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Regeneration.
Unlike Ron, Jin wasn't entirely sure what authority he had gained when he ascended to the Genesis Knight.
"Regeneration... Are you saying that's the authority I've acquired?"
"Usually, one immediately becomes aware of the new authority they've gained when they reach Genesis Knight. Your father, Chiron, was like that, and your sister Vahn was no different. Dante's grandfather, the former Sword Emperor, must have experienced the same."
"But unlike them, it doesn't come to me vividly. I know for sure that I've become immensely stronger than before, and... I have a vague feeling that I can repair something broken or heal the injured. However, I could not define this feeling in simple terms like the authority of regeneration."
"It might be because the authority of regeneration you obtained is not complete."
Ayula gently grabbed a golden energy that hovered near Jin.
"Perhaps even a being with a divine status like mine could not fathom the power concealed within this energy. Others might simply think of it as a special power born from the blend of aura and mana. But this mysterious power holds the potential that no one dares to fathom its depth and magnitude. Even in its incomplete state..."
"How did you immediately discern that my power is incomplete?"
“It’s my instinct. One memory surfaced in my mind the moment I faced that power—the memory of the moment when I was created. It was probably the day when I was created from a fragment of the Sun God, Kinzelo.”
Ayula was certain.
The authority of regeneration that Jin possess is the same power that the Sun God wielded when he was complete. Although Ayula had never directly seen the Sun God, she knew it instinctively.
"The Sun God..."
"The authority you've gained is undoubtedly related to him. But since he has fragmented into many pieces, it can never be complete."
"So, does Jin need to find and absorb fragments of the Sun God to complete his authority?"
Ayula tilted her head at Hedo's question.
"Jin didn't gain his authority by absorbing fragments of the Sun God in the first place. Perhaps it was manifested due to the convergence of Jin’s will and Sun God’s will at the moment when he ascended to Genesis Knight. So, I'm not sure about absorbing the Sun God's fragments. Maybe it will work, but..."
Ayula released the golden energy and paused for a moment.
"Can Jin really be called a human if he has that kind of regeneration authority? The complete power of the Sun God can truly reverse all destruction and death with will alone. It's a terrible thing for one person to wield."
Hedo and Dante nodded in agreement.
Jin's goal was to live as a human, not to become a god who governs life and death. He had never wanted to become a god, and that hadn't changed.
"But even so, I said that this power could alleviate some of Jin's suffering. I will now show you why."
Rip!
Suddenly, Ayula tore one of her right wings with her hand. Everyone flinched and shocked by the sound of flesh tearing and cracking bones.
"Ah, Lady Ayula!"
"Don't worry; it doesn't hurt that much. Well, it might be difficult to tear them all by myself. Help me. Don't cut them with a sword; it's also a form of atonement for me."
Ayula continued to tear her wings, and Jin and others had no choice but to follow her words.
Ayula's entire body was bathed in red blood when all twenty wings were removed. However, not a single drop of blood stained the wings laid before them.
"These wings originally belong to another god, not me."
"Another god?"
"The god of hope, Numerus. They're his."
-If any god causes excessive chaos in the human world, Ayula would threaten them under the pretext of a meeting. I heard she had even annihilated one before I was born. Was it the god of blessing?
-Really?
-There was a time when rumors were circulating among the dragons that Ayula might have been responsible for the disappearance of Numerus, the god of hope. Anyway, she's quite the radical one.
Jin recalled his conversation with Murakan during the Holy Kingdom incident in the past.
"It's known to the humans that eight drops of tears and a hundred drops of blood was all that remains of Numerus after I annihilated him. But, that’s the half truth. I preserved Numerus’s wings before I annihilated him. They may look like wings in appearance, but these are the materialized will of Numerus.”
Jin and his comrades looked alternatively at the wings lying on the ground and Ayula.
"You could say that Numerus and I were siblings. We were born at the same time and from the same fragment... I become the god of peace and he becomes the god of hope. We got along quite well. But why did I choose to eliminate him?"
"...Perhaps Numerus had been excessively involved with mortals."
"That's correct. He loved humans too much. So, he used his abilities to resurrect humans he particularly loved. Those who should have ascended to the cycle of reincarnation or fallen into hell ended up continuing their lives. There are often stories and legends in human folklore about resurrection. I'm sure you've heard them. The legends of the period before the founding of Vankela are all true."
Numerus had drawn Ayula's wrath shortly before the founding of Vankela. Until then, Ayula had tolerated Numerus's deviation for quite some time.
"I decided to kill him when he performed his first large-scale resurrection. Have you heard of the great resurrection of the Arlehin Kingdom?”
Jin and his companions nodded. It was indeed a widely known legend, where the Arlehin Kingdom was suddenly destroyed by a flood, and the next day, everyone in the kingdom was miraculously resurrected. It was a legend that most mortals knew.
"After that incident, I decided that I couldn't just leave Numerus alone any longer. So I went to him, and he knew I would come. He asked me to stop him. He was going insane as a result of resurrecting so many people."
Ayula had thus destroyed her brother, god Numerus.
In the process, eight drops of tears and a hundred drops of blood scattered across various places in the mortal realm as his body crumbled.
"But I didn't think that his love for humans was entirely wrong. It was just his methods were wrong... So, I left his will behind with the hope that his authority might be needed one day. Fortunately, that premonition has now become a reality."
Ayula looked down at the wings.
"These wings represent Numerus's will, so they are powerless by themselves. But when combined with the authority you've gained, they can temporarily postpone all the deaths that have occurred in the Holy Kingdom today."
"Postponing death..."
"It means that the souls of my deceased children, who were killed by the demons today, can continue to exist in the Holy Kingdom in their spirit form. They will remain as transparent souls until you die and preserve all their memories and appearances when they were alive. It's not a complete resurrection, but it's also not a complete death."
Similar to how Teben and Zen in Maliet Hister's succession temple, they can postponed the death of Holy Kingdom people through Numerus's will and Jin's power.
"...You seem to be making a similar choice to the one Numerus made in the past, Lady Ayula."
"That's correct. However, I'm not doing this to find happiness for myself. I made this choice for your sake. Also, it's because you are the one who obtained the authority of regeneration, not someone else."
Jin was shocked at those words and looked at Ayula.
Somehow, he felt that Ayula had noticed his regression, and Ayula nodded as if confirming that he was right.
Jin had confessed his regression to Paelito, but Ayula was also listening.
“The deaths that lie along your path are not your responsibility. You could say it is the responsibility of the being who made you that way. There must be a reason why you gained the authority of regeneration immediately upon becoming the Genesis Knight. And I think you gained this power so you won't be overwhelmed by so many deaths when you reach the end of that path.”
Hedo and Dante did not understand what they were talking about, but they didn’t ask questions.
"The will of Numerus merely plays a role in alleviating the sadness you've experienced in the Holy Kingdom today. Even without it, you would have been able to postpone the deaths of my deceased children. However, you would have only been able to postpone them in the form of a golden light without their appearance and memories when they were alive. Now, touch one of the wings in front of you."
Jin touched the wing, and he felt that nearby, a group of deceased subjects' souls was awakening in spirit form.
Dante and Heddo were startled by the sight and their mouths wide opened, and the resurrected subjects who had just awakened were equally shocked.
[W-Wow! Lady Ayula!]
[A-Are we not dead!? Why are our bodies so transparent...!?]
Subjects from all over the Holy Kingdom were constantly awakening. If Numerus's will hadn't been present, they would have awakened in the form of a circular golden light and unable to express themselves.
Jin was left in awe, and silently reflected on what Ayula had just said to him. So you won't be overwhelmed by so much death when you reach the end of the road.
"Someday, you may be able to give them real life again. To those who were futilely killed by the overwhelming power of those whom you opposed... A real life, not a distorted resurrection like what Numerus did in the past."
The life they should have enjoyed, the lives that were lost due to your regression.
Ayula whispered to Jin, and Dante and Hedo were busy observing the newly awakened souls, so they couldn't hear what she said.
"So, don't let yourself be crushed by guilt, Jin. You must never fall under its weight. For the sake of them, for those who died like this before, and for those who will die like this in the future, you must not fall."
Jin nodded in agreement.
Hope was blossoming in his heart. He carried the heavy burden of guilt as a regressor, but there was now a glimmer of hope that he might be able to completely cast it aside someday.
"Now, this was the last thing I had to do. Jin, awaken all my children who fell today in the Holy Kingdom. Dante and Hedo, please go and convey this situation to them. I need to explain the situation to my awakened children."
Dante and Hedo nodded and left to explain the situation to the newly awakened souls.
Amazing