Chapter 431: The Savior of Death (7)

The colossal figure collapsed. The dragon's body, hundreds of meters long, crashed to the ground, and crimson blood gushed forth like a torrent. Even so, Tesranach did not die.

"Not yet..." He bore the burden of the guardian. He could not afford to die here. He could only return through suffering. "It's not over yet..."

Staggering, he planted his foreleg into the ground. He had to stand again somehow. If he fell here, it would only invite hell to begin again.

"Only I can save this world! Only I!" Bleeding profusely, the massive dragon roared. "And just when hope was finally in grasp...!"

A small voice rang out. "No. It's over."

It belonged to a small white hatchling. Unbeknownst to anyone, the small dragon had taken its place atop Tesranach's head.

"Grateria?"

Without any need to remain in the form of a cat, Grateria had returned to his original form of a young dragon.

Tesranach's eyes reddened. "How can you side with him? You of all beings should know what that vile creature has done!"

"I know. I understand as well." Murmuring sadly, Grateria closed her eyes. "I will reclaim my body."

A brilliant light enveloped both dragons. One an existence of overwhelming magnitude, the other so small as to be fragile. Past and future crossed, and all things returned to their rightful places.

"Wait for me... my other self." With a bittersweet voice, Grateria spoke to his fading future. "Until hope discovers you once more."

***

Floke blinked in confusion. He looked completely confused, unable to understand what had just happened.

The hatchling tilted its head, and the massive dragon gazed down at it with gentle eyes. "Thank you for everything, child of my kin."

Mid-sentence, Grateria suddenly coughed up blood. "These injuries are too severe."

He had no strength left in the body to heal. It made sense. Tesranach would have recovered from his injuries if he had been able.

In urgency, Grateria sent out a transmission.

—Someone, please, help me!

The problem was that there was no one left here who could use healing magic. They all knew how to destroy others, but when it came to healing, they were hopeless. Alarmed, Leven and Drel immediately leapt into action.

—I'll go bring Alius!

—Milia! Where's Milia?

The two of them were in no great shape either, but they were still martial kings. They crossed the capital at terrifying speed, grabbed the two, and returned to Grateria. There were other priests as well, but given the urgency of the situation, they had only enough time to bring the two.

Milia more or less understood the current situation, but Alius truly had no idea what was going on. "You're telling me to cast healing magic on Tesranach?"

"It's fine. He's no longer Tesranach."

"What?"

In any case, it seemed urgent, so both of them diligently cast healing magic on Grateria. Strictly speaking, it didn't feel like healing so much as firing divine power like a cannon down a massive cliff.

The wound on his brow alone was over ten meters wide. The injuries on the dragon didn't feel like something that could be treated at all.

What in the world are we even doing...?

Still, they managed at least some emergency treatment. Letting out a sigh, Grateria grumbled through a transmission.

—Ugh, you could've held back a little.

—If we had, you wouldn't have gotten your body back.

The massive skeleton began to disperse. The hundred-meter body dissolved into black particles and melted into the air. What remained was only a young man of ordinary size, now a translucent spirit.

Alius muttered in shock. "Lord Karnak?"

In his spirit form, Karnak approached Serati. "Serati, I'm dead."

"Yeah, you are."

Her response was oddly calm.

"So, what I'm saying is..." Scratching the back of his head, Karnak continued awkwardly. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to die too."

***

To defeat Tesranach, Karnak had abandoned his human life and returned as an undead. Only two choices remained for him now.

The first was to become Astra Shunaph and exist forever as he was. With Tesranach gone, the Shadow of Doom that had severed the world tree of death from the present world was dissipating. At this rate, it would soon reconnect with the world.

If Karnak had remained alive, Astra Shunaph would have returned to its original state of staying silent within the void, waiting once more for its master's call. But Karnak had become undead. He had truly stepped into the domain of death.

Whether he liked it or not, the power of transcendence would return to him. Having already crossed that line, he could no longer escape the fate of becoming a god of death.

Of course, if he became Astra Shunaph and gave up temporal regression, the world would surely not be destroyed. But could that truly be possible?

Could he do such a thing after losing what he had long desired? Even knowing exactly how to reclaim it? Perhaps he could endure for now, but what about ten years later? Twenty? A hundred? A thousand?

Even the greatest sages would eventually erode within an eternal hell of numbness. And Karnak was no sage. In fact, his character was abysmal even compared to an ordinary person. Could someone like him endure that pain for the sake of the world?

Karnak didn't think much of his own resolve either. "I would be impressed if I managed to last a year."

That left only the second option. "I have no choice but to carry out the plan as it is."

However, this plan had originally been something meant to happen decades later. His original intent was to carry it out after defeating Tesranach, sealing Astra Shunaph back into the void, and living out a full human life, only when death was near.

But Karnak had become undead far too soon. Now that he could no longer return death to the void, there was no time left to hesitate.

Surprisingly, Serati seemed composed. "It can't be helped. Whether sooner or later, this was always how it was going to end."

From the moment she saw the hundred-meter skeleton appear, she had already steeled herself. "Let's do it. That plan."

"Are you really okay with this?"

"Well, you gave up your human life to save everyone, Lord Karnak." She turned to him with a soft smile. "If I cling to my life here, I'd end up being worse than you. I don't want that."

"Is that an insult or a compliment?" With a conflicted expression, Karnak scratched the back of his head again. "Anyway... I'm sorry."

Her smile deepened. "You've really become more human. The fact that you're sincerely apologizing proves it."

***

A new divinity that elevated death, once merely the absence of life, into an independent concept—that was Astra Shunaph, the absolute authority over death and darkness.

This was not a power that should belong to a single individual. Everyone had already witnessed what kind of disaster unfolded when Karnak alone wielded that power.

Someone had to share the burden. For the sake of the plan, and for the sake of humanity. And so it happened, Serati was the only viable candidate. She was bound to death as Karnak's subordinate, and empowered by human faith to become the Goddess of Twilight and Dawn.

Only she could stand at the same level as Karnak and face the authority of death on equal footing.

The man stood before the woman. "Begin, Serati."

The woman stood before the man. "Yes."

Even Karnak did not know how to free her from being his vassal. But he did know a way for her to remain a vassal, yet no longer be his slave. Serati raised her right hand. Karnak slightly bowed his head.

"In the name of Serati Allen, Mistress of Twilight and Dawn, I ask you." Her clear voice whispered in his ear. "Karnak Zestrad, will you become my vassal?"

A calm reply followed. "I will."

"Then open your mind and accept the contract."

Serati placed her palm upon the head of Karnak's spirit form. The grace of twilight began to spread throughout his entire being. Feeling as though his whole existence was being seized, Karnak let out a wry smile. So this is what it feels like.

The sensation of being bound to someone—it was strange, but not entirely unpleasant.

She continued. "If you do so, you will reclaim what you have lost."

Ordinarily, a vassal contract was immensely complex, far beyond Serati's ability to enact alone. But with Karnak sharing the burden, it was not so difficult. Two souls, once bound unilaterally, were now intertwined with each other.

Each became both subordinate and master to the other. Their respective graces flowed through one another in vast currents. At the strange sensation, Serati let out a soft gasp. "Ah..."

After a moment, she withdrew her hand and asked, "Did it work?"

"It did."

To be both subordinate and master meant being neither. Now, Serati had truly risen to a position equal to Karnak. She had also gained the right to face death from the same height.

Karnak turned his head toward the far side of the capital. The colossal dark world tree standing there continued to spread its branches ever wider. He raised both hands. "Now then, let us begin the genesis of death."

***

The man opened his mouth and spoke words of power. "This belongs to me, yet is not mine..."

The woman opened her mouth and spoke words of power. "This is not mine, yet it belongs to me..."

The dark world tree, Astra Shunaph, trembled. The massive tree, stretching hundreds of meters, cast its immense shadow across the world.

Darkness spread over the sky. Darkness spread over the land. Mountains, plains, cities, rivers, forests, seas, lakes, all things were gently embraced within the arms of darkness.

Karnak was the lord of death. He could rule death, but he could not shape the world. But she could. Divinity was the act of realizing one's wishes and desires in the present world.

The Goddess of Twilight and Dawn shaped the world. The two incomplete powers intertwined, and at last gave birth to a miracle. The miracle of creation descended upon the land. The two voices became one.

—This is our domain, where death replaces life.

Another world appeared, like a mirror. The death energy of the living world became the beautiful sky of this world. The malice of the living world became the fertile earth of this world.

This was a reversed world that looked identical at a glance, yet where everything was inverted. The dying citizens of the capital walked upon the land. The dying life of the continent raised their heads once more. The deaths of past, present, and future gathered here, again and again.

—Those fated to die shall never leave this place.

Heaven was merely where the goddess's followers went. Human notions of good and evil held no meaning here. Hell had been a separate dimension where demons resided. Human will had nothing to do with it.

Death was merely the end of life, the passage of crossing from this shore to the other shore. Souls that had shed all lingering attachments would dissolve into the flow of the world, while those still caught in lingering dreams would wander the world, gradually fading away.

But now, things were different. A resting place was prepared for travelers embarking on a long journey. A place was prepared where those who faced an unready farewell could come to accept it. A destination was shown to those who had lost their way and wandered without purpose.

—Death, equal to all things, will embrace everyone.

The world had been divided. The world of the dead had opened. It was neither the goddess's heaven nor the demons' hell. Nor was it merely the other shore one passed through before vanishing.

It was a land of rest where one could pause for a while, a place where the dead could remain, bring their end to completion, and begin anew. It was another world, one that people would later come to call the afterlife.

***

"It worked." Gazing upon the vast expanse of the afterlife, Karnak let out a sigh of relief. "With this, at least, I've escaped the hell of numbness."

As Astra Shunaph, Karnak could feel no pleasure. Having become a transcendent being, he lacked nothing, was deprived of nothing. So he took on responsibility. He accepted limitations.

He was no longer a transcendent being. He now had to protect this world and share its existence. The deficiencies of an imperfect being would become the seven emotions and the full range of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure.

That was why he had devised this "plan." It was a plan that would allow him to save the world, take responsibility for what he had done, and at the same time allow him to escape the hell of eternity.

The king of the afterlife, who governed and bore responsibility for death, turned to the goddess who governed darkness between twilight and dawn.

He asked, "How does it feel to be the queen of the dead?"

Serati furrowed her brow slightly.

Being called a queen by the king of the dead felt... strange. "I've said this before, but we're not actually married. This is just a contractual relationship."

Karnak pouted, looking faintly sulky. "Who said we were?"

"But..." Her expression softened a little. At the very least, for someone like Karnak, this was truly his best effort. If praise was due, it should be given. "You did a good job taking responsibility for yourself."

"Hehe..."

Ah, he's in a good mood again.