CHAPTER 493: MEMORIES OF HARDSHIP

They made quick progress with the next few memories. Sera spent most days couped up in her room with Nick, so finding the Seeds was always easy.

With each memory, Nick became smaller, which meant little, when his birth size was already gigantic. His mother’s looks also changed; she looked more exhausted and terrible the closer they came to Nick’s birth.

While they looked for the Seeds, and witnessed Nick’s different milestones in life, Qinrir hadn’t stopped bothering Sera with questions about human biology.

It seems the gloomy Arachnid gained a new interest upon witnessing an Angel baby with his own six eyes. However, the biology of their species was polar opposites, so Qinrir knew nothing about mammal development.

He found it strange how much protection newborns needed. They couldn’t feed themselves and had to wear diapers to not soil everywhere. They couldn’t even walk or crawl for their first few months.

Sera answered all his questions without issue, and she asked her own about Arachnids and The Chasm.

His eyes glinted with reminiscence, and a sad smile stretched across his spider-like face as he explained everything in great detail. They had to stop for a moment, since when Qinrir began talking about a topic of his interest, stopping wasn’t an option.

Qinrir went into unnecessary detail about Arachnid biology and psychology. However, Sera wasn’t complaining since, other than hippogryphs, she never conversed so much with someone from a different race.

Unlike humans, Arachnids had a clearly defined hierarchy. A matriarchal society led by an Empyrean named Szikke, the Broodmother. Supposedly, all Arachnid life connects back to ’Her’ as the species’ mother, and ’She’ is worshipped as their Goddess.

As for reproduction, Arachnids reproduce like spiders on Earth. The females grew twice the size of males, and they mated with their chosen partner. In the past, they usually killed the males, but that barbaric tradition became illegal long ago.

The female then lays a few dozen eggs and then leaves them behind. They take the eggs to special breeding facilities, which serve as the baby spiders’ home and school. After about ten years, they mature and venture into the world to pursue their chosen interests.

Other than Arachnids, there’s only one more powerful race present in The Chasm. The Myrmica, giant intelligent ants who, unlike Arachnids, love war.

The Chasm stretches for millions of kilometers horizontally, and a few thousand vertically. However, even with these enormous numbers, supposedly the Arachnids and Myrmica are locked in a constant war for territory.

The smaller races didn’t have true independence and stayed under the control of the two powerhouses. The Chasm also receives a fair bit of tourism from other Realms, but Qinrir didn’t go into much detail about it, even though Sera felt really curious.

When Qinrir finished his explanation about the Myrmica, Sera remembered something...

"Hey, Qinrir. We ran into some giant ants on the western side of Australia. Are those perhaps were Mad Myrmica?"

She quickly described how the ants looked, causing all six of Qinrir’s eyes to widen in shock.

"They’re indeed Myrmica," He said with a thoughtful expression. "But that would mean..."

Qinrir’s eyes jumped around as his mind went into overdrive. Sera stayed silent, but after ten seconds she couldn’t hold her curiosity any longer and asked, "What would it mean?"

A sudden shiver went across the Arachnid’s enormous body, and a strange noise comparable to a human yelp echoed from Qinrir’s maw. He seemed to forget about Sera’s presence and got frightened by her voice.

However, moments later he regained control and revealed his thoughts...

"When the Apocalypse happened here on Earth, the Gateways led into hundreds of different Realms. Most of these Realms had already fallen to Madness, but on rare occasions, they open to regular places, like The Chasm...

"Gate Openings aren’t rare, but we can control where they open. We usually send a small force to explore these unknown Realms. Strangely, only Ascended could pass through this specific Gateway, but we ventured forth nonetheless."

He took a shaky breath as life seemed to leave his eyes...

"The Gateway leading here wasn’t normal. Right after entering, everyone I came through with became afflicted by Madness. I felt the symptoms on myself and destroyed the Seed quickly. For the next few weeks, I did the same with my fellow Arachnids...

"There were about a thousand of us when we passed through the Gate... I couldn’t even save a hundred of them... They began reproducing rapidly and destroyed all the human settlements that had survived the initial wave of monsters."

Qinrir definitely lost himself in self-deprecation, since nothing he said had anything to do with the Myrmica. His six eyes began looking manic as he gazed up at Sera.

"All those survivors... All those humans... They’re dead because of us!... Because of our curiosity and my inability to keep everyone safe!... I failed them all..."

Suddenly, a cool, glowing hand brushed against his hairy head, as Sera gently patted Qinrir. The Angel then leaned forward and whispered to the Arachnid.

"You didn’t fail at your job. You saved as many as possible, which’s already admirable... Also, those human deaths aren’t your fault, but Madness’s. Now quit complaining and pull yourself together..."

Sera stood up and began walking away when she halted. Without daring to look back, she spoke, her voice sounding almost depressed and full of self-hatred.

"I killed thousands, maybe even millions of humans with my own two hands... I bathed in the blood of my species, and I can’t even blame Madness for the horrible things I’ve done in the name of the greater good... But... Let’s ignore our suffering and move on with the extermination..."

Sera’s words took Qinrir aback. He couldn’t say anything to cheer her up, so instead he stayed silent, and Sera did the same. Neither spoke a word throughout the next few memories.

They witnessed Nick’s birth and the later stages of Sera’s pregnancy.

She had forgotten how horrible she looked those days, but whenever sadness began filling her heart, Nick’s smiling face popped into her mind. The pain and suffering might’ve been near unbearable, yet it was worth it for her beautiful son.

Qinrir grew curious upon witnessing Sera’s pregnancy, the C-section, and most importantly, her death. However, he didn’t want to break the silence before Sera.

They reached about midway through her pregnancy by the time Sera decided to speak again.

"You know, you never actually explained your thoughts about the Myrmica being here in Australia. Care to continue?"

The Arachnid looked at Sera with concern. Her mental state wasn’t the best it seemed, yet Qinrir didn’t bring up her depressing words and instead answered her question.

"It’s nothing too interesting. I just remembered reading in previous records about Gate Openings, that when an event like the Apocalypse here on Earth happens to other places, each Realm gets only one Gateway. For example, The Chasm only had one Gate connected to Earth... At least that’s what I thought..."

Sera nodded as understanding appeared in her golden-green eyes...

"Since the Myrmica are here too, multiple Gates opened within The Chasm, which led to Earth... Is it truly that odd? I mean, how often do events like the Apocalypse happen in other Realms?"

Qinrir shook his head while staring at Sera with a serious expression.

"Every Realm only has one Apocalypse-like event in its lifetime. It happens after the races become intelligent and civilized, but before they discover the other Realms and begin Evolving. Also, it’s usually after a giant war, which weakens the barrier between worlds."

"Well then, you probably never witnessed such an event firsthand. The Chasm had their Apocalypse thousands of years ago, I assume, and even you aren’t that old!" Said Sera with a small smirk.

The Arachnid grumbled upon hearing the backhanded compliment, but he ignored his annoyance and instead continued the explanation.

"Actually, our Apocalypse happened millions of years ago. However, we collected knowledge about other Realms’ Apocalypse, even Aerin’s. They’ve an obvious pattern, with no outliers in a few hundred thousand sized sample... Other than Earth!"

Sera knew a lot about statistics, since she loved math as a child. She knew perfectly well how unlikely it was for the Apocalypse pattern to change only for Earth without any outside interference... It was impossible, especially after she remembered another important detail...

"Qinrir, do you know why the Apocalypse happens? You said the barrier between worlds thins, but that can’t be the only driving force behind such a cataclysmic event!"

He looked away with a thoughtful expression. Qinrir worked with the Gateway Management back in The Chasm, that’s why he was part of the expeditionary team. He read through every document about Realm Gates multiple times, yet...

"I’m uncertain... Nobody ever figured out the exact reason, other than a giant war precedes it. Strangely, it doesn’t happen at the height of the fighting, but when everybody’s broken and weak...

"Maybe Apocalypses are the ultimate test for a Realm. It determines whether it’s strong enough to survive and join the larger plane of existence."

Both Sera and Qinrir turned silent as the possibility crossed their minds.

"It would be extremely cruel, but there might be some powerful being sending them for reasons we couldn’t possibly comprehend..." Said Qinrir.

Sera didn’t quite agree with his mindset. She stared outside at the borders of her memory...

"If such a being exists, then I don’t care for their reasons. I’ll find and punch them in the face for killing so many innocents. Someone so cruel deserves to die in pain surrounded by enemies!"

Qinrir glanced at Sera with confusion and suspicion. There was something deep hidden inside the Angel. A boiling hatred aimed at reality, which is just waiting to explode.

He wasn’t certain if this rage came from the Seed of Madness, but he’ll find out soon enough. This journey through Sera’s memories wasn’t just to cure her of Madness, but to check if the supposed Last Angel was an actual threat towards the Arachnids.

They became silent for a few seconds, but soon Sera turned towards Qinrir with a melancholic smile.

"I might know the reason the Apocalypse on Earth’s different... It’s because of one man... A Mad Scientist, who you’ll meet soon!"

The sad smile on her face mixed with the deep hatred burning in Sera’s. However, this person was, just the mere thought of him boiled Sera’s blood. A shiver distorted Qinrir’s form as a deep, incomprehensible despair took his heart, but as Sera turned away the feeling went with her.

Reluctantly, the Arachnid followed the Angel. They continued destroying Seed after Seed as they traveled back in the past.

The further they went back, the stranger everything became. Sera’s memories began losing their color, as if all the emotions left the pictures...

This went on until they found themselves on a small island... That’s when everything became black and white...