MTLNOVEL Chapter 1734: Old, Painful Memories
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After hearing everything Khepri was talking, Tethys was left dumbfounded, things were so much more connected than she ever could have hoped to imagine.
From how she arrived here to how she grew stronger through worship, the wind tribe's ancient past and their last survivor, the invader that governs and commands the fire ants, and even Khepri right here, trying to make her remember who she truly was.
Everything.
"S-So we were all connected? All of what's happening right now is because we came here…? But that's… From my arrival to the ancient wind tribe, their guardian that protected them, then the monster that remained alive after everyone died, and lastly, the invasion of the giant fire ants, which we've been fighting for a couple of years now… I-I can't… believe this, this sounds way too much like… like…"
It wasn't quite clear what was the order of events to her but, as she realized what was happening, she began to panic even more.
There was an annoying feeling of helplessness when it came to all these things, especially for someone that still lacked many of her original memories.
It was very annoying.
"It feels like bullshit, right? Maybe it does, but it's all real, that you could recall memories of us being a big team is already a big proof that what I'm saying is the truth," explained Khepri. "Right? So please, Tethys, believe me…"
"I-I…" Tethys was still confused but was trying to connect the dots and settle down her own chaotic mind at the moment. "What do you even want me to do? It's not like I'm actually a goddess or something! My power only goes as far as this Oasis goes…! I-I… Without my people, I would wither and die!"
Khepri looked at Tethys, calming her down as one of her ornaments appeared behind her, fusing with her body.
FLASH!
Suddenly, Khepri transformed, becoming an humanoid android-like golem, with gold and silver colors, embedded with many shiny red, green, and blue jewels.
She had big yellow eyes and a beautiful face, with long hair made of strands of gold, while there was a crown shaped as a scarab above her head, with a big red mirror on top of that.
And of course, her body also had sharp ends and looked as if she had a scarab exoskeleton, albeit beautifully sculpted into the humanoid body she had, which looked around the same height as Tethys, if not slightly taller.
"E-Eh?"
Tethys gasped as she saw Khepri change forms from her small metallic scarab form to a much more humanoid appearance, something that somehow, helped her suddenly recall even more memories of her past.
As Khepri held her hands made of water, and as she felt her warmth, her water began boiling again, steam coming out of her embarrassed face.
At the same as such memories flashed through her mind…
…
"Tethys, always remember to stay by my side, alright? I'll protect you."
"I-I don't need to be protected all the time!"
"What do you mean you don't need my protection? We're here for a mission and… We're friends, right?"
"M-Maybe but that's… Ugh…!"
…
"Hey Tethys! Have you tried these new doughnuts they got at the cafeteria? They're so tasty! I brought you some!"
"Y-you didn't have to; I already had my lunch…"
"Come on, just a bite!"
"Fine… Oh… it's tasty."
"See?"
…
"Tethys! Stay behind me! I'll handle them!"
"But Khepri! They're too many!"
"D-Don't worry… I got this!"
"Please don't be reckless, Khepri!"
…
"Ugh, maybe I went overboard there…"
"Don't die! Please don't die Khepri!"
"T-Tethys…"
"Don't die! I don't know what I would do without you, you idiot!"
"I'm sorry for always… making you angry… I must've been a really bad friend, right…? I bet you hated me…"
"N-No! I've never hated you! You're… you're everything to me! I've always lo-"
…
Tethys' eyes widened, as tears started falling from her eyes, her hands trembled, as she looked at Khepri, realizing their true past.
These images that felt so much like her life, and yet that still felt so distant…
She couldn't quite tell what to do, or even what to feel.
"Tethys, we need to act together. You need to help us. Tomorrow we're going to go confront this thing, this monster that was once our companion…" Khepri said.
"A-Ah…" Tethys muttered, looking at Khepri. "Those memories… I saw them again…"
"You saw more?" Khepri smiled. "How much do you remember?"
"I-I…" Tethys grew more and more embarrassed. "D-Don't touch me!"
However, afraid of accepting these strange feelings, or of these weird memories, she stepped back, looking at Khepri with slight confusion.
"W-Wait! Tethys, listen to me! Please! Unlike the two of us, they never managed to either keep their sanity or remember anything of their past!" Khepri said. "And probably like me, they possessed monsters to stay alive… I think they must've possessed a fire ant queen and ultimately assimilated their mind, personality, and instincts due to lacking any of their own… creating something too dangerous to be left alone."
"Huh? Ah…" Tethys slowly calmed down, hearing Khepri's words. "I… you're… I guess… I guess you're not wrong… Haah… I need to calm down."
She slowly cooled down her mind, trying to push away those memories, even though that feeling of familiarity she had with Khepri never faded away.
"Huh? Are you okay? Were the memories too much? You look a bit tired…" Khepri tried to get to her side. "Tethys calm down, I would never mean any harm to you, dammit… I'm just trying to help… so you can help us back."
"…" Tethys remained in silence. "I need… to think about this."
The water around Tethys wavered, as she suddenly began to dissipate into it.
"Eh? Wait a second! Are you leaving?! But it's tomorrow! We're going tomorrow and…! I know the heroes are with us, but I'm worried something could go wrong!" Khepri said. "We're dealing against someone possibly even stronger than you and-"
SPLASH!
But before Khepri could convince her to stay, Tethys was gone.
"Aah…"
Khepri looked down, her face looking rather sad.
"Tethys…"
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