Eternal Winter's Reign - Book 2 - Chapter 65 - Tales of the Past (Patreon)

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Alexander North

The tale? What tale?

I feel my confusion growing stronger and stronger by the second.

Then the being who I suspect is the Sun God begins speaking again, “Hundreds of thousands of years ago, long before any of the current civilizations of the universe were established, there were four forces. The warm ones of the Sun, the cold ones of the Winter, the aquatic ones of the First Rain, and the fallen ones of the Collapse.”

I blink at that, feeling more than a little surprised by the fact that there were two other forces beyond just the Sun and Winter.

But Sol just continues speaking without commenting about my thoughts. And judging by her and Cocytus’s earlier words, they most likely can read my thoughts in here.

“The warm ones, weaker than the rest yet also more peaceful and willing to work with the other species, were the direct opposite of the cold ones. Creatures whose very being was closed off to others as all they thought about was their desire to kill and serve their God,” Sol says, her warm yet calm voice echoing throughout the void as she begins to walk around me. “The aquatic ones, all indifferent to any interactions outside of their own species as they sealed themselves away in their own worlds with the power of their God. And the fallen. Hungry monsters designed by their God for no reason other than devouring everything in sight.”

Oh. That last one…

My thoughts pause as I realize something.

The fallen… don’t those traits also exist in the cold ones?

Sol turns to glance at me and nods before continuing to pace as she says, “The fallen were endlessly assaulting the forces of all three of the other Gods, however they proved incapable of breaking past the First Rain’s protection on the aquatic ones.” She stops walking as her eye narrow. “So the Collapse directly attacked the First Rain, leading to the first War of the Gods.”

Yeah, sounds about right.

She turns to look at me with a sad look in her eyes. Then she continues pacing while saying, “Their war shook the universe, and shattered the balance. Eventually drawing in the Winter God and I when it began to cause damage to the structure of the universe itself.”

The Sun God – who just confirmed the fact that she is, indeed, the Sun God – stops walking again and stares down at the ground.

“But we weren’t expecting what happened next,” she says, her voice sounding quieter than before. “The Collapse had already devoured the First Rain’s mind by the time we arrived, and both the mindless body of the First Rain and the Collapse himself attacked the Winter and I immediately.”

I grimace at that, starting to see a hint at where this might be going.

“Ages passed as Winter and I each fought one foe out of the two, stay far away from the other’s domains as we did so,” Sol continues before starting to walk again. “I took on the First Rain, and Cocytus clashed with the Collapse.”

“Eventually,” Sol says while looking away from me, “I was able to defeat the First Rain, erasing his body within that of several suns. But when I looked towards Cocytus’s clash with the Collapse, it was already too late.” She stops walking again and looks directly at me. “The Collapse had devoured his own mind and forcefully merged himself into the Winter. Changing both Cocytus and the cold ones forever.”

Sol slowly begins to walk up towards me before placing her hand on my cheek, letting me feel a strange, calming sensation spread through me. Alongside a comfortable warmth.

“With the last of Cocytus’s previous mind, he sealed himself away inside of his own ice,” she says while looking directly into my eyes with an incredibly sad expression on her face. “Before he lost himself entirely and did something he would truly regret.”

I feel a wave of sadness fill me at her story, and I’m not entirely sure if it’s my own emotions or hers.

But I feel them nonetheless, and it makes me pity her a little.

A sad smile stretches across her face when she no doubt hears that thought. Then she says, “But my battle with the First Rain didn’t end with just his death. I was gravely injured myself, and was therefore forced into sealing myself away as well to recover.”

She moves her head forward and rests her forehead against my own with her eyes closed.

“I made as many preparations as I could for Cocytus’s reawakening, but even I couldn’t imagine how powerful he’s grown since merging with the Collapse,” she says, her voice having grown even quieter than before. “Nor could I have expected how clear his mind was when he woke, even changed as it is.”

Silence fills the void for several seconds as I look at the beautiful goddess leaning her forehead against my own with a tear falling down her face. Yet despite this view, I feel nothing for her except some small hints of pity for her story.

I’m not entirely sure why, but I raise my hand and pat her on the head with a faint smile of my own. Startling her into opening her eyes.

Her surprise doesn’t last long though before she smiles again and moves a step backwards.

“Cocytus has grown too powerful for me to defeat on my own,” she says, her voice returning to normal without a hint of her previous sorrow. “We had both begun to believe it impossible for his rampage to be ended.”

She stares into my eyes for a few seconds before continuing, “Until we learned about you. A being with the energy of three Gods within him.”

I blink at that.

Three?

Then I remember that the frozen ones, or rather, cold ones also have the power of the Collapse in them.

“So, young child,” Sol states, sounding more serious now, “for the sake of the universe, will you become the new Winter God?”

I blink at that.

What?