Chapter 1064: Dad Of The Year
<span style="font-weight:400">After we returned back to my Admin Room, Dana immediately went to begin carrying out the instructions that I had given her while we were still at Sarah’s ce. Meanwhile, I informed the others what the cost of ‘perfecting’ our Hypene Network would be. Once that information was out there, a somber atmosphere filled the room.
<span style="font-weight:400">I let Terra know that I was nning for this to be a sacrifice worthy of being recorded in the Heroic Spirits, and Terra agreed wholeheartedly. After all, the primary condition was for one to sacrifice themselves for the sake of a or universe, even at the cost of certain death.
<span style="font-weight:400">Thankfully, Dana knew who to tell this information to. Rather than putting this information out in front of the public, and having them put pressure on the Fallen Gods to protect them, she contacted them directly. For those she couldn’t personally inform, she sent the message via Leowynn, who was able to reach them with ease.
<span style="font-weight:400">Now, it became a matter of waiting. There was less than one week before the first world would be in true danger, and it was time to see whether or not people stepped forward.
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<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” Sprigga asked Giles, who stood with her atop the branch of arge tree. When they learned about the iing invasion of memetic monsters, they hurried back to Earth. There was nothing that they could do for their daughters, as they didn’t have the ability to create the Hypene Network on their own.
<span style="font-weight:400">At the same time, the groves that their daughters established were unlikely to draw the attention of those monsters for now, as their poptions were far too small. The amount of information avable from them would only be a fraction of what most upied worlds could offer. However, Giles knew that would change as soon as these barriers were reinforced. At that point, even if the meal was small, they would be the most appetizing dish in the universe.
<span style="font-weight:400">“If… and I mean if. If I ept this… I would ask that they make establishing thosework nodes a priority.” Giles answered, nodding his head towards Sprigga. Neither of them wanted to see their daughtersing to harm, but there was simply no way to transport entire groves to a safe world at this point in time.
<span style="font-weight:400">Sprigga reached out, lightly grabbing her husband’s wrist. She wanted to say that they could have more daughters, but she couldn’t. This threat would persist well beyond this incident. If they let their daughters go now, what would they do in the future? They still wouldn’t have the ability to establish thework, so how would they protect any of their future daughters?
<span style="font-weight:400">Instead of saying anything, she stepped forward, giving him a tight embrace. “If this is your decision… I’ll support you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Giles gave a knowing look towards Sprigga, hugging her in return. “Support me, but don’t join me. Those girls will still need you to guide them.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sprigga hesitated, but merely nodded her head against his chest, keeping her eyes closed. Without letting her go, Giles focused on sending a message. <i><span style="font-weight:400">Lady Jafer.</i>
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Is that you, Giles?</i><span style="font-weight:400"> Dana’s voice spoke back to her. She sounded tired, and Giles could only assume that she was dealing with arge number ofmunications at once.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">That’s correct. If I volunteer for this program… I would like to make one request.</i>
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Tell me what it is, first. I can’t make any promises without hearing, but I’ll do my best if it is within reason.</i><span style="font-weight:400"> Dana replied, sounding slightly rushed.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Sprigga and I have several daughters that we scattered on habitable worlds. Theses aren’t currently within the Hypene system. If we cut off the food supply of these monsters, they will inevitably turn towards those lesser colonized worlds. That’s why… my request would be to have those worlds brought into thework as soon as possible.</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">There was a brief dy when Dana received this message, and her tone softened slightly. <i><span style="font-weight:400">That I can do. No matter what, as long as you give me the coordinates for thes, I’ll make sure that their systems are protected.</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Giles nodded his head, a relieved smile on his face. <i><span style="font-weight:400">What do I need to do, then?</i>
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<span style="font-weight:400">Dana was swarmed with messages, ever since first sending out the information that the Keeper had given her. There was no sharedwork for them tomunicate with and keep up to date on who had volunteered. Nobody knew if someone else had already stepped forward, and that made them less willing to do so themselves, believing that another would have already. If they came upte, they would feel humiliated.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, there were still many that volunteered, but… under strict terms. For instance, the vast majority of the calls that Dana received said that they would only do it if they were promised that they would be preserved in the Heroic Spirits. Dana knew that these people weren’t thinking of this as a sacrifice, but rather as a way to be promoted in life, and so she rejected all of them.
<span style="font-weight:400">Others took it as a reason to be emboldened, asking for what Dana considered even more ridiculous requests. If they were going to sacrifice themselves, they should have onest memory to enjoy. These people said that they would ept if they were allowed to have onest romantic evening with a member of the Greater Pantheon, or even one of the servants of the Keeper. Some even asked for the Keeper himself.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">These</i><span style="font-weight:400"> individuals were not just rejected, but their names werepiled on a list and given to Tsubaki, who seemed… quite perturbed by the report. Dana knew that Tsubaki wouldn’t stoop to killing these Fallen Gods. However… making their lives an eternal hell was definitely within the scope of what she was willing to do.
<span style="font-weight:400">So far, not one person hade forward to volunteer without any conditions at all. There was a deadline of forty-eight hours before the first expected attack, and Dana felt as if that deadline was approaching all too rapidly.
<span style="font-weight:400">Of those that had conditions, only one was a condition that Dana found eptable. When she heard a knock on her door, she already knew who to expect. “Come in.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The door opened, and a golden sylvan entered. Her eyes were slightly swollen and wet, and she hugged a ck sphere to her chest. Dana knew that this sphere was the life core of Giles, she could sense the pure void energy radiating from it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Can I… stay with him, just a little while longer?” Sprigga asked softly, her shoulders trembling.
<span style="font-weight:400">When Dana saw that, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She couldn’t make a widow suffer, seeing how much she loved her husband, just to make this all seem like a sick joketer. Giles had already made his sacrifice. As far as she was concerned, she was allowed to tell Sprigga.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You can, but… there’s something that I have to tell you.” Dana said, pulling up a seat for Sprigga to sit next to her. The sylvan looked at her for only a moment before sitting down, never letting go of the sphere.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Nobody else has volunteered, have they?” She asked, causing Dana’s brow to twitch slightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, they have, but not with eptable terms. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.” Sprigga gave her a brief nce again, the only sign Dana was getting to continue. “Many people have volunteered, under the condition that they would be reborn as part of the Heroic Spirits. Hell, some asked to be made part of the <i><span style="font-weight:400">Greater</i><span style="font-weight:400"> Pantheon. But that defeats the entire purpose of the Heroic Spirits in the first ce.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“The Heroic Spirits isn’t for those that want to give up on this life to live out a grander tale where they can be above everyone else. It’s for people that give up their lives to protect the world, to protect what’s precious to them. Those are the people that the Keeper wants in his Heroic Spirits.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sprigga’s breath hitched at that. For the first time, her focus was entirely on Dana. “You mean…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Dana’s smile softened, and she nodded her head. “He didn’t ask to be let in. He didn’t even think about it. All he wanted was for you and your daughters to be safe. For that, he was willing to give up everything. That’s the type of person that the Keeper wants.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sprigga shuddered, hugging the sphere against her chest a big more tightly. “How long… how long will it take before I can see him again?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Dana paused, thinking that question over. “That depends how long it takes him to adapt. Once he has fully adapted, he will be allowed to create a mortal incarnation. This is done by choosing a new life to designate as his host. Just like everyone else, he’ll start as a newborn, but as long as you are willing to wait for him…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll wait…” Sprigga nodded her head, gently stroking the orb against her chest. “Even if the stars die out, I’ll wait for him.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Dana couldn’t help but chuckle. “I doubt it’ll take <i><span style="font-weight:400">that</i><span style="font-weight:400"> long, but I get the point. Most people I’ve heard about adjust within a few months. After that, he’ll either let you know where he’s being reborn, or he might choose to wait until his incarnation matures toe and surprise you. That is entirely up to him.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sprigga gave another nod. Her eyes were still puffy, but she was no longer fighting back the same, intense grief as she had been before. “But… if nobody else volunteers… what are you going to do?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Dana let out a huff when she heard that. “I’d <i><span style="font-weight:400">like</i><span style="font-weight:400"> to have more faith in people, to be honest. However… since the beginning, I’ve made ns. In truth, we don’t need one Fallen God for every universe. We just need one Fallen God.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Theworks connect like that?” Sprigga asked in surprise, but Dana shook her head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No, they don’t. But… if we have one Fallen God’s pure life core, created by willing sacrifice… there’s not an easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it. If we have that…” Dana pointed at the sphere in Sprigga’s arms. “I can replicate it using the Digital Conversion system. Replicating a single entity’s life core is infinitely easier than any of the other methods I had that could save a universe.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“However… I would prefer to have your consent to do this. I’m not objectifying Giles. The sacrifice that he made was incredibly noble. I do not want to deny this in any way. If other people volunteer without secondary motives, I will allow them to do so. Otherwise… replicating his life core is the only solution to save people.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sprigga hesitated when she heard this. On the one hand, she knew that this was what Giles himself would choose. It cost them nothing, and would be able to save countless lives. The only issue that she had with the n was the fact that it treated him as if he were an item. That felt… wrong on so many levels to her.
<span style="font-weight:400">Regardless, she could understand Dana’s perspective. The stronger a person became, the less they were willing to give up that strength, even if it was for the sake of others. That was why nobody hade forward to volunteer, even among Leowynn’s church which boasted the greatest number of Fallen Gods.
<span style="font-weight:400">In truth, many of them simply didn’t volunteer because they were certain that someone else from the church had already done so. Even if they were willing to make the sacrifice, they wouldn’t step forward under that belief. Originally, Dana had nned to send out a second wave of notices as the deadline came closer, if nobody stepped forward. If she had to ask again, those people who were under that false assumption would realize that wasn’t the case, and be motivated to volunteer.
<span style="font-weight:400">Thankfully, it looked like Dana didn’t have to do that anymore, as she saw Sprigga nod her consent for her n.