Chapter 468 Closer To One’s Root (3)
Chapter 468 Closer To One’s Root (3)
Basil had been dating his sister, both in his current life and his past life. While an incestuous relationship was not frowned upon in this world, many would still consider it unsavoury. Most of the people who practised it came from families which were obsessed with keeping their bloodlines “clean.” Therefore, many people thought those who practised it were freaks.
Although the ‘mind your business’ culture in this world was strong, it was still advised to avoid incestuous relationships. Regardless of the stretch of one’s ability with the help of Magic, one still wouldn’t be able to prevent one’s descendants from getting genetic defects caused by an incestuous relationship.
Of course, it was possible to treat the ailment once the child was born but it would be absurdly expensive. Therefore, only big and old families which had close to unlimited resources could afford to practise an incestuous relationship.
Basil was no different from most. Despite the privilege that the Pacifer had to have descendants without any genetic defects with his sister, he found the idea of marrying one’s sibling slightly repulsive. One may point out it was highly hypocritical of him since he kept his relationship with Iliana. To answer that, it was worth noting that Basil and Iliana were not normal siblings.
Basil had figured out that he was born from the same mother as Iliana was years ago. He had confronted Lawson about it after talking about Lawson’s involvement in Halton’s death. At that time, like most, Lawson had thought he would squash his feelings for Iliana. However, he did the unexpected by embracing those feelings.
Was Basil not disgusted by himself? No, he wasn’t. The moment he figured out that Iliana was related to him, he checked his blood relation with her. It was much to his surprise that he found them unrelated by blood. It made him question who his mother was and who his father was. It made him question who he was—what he was.
He considered his mother lying when she told him she gave birth to him, yet he knew Maya wasn’t lying. His confusion had prompted him to ask the Guide. He didn’t know what he had expected at that time but he wasn’t surprised when the Guide remained silent. He began to doubt himself and it became the reason why he threw the matter to the back of his head.
His identity got more obscure with each passing day and Iliana was the reason why he could still laugh at it. She was the saving grace from his unclear lineage which was why he kept the relationship going.
Was he merely a vessel for the soul of The Lord? He was about to find out soon.
“I am sure our relationship is far more special than any relationship in this world,” Basil said calmly as he held Iliana’s hand, prompting Iliana to let out the breath she had been holding. She was relieved that Basil didn’t change his mind even after getting Zina’s confirmation of the nature of their relationship.
“It bugs me that I can’t figure out the nature of our relationship.” This statement made Iliana furrow her eyebrows. She thought it was clear they were having an incestuous relationship. “Despite being born from the same mother, I find us not related by blood. I wonder what and who I am as Basil Pacifer.”
Iliana’s eyes widened, baffled by the information that she didn’t know until then. For all this time, she had believed she and Basil were bonafide siblings related by blood. It was only logical to think so since they had the same woman giving birth to them. It was at this moment that she realized a bigger thing was going on in her clan.
Although she was relieved to find that her relationship with Basil was justified, she was irked that she didn’t know something that Basil had never been in the village until that day knew. Therefore; following him, she looked at her great-grandmother, Zina, inquiringly.
“Huuh…” Zina sighed helplessly as she received her great-grandchildren’s intense gaze. “Can I assume that both of you already know what [One With Nature] allows you to do?” The great-grandchildren nodded affirmatively. “Maya was the most exceptional Maha Dmitra our clan had after the First Matriarch. Her brilliance even attracted the attention of one of the Goddesses in Heavenly Throne.”
As Iliana’s eyes lit up in admiration for her mother, Basil’s gaze turned stern. As someone whose life was altered by a God, he couldn’t help smelling something fishy. Those pricks had left the mortal world for better living conditions. They didn’t want anything to do with the mortal world; so, when they meddled in the affairs of mortals, they did it for their benefit.
Basil’s tensing up didn’t escape Zina’s eyes. She understood Basil well. As someone whose existence was related to the rebirth of a God, he must despise anything that was related to one. Therefore, she couldn’t help smiling bitterly. She could instantly tell Basil wouldn’t like what he was going to hear.
“[One With Nature] doesn’t only allow us to absorb Nature Mana and utilize it as if we are the world itself. Using it, we can also open a communication line with higher beings. Most of the time, no one answers the call…but someone did that day. A mysterious Goddess talked with Maya, which motivated her to have another child.”
Zina looked at Basil in anticipation. She wondered how he would react. She hoped Basil wouldn’t explode and leave the village in a fit of rage. She was surprised by the nonchalant smirk that appeared on his face soon after. It was as if he had already expected it would be the case.
It was quite unnerving but Zina immediately shrugged it off. Basil was the Fated Child—he was bound to be incomprehensible. Continuing her story, she recounted how Maya decided to get out of the village and explored the world. She didn’t think about it until then, but Maya might have never planned to let Basil stay in the village.
It made Zina feel bitter but she had to commend her daughter for her decision. She could still remember how she had reacted when Maya told her she had a son whom she entrusted to her husband. She was livid that Maya left the child every one of them had been waiting for to a stranger’s care. It was only after her outburst that she registered how pathetic she had behaved.
Had Basil stayed in the village since he was little, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to see him as her great-grandson Basil Pacifer and so was the rest of the village. Basil would’ve been seen as the Fated Child, the vessel of The Lord’s soul.
As a mother herself, she understood well how repulsive the idea must have been to Maya. Her daughter had made a great choice—
though, it could have been better—and she was thankful for her. Basil was one who always kept his head high. It was uncomfortable to think how he would have turned out had he been hailed as a mere vessel since young.
“It doesn’t explain how I don’t have any blood relation with Iliana. Even if my mother cheated on my father, which I highly doubt she did, I should still find some similarity between her and my blood. I am not talking about the colour and any components that you can find in every human blood.”
The sharpness in Basil’s tone made Zina internally cringe. The boy was too perceptive for his good. Sighing softly, she revealed what she had heard from the Goddess who had motivated her daughter to have another child. She couldn’t help recalling that day.
It was a few months after Maya’s apprehension and Iliana’s departure to Braxtein. The frustrated Zina was crying in the hall of the Maha Dmitra Mansion, thinking about how bad her luck in life was. They had suffered enough from having to live behind the Obelisk’s Barrier but they had to lose another Maha Dmitra. Everyone suffered from it, but she suffered the most since the said Maha Dmitra was her daughter.
She didn’t want to needlessly act optimistic. She knew what the Church would do to her daughter. She even doubted at that time that her daughter was still alive. Therefore, she came to the hall to calm her mind. She wanted to be one with nature, so she could be as serene as it was. It was much to her surprise that someone entered her mind. 𝐍𝗈𝑣𝑬𝓵𝚗𝚎xt.𝗰𝑶𝔪
“I mean no harm. You can calm down.”
“W-Who are you?”
“I am one of the Goddesses of the Heavenly Throne. I am here to tell you about the thing that your daughter asked me to hide from “Hm…I rather not say that. A good saviour is she who doesn’t say her name, no?”
“What—”
“I am one of the Goddesses of the Heavenly Throne. I am here to tell you about the thing that your daughter asked me to hide from you until death takes hold of her soul, which already happened.”
Zina couldn’t tell whether the Goddess was in a hurry or she just wanted to get it over with, but the Goddess didn’t beat around the bush as she explained everything. The amount of information she received hurt her head, but she managed to register everything.
The Goddess revealed that Maya wasn’t present during the making of Basil. She had possessed Maya’s body, which made Basil her son by default. When asked if she was impregnated by a human, the Goddess scoffed. She told Zina that she had also used Halton’s seed as the vessel of the chosen seed that she had kept for a long time.
Despite understanding the fact that a God’s actions were incomprehensible for mortals, Zina couldn’t help asking: “Why did you do that?” The answer Zina got was, as she had expected, unsatisfactory.
“The seed will give the Pacifer their second male. I just want to see how much truth the last words of your First Matriarch have.”
“Should they turn out to be true, what will you do?” Zina asked, hoping the Goddess wouldn’t say she would kill Basil and retrieve the seed.
“Hm…what do you expect me to do? I guess it will just mean I lend you a hand. It is not the first time a God helps your Clan, isn’t it? I don’t know much about that guy, but you shouldn’t be surprised, no?”
“Last question. What motivated you to do it after this long?”
The Goddess remained silent for a few seconds before revealing that she had just seen the future where she wept for the Pacifer’s extermination, so she didn’t want to experience that. Zina didn’t care about the Goddess’ selfish reason. Her mind focused on the extermination of the Pacifer. She figured out why her daughter had agreed to the Goddess’ plan.
The Pacifer would never see the day when the Fated Child was born without the Goddess’ intervention. She clenched her teeth and held back her bitter tears as she thanked her daughter for her decision.
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