Nanomancer Reborn - I've Become A Snow Girl?

Chapter 1262: Life’s Goal

That night, the father died. He died peacefully in his sleep and Leia made sure he didn't feel any pain in his last moments.

His final words kept repeating in her mind. The purpose of short lived beings, to immortalise their legacy in the best way possible. How death was what kept order in their world.

'Is that why death is important for these people, mother?' Leia thought to herself silently. She was an immortal being herself. Granted her years of existence were short compared to Chaos but she hasn't run into the problem that the father spoke of.

When everything she wanted to do has been done. What then?

A complicated question that she couldn't answer.

'But I guess this just proves what mother said. I need to destroy these planets eventually or else they'll outlive their purpose I suppose.' Leia concluded as she stood up.

Suddenly, a question entered her mind.

'What happens if they reach their purpose early instead of at the end of their life cycle? Would they ruin the legacy they leave behind? Should she end them before they can ruin that? Or should she let them continue. When would be the right time to end each cycle?'

Furrowing her brows, Leia decided that she needed more time to find the answers to her questions. Plus, there was still plenty of time left before the Garden Project began. She wanted to learn as much as she could so that she could accurately choose when to end each cycle.

Walking through the village, Leia was still in her mourning clothes and saw that hunter Aaron was planning on leaving to hunt for more food for the church. She decided that it was probably best to ask him some of her questions.

"Mister Aaron." Leia called out as Aaron glanced back.

"Leia, I thought you'd be at the church. Did something happen?"

"No, I'm merely saying hello after seeing you while I was out on a walk. I have a few questions if you have some time to spare." Leia shook her head as Aaron placed down his weapons.

"Oh of course. Ask away, I'll try my best to answer." He smiled, gesturing for her to sit down next to him so that she didn't have to stand.

"I was talking to the Father last night and I asked him about death. The fear of it and the meaning of it. Along with immortality."

"Oh goodness. That's a pretty serious topic for a young lady." Aaron blinked in surprise as Leia shrugged.

"And he said that life is a question for us on how we want to immortalise our legacy. He doesn't wish for immortality because he has already accomplished his goals in life. So I wanted to ask you, what was your goal in life? What does someone do when they've achieved their goal before old age? What do they do with the remaining time?" Leia asked as Aaron was silent.

Thinking to himself, he pulled out a locket and opened it with a soft click. The locket held a picture of his wife and child that had both unfortunately passed on and looked at the picture with a reminiscent smile on his face.

"I suppose it's my time to give you a piece of my wisdom hahaha." Aaron smiled as he patted Leia's head.

"You see, a person's goal changes many times through life depending on the circumstances around them. Whether that be them accomplishing their goal or their goal being unreachable. For the longest time, my goal was to be a renowned hunter, earning gold for my family and moving to a big city. I learned the skills and experienced what it was like to be out hunting the animals for food. Then I met the love of my life." Aaron closed his eyes and remembered the first time he saw his wife.

His heart was instantly stolen as he fell in love at first sight. Naturally things didn't go smoothly as she didn't have much interest in him. But as years passed and he continued to talk to her, they eventually wed and had a child together.

"From the moment I married my wife and had my daughter, I realised that my goal had changed. I didn't want the glory of being a renown hunter anymore, I just wanted to keep my family happy and offer the world to my daughter. No matter what she wanted to do, I wanted to help her accomplish it." He smiled with pride.

Hearing his tone, Leia could hear how much he loved his child and wife.

"But my wife fell ill after childbirth and passed soon after. Her last request was for me to look after our daughter, and I tried my best." Aaron smiled bitterly as he took a deep breath and sighed.

"I had people look after Lily, my daughter, when I was out hunting. So that she wasn't in danger. I couldn't take her with me but I couldn't leave her alone either. But perhaps I should've looked for a different job. One day, Lily ran into the woods looking for me. At the time, I was hunting some bears that had been creeping closer to our village. I had tried to scare them off a few times before but they kept coming closer so I knew I had to kill them. So I took my weapons and prepared for a tough hunt. And while I was distracted by the beast in front of me… Lily appeared and she was attacked by the bear's offspring."

Opening some buttons on his shirt, he showed Leia ghastly scars on his chest that extended to his back.

"I had thrown away my weapons trying to help Lily and the bear struck me. Thankfully I was able to run away with Lily in my arms since it seemed more concerned about its child than me and Lily. But by the time I reached the village, Lily had already stopped breathing."

Staying silent at remembering the feeling of his child's life fading away in his arms, Aaron buttoned up his shirt and closed his locket.

"After both my wife and Lily disappeared from my world, I had nothing left. So I looked for the bear and its offspring and I took their life with my own hands in revenge for Lily. But it was meaningless. My daughter was still gone and I had no reason left in this world. Then I saw the children at the orphanage. Some of them reminded me of Lily."

Glancing up, Aaron looked towards the church and smiled.

"I suppose you can say it's redemption. But my goal had changed to give the parentless children the father love I couldn't provide to my own daughter. For my negligence of my own child, I wanted to try my best for the children at the church. Naturally that includes you." Aaron laughed while patting Leia's head once more.

"In many ways, you remind me of Lily as well. She was a curious child just like you. Though she was more outgoing and loved to laugh. So to answer your question of what happens when someone reaches their goal early, is that they'll find a new goal to work towards. While I can't say for others, I suppose the legacy I wish to leave behind is a kind father and husband. I want to be remembered as a kind person who gave the children at the church love that I couldn't give to my own daughter."

Hearing this, Leia nodded her head.

Closing her eyes, she peered into his soul and couldn't help but smile. She could see that he was truly a kind soul. Both his daughter's soul and his wife's soul had left deep imprints on his own and it acted as a ward to keep him safe when he was out hunting.

"I'm sure that both your wife and daughter are proud of the man you've become." Leia smiled softly as Aaron was surprised. It was the first time he had seen Leia smile since she usually kept a neutral expression on her face.

Seeing her smile, Aaron laughed and nodded his head.

"If the saint of the church is saying so then it must be true."

Talking for a little longer, Leia bid Aaron farewell as he went off into the woods to hunt for food.

Standing silently, Leia thought about her own role. Her role was to be the destroyer, the one who ends the cycles and brings destruction upon the world. No matter when she ends the cycles, there will inevitably be people who had their goals cut short.

To her, it felt unfair. There will be people like Aaron in every era, people who wish to help the people around them. To cut their life short was cruel.

'What if I place their soul into the new cycle? So that they can get a new chance at life. A better life perhaps.' Leia thought to herself. That way, it would be a reward to the souls that tried their best while weeding out the corrupt. It was the goal that Chaos was working towards.

She wanted to create a perfect paradise, a perfect Garden to foster all life just like Chaos. A world where she no longer needs to end the cycle and host all those who are deserving. But a contradiction started to form in Leia's mind.