Living A New Life Without Regrets In A New World

No matter what you do, no matter who you are, you can't escape death. Once you were formed within your mother's w.o.m.b, you already started walking the path to death. No matter how blessed you are, no matter how powerful you are, death is inevitable.

However, there are people who managed to escape the Cycle. They are those who after death was reborn again. These people are scorned by the World, the Spirits, and Fate. But these impudent beings know not of their rightful place. So the Order was formed to hunt these beings called Zagreus. Its stupid that the people call them the Order of Zagreus as if we follow these people. These beings aren't human, they don't deserve respect, honor, or dignity. They have to be hunted down and destroyed.

"Please stop indoctrinating your grandson, father." Lady Elizabeth interrupted the Great Sage's explanation of what The Order, displeased with hearing his father reciting the doctrine they blindly believed in.

"Don't worry mother! I just asked grandfather of what The Order is." The 7-year-old Johannes defended his grandfather. He was smiling when he answered but he felt fear creep inside of him. He only curiously asked about what The Order was since whenever his Grandfather Sol comes over, he always pesters Melchor about his relationship with the Order. Johannes didn't really care about it at all since it didn't seem like its related to him. However, he found out how wrong he is.

"Don't worry Elizabeth, I am not finished with what I was trying to say. Going back to what I was saying, that's what we all believed in before. Johannes, we are not really sure if they were really reborn or what, but what we know is that they have magic that we can't understand. They use unnatural magic which is unheard of in our world." Melchor continued. "However, it doesn't make them evil or scorned by the spirits. Maybe they were blessed as well, but in a different way. People fear what they don't understand. That fear made them hate these people. That hate led us to do unspeakable horror against the innocent." Melchor said in a melancholic tone.

Johannes was dumbfounded. For almost 7 years, his parents and grandparents have taught him about magic and the history of the Continent. Even though there were mentions of wars and injustices, this was the first time he heard about this. Just by looking at his grandfather, and by how his mother reacted, he realized that his family did some unforgivable deeds.

"It's time that you know how foolish your grandfather was. So that you may learn a valuable lesson from the mistakes of your elder." Said Melchor while smiling. But even with that smile, Johannes knew how melancholic that smile was just by looking at his grandfather's eyes. Eyes filled with regret and loathing for oneself. Eyes that Johannes is well-familiar with, as he is in the same boat as his grandfather. He can feel how much his grandfather wants to do something, to atone for what he did, just like how much Johannes wanted to live his life differently from how he lived his life before.

"You see, Johannes, I was raised within the Order, indoctrinated of beliefs that I didn't question. Those beliefs were what gave me meaning. We followed those beliefs incessantly. In order to properly hunt the Zagreus, I studied every record that we have about them. Mastered magic, spells, curses, everything from our world. Then from there, I tried to derive the similarities it had with all the unnatural magic these Zagreus had. But it still didn't make sense. They were still ununderstandable to me, no matter how many I hunted, no matter how many Zagreus I fought, they are still unknown to me, which made me fear them more." Melchor told his grandson.

"Grandfather, what do you mean by unnatural magic? What are you trying to say?" Johannes asked. Even though he knows that his grandfather regrets everything that he did before, he still doesn't know what he was trying to say.

"Father, Johannes is just 7-years-old. I don't think he will understand what you're going to say." Lady Elizabeth reprimanded his father as she was concerned about how her son will react. She saw over the years how much her father cared for Johannes. She also saw how much respect Johannes have for his grandfather. She didn't want anything to ruin that. But she also knows that someday, Johannes must know about the secrets they had, but she just didn't think that her father is this thoughtless.

"Elizabeth, I believe that Johannes is ready. We all know in this household that Johannes' mind is advanced. He is wiser for his age, heck, he is much wiser and more intelligent than anyone I met before." Melchor said to his daughter. "I believe I must tell him now. Something tells me that I should teach him more about reality, rather than the philosophical teachings and theories we teach him."

"As for your questions, Johannes, unnatural magic are those that are outside the jurisdiction of the 4 spirits. Inexplicable magic that I can't even describe. No matter how many adjectives I use, no matter how I describe it, I will not be able to give it justice." Melchor told his grandson. He continued his lecture, "There was once a man who can create anything out of thin air, he armed villages with high-grade armor and weapons and led them to rebel. I fought a man who can summon countless weapons out of nowhere and then throw it at us as if it was formed inside the magic circle. What's terrifying about him was that it seemed like he can summon an infinite number of weapons. There was a witch who can raise the dead, then there were people who can summon and control lightning. There were many more but its not important anymore. What I want you to understand Johannes, is that we, as people should think for ourselves. At the Order, we fight Zagreus who tries to use their powers for chaos, we kill those who use their abilities to help people, we also kill those who are suspected to have unnatural powers. What I want you to learn is that-" Melchor was lecturing Johannes.

"You killed innocent people?" Johannes was incredulous. He can't believe that his fun-loving and gentle grandfather did what he was saying.

"I just didn't kill them." Melchor answered, "I was also the one who led the Order after the previous Grand Sage died. I was just a young man back then. Your mother was just 2-years-old when I was asked to lead the order. At that time, I still follow the beliefs in the Order, do I still believe in it? Back then, I was already doubting about the credibility of what they taught us. But I still did what I had to do, I was the Grand Sage." Melchor told his grandson, looking at him directly in the eyes as if he was trying to see what was his grandson thinking through his eyes.

"Where does grandmother stand in all of this? Does father know?" Johannes asked in discomfort. It was all too sudden. Before these revelations, he was just a genius 7-year-old who can use high tier magic taught to him by the Grand Sage, his mother (who he thinks is also a well-known figure in Altherhea. He won't be surprised anymore if that's the case.", his grandmother who is a well-known scholar, not to mention Grandfather Sol and Grandmother Luna who are both terrifying swordsmen and magicians in their own right. Let's not forget his father who is the Divine General of Altherhea. He realized that he wasn't really living a normal life after all since he was surrounded by these people.

"Your grandmother was an outlier within the Order. Ever since she was young, she already doubted the teachings. She was the previous Grand Sage's daughter. Because of her standing, she was allowed to study outside of the Order. She became a well-known scholar on the Continent. She was well-respected, not just because she was the Order's princess, she was also strong and incredibly smart, not to mention, she was the most beautiful at that time. She went back to the Order, with the hopes of changing it from the inside. But fanatics will always be fanatics. At the very least, she was able to avoid shedding the blood of the innocents." Melchor explained. "Looking back, I really didn't understand why your grandmother even liked me. I was still a fanatic back then. I only started to doubt when I was named the next Grand Sage." Melchor continued. "The tipping point for me to turn my back to the Order was when some of the inquisitors found a little hut on a mountain with a family of Zagreus living in it. They were led by two full Zagreus, the man can make plants grow from a little seed to a huge tree. The woman can heal any wounds. They had children who had extraordinary powers as well. Of course, as the Grand Sage, I led a number of inquisitors with me. your grandmother tried to stop me. She told me, 'these people didn't harm anyone. Their powers aren't the kind that can even hurt people. You're the Grand Sage, make a stand. Stop sitting on the fence.' However, I didn't listen. We went, and killed the family." Melchor told his grandson.

"It wasn't the first family of Zagreus I killed. But this time, it felt different. It was the first hunt I had as a Grand Sage. It has been years since we found the last Zagreus. This family was the first over a number of years. His inquisitors were thirsty for blood. They violently killed the family. They killed the parents in front of their children. One inquisitor violated the mother in front of her children. After he was done, he sliced the mother's head in half. Her children screamed in horror, but they weren't able to do anything." Melchor told his grandson in great detail his first and last hunt as the Grand Sage.

"When we were cleaning up the bodies, I saw the body of the youngest child of that Zagreus family. He was lying face down, with a sword still at his back, his figure was trying to reach to his dead father. With that figure, I was reminded of Elizabeth who was still two years old at that time. I realized that we were no different from murderers. I decided that I will not let your mother undergo the teachings. I went home and cried to your grandmother. I told her everything that happened, and what I was feeling. I know the injustice that I have done. I asked her to help me to change the Order. She didn't say anything for a while. I know that what happened was so f.u.c.k.e.d up. I was ready to be hated by my wife. But she hugged me. She vowed that she will help me change the Order." Melchor said.

"We did change the Order. I disbanded the Inquisitors. Many people who followed the Order left since they did not agree with the changes I did. Some stayed because they are happier with the change, but most of the people stayed because they have nowhere to go. For some time, the Order was peaceful. We focused on research, discovered magic that improve the way of living on the continent, we made a good impact on the Continent. However, those who left the Order before came back, they came back with a vengeance. They threatened to kill all of us unless we surrendered. Since I scrapped hunting the Zagreus in our teaching, I did not train the Order in the art of battle. Only a few know how to use magic for defense. Those who went back were mages that are very powerful and they are led by a ruthless man, Leobor. He demanded that we surrender so we won't be slaughtered. We did. Leobor did not honor his words. He slaughtered a number of people in the Order. He made us watch while he killed them. He exiled us afterward. He didn't kill us on the account that he wanted me to suffer over the fact that a huge number of the people I led died because of my incompetence." Melchor reminisced with tears rolling down from his eyes.

"Father-" Elizabeth called his father. She wanted to say something, but she can't find the right words. She hugged him tightly.

"It wasn't your fault grandfather. You did a lot of good for the Continent. When you were exiled, you still did good things, you helped people and still researched magic that can help people." Johannes told his grandfather. He understood what Melchor was feeling and he wanted him to feel assured that he doesn't hate him.

"Johannes, what grandfather is trying to say, is that you have to think and decide for yourself. We taught you a lot of things, philosophy, ethics, science, magic, etiquette, and many more, not just for you to stock it in your mind. Use your knowledge. Help people. Most of all, in this world, people will use 'good and evil' for their benefit. What I want you to do is to learn to distinguish what good and bad is on your own. From my experience, what makes a person good or evil is not where he was born, or what his magic is, it is in what he do." Melchor looked at his grandson with hope. Hoping that one day, his grandson will make a difference. "Grandfather was bad before. But I chose to turn my life around. I did evil things, but then I tried to change my life and do good things. What I want you to learn is that everyone in this world deserves a second chance." Melchor told his grandson with finality.

"I understand grandfather. You don't have to worry." Johannes told his grandfather. "How about the Order? What are they doing now Grandfather?" He asked.

"I believe they are back to their old beliefs. The only change they had was that they are more ruthless than before." Melchor answered.

"Father, I think that's enough for today. Mother might be done preparing dinner. We have to prepare for tomorrow. Michael might get mad if we will be late on our first visit to the King's Castle." Elizabeth interrupted his father.

"Ah, do I really have to go to?" Melchor said grumpily.

"Yep. Father said that he wanted to meet our entire family. Right, Mother?" Johannes answered excitedly, as this will be the first time that he will travel outside the duchy. Finally, after 7 years, his parents allowed him to travel with them somewhere outside their duchy. Even though he loves the people living within their province as he is loved by their subjects, even though the Escrim, their province is beautiful and bountiful, he still longed to travel outside. But it will all change tomorrow, he is going to see the world, or at least the places that they will go through, on the way to the capital.

"That is correct Johannes. Go take a bath, then have dinner with us okay?" Elizabeth said while smiling.