Chapter 499 Funny You Should Ask

Leo looked over at me, confused, and then shook his head. "I really don't know, brother. We aren't even brothers, and none of us know how we got here. All I know is that when we appeared, we were standing in a circle around your parents, and you were frozen inside a prismatic crystal in the center. Then it cracked, but when it broke open, I was standing on my rock. What happened after that? I am not 100%. All I know is that you went straight up to battle the Chaos Beast to keep them from consuming everything. Why they are there is still a mystery to all of us, but you fixed that problem, just like you always seem to do when a problem arises."

"Yeah, I remember seeing you for a brief moment and then going to defend us without talking to anyone. I knew that was something I had to do, but do you remember seeing the Guides at all? I can't pinpoint when they came into play. I just remember the first time someone came to me and told me a world was in trouble," I explained, but Leo shook his head, and then the water pressure got stronger.

"You told me about them. To be honest, I have never even seen them before. I know what they are, and I know that they are there because they have talked to me, but I have never seen the robed figures that you talked about," Leo said, and I nodded slightly. Any movement I made right now needed to be limited, or I would get thrown back into the water below.

"I just had a talk with all three of them," I said, and then explained what they had told me about the 499 worlds disappearing and the two more veils that existed outside of the current Realm I was protecting.

"Considering how long you have been doing this, it is hard to believe that there were only that few worlds. I want to say that it isn't right because I have watched you from the Viewing Pool in Yaggisdral, where you enter the worlds, but that isn't the case. I can't even remember a single time that you went down with any detail," Leo said, and I nodded.

"Probably another trick done by the Guides. I really thought that I was getting closer to the end of all of this, but it just seemed like one game after another," I said, but my brother laughed at me, and for some reason, the water pressure decreased.

"Here is a question. Why does it matter now? 500 lives? How many did you live before this? How many times have you been walking around with no clue of what you were doing, only knowing that you had to do it?" Leo asked, looking over at me, and then sighed, turning his head to face forward again. "I think you should be happy with all that you have done and get to do it now. Tallia is at your house on your island, right? You can go back and forth as much as you want, and you have an entire world that adores you for the most part. Your parents might be above you, but we, and the people of your world, consider you our protector."

I slowly nodded. "At least there is that. Now, if I can just figure out why the Guides have made me do all of this, then maybe I can have some peace."

Leo shook his head. "Maybe you never need to worry about that. Maybe it is better not to know. If the reason was something horrible, would it be worth it?"

I thought for a moment and then nodded. "You are right, but it still leaves me with a feeling that I am missing something important. It's like there is one secret that my parents and the Guides are keeping from me, and that is what is bothering me. That and something Nemoria said to me," I said, and Leo frowned as the pressure slowly lessened.

"Oh? What did your dark mother say that got you thinking?" He asked.

"Something that has been bothering me since the beginning. Nemoria is the Goddess of Darkness and everything it touches, but she has never been mean to me, only sent forces against me. Each time she has told me that it was against her will. I have always had a hard time believing this, but now I am not so sure if she is lying. She told me that she was a puppet and that not everything was what it seemed. She also insinuated that Kadeon might not be as good as his title claimed him to be. That I don't have a hard time believing. There isn't one time that I have asked him for help that he hasn't required something in return," I explained, and Leo shrugged.

"That is a pickle, and I really don't think I can give you any advice on that, but I can listen if you need to vent, which you clearly need to do," Leo said and then turned back to me. "So, what is going on with the Winds of Change? I assume that what I have heard is true? You are talking them down to the Mortal Realm?"

"Yeah. Funny that you should ask. Piccolo asked me the same thing, but he sounded concerned about it," I said, and Leo nodded.

"Piccolo isn't the only one, but most of them refuse to talk to you, so they won't voice their distaste for it," Leo said, and I frowned.

"Distaste? Since when have the Winds ever been anyone but my own concern? They all reside on the island directly below mine and can order you all around. I would think that everyone would be happy to see them leave here. They are going to lose their powers mostly when I take them down there," I said, and Leo nodded.

"That is what most of us are worried about. Those five control the flow of things, and if one of them dies, that could spell trouble," Leo said, and I nodded.

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