Chương 59: The Endless River

Across a landscape of endless green crowned by infinite blue, a strange figure was moving at great speed. From up close, however, it became clear that there were actually two figures: a young red-haired woman with twintails carrying a silver-haired young man half-asleep on her back.

"Why am I the one carrying you?!" Cerys complained, glancing over her shoulder as she ran.

"It's your punishment for always rushing off without even knowing where you're going. And since you don't want me to hold your hand like a little girl, this is the best solution."

"I want to get there as soon as possible! I don't even know how many days we've been traveling anymore! I'm sick of eating skytree nuts!"

"Relax, you won't have to eat them anymore. We're out."

"That's worse!" Nerez grabbed Cerys's head with one hand and turned her face back toward the front.

"In any case, it seems we've reached our destination." At last, a change had appeared in the distant scenery, and the farther they advanced, the clearer it became.

"Is this... an ocean?" Cerys asked when they reached the shore.

"I don't think so. Look at the current," Nerez replied, climbing down from his servant's small but powerful back. Cerys crouched down, then immediately launched herself high into the sky. After a few moments, she came back down with a thunderous crash.

"You're right," the redhead said, hands on her hips.

"Looks like there's another shore in the distance." Nerez stepped closer and knelt beside the river. Unlike the Silver Sea, whose waters were actually countless souls, the water here was liquid in the literal sense. But the liquid seemed to be made of a different kind of energy, one distinct from spiritual energy and from the less pure forms derived from it, such as faith and magic. To Nerez, it felt like something more primitive, something raw. It was hard to explain.

Through those "waters", Nerez could occasionally glimpse souls passing by. They looked darker, denser. Perhaps that was the best way to describe them. It made sense, considering that at this stage they still retained their memories and spiritual energy. The river would purify those souls before carrying them on to the Silver Sea.

"The Silver Sea..." Nerez said, watching the river vanish into the distance.

"I never want to go back there." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. His gaze drifted back to the river's waters. He too must have passed through similar rivers countless times, but he had no memories of that part. Every time he died, he woke up in the Silver Sea.

"But if the river of death is what purifies the soul and strips it of its spiritual energy and memories, perhaps... I..."

"And?" Cerys asked, interrupting his muttering, because at that moment there was a very important question to ask.

"Is the river yours already?"

"I've felt a connection for a while, of course, but what will the final step be?" That was when the Godscript opened on its own, as it liked to do every now and then, so it was not much of a surprise. It was showing him a holographic screen. [---] Just as with the iluk, the river of death had no name.

"Now that I think about it, every world has a 'river of death'. It wouldn't hurt to give this one a name too, just to tell it apart... Cerys?"

"Mmm... something tells me you have to name it yourself this time," the redhead replied, strangely thoughtful.

"Names aren't really my strong suit, but I'll try..." Nerez closed his eyes and held his chin for a few moments while Cerys waited for him with her hands behind her head.

"Let's see... it's a river that purifies... Mm... It's an adjective, but 'lustral' fits well enough. The Lustral River."

"The Lustral River..." Cerys repeated, nodding.

"Not bad." [Lustral River] At that moment, light enveloped Nerez, and a powerful gust of wind swept around him, almost sending Cerys flying through the air. By the time everything had calmed down, a new notification appeared in the Godscript. [Faith +10/day]"Ten units of faith a day... That would be like having around three hundred altars. No, since each one has to serve an entire community, it would be more like having three hundred villages under my influence.

And with hardly any souls in Eryndea yet, that would be... a lot? A little? No idea..." But Cerys was staring at him with an astonished expression.

"You yourself said Miri had already accepted enough immigrants to form a decent-sized town! And that temple only gives you two units of faith a month! Even Avelle only gets one from all the spirits of the Last Valley!"

"I see you decided to call her Miri too... You're right. Considering that, it's not bad at all." This time, it was Nerez who nodded.

"I don't think we have to worry about Dusk Manor's taxes anymore. And once the visiare finish the temple, now with Thaelor as high priest, we should be able to earn a bit more." Cerys lowered her head for a few seconds before raising it again and pointing a finger at Nerez.

"Ah! That's right, you were already earning some faith! We could've bought food from the Godscript!"

"I did buy some food from the Godscript, but someone had to eat the leftover skytree nuts. They weren't cheap, you know?"

"Now we're definitely having a rematch of our Festival of the Gods fight!"

"That's a lot of anger from someone who got fed for free..."

"It's only natural for the Master to feed his servants! If anything, giving them nothing but skytree nuts is servant abuse! Abuse, I repeat!"

"But they really were expensive... Fine! You win, you win!" Nerez exclaimed, holding Cerys back with one hand as she lunged at him with her mouth open.

"We'll buy a feast tonight. To celebrate the new source of income too."

"Source of income...? Whatever! There better be alcohol too!"

"Now you're taking advantage..."

"Alcohol! Alcohol!"

"Fine, but in moderation... I'm the only one here. That means I don't have anyone else to dump you on afterwards."

"Ah! So that's why I woke up in Ily's tent that morning! It reeked of mortals!"

"I think it reeked of drunk women. Good thing she'd already gotten a tent to herself, otherwise her parents would've had to deal with you."

"She was drunker than me..."

"You're cousins, so it's natural."

"We're not cousins!"

"All right, all right, but now be quiet for a second," Nerez said, his gaze fixed on the screen of his Godscript.

"This is important."