The Gamer's POV

Chapter 345: Like a Phoenix from Ashes

Argentos stood up, and to Cedric’s surprise, he took a few steps forward until he was close to the boy.

Then, all of a sudden, he reached out and tapped Cedric’s shoulder twice. "You kept your promise to us." His smile brightened as he muttered, "Thank you. My people and I are forever indebted to you."

As someone who didn’t know how to respond whenever he received thanks, Cedric pressed his lips into a thin line that resembled a smile and nodded awkwardly.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," Argentos said, gesturing to the floor before him.

Cedric then slowly sat down, crossed his legs, and leaned both hands back. As Argentos moved to do the same, he asked, "If you don’t mind me asking, didn’t you return to the Cradle with the rest of your people?"

Cedric nodded. "I did. But I found a way to return."

Argentos arched a brow questioningly but didn’t pry into this method Cedric had found. Instead, he smiled and asked, "What brings you back here? Surely you did not miss us that much to return to this hell."

Cedric smiled. "Actually, I came here to do something for you."

Argentos went quiet, looking at him intently.

Cedric then added, "An attempt."

"An attempt?"

"Yes." Cedric nodded. He then leaned forward slightly, and his tone turned serious. "I know you want your people to rest. To do more than exist. To be happy and to die as humans.

"What if I can grant you that? What if I can take away the melancholy hanging over your lives and restore meaning like you desire?"

The space fell silent, and Cedric could see Argentos tremble subtly with every word. His blue eyes, now clouded with a torrent of emotion, widened slightly.

After a long pause, he whispered, "Y-you... you can do that?"

Cedric replied, "As I said, I can make an attempt." He lowered his eyes, then added after a short moment, "I do not know if it will work, and to be honest, it is risky for you. But if you are willing to let me make this attempt and it works, then some of you will become human again."

Argentos lowered his eyes too, and they darted around as if he could not believe what he was hearing.

If Cedric was telling the truth... if he could take these hollow shells from them, they would be a human nation once more in this world.

...Hope.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Argentos saw real hope.

He felt desperation welling up inside him, and he lifted his gaze back to Cedric’s eyes, leaning forward as he breathed, "Tell me what I need to do."

Cedric, however, was not as thrilled as Argentos, because this requirement was incredibly grim.

He sighed and said, "Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of its past self." He extended both hands and said, "I have learned that for something to be restored, it must first be destroyed."

Argentos seemed to understand what Cedric was implying, seeing as his expression darkened.

Cedric added, "Those who want to become human will first need to die before they can be restored to their original forms. If my attempt succeeds, they will wake up human."

***

Some time later, Cedric could be seen sitting on the flat roof of the high keep of the castle. His legs were dangling over the edge as he stared out into the distance, lost in his thoughts.

After his conversation with Argentos, the metallic figure had seemed completely shaken. Since it was a life-or-death decision, Cedric had decided to give him time to think it over and to discuss it with his people.

Cedric could understand why the leader was hesitating. This situation looked remarkably similar to when Argentos had received the revelation from Proserpina, the goddess of this realm. She had asked Argentos to kill every single one of his people and had promised to make sure that they wouldn’t truly die.

However, that vision, if looked at objectively, seemed like a scam considering they had all turned into monsters trapped in these hollow shells.

Now, Cedric was giving him the same choice. He was not only reopening old wounds, he was basically asking them to relive that trauma.

Truth be told, he wouldn’t be completely surprised if Argentos declined, and he wouldn’t blame him either.

He sighed.

By the way, there was something else on his mind.

Normally, he only brought people back from the dead if they had died a single time. If someone were to die again after a revival, it was not wise to try a second time, as the soul would become frayed.

However, back then, before he had offered to bring Argentos’s daughter, Marcella, back from the dead, he had asked Gamer Privileges if it was safe to do so. He had been unsure, considering they were humans who had already died once before becoming Hollow Ones. To his surprise, Gamer Privileges had responded, saying that it was fine because, apparently the souls of the Hollow Ones did not travel to the afterlife.

That got Cedric thinking. Could it be that Proserpina was actually straightforward when she said she wouldn’t let them die? And that the fire was simply just a catalyst used to transform them from human to Hollow Ones?

Cedric spent some time dwelling on that thought. Since the original deal was to ensure the humans did not die to that plague, his theory that the goddess hadn’t killed them at all, but had simply used the fire to transform them into something other than human made perfect sense.

’What the hell was that plague?’ Cedric mused to himself. ’According to Argentos, it spread fast, killed almost all the humans, wiped away their faces, and made it hard for those alive to remember the names and faces of those who died to it.’

That definitely sounded foul.

’It started after the Gods went missing,’ he realized. ’And since even the Goddess was wary of it, it was probably part of the wider aftermath from the chaos of the God of Unearned Misfortune.’

...While Cedric was still deep in thought, a soft scuffle broke the silence nearby.

He looked to the side to see Athena drop down beside him. She looked a bit shy, which contrasted sharply with the image of the proud warrior Cedric knew her to be. In her hands, she held a small white ceramic bowl filled with plump, dark purple grapes.

After brushing her blonde hair behind her ears, she slowly shifted closer to him. Then, she sheepishly extended the bowl forward.

"I brought some fruit, my Lord. Would you care to share them with me?"

Cedric blinked.

’Where did she get those from?’

He smiled, and after a second, nodded. "Sure."

Reaching into the bowl, he took one, and after popping it into his mouth, he murmured, "Thanks."

She smiled and looked away.

Just then, Cedric realized that he had not sat down like this with her ever since he brought her to life, neither had he had a proper conversation with her.

She was his summon, or as her epithet stated, his firstborn. It wasn’t a bad idea to use this quiet moment to get to know her better.

After a few awkward seconds, he cleared his throat and asked, "How have you been holding up lately?"