Lord of Cosmos

Eliano told him everything that had happened. Yassin was astonished by his story and learned that the humans had perished, with no one left but Omar, who was being held in Gladious's prison. Minora came out holding a silver vessel to see about them and saw Yassin. The vessel slipped from her hand as her heart pounded and her whole being trembled. She rushed to Yassin and embraced him.

"Oh, my God. Giliamor, you've returned!" she cried.

Yassin, surprised by her action, pushed her away rudely. "I don't understand what you're saying. I am Yassin!"

Minora looked at him with concern, seeing his cold, machine-like features. "My God, what have they done to you?"

"I don't understand you, my lady!"

"You are my nephew Giliamor, son of Gaia," she said, "of that there is no doubt. You disappeared during the great war between Gaia and your uncle, Athenos. Leonis, meanwhile, remained and joined us, then went to his father Gaia to deceive him and take the crown from him... That wretched Gladious must have found you and wanted to use you as a bargaining chip against Gaia. That's why he changed your identity... Tell me what has happened to you until now."

Yassin told her everything up to that moment. Minora realized she was right. "Gladious placed you with the humans to increase your strength by making you go through that strange race," she said. "He must have changed your name and given you a human one so you would have no connection to the Astra, especially your father, Gaia. Then he would turn you against him, along with the humans and the remaining Astra, so you would kill your own father and achieve his goal for him. He knew you would never kill Gaia if you knew he was your father, so he tampered with your identity and your thoughts, brainwashed you, and prepared you for the final mission. But to his misfortune, you slipped from his grasp, and fate led you here to learn your true identity before he could exploit you in his scheme. That's why the wretch stole my son, Aikan, to ensure he had a backup plan in case he lost you during the war, or if you couldn't stand against Gaia and were killed. In any case, everything has gone in a way Gladious did not want. Gaia has crushed the humans, and you are now with us against Gladious and his minions. Together, we will reclaim Atlantis from both Gaia and Gladious."

Yassin's emotions stirred, and a disturbing feeling churned within him. "So, my father is a madman trying to destroy the planet with his machines?"

"The crown he wears has driven him mad and controls his mind," she explained. "But your father is an intelligent and rational man. All we need to do to bring him back to his senses is to remove that cursed crown from him and destroy it."

"Then where is my mother?"

Minora looked down, her face clouded with sadness. "She died a long time ago, from deep sorrow over her husband's madness, your disappearance, and the displacement of our people."

A severe headache struck Yassin, so intense that he collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony. Fragments of memories returned to him: his mother during their migration to the western continent after they all fled the royal palace, escaping the madness of the war that raged between Gaia and Athenos, burning everything. He remembered his mother falling to the ground, sick, her grief overwhelming her, her eyes white from constant crying. Yassin had left her in Leonis's care, vowing to return, stop his father, and use the Crystal of Life to heal her, just as Gaia had healed his own father, Minoth, with it. But on his way to the battlefield, he encountered one of the Enix and was captured by them, never to return. As for his mother, when her son and flesh and blood was late in returning, her sorrow intensified until she died before they reached the western continent.

Jarin and Eliano tried to calm Yassin as a seizure wracked his body. After minutes of convulsions and pain, his body stopped, and he grew calm. He then stood up, sweat pouring from his body like streams of water. His gaze and features had changed. "I remember," he said.

***

Yassin stood, his gaze transformed from that of a lost, cold, and troubled boy to that of a man filled with determination and will. "I will never forgive my father for what he has done," he said, looking at them grimly. "We must take this crown from him, stop this travesty, and drive Gladious and his soldiers from our land."

"We were so close to liberating our land from Gladious and his soldiers," Eliano said sorrowfully, his heart dripping with grief, "but one of us betrayed us, and they captured the resistance leader, Omar."

"Who is Omar?"

Eliano told him everything about Omar, finishing with, "Omar unintentionally killed my father when we first captured him, and I hated him so much for it. But we also killed his brother. Despite that, he fought to free our land with a bravery we have never seen before. It made me change my view of him, and now I would give my life for him."

Yassin fell silent for a moment, his head bowed in thought. After a little while, he cast off his look of confusion and added, "Then we must free him and free our land here."

"My spies have told me," Jarin said, arriving with good news, "that the Enix are massing to confront Gaia, who has set out for the dying human city to finish it off for good. This means they won't be focused on our presence, as many of them have left to join the war, leaving only a few to guard the colonies. This means Margoth is not there, nor are most of his soldiers."

Minora stepped in, her voice firm and resolute. "Then let us gather all our men and fall upon them in one single swoop. We will finish them off and free the land while they are busy fighting Gaia for dominance."

Yassin stepped forward. "Let's gather the men and free the land. After that, we will join the final war and end Gaia's dominance. Once we have freed him from his madness, we will join him and his machines in eliminating Gladious's rule for good and take back our planet once again."