Chapter 228: The Descendant of the True Savior
Aaron decisively refused. Kriya is the eldest daughter of the Darwin family, also a Hidden Family, and they are childhood sweethearts, but he had never thought about forming a family with her someday.
"It's not that serious, is it?" Lisanna said jokingly. "You and Lyon have always had a good relationship!"
"Our relationship is good, but only if I don't harbor intentions toward his sister," Aaron said with a mix of sadness and indignation. "I was only seven that year, and just because I pinched Kriya's cheek, he immediately threw our brotherhood aside and aggressively challenged me to a duel. The ship of friendship sank just like that."
"But you won!" Vico said. "I remember your grandfather even praised you back then."
"Heh heh!"
"There are many kinds of wins, and one of them is called a tragic victory." Aaron pulled a long face. "The potential of a sister-complex brother in front of his sister is infinite. I only managed to beat him down after paying the price of a black and blue face. Since then, I haven't dared to have any physical contact with Kriya."
"Son," Lisanna couldn't help but laugh, patting Aaron's shoulder. "That was years ago. You are both grown up now; you shouldn't hold a grudge.
And Kriya has said more than once that she wants to marry you when she grows up, and even now, she still feels the same way.
We have also discussed it with the Darwin Patriarch. As long as you agree, you can get engaged immediately, and you can walk down the aisle together after you come of age."
Hearing this, Aaron looked utterly bewildered; he was completely stunned.
What's going on? Is my charm really that great?
But thinking back to the love letters he received at Hogwarts, he had to humbly admit it.
"What about Lyon? What did he say?"
Aaron desperately hoped this good brother would activate his sister-complex attribute. If Lyon just said no, Aaroncould naturally and tactfully refuse: It's not that I disagree, it's that your brother disagrees.
"I don't know!" Vico shrugged. "He happened not to be home when we arrived, but this isn't really his business anyway.
Kriya herself agrees, and both sets of parents agree. Unless he wants his sister to die alone, he will convince himself."
"Now, only your opinion remains. You know Kriya better than we do. Her character, personality, family background, ability, and looks are all perfect..."
"I don't agree." Aaron interrupted Lisanna. "I have always treated her like a sister."
"Sigh!" Vico let out a long sigh, looking at his son with a complicated expression, and lamented, "I told your mother the same thing back then, but facts prove that feelings can be cultivated."
Aaron:... Lisanna smiled meaningfully. "Everything is possible in the future."
Aaron pursed his lips and decided not to dwell on the matter. He would just brush them off for now.
Everything is possible in the future, but the future is still far away.
He still has five years until he comes of age; who knows what might happen in those five years.
After a moment of silence, Aaron smiled and nodded. "Understood, I will consider it."
"Then we will notify the Darwin family," Vico asked tentatively.
"Wait? I just said I'd consider it, I didn't say I immediately agreed!"
"Then what exactly do you mean?"
"Well... I personally think it's better to let nature take its course with this kind of thing, after all, we are still young..."
"Are you trying to stall for time?" Lisanna said helplessly. "I know this is sudden for you, but we truly believe she is the best candidate."
Hoo!
Aaron took a deep breath, then looked at his parents. "Then can you at least consider my feelings a bit?
You said this was just an option, but your stance makes it seem like you want me to walk into the grave of marriage immediately.
I'm only thirteen! And Kriya is a year younger than me!"
Hearing this, the two looked at each other and fell silent.
After more than ten seconds, Vico finally said earnestly, "We won't force you to make a decision, but keeping this list is fine, right?"
"That's acceptable." Aaron quickly gathered the kraft paper from the table and put it back into the file bag. "I'll keep it in my bedroom. You must be satisfied with that!"
Lisanna didn't say anything, only feeling a bit regretful.
When Aaron came downstairs, he saw a serious-looking Vico and was momentarily stunned. This was the first time he had felt the majesty of the Patriarch emanating from his father.
"The secret that the Gaius family has guarded for thousands of years is finally going to be passed down to the next generation."
"Tell me, Aaron Gaius, are you ready?"
Aaron was utterly speechless internally. It sounded as if not being ready would allow him to postpone it.
"I'm ready."
"That's good. Follow me!"
"Do I need to change clothes or do some preparatory work?"
"No need."
Vico strode out of the living room, leading Aaron to the entrance of the Treasury.
Lisanna silently followed behind them. Abey, whom she was holding, seemed to sense the solemn atmosphere and behaved especially well.
He took a black key from his pocket and handed it to Aaron. "It's better if you open this door yourself."
Aaron took the key, carefully inserted it into the lock, and slowly turned it.
Although he hadn't truly prepared, he still felt a surge of excitement knowing he was about to access the family's core.
"Calm down." Vico placed a hand on Aaron's shoulder, smiling and shaking his head at his son. "You've walked past this door countless times."
"But this time is different."
"It certainly is different. How about you guess what's inside first?"
Aaron rolled his eyes at Vico and pushed the door open directly.
The truth was right in front of him; he had no time for guessing games!
"My son is much more straightforward than you," Lisannachuckled, walking in with Abey.
As soon as the few of them entered, the door of the Chamber of Secrets swiftly closed, disappearing into the space.
Aaron stared wide-eyed at the space suspended in the void, involuntarily swallowing.
This Chamber of Secrets seemed to be built at the center of the universe, boundless and endless, truly like an independent world, filled with mystical colors.
A massive tree spanned the exact center of the world. Above it were countless stars; almost every leaf was connected to a star, obscuring the entire night sky.
Below it was a magnificent Altar, where the giant tree was rooted, occasionally emitting brilliant light.
A huge book slowly flipped open in front of the Altar. Various scripts and graphics continuously appeared and dissipated on the pages, as if it could never be fully written.
"This is damn magnificent!"
"I made the exact same exclamation when I first saw it." Vicowalked up to the Altar and respectfully bowed to the massive book.
"Come and bow. This is the true history of our family."
Aaron complied, but for some reason, he actually felt emotions of joy and excitement emanating from the book.
"You should be able to tell that this tree is the crest of the Gaius family.
Can you make a connection?"
Aaron frowned. "Don't tell me the origin of the Gaius family is related to this tree?"
"No." Vico shook his head meaningfully. "To be precise, this tree was created by Gaius.
Thousands of years ago, an unprecedented genius appeared in the magic world—our ancestor.
He had no surname, but his given name was passed down by later generations and used as our family name."
"Father," Aaron said somewhat impatiently, "I know all that you're saying."
"Alright, then let's talk about something you don't know.
Gaius could control his own magic power from birth, reached High-level Mage at four, was a Magus at six, a Archmage at nine, a Great Magus at twelve, entered the realm of Saint Magus at sixteen, and stepped into the Divine Realm upon adulthood."
"That's impossible." Aaron said incredulously. "Even if Godpersonally fed him, he couldn't grow that fast."
"Son," Vico smiled contemptuously. "Do you believe in the existence of God?"
"Uh..." Aaron replied uncertainly, "Perhaps not."
"God exists, and Satan also exists." Vico pointed to the book behind him. "It is documented in detail here."
Aaron blinked, turning his head in astonishment to look at his mother. "Please tell me this is a joke."
Lisanna smiled without speaking.
"Alright, it seems this isn't a joke.
Why bring this up?"
"To prepare you mentally. After Gaius entered the Divine Realm, he vaguely perceived the barrier of a higher level.
To go further, he chose to leave this world and explore a new path.
But exploration was destined not to be smooth sailing. During this process, he often saw Gods of all sizes fighting in the universe, either to compete for faith, seize resources, or because of ridiculous personal grudges.
The protracted Divine War started at an unknown time, but it seemed it would never end.
Countless planets collapsed, split, and were created and reformed in the fierce battles. Reality and illusion intertwined, and spatial-temporal turbulence was everywhere.
He was also forced into it, but his talent was too high and his strength too great. Not only was he unharmed, but he even calculated his opponents' abilities during the fights and integrated them into himself.
He continuously perfected his own laws through battle, successfully broke through to a higher level, and even gained control over a portion of the universe's authority."
"This... does it have to be this exaggerated?" Aaron was so astonished he could barely speak, only managing to open his mouth with difficulty after a long moment. "Storybooks don't even write things like this."
Vico curled his lip in disdain. "Don't limit your thinking too much. There are always people who can surpass your imagination."
Aaron was instantly speechless. "Go on."
"He used absolute power to stop the War of the Gods, but instead of killing anyone, he organized them to sign a contract."
Aaron:... No wonder my family loves talking about contracts so much!
The reason is found; turns out this is ancestral!
"The Deities performed their respective duties, were forbidden from interfering with the authority of others without cause, and were forbidden from wantonly slaughtering mortals. From then on, the balance of good and evil in the world was achieved.
Oh, and these people included the so-called God," Vico said teasingly. "Although he stopped the continuous destruction of the world, the world itself was already overwhelmed and precarious.
Our ancestor noticed this and wanted to heal the universe, but even after exhausting all means, he only managed to slow down the speed of the universe's collapse."
"And then?" Aaron asked eagerly.
"Then Gaius returned to this world," Vico said emotionally. "He didn't make himself into a God but lived as an ordinary person, not revealing even a trace of his magic power.
While experiencing life, he fell in love with a woman and formed a happy Wizard family.
Besides marrying and having children, Gaius also took three exceptionally talented apprentices and taught them different categories of magic."
"Wait, hold on." Aaron suddenly thought of something. "Three apprentices? Don't tell me it's..."
"That's right, it's them." Vico counted on his fingers. "Darwinwas responsible for spreading knowledge and recording all accurate history.
Ishkar was responsible for prevention and protection. If the world were ever engulfed in war, they would take immediate emergency measures to protect all Wizards, including Muggle-borns.
As for Klein, he was responsible for deterrence. The fact that this world has not been invaded by external forces so far is thanks to their efforts.
And Gaius was responsible for establishing contact with other worlds. There is a reason why the four Hidden Families have always watched out for and assisted each other."
"So that's how it is!"
Aaron used to find it surprising why the relationship between their families could last for thousands of years without deteriorating.
Now the mystery is solved. The master-apprentice relationship thousands of years ago was similar to that of father and son. Stretching the explanation a bit, their families are distant relatives.
"Do you think it ends here?"
"It doesn't?"
"Of course not." Vico smiled and shook his head. "After his wife passed away peacefully, he returned to the stars.
He felt his life had been exciting enough, so he wanted to do something more meaningful.
He surrendered his authority, sacrificed his physical body and soul, and repaired the rift in the universe.
In fact, only he could do this, not because he controlled part of the universe's authority, nor because of his immense strength, but because only he was willing to do it.
Because in the eyes of those high and mighty Gods, the destruction of the universe was only a matter of time.
Powerful enough Gods would go to other universes to create new Divine Domains, and the less powerful Gods would do the same, although their living space would be much smaller, and if they were unlucky, they would have to live under the protection of others."
After listening, Aaron was stunned for a long time.
He knew his family's first ancestor would be remarkable, but in his mind, the most remarkable thing would be saving the world, or perhaps saving the galaxy—something a God of Magic could achieve with enough effort.
But he never expected that his ancestor saved an entire universe. That's absolutely amazing!
"That's too magnificent, but if it were me, I wouldn't follow his example," Aaron sighed. "I don't have my ancestor's abilities, nor his ideological awareness.
Perhaps in his eyes, the sacrifice was meaningful, but I might never do such a thing."
Smack!
As soon as he finished speaking, a slap landed on Aaron's head.
"Sometimes sacrifice is necessary," Vico lectured his son, frustrated by his lack of ambition. "The Gaius family is what it is today because of the sacrifices of our ancestors."
"I didn't say anything wrong!" Aaron said aggrievedly. "Dad, you know me. The spirit of sacrificing oneself to save the world has nothing to do with me."
"It's good that you think that way." Lisanna let out a huge sigh of relief. "The ancestor's greatness is his business. Your mother actually hopes you can be a little selfish."
Hearing this, Vico rolled his eyes, speechless.
That might be true, but is it really appropriate to be so blunt?