Chapter 098 Hypocrite Saint 16 The Past of the Elves.
The moment she saw the elf cub, Hemera determined his identity.
Apart from his Jane, no other creature in the world has such unique double black.
He realized that something was wrong with the current situation, but this was Jane after all. Even though he had become a cub, he could not resist the genuine attraction. The moment he saw him, his whole heart softened.
Hemera walked over to the cub and squatted down, gently reaching out her hand to pick him up from the cold ground.
However, His hands went straight through the cub's body, and the cub seemed to have completely ignored the person in front of it, and was still staring blankly at the place before.
Hemera's expression froze. He looked in the direction of the child's gaze and slowly stood up.
This is a small house in extremely poor condition. It is more like a woodshed than a home. There is nothing around the walls except a bed, a table and a cabinet.
There wasn't even anything to cushion the bed. There was just a bed board with some soft cotton wool on top and a layer of rough cloth covering it as a bed sheet.
Hemera's gaze shifted back to the only child in the room.
He knew where this was.
This is the memory of the elves.
He came to the elf's memory and saw his lover when he was still a cub.
Hemera looked at little Jane carefully with tenderness and heartache.
The elf's face was tender and delicate, a face gifted by the Creator, but it did not have the liveliness that a child should have. The emptiness and tiredness on such a young child created a sense of disconnection and showed a heavy sadness.
"simple……"
Hemera called the elf's name softly, but the elf of course didn't hear it. He just stared blankly in the direction of the door, without making a sound or moving, like an exquisite fake doll.
The setting sun outside the window shone into this simple house. Where the elf was, he looked up at the empty god, just as he had prayed to the non-existent god countless times in the past years.
Neither the God of Light in the past nor Hemera today could give him any response.
Hemera was at a loss, not knowing what to do. At this moment, there was a slight noise from the door, and the elf immediately reacted.
He immediately showed a look of vigilance.
Then he bent his body flexibly and shrunk his small self under the bed.
This made Hemera stunned. What kind of teaching would allow such a young child to develop such an instinct?
The next moment, the door was pushed open. Hemera looked back and saw a tightly wrapped person walking in.
Seeing this figure, the elf hiding under the bed immediately came out and rushed directly in front of the person. Its little hands grabbed the corner of his clothes, and its big black eyes revealed a bit of admiration and dependence, making the exquisite fake doll come alive.
"Mom," he whispered.
The tightly wrapped person took off her clothes layer by layer. Although she still had a headscarf on, she still revealed a tired and beautiful face. Her slightly exposed pointed ears revealed her identity.
As the brightest star of the elves, Evelyn's face still had a breathtaking beauty, but there was no light in her eyes. She was beautiful but lifeless, revealing an old and decayed look that was completely inconsistent with her appearance.
When she saw the elf, a hint of tenderness subconsciously appeared in her eyes, but the next second, it turned into anxiety and blame.
"Jane, why don't you cover yourself up again? I have told you many times that you should protect yourself even at home. Have you forgotten why we were forced to move last time?"
The smile on the elf's face, which had not yet fully unfolded, froze in the middle. He retracted his expression and timidly withdrew his hand that was holding the corner of his mother's clothes.
"sorry……"
Evelyn did not notice his timidity and uneasiness. She anxiously patrolled the empty room, picked up the headscarf placed in the corner, and wrapped it tightly around the elf's head and face, covering him as well as herself.
Her technique was not gentle, and the little elf said nothing, allowing his mother's careless force to leave red marks on his delicate face.
Seeing this scene, Hemera could hardly hold back the anger in her heart. Even though she knew it was just a memory, she still took a step forward and subconsciously wanted to hold the elf in her arms.
But he could do nothing but watch.
The weather was very hot, and the elf was wrapped up tightly. He saw his mother finally look tired and sat down at the table, and then he said carefully: "I'm sorry, Mom, I will never take it off again."
The clear and childish voice seemed to wake Evelin up, and she looked at her son’s face and suddenly burst into tears.
She hugged the helpless elf tightly in her arms, crying and choking, saying, "Jane, please understand mom. Mom really has no money. If we are discovered again, starving to death is the least of our worries. If the Dark God is told that we are still alive, we will face a catastrophe."
Hearing Evelyn's tired and desperate voice, the anger in Hemera's heart was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, causing Him to tremble slightly.
What forced the elf princess and little prince to this point?
…It is Himself.
The part belonging to the Dark God began to fluctuate in His heart, His ears buzzed, and a look of sorrow appeared on His face.
What right did he have to blame Jane's mother? She should have been a princess spoiled by the whole family. Even though she had fallen to this point, she was still able to raise Jane with strength. It was her motherly love that was taking effect.
Although the God of Darkness and the God of Light had both fallen into a deep sleep at this time, the people in the underworld did not know this. They survived, but lived in eternal fear. The existence of the God of Darkness was like a sharp blade hanging around their necks, and they were always worried that it would fall.
Jane seemed to have gotten used to these words. There was a bit of numbness in her eyes, but she still said obediently, "I know, Mom, I won't do this again."
Evelin hugged him and cried for a while before she barely calmed down. She took out the dinner she had earned from working all day and put it in Jane's hands.
Hemera went closer and saw that they were two small, hard loaves of bread.
The elves are close to nature. They prefer to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Meat and pasta are a torture to them.
But Jane said nothing. She held the bread in her little hands and ate it hard.
Evelyn ate one herself, then she stroked Jane's dark hair and watched him eat sadly.
"Fruits are too expensive. Mom can't afford them. We can only eat these." She seemed to know that she shouldn't raise cubs like this. She said these things habitually, as if trying to explain, "The Tuoyue Forest is gone. We can never go back. Without the protection of trees and tribesmen, we can't survive alone in the wild..."
Jane still didn't react, as if he had heard these words a thousand times. He didn't know what to do, so he could only try hard to eat the dry bread and pretend that he liked it very much.
He knew that it was a burden for his mother to raise him, and he couldn't add to her worries.
Hemera's eyes turned red.
He could understand Evelyn's breakdown and pressure, but what kind of environment would he grow up in if he said these things every day in front of a child who was only four or five years old, who was even considered a cub among humans?
He understood why the elf's face was so empty and numb.
When He can do nothing… nothing.
The proud God of Creation realized his own incompetence and powerlessness time and time again, but He could only stay where He was and continue watching.
He was reluctant to give up the opportunity to understand Jane. These memories were like poison to him, causing him pain and yet longing.
Jane's childhood was spent in such a gloomy tone. In order to avoid being discovered, Evelyn would move with Jane every once in a while. During the day, she would go out to work covered up tightly, and Jane would stay at home waiting for her to come back.
He never took off his turban again, nor did he speak a word to anyone else, let alone education and friends. Evelyn had done her best to support the two of them and didn't care about how Jane grew up.
From the age of four to ten, Hemera spent six years with Jane in her memory, witnessing the hardships and pains that the elf mother and son went through along the way.
Over the years, Evelyn's health had been getting worse and worse. She was a spoiled princess, and she watched her people being killed and her home being destroyed. She also suffered from fear and torture in life, and she finally couldn't hold on any longer.
When that day came, Jane, who was only ten years old, knelt beside her mother's bed, holding her skinny hand tightly against her cheek, crying and shaking all over, but not daring to make a loud sound.
This was the first time in six years that Hemera saw the elf cry. No matter what hardships he faced in the past, he was always strong because he knew that he could not add any more burden to his mother.
But now, his mother, the only one he could rely on, is also dying.
"Mom, please don't leave me. I will be obedient and grow up soon. When the time comes, I will go out to work and take care of you. Please don't leave, okay? I will be obedient..."
He cried and begged softly, but the haggard female elf was no longer able to respond to him. She looked at her child, the only member of her tribe, with regret in her eyes.
"Mom...Mom...please don't leave..." The elf turned around crying and kowtowed to the cold ground. "Great God of Light, if you are here, please don't take my mom away. All my people are going to accompany you. Please leave my mom behind..."
The place where he knocked down was facing Hemera.
Hemera stood there motionless, her face pale.
"simple……"
The elf rolled and crawled back to the bed.
“Mom… I’m sorry.” Evelin’s voice was hoarse, and she looked at her child lovingly. For the first time, she suppressed her sadness and pain and didn’t vent it. “Mom really loves you, but Mom… I really don’t know how to be a mother. You have suffered so much over the years.”
Little Jane swallowed a miserable sob and shook her head desperately: "I'm not tired, I love mom too, so mom, please don't leave, okay, okay..."
The tears from Evelin's eyes melted into the pillow, and she raised her hand with great effort to touch Jane's face, her trembling breath squeezing out word by word from her throat.
"If God doesn't save us, we can only save ourselves..."
The faint glow in her eyes gradually disappeared.
"From now on, you are the last elf in the world, Jane, you have to... live..."
The skinny hand suddenly fell down.
Jane stared blankly at her dead mother, her mouth wide open, tears streaming down her face, but she couldn't make any sound.
When the pain reaches its extreme, even the collapse is silent.
Hemera slowly knelt down behind Jane, reaching out her hands from behind and pretending to hug him.
"I'm sorry..." He said silently, "Jane, I'm sorry..."
He thought Jane would collapse. As a child who had never been exposed to the outside world, he could not imagine how long it would take for Jane to get over the pain of losing her only relative and face the world again.
But Jane shocked Him again.
The ten-year-old child knelt in front of his mother's bed, refusing to eat or drink for three days, and then he stood up.
Because he had been kneeling for too long, he staggered. Hemera subconsciously wanted to reach out to catch him, but she could only let his body pass through.
If it weren't for the elf's unique physique, such a young child would have become disabled after kneeling for so many days.
The little elf lay on the ground for a while, then stood up with an expressionless face.
He calmly began to pack his things.
There were not many usable things in the room, so he packed all the food into his bag, then walked back to the bed and gently kissed his mother's forehead.
"Goodbye, Mom."
"I swear, I will live. As long as I am alive, the elves will never be extinct."
After bidding his mother a final farewell, he lit a flame and, in the astonished eyes of Hemera, started a fire in the house.
Hemera lost all her language, and she soon realized that since the identity of the elf could not be discovered and Jane could not bury his mother, she could only choose to burn everything with fire.
Jane, who is only ten years old and has never received any education, is born so smart and... ruthless.
Jane stood in the burning house for a long time, until the flames licked his clothes, then he turned and left.
From then on, a huge and crisis-filled world appeared before him.
He no longer has a home.
…
Hemera thought that this long memory would end here. It had broken his heart and caused him unbearable pain. He wanted to go crazy countless times because of his own powerlessness.
But He did not expect that the test of God's Heart did not end there.
Jian, an elf, stepped into a strange world. Although he was smart, he knew nothing and could do nothing. The only thing he remembered was to conceal his elf characteristics and not reveal them no matter what happened.
He knew that he needed money to buy food, but he didn't know how to make money. His mother never told him how to work. He wandered in human society, and when he was extremely hungry, he picked leaves from the trees to eat.
Hemera watched helplessly, feeling extremely anxious. He was so anxious that he reached out to take the fruits and vegetables from the store several times. He knew that it was stupid and useless to do so, but he could not bear to see the elves suffer like this.
Fortunately, the elf was smart and his hunger did not last long. Based on careful observation, he began to try to do some simple work.
This place is remote and poor, and it is not uncommon for ten-year-old children to work. In addition, the pay Jane asked for was very low, so people did not pay much attention to him.
He might only earn a piece of bread after a day's hard work, but he never complained. Perhaps he was already accustomed to hardship, or perhaps he had already prepared for it before entering this world. He just lived silently and strongly.
He learned from his mother and changed his place every once in a while in order to avoid being discovered. Although his life was hard, he learned to protect himself earlier than his weak mother.
Time stumbled on until Jane was fifteen, an age when he was still a cub among the elves, but he had already become mature.
After discovering his talent for light attributes, he desperately seized the opportunity to learn. He worked for the local priest temple for free just to be able to blend in and listen to their lessons to apprentices.
Jian was born with a holy body of light and was a hardworking genius. He mastered simple light magic at a terrifying speed. Then, in the dead of night, he sneaked into the library of the priest's hall with his nimble and ethereal skills.
Go and study.
He learned very quickly. Magic that was very difficult for ordinary people could be learned by him with just a little experience. So after finishing reading a book in a priest's temple, he would change cities and use the same trick again.
During this period, he learned disguise magic. Although he could not deceive truly powerful adults, it was more than enough to conceal his identity among ordinary people.
When he finally had the strength to protect himself, Hemera cried silently.
He watched the elf's journey with his own eyes, and no one knew what he had been through better than him.
In previous investigations, all of this past was only integrated into a few short lines of words, but beneath these few lines, there were nearly five hundred years of suffering and struggle.
The elves try so hard to survive, and if they take a wrong step, they will fall into an irretrievable doom.
For the first time, the god who was detached from worldly affairs experienced the difficulties of the mortal world. Only now did he understand what the past represented.
Jane wandered alone on the continent for four hundred years.
His footprints spread all over the continent, which broadened his horizons. He learned that there was a forbidden technique in necromancy called the Return of the Dead, which could forcibly change the properties of bones and even race.
For tens of thousands of years, no one has ever thought of using this kind of cruel magic on humans. Even the most skilled necromancers would not dare to think about it. But after Jane learned the news, her eyes lit up slightly.
"No..." Hemera stood in front of Jane in fear, trying to stop him, "Don't learn this, it will kill you!"
Of course He couldn't stop Jane.
Hemera watched in agony as he forced himself to learn necromancy despite the pain of attribute conflict. He used himself as a test subject, trying it on himself again and again, fainting from the pain and waking up to start all over again. It was like watching him walk towards death step by step.
During this time, he picked up the girl who was a mixture of human and succubus and was curled up in the corner of the street.
Jane stared at the girl in amazement, as if he saw his former self.
At this time, Jane had already discovered the Western monsters' eagerness to make moves, and began to hatch a bold and crazy plan, but in the end he could not abandon the girl whose experience was so similar to his, and decided to raise her.
The succubus bloodline restricted the girl's possibility of learning light magic, so Jane taught her the magic of the dead and treated her as her own child.
"I had a mother before, and now you should have someone to protect you." After the naive girl fell asleep, Jane sat beside her bed and gently stroked her hair. "I will never let you go through the same hardships I went through again."
Hemera looked dazed, and calmly realized that her heart, which had been numb with pain, could actually hurt even more.
His spirit grew up in misery, but never brought resentment to the world. His heart was full of tenderness and love. All those cruelty and deception were just his means of self-protection.
He does not acknowledge his own gentleness and believes that he is a villain who will do anything to achieve his goals, but he actually has the softest heart in the world.
Otherwise, what does the Western monsters' attack on the continent have to do with the elves? There are no elves on the continent. He wants to stop the Western monsters because he doesn't want the tragedy of the elves to happen to other races again.
For this purpose, he used the forbidden technique again.
Not only did he forcibly change his race, he also reversed his appearance, turning himself back to the way he was at the age of five, and then entered the Temple of Light to run for the Son of God.
He knew that only with power could he achieve his goals.
For ten whole days, he was sober and tempering his bones. In order not to attract more attention, he did not even scream in such severe pain.
The expression of extreme pain and wishing to die immediately was deeply reflected in Hemera's eyes. He knelt down and begged him to stop, but the sound of his pleading could not be heard by the people in the past.
Hemera's sanity completely collapsed, and he knelt on the ground and cried bitterly. At this moment, white light swirled in front of his eyes, and real weight fell into his arms, which had been empty all this time.
He returned to reality and finally hugged his spirit again.
But the elf was no longer breathing.
Hemera lowered her head in a daze, and her spirit fell into her arms, her face pale and her expression peaceful.
He was finally no longer in pain, but he would never open his eyes again.
"Jane, I finally understand you." Hemera's voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. "I understand your persistence and ambition, your pride and courage. I really... understand everything."
His whole body was trembling, golden divine blood flowed from his mouth, and his eyes were filled with such intense love and pain that it was hard to believe that this was the once supreme, heartless and ruthless god.
He was holding the dead elf, his eyes were dull.
All the elf's actions were explained, and he knew what a stupid mistake he had made, but he no longer had the chance to make up for it.
"Jane, don't you want to restore true peace to the world? Now you have done it, open your eyes and take a look."
"Jane, listen to the voices on the continent. You are no longer a heretic who has betrayed God. They are all thanking you for speaking up for them, even against God. Do you hear that?"
…
"Jane, don't sleep."
"I'm here, don't sleep."
Hemera slowly lowered her head and pressed her hand against her lover's cold forehead. Tears fell under the elf's eyes, but she couldn't tell whose tears they were.
“Please…” He said, “…please.”
The elves of the past could not get the gods’ mercy even if they knelt on the ground.
Even if the gods today were reduced to dust, they could not bring back the lives of the elves.
It's all retribution.
*
The author has something to say:
I finished writing this chapter while sitting at home and listening to "My Motherland and I" floating outside the window. It was exciting.
Tomorrow the world will end~
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