Looking at the message in the pond, Janus' expressions turned dark as if he clearly understood what it meant.
With little response, he quietly turned away from the ice-covered pond and departed the room, his thoughts in a mess. He turned his attention back to the palace.
As Janus made his way to the throne room, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the emptiness that surrounded him. The once grand and vibrant palace now felt like a desolate wasteland. The echoes of his footsteps served as a constant reminder of what once was.
Reaching the throne room, Janus took a moment to gather himself. With a deep breath, he pushed open the doors and entered the room.
The sight that greeted him was both heartbreaking and disappointing. The Throne Room where his sister in law used to deal with the matters of the God Realm was empty. Even the portrait of his Elder Brother was missing.
Behind the throne, Caen stood, looking at the Portrait of Ezekiel and Gabriel. It was as if the portraits were still mocking him about his failure.
The room itself was in disarray, the walls marred with battle scars and some debris scattered across the floor.
Janus clenched his fists, his anger boiling within him. He couldn't understand why things had turned out this way. He had always believed in doing what was best for the Realm of Gods, but now he questioned if he had made the right decisions.
"Let me take them down." Janus stepped forward. With a flick of his finger, the Portraits fell down to the ground, flying straight to Janus.
The two portraits turned to flames as soon as they touched Janus' hands, only dust left behind that flew away.
Caen turned around, one of his hands resting on the throne. Seeing the sight, Janus inwardly sighed as he believed that Caen still had an obsession with the Throne.
As he stood in the empty throne room, lost in his thoughts. Soon, he turned around to leave the Palace as well. As long as Caen was alive, nothing else mattered. But he still couldn't forget what he had seen on the frozen pond.
The message was clear. It was a destiny that couldn't be changed. Even after all this loss, it still wasn't enough for fate. It was as if destiny wanted more bloodshed.
It wasn't the pond telling him to do anything. It was just the pond showing him the future. As for how he took that future, it was on him.
'I won't let Caen die. I won't fail my brother again. Even if I have to break all my previous bonds,' he thought, his fists clenched tightly as he made up his mind.
Out of the four children of fate in this era, only one could survive. And he wanted that one person to be Caen, no matter how obsessed Caen was with the throne.
Unfortunately, that also brought Janus in a moral conflict. The Four Fated Children of this Era were Caen, Karyk, Gabriel and lastly, Nyx.
While he didn't care much about Karyk and Gabriel after knowing that they weren't actually related to Chaos, but it was different for Nyx.
Nyx was the son of someone that could easily be classified as one of the strongest living beings in this era. Nyx's father Ryder was the one who brought the antidote from Ezekiel and saved Caen. Unfortunately, for Caen to live, Nyx had to die.
This alone was enough to emotionally break Janus. He had never expected to come across something like this. To save Caen, he had to forget his own past and betray Ryder. He had to forget the bond going thousands of years back
"Uncle?" a soft voice interrupted Janus's contemplation, causing him to turn and face Caen. .
"Yes?" Janus responded, his gaze fixed on Caen.
Caen released his hands from the throne and slowly approached Janus, his movements filled with a sense of purpose.
"Although the God Realm no longer exists, there is something important that I must share with you," Caen began, his voice filled with remorse.
"As I reflect on my life, I realize that I have been consumed by an obsession with the throne. I had misunderstood your intentions, harboring hatred towards you for far too long. My emotions, fueled by envy and resentment, had blinded me," Caen confessed, his voice laden with regret. "I now understand that I was never deserving of the throne."
Caen knelt before Janus, a profound act of humility. "I implore you, Uncle, to assume the throne. Though there may be no citizens left, I shall be dedicating my life to rebuilding our home. I believe that you are the one who should become the King."
Janus simply looked at Caen, not knowing how to react. He thought Caen still had some small obsession with the throne, but seeing his actions, he realized that he had truly changed.
"With how you are now, no one deserves the throne more than you." Janus placed his hand on Caen's head. "And I promise, I will make sure that we won't lose anything anymore! No matter what I have to do!"
Janus only spoke a few sentences before turning around and leaving. Caen remained on his knees, watching Janus' distant figure disappear.
****
Janus left the Realm of Gods, but this time he didn't forget to cast a spell around the Palace. This time, he didn't want to be ignorant in case the Palace was attacked again.
Only after making sure that he could get alerted if anything went wrong, did he leave.
He went straight back to earth, the place where he spent many years helping Ryder in the past.
Thanks to the efforts of Janus and Ryder, Earth has been fully restored. Moreover, since the commotion this time was too big and almost everyone on earth saw it, Ryder had no choice but to collectively erase everyone's memories of the past few days.
With that, the earth had returned to normalcy, or so everyone thought.
