CHAPTER 31: ATHANASIA P1
~31.1~
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“In the year 3965, before year 0 on the modern Atlantis Calender, a disaster struck the prosperous Empire of Atlantis. But leading up to that, a princess named Athanasia brightened the day of everyone she met.”
“Arti! Alex!” called a girl with long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and training attire as she approached her little brothers. The boys were practicing with the sword. One had crimson red hair, and the other had green hair like Astarte. They stopped and grinned.
““Athy!””
They were excited to see their sister, who had just returned from a trip to another island. “I brought souvenirs!”
“Athanasia, age 26, had already gone through much in her life. When she was 12, she was kidnapped. After that, she trained as hard as she could so that nobody could ever force her into anything again. In that era, most people did not know how to manipulate mana. The few who did had to figure it out on their own. Only the imperial family had any degree of instruction.”
She pulled two pins out of her bag and handed one each to her brothers, each matching their hair. “That’s twenty-seven island pins!”
“Thanks, Athy!” Alexandros, the crimson-haired brother, cheered. “I’ll put this on my uniform right away!”
“I will, too! Thanks, Athy!” said the green-haired brother, Artemios.
Athanasia smiled, her warmth radiating and putting a smile on even the instructor’s face.
“Astarte Atlantis was personally teaching her nephews, but now that the princess returned, it was time for her lessons.”
“Boys, why don’t you go show your mother? I’m sure she’ll be happy.”
““Okay!””
“Alexandros, age 12, and Artemios, age 11, ran off to show their mother their new pins. Athanasia smiled as she watched them disappear around the corner.”
Goddess Elysia, thank you for such wonderful little brothers.
“Despite the hurdles she encountered earlier in life, she never lost faith. She prayed every day and always maintained a positive attitude. She was kind to everyone and only ever sought to raise up others.”
“It’s time, Athanasia,” said Astarte, a torrent of blue mana swelling up around her. “Come.”
The blonde princess nodded and laid her bag down on the side. She walked over to the weapon rack and picked up a training sword. With a confident smile on her face, she stepped in front of Astarte and unleashed her own mana.
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“Athanasia was blessed with incredible mana from a young age. Astarte did not need to hold back in practice. The two faced each other and clashed. After a long session, the two sat down on a nearby bench together to catch their breath.”
“Well done, Athanasia,” Astarte said as she opened a bottle of water. “You’ve improved to the point that I’m confident none outside of the family can harm you. And the boys are coming along, too.”
“It’s all because I have a good teacher!” Athanasia replied. She gazed off toward the city and wondered aloud. “How much more can we grow? Imagine if the entire world had teachers. Imagine what humankind could achieve.”
Astarte smiled. “Like mother, like daughter.”
“Hmm?”
“Atalante said something similar recently. She wants to open a school and teach mana manipulation to the people.”
Athanasia had stars in her eyes. “That sounds wonderful! I want to help!”
Astarte shook her head. “Father denied her request.”
“W-what?!” Athanasia jumped up. “Shouldn’t he want to help the people?!”
Astarte sighed. “Keep your voice down.” Astarte stared blankly at the sky. “The empire has prospered for the better part of two hundred thousand years under his rule.”
“They say prosperous, but it feels like stagnation to me.” The blonde princess shook her head, her frustration on clear display. “The world has no real worries. We have plenty of food so nobody starves. We have an ample supply of electricity, so nobody goes without light. But, we have no ambition. No drive to improve. What? Because we’ve achieved comfortable living for everyone? What of the people who kidnapped me? This world is nothing but suppression. This world has achieved just enough for the majority to be content. But the small minority that made those advancements possible are creative and innovation minds. They want to continue improving. We should always strive for better.”
The scene changed from the training grounds to a council meeting.
“The princess had great ambition. She wanted more for everyone. She wanted to share her knowledge with the world, but Athanasios refused. Nothing Athanasia did could ever convince her grandfather. Not until the asteroids came.”
The council meeting faded away, and a view of the planet from space replaced it.
“An asteroid plummeted into the atmosphere and impacted one of the many sky islands, one quite far from the capitol. It didn’t take long for panic to take over. Athanasia, now age 28, watched as more asteroids impacted more islands and much of the surface. She held her brothers tight and lead an evacuation. Athanasios had the best scientists calculate what islands would be safest and ordered Athanasia to take the princes and a handful of people that could help her lead the world in the event both he and Atalante died.”
The blonde princess held back her tears and took her brothers and several more with her.
“Aboard a royal aircraft, they quickly traveled to the island the scientists determined would be safe from the impacts. Their calculations were off, however. One asteroid skirted the atmosphere, almost bypassing the planet, but it was captured by the planet’s gravity... unnaturally. It drew close enough that its trajectory curved inward. And it slammed into the side of the island that Athanasia and the princes had gone to. Before the impact, she prayed.”
Goddess Elysia, please save my brothers! Even if I must die here, please let them live! They’re still children! They deserve the chance to grow up! Is Atlantis being punished for becoming complacent? Please exclude my brothers from this punishment! They have no part in the sins of the antiquated leaders!
“Her prayer was so desperate and heartfelt that I heard it from the distant past. Before, when Elysium prospered... before the invasion, I was frequently heralded as a goddess. Some souls recalled my name even after reincarnation, and that together with the very name on the system menu... I became a deity to the Ten Realms. I cried the day I heard her prayer. The prayer that transcended time left an impact on me.”
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Revision: 2024-10-1