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- Ask your question, Garrett. No one will overhear us here.
Garrett remained silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts.
— Remember that skull I used to carry everywhere? To me, it was more than just sentimental value; I also perceived it as a kind of symbol of faith. An embodiment of the culture of my and Harold's homeland, a small piece of national identity that, by a twist of fate, I took with me to Anuzish, as well as a reminder of a once-fulfilled religious duty. There is a spiritual bond between us, sealed by the ritual of raising the dead—that is how it works. That is why I did not bury him.
Feeling that his brother was about to launch into long stories and rambling reflections that would be detailed for an indefinite amount of time, Harold decided to speed up the process slightly.
— Garrett raised me as a skeleton because that's our tradition. Then he got stabbed, and my head was knocked off in the fray; that's how it went.
The elder shook his head slightly, but did not further reprimand him for interfering, though it didn't cancel out the looming long monologue.
— Well, roughly speaking, yes, that is correct. Aster is a land where the dead exist in harmony with the living, raised by their loved ones to be faithful companions and helpers; such is the tradition and key feature of our faith. We also figuratively characterized our wonderful corner on the edge of civilization as the "desert of bones," and there was an abundance of both. It is assumed that harsh environmental conditions contributed to the birth of such a belief—in their strive for survival, Asterians found a way to turn death itself to the benefit of the living and thus founded their unique community, which is closely tied to the dogmas of the Unnameable.
— When the mandate of Sincerity was announced in Margelle, I told Patriarch Eugene about my origin and culture. In response, he shared with me knowledge of the current state not only of Aster, but of all Visteria—my home world lies in ruins, and all that awaits it is inevitable oblivion. With this, he confirmed what Her Radiance Naria had previously told me. With the permission of Anuzish, the patriarch set me on the path of atonement for past sins and let me go in peace, for which I should be eternally grateful to the merciful goddess. At the same time, he warned me against pursuing the supernatural and instructed me to leave a bright memory of my world.
— That is where the snag lies, another religious difficulty that has been troubling me lately. After all, Asterian culture—for me, this is that very bright memory of Visteria that I carried through space and would like to preserve. However... Kallina, can you imagine what would happen if I walked the streets of Margelle telling people that raising undead is a good thing? It would be utterly foolish, given the political and religious climate. What happened in Nephiria—the soulless transformation of the living population into undead and its militarization—is a catastrophe that remains a dark stain on Anuzish to this day. The Many-Faced Monogath, in his madness, perverted the idea of unlife, pitting it against the empire and society of the living itself—now it is a curse and a stigma. So it is obvious that Asterian ideals are not viable in current Welfern, and moreover, may be considered dangerous and subject to destruction. And this weighs on me: the understanding that all these contradictions stifle in the bud any initiative to elevate my belief as you did with Ikigai or Ayano with Kamimori. At the same time, I also understand that the covenants by which my people lived were never intended for the masses; it is a very localized thing. Not to mention that I was not a priest in my past life and know only a small fraction of the mysteries, and being cosmically converted, they are completely inaccessible to me. So, on the matter of preserving the memory of Aster's culture, I am somewhat at a dead end. My best idea was to establish a memorial somewhere far from Welfern, where people's lives are as difficult as in Aster, and where it could potentially become salvation for someone. Or perhaps, as the patriarch said, I should not interfere with the natural order of things on Anuzish and simply let my ancestral beliefs rest in peace, however strange that may sound in this context. So... I need a third party's opinion, Kallina, and I hope your advice will clarify how I should handle this matter.