Chương 84: Echoes in the Citadel

An endless blue sky, without a single cloud in sight, stretched above green grass that reached as far as the eye could see. Such was the landscape of the Inner Underworld, at least until the Lustral River, whose breadth rivaled that of a sea. But even from the bank of that immense river, the colossal walls and lofty towers of Elysium, the city of souls, could be seen on the far side. The god of death himself had given the metropolis its name, though few understood what it meant.

It was the undisputed capital of the Underworld. Both Altazar, in the Last Valley, and the Throne of Thunder, in the Fortress of Fire, paid tribute to it. The main entrance to Elysium was the Port of Olina, a section of the city through which a branch of the Lustral River had been diverted. There, a fleet of vessels dropped off and picked up souls from all across Eryndea. Much had changed since the days when, according to legend, the god of death fished souls directly from the river.

One thing, however, remained the same: the vast majority preferred to stay in the city rather than reincarnate. That was why souls only left Elysium temporarily. After all, the Inner Underworld was infinite and not limited to a single city. Even so, Elysium alone offered plenty to see, with its enormous structures and many distinct districts. Above all, however, stood the floating palace of the god of death.

As though it wished to escape the bustle of Elysium, the citadel floated above the city's center, and only those permitted to enter knew how to reach it. Yet it was already so vast that many considered it a city in its own right. And it was there, above the capital of souls, that a crimson storm had broken loose, or rather, the Crimson Calamity.

"Nereeeez!" The gigantic double doors of the palace library flew open, and Cerys's shout thundered through the library with such force that it seemed almost capable of toppling the endless rows of bookshelves.

"Nereeeeeeeez!!" Her shout rang out again, even louder than before.

"We are in a library. Your lack of common sense never ceases to impress me." This time, a voice answered from somewhere among the shelves, though it belonged to someone else.

"Erebion? What are you doing here?" Cerys asked as she made her way through the library's aisles.

"I thought you said the Inner Underworld wasn't a place for the living, or something like that?" She did not have to go far before finding a child seated atop a shadow shaped like a platform. Around him, several open books floated in midair, supported by shadows rising from the floor. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"How many times have you asked me that already? You have the attention span of an earthworm," Erebion replied, letting out a sigh that seemed to have come straight from Nerez.

"The nature of the Inner Underworld changed centuries ago. After all, everyone ends up here eventually, so Elysium is the best place to study mortal knowledge. I resigned myself decades ago to visiting our lord's citadel from time to time."

"Speaking of Nerez, have you seen him? He should have been back from Altazar a long time ago, and he still hasn't shown up!"

"I don't know why you bother asking when you have zero interest in listening. That's why you never remember anything…" Erebion trailed off with another sigh.

"I haven't seen him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to get away from you for a while."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Cerys exclaimed, planting her hands on her hips.

"That you're annoying. Do you want me to spell it out for you too?"

"Ugh! Just you wait! If I weren't looking for Nerez, I'd challenge you again right here!" The redhead spun around and stomped out of the library. But just as she crossed the threshold, she heard Erebion's youthful voice behind her.

"If anything happened to Nerez, we would be the first to know. You have nothing to worry about."

"I'm not worried!" Cerys shouted, slamming the doors behind her, though her voice could still be heard clearly through them as she walked away.

"Wait for our rematch with your neck washed and ready for my scythe!" From behind the book he held in his own hands, Erebion cast a sidelong glance in the direction Cerys had gone.

"No, thank you… She's getting harder to defeat every time. A real nuisance."

Within the citadel that rose above Elysium, Cerys continued through the immense corridors of Nerez's palace. Normally, she could tell where her lord was, but not when he deliberately concealed his whereabouts. That left her no choice but to check, one by one, the places where he could usually be found, and the whole process was becoming increasingly frustrating. Amid that frustration, she spotted a rather slender but quite tall young woman walking toward her with a mountain of books in her arms.

Since they were about to cross paths, she was probably on her way to return them to the palace library. But something else about the woman stood out. She carried a double-bladed scythe across her back, with one blade at each end of the shaft.

"Hmph. It's fine for reapers these days to be proud of what they are, but they should dismiss their Eidolons when they aren't using them." The approaching woman finally poked her head around the side of the stack to see where she was going, and her turquoise eyes lit up when she spotted Cerys.

"Lady Cerys!" she exclaimed, hurrying toward her in a little trot that nearly sent the stack toppling. When she came to a stop in front of Cerys, her long, voluminous lavender ponytail swayed from side to side like a puppy's tail.

"It's Lady Supreme Reaper," Cerys corrected, planting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest.

"Supreme Lady Cerys?"

"…Whatever, Rila. What are you doing with all those books?"

"I'm preparing to search for the…! Ah… no… That's right, Destemos and Falagor said… Mm… It's nothing!" Cerys puffed out her cheeks in indignation as she grabbed Rila's and began tugging on them. Apparently, each of Nerez's servants had picked up something from him in their own way.

"What are you and those two hiding?! Just because you graduated at the top of your class at the academy doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!!"

"Lady Cerys! That hurts!"

"Even with Nerez's ' Soulwarden' skill at proficiency S, there are only so many positions available! Remember that the next time you think about defying the Supreme Reaper!"

"It's nothing! I... I... I can't tell you or they'll scold me! Waaaaaaaaa!" Rila ran off bawling, though not before dropping one of the books, stopping, kneeling to set the rest on the floor, picking up the fallen volume, returning it to the stack, and carefully standing back up.

"Waaaaaaaaa!" Then she resumed her noisy escape.

"Tch…" …

"Nerez…"