Chapter 210: Ghost of the distant past
Or like, listen to the whole thing, I don't particularly mind, this isn't for you anyway and it's not like I can stop since I'm long dead by the time you get a hold of this."
Cedric felt chills running down his spine as he heard the phantom man's words. He had never seen this person before. It's only today that he learned of him and what he did so how can he not be shocked?
"I'm aware that this must feel strange...and freaky, to you. Fear not, I don't mean you any harm. I am doing this because I want to leave you a message. Oh, uh...I actually can't see or hear you. I've seen visions of you but your face has never been clear to me, only your actions and your name did, so if you're talking to me right now, sorry, I won't be able to answer you."
Cedric figured as much. It's already impressive that this person managed to leave a recorded message to him this way since technology in his era was extremely limited.
"If things went according to plan and my visions indeed come true, you should be hearing this message after receiving an invitation to the House of Light. An old man named Gabriel, who's also an Archbishop of this organization, should be the one handing you this crystal where this message is left."
'Were his predictions always been this accurate? That's scary.' Cedric muttered inwardly.
"I created the House of Light to commemorate the sun." The founder's voice turned solemn and somewhat dejected upon mentioning this. "By the time I'm recording this, it's been a decade since the sun was swallowed up by that Demon King. The scene still haunts me to this day."
Cedric heard Princeton's voice trembling slightly. It was clear that he was still shaken from the event even after it had long passed.
"The disappearance of the sun had a terrible effect on our world. Nature withered, the clouds disappeared, the sky darkened, and the seas were poisoned. During the past decade, we focused on our efforts securing necessities while waging war against the demons."
"Many have died without a grave. Some gave up and some even willingly embraced Demonhood. Our situation is grave, and I can tell that it's gonna get worse from here on out." MVLeMpYr-content
"I'm neither strong nor overly wise. My class only lets me do one thing, and that is to peer into the future. Nothing more, nothing less. I might be considered as a Superhuman but even with my increased strength and somewhat extended longevity, I'm just as vulnerable as a mortal in front of Demons."
"But even so, I want to help. I honed the skills that's been given to me extensively. As someone who lived when Demons weren't around, I am extremely unwilling to see the world and our kind fall like this. That's why even though I could only do a single thing, I'm still here."
"I can only do one thing, but I do it very well. I'm not bragging when I say that I am one of the reasons why Humanity still lives to this day, and if my visions are correct, then my actions will have a great impact in the future too."
"People of your era might never know who I am and that's fine. I just want to be useful. All my life, that's all I yearned for...and I finally am, that's more than enough for me."
The founder's words resonated deeply into Cedric's heart.
"Anyway, enough about me. Let's focus on you." The phantom, even though unable to see Cedric, somehow managed to look directly into his eyes. "You've received the offer to be the House of Light's Holy Son, right? Wait, why am I asking? I know you do 'cause I saw the future, pfft!"
"To be honest, it doesn't matter whether you become the Holy Son or not. Like I said, I know what you're gonna do. I've seen it so many times and it has given me great hope for our race's distant future."
"Whether you become the House of Light's Holy Son or not, your destiny will take you to the frontlines because that's your stage. Right now, you are still accumulating and that's good, continue doing that and you'll be fine regardless of your decision."
"Though I'd still like it if you become the Holy Son." The phantom smiled, "See, my visions of you take up half of the reason why I founded the House of Light in the first place, apart from commemorating the sun of course."
"Your future could branch out to many things, but one thing remains constant among them...it's the fact that you will never completely ally yourself with our enemies. I saw some of your future where you worked with them but they never broke your will. On the majority of those, you ended up destroying them from the inside. On others, you blow up yourself and still damage them nonetheless."
"An overwhelming majority of your branching future sides with us. And on those, no matter how tired you avoid it, you'd always find yourself in the frontlines where you establish yourself and confirm your goals."
"I'm gunning for a specific outcome, the best one I think there is. Don't get me wrong, it's gonna be a very long road, but the result is gonna be worth it."
"Going back to the original topic, I want you to be the Holy Son because I want to help you. I know that if you must, you will wager this war alone. But that's going to be a very long and bitter war. You need allies, both of us know this."
"The House of Light is created for that purpose; to help you achieve your goals and to be your allies that will support the good fight you're waging. They won't require too much from you, only that you become their spiritual leader. Any further help you can provide is welcomed but if you can't, don't worry, the House of Light can handle itself."
"If you worked closely with them, you'd find out that they're efficient in the work and they'd help you complete the projects you have in mind. You'd even gain access to their supplies and resources.
"Like I said, it's fine if you don't answer right away or if you're not okay with this and decide to not join. None of them should give you any trouble for that. They will continue doing their work as usual since that's the nature of their creation."
The phantom then walked closer to Cedric and said: "Whether you join the House of Light or not, the road ahead of you is still long. Tread with confidence and keep a firm belief in yourself."
"I believe in you...not because I've seen what you can do, but because I've seen your heart. Keep going forward, no matter what happens, I'm sure that you will do great things."
The phantom then pushed him back, somehow. Cedric then felt an irresistible force pulling him back.
His eyes snapped wide open to reality and saw Archbishop Gabriel and his two retainers still patiently waiting for his response.
Cedric remained silent for a bit. He digested everything he heard so far and took his time to decide. He knew he couldn't rush this, but he had to give it to Princeton, his words were certainly convincing.
Not even once did Cedric's innate lie detection ability ping, which means that Princeton never uttered a lie from start to finish. Cedric wouldn't be surprised if that guy also knew about this ability of his too.
Besides that, Cedric felt overwhelmed by Princeton's faith in him. Cedric was also stunned when he heard that Princeton saw the branching futures of his life.
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, he opened his eyes to look at the Archbishop and asked:
"Let's say I accept your offer, what do you expect from me?"
"We only ask for you to lead us to a brighter tomorrow, Young Sage," Gabriel replied instantly. "Whatever that might mean to you."
"We won't interfere with your plans, we might express our concerns but we won't stop you, we will even provide all help necessary for you to achieve your goals. Aside from remembering the Sun and providing some semblance of normalcy to our citizens, the main purpose of our abode's creation was to be of use to you." He added.
Cedric glanced at the people with him and asked: "All of you are fine with that? You don't even know who I am, your founder just told you about me and that's all the basis you have."
"It's actually because of that same reason that our family is small. But I assure you everyone who took an active position in our organization knows what they're getting themselves into and we are completely fine with this."
Sigh...
Cedric released a long sigh before removing his disguise, much to the surprise of Gabriel and his retainers.
"I'll be in your care, then."