Chapter XII
That afternoon, Aydir visited the home of one of his students, because the student kept receiving a salary even though three deliveries had been made and he had not even attended to witness it, while his friends continued to work and earned the same profit as him. Aydir was now sitting in a simple living room, inside a house on the outskirts of Ankara City. Aydir noticed that the money for the pottery delivery wages was just piled up and left to gather dust in the corner of the room, while his student, named Selim, was just sitting hunched over and brooding, almost without movement.
"So, what is the matter with you that has made you like this, my child?" Aydir asked.
Selim remained silent, while showing some letters whose paper was slightly crumpled, as if it had been wet before. Aydir, squinting his already slightly presbyopic eyes, slowly read the letters. The letters contained a message from Selim's older brother, stating that the young man was now an orphan because the ship carrying his parents home from the sacred forest kingdom of the elves had a wreck and sank. The wreckage of the ship was still unclear where it was, as were the victims; all were lost, swept away by the strong sea current.
"It is not healthy for a human being to linger in sadness. Everyone knows that a person who is still sane will not be happy when their family, especially their parents, dies."
Selim only nodded.
"In this world, everyone must understand one thing: if you are able to accept a gift from God, then you must be ready when the time comes for it to be snatched away from you," Aydir continued.
"But Master, all this time, everything I did was only for father and mother. I studied, I worked, to provide benefits to my parents. Now they are gone. I don't even know what I'm living for anymore," Selim explained with an empty gaze.
"If that is truly your goal, then you have denied it. You have severed the good things that could please your parents in the afterlife. Do you remember what 'rights' are?"
Selim immediately raised his head, imagining what Aydir had taught him. Those who die will not have their spirits lost on earth and will immediately arrive in the Barzakh (intermediate realm), but emotionally, they will be tied to their families, and the way for the living to help the deceased is to live a better life, more than they ever did.
"If you have a dream, then chase it. Let your wings be burned by the sun. Tears will surely dry up, weeping will fade and be replaced by smiles, and if you fall, remember when your mother helped you stand up and walk," said Aydir.
Aydir got up from his seat, saying, "I have business with another student. If you feel better, you can come back. Don't hesitate to complain to me next time, as long as this old man is still alive, hohoho."
Aydir left, rubbing his back.
Selim wiped away the tears that began to stream, cleaned his house, and donated all the wages he earned without working to charity. Selim wanted to be better.
Aydir arrived at the palace gate, running into two gate guards. Aydir asked, "Gentlemen who are carrying out their duties, may I visit the palace library?"
The two guards looked at each other until one of them came forward awkwardly, answering, "Um, I'm sorry, Master Teacher, you don't need to ask permission from us. We feel disrespectful if we act authoritatively in front of you, Master Teacher."
Hearing this made Aydir amused. He laughed softly and replied, "Then I also feel disrespectful attending someone's house without asking permission. I am now a citizen, and you are the officials, so you are certainly superior, isn't that right?" he said.
"That's true. In that case, come, I'll escort you," said one of the guards.
"Oh dear, no need. I can go alone. I'm not that old yet," Aydir replied. The two guards immediately turned their faces away with a smile created from their effort to hold back the air forcing its way out, while their noses began to make strange sounds.
Aydir left, saying, "Don't hold back your laughter; it feels strange if no one laughs after you try to be funny."
Aydir walked away, listening to their unrestrained laughter from a distance.
Upon arriving at the library, Aydir circled every bookshelf. As far as the eye could see, there were only neatly arranged thousands of books. The distinctive aroma of the library could influence anyone to stay longer and read more books, until Aydir finally reached the end of the room and found Eliana struggling to find a book. She looked like she had been trying to find it for a very long time from her chaotic appearance: sweating and breathless. How happy Eliana was when she saw Aydir standing there.
"What book are you looking for, my child?" Aydir asked.
"A book that tells about the sealed guardians of nature. I need that book!" Eliana answered.
"That means you are looking in the wrong place. How did you look for the book before?" Aydir asked.
"I immediately searched this whole huge bookshelf from end to end. I thought it must be located on the shelf facing the exit, so I checked one by one all along that way," Eliana replied.
"Well, that book is on the shelf right next to the entrance, facing inward, the fourth row from the bottom, and in the second column from the left side," Aydir countered.
Eliana was immediately surprised. Without thinking twice, she immediately looked for it according to Aydir's instructions, and sure enough, it didn't take long; the book was found. Eliana walked tiredly, staggering with a forced smile, back to Aydir's spot. Eliana approached Aydir, who was sitting cross-legged reading a newspaper in the middle of the library. At first glance, this library only showed thousands of books, but if truly counted, the number would be around 357,860 books with different titles and different authors, which means that does not include books with the same author.
Eliana lay down on Aydir's lap, stating she needed a little rest. Aydir felt pity seeing Eliana smiling, but tears continued to stream from her eyes. However, Eliana revealed that it happened not because she was sad, but because her emotions were damaged due to excessive stress and a lack of happiness she experienced, so unconsciously, her body continued to grieve and cry non-stop.
"Everyone has the right to be happy. Everyone has the right to dry their tears," Aydir said, looking at the ceiling.
"I believe happiness is always looking for you, but you always reject it, isn't that right?" Aydir asked.
"I always try not to laugh. I feel unworthy of happiness as long as Kaizo hasn't returned. My children must be able to see their father," Eliana replied.
"I have seen enough. The rest is up to you. So, I had better ask something else, like why are you looking for that book?"
Eliana immediately sat next to Aydir and explained her intention. Eliana received news from Calabras through a letter slipped in a place only Eliana could reach—no need to discuss where—but the content of the letter was that Calabras was trying to warn her of impending danger. When Kaizo previously broke the maximum speed of any living creature from another universe returning to Earth, it caused a rift in the form of a tear between the two universes. As a result, they are now stuck together and slightly connected, providing a path for anyone to cross, and in that adjacent universe is a planet-eating creature that is very large, strong, and dangerous.
Calabras said that by gathering the power of the seven guardians of nature, Eliana could create a weapon that could be used to defeat the creature, with the note that when the creature is destroyed, she must destroy the core of its life, which is a box stored deep inside its body.
Aydir said, "I see. That's very worrying. I hope you are always under His protection. From here, I will support you. Fatih must know about this, but keep the people from knowing. That would be dangerous."
"Understood, Master," Eliana replied.
The next day, Eliana visited her children at the Sultan's palace. Eliana looked very ready to leave, which might be her farewell to her children. Eliana said goodbye to Desmond, exchanging smiles of resignation until Kaitzer and Lylia finally arrived. Lylia said, "Where are you going, Mother?" That question immediately shook Eliana's resolve. Her heart felt crushed, knowing she had to leave her very young children.
"Father has come home. Mother is going to pick him up," Eliana replied while hugging Lylia.
"Is it far, Mom?" Kaitzer spoke up from behind. Eliana immediately embraced both of them and answered, "It's quite far, children. Don't wait. Mother will definitely return."
Desmond, who witnessed all this, immediately left, not wanting to show his sadness. Eliana tried very hard not to cry; her children must not be sad.
Eliana walked out of the palace gate. Unexpectedly, she met the Sultan, Fatih Yirtigiloglu, who immediately asked, "Hey, where are you going—"
Eliana immediately hugged Fatih, very tightly and warmly. Until Eliana finally released him, Eliana said, "Thank you." As soon as Eliana reached the end of the road, she suddenly disappeared just like that, before Fatih even had time to realize what had happened.
Fatih stood in the middle of the road, still confused. Slowly, his robe billowed in the wind.
The Cruiser, the spaceship above all, the place where the Bedrock Creappear gathered. Yggdrasil and Calabras walked side-by-side, traversing the ship's vast and bright hall. It was illuminated by cosmic light that shimmered through every corridor of the very futuristic spaceship. The size of this spaceship could never be imagined by anyone, no matter how high their existence, because only the Bedrock Creappear understood this spaceship.
From a distance, Vernizel was seen talking to Stalaris (the absolute star) and Nenahas (the absolute nature/realm). Stalaris appeared as a man with a long brown coat and neatly styled hair, wearing dark glasses that displayed the entire universe from the realm itself. Meanwhile, Nenahas appeared as a flamboyant young man, wearing a black hoodie and identified by a lightning logo on a perpetually reversed cap. It was unclear what the three of them were discussing, but they were definitely laughing together.
"When can we be like that?" Yggdrasil muttered.
"I don't laugh because I'm black," Calabras replied.
"Pfft, what was that? That doesn't make sense!" Yggdrasil retorted.
"It doesn't make sense. That's the important point,"
"You're so weird—"
"CRASH"
Yggdrasil slipped and fell, rolling down the stairs.
Holding back his embarrassment, Yggdrasil tried to look up, only to see Calabras remaining in his previous position without turning around, but it was clear that Calabras was hiding his face by looking down. His body was shaking; he was laughing.
Yggdrasil, feeling laughed at, immediately went berserk and chased Calabras non-stop. They had fun and kept laughing together, carefree and full of happiness.
Vernizel, Stalaris, and Nenahas just watched from afar.
"Calabras, laughing?" Nenahas was curious.
"Only when he's with Ya-Chan," Vernizel commented.
"They really suit each other, like sugar and coffee," Stalaris countered.
From behind, Herdabrinus and Antitay walked casually toward the three of them. Herdabrinus, the god of heaven, looked like a middle-aged father with dark brown hair and shining white eyes, wearing a thin blue jacket and simple jeans. Down-to-earth and humble. Meanwhile, Antitay, the god of hell, looked luxurious in a classy-looking coat, brown hair with a sweeping fringe, and a perpetually arrogant face.
Herdabrinus greeted them politely, then said, "Everyone is here. What are you watching?"
Vernizel only pointed behind him with his thumb, while his face stretched downward due to his overly wide smile.
Calabras and Yggdrasil were seen fighting seriously. Both were full of fiery enthusiasm and kept smiling. 'Seriously' meant throwing colorful energy balls at each other like squabbling children. They looked cute, anyway.
Ryan and Azusa appeared from the same direction as Herdabrinus. Both were looking for Calabras. Antitay pulled the two of them and forced them to watch the show. Azusa was silent and speechless, while Ryan burst into laughter, saying, "I knew they would be like that."
Finally, Yggdrasil and Calabras fell. They sat opposite each other while their backs met, leaning against each other. They were panting. It was a comfortable support for Yggdrasil because of Calabras's broad back, while for Calabras, it was the opposite.
"Is that all?! Let's fight!!!!!" Vernizel shouted, simultaneously snapping his fingers. This materialized airsoft guns for everyone there, along with the locking of all exit doors.
The Cruiser's hall became a battlefield full of laughter and warmth. No one hurt each other. Everyone felt a sense of belonging and kinship. This is roughly the story of those untouched by any power above them, because they are the highest. Meanwhile, the entire universe, from the lowest to the highest, only became a silent witness to them.
Eliana allowed her body to be heavily rained upon by the Eye of the Sky Waterfall, the largest waterfall on Earth, located on the natural reserve continent in the world's most tropical location, Barnius continent, a place where no human is allowed to set foot without an official permit that must be issued directly from the great council of kings. Eliana was the violator, but it didn't matter. She arrived here without anyone knowing. She was suddenly teleported by Vernizel and arrived here in less than a second. Eliana slept lying on her back, carrying nothing but deep sadness, on the large rock until the water, falling from a height that seemed to descend from the sky in a very large volume, was no longer felt.
Eliana jumped down, immediately plunging into the pool below. Eliana swam to the edge of the pool and lay down there again.
She slowly closed her eyes because of the glare of the sun, saying, "Kaizo, come back to me..."
Eliana fell into a deep sleep, forgetting everything around her, because for her, only Kaizo was looking at her from the sky far above.