Chapter 199 - The Shadow's Memory ( Part 1 )

The ancient room had somehow grown peaceful.

The dark aura of Eclipse no longer seemed hostile to Jennie—it had changed into something more gentle. Instead of radiating the aura of death, Eclipse was now emitting an aura of twilight that embraced Jennie in warm hug. The black blade was floating in front of her, its dark shape now balanced by the surrounding light of the room.

Its dark aura no longer made Jennie feel as if her life was fading away.

It was as if an old wound had finally healed.

Jennie was standing perfectly still in front of the blade, breathing quietly and feeling how her heart was beating rhythmically in her chest. The black mark on her palm was pulsing gently, as if trying to convey some kind of message. As if it was waiting.

She reached out for the blade.

Jennie's hand was hovering inches away from the sword, feeling its coldness and its ancient consciousness.

"What did you mean?"

She asked quietly.

Her voice echoed in the silent room.

Eclipse answered her mentally. Its voice was different now—from angry, bitter and cold, it had become tired, soft.

You have only seen fragments.

Jennie frowned.

"Fragments of what?"

The beginning.

Suddenly darkness was filling the entire room.

Jennie could feel how everything around her was growing dark—an unexpected wave of shadows that started enveloping everything around her. It absorbed everything in the room, absorbing Roxy's scream and Snow's warning growl as well.

Roxy stretched her hand to grab Jennie.

"Jennie!"

Snow growled and rushed at the blackness, trying to protect her.

But Eclipse spoke again, and its voice was full of command that could not be ignored.

Do not follow.

This memory belongs to the one who bears me.

Jennie's vision faded.

She was standing under a huge tree.

It was impossible—it looked like something that was defying all laws of nature and reality. Its trunk was rising up from the soil like a creation of the world itself, huge and tall, covering the entire sky with its top. Its bark was not brown—but it looked like an incredible mix of colors—gold, silver, blue, crimson, colors that had no names, colors of dreams.

Its branches were extending beyond the sky.

Some of them were touching the heavens and keeping going there, into unknown places where mortal people could not imagine. Some branches were bearing leaves that were sparkling with light of captured stars. Some branches had fruits that were pulsating with the heartbeat of the creation itself. And some branches were completely bare, with their tops lost somewhere in the unknown dimensions of the worlds.

Its roots were spreading across the entire world.

They were burrowing through the soil like veins of the light, connecting the entire world into one—the entire planet with its oceans, mountains and deserts. They touched the deepest caves and the highest peaks of the mountains, burrowing deep inside the core of the world itself.

Its leaves were shining with countless colors.

Each color was another world.

Jennie was staring at the tree, gasping, trying to make sense of everything she was seeing.

She knew about the World Tree before—the whispers of ancient lore, the tales of the priests and the legends of the poets. She knew it was considered a source of life of the entire universe and that it was mentioned in many books as the bridge between heaven and earth.

But she had never imagined something like that.

The tree was not simply alive—it was existence itself. Its branches contained the stars, its roots—the oceans, its trunk—the beating heart of the creation itself.

And inside the trunk...

Something was sleeping.

Jennie could feel the presence before seeing it—a presence of something so ancient and so immense, that it made her feel like just a small grain of sand on the endless beach. It was neither hostile nor benevolent. It was simply a force of nature.

Eclipse spoke, and its voice was now much softer.

This is Alas Ramus.

The World Tree.

The source of all creation.

Jennie's lips parted.

"I've heard of it... but I never knew..."

Few do.

Fewer still understand.

Eclipse's presence was pressing against Jennie's mind, as if telling some story.

Before the Divine Swords...

There was one weapon.

Jennie was looking at the tree.

Her heart was racing, her palms were wet with sweat and she was listening to every instinct that was telling her to run away.

But she did not move.

"What weapon?"

The World Tree started glowing brightly.

It happened suddenly—like the birth of the sun. Its light spread through the branches and the roots and leaves and fruits. The entire world was lit by the bright light.

And then—

A huge sword was emerging from the tree.

It was appearing in the trunk, emerging like a sword being extracted from the scabbard. It was bigger than anything Jennie had ever seen, bigger than anything she could imagine. It was not steel, it was not iron—it was not made of any metal known to the mortal people.

Its blade was made of silver.

Like moonlight.

Like starlight.

Like tears of the gods.

And within its blade—there was a mix of colors of black, gold, blue, red—and many other colors that were swirling and dancing like galaxies, like dreams being born and dying in the same moment.

Jennie was widening her eyes.

"What is that?"

Eclipse answered.

Its voice sounded different this time—from angry and bitter it had become reverent.

Wonder.

Astraeus.

The original Divine Weapon.

A weapon that was created directly from the World Tree itself.

Jennie was gasping.

"Created from the World Tree?"

Yes.

The World Tree is the source of all divine power.

All Divine Swords are fragments of it.

Jennie was staring at the huge blade of Astraeus. Its light was burning in her eyes, its presence was overwhelming her—she could feel the power of the blade even in the memory of the past.

"The Divine Swords..."

She had known about them.

Legendary weapons in possession of legendary heroes of the past.

Immensely powerful swords that could decide the fate of the nations.

She just never knew...

...that they originated from the World Tree.

Yes.

Eclipse's voice sounded patiently, as if teaching.

Long ago, before even the Age of Mortals.

The World Tree created Astraeus.

A weapon of divine essence.

The mightiest of all swords.

The vision changed.

The World Tree was gone, replaced by the emptiness existing prior to creation, prior to space, prior to time itself.

Seven swords appeared.

As if emerging out of the void itself, shining with their unique light. The swords were hanging in the emptiness, waiting.

Jennie watched.

The first sword emitted pure golden light. It was beautiful and terrifying, both at the same time – warm and blinding.

It represented everything good and everything pure.

Light.

The second sword shone darker than shadow itself, darker than the void. It devoured the light surrounding it, taking away everything that was.

It represented the darkness itself – the space between the stars, the darkness that comes after the end of everything.

Shadow.

The third sword glowed with the energy barely restrained. Lightning was dancing along the blade while thunder rumbled behind it. It was representing the chaos and power, fury and freedom.

Storm.

The fourth sword shined with the colors of deep blue, green and purple as it flowed and shined as the water does. It was mysterious and patient, full of depth.

Ocean.

The fifth sword shined with the heat and fury of fire. The flames were burning along the blade and smoke was rising from it. It was representing the anger.

Wrath.

The sixth sword was glowing with the power of life itself. Flowers were blooming along the blade and the vines were twisting around its hilt. It represented birth and growth, creation and renewal.

Creation.

The seventh sword was the most beautiful of all the seven swords. It shone as if a thousand suns were burning in it, as if a thousand kings were there. It represented the power and dominance.

Kingship.

Jennie was staring at the seven swords.

Each of them represented a particular aspect of creation.

But they were not independent.

They were the fragments of something greater.

Eclipse said, and the sword's voice sounded like it knew something since the times of creation.

When Astraeus was shattered...

Its fragments became the Seven Divine Swords.

Jennie's eyes widened. "The Divine Swords are the fragments of Astraeus?"

Yes.

And Astraeus was created from the World Tree.

Therefore...

She completed the thought, almost whispering it.

"All Divine Swords originate from the World Tree."

Yes.

Jennie was thinking quickly.

Excalibur. Leviathan. Tempest. Aurelia. Eclipse. Gram. Genesis.

Seven swords.

Seven weapons of immense power.

They are the fragments of the single mightier weapon.

Fragments of the World Tree itself.

She was looking at those seven swords. They were beautiful, powerful, alive.

But they were incomplete.

Each of the swords was powerful enough – powerful enough to decide the fate of the nations, powerful enough to challenge the gods themselves. But they were only fragments.

Fragments of Astraeus.

Fragments of the World Tree.

Fragments of creation itself.

This is the reason why Demon Generals are searching for them.

Eclipse's voice sounded even more darkly.

If someone who knows the truth unites the seven swords...

They can reforged Astraeus.

Jennie's blood froze. "And if Astraeus is reforged..."

Its power will become infinite.

Great enough to challenge the Gods themselves.

Great enough to remake the entire world.

Or to destroy it.

Jennie was staring at the seven swords.

The weight of their existence was pressing against her shoulders as if it was a mountain.

Then the vision was changing once again.

A man appeared.

With silver hair.

And golden eyes.

And sword in the hand.

Jennie instantly recognized him.

But he looked differently somehow.

Not like Leonis she once knew – the brother she lost and the hero that died protecting the world. This was someone else.

Someone older and colder.

It was like his heart was covered in the grey mist.

Eclipse was whispering, and the voice of the sword was barely audible.

Grey Heart.

Jennie's face was changing.

"Grey Heart?"

She heard about the name in legends.

About the legendary warrior.

About the man that supposedly was standing at the beginning of the Divine War.

About the hero historians argued may have never existed.

But now...

Jennie was watching him.

Grey Heart was standing in front of the seven armies.

There were humans and elves, dwarves and beastmen, beings of any kind.

They were stretching as far as the eye could see – seven enormous armies. Their banners were fluttering in the wind, and weapons were glistening in the light of the dying sun.

The Seven Divine Blades surrounded him.

They were hovering in the air, encircling Grey Heart like planets circling a star.

Their lights were blending into each other, forming a corona of power shaking the very air.

And then the impossible happened.

The seven swords were flying towards him.

Light.

Shadow.

Storm.

Ocean.

Wrath.

Creation.

Kingship.

And merging.

Single sword in his hand.

Astraeus.

Jennie's eyes were widening.

Grey Heart raised the sword. Its blade was shining with all the seven colors, with all the seven powers, with all the seven aspects of creation.

It was shining brightly, terrible and beautiful at the same time.

He was swinging it.

The sky was splitting.

Rift was appearing in the sky, a tear in the reality itself. The stars were falling from their places, the moon was cracking and the sun was becoming dimmer.

Mountains were collapsing.

The earth was shaking. The peaks that were standing for thousands of years were turning into dust, the valleys were rising where there were mountains before.

The rivers were changing their courses. The very shape of the world was changing.

The oceans were raising.

Tidal waves taller than towers were crashing against the shores. The seas were boiling and swirling, devouring the islands as if they didn't exist.

Even the stars in the sky started trembling.

The night sky was flickering, constellations were shifting. The very fabric of the cosmos was straining under the power released.

Eclipse was whispering quietly.

He was the first Sword King.