Odyssey of the Blind God

Nial spoke a little bit more with the Oracle which allowed him to get to know a bunch of things.

The Oracle said that she left the Origin to visit a place where she did not only regain her strength but where she observed the progress of the Undying, a human, who was considered a Fate Changer, just like Nial.

Both he and the Undying were mentioned in the first prophecy of the Universe, according to the words of the Oracle, and certain preparations had been completed to help them be ready for what would happen.

She mentioned Veils, cracks in the void that could also be considered Gateways connecting Universes, and the emergence of Vile Existences, called Veilures. Veilures devoured everything in their surrounding area, whether it was mana, the living, or mere objects. As for their reason to devour everything, the Oracle didn\'t specify why that was the case.

Nial felt as if he had heard some pieces of information not too long ago but he didn\'t stop the Oracle from telling him more. It was not as if he would incur a loss from hearing certain pieces of information twice or thrice.

He was not sure whether every single piece of information she mentioned was true or if some information could be considered hearsay but it was interesting nonetheless.

But if the pieces of information were already interesting, Nial felt as if the first prophecy of the Universe was even more so.

***

When Chaos spreads through the Universes, the Eternal Prisoner is to be released.

The Planet of the Universe will face destruction. A favor will be granted to the Savior of Infinite Growth.

When the ruby moons rise over the crimson sky, the Eternal Prisoner will retrieve her freedom.

Her fated one will reach out to her, saving the woman blessed by the Curse of the Origin.

When their Universe will be devoured, the Eternal Darkness and the Undying will be the only ones left alive.

Their life will be intertwined, and their actions would send tremors through the Universes.

When the Veils open, the terror of all Universes will be unveiled.

Whether everything will cease to exist or continue will be decided by those who are able to change the Fate.

Only they can change what cannot be changed.

***

It was the first time that Nial heard the prophecy, and there were many things he didn\'t understand.

Who was the Eternal Prisoner?

Wasn\'t the Origin the Planet of the Universe? If so, how was that related to the Savior of Infinite Growth?

Who was the Savior of Infinite Growth, to begin with?

Why would he and the Undying be the only ones who survived when their Universe would be devoured?

Nial asked the Oracle many questions but she avoided answering them.

Her attitude was similar to the first time when she had told him a few things about the prophecy, when Master Crevian was present, just minutes before Nial found out that his family was not related to him by blood, and that he had been picked up from a dungeon where he had emerged.

The Oracle was truly frustrating sometimes, but Nial couldn\'t really be mad at her. At times, he felt that she wanted to tell him more but that she couldn\'t reveal more about the prophecy and other things. It was almost as if certain restrictions had been put on her.

"I was finally able to return to my Original form after regaining my powers, yet, you are bombarding me with questions rather than praising my beauty day-in and day-out!" The Oracle complained under her breath, feeling like Nial was taking advantage of her.

She continued to grumble but Nial didn\'t react to that, or he tried to.

It was quite annoying to be seated next to a sobbing Goddess, or whatever the Oracle could be considered- and having a father, who seeks justice whenever possible, nearby.

Every now and then Miles stared at his son with a threat in his eyes. Nial may not be able to see but his senses were quite sharp, extremely sensitive, to be precise. Thus, his father turned out to be the most bothersome traitor in the family because he was forcing his very own son to go out of his way and console an…attention-seeking Goddess…

\'To think that this would actually happen…who would have expected this?\' He thought while lifting his hand to gently pat on the Oracle\'s shoulder.

"You\'re very beautiful and you\'re doing an amazing job holding the Universe together…your fa….the Origin, and the Universe are definitely proud of you…probab…that\'s for sure!" Nial tried to console her to the best of his ability but he felt like a hypocrite right now.

​ He could tell pretty much that the Oracle had tricked him several times, especially about the truth revolving around her true form. Considering that the Oracle\'s mana fluctuations had felt completely wrong earlier when she had been in the form of a small child, her current form was definitely her true form.

The subtle and almost untraceable mana fluctuations that the Oracle radiated right now made much more sense than before. But that was exactly where the Oracle had tricked him.

\'Why would she have to regain her power to return to her Original form? Maintaining the form of a six-year-old child should have required her to use only bits of her power at any point of the day…so it doesn\'t really make sense that she said that…right? Or…was the reason something else?\'

There were many questions that flashed through Nial\'s mind, but he was not able to find an answer for even a single one of them. But there was something else that bothered him more.

When Ryu demanded more pats, Nial began to ruffle through his plumage. It was only at this moment that he realized that the Oracle had moved his hand on top of her head to caress her as well.

\'Did I get my hand on a human-like pet or what?!?\'

"I guess you will leave soon, considering that you\'ve finally revealed your true form, or am I mistaken?" Nial asked after accepting his fate with the two pets he got.

No matter what he thought, it was pretty obvious that the Oracle would leave soon. At least, it was obvious for him…maybe not for the Oracle.

"I will leave when you and the small cohort of Elves leave for the laboratory," The Oracle said against his expectations.

Something about the way the Oracle spoke attracted his attention and he squinted his eyes, trying to think of a means to figure out whether his assumptions were wrong or not.

"You know when we will attack and where we will attack, don\'t you?"

"I know that much."

"But you won\'t tell me where the laboratory is, how strong their defenses are, or if there are multiple laboratories, I presume?"

"I am not supposed to tell you anything. In fact, I already shared too many things that were not supposed to be revealed…well that is also not entirely true, I guess…"

The Oracle was acting a little bit odd which he noticed when she stopped in her tracks to sigh deeply, but Nial could roughly gauge what was going on.

"Usually, you would be punished for going against the rules of your \'Boss\', right?" Nial guessed, which was answered by a small nod from the Oracle.

The new pieces of information he gathered slowly were quite interesting but they were also the reason for Nial to question himself many other things once again.

Unfortunately, like usual when it came to his chats with the Oracle, Nial was unable to answer most of them.

That was also why he got up from the couch with a loud groan after he removed his hands from both the Oracle and Ryu.

Both looked at him as if he had abandoned them, but that was not something Nial had to be concerned about. He was not able to see, after all!

"Let\'s go to Melheim. We have a bunch of things to get to know before we depart to the laboratory!" Nial merely said, retrieving a black mantle from his spatial ring which he wore on his way out.

"See you, dad!" Nial waved to his father before darkness shrouded him.

However, just as he was on his way to turn one with the darkness, Nial was held back by a duo of needy…pets?

"Okay…just come with me…"