Griselda seemed perfectly comfortable with the silence. She stood atop a mound of ancient coins like some strange golden historian who had waited centuries to finally speak.
"Vasreveilder's second plan was actually very simple. The first plan technically worked. Dilasyus became the hero who saved the beings of Spheraphase. He fought the First Generation Deities with the other Nexuses on his side and that war eventually became known as the Destras Cataclysm."
Even hearing that name inside this room made my skin crawl a little. The Destras Cataclysm wasn't just a historical event. Every civilization in Spheraphase had a version of that story. Cities falling, Deities, dying, reality tearing apart...
The war that ended the age of the First Generation Deities.
"However, the victory itself was never the true purpose of that war. The Ascension Curse was."
The curse was so normal that no one even questioned it anymore. Every child born in the world would reach Essentia Rank by the age of six or seven without exception. It didn't matter if they were noble, peasant or something in between. Generations had grown up believing it was just a strange remnant of ancient divine energy left behind by the Destras Cataclysm.
"That curse was the true objective of Vasreveilder's first plan."
She hopped down from the coin pile and walked slowly across the treasure floor. She looked at the unconscious Jack and honked.
"The First Generation Deities were losing the war. When powerful beings realize defeat is inevitable, they rarely surrender quietly. So they used the last of their divine power and the fragments of their souls to create the most powerful curse Spheraphase has ever known."
The image that formed in my mind was horrifying. Dying gods poured their power into a single curse fueled by desperation and hatred.
"They intended it as revenge. It's a curse meant to destabilize the world after their fall. But Vasreveilder understood exactly what they were doing and he allowed it to happen."
"..."
"The Ascension Curse accelerated the growth of every future generation. Power awakened earlier. Strength developed faster. Civilizations advanced more rapidly. In fact, this reduced the number of powerful beings that would lead to wars but those who became stronger were even more so before the curse was made."
Millennia of natural development had been shortened. Beings were less powerful but at the same time, it stopped a lot of civil wars. For thousands years, if Dynasties gave birth to Deities, there would be wars that would doom the world, repeating the Destras Cataclysm.
"All of this was done to ensure that Vastarael would eventually live in a world ready for the events he needed to experience. However, there was one complication. Natas, the Omniscient who possessed Foresight, told Vasreveilder that even with the Ascension Curse, Vastarael's future would not be fixed. He would face three possible destinies that would determine the fate of the world."
Griselda began walking again. Veneri's eyes widened in realization. I didn't know why he was so shocked.
"The first possibility was simple. Vastarael remains inside the Dynasty palace. He grows up as a prince and eventually becomes a Dynasty Monarch."
Her voice remained almost casual as she described something that sounded disturbingly specific.
"In that future, the other Dynasty members except Adelasta would still attend Minafallen Academy. They would still experience the events that lead to the First Epoch Cycle but Vastarael would not be there. The Nexuses would eventually be forced to leave the world after the First Epoch Cycle concludes and when that happens, Vastarael would experience a permanent Forced Ascension."
The words sounded weird even in my head.
"He would ascend directly to the level of a Sixth Enlightenment Divine. He would become the Dynasty Monarch and Adelasta would rule beside him as his Monarchess."
Griselda continued without slowing down.
"The First Epoch Cycle would end with Narisva's death. She would be killed by the Frozen God but. Elyonari would also die in the Fallen Bridge."
My glitch flickered violently. The matter-of-fact way she said it made it worse somehow.
"Eventually, the Dynasties would still be transported into the Second Epoch Cycle. Vastarael would eventually discover the ancient spaceship. He would still arrive here eventually and he would still speak with me but in that timeline, Elyonari would not be with him."
The silence that followed felt like it lasted several minutes. Then Griselda continued walking. Elyonari was completely shocked. Even Veneri's surprise wasn't hidden either.
"The second possibility begins much earlier. In that future, Vastarael escapes the Dynasty palace before his second birthday. He would become a wanderer. For years he would travel the world alone and eventually, meet Narisva."
"..."
"They would travel together, save people from Krepsunas and eventually become lovers."
For a brief moment the story almost sounded peaceful. But that feeling didn't last.
"Meanwhile, the Dynasty members would still enter the First Epoch Cycle. This time, Adelasta would go and Narisva would not be there. Without her, everyone sent to the First Epoch Cycle would die. Anamorsia would experience the Forced Ascension to become a Sixth Enlightenment Divine and become the Dynasty Monarchess."
"..."
"Eventually the Dynasties would still be transported into the Second Epoch Cycle. In that timeline. Vastarael and Narisva would arrive at Ledatic Siliportem. The location would be where this spaceship rests. But this time, I would be speaking to them and Phaenora."
In this timeline, I existed here too. But why didn't I exist in the first?
Griselda stopped walking.
"The third possibility, is the one that actually happened. In this future, Vastarael chose to attend Minafallen Academy and when the First Epoch Cycle began, everything changed. Narisva was not the savior of the people sent to the Erna Isles. Vastarael was. He saved the survivors. He indirectly guided them through the disasters of the First Epoch Cycle by completing the rituals of the Obsidian Runic Spire. He saved Elyonari at the Fallen Bridge and he saved Narisva at the Submerged Islands. Eventually the Second Epoch Cycle began, Vastarael traveled here. He arrived at this spaceship and he spoke with me. This is that timeline."
Griselda lowered her wings slowly.
"Vastarael had three possible destinies. He could become a monarch, a wanderer or the savior. And he chose to become a savior."