NOVEL NEXT Chapter 180 - Dawn
PoV: Aurea
One thing that always bothered me a little bit is my lack of any affinity with the Earth element.
I mean, I'm still not totally into the idea of elements and affinity really being a thing, but those words make it easy for me to explain it.
I envy the people who can manipulate the earth directly, creating walls and plateaus.
Not for combat, because I find throwing boulders around to be such an inelegant way of fighting. But for, like, building stuff.
I'm positive that with my mana reserves, if I were as able to manipulate the earth as I am with lightning, I could build a whole fortress overnight.
It would be like playing with creative mode in block-building games.
Sadly, that's not how it works for me.
But still, I can use a little bit of a workaround with gravity, but it's rustic and without even the smallest resemblance of finesse.
Yet, for combat, it's deadly. And it will be the opening move of this battle.
:::
I'm with a squadron on top of one of the hills surrounding the Steelgarden valley. It's a squad made up of earth specialists, set up just for this operation.
Below us, the crusader army is pouring into the valley, like an army of ants. It's a bit funny to watch them from up here.
Behind me, the earth mages are already working, finding the biggest and hardest boulders that might be hidden below the surface, and then freeing them, removing the soil that locks them in place.
Throwing boulders is a very inelegant and brutish way to fight. But I can't deny how effective it is. Especially when we are talking about something like this.
I get myself to work, helping the rest of the squad.
:::
It's already afternoon when we find ourselves with a neat line of boulders the size of houses and even bigger. The crusader army seems to have already finished entering the valley, and they are already setting up their camp.
On the top of the mountain at the other side of the valley, Lovelace, Yawarete, and Ingela are doing the same, with a squad similar to mine.
In the last hours, some of their scouts have spotted us, but none lived to ring the alarms.
We have carefully searched, studied, and even reshaped the mountain in some points, only so we could pull this off without being seen from the valley below us.
"Aurea. We finished on this side."
Lovelace's voice comes from our communication device.
"Great. How many?"
"One hundred. And you?"
"One hundred fifty."
"It isn't much."
"It doesn't need to be. Let's begin now."
"Right."
I chant an aria, making all the boulders on the line as light as huge chunks of polystyrene, so the soldiers can push them forward without problem.
"Go!!!"
I shout the order, and the soldiers begin pushing. It's a short push, but it's only feasible because of the gravity aria.
Soon the boulders reach the edge and start rolling down the mountain, which is the moment I cancel the aria, returning them to their original weights.
I watch them for a moment, and I see the panicked reactions of the army below, then I turn my back to it.
It's going to become too ugly for me to watch it, so I simply open a portal and go back to the new office.
This is a desperate measure for desperate times. And, even though this is war, and even though I know that this is what needs to be done to save my people.
Even though.
This is too much for my heart to bear. This is too much for my mind to be at peace.
I know that these cries will pierce my nightmares for years to come.
:::
"My daughter. Are you okay?"
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
We are at the office room inside the Steelgarden fortress, the place that centralizes the command of the hidden army now.
My mother is supposed to be all the way in East Rising, working in her institute, easing the transition out of slavery.
Why would she come here?
"I saw what you just did and felt the need to check on you. So I created this body for you to be able to see me."
Oh. Right. Goddess.
It still feels too surreal. Too out of all possibilities. But it's the cold truth: my mother is a goddess.
"Saint Lily!"
"Oh, Saint Lily is here!"
Damn, the officers caught sight of her, and now everyone is kneeling in adoration.
"Maybe this isn't the best place for us to chat, mom…"
"You're right. Let's go somewhere else."
And then suddenly I am in the middle of a very nice and comfortable garden.
"Where is this place?"
"This is part of my divine temple. It's like a dimension that I control directly. It's that place you called a tuto…"
"Tutorial area."
"Yes, that. This is that place."
The feeling when coming here was completely different from the one I have when I manipulate space and pass through portals.
Portals feel like you are inside a very small elevator, but instead of the feeling of going up or down, you have the feeling of going forward.
But coming here didn't have any sort of pull at all. It was just 'blink and you're there.'
"It's so beautiful… and cozy. The weather here is just perfect."
"Right? Ain said that the original form it had reflects my soul, so it was already nice. But I applied some light modifications to it, like these."
She gestures to a circular table with some benches around it, all made of stone.
"It's like a newly built home, so I've been slowly putting furniture in it and turning it into a more livable space."
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Who is that Ain person?"
"Oh. Right. There's so much to bring you up to date on. But let's set this aside for now. First, your feelings."
"Second time someone says that to me in the last week or so…"
"It's because that's important, after all. Let me guess, was it Lovelace?"
"Y-yeah… How did you know?"
"I didn't. Just mother instincts. She's a good woman. Make sure to treat her well."
"I will. That's one thing you don't need to worry about."
"Hehe. You're my daughter, after all. The fruit never falls far from the tree. But now. How are you feeling about what you just did?"
"I understand that it was needed. I know that that army can't be allowed to pass beyond that fortress. I know that the freedom of the people is at stake. And yet…"
She waits patiently for me to continue, without pushing or hurrying my answer.
"And yet… it feels wrong on a fundamental level. It was brutal, and a loose boulder rolling down the mountain doesn't choose who lives or dies. And yet… I still can't see a way in which those meaningless deaths could be avoided."
"Oh, Aurea… my little girl…"
Mom pulls me to her, hugging me.
We stay like that for a long time. She saying comforting words and caressing my head while I cry for all the deaths that I couldn't avoid.
This moment I finally understand that my fears were unfounded. I wouldn't lose my mother. She won't cease to be my mother just because she's a goddess now. No. She will always be there for me, even more now than before.
"Thank you, Mom…"