Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 412: Chapter 412: Letter From Beyond The Beginning

Chapter 412 – Letter From Beyond The Beginning

"You are Cassius Desdemona." Ananke said with a final tone, her voice leaving no room for doubt.

They were simple words. And these were words that Cassius had heard a hundred times, and even said to himself even more than that.

But at that time, inside that Gate of Fortune and Luck, those words held a meaning far more than everything he had given them credit for.

He was Cassius Desdemona.

Before even the world came to impose titles upon him, he was first and foremost, Cassius Desdemona.

He might have been born in this world in a way that was anything but normal, but ultimately, he had chosen to live this life as himself.

Not the original Cassius.

But himself, and it was that Self that became the Cassius everyone knew by now.

As these thoughts consolidated into himself, Cassius felt a sense of liberty that he hadn’t felt for a long time. It was a kind of understanding that came to someone who was beginning to grasp the true essence of themselves.

An understanding of Self so profound that had Cassius reached the limit of his Essence stat, he would have reached the Third Rank without the help of the Mirror Dimension.

That was how much the words of Ananke pulled out who he truly was from the one everything around the world wanted him to be or expected him to be.

Cassius let out a long sigh, his mind clear and pristine, yet slightly exhausted after the little event. But beyond the exhaustion, there was also a kind of shyness and embarrassment that suddenly gripped him tightly, making him too self-conscious to even show his face to his two goddesses.

He had just cried.

How profoundly embarrassing, he cursed inwardly.

So he hugged Ananke even more, face plastered on her chest, wishing his face could just disappear.

The Fate Goddess didn’t mind, and she understood at a glance that her Blessed was embarrassed. She began to caress his head gently, chuckling, acting like a mother caring for her son.

Then she slowly turned her attention towards Tysche, who was smiling wryly, knowing the mistake she had made.

"I told you, didn’t I?" Ananke hissed, annoyed and angry, "But you always do whatever you want without thinking of the consequences. And you dare to ask why I am the first?"

"Hey, don’t blame me." Tysche pointed shamelessly at Cassius, "Blame him, alright? I told him he wasn’t ready, and he started to shout at me saying whatever bullshit."

Cassius’s body twitched.

"Cassius always says bullshit." Ananke said in a gentle tone. Which made it hard for Cassius to even get annoyed by her words. "Your duty is not to give in when he asks things he isn’t ready to listen to. How many times did I tell you that?"

"Stop lecturing me. I am not your child."

"Then stop acting like one."

"I do what I want, now stay silent." Tysche said, waving at Ananke as if to say ’just shut up, girl’ and looked at Cassius.

She smiled sweetly, and approached him from behind, touching his back, "well, darling? I have divine juice, made specifically with the heart of a moonlight deer’s tears. Do you want to taste it? I will dilute it enough so that you won’t die after drinking it."

Ananke looked at Tysche with profound exasperation, "Are you serious?"

"What again? I am trying to be forgiven." She said, "Though I am not in the wrong. But anyway, why can’t you stop talking to me? And get out of my Gate."

It didn’t take much time for Cassius to understand the relationship between Ananke and Tysche. The two looked exactly like sisters, the type that never got along.

Ironically, they did look a lot like the Twins and Dorian. That comparison made him aware of another truth about the gods: they were powerful, but many of them had such a human nature it was strange.

Cassius began to wonder if even the term ’gods’ was befitting to them. They had human tendencies, but with power to destroy a whole continent if needed.

That was why, he concluded, his master had said that anyone could become a god. One simply needed to rank up enough to reach that level. It was simple, but not easy.

But to be one of the Seven Errors? That, that was different.

"My mother," Cassius said, making both goddesses stop in their unending quarrel. He broke the hug with Ananke, sat between the two of them, before focusing solely on Tysche.

"Did mother go in peace? And my father, too?" He asked, and he did it with a soft tone.

Tysche nodded gently after a moment, "She did." She said, "As I said, she didn’t regret being your mother and Joseph’s wife. The only thing that she had struggled upon before disappearing was about you and your sister."

Cassius listened carefully, breathing slowly to control his heartbeat.

"She was worried about you, especially, Cassius. After all, as she came to me, she realized what was happening and what was going to happen." Tysche smiled, and lifted her finger upward.

Thin golden water droplets erupted out from her finger, going skyward. Then the water droplets got together, merging, forming a golden parchment with bright white letters on it.

Cassius’s breath caught in his throat instantly, seeming to understand what it was.

And he was not wrong.

"She had asked me if she could leave you some words." Lady Luck said, smiling, "Not only her, but your father too. They had disappeared together, and they have written this together. Though, you already know your father, don’t you? He was not the talkative type. But he was there, watching, and sometimes adding his own words into the letters. So here you go, Cassius. Here are the letters from your parents. Here is what they have left for you, before going."

Cassius found himself shaking at that instant. Not because of fear, but because of an overwhelming emotion of reading something his parents from Earth had left for him.

He had never thought this day would come.

He didn’t think much longer, and grasped the golden letters. It felt soft, warm, and maybe it was his illusion, but the moment he grasped it, Cassius felt two more presences inside the Gate, just behind him.

He didn’t turn his eyes.

He drew a shaky breath into his lungs, and began to read, Ananke and Tysche sitting at each side of him, reading too.

After all, Tysche had never read it since she had gotten it. She wanted the owner to do it first.

Thus, Cassius began.

< Hope and love.

That’s all I have in me as I write this letter, knowing I will never see you again.

I don’t know when or how these words will reach you, my son. I don’t even know where you will be when they do. But as your mother, I can only hope they reach you when you are well and happy with your life.

There are so many things I want to say. So many things I want you to understand. But I am afraid that if I start saying all of them, I will never willingly accept going away, and I might think or do something that would wrong all of us.

So I will keep it simple.

I hope you are eating well, my son. I hope you are smiling, making friends, and perhaps even finding yourself a girlfriend. If you inherited your father’s looks, I don’t doubt you will be quite successful among women. (Your father forced me to write that.)

I also hope you are strong enough for whatever comes your way. I have heard it won’t be easy, but I have faith in you.

But more than anything, I hope you are happy, and that you are doing things that make you happy.

I am going with your father now. He wanted to come with me, even though I told him to stay. But truthfully, between you and I, I am so happy he is ready to go with me.

Can you imagine that, my son? He could live again. But he didn’t choose to do it because I won’t.

I sincerely hope you find someone like him in your life.

Now, your father and I are going...to rest, let’s call it that.

Not dying. Resting.

Because I don’t believe we will ever truly die as long as you still carry memories of the time we spent together on Earth.

And even though our lives were created for a purpose, we still lived those lives in our own way. We loved, laughed, cried, raised two children, and became people we were never told to become.

Whatever the reason our lives began, by the end, they belonged to us.

And I am satisfied with mine. Your father too.

Take care of your sister if you ever find her. She will not remember us because we don’t want her burdened by our...rest.

You know your sister, don’t you? She is such a crybaby.

But you are strong. And we know you can handle it. You have been a wonderful son to us.

Your father has only one thing he wants to say, so I will write his words exactly:

"You and your sister made us happy. I hope we made you happy too. And I hope you continue to be happy in that new world. I heard it is a dangerous world...but my son cannot be any less dangerous, can he? I trust you. And I am not saying that to burden you. I am saying it so that you know your mother and I will never doubt you."

Your father stopped talking. He is crying.

That is the fourth time I have ever seen him cry.

The first was when we got married. He really lucked out with me, didn’t he?

The second and third were when he saw you and your sister being born.

And the fourth is now.

You already know why.

Well, this letter is getting long, isn’t it? Sorry. We have so much we want to tell you, but I suppose words were never going to be enough.

So we will finish with this, my son.

We love you.

Did you notice that we never called you Noah or Cassius? (Your father keeps insisting that Noah is aesthetically the better name. Don’t mind him.)

It is because our love has never depended on the name you carry. It depends on who carries it.

And whether you are Noah, Cassius, or someone else entirely, you are still our son.

We know with certainty that we would love the man you have become, just as we would love the man you will become.

Protect yourself. Protect your sister. Protect your family, the Desdemona. Protect your friends.

And do whatever you need to do, as long as you can still look at the person you are becoming and recognize yourself.

This is the last time. The last letter. The last words you will receive from us.

So keep them with you. And if you ever feel lonely, find your sister, take her hair, and braid it.

You can do that now, can’t you? Hahaha.

Again, we wished to say more than this, but for what it’s worth: We love you, to the end and beyond.

"> Your mother, Angelina, and your father, Joseph.>

Cassius read this letter over and over, and after memorizing every single word, and noticing the words at the end seemed shaky and unsteady, he closed it back.

Next he stored it inside his space ring, saying nothing during the whole process.

Cassius lowered his head.

Ananke and Tysche looked at him, and saw tears silently streaming down. But amidst the tears, there was a smile on his face.

And it was a smile they recognized and understood at a glance. Because at that instant, inside Cassius, the little Noah who had grieved his dead parents for years to no end...

...finally got his closure.

And so Cassius smiled for him.

A smile of peace amidst sadness. A smile of a true beginning amidst a bittersweet but beautiful end.

"Thank you, mother, father."

—End of Chapter 412—