Chapter 186: Chapter: 185 The legend of superheros.

"Long, long ago," Nathaniel began in a deep and mysterious voice, "our world stood on the edge of complete destruction.

The skies were burning, oceans were shaking, mountains were breaking apart, and right when all hope seemed lost... a huge purple man appeared from the stars to conquer everything."

As he spoke, he slowly raised one hand toward the ceiling like an old actor performing on a giant stage.

The sunlight from the window fell across half his face, making him look strangely dramatic despite the fact that he was sitting on the floor beside a bookshelf.

Rosel stared at him with full focus.

Nathaniel slowly leaned closer toward her and lowered his voice.

"You’ve read about the Revengers, right?"

Rosel nodded so hard that both her ponytails bounced wildly behind her head.

"Yes! They’re the superheroes who saved the world!" she said excitedly before suddenly pausing mid sentence.

Confusion slowly appeared on her face and she blinked several times in a row.

"But Grandpa... weren’t they fictional?"

Nathaniel immediately froze.

Then a long, tired sigh escaped from his mouth as he dramatically lowered himself onto the floor completely.

He looked exhausted beyond words, like an old man who had spent decades carrying a terrible burden alone.

"Fictional..." he muttered while rubbing his forehead heavily. "That’s what they wanted people to believe..."

Rosel’s eyes widened instantly.

Without wasting another second, she quickly sat down in front of him with unbelievable seriousness written across her tiny face.

Her small hands rested on her knees while she stared at him with the attention of someone listening to the greatest secret in human history.

Nathaniel glanced at her for a moment before continuing in the tone of an old grandfather remembering the glorious days of his youth.

"The comics were based on real events," he said slowly.

Rosel nearly stopped breathing.

She knew the Revengers very well. Iron Can, Captain Auranel, Thoratos, Captain Vahana, Eagle, Gulk, Centipede Man and many others.

She had read the comics countless times and even argued with other children over which hero was the strongest.

Personally, she liked Thoratos the most because his hammer looked cool and because he screamed before every attack for absolutely no reason.

"In truth," Nathaniel continued while lowering his voice further, "those stories were all real."

Rosel unconsciously leaned closer.

Nathaniel took another heavy breath before speaking again.

"When Ganos arrived, he defeated everyone. Entire armies fell before him. Cities were destroyed in minutes. Even the strongest heroes could barely survive a single attack from him. And the worst part..." Nathaniel paused dramatically while narrowing his eyes, "he wasn’t even using the power of his Chaotic Rings."

Rosel covered her mouth in shock. Nathaniel slowly placed one hand against his chest.

"Even I lost."

Rosel’s jaw dropped open so widely that Nathaniel briefly worried a mosquito might fly inside.

"EVEN YOU?!" she shouted loudly.

Nathaniel nodded with a dark expression, though inwardly he was trying very hard not to laugh at her reaction.

But suddenly Rosel narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Wait a second..." she muttered while looking at him carefully.

"Grandpa... wasn’t all this supposed to happen a really really long time ago? Then how are you still al..."

"LET ME EXPLAIN."

Nathaniel instantly cut her off before she could finish speaking.

Rosel immediately closed her mouth and nodded obediently. Of course. Heavy secrets required patience. She understood that now because she herself was carrying one.

Nathaniel slowly turned his face toward the window while pretending to remember painful memories from the past.

"The truth is..." he whispered quietly, "this world is fake."

Rosel froze completely.

For a full two seconds, the little girl simply stared at him without blinking. Then all the color slowly drained from her face.

"W-What...?"

Nathaniel turned toward her with the face of a man revealing the final truth of the universe itself.

"This world was created from the last remaining power of Ganos."

Rosel immediately shot up from the floor in panic.

"What do you mean fake?!" she cried out while waving both arms around wildly. "What about Papa?! Mama?! What about me?! Are we ghosts?!"

Nathaniel suddenly chuckled softly and waved one hand dismissively. "Relax, relax. You’re all real."

Rosel instantly calmed down slightly, though she still looked deeply horrified.

"The people are real," Nathaniel explained while trying his hardest to maintain a straight face.

"But the world itself is different from the original one. After Ganos defeated us, we realized something terrible. We could never beat him without sacrificing something important."

Rosel slowly sat back down on the floor again. Her tiny face had become unbelievably serious now. Nathaniel had never seen a child listen so carefully in his entire life.

"At that time," Nathaniel continued proudly, "the heroes you know today were still our disciples."

Rosel blinked repeatedly.

Nathaniel began counting on his fingers one by one. "Iron Can. Captain Auranel. Thoratos. Captain Vahana. Eagle. Gulk. Centipede Man. All of them trained under us back then."

Then he puffed up his chest proudly. "Especially under Eli."

Rosel’s eyes sparkled immediately. "Grandma was THAT strong?!"

Nathaniel snorted loudly. "That woman?" he said while pointing dramatically toward the outside world.

"She once punched Gulk so hard that he flew across three entire countries."

Rosel gasped loudly.

Nathaniel continued confidently now that he had fully entered storytelling mode.

"Thoratos once challenged her to a duel because he thought nobody could defeat the mighty God of Thunder."

"What happened?!" Rosel asked excitedly.....at this point she understood one thing clearly, her grandma was one of the strongest..... However, surely she can’t beat Thoratos, right?

Nathaniel crossed his arms calmly. "She beat him using a slipper."

Rosel screamed in absolute disbelief. "No way!!"

"Yes way."

"That’s impossible!"

Nathaniel slapped his knee angrily.

"I WAS THERE!"

"No..." Rosel muttered weakly as she dramatically dropped onto her butt again.

She looked completely devastated, like her entire understanding of the universe had shattered in front of her eyes. "How can Thoratos lose... and to a slipper too..."

Her small face slowly twisted in disbelief while she stared blankly at the floor.

"He’s the strongest hero..."

Nathaniel remained completely calm on the outside, though inwardly he was trying very hard not to burst into laughter.

The child looked genuinely traumatized. At this point, it seemed more likely for her to accept that the moon was made of noodles than believe Thoratos had lost to a house slipper.

Still, Nathaniel knew this was the perfect moment to continue. The iron was hot. All he had to do now was keep hammering.

"When Ganos defeated us," Nathaniel continued in a heavy voice, "we thought everything was over. Entire cities vanished. Oceans split apart. Mountains collapsed. And after that..."

His expression darkened further, "Ganos used the power of the Chaotic Rings to erase half the world itself."

Rosel slowly looked up at him.

Nathaniel lowered his head slightly. "Many of our disciples disappeared that day. Even Centipede Man was erased."

Rosel gasped softly.

Nathaniel’s face slowly became solemn, as if the story had finally reached its final and most painful Chapter.

"But then," he said quietly, "your grandma made the greatest sacrifice in history to save everyone."

Rosel froze completely.

At this point she no longer even had the courage to interrupt him anymore.

Her mind was already in complete chaos after learning that her favorite superhero Thoratos had apparently been beaten by her grandmother’s slipper.

Nathaniel slowly continued in the tone of an old hero remembering ancient tragedy.

"Eli realized something very important during the battle. Nobody in existence could stand against Ganos except her. But even she alone was not enough to win."

Rosel stared at him silently.

"So," Nathaniel whispered dramatically, "she used the greatest forbidden spell ever created."

Rosel’s eyes widened again.

"She split herself into two."

This instantly snapped Rosel back into reality.

Her eyes locked onto Nathaniel with full attention again. At this point, she looked one emotional speech away from replacing Thoratos posters with Elizabeth posters.

"One became Elizabeth," Nathaniel explained slowly. "The other became Kathlyin. Both of them entered the final battle against Ganos together."

Nathaniel suddenly paused and rubbed his chin. "What was the name of that battle again..."

Rosel instantly raised her hand excitedly despite sitting directly in front of him.

"The Last Game!"

"Exactly!" Nathaniel pointed at her proudly. "The Last Game!"

Rosel looked unbelievably happy from remembering the reference correctly.

Nathaniel continued immediately before the excitement could fade.

"The battle lasted for five entire days. Five days without rest. The skies broke apart from their attacks. Entire continents shook every time they clashed. Everyone else, including me..."

Nathaniel placed a hand against his chest before speaking with emphasis, "and even THORATOS..."

Rosel flinched slightly at the name.

"...could only watch helplessly."

Nathaniel lowered his voice dramatically.

"In the final moments, Ganos used all the Chaotic Rings at once. He tried to erase both Eli and Kathlyin completely from existence."

Rosel grabbed her own shirt nervously.

"But the two of them blocked the attack together and landed one final critical hit on Ganos."

Nathaniel slowly closed his eyes. "Unfortunately... the power of the Chaotic Rings erased their memories."

Rosel’s lips slowly parted.

Nathaniel nodded sadly. "They forgot everything. The battles. Their powers. Their past. Even the people they fought beside."

The room became quiet for a moment.

Then Nathaniel sighed heavily again before continuing.

"After Ganos was defeated, the world itself began collapsing. Space was breaking apart. The oceans were disappearing. Everyone would have died."

Rosel listened without blinking.

"At that moment," Nathaniel said softly, "Iron Can made the ultimate sacrifice."

Rosel’s eyes instantly became watery.

"He used the power of the Chaotic Rings to create a brand new world... the world we live in today."

Nathaniel lowered his head. "In the process, all the superheroes disappeared."

He paused briefly. "...Even Gulk."

A single tear slowly rolled down Nathaniel’s cheek.

Honestly, even Nathaniel himself did not know why he was becoming emotional while telling complete nonsense.

But somehow the atmosphere had become so dramatic that even he started getting pulled into it.

Across from him, Rosel’s nose suddenly twitched..Then another time. Soon her eyes became watery too.

She quickly sniffed loudly while trying her absolute hardest not to cry.

Nathaniel looked at her with a gentle expression before speaking again in a quieter voice.

"After that, life slowly started again. Eli eventually met me once more and fell in love with me all over again."

Rosel nodded emotionally while wiping her nose.

"But because Kathlyin was originally part of Eli," Nathaniel continued carefully, "she carried the same feelings too."

Rosel froze. The little girl slowly looked up at him with the face of someone finally understanding an ancient mystery.

Nathaniel then leaned closer and lowered his voice one final time.

"And this next secret may shock you the most..."

Rosel unconsciously held her breath.

Nathaniel pointed proudly at himself. "The anonymous writer who created the Revengers comics..."

He paused dramatically. "...was your grandpa."

Rosel’s eyes nearly exploded out of her skull.

"NO WAYYYYYY!!"

*******

A/N

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