Clockwork Bride

Page 288

This aura is somewhat similar to Angela's.

Though it was hard to believe, Hayden immediately realized it—who He was. He was a god who had long been considered dead by the whole world, murdered by the Smoke Mirror, and no longer existed.

He is the former king of the gods of South America, the feathered serpent god Kecharcoalter, who was betrayed and killed by the Smoke Mirror as early as four hundred years ago during the war between the old and new gods.

So He didn't die after all? The Smoke Mirror had been keeping Him locked up here all along? But Angela said this wasn't a prison?

The feathered serpent god emerged from the pyramid, stretching out his coiled body, and looked down at Hayden and Angela, these strange, uninvited guests. Then, Angela did something that surprised everyone.

She stepped forward, greeting him with a smile: "Long time no see, Remiel (God's Mercy). How have you been lately?"

Quetzalcoatl's jaw dropped; he was completely stunned.

348: An Unforeseen Path

Angela called the feathered serpent god "Remiel (God's Mercy)" and said it had been a long time since they last met.

Hayden wasn't stupid; he immediately realized the meaning behind those words—good heavens, the South American pantheon, where nature gods are clustered together, had a previous god-king four hundred years ago who was actually a fallen angel!

...That doesn't seem strange at all.

Everyone knows that the higher-ups at Smoke Mirror Company are actually old gods repainted, pretending to be new gods. Their roots are those of the old gods, always have been. So it's perfectly normal that their previous god-king was a fallen angel old god.

Now Hayden faces another problem: is this Feathered Serpent really what he's looking for? He originally wanted to figure out what the Smoke Mirror was up to. If this place is just a facility where the Smoke Mirror can seal away fallen angels it can't kill, then it's not very meaningful.

(Hayden wasn't worried about what the feathered serpent god might do to him. Angela was right there. He knew she was very skilled at dealing with fallen angels and demons.)

...But Hayden never expected Quetzalcoatl's next reaction.

Staring at Angela, the enormous snake gaped, its jaw dropping in terror. Three seconds later, it suddenly let out a mournful cry: "You've already come!? So quickly!? Why!?"

This situation is quite different from what Hayden imagined the former God-King to be.

“I’m just wandering around and looking at things,” Angela replied happily. “And to be honest, I feel like it’s been dragging on for a long time.”

It's hard to read an expression on a snake's face, but after Angela said those words, Quetzalcoatl looked as if he was about to faint.

Unfortunately, Hayden didn't have time for the crosstalk. The brief conversation between Angela and Quetzalcoatl had already made him realize something very important. So he quickly interrupted, asking, "Kcharkoatl! You know her? You know who she is?"

Only then did Quetzalcoatl turn to look at Hayden seriously for the first time. He saw the secret fire connection between Hayden and Angela and was slightly startled. Perhaps it was because of this that He spoke to Hayden, saying, "Human child, of course I know. I can also see that you have no idea about her identity—otherwise you wouldn't be so crazy as to connect with her!"

As He spoke, His voice was filled with terror: "Human child, you have no idea who she is! Why would you make a pact with the tyrant's messenger? You must have been used by her!"

噫

The feathered serpent's tone was genuinely full of worry for Hayden and fear of Angela, without a trace of scheming. Hayden, on the contrary, was quite embarrassed by this.

He turned to look at Angela again, but found that Angela didn't seem angry, but just a little helpless.

Back in Fallen City, King Peacock had shared many speculations with Hayden and the others about Angela's identity and the Outer Gods. Now, with Quetzalcoatl's startled reaction, it's actually quite easy to see what He's thinking.

Encountering Quetzalcoatl was an unexpected bonus for Hayden today. Now that things had come to this, he had no intention of letting this opportunity slip by. However, Quetzalcoatl might not be willing to answer his questions, and there wasn't much time to linger (who knew when Smoke Mirror would return).

A sudden, strange idea, an inspiration, flashed through Hayden's mind. He intuitively came up with an answer; he wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but he decided to trust his gut feeling.

"Quetzalcoatl, you know who she is. Then do you know who I am?"

Hayden looked up at the fallen serpent and almost blurted out, "..."

"I have come seeking knowledge to save the world! The world is now in danger of destruction! In the name of that God, tell me what you know! Remiel (God's Mercy)!"

The sword of words gleamed in his speech. Angela's inscribed secret spell, [atehgiborle-olamadonai], shone brilliantly on the sword.

Hayden couldn't understand the incantation before, but he understands it now. It means "the power of God forever." Even though Hayden has no idea who that "God" is.

Quetzalcoatl gaped open, terrified by the command of His True Name, and utterly astonished by the brilliance of the Secret Fire and the Secret Incantation.

For a fleeting moment, Hayden couldn't help but worry that he might have scared Quetzalcoatl away. But a second passed, then two seconds, and Quetzalcoatl neither ran away nor attacked them.

A silence followed, lasting for quite a while.

But it didn't last long.

Ten seconds later, His voice sounded calm.

“I know the world is in a terrible state right now. That’s why I work here. The Smoke Mirror won’t let me out, but it allows me to know what’s going on outside… I just didn’t expect to see a human like you…” It nodded to Angela, “and I didn’t expect her to arrive so quickly.”

Then Quetzalcoatl lowered his upper body and head until it was about the same height as Hayden's eyes.

“Human child, it seems we have a lot to say. If you have any questions, ask them. Because I have questions too. Let’s address them one by one.”

Hayden had so many questions he wanted to ask. But time was limited, so he could only quickly consider their importance and priority in his mind, and then—

“My first question,” Hayden said, “is what exactly is the smoke mirror doing here? The whole world thinks you’re dead.”

This question surprised Quetzalcoatl. He glanced at the composed Angela beside him with his flat eyes, somewhat astonished: "I thought you would ask about her first."

“Her matter isn’t that urgent. Once I resolve the smoke goggles issue, I can ask you about it at my own pace.” Hayden rubbed his head. “That’s what I need to know most right now. Let’s deal with the smoke goggles first.”

Quetzalcoatl nodded: "Alright, I will tell you."

He flicked his tail and gently patted the Great Pyramid of America behind him, then hissed, "This story begins more than four hundred years ago."

“At that time, when Mithra was promoting his new social order to the world, I felt that the magic of capital he invented would cause greater suffering to the people of humanity.”

A look of reminiscence crossed Quetzalcoatl's serpentine face.

"So I opposed his plan and wanted to unite my compatriots to fight. But I never expected that my sworn brother, Smoke Mirror, would betray me at the God Assembly and seal me here."

Hayden found this strange: "You said you opposed Mithra because capitalism is bad for humanity?"

"exactly."

As Quetzalcoatl finished speaking, his serpent belly, lying on the ground, seemed somewhat angry.

"I can receive all kinds of information from the outside world even here. Although the population and average lifespan in the South American God-King era were not as large as they are today, at least during my own reign, in my territory, the human people could work at sunrise and rest at sunset, knew their place in life, knew their purpose in life, married and had children early to continue their lineage, and did not have the desire to fight for power and profit, nor did they suffer because of it. Under the eternal rule of the old gods, they were peaceful, tranquil and happy."

“Mithra created the society we have today, which has a population several times larger and life expectancy longer, but I don’t think people are happier. On the contrary, they are more mentally tormented, more restless, and less at peace. Because humans are actually very fragile. At least most humans need protection and need someone to rely on. Mithra’s capitalist society has taken these away.”

"The feathered serpent god said angrily."

His words almost stunned Hayden.

It wasn't that Hayden completely believed Quetzalcoatl's words, but he was indeed somewhat confused: "So, uh, you really are a good god-king who wholeheartedly cares for the people and wants them to be happy?"

Quetzalcoatl looked puzzled, seemingly not understanding why Hayden would ask such a foolish question: "That's right. I love humans from the bottom of my heart, and I sincerely hope that all humans can live a safe and happy life. I hope to protect the peace and tranquility of my human people and ensure their happiness throughout their lives."

At this point, He raised His serpent head again, looked at the sky (though it was invisible from inside the hemispherical dome), and said something even more astonishing: "Actually, it was to protect the safety of mankind that I rebelled against the tyrant in heaven and fell from heaven. Because they were so pitiful, I came down with them to personally take care of how mankind should survive in this hell and protect them—until four hundred years ago, when the Smoke Mirror betrayed me. But I seem to have gone a bit off-topic."

He shook his head: "In the past four hundred years, apart from the Smoke Mirror, no one has ever spoken to me."

Hayden then understood why Quetzalcoatl had so readily agreed to answer his questions. This was why Quetzalcoatl was willing to talk to him.

At the same time, he realized that there was indeed something wrong with this Feathered Serpent God. Judging from the tone of His voice, the way He mentioned humans, it was as if humans were talking about protecting small animals, or cat lovers talking about raising cats—but as Feathered Serpent God himself said, this was going off-topic.

Hayden coughed lightly and quickly steered the conversation back on track: "So what have you been doing all these four hundred years while you were locked up here by the Smoke Mirror?"

Quetzalcoatl nodded and continued, “Although the Smoke Mirror betrayed me, it also knows that Mithra cannot be completely trusted. So it persuaded me to make a backup plan for it here, and that plan just happens to suit my wishes.”

As He spoke, He glanced at Angela standing behind Hayden, his snake eyes filled with fear: "Smoke Mirror and I knew four hundred years ago that this earth would one day be destroyed. It would either be destroyed by the struggle of the new gods in the future, or it would be wiped out by the merciless god of destruction sooner or later, or both. So Smoke Mirror asked me to help Him prepare a plan in advance."

Hayden grew increasingly astonished as he listened. He had never imagined hearing these things from Quetzalcoatl: "What did you prepare for Him?"

"Bio-Ark."

Quetzalcoatl answered readily.

"I'm here to help Him build a biological spaceship that can escape Earth. The ark itself is a living thing and can preserve the genetic information of all life in South America. Once the final war breaks out, I will launch the biological ark towards the star system 'Alpha Centauri', which is about 4 light-years from the Sun."

"My power as Remiel (God's Mercy) is to create and sustain ecosystems, and to hold the authority to sow and transform life. Once the Ark reaches its target planet—Proxima Centauri β—it can, with the help of my power, transform Proxima Centauri β into a second Earth, allowing the various forms of life destroyed on Earth, including humankind, to continue."

Hayden was completely dumbfounded.

He did want to know what Smoke Mirror was up to, and he did know now—but that wasn't what he wanted to know! What he wanted to know was how Smoke Mirror had managed to create Mickett's clone, or what he planned to do with it… Turns out, this secret base actually housed the fallen angel Quetzalcoatl, and He was even helping Smoke Mirror prepare an eco-seedling spaceship for his escape!?

This turn of events was completely different from what he had originally imagined!

...However, this made Hayden realize something. He had recently heard that Smoke Mirror was borrowing money everywhere, and quite frantically at that, borrowing large sums of money through various overt and covert channels, and signing futures contracts with extremely low exchange rates and various other means, without any concern about repayment later.

Hayden now finally understands why.

Smoke Mirror is definitely planning to roll off Earth and head to Alpha Centauri as soon as it loses! Of course, it doesn't need to worry about the repayment later!

“To be honest, your words only make me more suspicious.” Thinking of this, Hayden couldn’t help but rub his forehead. “But I want to ask my second question first: Are you really so terrified and desperate about the Outer Gods that you’re even preparing a way to travel to a distance of 4 light-years?”

“An Outer God?” Quetzalcoatl hissed. “That’s a good word. Did you come up with it yourself? Indeed, He is an elusive Outer God. I also have a question for you to answer.”

He pointed with the tip of his tail at Angela, who was standing calmly beside him: "Human child, what is she to you?"

Hayden scratched his head: "I do think she might be an emissary of the Outer Gods, maybe some kind of... observer. But I really don't think she's a vanguard of any destructive force. She doesn't even seem like a warrior."

He had certainly considered the answer to this question for a long time, but he had never told anyone else.

But Quetzalcoatl nodded after hearing this: "Your guess is basically correct, because she is indeed not a vanguard, not a warrior, and does not have the Horn of Doom."

When He spoke of His fondness for humans, His emotions were high, and His voice was loud. But once the topic turned to Outer Gods, the Feathered Serpent's voice immediately softened. As He spoke, He avoided eye contact with Angela, his gaze darting away, and He lowered His voice, saying, "But she is indeed an emissary of Outer Gods, a tyrannical god who is so righteously indignant that he punishes even the slightest human error severely! Don't you understand this, human child?"

"If, before her arrival, we had already built a peaceful and prosperous world, free from poverty, oppression, exploitation, and evil, turning hell into paradise—then perhaps she wouldn't have destroyed us, and might even have rewarded us. But look at the world now!"

"Now that the messenger of the Outer God has seen the evil in this world as His eyes and ears, it's too late! We have no choice but to flee with all the genes of all living beings! This is the only way to ensure the survival of life!"

The tone of His voice was not at all like that of a loving king wanting to protect his people. Rather, it sounded more like, well, like someone wanting to protect a small, endangered animal.

349: Route Problem

It must be admitted that the amount of information that Quetzalcoatl/Fallen Angel Remiel just poured into Hayden was quite overwhelming.

Even if Hayden didn't actually know much new information, the amount of information was still substantial.

So it took him several seconds to realize that if Quetzalcoatl's words were true—in his own intuition, these should at least be true in Quetzalcoatl's own subjective feelings—then it would be really bad news for Hayden.

probably.

"Now it's my second question, human child."

Quetzalcoatl flicked his forked tongue and hissed.

“You claim to be ‘a person who has come to seek knowledge in order to save the world.’ I know that Mithra has made a mess of society in the outside world, and many humans are suffering greatly because of it. I feel very sad about that.”

At least his tone sounded genuinely regretful.

But soon, Quetzalcoatl changed his tone, sounding more like he was blaming her.

“Even so, relying on the power of Outer Gods to solve problems is never a good idea. Human child, my second question is, do you perhaps intend to use the power of Outer Gods, a more indescribable and uncontrollable force, to defeat Mithra?”

His voice held surprise and gentle disapproval, like an adult dealing with a naughty child.

So Hayden considered the cost of lying, but considering that Quetzalcoatl probably wasn't lying to him, he finally answered honestly, "Yes. I've been thinking about this for a long time."

"This is impossible. Trying to use something you can't control will only destroy you," Quetzalcoatl said decisively. "You may think Mithras is powerful, you may think Smoke Mirror is unfathomable, but they are only within your comprehension. The Outer Gods—are beings completely beyond your understanding. Human language cannot describe them. To them you are nothing but insignificant dust, not even worth their attention."

What's interesting is the tone of voice Quetzalcoatl used when speaking of the Outer Gods. His voice carried a mixture of fear, a subtle hint of reverence, and even a touch of madness.

"He is the ruthless god of judgment, the father of destruction. One day, when the stars return to their rightful places, He will come and crush this world that is so important to us, yet so sinful and despicable to Him. The wrath of the Most High will fall upon all sinful gods and men. No one or no god can escape sin, no matter how much wealth or power they possess—the ineffable Him looks down upon the gods as the gods look down upon mortals."

...To be honest, it sounds pretty appealing.

Hayden knew all too well that the world was unfair enough; after all, he hadn't been raised in a privileged environment. He was an orphan who lost his parents in the Great Plague, a mercenary, and someone who had been killing all along. He had seen piles of corpses in the streets, starving mothers in the slums eating their infants, and honest people struggling to make ends meet being oppressed and exploited by capitalists and the lower ruling class—and he had seen far too much of it.

He had seen many people build houses but couldn't afford them, toil day and night for meager incomes, work hard but lack the funds to marry, start a family, or have children. He had seen capitalist rulers use the people's broken spirits and hard-earned money as fuel, and now they even prey on their souls (literally). Arcane technology advances daily, yet it only exacerbates the inequality of social wealth.

He had long felt that this world was doomed to perish, but the capitalist gods and their lackeys were growing stronger and stronger, becoming increasingly difficult for the people to overthrow. If Mithra were to truly unify the world and rule everything, under the cycle of reincarnation, there might not even be the opportunity to choose destruction.

If the creators and maintainers of this world order always feel at ease believing that the consequences won't affect them, if the Outer God really does come and crush the world as Quetzalcoatl said, punishing all sinful gods and humans... then at least He's fairly fair. Those vampires who have long escaped justice will all perish this time.

At least the perpetrators who were in a high position will not escape the consequences of their actions this time.

Hayden can accept this.

...Never mind, let's not deceive ourselves.

Hayden thought about it for a while, but still couldn't accept it.

Because although he killed people, he also wanted to save them.

His goal has not yet been achieved.

"Angela?" After thinking for a long time, Hayden turned to ask, "Is what Remiel said true?"

Angela considered for a moment (a rare sight indeed), then replied, "It's mostly correct. However, this outcome isn't something I can decide."

Hayden was somewhat surprised by this: "What do you mean?"

Quetzalcoatl was even more astonished than Hayden: "This is impossible. This planet is beyond saving."