Eli was no longer aware of what was happening in the surroundings outside her consciousness.
All that she could see right now was the same vision she had back when she was pregnant with Little Han, attending the Renewal of Treaty in the elven village.
Just like in the past vision, she was still standing in a dark desolate forest and the same ethereal-looking young man, with black long hair and wearing a white silk robe sat on a rock looking solitary.
He was holding the safe staff which she was looking at earlier together with the Chief, Leon, and Kayden.
As Chief Eirllon told her, this ethereal-looking man was the deceased Guardian of Mortal Time, Asa.
And just like the opening of the vision, Guardian Asa's soulful silver eyes turned in her direction while saying with a gentle smile,
"Child! You are finally here!"
Eli stood there wordless, knowing that the guardian was not actually speaking to her but to the young boy who would run from her direction in a few seconds.
However, ten seconds, twenty seconds, and thirty seconds passed but no child came forth.
Guardian Asa was still looking in her direction and the scene in front of her seemed to have frozen.
'Did the playback of the vision stop?' She asked as she was confused by the situation.
"Child, I get that you are confused, but do yourself a favor and sit right there…"
Eli felt a cold wave of goosebumps the moment she heard Guardian Asa say something that was out of her memory. This is not in the vision dialogue!
Her shock came out her face as she was both confused and in disbelief.
Guardian Asa seemed to have understood her bewilderment and told her once again, "Child, come and sit. You are brought by my staff here I guess. So it meant that what I saw from the future happened."
"Guardian Asa?" Eli was left speechless. The deceased guardian should no longer have any spirit, right? How could he talk to me as if he knew the present and he is alive?
"So many questions, my child but I am afraid that I can only give you something that might even cause you to have more questions…" Guardian Asa seemed to have read her mind as he answered.
Eli on the other hand, finally moved, sitting on another rock that he had been pointing to earlier.
"It might be hard to understand, but I cannot hear you right now… nor I cannot see your face. All I know is that you are not from this present."
Guardian Asa's words had indeed confused Eli.
'He cannot see or hear me? But he has been talking to me with a good few sentences as if he knew me and he was really interacting with me… How?'
'He said I am not from this present? What does he mean?'
True enough, what Guardian Asa said was right, she had more questions than before the moment she listened to his words.
"In fact, I am not even sure if you obediently sat on the rock that I was pointing to…" Guardian Asa continued, with a gentle smile, still looking in Eli's direction.
"My time is up… I can only faintly feel my connection to the heavenly realm, nor my brothers and sister in the guardian realm…
But I do not regret saving the lives of the people whose fate was not supposed to be corrupted by the enemy Birsha.
He descended here in Prasinos to steal the destinies of the children of the land. By taking them away, his power grows, and his people also become stronger.
The nature of his power was utterly merciless because he would take away not only these brethren's lives but also the time they had been destined to come back in the afterlife.
Even if they survived Birsha's power, their souls were corrupted and destroyed… with that, they cannot step beyond the gate I guard."
And so as guardian of mortal time, I cannot allow more and more souls to vanish and become food for the enemy…
So I begged the Overseer to allow me to leave guarding the gate and descend to Prasinos to handle the matters.
But I can only do this much…" Guardian Asa paused with a sad and regretful expression, but nonetheless, he continued.
"I went to the land and saved those whose lives can still be redeemed. However, the very thing that I have to do is to repair their souls, which needs a lot of power…
As my power is only strong in the other realm, not in Prasinos, I can only save a handful of people for a portion of my life.
Those who received my healing will actually be marked by my powers, My Child, I know that you also bear that mark."
Through Guardian Asa's way of talking, Eli guessed that the guardian was actually blindly doing his monologue, hoping that she would hear these words in time.
And his next word affirmed her deduction.
"The reason why I am saying these words, was because I have seen a premonition that would happen in the far future.
That one who would bear my mark will come here to seek answers from me when the time comes.
And so, knowing that I am on my way to eternal sleep, I am saying these words and leaving this memory on my staff, which I know will stay for a long time through the help of my brothers.
What I saw in the future devastated me and gave me hope at the same time.
Devastated because, in that future, most of all the children who bear my mark have already perished.
Hopeful, because of you, who will revive the last string of their existence.
However, know that you will be subject to a lot of confusion, because you do not even know if you are really the last person who bore the bloodline, and that out of you will come forth the bloodline's next generation.
Now, child, I saw two things. The one you must fight and struggle so that it will be fulfilled, and the one that you must fight and struggle so that it will not succeed…"
Eli furrowed her brows.
The guardian's words seemed to make no sense to her. However, since the guardian himself told her that he had just prerecorded everything, Eli knew that it is useless to ask him questions.
"The thing you must fight for to be fulfilled is protecting the bloodline coming forth from you…"
When Eli heard it, Little Han's image immediately flashed in her mind. Could the guardian be saying that Little Han's life will be in danger and that she should protect him?
And that out of him will be the continuance of the new Asani bloodline?
"That future is bright, so bright that even I had a mundane desire to see how it will come true. Too bad… I am almost at the end of the road.
The one you must fight and struggle not to ever succeed is the creation of the new bloodline out of Brisha doing abominable things to my people!
My child, you must not let them succeed! Ever!
Do not let them succeed in defying the heavens with the power of mortal time to forcefully open the gate to the heavenly realm and destroy it!"
'Opening the heavenly realm… using the power of mortal time?'
Eli connected the dots.
Since the Asani people bear a fraction of the power of Guardian Asa, the enemies planned to gather all that power to be able to have enough to control the mortal gate, which Guardian Asa originally guards.
She remembered from the guardians that while Guardian Asa was no longer around, it was Ignis who sometimes oversaw the gate, but up until now, no one could completely control the gate as Asa did.
Also, the guardians mentioned in passing during their ranting that the heavenly realm is understaffed because the Overseer did not replace a certain position, could it possibly be Guardian Asa's position?!
But why would the Great One not assign another angel to do it?
Now, from Guardian Asa's words, it seems like Birsha and his armies would catch wind of this thing in the future and would start to plot something about it!
The plan all along was not only to have a vessel for Birsha but to actually also steal control of the mortal gate to attack the heavenly realm!
Eli was both apprehensive and angry at the same time.
She was scared that she would not be able to do something to stop that plan from happening but she was also angry that all these tragedies that happened to Prasinos from thousand years ago all happened because some evil angel wanted to rebel against the Great One!
"Now my child, this is all the wisdom I can give you… for my time is already up." Guardian Asa's sad and desolate voice woke Eli up from her thinking.
"Know that you are not alone here, and remember to rely on those who love the people as you do."
After that, he then turned in the direction where Eli was originally standing and smiled once again. His desolate expression was now exactly the same as when she saw him in the vision the first time.
Then he told the exact same words he said during the first vision,
"Child! You are finally here!"
This time, Eli finally saw the boy emerging from the direction she was originally standing and her body froze.
Because the face of the boy, although scrawny and malnourished, seemed to be ninety percent familiar to someone she knew.
It was none other than Little Han!
",
