Chapter 419: Example.
Aris sat on the bench in the garden of the Holy Nation with Yur sitting on her lap. Aris hugged Yur so tightly as she stared at the distance with a blank gaze. Yur wanted to break the silence, but Yur couldn’t find a topic to talk about.
"Lady Aris? Are you okay?" Yur looked up at Aris with a frown on Yur’s face.
Aris didn’t answer, she kept staring at the distance and didn’t move a muscle. Yur was getting worried and slowly grabbed Aris’ arms around Yur’s tiny body. Aris blinked and slowly looked down at Yur, looking at the worried expression on Yur’s face.
"Are we not done here? Should we go back to Rasmus?" Yur asked, holding Aris’ arms with Yur’s tiny hands.
"No..." Aris muttered, shaking her head and staring into Yur’s eyes. "I don’t want to go yet. I haven’t found the answer I’m looking for," she added as she looked at the distance again at the city.
"It’s almost two weeks since we came here. Lady Aris, you already met with your predecessor too. It wasn’t enough?" Yur asked as Yur looked at Aris’ arms around Yur’s body.
"I don’t know..." Aris muttered, shaking her head as she blinked slowly.
(12 days ago)
Aris stared at the Dragon’s Breath in her right hand in her chamber. She had been staring at it for hours without blinking her eyes. She couldn’t decide whether to go in there and meet her predecessor or not. She had been dwelling on her existence for more than a week and she still couldn’t find an answer.
A knock on the door snapped Aris back to reality, pushing all the thoughts away. She could feel and smell Serena’s presence behind the door.
"Come in," Aris said as she stored the Dragon’s Breath in her spatial ring.
Serena walked in and saw Aris sitting on the edge of the bed, noticing the trouble in Aris’ eyes. Serena smiled as she closed the door behind her and then walked toward Aris, sitting beside her.
"I have seen those eyes before, many times. You’re lost," Serena stared into Aris’ eyes with a soft smile on her face.
Aris furrowed her brows, disturbed by the fact Serena could see her expression and emotion within her. She was disturbed by the fact she was making such expressions, wondering if she had slowly turned into an emotional being. She hated it, but she couldn’t get rid of it, making her deeply frustrated.
"You’re questioning something dangerous, aren’t you? I know because I was like that before," Serena muttered, staring at the spot on the wall in front of her. "Asking about my purpose, about what I truly am beyond flesh and bones..." She exhaled deeply.
Aris stared into Serena’s eyes and she could see it, the resonating emotions between them. She could see that Serena was telling the truth, and how disturbed Serena was when she spoke about that matter.
"Do you want to hear my story, Aris? This story will either give you an answer you’re looking for, or..." Serena paused to look into Aris’ eyes. "Or it will make you feel a lot worse, something like your existence is meaningless..." She pointed out.
Aris’ expression was unreadable, cold and stoic, unbothered by the warning. She nodded, wanting to hear Serena’s story, not the Saint, but the soul that Videl had brought from Hell.
Serena revealed who she was, the first human woman that served to become the wife of the first man that God created. She revealed her name, Lilith to Aris, and told Aris about her disobedient deed. She told her story, her whole existence that was used as an example for humankind, a woman who disobeyed God’s words, to be severely punished.
Aris listened to the whole story without making any expression, making it impossible for Serena to read Aris’ thoughts. Aris found out about the punishment and the torture that Lilith had been through, to be called as the Mother of Demons, birthing hundreds of thousands of demons during her punishment.
"Do you know what they said? The Angels when they brought me to Hell?" Serena looked at Aris with a gentle gaze. "They said it was my choice, my fault, and God only punished me for what I had done," she chuckled as she looked at the ceiling.
"Of course I accepted that it was my fault, but I didn’t accept that it was my choice. It was just a stage, an example that God placed upon me for humankind. God always used an example, to make His creation to obey and to understand. There wasn’t a single rule or command that God made without an example of consequence," Serena closed her eyes, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Let’s say that I didn’t do it, didn’t disobey God’s words back in heaven. Do you think humankind would fear the consequences of disobedience without an example?" Serena opened her eyes, glancing at Aris. "If it wasn’t me, one way or another God would choose a woman to become an example, to receive a punishment for disobedience. That woman would be destined to be punished, and unfortunately, that woman was me..." She chuckled, a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
Serena took a shaky breath before she exhaled deeply as she looked down at her lap and her palms. Her eyes showed the pain, exhaustion, and rage that had been burning within her.
"There are countless figures like me, used as examples for disobedience. There’s no point of obedience without examples of consequences of disobedience. Goodness is meaningless without evil because if there’s no line to separate them, there will be no good or evil," Serena said, staring into Aris’ eyes.
"God gave everyone free will. For someone like me, that free will is designed to make me fall, to become an example. My existence, I’m just an example, one of the many so all living beings know what’s good and what’s evil. That’s the truth of my life," Serena smiled softly at Aris.
Aris’ thoughts began to consume her from listening to Serena’s story. She could see herself in Serena’s position, about her being an Aristoria, a being that seemed to have no free will, pre-destined where all paths seemed to end on the same finish line.
"Good can’t exist without evil, therefore evil must exist. If evil must exist, then someone must become it... to become evil," Serena said with a cold gaze pointed at Aris. "Now you can question your existence, Aris. Why an Orthias has to become an Aristoria? What for? What happen if no Aristoria exist?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.
The question seemed to get overwritten by all the questions that had been bothering Aris. Serena’s question was profound, the lock that bound all the chains together. The answer would be the key to unlock the lock, making all the chains fall simultaneously.
"It seems your mind has cleared up a bit," Serena smiled as she stood up from the bed. "I’m glad that my story didn’t make you feel hopeless and pointless. So, I’ll leave you be..." She said as she walked toward the door.
"Ah, I almost forgot the most important part..." Serena paused and turned around to look at Aris. "The keyhole on the lock, it can accept any kind and shape of keys. All keys are the right key, but the one you choose and use to unlock it, it will be your truth," she smiled gently at Aris before she turned around and opened the door.
Aris felt the heaviness on her shoulders and head slowly being lifted.
"Thank you, Lilith," Aris said, staring at Serena with a soft gaze.
"Although we don’t know each other really well, you have changed in a good way," Serena chuckled softly as she walked out of the room. "You’re very welcome, Aris, good night," she said in a gentle voice before she closed the door and left.
Aris took a deep breath, feeling the silence slowly taking over the room. She pulled out the Dragon’s Breath from the spatial ring and stared at it for a moment before she nodded her head and entered the Void Realm to meet with Aristoria.
When Aris entered the void realm, she found the True Dragon lying on the ground with its chin rested on the mountain’s summit. The True Dragon glanced at her with its glowing bright blue eyes, but this time it didn’t show any hostility toward her. She knew that the True Dragon was being docile not because it knew her, but it was because Aristoria who had tamed the True Dragon and was sitting on its head and leaning against its horn.
Aristoria stared at Aris for a second before she decided to jump down from the mountain and land in front of Aris without making a sound. She gave Aris a soft smile before she spoke to her successor.
"I knew you would come back this soon," Aristoria said, standing in front of Aris. "Tell me, what do you want to ask me?" Her smile softened.