Chapter 105 - 1st Stage of Genesis: Matriarch of Life

During the rest of the meal, the hot topic was Magna and his origin, mostly with Rowena asking any question that came to her mind just to try to learn what Ancient Families were actually made of.

Magna only gave the answers he knew, which was that he didn’t know anything.

Everyone even forgot today’s events regarding the Golden Sunberry Farm and the Faceless Witch, as they just kept talking about history and legends all night.

During those conversations, mostly taking place between Celeste and Rowena, Magna learned a few interesting things as well, making him curious and quite eager to start reading books about history.

Apparently, the 5 Matriarchs weren’t just religious figures in this world; they were more like legendary figures who had lived in the past and suddenly vanished into thin air.

At the end of the meal, they finally called it a day, deciding to return to the main topic, which was to speak about the Golden Sunberry farm and then move on to interrogating the Faceless Witch.

Magna wasn’t very interested in the farm topic, as it mostly contained discussion on what could be done and how to launch a counter-attack against the Thorn Family.

He just requested to be present during the interrogation of the Faceless Witch, which Celeste unfortunately rejected, saying it would be far too dangerous for him.

Magna wanted to be there when the Faceless Witch started explaining how he was able to copy and cast spells, but it seemed he had to wait helplessly in his room for the result.

While returning to his room, he first visited Celeste’s study room and took a few history books to read while waiting.

Waiting like this was very stressful, as he wasn’t sure how they would react when they learned his secret, so at least reading could help him overcome this stress a little bit.

After returning to his room, he first used the bathroom to take care of business, took a shower to wash away the day’s dirt and fatigue, and finally sat on his bed, picking up the first book and starting to read.

It was quite a thick book. There were 9 more like it, so he was surprised that there was so much lore. But to start somewhere, he picked up the first volume and began reading quickly.

The first volume explained general information, acting mostly as an introduction or a foreword to the story of the 5 stages of genesis.

The most interesting part Magna found was that this world wasn’t actually built from scratch, as there was a stage even before the 5 stages of genesis called the Era of Darkness.

The word Darkness didn’t indicate that the era was dark or just a grim world, but rather that nobody really knew anything about that era.

There were only theories about that time. Some said it was the era of gods and goddesses who eventually fought until all died, leaving only the 5 Matriarchs behind.

Some said it was a time when eldritch monsters lived and mindless creatures ruled the entire world, and so on.

As for the creation of the current world, it started with the 1st Stage of Genesis, beginning with the Matriarch of Life’s first sacrifice.

The 2nd volume was written like an ancient legend. Whoever the narrator was, they seemed unsure of what had truly happened, merely piecing the story together through educated guesses and old myths, yet the narrative was quite clear.

Whatever happened, during the Era of Darkness, everything on the planet, along with all life, had been wiped out in the end.

And while everything was inside a void, the first Mother, the Matriarch of Life, was the first being to step into this nothingness.

Magna read the first lines at the beginning of the 2nd volume that described the start of everything.

"Where only darkness reigned, the first light was born from nothingness.

Her body flowed like a river on the soil that was not soil, her breath blew with the wind that was not wind, her voice blended with the infinite silence, forging the first veins of the living world."

Until now, it was quite normal, as it was just like describing a Goddess’s birth, but things started to get interesting as Magna kept reading.

"The first rivers formed, roaring through the untouched lands. The thunderous collapse of mountains, the wild howling of the seas, the desperate cries of the very first living beings trying to exist.

The first child born from the fertile soil. It drew its very first breath. The cold air violently flooded its unused lungs, burning its inside with a searing pain. It opened its eyes for the first time to the blinding light out of the darkness.

As miraculous as life was, it was a painful process for the first living being to experience.

The cries filled everything for eternity, the newborn trying to adapt to this new, belonging-to-him yet unfamiliar flesh.

Eons passed, and life enveloped all of the darkness, but that first child never ceased its painful cries.

The Mother, who had to listen to her child spending every moment in pain, felt her heart shatter, her light dim. No longer able to endure the agonizing screams, she ripped away her hearing.

The world suddenly fell into silence. The child kept crying, but its mother could no longer hear it.

With silence, the darkness returned, the Matriarch of Death finally bringing eternal peace to the child, shattering its painful fleshly body, returning its soul to eternal rest."

Magna’s face frowned at the story he read, as the only thing he could see was an irresponsible parent, much like those on Earth.

The Matriarch of Life bringing a child into the world, failing to meet its needs or prevent its pain. Not even to talk about how she actually failed with her first creation, making the child have to endure the pain of flesh.

And on top of that, shamelessly ripping away her own hearing because she couldn’t take it anymore. It was quite the situation that people in Bluedit communities would roast an irresponsible mother for.

But at the same time, he could clearly see the sacrifice.

By giving up her hearing, she made the darkness return, along with the Matriarch of Death who cured the child, at least ensuring that the child would finally be free from its endless pain.

"Well, a goddess, but still an inexperienced mother, I suppose?" he muttered under his breath, finding the story surprisingly down-to-earth.

He kept reading as he finally reached the part where the Matriarch of Death was depicted.

This was the section he was most curious about, especially why she was referred to as blind. But right at that moment, there was a knock on his door.

’Are they finally done interrogating that Witch?’ Magna felt a surge of tension rising within him as he got up to open the door.

He was immensely nervous about what kind of reaction they would display, as they had likely learned about his spellcasting secret by now.

He took a few deep breaths to collect his thoughts as he began mentally rehearsing the lies he was about to tell. He then opened the door to the person waiting outside.