As fate would have it, at that very moment, a shadow streaked across the sky. It was Quetzalcoatl. He had actually dragged his enormous serpentine body away from the pyramid that sealed him, flying all the way over. He dared to do this, presumably because he had already sensed the defeat and destruction of the Smoke Mirror.
“You… you actually did it.” Quetzalcoatl gazed at the current state of Aztland and Mikk’s gradual dissipation, his serpentine face filled with awe. “You have shattered the eternal and unchanging present.”
He descended and landed beside Hayden, bowing his head to him: "Chosen child, I now believe that the Most High has a plan for you."
“I don’t need this half-hearted reverence,” Hayden said coldly. “Besides, this power is useless now. Quetzalcoatl, you are the source of life in South America, the god who created the land. Do you have a way to bring Miktikahiva back to life?”
Quetzalcoatl immediately shook his head: "First of all, I certainly can't do it. Secondly, as the chosen child, it's perfectly normal that your power can't achieve it, and this is in accordance with the laws and principles of the Supreme Being. Because Miktikashiva is ultimately the result of the sins of South America, and she voluntarily chose to burn away all the sins she and the Smoke Mirror had accumulated. Now things have turned out this way, all within the framework of normal rules. All costs must be paid, all debts must be settled, and her destruction is an inescapable inevitability."
At this point, He revealed some reverence for Hayden and the Outer God in His own mind: "Chosen Child, you can make everything come to pass naturally, which is the manifestation of the will of the Most High!"
Hayden found His words both amusing and infuriating—if this was the natural result of South America’s millennia of sins being burned away, then Quetzalcoatl, the instigator who should at least share some of the blame, why wasn’t he burned along with them?
However, Hayden ultimately refrained from mocking Quetzalcoatl. The time he had painstakingly created with his "Sword of Words" was finally coming to an end. Watching Mikkelsen gradually dissipate, Hayden felt a pang of sorrow welling up within him.
"What are you sad about, Hayden?" Mickett laughed at the change in his expression, as if amused. "Aren't I the dark old forces that you must overthrow before you can create a new world?"
Hayden shook his head and placed his hand on the back of Mickett's hand: "You are not my enemy, you are my friend."
Karen, who was standing next to her, rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.
“Friend,” Mickett pondered the word, then smiled. “Thank you.”
Her voice was almost a sigh, and her figure was so dim that she was like a shadow, almost inaudible and almost invisible.
This is the "death" of something that has no soul at all and no definite self.
Couldn't Hayden cast a resurrection spell on her? Perhaps he could, but Hayden suspected that doing so would only create a second Am, not resurrect the original "Mickett." Because the original Mickett no longer existed, nor had she ever truly existed. That was the result of flawed development, which would ultimately be completely erased without a trace.
How despicable! Miktikashiva does indeed bear a heavy burden of sin, and she has certainly committed many evils throughout her thousand years. These sins cannot be absolved, but today she has also selflessly sacrificed herself for the future. Can't all of this at least deserve some credit?
Whether it's fate or God, and whatever the relevant departments are, isn't there a plan for leniency and redress for those who have committed crimes?
...Hayden was at a loss for what to do.
Until someone silently walked up behind him.
“Miktikashiva, you will soon disappear, vanish like sea foam, never to return.”
It's Angela.
She walked past Hayden, went to Mickert's side, and bent down.
"But what you have done today will not be forgotten. If you do not like this ending, would you like to hear a few words from me before you vanish?"
Despite being very weak, Micket couldn't help but laugh at the question: "Isn't it a waste of time for you to ask this when I'll be gone in a few minutes?"
“Oh dear, I still need to confirm their intentions.” Angela smiled as well. “Intentions are very important.”
Then she lifted one of Mickett's hands and gently placed her other hand on Mickett's forehead in a comforting manner.
"Child, child born of dust, death, and blood, are you willing to repent and admit that you have disregarded the lives of others and exploited and oppressed them?"
This question left Mickett speechless for a long time.
About ten seconds later, her lips twitched slightly: "Yes."
Are you willing to repent for the many sins you have committed, for harming others out of arrogance, for being indifferent and heartless out of selfishness, and for taking the lives of others out of greed for your own immortality?
Mickett closed her eyes and nodded slightly. She no longer had the strength to speak.
Hayden and Karen were both utterly bewildered by the sight. In fact, even the feathered serpent god Remiel was somewhat confused.
Only Angela nodded happily: "Then rest assured."
She reached out and gently touched Mickett's cheek.
"Rest in peace, son of blood, for forgiveness is here. You dream of eternity, you yearn for immortality, but life on earth is not eternal. But rest in peace, for eternal life is here—eternal light and peace will surround you who have been called."
Vampires are said not to cry, but at this moment, a string of tears streamed down Mickett's face. Her hand completely lost its strength and slipped from Angela's grasp. Her body began to melt, turning to ash.
But in this final moment, she had a faint smile on her face, and despite her scars, she was as peaceful as if she were asleep.
Goodnight, son of blood.
Angela gently stroked Micket's forehead.
"Until we meet again in heaven."
Miktikashiva died. Her ashes scattered in the wind.
But when Hayden looked up at the gray, he saw something and heard some sounds within it.
Goodbye, Hayden
The sound was inaudible to the human ear, and no one could see its form. It had no wings, yet it floated as lightly as air, slowly rising from the ash and flying towards the warm and gentle sky.
Ascending towards the sky, soaring to a place even higher than the sky, and then disappearing from sight.
Until we meet again.
366: The Transformation Begins
Karen did not witness that final, wondrous scene.
With Smoke Mirror and Micket both dead, she needed to get down to business immediately: take over the remaining operational magic systems in South America and shut down Smoke Mirror's troublesome continental blockade.
After all, during those two hours, they had no idea what was happening outside, and there was no way to exchange information between the inside and outside, which was actually a very serious situation.
However, let's put that aside for now and focus on the matter at hand.
Shortly after the battle ended, Isam awoke. Upon learning of Mikt's ultimate fate, she was immediately thrown into utter confusion: "Mikt Tikashiva sacrificed himself to save me? Are you kidding me? Are you sure it wasn't the 'I'm going to die anyway, might as well save me' kind of thing?"
"No."
Hayden said calmly,
"She has always had a choice."
Mickett's death was full of surprises, but regardless, she clearly still had choices at that time. Ultimately, Mickett could have chosen to give up, to resign herself to fate, to simply let herself exist. In any case, whether Hayden or Smoke Mirror won, Mickett wouldn't have died; she could have continued in her past state, quietly decaying.
But in the end, she naively chose the future.
A vampire who has longed for immortality and sought to prolong his life for thousands of years, at the last moment, instead of trying his best to protect himself, chose to sacrifice himself to protect another life.
It must be admitted that Hayden was actually deeply shocked.
"What Miktikahiva ultimately thought is something no one can fully explain for her. Unfortunately, we really don't have much time to discuss this in detail right now."
At this point, Hayden couldn't help but sigh.
“Smoke Mirror is dead, Miktti Kashiva is gone, all the South American gods are dead.”
Meanwhile, as Pania flew around taking care of the refugees, she grumbled, "The South American god is still alive!"
“Well, we still have a South American magician.” Hayden gave a wry smile. “But Pania is only a half-baked magician. She can’t possibly handle the entire empty magic system of South America on her own. If she were to handle it alone, within a week, there probably wouldn’t be anything left of South America except a huge, smoking hole in the ground.”
This wasn't Hayden mocking Pania. You see, the entire South American ecosystem, climate change, organic cycles, and even the death and birth of most organisms were previously controlled by the magic of the Smoke Mirror Company. Normally, a whole host of gods would adjust and manage these things, but today Smoke Mirror devoured all of its own company's true gods in one fell swoop, and their souls were burned by Mickett.
Hayden dared not let Pania take over the entire magic system alone, not because he looked down on her, but because he genuinely lacked confidence. There were very few gods who could handle such a task single-handedly.
Karen might be able to, but she doesn't have the time or energy. Everyone has too much to do right now… just too much.
Isham possessed most of Mikert's memories, so she slowly nodded: "You mean, I need to inherit the South American magic system..."
She is much weaker than Pania, but Am has most of Mickett’s knowledge and memories, so she should be able to take over better than Pania.
"Huh?" Hayden was taken aback. "Of course that's not what I meant. There are too many parts of South American magic that need to be reset. We need to completely dismantle it and reinstall the [Dream Flower] system. Fortunately, we were developing something like this before."
As you may recall, before Hayden and Karen got married, they had already been working with their friends to develop an ecological magic system based on the [Dream Flower], which was proving quite useful.
Isham was stunned when she heard this: "You want to dismantle the entire magic system in South America?... Okay, I know that's the right thing to do. If a magic system built on blood sacrifice isn't dismantled and rebuilt, it might backfire someday... But what's the point of calling me here then?"
“I didn’t call you here for any reason,” Hayden shrugged, looking at her. “I just want to know what you’re planning to do next. Miktikashiva’s last wish was for me to take care of you and create a world where you can freely pursue your dreams. But I’ll do that no matter what. So the focus right now is on you.”
"What are your plans for the future? South America needs to be completely rebuilt. Staying here will be tough, and frankly, there's nothing you can do here right now. You're really useless. You're just a blank slate god with some Miktti Kashiva magic in your head, but we'll have to dismantle the systems that use that magic later."
At this point, Hayden cleared his throat.
"Actually, you can ignore this whole thing, leave here, go to Newbeam City, to a better environment. You can learn new magic, gain new divine power, or develop it yourself."
As a result, Isham stared at Hayden suspiciously for a while: "Are you trying to be rebellious towards me, Mr. Hayden?"
“No! Really, no!” Hayden quickly waved his hand. “I’m trying not to decide your future for you. You can use your future to do whatever you want, and most importantly, it has to be your own choice.”
"Maybe after all you've been through today, you don't want to be the god of South America anymore. Maybe you want to be a researcher of life magic, or you can go wherever you want—of course, I'll still care if you've encountered anything bad or if you need my help—but in short, I hope you can decide, and it really is your decision."
Hayden turned to face the horizon, waving his hand in a wide arc, as if representing the vast world beyond South America.
“From here, you can go anywhere. You can do anything with your future, without being held back by South America, the past, or anything in the present. This is the conclusion I’ve come to after careful consideration, and it’s also the image I think a ‘father’ should have—I will fight for you, to build a better, fairer, and sunnier world, and then you can just live freely in it. I mean it.”
Isham nodded slowly: "But what I want is not for others to do things for me. Besides, Mr. Hayden, you are not... uh, not my father."
“You’re getting a bit too much of a father figure, aren’t you?” Hayden sighed. “I know I’m not, but I promised Mickett I would, so I’m still your guardian in effect—and there’s something interesting, Eminem. While we all know that the old-fashioned, domineering, chauvinistic father figure is definitely wrong, and we all know ‘that’s not how a father should be,’ no one has ever been able to tell us ‘how to be a good father in the new era.’ There’s obviously no standard answer to that.”
The fact that the term "dad vibe" has become derogatory reveals a lack of a true image of a good father in today's society. Conversely, the ideal mother—the image of the ideal mother seems to be largely the same in everyone's mind!
So this was the only solution Hayden could come up with; he had to learn from and align his standards for a "good father" with those for a "good mother."
As for who the "good mother" is... there's no need to deny it now, is there?
Isham possessed most of Mickert's memories and knowledge, and she could actually understand what Hayden was trying to say. So she also fell into deep thought, carefully considering what she truly wanted.
Soon, the answer flowed naturally from her lips: "I'm too weak. I lack strength and wisdom. Even with knowledge of my own body, I can't use it correctly... I want to grow, and the faster the better."
"So how do you plan to grow?" Hayden countered. "Are you going to immediately go to the battlefield to actually grow through practical experience?"
"So you're really being rebellious towards me, aren't you?" Amu sighed. "No, I will... go and study. At least I'll start with studying."
Hayden completely understood her frustration. When something big is happening in the world, and you're not entirely powerless, but rather lacking in power, the choice to step back and learn from the sidelines is truly disheartening.
To put it more abstractly, returning to the safety of the rear to study also means leaving the most dazzling and important stage. For anyone who wants to showcase themselves on that stage, this choice is a disgrace.
"Only true strong people can admit their weaknesses. There is nothing shameful about it."
So Hayden reached out and patted Eminem's head.
"I will be proud of you."
When Amu was patted on the head, her expression clearly showed some discomfort. This gesture didn't have the magical effect of a head pat increasing her favorability. But after hesitating for a moment, she timidly said, "Thank you, Father."
That was truly embarrassing for both the speaker and the listener. Eminem and Hayden both thought to themselves.
But Hayden still nodded and accepted the title. This was the power of calling someone "father," and it was also an invisible contract. Now that a guardian-ward relationship had been formed, I would protect you, care for you, fight for your happiness, and at the same time give you the freedom to choose your future.
These are some of the lessons Hayden learned from Angela.
...Meanwhile, Pania, flying around the ruins of Aztland, overheard their conversation with her lion's ears.
She didn't see it as some strange fatherly play, but she thought to herself: Boss Micket (deceased) treated Eminem as his daughter and his future self, and Hayden treated Eminem as his daughter, so isn't this...
Keep in mind, Karen and Hayden's child hasn't even been born yet.
Hey boss, you're getting greener and greener!
-------------------------------
And so, Isham left.
Hayden, however, remained standing on the ruins of Aztland, gazing at the sky in deep thought.
The royal city of South America, this capital city with thousands of years of history, once appeared incredibly glorious; it was once the center of the world.
One of the greatest cities in history. But now, it's just a huge pile of ruins. Everything that was alive was killed by the necromantic tsunami, and then Kallen's [Dream Flower] power made it more like a forest than a city.
Trees have taken root and sprouted throughout the city, branches reaching out from open windows and trunks emerging from holes in rooftops. Flowers and grasses have grown from the cracks in the streets, almost completely covering the entire road. Vines have spread across the sides of buildings, covered statues, and blocked fountains. The former glory of this place has vanished, vanished like an illusion.
Perhaps all this glory and splendor was merely an illusion. These false illusions are like the stubborn silt of history, unwilling to move forward, attempting to resist global change through exploitative practices like blood sacrifices and ecological control. Two suns, thousands of years old, have fallen today. Perhaps indeed, all things rise and fall; neither powerful empires nor individual lives, nor even gods, can endure forever.
This is especially true of things built on sin and evil means.
"The chosen one, it's about time for me to go."
...Then Quetzalcoatl came over while Hayden was thinking about these things.
"The Ark of Life spaceship is ready, and I am ready to depart for the star system 'Alpha Centauri', which is about 4 light-years from the Sun, and our target planet, Proxima Centauri. I don't think we'll ever meet again."
He bowed his head and bid farewell to Hayden, the mortal chosen by Him.
Hayden's feelings about this were... well, subtle.
Even after witnessing the ultimate collapse of South America, Quetzalcoatl Remiel seemed completely unconcerned about traveling four light-years away to rebuild a new empire. Perhaps he felt he could do better next time, avoiding the same mistakes and outcomes. But Hayden was deeply skeptical—because the old man didn't possess the limitless potential of the young.
However, Hayden considered it for a moment and decided against it; there was no need to stop Quetzalcoatl from escaping in his bio-ship. After all, the situation was far too chaotic, and he couldn't be certain what would happen in the future. Letting Quetzalcoatl escape would at least leave him with a chance.
Speaking of the future...