Chương 3: The White City Above the Clouds

Nerez let out a weary sigh, and the seriousness on his face contrasted sharply with the expression he had worn until now. He had lost his composure at the beginning, and really, who wouldn't have after everything he had been forced to endure? Just when he thought he was finally free and was celebrating, he found himself surrounded by a crowd that seemed anything but human...

"First, I need to understand what exactly I've gotten myself into... Candidates for godhood? That gigantic gate leads to a new world? Then what world am I in right now?" Around him, the thousands of supposed candidates kept leaving the hall. The gates they passed through shone with such intensity that whatever lay beyond the threshold was impossible to make out, yet no one seemed to care. Anyone would have been dumbfounded by the situation, but Nerez had simply lived too long. He knew gods existed.

In the distant past, he had crossed paths with one... and ever since then, very few things had managed to surprise him.

"My priorities right now are to gather information while trying to stay unnoticed during this 'Festival,' in case that angel-faced demon realizes I escaped... But if I really am chosen as a god...? Could I stand against the Goddess of Fate?" Nerez looked around once more. An incredibly attractive pair happened to be passing nearby, and in fact, they were drawing the attention of everyone around them. The man was tall and handsome, with fiery hair and an air of easy confidence.

His eyes seemed to reflect the sky itself. Like Lirien, he too appeared to shine with a light of his own, but while hers had been more mystical, his was fiercer. The girl walking beside him, on the other hand, had brilliant silver eyes. Her blond hair, touched by the light, shifted in tone as she moved, from a deep gold to an almost pale yellow. Perhaps she felt his gaze, because she turned her head for a second and gave him a small smile before continuing on her way. The smile didn't surprise Nerez.

Many of those passing by turned to point at him and chuckle under their breath. All he could do was scratch his head and laugh awkwardly.

"No... even if I were chosen as a god..." Nerez closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

"That old man had 'Supreme God' among his titles, but I'm certain not even he could defeat the Goddess of Fate... Mm?" He brought a hand to his chin, deep in thought.

"The old man and his granddaughter were gods of life... does that mean there could be other gods of fate?" Nerez rubbed his arms as a chill ran through him.

"I don't want to think about that possibility..." But it was then that a voice behind him pulled him from his thoughts. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"My Godscript says your name really is Nereziel... Have you no shame? A name like that is reserved for..." Nerez recognized the man with the broad, cleft chin approaching him. He was the same one who had been bragging that his spiritual energy was over twenty thousand. But before Nerez could snap back that he had no idea who had given him such a cringe name, or why, the man fell silent on his own and looked at him thoughtfully.

"No, more importantly... why does my Godscript show me nothing but your name?... Does that mean your spiritual energy is higher than mine? Impossible... Wait, that's right, I've heard there are all sorts of ways to conceal information..."

"If you're going to keep talking to yourself, may I leave? I fail to see how my presence is contributing anything to this 'conversation.'""I am Odrian, son of the God of Fire of Ferendil, grandson of the great Goddess of Light of Calenna. The mere fact that I am addressing you at all should be an honor."

"Mmm, honestly, I still don't see myself contributing to this exchange..."

"Start by stating your lineage. If you have no relevant close kin, your clan will do."

"Relevant? I don't have any gods in my family, if that's what you mean... As far as I can remember, I've always been human."

"Are you serious?! Explain to me, mortal, how a human was chosen as a candidate for godhood. It can take even a demigod two hundred years to raise their spiritual energy to this level. Nature spirits and other lesser beings may take up to a thousand."

"Well, now that you mention it, it took me a thousand too..."

"A thousand years? Do you take me for an idiot? Humans are lucky if they make it past a hundred."

"No, a thousand lives..."

"A thousand lives?! Do you think it is wise to insult me to my face with such a lie?!" Odrian stepped forward threateningly and stopped just a few centimeters from Nerez, but the moment their eyes met, the color drained from his face and he staggered back a few steps, as though trying to regain his balance.

"We... we will face each other in the challenges. Do not dare run." With those words, the demigod resumed his stride and disappeared into the crowd passing through the gates.

"I thought talking about reincarnation would be normal among gods. There was no need for him to get that angry..." Nerez scratched the back of his neck, confused.

"It was the Goddess of Fate who gave me that curse in the first place." While mentally adding his number of lives to the list of things better not revealed lightly, Nerez's gaze now met that of a young man with purple hair and lilac eyes. They exchanged no words, but the young man respectfully lowered his head as he passed beside him, then vanished into the crowd.

"If my experience is anything to go by, that one wasn't just anybody. He just made the list of people I don't want to run into in that so-called challenge. Though really... purple hair? Lilac eyes? Am I the only normal one in this place?" Obviously having no idea what he himself looked like, Nerez started walking toward the gates of Eferion.

After a few steps through the blinding light, Nerez could open his eyes again... only to rub them in disbelief. What greeted him was a city as white as marble, spread across the peaks of five mountains and joined by titanic bridges whose pillars vanished into the clouds. [Empyrean Peaks] [Raised by the Primordial's Council; a capital older than its own world, designed to be Eryndea's divine seat.] Apparently, the Godscript was more than a simple hologram.

As soon as Nerez wondered where he was, a small window appeared before him with the explanation.

"Is this where we're supposed to live?"

"Besides ruling over their own domains, the gods will have palaces here. But we, as mere candidates, have to share the dormitories." It had been a question to himself, or perhaps one asked in the hope that the Godscript would answer. But to Nerez's surprise, it was another voice behind him that did the honors. When he turned around, he found an athletic young man with chestnut hair and a girl with blond hair tied in a braid.

"Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. We're demigods. My name is Aren, and this is Vilkie." Aren extended a hand, offering a handshake.

"Nereziel, join me. I promise we'll make it through the Festival of the Gods together."