Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 117: Soul Repair

[System Announcement The first Shrine has been created. Established, this Shrine will gain the title 'Ratified Religion' and aid those that would seek the Gods. A place of power and of worship, the Shrine establishes the first recognized Pantheon on Earth. All followers of the Tuatha de Danaan gain a permanent perk to healing and double experience bonus for one year.]

[Reward - Complete Soul Integration {Danu's Touch}. You have made the choice to embrace your Sidhe heritage completely. Soul Integration has occurred finalizing the process that began during reincarnation. Past life memories have transitioned and become the domain of the Dream. Previous life experiences and memories will fade becoming more and more intangible and part of Dream.]

Danu's awareness moved beyond the here, her eyes becoming unfocused as she read and processed the changes System's announcement meant for Her. When she regained focus, her smile, already mesmerizing, became blinding as the intensity of her pleasure was made known.

She shaped her Divinity and bestowed her blessing on the Shrine that I had created, and that System had recognized. The Sithern soaked in the fragment of the Divine that leaked as she worked, its appetite voracious. It siphoned all stray remnants of magic greedily, storing them as part of some metaphysical battery, ready for when it would need them.

Although the Sithern's intelligence was just burgeoning, it somehow knew that it was going to be transported and was pleased with the thought. I think it may have been lonely as part of the CERN dungeon. No other Sithern entities to link with, it was isolated. Not only did it have none of its kind to form relationships with, but there was barely any Sidhe to provide housing or protection.

It showed me what it was doing once it realized I was interested in and paying attention. It had already begun the process of shutting down, it was already closing up passages, underused areas, and empty rooms. The retraction of space and magic that it had invested in space and environments, those areas that had been created to sustain life were reclaimed, as the Sithern went about the process of withdrawing the spatial anomalies that had been the landscape that defined this remarkable protected world.

A kernel of potential was formed, filled with the vibrancy and life that the Sithern represented. The process intensifying as more areas were shut down and retracted. The kernel forming embryonic stock that would make up the seed I would be transporting when we finished.

<Thank you for this,> Danu said gaining my attention, <We will leave the tiniest spark of our awareness in both Shrines. When you place your Sithern on Talahm, our blessing will remain.>

<We have seen the results of what you have done here.>

<The change you have made will have the smallest repercussion to begin, barely noticeable, but as time passes, the Tuatha de Danaan who Dream this world will invest those few that embrace the Sidhe and help restore the balance of Nature to this world.>

<Some will die as they are forced to adapt to System,> Cyronax continued his voice cold and indifferent, <But that is the nature of things. All life dies. But these Earthlings will be stronger for System intervention. Their intelligence and curiosity will allow them to adapt and embrace their new reality.>

<System will act to restrain their most destructive impulses. It will be interesting to watch how they fuse science and magic into a new world. I wonder how similar this world will be to Talahm once assimilation has been accomplished,> Beleros concluded thoughtfully.

<One last gift,> Danu said. <S-Prime allowed you to reincarnate with your memories of Earth for a reason. Your efforts have closed CERN, the System changes will make sure another isn't created both here and in Our sub-Universe.>

<Your actions are going to anger those that hoped for a shortcut to the Divine. This will be the only time we can interfere with what is to come. A spark of our awareness will remain here, fully aware and awake, but on Talahm we are bound.>

<You and Caraid have been two separate individuals with memories from two different worlds. It is time for the joining and repair of your soul to be complete. System has rewarded you with My Touch,> Danu explained. <When ready You will sleep, and when you wake, you will be as you were meant to be. Memories of Earth fading as if a dream. Memories of Talahm becoming more, the whole sum and part of who you were meant to be.>

<What Caraid knows you will know. What Caraid experienced you will remember. Two Souls merged. He will remain, you are too tightly bound to divide you at this point. But he will no longer be your memories of Talahm and his life.>

<He will become an adviser; someone you can share thoughts and ideas with. But you will no longer be adrift in uncertainty, unsure how to act or respond. You will become a true Son of Talahm with memories of what growing up as Seelie meant. You will understand the undercurrents and interactions that are fundamental to successful interaction among the Sidhe. The lessons you learned while growing up as a hybrid, a mongrel, those lessons shaped the person Caraid was. Those memories are now yours.>

"Caraid? Are you OK with this?" It seemed like the most invasive form of theft, this gift. And to merge Caraid's life with my own, to truly incorporate his memories and experiences without his permission seemed unmannerly at best. I was unwilling to steal the essence that made him unique. He had sacrificed enough, and I was worried about what this would mean for him.

=[This is what was meant to be, Teigh,] Caraid assured me. [We will not change. We can still talk to each other. I will still be bound to fulfill the Wild Hunt's call. You will still strive to make Sidhe more than Seelie or Unseelie. This just makes things easier. Completes the process that S-Prime began, changing very little, simply gifting you and me that final step, the complete evolution so that we become who and what we were meant to be.]

=[I doubt we will notice a difference. Except maybe it will make things easier. You will have my knowledge of Talahm. That can only be a good thing. Especially because you will be forced to deal with Politics and Ranked that will notice any hesitation, any uncertainty.]

=[You need to know how to act. How to respond. And gaining that knowledge second hand as we have been doing would be problematic under the keen gaze of beings like King Lugh Clear-Sighted.]

=[Our connection will remain. We are not losing anything with this evolution, simply gaining what should have been ours from the beginning.]

<Your memories of S-Prime will fade. The quests that it has generated will remain, you are still going to need to seek and discover who those behind the System virus were. But that quest will now be monitored by System,> Danu said interrupting Caraid.

<You have done well. Peace is granted as your first reward. The pain and joys of your past life swallowed by the sea of hopes and dreams. Sleep, Young Prince, safe and comforted knowing that We will stand guardian to your evolution. We will be watching.>

I was given no chance to respond. There were no farewells, no last best wishes. One moment they animated and gave life to the images I had sculpted, the next they seemed to step back. The images solidifying into a triumvirate that was benevolent and pleased. The Divine glow dimming but not extinguishing as the Gods waited to return to their Sleep.

And as the statues dimmed so too did my sight. My body moving with intent, the decision to lay upon the rich soil of Sithern and sleep instinctively. As I lay dreaming, the benevolence of peace and tranquility that was Danu's Gift finally allowed me to free myself from my past life. The bitter painful memories, the bitter pangs of lost love gently washed away becoming part of the river of remembrance. Soft waters that lapped against the fabric of my soul.

Gentle.

Rebuilding what and who I was.

I'm not sure how long I slept. But when I finally woke, I found myself surrounded by a crowd of Volar-Fey, each adorning one of the plants that were native to Earth, each collecting nectar and pollen that was brimming with new life. Beyond these Volar-fey, more guardians. A circle of Knockers, waiting patiently with Duchess Wynne as she knelt, a guard where none was needed. The Tuatha de Danaan had bestowed peace as part of their vigilance.

The Sithern had bonded fully with me. IN this place, it would take much to breach those defenses. It could be done. But probably not by any being or newly empowered God of Earth. Still, it would have been boorish of me not to acknowledge the honor. She was a highly Ranked Sidhe. Guard duty wasn't something one should expect from her.

"Duchess?" I said after stretching, my body tingling with life and energy, bones cracking and sinews flexing as I stood. She rose once she was satisfied that I was safe and cognizant of my surroundings.

Moving to join me, the two of us spent a few moments in quiet reflection before the image of Danu. We had been honored and blessed to have a conversation with the well-spring of all Sidhe.

It is impossible to stare into the face of the Divine and not be transformed in some manner. For me, it was closure. When I claimed the Sithern and opened the portal to the Summerlands, I would be leaving behind the last of my Earthen heritage.

I had accepted what I was. And it was time to stop comparing my present life with my past. Already the memories of who I had been in my past life was becoming fuzzy and ambiguous.

It was time to return and take up the mantle of my destiny. A destiny that I had chosen.

"It is time," I finally said shattering the quiet reflection. "Begin preparations for our leave-taking. We have done everything we can here."