Chapter 674 Fear Me (4)
"Take the reigns and let them fulfil their oath," the lady smiled, and only then did Ashton realise the lady was nothing but a hologram.
"A recorded message? Is that it?" Ashton quizzed, but to his surprise, the holograph responded to his words.
"Not a hologram, but a memory," she said, getting back to her feet.
Even though that's all she said, Ashton didn't expect the girl to get all sassy with him.
"I never expected the humans to know about this 'technology' as you call it. So it isn't surprising that you thought I was merely a recorded message."
Ashton felt a bit awkward at that moment. He already had an encounter with his father's memories, and he was 'technically' alive then. If that wasn't enough, he had Astaroth living inside his head, which was possible even for the Xyrans to do themselves.
So yeah, he shouldn't have been surprised if the Precursors had some other technology that could imprint their persona to be used later, just like the lady in front.
"My apologies, miss...?"
"So Jo'Han didn't tell you anything about me, huh?" the lady crossed her arms before rolling her eyes. "Why am I even surprised... anyways, you can call me your stepmother or something. Before you ask, yes, I was once your father's wife."
Ashton's eyes widened in shock. He shouldn't have been surprised, considering the Precursors lived for hundreds of thousands of years, but still, it was news to him.
'To be honest, it should have been obvious,' Ashton shook his head before smiling.
"You're calmer than I thought you would be," the lady chuckled before shaking her head. "Either way, the name's Is'kai, and I'm here to give you your inheritance before I disappear for good. So let's not waste time, shall we?"
With that, Is'kai clapped twice, and the room they were standing in underwent unprecedented changes. The old and forgotten historical site changed to resemble a laboratory like no other Ashton had seen before.
He had seen many laboratories, whether on Earth, the Tower or Orion Prime, yet the one before him was more advanced than them all, even though it was probably millions of years old.
While Ashton was looking around the lab, several humanoid-shaped containers appeared before him. Each of them had a mark etched before them. Once again, it was in a language Ashton had never heard or read, yet he understood that the symbols represented numbers or codes.
"It'll take a while for them to activate, so why don't I give you the rest of your stuff? Now then, where is the key..." Is'kai said as she glided around the room. "This mess of a room... I kept telling him to arrange everything properly, but he never listened!"
"Well, from what I remember, Dad was always making a mess of his labs, even on Earth," Ashton mumbled, and he decided to lend Is'kai a hand. "Other than that... I don't remember much about him."
Is'kai stopped what she was doing and looked at Ashton with sympathetic eyes. Even though it was his destiny, she knew they were unfairly taking his youth away from him by wasting it on a matter that shouldn't have concerned him.
As she stared at him, Is'kai realised Ashton shouldn't have been over 20 years old, a life equivalent to that of cosmic dust, yet the entire galaxy's weight would soon rest on his shoulders.
At that moment, Is'kai wanted to tell him more about the prophecy and even warn him. But she knew she couldn't, as it could change the path of reclamation and make Jo'Han's efforts go to waste.
'Jo must have already said something about his future. But knowing him, it should be just a hint, nothing more.' Is'kai thought to herself. 'Should I be more direct... no, I can't mess up the future again. Handing him the guardians is more than enough.'
"So, what kind of guy was he?" Ashton's voice broke Is'kai's train of thought.
"Um... what? I didn't hear you."
"My father, how was he before, you know, before leaving to earth and what and the Xyran's betrayal."
"Xyrans? Why would they-" Is'kai immediately bit her tongue as she almost revealed something she shouldn't have.
"Is something wrong?" Ashton immediately picked up on Is'kai's hesitation. However, Is'kai immediately covered it up.
"No matter how complete I seem, I'm just a remnant of a fragmented memory," she said. "There are things I don't remember and a few that I remember but don't know if they're true. But, I can tell you want I know for sure-"
As she was about to tell Ashton more about the Precursors, the capsules opened with a loud hissing sound. The shells fell apart, and Ashton saw the 'Guardians' for the first time. He was completely mesmerised.
"Are these-?"
"Automatons," Is'kai replied. "Each has enough strength to take on a Type-2 civilisation alone. Remember, we were a type-5 civilisation, so this isn't much for us. However, a group of these should be enough to handle anything or anyone who would threaten you."
Doubts immediately crept into Ashton's mind. Not because he didn't believe Is'kai but because he had a hard time believing that despite having such technology, the Precursors were essentially wiped out.
Thankfully, Is'kai knew what was happening inside Ashton's head and immediately quelled her queries.
"I'm sure you already know this, but Precursors didn't go down because we were weak. It was quite the opposite," she said. "There's a reason why we had a pact of non-violence. Whether you believe me or not, the reason is quite hilarious."
She continued, "We were scared that if we let go of ourselves, we might get addicted to using our strength and lose our way. We were afraid that we might end up destroying the entire universe.
That's why the council decided that our time was up, and it was the time for our children to take their rightful place."
"What? So you died because-" Ashton shook his head. "I can't even wrap my head around that reasoning. But if that was the reason, then why do all this? What's the meaning behind anything!?"
"I'm afraid... you'll have to figure it out yourself," Is'kai mumbled, smiling wanly.
This content is taken from free web nov𝒆l.com