Chapter 44: Odysseus
"Anyway, that's all you need to really know about me. I've managed to survive on my own, despite everything."
Arbus paused, then glanced upward. "Although..." he muttered, his voice carrying a bitter edge. "There's still a Renegade commander stationed above Tarok at all times, just in case any interesting developments happen with me. Well, I can't see them or anything, so I guess I can't exactly complain."
He smirked.
"I'm not sure what they usually do with half Reincarnator children, but I guess they couldn't really do that this time. The high Commanders seemed pretty pissed about that."
Arora gazed upward in amazement. One of the powerful beings Arbus had been telling her about was currently orbiting this planet. The thought both thrilled and terrified her, considering how dangerous it made her situation. She was truly fascinated by this world. She couldn't wait to one day leave this forest and explore its vast mysteries.
Arbus noticed her expression, causing his to brighten slightly. "You want to know about our history, right? Well, I guess I could tell you that."
Arora's eyes instantly shot to him, filled with excitement. "Please do."
Arbus chuckled and then began.
"Well first thing you need to know. This universe is known as Rendes. It was named by the first Emperor thousands of years ago." Arbus said, a bit of excitement in his voice.
He spoke at length about space travel and how it had been invented by the Aurnex, the first sentient species to journey across the cosmos.
"The Aurnex traveled to countless planets, aiding multiple civilizations in their development. At that point, pretty much every other species in the universe was still primitive. That's why no one really knows what the universe was like before then, besides the Aurnex themselves." His expression grew slightly annoyed. "They refused to tell anyone though, saying it was 'unnecessary and unneeded.' Eventually, even their future generations lost that knowledge."
"Anyways. The Aurnex would help develop a civilization's technology, then depart once they had achieved space travel capability."
Arora listened silently, impressed by how fast this universe had developed compared to hers.
"Soon enough, overpopulation drove various species to spread across the universe, settling on uninhabited planets and creating their own societies. Around that time, the Mornans emerged as the dominant species, mostly because of their vast numbers and the overwhelming strength of their elite."
Arbus remained silent for a few moments, contemplating. Ultimately, he decided it would be best to also tell her about the darkest era in the Rendes universe's history — the Lost Era.
"After a few hundred years, things changed. Not much is known about that time, but it was around that point, 21,000 years ago, that reincarnated humans began appearing in the Rendes universe."
Arora tensed slightly at the mention of Reincarnators. She was about to hear how humanity had first attacked this universe.
""At first, there was only one human. A man who seemed like the embodiment of friendliness." Arbus said with contempt. "He explained at length how he was a Reincarnator from a different universe who had arrived here through a rift in reality. Well, now I know that was definitely a lie."
Arora blinked.
Technically, the Reincarnator hadn't lied. The last thing she could remember from the void was walking through a rift the Primordial had created before waking up here. It seemed like he had simply left out the Primordial's existence.
She turned back to Arbus as she continued listening.
"Due to his kind nature, the universe welcomed him with open arms. Everyone was excited to discover a new species from beyond their reality. It opened a road of countless possibilities that even the Aurnex had never dreamed of."
Arbus's expression darkened. "After a few years though, more humans began appearing. The different species of Rendes weren't sure if this would be a constant phenomenon, but they remained just as accepting. The first human had naturally taken control of the newcomers, becoming their leader."
"He had promised to indoctrinate them properly, and make sure they abided by the laws of this new universe, like he had."
"Things continued like that for a while, until a few human rogues who disagreed with the first human rebelled and attacked citizens of Rendes. The humans themselves stepped in to stop them before any real damage was done. They had apologized profusely every time something like that happened, so things remained peaceful."
"Eventually, after about a hundred years, humans began reincarnating in droves until their numbers were large enough to form a small country."
Arbus hesitated when he reached the next part, his hands clenching into fists.
"One day, without cause or reason..."
"Odysseus"
"..the first Human to arrive in this universe, and the leader of humanity, suddenly declared War upon the entire universe."
A frown appeared on Arora's face. 'So it was this guy that started the misunderstanding. Odysseus' she thought.
"His actions had left every other species in the universe shocked and confused. He was essentially asking for the genocide of humanity."
Arbus sighed.
"Unfortunately, that confusion had been short-lived, as they had quickly learnt why the humans were so confident."
"At that point, the citizens of Rendes had only ever seen humanity display their powerful physique, ability to fly, affinity for understanding almost every language and their much regarded ability to breathe in space.
"Which was why they were beyond shocked at the sequence of events that took place next."
"It turned out that every single reincarnator possessed unique terrifying, unimaginable powers tied to their souls. They were essentially one-person armies capable of wiping out planets with ease. They'd hidden this terrible secret while gathering their forces and biding their time, waiting until they were ready to attack."
Arora's eyes widened at the mention of powers tied to souls. She hadn't thought about something like that when she was being reincarnated, despite the countless novels she'd read. She now further understood why Humanity was capable of fighting an entire alternative universe for so long. That had been bothering her quite a lot.
Her mind flashed back to the primordial's words about her incredibly powerful soul. 'Do I have... one of those powers too.'she thought, partially unable to contain her excitement at the possibility.
"The citizens of the Rendes universe had been utterly defeated by the Human race. It was essentially a one-sided massacre. The Humans had eventually enslaved the entire universe for an unknown purpose."
"Everything after that is mostly speculation, since no one's been able to find any records of the events that took place. Well, either that or it's being kept secret, according to my grandfather."
Arbus said, as he paused for a moment.
He sighed heavily before continuing. "It was around that time that the Renegades were created. It was also the era when Heart Shards, their source of power, had been first discovered."
"After a long, harrowing and gruelling battle, they had finally managed to reclaim the freedom of this reality. Shortly after, the Renegades became the ruling force in the universe." Arbus finished, giving Arora some time to process everything he had told her.
Eventually, he stood up, stretching. "That's all the important stuff you need to know. Now we know everything about each other. Let's keep it that way, Arora."
He said with a smile.
Arora was brought out of her thoughts as she glanced at him, then smiled back before rising to her feet as well. "Understood, Arbus."