192 Though The Heavens May Fall

His commitment to this particular matter was not open to any form of discussion.

It would be done. 

But before the final vote was made, Reed had one last task to do — something he dreaded but had resolved himself to do for the sake of equality, truth, and justice. He had to lay down all the cards on the table... including his own. 

"You have been shown the darkest failures of those who were supposed to protect you, but that is unfortunately only half of the story. Now, I would like you to see something else before you decide a verdict on the sinners who failed you... I wish for you all to see... my failures."

Transparency must come from all sides, not just on those who were unmistakably in the wrong. No one must be exempt from this inquiry, for it is necessary to remove every single stain off the continent if this renewal of the spirit and integrity is to succeed. 

Not the gods, the angels, nor even myself. 

This was the apex, the crowning jewel of all the acts Reed would do today, perhaps even surpassing the Eventide itself.  It was an unprecedentedly outrageous and terrifying move, even for the likes of the Dreaming Council, the Four Royal Families, and all the Noble Houses that served them. 

It was one thing for him to cast light on their evils, but he would even shine that revealing light on himself? Madness. Pure, unadulterated insanity. At first, they thought that this had been some kind of grand coup of power whereby Reed would instate himself as something surpassing the Four Sovereigns.

Underneath all the grandstanding on virtue and his soapbox preaching on their crimes, they had expected him to become something no different than them. They did not believe him.

They believed that he wanted to become a god-king that would reign supreme over the continent with his absolute power, but now... they had realized this was not that at all.

No, it was something completely different and once they comprehended that, they felt genuine terror form in their hearts. 

"In a different life, I would have eventually been made king. I would have been dressed up in a suit of fabricated mysteries and then had a castle of lies built for my inevitable coronation.

This is the truth; I have seen this... plot to throne me for a long time coming and did nothing to stop it as I wallowed in great apathy over my... unique station in life. What I was told I would do and later become, as part of an immense conspiracy to arrange my destiny for me." 

A series of memories unfolded across Iliai — Reed's memories — of what he had known all along.

Of how facts were misinterpreted of his and Lu'um's feats during the Twilight War. 

The Final Night of Lei-en fell on him alone. The destruction of many cities including to, but not limited to the ones affected by the release of the Infested Pupae, but also of those that might've been experienced loss by extension.

There were some innocent men and women that never returned to their homes, only to leave behind broken families in their wake in cities not destroyed during the Twilight War. They were also accounted for too, as they should be. 

Of how a sense of allure and mystery had been purposefully created to elevate his status beyond the ordinary into the extraordinary.

When in truth, he and Lu'um had been intentionally showered with elegant, but hollow royal titles, prestigious awards, and enormous attention to develop their prestige and in return, their future authority.

Despite knowing deep down that Reed was being turned into a fairy tale, a product for the indoctrinated people of Mulia to eagerly consume and obey, he had done nothing but idly stand around like a child while the people around him continued to lie in his name. 

Of his most terrible neglect of responsibilities and the consequences of his cowardice. The creation of the fissures that threatened the safety of the very continent that they lived on.

It was a betrayal of trust. They, as inhabitants of the land, rightfully should have been made aware of the crisis that had almost engulfed their homeland. There was nothing else to be said about it other than it was another critical failure of his that needed to be disclosed to the public. 

And of the secret of their world. The truth about the nature of Mulia and what lay outside of it. What threatened them and the grim fate of a reality now breathing its final, dying gasps. This, in particular, was something that needed to exposed regardless of what sort of reaction it would cause amongst the populace.

They deserved to know the true state of affairs, despite the fallout that would ensue. 

Thus, the truth had finally come out into the light for all of Mulia to see. 

"...I am no hero. I was a foolish boy who had been drawn in by the illusion that he was one. Granted power, yet lacking the wisdom nor the humility required to appropriately wield it, I caused many of you undue suffering and loss. Even now, I still feel the same way about myself, so I have summoned you all here to deliver judgment even upon myself.

And so, my memories are all there for you see, unfiltered from beginning to end. No lies. No half-truths. Only the incontestable facts. Make of them as you will."

The wretched demon that had haunted him for so many sleepless nights finally departed into the night. 

"Why would I, the one who currently has the most power, do this to myself? The answer is quite simple: I have never thought of myself as a god, despite what I am capable of. Never. And I do not think myself above mortal judges, nor human morality, or even my own conscience. Unlike them, I do know what it feels like to be powerless, to be oppressed, and treated without any respect or form of human rights..." 

A dim, somber scene crept up like a shadow into the minds of everyone present in Iliai. 

It was a cold, dark, and damp place without the slightest bit of cheerfulness. The scent of rot was overwhelming in the filthy dungeons of Reed's original homeland, the sacred capital of Faaltrate.

He had only been twelve years old when he had his first run-in with the taste of starvation, humiliation, and pain. 

His crime had been the theft of a book supposedly appraised with a value of three gold pieces. It'd been the first time he had experienced the uniquely demoralizing and infuriating feeling of powerlessness. 

As a holy city of forgiveness, healing, and unshakeable faith, it had been considered sacrilegious to discriminate against any man, woman, or child, no matter who they might be. Unfortunately, these ideals were not always held by everyone in Faaltrate. 

"You see, the issue laid with the fact that I was poor. Though I was within my rights to be in the more affluent district where this bookshop was situated, I was not welcome there."

He had been treated as if he actually were a rat and therefore, had not been allowed to possess the rights a human did. 

He had been an eyesore. It was as simple as that. A poor, dirty slum rat had no place in the world of humans. To the bookshop owner, the perception of his bookshop being frequented by the poor and dirty was tantamount to the destruction of his livelihood. 

The implication had been that a business that even the poor could afford to visit held nothing of value to the upper echelons. These would people would do anything to avoid living in reality, refusing to acknowledge the fact that ugliness existed in their holy city. 

Naturally, they were unable to physically create walls to keep the poor and weak out of their districts, as it would be considered a profane act, so the rich and powerful built an immaterial, invisible barrier instead. 

"My position in life had already been decided at birth. I was expected to fit the role I'd been assigned to. Anything else was considered a breach of rank in my world..."

Reed had done nothing wrong. He had not stolen the book, despite what the bookshop owner claimed to the city guards. The truth was that he had bought it with his hard-earned money before he had been arrested and falsely charged for theft. 

Beaten and tossed into a cell for an extended weekend of "reflection for his sins" — for the sin of theft and the even heavier sin of deceit — Reed was treated to his first taste of what would later become a semi-frequent experience from then on. 

That was when it had begun to grow — the rage and despair in his heart. 

"I can still remember it even now; the scornful, egotistic expressions on their faces as they told him he needed more faith, that I needed let go of my sinful habits and become a model citizen and a man of god like them. Every time I heard that disgusting, paternalistic tone in the voices, I felt like I was going to explode in fury, but..." 

He quickly learned that speaking out and rebelling would only lead to greater suffering.

Memories, all of them immensely painful, flooded across Iliai. They were Reed what he had locked away when he arrived in Mulia.

What he did not want to see... because they would prove he was not worthy of the power he had been given. But now, they were on for show to everyone to see. 

Even now, he still bore the old scars he gained during his life as a mortal. Though his immortal body naturally repaired such blemishes after he became Chosen, he brought them back after the events of the Twilight War in an effort to remember his true roots.

...And eventually, the fear set itself inside his heart and ruled him. Kept him down, buried in a sea of despair, and wretched escapism until he found himself near death and then... whisked away to another world.

Given another chance, Reed swore to himself that he'd live up to his ideals and achieve something truly great like the fairy tale heroes that he used to find inspiration from, but...

"I realize now, after much introspection, that I had become the very thing I hated so much. For a brief moment, I turned into the same fiends who professed themselves angels in a Heaven made of lies.

The circumstances are indeed different here in this precisely maintained paradise, but the essence of corruption is still the same in the end. This is what I have deemed to be my greatest failure. And this is the reason why I will have no say what you will decide for us." 

More than ever, honesty was required. It was necessary that the people of Mulia understand him if they were to trust him in the coming days. Reed had to make sure that they understood his intentions if he was to ease their fear of him... and what he could do. 

That was the most important takeaway of the day — that he had decided to walk amongst them as himself, and not above them like they might've feared. 

With this task completed, all that was left for him to do was to ask the important questions. 

"I have told you what you needed to know. What has been kept from you has now been brought out into the light. All that remains... is what you would have me do.

You and your ancestors have been wronged. By me and by many people, just like you, who got lost. They fell into a prison of fear, greed, and pride in the face of total despair. They escaped into their own fantasies, unable to handle the responsibility they had been charged with.

They saw beings they thought Gods fail them and abandon them. Without guidance — someone or something to show them the right way — they fell into a neverending spiral of... mistakes that have accumulated up to the present day. " 

Reed's voice echoed across Iliai, undisturbed as a hundred million people silently listened to him. 

"For this, I have stripped them of the power they once wielded. They are now no different than you right now. These people are ready to be judged, if you see fit but I ask you to carefully consider this proposition. I have been extremely critical of their many faults and have not given due attention to the good they have done. 

Not all of them are immersed in sin. There have been many who have lived and died as Chosen, believing themselves a force for good. They have fought and spent their lives rebuilding, protecting, and inspiring others, mortal and immortal, to follow their path. 

This not a black-and-white issue. It is more complex than that and will require more than inflamed hearts full of anger and a desire for retribution. You must see them for everything they are and not just what you do not like. I will not tolerate a witch hunt.  We are not mindless, barbaric savages with a thirst for blood...

I ask you; what do you think is the correct course of action?

How will you decide who is to be punished and who is to be forgiven? 

And what will you have me do?  Although I can move the mountains for you and hold up your skies, I cannot tell you what to do from here on out. But I can support you. 

No matter what you choose with your newfound freedom, I will be there to lend you my power. I sincerely believe that there is nothing we cannot accomplish united as one people. The possibilities are endless if we unite, I can assure you... but you must choose this path for yourselves." 

Fate would have once forced him to decide this all on his own. It would have made him Chosen in the truest sense of the world, forcing him to determine the fate of a world he was but a foreigner in.

But not anymore. Fate itself had been surpassed by something new. 

Today, everyone would be Chosen. They would choose their own futures. 

There was a great and deafening silence for a very long time as many reflected on what they had learned but eventually... it gave way when the first person spoke aloud. This person had found his answer.

...And then, a second person followed suit soon after, to be joined by a third. 

By the time the fifth person had spoken, the chain reaction had already become too large to stop. 

Reed listened to their voices and then... he set forth as they willed him to act. 

The Eventide of Faith had finally reached its natural end and the old world would join it in the grave. 

The hour of genesis had come to Mulia at its darkest hour, for better or worse. No could tell either way... 

The Gods and myths of yore would be shed to make way for what was to come. Nothing would be spared. 

Rebirth awaited all; for both saints and sinners, fools and wise men. 

For this was the will of Mulia and Reed would see it through...

To the end.