Garden Of The Abyss
Chapter 20 - Elias, The Founding Hero Of Mastorn

I've always found the question of "Free Will V.S. Determinism" intriguing. Just about anytime the topic itself was brought to mind, I found myself on the other side. I think I used determinism as a means to cope with how I ended up where I am--if free will was truly the correct answer, then I willingly became a piece of shit.

As the morning sun rose from the now past darkness, it shone through the opening of the curtains--spilling its radiant light on his pale skin, causing him to slowly open his drowsy eyes. Lifting his head from the cold wooden desk, a trail of saliva connected from the corner of his mouth to the desk before dissipating. He rubbed his reddened cheek he had been laying against the desk before looking over to see Meinhard--fast asleep on his bed.

He was about to make a snarky remark but stopped himself--

"I guess you do deserve it, you stayed with me all night to teach me, huh?" Ren smiled, looking at the boy who was fast asleep.

The smell of the morning hour filled his nostrils--it was the combination of biscuits, eggs, and tea that he smelled and it was approaching his room. He got up and opened the door to his room, greeting Norbert, who was just a few feet away from his door, holding a large silver tray.

"Good morning to you, sir," Norbert bowed his head, stepping into his room after Ren moved to the side to give the tall butler space.

"Morning, Norbert--" Ren yawned as he finished his morning greeting.

"It's already been a month of such studious work and you're both still as energetic, bless being young," --That's right. It's already been an entire month since I got here, hasn't it? It doesn't feel that long, but when I think about it--yeah. I've spent most of my time learning how to read and write, and I've made a lot of progress.

Norbert lifted the lid off of the tray to reveal two plates and two cups along with a teapot. Each plate had a hearty serving of rich, golden eggs with steam rising off of them to signify the freshness of the food with a pair of biscuits to compliment. As for the cups--of course, it was for tea, but it seemed every time Norbert brought him tea, it was a different brew.

"There really is no shortage of the variety of tea here, isn't there?" Ren joked, sitting at the desk again as he watched Norbert assemble the plates.

"Yes, that is right--tea is a commonly loved beverage in Mastorn, and the lord is no exception to that love. I do say though, I enjoy brewing it--I take some level of pride in it," The butler smiled warmly as he lifted the teapot, pouring the scalding liquid into each cup.

A loud yawn filled the room as the two looked over to see Meinhard stretching his limbs out before opening his eyes, sniffing the air as if woken up by the aroma of breakfast and tea. It was a sight to behold how quickly Meinhard managed to devour his breakfast after barely waking up--on Earth, he could clearly become a winner of eating contests. Ren watched as the boy washed down the food with an extended sip of tea.

"I feel bad for Norbert, how are you going to even taste the food when you eat it like a ravenous animal?" Ren narrowed his eyes as if judging the boy.

"As a chef, I can appreciate the quality of the food with only brief contact against my tastebuds, for your information," he retorted, patting his chest.

Meinhard got up and walked over to the desk, glancing through the papers on Ren's desk and nodding his head constantly.

"You've really taken this seriously, haven't you? Honestly, you're already halfway decent in reading and writing now--it is really impressive," Meinhard complimented him before adjusting the sleeves of his shirt.

"Of course I have--I would be driven crazy cooped in this place if I didn't have something to distract myself with," Ren joked--but at the same time knew it was true.

He watched as Meinhard fixed his own shaggy blonde hair before also pulling his socks up to his knees as the boy prepared for his day of cooking. Meinhard was responsible for cooking all of Althaus' meals personally. It seems Norbert handled cooking in the case of Ren.

"Well--how about this, since you've improved so much: your goal for today is to read a special book...how about...this one!" Meinhard reached onto the bookshelf and retrieved a book designed with red leather.

The young man handed the book to Ren before hurrying off into the mansion.

"The Trials of Elias" He read the title imprinted on the cover of the book, running his fingers over each symbol.

It was a feeling of accomplishment and pride each time he managed to read something in this world's language on his own. He decided to finish his breakfast before attempting to read--as not to accidentally litter the book with crumbs while trying to multitask. Flipping the book to the first page, he slowly began to read it, having to study each word to fully understand what was being written.

Going at this pace, it took him roughly five minutes to read through a page--but through this arduous way of reading, he managed to understand it completely.

"This was a real guy in this world?" He commented to himself as his eyes scanned over the page.

"Born without a name, without the love of a mother or father--he was a soul privy to corruption. Yet, in all of that darkness, he created light.

"Elias", that was the name given to him by the knight who adopted the boy.

He was an inexplicable being--living for no other reason than for the happiness of others.

The hero who represented hope for humanity in the eyes of the gods, he was the first human to be born without any of the seven deadly sins of man.

A man who knew nothing of greed, tempted not by money or fame, but for the good of the world.

A man who never experienced wrath, judging all with the eyes of a saint.

A man who never bathed in sloth, acting diligently to protect those in the kingdom.

A man who never gave in to his own glutton, wanting nothing for himself and all for others.

A man who envied none, appreciating the quality of those who stood around him.

A man who never displayed pride, standing at the pinnacle of man but looking up at others.

A man who never experienced lust, swayed not by the sweet temptations of women.

And when the gods displayed their own wrath, he gave his essence to seal their hatred."

That was the first passage in the book--Ren found himself entranced by the enigma of the story of this hero already. To him, the man the story focused on didn't even sound human--not just by his selfless actions, but by the unexplainable emotions he displayed. He continued reading, engrossing himself into the story of this hero before hours began to pass without him noticing. Back on Earth--hell would be frozen over before you would find him willingly reading a book for the fun of it, but due to the lack of technological interference--books were the next best thing.

Through his own fascination with the story of this selfless hero, his reading began to quicken as the words became natural to him.

"If you want to meet again, I will promise you that much will happen. No matter what.

If a miracle is required, then a miracle I shall create.

After all, if a simple boy from the country like me can put an end even to the wrath of those who sleep in the heavens--then who is to say I can't make the girl I love happy?"

Those were the final words of Elias he spoke to his wife before sealing off the heavens from the mortal realm. Even in the face of immediate death--he showed the true attributes of a hero, through and through. Reading about such an incredible figure made him feel both inadequate as a human and man, but also made him want to strive to be better.

He shut the book, coming back to reality as he realized just how long he had been sitting there reading as his stomach growled in want of lunch.

"Knock, knock," A sudden knock on the door followed the verbal form of the sound.

Meinhard stood in the doorway, wiping his hands with a white rag. He was visibly sweating with slightly ragged breathing.

"You look like you just ran a marathon," Ren cracked a joke at his friend's exasperated state.

"Actually, I had the task of cooking a wyvern chicken--it was given to me alive," Meinhard corrected him, wiping the sweat off of his forehead with the rag.

"A wyvern...chicken?" Ren slowly annunciated the words, giving him a questioning look.

Meinhard ignored his curious glance and walked over to the desk, picking up the book Ren had been reading and flipping through the pages.

"How far did you get?"

"I finished it," Ren answered, rubbing his finger against the groove of his lip somewhat bashfully.

The look the young chef gave him was that one that doubted his words but quickly shifted into a smile before setting the book down once more.

"I guess I'm a pretty good teacher, huh? Maybe this is my true calling," Meinhard grinned.

"Yeah, yeah," Ren sighed, "so Elias was really a real hero in this world? It's kind of hard to believe with all the crazy things he accomplished. Defeating mountain-sized monsters, finding "origin magic"--whatever that is, sounds crazy though. It even says he managed to seal the heavens."

"If you think that's absurd, then you should know that is just one book covering one aspect of his legend," Meinhard reached onto the shelf, retrieving a few books.

"One book? This covered his entire life though--from birth to death," Ren raised an eyebrow, watching Meinhard place the books down on his desk.

"It's hard to explain--Elias is kind of a concept in this world. As long as there is evil in this world and the concept of a hero is needed, Elias will come to humanity's aid--at least, that's what I've been taught. Although, his incarnation in this age hasn't been seen yet," Meinhard explained, tapping the side of his head as he recalled this information.

Meinhard's explanation only further complicated it for Ren, answering one question and creating a dozen more.

"Anyway--since we're both done with our tasks for the day, I think we can use some fresh air," Meinhard stretched his book by shifting side to side.

"For once, going outside sounds like a pretty good idea," Ren got up from his seat, feeling light-headed for a second as he had been sitting in the same position for hours on end.

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