Chương 63: The First Crossing

At the summit of the mountain, the only sounds were the blizzard sweeping through the dead branches of the trees and the breathing of the Lord of the Mountain. But perhaps they were one and the same. However, another sound soon joined them. A crack. Then a thud, muffled by the snow. The axe that had kept Edrick pinned to the tree had fallen to the ground.

"Ugh... gah..." The last hero of humanity vomited blood, but landed on his feet. At the same time, the enormous wound in his chest began to close.

"The blessing of Airinia, guardian of humanity since ancient times," the gigantic being observed before turning back toward Edrick.

"But how effective can the blessing of a goddess truly be, when she is no more?"

"This... isn't... This isn't over!" Edrick gripped his spear once more and charged at full speed toward the Lord of the Mountain.

"That is how it should be!" The gigantic figure swung his axe toward Edrick, but he vanished from right in front of him." Phantom Thrust."!! Edrick had appeared behind the Lord of the Mountain and driven his spear into him, piercing his heart.

"Gah! Agh... well done..." But another fanged smile spread across the Lord of the Mountain's face, and once again, the wind carried axes with greenish-glowing edges toward Edrick. He managed to dodge them, but only at the cost of fresh, deep wounds.

No one could say for certain how long the duel lasted, but in the end, the gigantic being fell to the ground, bleeding heavily from every wound.

"As expected of the last hero of humanity... you managed to bring me down... you have become a godslayer." Another spurt of blood welled from the corner of the Lord of the Mountain's lips.

"Though I see the blessing of Airinia doesn't amount to much now that the goddess behind it is gone." As the Lord of the Mountain finished speaking, the wound in Edrick's chest tore open once more, and blood cascaded to the ground. In the next instant, he had collapsed as well.

"The condition was that you had to kill me... but if you die in the process too... then the victory is meaningless..."

"Ugh... gah... Agh!" Edrick raised his hand as best he could, pointing toward Olina, who lay weak and ailing among the roots of a tree trunk. The gigantic figure shook his head.

"Even if I remove the evil afflicting her body... she will not survive the descent from this mountain on her own... And that is assuming she even wishes to do so without you in the first place... I can read her like an open book as well..."

"Guh! Gahaa!" Edrick was trying to shout something, but only blood came pouring from his throat.

"Be at ease... I will not go back on my word... I said I would do something for you, and so I shall..." The Lord of the Mountain raised one finger, and a sphere of green light formed at its tip. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The sphere drifted away from the gigantic being's hand and floated like a snowflake toward Edrick's forehead, where it sank in and disappeared. For a moment, his entire body began to shine with that same light, but it really was only for a moment.

Then the glow faded.

"Last hero of humanity... I gave you what remained of my power... a power that could kill your daughter if I gave it to her... and could kill you too, with your body in that condition... In either case, it would vanish..." The Lord of the Mountain turned his gaze toward the sky, and snowflakes began to gather on his face.

"No... instead, I gave that power directly to your soul... so that... even if you die now all the same... you will have the strength to protect your daughter... in the no-man's-land that the underworld has become..."

"Ghgg... gh..." Edrick raised his hand toward Olina again, but this time he was not pointing at her. His hand was open instead, in a futile attempt to reach her. He knew his moment was near, and his daughter's as well.!! But in that moment, a golden light enveloped both him and Olina under the astonished gaze of the Lord of the Mountain. Soon, father and daughter had disappeared.

"It does not take a god of fate for it to be horribly cruel..." the gigantic being murmured, closing his eyes.

"To be saved from a world on the brink of its end, only to die in the next..." Those were the final words of the Lord of the Mountain, who dissolved into thousands of luminous spores that the wind carried away.

......... He felt nothing. There was only darkness, silence, solitude... or was it peace and tranquility? What was the difference? He did not know. He could not know. Everything seemed at once like a dream and like reality. Who was he? Where was he? Where was he going? As he floated in the infinite nothingness, questions flashed through his mind, only to vanish just as quickly. He could not think for long. Or could he not think at all?... Was this reality?... Or was it a dream?.........

"Nerez, is this the mortal you were talking about? He doesn't look like much."

"I don't think any mortal would look like much to you... And yes, according to the Soul Ledger, he is a rather interesting soul."... Voices? Who was talking? Edrick slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on green grass beneath an endless sky without a single cloud. It looked pristine, unbelievably pure. He had never seen anything like it....

"So... is he going to pull the boat out of his ass?"

"Cerys, language..."... When he looked around, he found a beautiful red-haired young woman with sparkling orange eyes and, beside her, a handsome young man with silver hair and a golden gaze. The young man was holding open a heavy black leather book with a chained skull on the cover. The aura surrounding the two figures made them seem like beings from another world.

"Where... where am I...? Am I dead?" Edrick sat up with difficulty under the gaze of those who, without a doubt, were gods.

"For a mortal, you have a pretty good grasp of your situation," Cerys acknowledged, nodding.

"Well, it depends on what you mean by 'dead'," Nerez pointed out.

"If by that you mean you stopped breathing up on the surface and your soul fell into the underworld, then yes: you are very much dead."

"Congratulations, mortal! There is a purpose to your tiny existence!" Cerys exclaimed.

"Feel honored, for now you shall serve the god of death for all eternity!"

"God of death?" Chop"Ugh..."

"Edrick... That's your name, isn't it? Don't mind Cerys. You don't have to do it if you don't want to. In any case, you are more than qualified to reside in the Inner Underworld. But if you do accept this job, I can offer you something in exchange. Is there anything you want?"

"Underworld..." Edrick lowered his gaze and thought for a few moments.

"Can I... can I see my daughter one last time? Mighty god of death, if you allow me to say one last goodbye to Olina, I will do anything you ask." A smile appeared on Nerez's face. The Soul Ledger showed him all the information on the souls of Eryndea, and he had been hoping Edrick would ask for that one thing he could actually grant. He had won that bet.

"Rejoice, mortal!" But Cerys cut in first.

"Your daughter is dead!" Chop"Agh... What now?!"...

"Ahem... What Cerys meant to say is that the two of you passed away almost at the same time upon arriving in Eryndea. So not only can you see your daughter again, but she can also live here with you... reside, rather," Nerez explained while turning the pages of the Book of Death.

"Is that true...? I can really live with Olina again?!""'Reside,' and yes," Nerez continued.

"It depends on several things, but from the beginning, my plan was to reunite families down here whenever possible... Though it will be a little awkward for people who remarried after being widowed."

"My god, please! Tell me what I must do to be reunited with my daughter!"... Another one with that "my god" thing.

"It isn't anything too difficult. I just need you to ferry us across the world when needed, and perhaps the occasional soul in need of passage as well... I don't know exactly how this whole Ferryman thing works, but that is how the stories went."