Chương 64: The Ferryman

The current of the river of death, which had been named the Lustral River, was rather curious. Near the bank, it seemed to flow in a single direction, but the farther one went into its waters, the clearer it became that nothing could be further from the truth. Not only were there different currents flowing in completely opposite directions from one another, but some seemed to change course constantly.

On top of that, there were areas of the river where the current formed circles, places where it vanished completely, and even points where it emerged from nowhere. Not to mention spots where there seemed to be no current at all. The curious thing was that all these zones of the river, so to speak, contained souls of different densities. Perhaps each zone served a different function.

"We definitely couldn't have swum through here..." Cerys said, leaning against the rail of the large vessel.

"No, actually, forget swimming. You can't even navigate these waters. A regular ship would be torn apart in no time."

"Not bad at all as the fortress's first line of defense," Nerez said with a satisfied nod beside her.

"Palace-fortress. Remember, we already talked about this," Cerys complained at his side.

"It also has to have the city of the dead around it and an outer wall."

"The more walls, the better, that much is true... Edrick, are you having any trouble? This thing isn't at all what I expected." Instead of the small, gloomy black boat covered in skulls he had imagined, the vessel that had appeared after using the skill 'Ferryman's Due' could rival the largest Viking longships in size. On top of that, contrary to expectations, it was completely white.

Not even the seams between the planks were visible (if it was even made of planks in the first place), and it was decorated with golden railings and reliefs. It certainly still looked like something from the afterlife, though, just like the Inner Underworld, its image was more pure than sinister.

"No problem at all, my god!" Edrick replied.

"It feels like an extra limb!"

"Look, you're my servant, not just one of my believers, so at least call me Nereziel..."

"Of course, Lord Nereziel, as you command!"

"Well, that's a little better..." After being named Ferryman, Edrick had become a lesser god, the same as Cerys, and his Eidolon had manifested as a long white spear whose end opposite the tip was set with a radiant blue jewel. When he dipped the jeweled end of the spear into the river, the ship moved on its own, without any need for oars or sails.

"Just because you're a god now doesn't mean you don't still smell like a mortal," Cerys muttered, glancing sideways at Edrick.

"Is that a kind of smell? Don't worry, Cerys, I'll bathe as many times as necessary..." Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"It's Lady Reaper to you!"

"Lady Reaper?"

"Don't pay her any mind, Edrick. And you behave yourself too, Cerys. Edrick is going to be a good training partner. Believe it or not, he has experience defeating beings more powerful than himself."

"Hmph! We'll see how long he lasts!"

"I hope I can be of use..." the last hero of humanity replied with an awkward laugh. It was true that he had defeated a local deity while he was still only human. Now that both combatants were lesser gods, it might seem like a fairer contest. But Edrick could tell the difference. The Lord of the Mountain had been far from his full strength as a local deity, while Cerys stood at the very peak of lesser gods.

He had yet to see what this world's gods proper were like, but he would not have found it hard to believe Cerys could defeat one.

"There is nothing here!" Cerys complained after taking a tremendous leap from the ship to the bank.

"I don't know why we even went through the trouble of crossing the river..."

"That was to be expected, Cerys," Nerez replied, appearing beside the redhead out of nowhere and startling her in the process.

"After all, we are the ones who will have to develop this side of the river."

"How did you do that, Nerez?! I want to do it too!"

"Ha! From the very beginning, I could feel some kind of connection to the river of death. But ever since I named it, that connection now extends to the entire Underworld," he explained, one hand on his chin and a mocking smile on his face.

"It's not a skill or anything, but apparently I can transport myself to the starting pillar or even to the Last Valley of the visiare... But for anything beyond that, I'll have to bother you, Edrick."

"It is no bother, Lord Nereziel. It is a pleasure," Edrick replied, beaching the vessel and jumping down to the bank.

"It's not fair... I want to do it too!" Cerys complained, grabbing Nerez by the shoulders and shaking him.

"Stop! Stop! Calm down! I'm sure you'll be able to do it too!" Nerez exclaimed, grabbing Cerys by the cheeks to calm her down.

"You and Edrick are connected to me, so I'm sure sooner or later you'll be able to move through the Underworld at will."

"I'm connected to you? In an indecent way?" Cerys asked, covering her mouth with one hand and letting out a giggle.

"And Edrick too?" Chop"Ugh..."

"I like women, Lord Nereziel, and I still cherish the memory of my wife, but if you command it..."

"I like women too! I already told you not to pay attention to Cerys!"

"You still think about your wife?" Cerys asked, rubbing her head.

"The Soul Ledger says she abandoned you..."

"That is true, but I was also partly to blame. I would have liked to see her one last time, but I know that is impossible."

"Honestly, I don't know what to think of someone who abandons her own daughter... but it's your life, Edrick. Life...? Anyway, if the worlds under that so-called Divine Order ever reconnect, I'll see what I can do about taking you to that underworld," Nerez said, placing a hand on Edrick's shoulder.

"Because, realistically speaking, by then she'll already be very dead."

"You have my gratitude, Lord Nereziel!"

"Speaking of daughters, you'll have to wait a little before reuniting with Olina. This place is going to be filled with criminals for a while."

"That is no problem, Lord Nereziel... but criminals?"

"Exactly. Fortunately, all relevant information is in the Soul Ledger. I'm going to give those who committed crimes the chance to work on building the fortress instead of going to the Deeps."

"After they finished the fortress, I would throw them into the Deeps anyway..." Cerys remarked, hands behind her head.

"I'm only talking about minor criminals. They can finish being purified in the river without any problem... But if they reform during construction, I can give them the chance to reincarnate." After all, only the purest souls go to the Silver Sea, and they do so on their own, but apparently that's very rare... Though I did it more than a thousand times, and I don't have even a shred of purity...

Now that I think about it, we are cut off from the network of worlds under the Divine Order, but souls can travel without issue. Doesn't the Divine Order control souls? Well, it isn't something I care too much about, to be honest.

"Ah!"

"Nerez?"

"Lord Nereziel?"

"She's not exactly my daughter, but speaking of daughters... I just remembered that we're getting close to that date!"