Steeping myself in these memories, I began to see a pattern. Despite the familiar tenderness and laughter, I realized these past moments also held the seeds of my mistakes. Aquarius had always been needy, yet I had often pushed her aside to attend to more 'important' matters. Looking back, I saw how deeply this had hurt her. This realization triggered my commitment to making amends.
With renewed determination, I opened my eyes to the vast void. Truth watched me in anticipation. "It's time, Truth. I'm ready," I affirmed. I didn't know if this would work, but I had to at least try.
Summoning the warmth and connection I had felt with Aquarius, I started molding the feeling with True Magic into a spell. It wasn't like any magic I had ever tried before — it wasn't fueled by raw power but by connection and emotion. I wove the threads of our shared memories into the spell, resounding with whispers of our shared joys, laughter, tears, and dreams. Slowly, a new magic began to take form.
The spell was beautiful. As it came into existence, it radiated bright, shimmering waves of warmth and love. Yet, at its core, I could see the pain and guilt I felt for Aquarius and all the Zodiacs. This spell was both an apology and a beacon. It was the embodiment of love, devotion, regret, and hope.
I turned to Truth, who seemed pleasantly surprised. "Well, I'll be damned. I didn't think you could actually pull it off. You humans are full of surprises."
I frowned slightly at his offhand comment about humans, but I didn't let it bother me. We were far from the normal definition of 'human', and besides, there were more pressing matters at hand.
"Do you really think this is going to be enough?" I asked, and Truth shrugged.
"While I have kept my mouth shut for most of your journey, I feel like you are missing something very important. Myself, a creature that revels in what I can't know, I wanted to let you figure this out on your own, but it still seems to be going over your head," Truth said with a sigh, and then suddenly returned to his cosmic dragon for that I had first met him in, tower far above me.
"What? Me? Missing something?" I mocked, and Truth nodded, ignoring my sarcasm.
"What made this reality?" Truth asked plainly, and I blinked at him.
Then it hit me, and I slapped my hand to my face so hard it knocked me off my feet. I had honestly never felt so stupid in any life as I did at this very moment.
"Yeah, you are dumb. No, getting around that," Truth said, and for once, I had no argument as I lay on the ground.
How could I have overlooked something so simple? I had been playing with a deck that only had two cards in it this entire time and wondered why I was struggling.
"Are you trying to tell me," I started to say, but Truth cut me off.
"That you are a god acting like a mortal this entire time? Yes. While I will concede you have had your memories locked away for a long time, I had thought relearning of True Magic would have made you realize this. I was wrong, so I left you with it."
"Then why tell me now?" I asked, sitting up, and rubbing my face. I might have given the facepalm a bit too much gas, but I did deserve it.
"Boredom. I tire of watching you constantly retrain yourself like some pathetic moral. I allowed you and Matthias this power to entertain me, not bore me. While I will admit the latest developments have been certainly...intriguing in their unpredictability, it's like watching a rat in a maze going back to the same dead end over and over. Thinking that just maybe, this time there will be cheese there. Your power surpasses that of a mortal, your mind should too," Truth explained, each word echoing across the void.
As a 4th-dimensional being, he saw time in its entirety; past, present, and future were not separate elements for him but layers of a single entity. The way he viewed events was akin to looking into a pool of water and seeing the progression of events as ripples and currents within it.
"When I bestowed upon you and Matthias the knowledge and capability of True Magic, I thought it would grant you expanded vision, the mental capacity to look beyond the constraints of your human understanding. It seems, however, that it mostly became an illusion of omnipotence, with you failing to grasp your true potential," Truth continued, his voice absent of judgment yet resonating with detached indifference.
He seemed less invested in my failures and more bothered that I wasn't living up to my potential. An entertainer who wasn't performing as expected, and it seemed his patience had worn thin.
"Consider this as a gentle nudge out of the proverbial maze," he said, as he lowered himself back down to my level.
Again, I was struck by the surreal experience of conversing with an entity that could alter its form and size to serve his whim. "A god, living a mortal's existence and struggling with mortal's limitations... It's time you embraced your divinity, Galio."
"With your true power, you can do far more than weave a web of emotions. You are capable of reshaping the reality around you, altering the flow of time... and yet, you choose to be challenged by the shackles of mortality," Truth's words trailed off in echoes, ripples and distortions tearing through the fabric of my existence.
He was right. The existence of a god is not bound by the constructs of a mortal's reality. They are free to manipulate time and space. To change reality according to their will.
"I didn't choose to be challenged by the mortal's limitations," I countered, "I was forced into it, remember? But you're right, Truth. I have been behaving like a mortal, making mistakes that a god shouldn't. I've been playing by the rules of a game that I didn't even create."
Truth tilted his head, considering my words. There was a pause.
"I might have underestimated you, Galio," he finally said, the cosmic void that was his voice rumbling with sincerity. "But understand, even True Magic has its limitations, especially in a reality created by it. Just the same way that Matthias was forced to make you the True God of this reality, you cannot change what has already been done. This reality is set, but the realities within it are not."
I nodded, accepting Truth's teachings, a renewed sense of purpose filling me. I admitted to the failures that stemmed from my own ignorance. My followers, the Zodiacs, suffer because of my mistakes. But I wasn't going to let my errors define me. Their reality was set in the Underworld, but I had the power to change the narratives within, providing them with the freedom they desperately craved. I could free them, and remind them who they truly were without Kadeon's influence.
"Thank you, Truth," I said, earnest gratitude reflecting in my voice.
"Don't run off yet, now that you probably think you will be able to change everything with a wave of your hand. Do not toy with anyone's hearts, or that will make you just as bad, if not worse than Matthias and Kadeon. If you do, I will personally take back that which I have given," Truth warned.
I wanted to argue with him that I wouldn't do it, but the thought had crossed my mind of trying to reverse the damage Kadeon had done. If I could, I am sure that I would, but just as Truth said, I would be just as bad as what I was fighting.
This was the bed that I had made, and now I must live with the choices that I have made. Knowing or unknowing, that didn't matter to the past.
"Okay. I get it. I fucked up, and now I must pay the piper, right?" I said with a sigh.
Truth nodded, "Precisely. And now you must find a way to make things right on your own."
"I understand," I responded, despite the tumultuous emotions churning within me. It felt daunting, knowing that I had to directly confront the consequences of my past actions, and perhaps fight those who I once deeply cared for.
"But remember this," Truth added, "You are a god. But to them, each of them, you must be their companion, their confidant, and their leader. Emotion is as strong as a sword if wielded correctly. Don't forget that."
I took Truth's words to heart as I got ready to face my past mistakes. After all, it seemed that it was the emotion of love, and not some grand display of power, that would help me mend the broken bonds and restore my family. I just hoped I was strong enough to face whatever awaited me.
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