Languished Life
Page 26
Fate was supposed to exist. Fate was supposed to control the outcome of each world. Fate was supposed to ensure their food was just food, nothing more, nothing less.
However, even the Bright Old One, the one who creates worlds, couldn’t create a fate that is impossible to change. Fate is something that relies on a predetermined future, and future is something that is subject to change at all times.
The Supreme Gods of the Seventh and Eighth Worlds found an error in the foundation of the creation. Before the Dark Old One could consume them, they abused that error. As a result, the Seventh and Eighth Worlds merged into one, into him. At once, he created a hiding place, the Eight Eras. Since the Bright Old One didn’t create the replicated worlds, neither of the Old Ones could access the Eras freely.
He can replicate the Eight Worlds as many times as he likes, but the more he creates, the more he feeds the Dark Old One, assuming he failed to protect the Eras from the eater of worlds.
Was Emy an important person in the Eight Worlds? No. She grew old on Earth. Then what about Louir? She never became a Void attuner. As for Tenil, she was the commander of the last standing humans during the Extinction War.
While the Seventh and Eighth Supreme Gods were the most powerful ones, Dracon was the smartest. However, because of that, the Bright Old One had to ensure he won’t become a threat. He was weakened soon after the creation of the First World. The way how Dracon understood it was that the other Supreme Gods that were aware of him reduced his true power. However, once he showed Dracon his memories, Dracon understood what truly happened to himself.
The reason why the Old Ones desire to consume powerful worlds is that they are far more ‘nutritious’ than worlds with only animals and greenery. In other words, greed is the cause for their failed attempt at creating the perfect prey. The Bright Old One created Supreme Gods so powerful they could defy fate.
Unless the Old Ones are defeated, the Ninth World can never be born without the risk of becoming food. The truth is that he carries two Seeds within him, and therefore, if the Ninth is born without countermeasures, it’ll be consumed faster than any other world. The Seeds of the Seventh and Eighth Worlds weren’t destroyed before the amalgamation, so there they are, residing within the unborn Ninth.
The answer to that threat lies within the Chain of Eras.
Author Note
I absolutely LOVE smart characters. Emy and Tenil were inspired by other similar characters. To make Tenil’s actions more believable, I spent some time studying war philosophy as I wrote this one. In case you’re curious, the study material was Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. I didn’t read the book, though. I watched several videos that explained the teachings in 10-20 minutes.
I haven’t really found other books that are similar to this, not from Western literature. I bet there are some, but I personally don’t know any. If you want to know more about the books I read, I recommend you check my Goodreads account or something.
I have to say, although I enjoyed writing this book, it was a pain in the ass. At first, I wanted to make this an afterlife mayhem story, but then I thought, nah, this won’t work, and I started writing a military story instead. Trust me, you don’t want to see the unholy scripture that is the original version of this book.
In the end, I managed to get this thing done. I ate quite a few cups of yakisoba noodles as I wrote this. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear I’d spent 200€ or more on yakisoba.
So, what to expect from the next book? Well, uh, summoners and a military academy for those summoners. It’s going to be Cataclysmic vs. Languished kind of story, I suppose. I mean, you probably realized Tenil is an antagonist, right? The real story of the Era Series has now begun. Ayep, the previous volumes were a prologue to this and the following books.
There’ll be some romance in Cataclysmic Life like in Apocalyptic Life, except that the male lead isn’t a blockhead. However, the female lead, namely the cataclysmic life, will be mute, so you’ll never know what she’s thinking! And nope, I won’t narrate her thoughts! It’ll make the romance more interesting (I hope =D).
I guess that’s that. If you haven’t joined my newsletter yet, you can do so on my website.
P.S. Read the next page!
“Readers of the Era Series, what do you write!!?”
““““““““““““REVIEWS!!!””””””””””””