Chapter 414: System Holders

From the roaring whispers that drowned the whole galaxy just moments ago; from the panicked steps that desperately wanted salvation… now lay a silence so quiet that one could hear their veins move.

None of them even sensed Van's presence; it was as if he was just suddenly there. Teleportation? No, because one would feel the one who was transported as soon as they arrived; and if it wasn't for Gerald pointing towards Van, then they would still probably be obliviously talking with themselves.

But this…

A white hair that almost glowed in a silver light; wings that almost seemed transparent, fading like a smoke that never withers. Was this… really Van?

"Father… What…

...What happened to you?"

"Hm?"

And with Vanya breaking the silence as her steps drummed like a droplet throughout the silent hall, the people once again showed their breaths.

On the other hand, Van was looking at Vanya, his eyebrows clearly showing his confusion about her words.

"What do you mean?" Van muttered.

"T… That."

"..." Van then slowly looked towards where Vanya was pointing to, only to see a reflection of himself in the mirror. And as soon as his eyes laid upon the white strands of his hair, he almost choked in his own breath.

"That… so that was my hair?" Van had been wondering what the white golden strands flowing around him was… but to think it was actually his hair. However, that was not even the most important part-- he had wings.

"...This is weird," Van muttered. He knew he had changed from what happened to him earlier, but how was he even going to live with wings sprouting from his back and feet? Can he even retract them?

And as soon as he thought of that, the smoke-like wings around his body folded; as if hiding into his skin, but leaving no trace that they truly existed.

"I… really am no longer human."

Minutes ago, after Van absorbed all the souls that he collected, he once again found himself in a darkness. A darkness different from the expanse of space which shouted eternal freedom, no.

But this darkness was familiar-- a place that he had been before a couple of times back at the prologue of his life. A darkness that confined him… a familiar darkness that embraced him.

"My child."

"!!!"

Van quickly turned his body around as a deafening voice sang through his ears; and as he did so, an eye was staring directly at him. No, perhaps it wasn't even looking at him-- but it had no choice but to do so as Van was blocking its view… an eye even bigger than Van's whole body.

Van then flew away a few meters back-- and the eye did the same, almost dragging him from the sheer force of its movement. And soon, the owner of the eye revealed itself.

"E… Evangeline?" Van muttered as his eyebrows quickly furrowed; however, after staring for a few more seconds, his breaths started to become lighter, "No… you… Azrael? No…

...You're the System?" Van then breathed out as he stared at this overly colossal figure.

"I could be anything, I could be all," Azrael's mouth did not move; but still, her words echoed throughout the darkness, as if one would not be able to escape her voice no matter how they tried, "But please, do call me Azrael."

"...What do you want?" And without even realizing it, even confronted with this colossal figure, his voice suddenly became cold.

And with his voice crawling through the darkness, Azrael could not help but let out a sigh, "Your hostility is justified. What we have done to you is truly horrifying."

"..."

"..."

"I suppose let's not mince our words," Azrael then shook her head as she slowly raised her hand, almost causing Van to tumble in the darkness, "You have received enough souls… Or rather Energy now as you call it… no doubt from Sage's influence."

"...Sage?"

"The god of this universe that bears your face."

"He's called sage?" Van furrowed his eyebrows. So does that mean that the two really have met each other? Were… they playing with him?

"From now on, your System is gone."

"S-- Wait, what about my powers!?" Van then quickly raised his voice as soon as he heard Azrael's words, "I still need it to prote--"

"You have greatly misunderstood something, my son," Azrael's voice completely drowned Van's as she shook her head, "You never held a real System in the first place."

"...What? But my Hermes System is--"

"Fake," Azrael once again did not let Van finish his words, "In my universe, Systems are given to people that would guide the world to a better path; given to mortals who are destined to become a messiah…

...Our feathers are only given once in every millennia."

"..."

"But when your father and I fought in this universe, some of my feathers fell. Giving random humans of your earth a System-- Systems are for the mortals, my son."

"I have a System," Van said.

"The thing you call a System is just there for you to control the innate… power you already have-- it's more akin to a seal if anything."

"...What?" Van once again expressed his confusion, "But I have been using it all this time."

"Using?"

Azrael's uncomfortable chuckles whispered through Van's ears, "I am sure you have noticed yourself; unlike most System Holders in your world who rely on and check their Systems every hour…

...you barely even open yours-- simply because you don't really rely on it."

"That's…" Although Van still wanted to rebuke Azrael's words… she was right. Even before forcefully being thrown in the future, he barely checked on his System. Realizing this, the only thing that Van could do was let out a short but deep breath as he tried to collect himself once more.

"So… What do you want?" Van then said, his voice once again turning cold.

"I just wanted to see my son for the last time."

"Last--"

"You've met the required Level to absorb the last of my essence," Azrael's words slowly became sedated, "In a way… 

...My eternal death has come. My body is also slowly fading away."

"Your bod-- Evangeline?"

"Yes," Azrael nodded, "And I know you do not want to hear it… but we did… and do love you in our own way, my son."

"Go fuck yourself."

"Hm," Azrael's lips slowly turned into a smile as a small breath seemed to have escaped from her mouth,

"This is goodbye, Evans. Consider this as my last gift."

And as soon as Azrael said that, Van's entire body began to glow; his vision slowly being filled with nothing but white.

"And also…" And as the last of Azrael's figure reflected on his eyes, he could hear her voice still lingering in his ears,

"The one you call World Eaters. They are…"

"!!!"

"Wha--"

And before Van could even respond, the white light was replaced once again by darkness as Van once again found himself floating in the expanse of space, with planet Osiris and a thousand ships flying everywhere in a haste.

Van could feel the pain crawling through his entire body as it seemed to slowly change; but at the same time, there was this… weird feeling that he couldn't explain.

There were also white stands floating aimlessly in front of him…

...but to think it was actually his hair.

"Father…"

Van was still staring at himself in the mirror; even with the wings now retracted, the color of his hair still remained the same. He… almost looked like a completely different person.

But why…

...Why was his height still the same?

Is it because of Sage? Van was sure it was his fault because the image he saw of him showed how short he also was.

"Father… what happened to you?"

Van then once again turned his attention towards Vanya; he did not respond just yet, however, as he tried to open his System. But as Azrael said…

...There was nothing. Van did not really know what to feel…

...The System was once a sign of salvation for him, but now it is gone. But for some reason, he just felt…

"...I'm free," he then muttered as he looked Vanya straight in the eyes.

"...Father? Are you--"

"Fucking shit."

And before Vanya could even finish her words, Gerald suddenly approached the two of them, "What… the fuck are you, man?" Gerald then took in a small gulp as he looked at Van from head to toe, "You… you're no longer human."

"I… never was," Van responded with a meek whisper before he returned Gerald's gaze. Come to think of it… even back in the Pit, he was also the one that noticed that something wasn't right with Evangeline.

Gerald… He told Van that he wasn't human-- but right now, couldn't the same be said to him? Van whispered in his mind as he finally noticed the weird aura fuming from Gerald's body. 

Well, whatever he is… There was something more important to do right now.

Van then looked towards the monitor, "Is that them? Why are they not doing anything?"

"...They are probably waiting for another ship," with Van finally acknowledging the situation, Athena quickly stepped forward, "They have also noticed the drones, but they're not doing anything yet. The two ships are most likely just… scouts."

"I… see," Van then said before turning his eyes towards Angela; who had been quietly staring at him intensely for a few minutes now, "I spoke to Azrael."

"You… spoke to master!?" Angela almost choked in her own breath with Van just casually saying something so important as if it was nothing.

"She's dead and dying," Van chuckled.

"W… what?"

"But that's not important right now," Van waved his hand, disregarding the slightly panicked expression on Angela's face, "She told me something about the World Eaters."

"What… is it?" Athena's eyes widened.

"The World Eaters. They…

...are System Holders."