instead, draw strength from it. Renew your conviction. Heighten your compassion. Remain aware of your True Self. Call forth beauty from the Great Cosmos, Kalessia. See what is the good that will come. The good we will bring. I love you, Kalessia.
I love you too, Ferrtau, she replied with a smile that reached her mortal form.
He remained oblivious to the rows of giant teeth gleaming against him, for his gaze was focused entirely on the endless affection radiating from her amber eyes. She gently shifted her head, and nuzzled him, their feelings needing no more words, either spoken or thought.
In the distance, among all the rubble and broken remains of the great city, welcomed selflessly by nature with light and wind, the first reconstruction crews were clearing out the past, preparing to build the future anew.
Airo exited simulspace.
He was overwhelmed by the current segment from Ferrtau's living chronicle. This wasn't the first time such aftereffects had happened. He wondered if the living chronicle was too accurate in its emotional state simulation, or if Ferrtau actually had had such intense feelings that they left a lasting impression even when experienced secondhand. Airo reckoned it was the latter, though he was reluctant to admit it. Even more reluctantly, he was sure Kalessia had been no less fierce in her love for Ferrtau. Such passion... such purity... It drove Airo crazy, yet amid the realm of his endless hate he felt a tiny sliver of begrudging respect toward his archenemy emerge.
Respect. In his desire for revenge, he'd forced himself to work with people he despised, for they kept the company of dragons. The Radiant Knights likewise had no lost love for him, for he was the Dragonslayer, a villain of the utmost caliber in their eyes.
Yet over the course of time, as he led them in battle after battle, guiding the remains of their Order away from destruction, stemming the tides of the Revenant, and sheltering the local populace, the Knights began to see in him a person of honor, even if, in their own words, one with a lost soul. Their animosity waned, replaced with desire to follow his leadership not out of desperation or obligation, but out of respect.
In turn, he too, learned to respect the Radiant Knights; seeing them in action time and again, he recognized them for the valiant warriors they were, and their exceptional professionalism and bravery would've made him proud if they'd been under his command in his previous life. Even the dragons he learned to tolerate; then reluctantly accept; and then finally consider relinquishing all grudges against their kind – for when one faced and overcame mutual ordeals together with even the most loathed comrades in arms, it was impossible to keep negativity for any period approaching infinity.
Airo leaned back on the couch on which he sat, lost in thought. Ever since his awakening from cryostasis his life had changed, becoming more strange than he could've imagined. Here he was in the far future, trying to save an entire planet and possibly all of reality from annihilation, working alongside creatures he once killed without mercy, becoming a symbol of hope like the very man whose life he sought to end. In a twist of irony, he had traded places with Ferrtau, turning out the hero in his archenemy's tragedy.
Was it possible what Ferrtau was doing was the same thing he did so long ago, across time and space?
Airo lifted his eyes toward the ceiling, his gaze searching the sky beyond the layers of stone, metal, and crystal. The refugees called him a hero, and the Radiant Knights praised him as their leader, yet everyone was happy because they had others who supported and loved them. Parents. Significant others. Families. Soulkin. Even in the bleakest hours, the shining light of shared love was enough to give them the strength to prevail over any adversity.
It was love that had made it possible for him to survive through the Red Colony Campaign. Zenassa had been his light, his strength, his shining star.
Now...
Now his soul was empty. He had nothing to live for, nothing for which to look forward to in the future. He kept going only because of the raging desire for revenge, which blazed inside him in lieu of a true flame. Without it, he would've died while he was still in the skies above Terra Para. He was left with nothing.
Nothing, except...
He thought of Veralla. She followed him everywhere day and night, or at least did so until recently. They had spent many hours together traveling, talking, and playing videogames. Veralla was the first dragon he hadn't tried to kill as soon as they met. She had annoyed him greatly on many occasions, and the first few weeks of their acquaintance he'd wanted nothing but to be rid of her.
Yet she had saved his life, and had kept with him even when it made her uncomfortable to do so. Even after learning he was the Dragonslayer. Even after all the threats and rebuffs he'd made to her. Only after she had experienced directly the war he fought on behalf of his revenge, had she finally, with great misery, stayed away.
Why she insisted so much on his company?
Why he cared?
Why...