Chapter 108: Time
Time is deceptive. It gives off an impression that it was with one but passes away without one's knowledge.
100 years. A century has passed. Trunsoest looked back at the past while getting himself ready for a meeting.
Though the world around him was ever-changing, he still remained the same. A man who desires order above all else.
They labelled him foolish and laughed behind his back for having such a hopeless dream.
The words of his fellow consul still stung his heart.
"You are nothing but a tool for the gods, Trunsoest. Do you think they care for your precious order? You should have already seen through the truth, yet you are unwilling to confront it."
"You are still pathetic and weak."
"Nothing seemed to have changed at all, Trunsoest. You are still a coward as you were back then…"
Trunsoest looked at himself in the mirror, his mind still reverberating with the words of his fellow consul. He was still as a statue, his brass eyes fixed on his reflection.
"Let me help." A voice sounded behind him. His brass eyes softened as the voices faded away from his mind.
He turned back, assuming a bright smile. A hand was placed on his collar, helping him tie the bowtie.
Trunsoest looked at his love, Auernia, who was so focused on his tie. His bright smile broadened a tad, as he let her help him.
"Are you okay?" Auernia asked, finishing with the tie.
"I am fine." Trunsoest replied, trying his best to hide his emotions from her.
"Is that so?" Auernia said, "Your eyes say otherwise."
Trunoest looked away, cursing himself under his breath.
Auernia smiled and continued. "It's going to be fine. The Gods will give a solution."
Trunsoest looked at her in silence. His heart flared with anger at her words about gods.
He suppressed his emotions while walking away from her, towards the door. He also avoided making eye contact with her.
"They do always have a solution to all problems, don't they?" He said it with a smile, picking up his suit from the sofa and wearing it. "It's like they already knew all that was about to happen. I even feel…"
He stopped himself from saying something very blasphemous.
"Trunsoest." Auernia frowned, walking towards him. "It's useless to be angry at the actions and intentions of Gods. After all, they are Gods, those who are above everything, including Order…" She said this with concern and warning evident in her tone. She also seemed to understand his source of anger with the gods.
"I know…" Trunsoest murmured lowly. "I know, Auernia…"
"But…" He drawled, his eyes filled with pain, as he gazed at his city and empire through the strained glass window.
Auernia held his hand, as if noticing his pain. She grabbed his hand tightly with her warm hand.
Trunsoest continued, looking at her. "The Empire is about to fall."
Auernia said, placing her other hand on his cheek and gazing deeply into his golden eyes. "My love, you have always known that. The moment that the gods made that decision, you were aware that this day would come…." She moved her hand to his heart. "…deep in your heart. It's just that you didn't want to face it. You were hoping that you were wrong. You were aiming to make all of this work, despite knowing it was futile from the beginning…"
Her words directly stung his heart. Trunsoest looked up, covering his face. He walked away from her, not wanting her to see him in his vulnerable state.
"Its okay.." Auernia hugged him from behind, whispering in his ear. "It's okay.."
Trunsoest looked down, his face was covered in shadows, making Auernia hard to grasp his emotions. She waited, though, not letting him get out of her embrace.
He finally whimpered. "Am I a coward, Auernia?"
"Yes…" Auernia replied, walking in front of him, her voice solemn. "Yes, you are a coward, love. It took you almost a century to gather enough courage to propose to me.." She chuckled, showing off the diamond ring on her finger. "I almost lost my patience. I wanted to propose myself, rather than wait any longer…"
Her words made Trunsoest feel a rollercoaster of emotions in seconds, leaving him still as a statue, his gaze fixed on Auernia.
"So, yes. You can be a coward in some ways.." She continued with a smile. "Yet, you are also the most bravest person I have ever seen."
"Trunsoest, even when you knew it was futile, you tried to keep the empire stable and better. Even if you know that the 'whole world' will stand against you for trying to pursue your dream in the future, you will still walk on the same path regardless…."
"You are far stronger than…"
Her words were cut off as Trunsoest pulled her close to him, kissing her on the lips under the light of the sun. His glowing eyes told of his intense happiness.
The intense kiss went on until Auernia thumped his chest with her hand, causing him to groan and let go of her, their lips separating.
"You are going to be late…" She smiled, dusting away non-existent dust from his suit. "The Gods always expect punctuality."
Trunsoest gathered himself, his eyes becoming clear and firm. He exhaled a sigh, as if expelling all his negative and depressing thoughts.
"You are accompanying me.." He said, taking hold of her hand.
"But.." Auernia hesitated. "The Gods.."
"At least until before the meeting…" Trunsoest immediately said.
Auernia nodded, causing him to smile.
"Let's go." He finally said, walking towards the door with her.
They walked through the long corridor and reached the foyer. Trunsoest opened the door, greeted by the enthusiastic cheers of citizens and flashes of light from the cameras. They greeted the people while boarding their steam-lined carriage.
With them in, the carriage moved on its own, emitting a chug of white smoke from the pipes.
The carriage travelled through the empty lane going towards the royal palace. The streets have always been evacuated before they usually travel.
While his thoughts wandered to the most recent important event, Trunsoest stared in silence at the ever-changing capital.
The Balance between the Six Gods had been broken. The only thing that keeps the gods from going at each other's necks should be the contract between them.
It was all due to the action of the Eternal Blazing Sun. He gave away the uniqueness of the hermit last week to his Angel, Diana. His action caused much joy for his enemies.
Eternal Blazing Sun should be greatly weakened for a long time after giving away the hermit uniqueness, either due to burden or loss of authorities. It was inevitable in the end.
Trunsoest knew the enemies of the sun god wouldn't want to miss such a precious opportunity. But the contract should be holding all of them back.
However, the contract between the gods should also collapse with the empire, causing the war of gods to erupt immediately afterwards.
Trunsoest always felt the entire situation was far from simple. The sequence of events was too coincidental, as if deliberately arranged by someone….
Eternal Blazing Sun…Trunsoest guessed with a heavy heart. Honestly, he hated the sun god more than any other gods. After all, the sun god held the authority of Order, yet his actions only resulted in disorder and chaos.
It wasn't just hate. He also felt fear and dread whenever thinking about the sun god. Now was no different, though. The dread deepened at this moment with his guess. He didn't dare think about this anymore.
Supressing his blasphemous and dangerous thoughts, Trunsoest looked ahead at the castle and statue of the gods silently.
Auernia was also looking at towering statues of gods. Her eyes flashed with pain and hesitation, while gazing at the statue of the Earth Mother.
In their own thoughts, they finally arrived at the Palace of Eternity, the royal palace of the empire.
They got out of the carriage, holding their hands together. Then, they entered the castle under the salute of beyonders around the castle.
After a few minutes, Trunsoest and Auernia arrived in front of the massive black door.
Rumble!
The door opened, sensing their arrival. Auernia nodded, her encouraging eyes gazing at him. She then let go of his hand.
Trunsoest walked into the doorway while taking a last look at his love. He finally turned to the front and took a breather to calm his restless emotions. He checked himself, as well as, the time on his pocket watch.
Boom!
The door closed after he entered. Trunsoest walked to the statues of the seven gods at the end of the large room.
God of Steam and Machinery was recognised as an orthodox god by all the six gods. Thus, his status was elevated to the same level as that of the six gods after his ascension.
When he finally stood before them, numerous divine wills descended on this room.
The eyes of statues lit up….
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