Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2024 1996. Kinship
"What can you do?" Lann expressed doubt about Melina's overreach. "The extinguished flames in that cauldron were suppressed to the point where only ashes remain when Gofule led his army, along with Queen Marika, at the height of their power."

"What method do you have to make it flourish again, flourish enough to burn down the gold tree?"

Melina was serious, but her statement remained as brief as before: "I will prepare the fire."

“What do you mean by ‘fire’? Or should I just ask?” Lan crossed his arms, glanced back at the steps behind him, which were also the opening of the Golden Tree, and then turned around to say, “Who exactly are you, Melina?”

Lan En's voice echoed in the wide crack in the tree trunk.

Yes, what Melina showed in front of Lan En was very abnormal from the very beginning.

All the abnormalities in her can be boiled down to one question: Who is she?
How could she know so much knowledge that wasn't widely circulated in the border region, and was even considered a closely guarded secret?

Her knowledge was far too broad and comprehensive, and that was not all.

She even knew about the knowledge concerning external deities, various laws, and gods and humans that should have been sealed and destroyed by the Golden Dynasty.

This soul girl who appeared during the chaos of Rodel and found herself was someone Lan En always knew whose identity was not simple, but he never expected it to happen today.

After arriving at the foot of the Golden Tree, a place that could almost be considered the core of the world's rules, Melina's identity not only did not become clear, but became even more elusive.

Melina, with her burn scars on her hands, instinctively clenched the edge of her wide cloak as Lan En questioned her, pulling it tighter around herself.

Even today, the cloak that originally belonged to Lan En still seems too large for her.

Instead of directly answering Lan En's question, Melina said, "There are proverbs in this place."

Melina glanced around from the steps; apart from the stone steps, there was only the wood of the golden tree.

“Those are the words of wisdom left behind by Queen Marika, who was imprisoned inside the Golden Tree. If you would like to hear them, I can repeat them for you.”

Lan En looked at the girl standing on the steps above, whose head was level with his own, and felt a sudden ache in his teeth and a headache.

"Hiss~ It's one thing to involve external deities, but now it's even involving the Eternal Queen?"

Melina made no move; she simply looked at Lan En with a barely perceptible smile.

She only spoke after the Witcher nodded helplessly.

"Then I will simply repeat the proverb:"

“Oh, Rdagan, loyal hound of the Golden Law. You are not me, you are not a god. My half, shatter each other!”

The soul girl's voice remained calm throughout; she simply repeated what she had said, and even the parts of the sentences that should have been emotionally charged were simply stated in a straightforward manner.

She looks just like the kind of emotionless, emotionless girl that Lan En watched in anime when he was in school.

But even just reciting the words, the so-called 'Marika's Proverbs' she uttered left the Witcher completely stunned.

It's simply because the amount of information contained within is so vast and astonishing.

What does it mean to be a 'loyal dog of the Golden Law'?
In border areas, referring to a person as a dog is mostly an insult and a derogatory term.

Marika called Rdagan a 'loyal dog of the Golden Law'? Isn't the Golden Law the law she herself bears?

My husband is a loyal dog of my law, why should I scold him?
So what exactly is Marika's stance?
It's understandable that Radagan isn't a deity yet. After all, according to the rules of the borderlands, only one deity can be a true god at any given time.

The rest are simply 'external deities' or 'god-men' who lack the ability to present their laws to the Elden Ring.

Rdagan previously promoted his own "Golden Law Fundamentals," suggesting he is someone with goals and ambitions in the belief system, but clearly there is still a gap between him and Queen Marika.

Finally, Marika refers to Radagan as 'my other half'...

To be honest, if most people heard this, they would probably think that the Eternal Queen and Rdagan have a very deep bond.

Brothers addressing each other as "brothers" and lovers calling each other "my darling" are all ways of comparing others to a part of oneself, highlighting the intimacy of the relationship.

Although what Queen Marika calls a 'half-body' is somewhat rare, it's not impossible.

But Lan En is different.

Melina's pronouncements on Marika's wisdom suddenly reminded Lann of that chaotic beginning, the night of the Black Knife conspiracy.

As Prince Godwin's body lay in the Golden Tree Cathedral, and everyone present was in a state of panic, Lann returned from outside the city with the Black Knife Dish, whom he had captured.

He didn't have time to see more, but he did witness the argument between the Eternal Queen and the King Consort, and their departure filled with sadness and anger.

At that moment, his [spiritual vision] glanced over.

The illusory image of the Elden Ring residing in the god's body shone with a golden light that seemed to pierce his brain from his eyes.

The golden light lingered on the retina for a long time.

But the key point is—he saw the illusion of the Elden Ring within both Queen Marika and Rdagan's bodies! That was clearly proof of the One True God!
Only by allowing one's own laws to operate on the Ring of Law can one be considered a deity, and only in this way can the phantom of the Ring of Law reside within the body of a deity.

Under such conditions, how could the illusory image of the Dharma ring appear on two people at the same time?
Lan En had assumed that the fleeting glance he had just received was due to being blinded by the brilliant golden light of the magic ring illusion, causing him to see a double image.

But now it seems...

Rdagan is not an independent 'person,' but rather a 'half-body' created by Queen Marika?!

To split one's own existence in two and exist independently is not too outrageous in Lan En's view.

Strictly speaking, the Abe no Seimei whom he has now hired as an advisor on Onmyōdō is also a self-alter created by the original Heian period Abe no Seimei in the magical Japanese Sengoku world, by combining his own guardian spirit with Onmyōdō.

This stand-in has thoughts, can independently collect information from the outside world and make judgments, and even has the ability to teach and develop Yin-Yang techniques.

They are far more self-aware than most people.

This is something that only an Onmyoji and his guardian spirit can do. For Marika, a deity, this shouldn't be difficult either.

However, it was a woman who split into a man.

Then, if the rest of the records are correct, they also gave birth to the Twin Trees.

...Having given birth to a child with its own half, the twins of the Sacred Tree are such that one never grows up, and the other has been suffering from putrefaction since birth. This deformed and diseased form really does seem like the result of inbreeding.

No, this doesn't even count as inbreeding, this is self-fertilization!
The gods' ethical views and family relationships made Lan En feel that his own values ​​were being challenged.

However, with Mentos's help, he quickly solidified his internal logic and beliefs.

Outwardly, he frowned and paused for a moment after hearing Melina repeat the proverb, before resuming his thoughtful expression.

“I remember you told me before that you wanted to find out the mission your mother gave you, the reason why your soul was able to remain even though your body was burned.”

Lan En suddenly asked a seemingly nonsensical question, but then...

"So, what should you call that Blessed King?" Lan En pointed behind him with his thumb, indicating that Mongot hadn't followed them to the Supreme Platform. "If he's truly legitimate, then shouldn't he be considered your brother?"

Melina didn't answer; she simply lowered her head, as if she hadn't yet accepted the form of address and the relationship.

But that in itself is also an answer.

Queen Marika's words of wisdom were a signal that she was going to war with King Fraldagan.

This battle between king and god could only possibly happen on the day the Elden Ring is shattered.

Only two parties involved were present.

And since Melina is so clear about what was said in a situation where there are only two people, she can almost certainly be one of those two people.

If Marika can create a Radagan from herself, and Melina previously said it was a 'mission given by her mother,' then it's almost certain that she is another individual created by Queen Marika during that battle between the king and the god.

She is essentially a daughter born directly from Queen Marika.

It's only been a few months since the Elden Ring shattered. Considering all that, Melina might be Queen Marika's youngest daughter.

She has to call any demigod she encounters "brother" or "sister".

But if she emphasizes that she is a direct alter ego of Marika, then perhaps the hierarchy will be reversed, and she will become the eldest.

The family relationships of the gods are truly in a mess due to supernatural forces.

Melina didn't give a direct answer about who she was, but just by repeating that one sentence, Lan En was already able to guess pretty much who she was based on the information he already had.

The golden tree rejects everything from the outside world; there's no point in it staying here any longer.

Even though Melina possessed the memories and knowledge given to her by Queen Marika, there was nothing she could do.

In addition, she and Lan En had been talking here for quite some time, so the girl transformed into an invisible spirit. Lan En shook his head, put on a solemn and incredulous expression, yet forced to suppress it, and walked down the stone steps toward the exit of the highest platform.

Mongot remained standing sideways in the doorway, glancing sideways at Lann as he approached, showing no surprise at his expression.

"It is truly commendable that you could suppress your emotions after witnessing the cruel truth," he said to Lan En. "However, Lord Lan En, the truth is still the truth, no matter how cruel it may be."

"In this world that can be predicted to become increasingly cruel and devastating, I need your support. Please remember my invitation. For the Golden Law."

Lan En hurried down the stairs, giving a heavy nod to Meng Gete before continuing his journey as if he were fleeing.

Montgomery didn't care about this.

Or rather, in his view, having witnessed the current state of the Golden Tree firsthand, Lan En's reaction was relatively calm.

(End of this chapter)