Chương 58: The Realm Below

It was not a long journey. With enough time, a grand tunnel could be made to connect this place to the gigantic gates Nerez was planning to build. If there had been kilometers to cover, things would have been different. But fortunately, the titan's chamber was exactly what it appeared to be, the last barrier before the true underworld.

"Nerez, I don't see any enemies here! Well, I guess that was to be expected..." Cerys was the first to emerge from the small cavern connecting Erebion's chamber to the Chasm of the Deeps.

"I don't know if this can really be considered a chasm. Who named it? Erebion, who has never even been here?" They had come out into another subterranean chamber, one far larger than the titan's. There certainly was a gigantic chasm in the ground. But it did not lead into the dark void Nerez had imagined. Instead, it opened onto a blue sky. From that chasm, an entire world could be seen beneath their feet. There were no clouds. No sun. Only green meadows and hills as far as the eye could see.

"What is this? The Elysian Fields or something? Now I understand why Aren said the realms of death are among the cleanest and holiest places in existence..."

"What's Elysian supposed to mean? Stop talking nonsense and let's go down already!"

"Down..." Nerez looked at the endless rocky slope spiraling down around the mountain beneath their feet, until it vanished into the green immensity of that world.

"Besides some gates, I should put an elevator here... no, that would make things easier for visitors... I don't want visitors..."

"Nerez!" Cerys shouted from several meters below.

"Ugh... why is she so excited when I can't sense anything for her to fight down there..."

"If we walk the whole way, we'll never get there! Hurry up!" With impressive leaps, Cerys quickly began her descent, covering extraordinary distances in seconds.

"Isn't she afraid of falling? Well, I suppose that's one way to get there faster... I was spared the stairs of Empyrean Peaks, but here there is no way around it." Nerez began descending as well, keeping pace just behind Cerys.

"Maybe not an elevator, but I could at least turn the slope into stairs." Nerez lifted his head toward the mountain they had descended. From below, it rose until it disappeared into a blue sky that seemed to have no end.

"Looking at it like this, it seems more like a gigantic pillar than a mountain..." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Nerez, what are you doing?! We'll never reach the river of death like this!" Nerez turned around. Some distance away, Cerys was waving from a nearby hill. Framed by endless green and blue, she looked like something out of a painting. He started walking toward her, but after only a few steps, he looked back over his shoulder one last time at the colossal pillar-like silhouette that seemed to hold up the sky.

"I wonder how long it will stay in view. If we go too far, finding the way back will be quite complicated..."

"Nerez!" the redhead called again, now waving both hands.

"Why are you the one guiding the way in the first place? Can you sense the river of death too? Or how exactly are you planning to lead us to it?"

"With guts, of course!"

"Fine, tell your guts they need to adjust their compass." Nerez pointed several meters to the right of his servant.

"Would you understand if I explained it in degrees?"

"Ahem! Who do you take me for? Of course I'm aware of the latest discoveries!"

"..."

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just that now I can get an idea of how advanced your old world was."

"Mm? How?"

"Are we going to move, or are we going to stay here talking?"

"That's what I've been saying all along! Stop wasting time already!" Nerez let out a sigh and set off.

Nerez did not know how long he had been walking. The gigantic mountain had disappeared into the distance a good while ago. But there was no turning back. They had descended into the underworld to find the river of death, and he could feel it getting closer and closer. Then, however, his head began to feel strangely light. Was it because he had been staring at the same landscape for so long? After taking a few more steps, he felt his vision beginning to blur.

But when he raised a hand to his eyes and rubbed them, that haze seemed to fade away.

"I don't want to become an ancient sage who has seen everything and lost interest in it all."!! Nerez looked around, startled, but there was no one. No one. Not even Cerys. Only the endless green of the meadows and hills surrounding him.

"That voice... was mine..."

"An ancient sage? Don't think being a god means you'll remember every face, every name, and every word you've ever heard. Memory doesn't work that way." Nerez's blood ran cold. A melodious voice, soft as silk but cold as ice, came from beside him. It was a voice that already knew what answer would come, a voice that spoke as if reading from a script written in advance. A calculating voice, but one whose plans stretched toward a future far too distant for anyone else. Once more, he looked around. No one.

"I know that voice too... Irentia, the Goddess of Fate..." A name he would never forget. At the time, the name had only struck him as curious, but later it would be etched into him forever.

"I don't want to become a mystical being that has lost its humanity." His own voice echoed in his ears once more, like a distant echo, but quickly gave way to the more melodious voice, now behind him.

"Haven't you heard the stories of the gods the Greeks and the Norse worshiped? They could not have been more human even if they tried. They did whatever they wanted, guided only by their desires, perhaps too much." Nerez turned quickly, but there was still nothing. He closed his eyes, ready to focus on the source of the voices.... But they did not return....

"Nerez!"!! Opening his eyes, he found Cerys's face barely a few centimeters from his own, with both of her hands on his head.

"How can you fall asleep on your feet in the middle of our exploration?! Were you so excited you didn't sleep last night?" Cerys let go of his head and stepped back, placing her hands on her waist.

"It was obvious there wouldn't be anyone here, not with Erebion at the entrance. I don't know why you were so excited."

"I'd say there's someone who's been far more excited than me this whole time..."

"What was that?" the redhead asked, coming so close their noses almost touched.

"That your breath doesn't smell bad even though I've never seen you brush your teeth in your life... now step back a little. I like my personal space."

"Is that so?" Cerys closed her eyes and smiled, puffing out her chest in satisfaction.

"Ha! Brushing your teeth is for mortals...! But why state the obvious? Mm? Nerez?" Nerez had already walked ahead, his gaze lost in the distance.