Lord Shadow

Azief could be charming if he wanted to. But why does he do this kind of thing that is so uncharacteristic of him?

No, it was not uncharacteristic of him.

This has always been him. Or a part of him that he rarely shows or expresses.

Before all the dark things that happen in his life, before life forces him to hold back his emotion, before many other things

It is not that Azief could not restrain himself any longer, it is just that there are certain things that he should have done

There are many such things.

He is the strongest person in the world.

Yet why is it there is so many things he regretted. It is understandable if this was before the Fall.

Before the Fall, some of the things are forced by circumstances. But now, even with all of the abilities he has got, why should he add things that he should regret

When he saw all of the things that he had to face in the future, there was something in his heart that he resolved to do.

It is not about conquering some planets, or master some kind of divine technique.

It is that he should cherish the present. The road ahead is dark and difficult and it could even be impossible to traverse

Darkness ahead.

That was what Odin basically told him .

There is peril ahead.

That is what Wargod told him.

They did not tell him in words. But it is enough to deduce that from the way they show and tell what he will face in the future

Should he then be moping around, depressed, and be serious all day? If this was before, he would do this.

Like all the burdens in the universe are on his shoulders.

But then he understands something.

Whether he moped around, whether he lamented his fate and destiny, whether he distance himself from the people he loves to think about all of this problem in the future, would it change that the road ahead is difficult?

It would not change anything

Then does that mean Azief should give up? That is also something that he would not and could not do

In the past, he would probably give up. But different times and different circumstances also lead to different choices.

In the life after the Fall, he had changed. And even after all the darkness he had seen and all the blood in his hand, he still yearns for the light

And he is most confident of himself.

And so, he could not give up.

And so, one of the things he decided to do is to do things he could do and wanted to do, showing the love he restrained to show and take it easy on the easy stuff and tackle the serious stuff seriously

And also, because…..because this is the person he loved. The road ahead is dark and full of dangers.

And if he failed, at least, for this brief time that the universe has, the people he loved would know…..know that he had loved them with all of his might

So, today he would hug her, kiss her forehead, kiss her nose, kiss her lips and make sure she knows he loved her

A thousand years of time melted by a moment of a kiss.

Katarina look at Azief like it is the first time she saw this man

“You are sick right now”

Hearing this Azief only chuckles.

“Maybe it is the sickness talking. Maybe it is the longing. Maybe it is the regrets” he paused for a moment and then he shakes his head looking at Katarina with eyes that could melt even the coldest ice

A warm gaze.

“To live and to love, to live with the person you loved who loved you back…..that is a miracle in itself. I never stopped to cherish that and that is a pity”

He paused for another second and then he looks down and took a deep breath. In his mind, he is reminded of all the things he has seen and all the things he knows and a heavy feeling set in his heart

But then he looks back up and sees Katarina. And he remembers in this world, there is still many people by his side.

He could not give up. For these people he knows, these people who loved him and the other people who believe in him

“There is so much darkness ahead, so I want to reserve some light for the road ahead. So that one day, when I wavered, I could look back on all of this moment filled with light…and strengthen my resolve so that I could continue moving forward”

Azief look at Katarina and Katarina look at him like he is seeing a new man

“Why? Are you surprised?”

“Yes.”

Azief smiles for a moment as he walks toward the window. He looks outside. Before he went to sleep, he already told Katarina to dismiss all the guards

And fortunately, Katarina listens to him

“I shudder to think what those people would do if they see me in such state”

At that time, he already had a premonition that something bad was going to happen to him. He sleeps for three days. Any other day, this would not be a big deal

But who is he?

He is Death Monarch. He is the strongest man in the world, the only Essence Creation realm being on Earth

Theoretically, if he did not want to sleep, he would not sleep.

These guards are not stupid.

They would know whether he deliberately sleep or do not sleep.

Do these guards harborus disloyalty? Azief did not know and he did not want to bet. Sometimes, just because you are loyal today, does not eman you would be loyal tomorrow. Azief knows this and to cut off this possibility form th veeyr beginning, he send all of them back first

“Katarina, there is a lot of things I have seen and seeing some things made me realize…” and he pasued for a second and he smiles

“Many things. That’s it” Katarina hearing this was about to say something before she held herself back and nodded

Katarina herself knows what Azief is talking about.

Just like Azief of today is different from the Azief in the past, Katarina of today is also different from the Katarina of the past

And it is not like she hated this change. Cherish the present. Azief might have difficulties doing that but Katarina has always been cherishing the present

Every day she is alive, she cherishes it. The sadness might not be to her heart liking, but the joy is worth many things.

She cherishes the affection of her brother, and she dares love a man this much because of her thoughts

So, she did not say anything.

Decades have passed but to them a decade is just like a blink of an eye. Some said the longer you live the more you feel that time is fast

Katarina understood this intimately.

Before you reach Disk Formation, time feel like it moves like normal.

But when you reach Disk Formation, you already have a lifespan that is too long for any mortal beings

In this world, there is a restriction in lifespan but if one goes to a different star system or a different universe, then the law of that universe probably would not be able to impose restrictions.

The only reason Earth could impose restriction of life on the levelers in this world is precisely because every leveler on Earth owes the Earth.

The energy of heaven and earth is produced, generated and returned to the earth and all of this is magical energy that they owe. And someday, they have to pay

Katarina, when she went into seclusion, when she tried to understand laws, a few years felt like no time had passed.

For you to realize time has passed, some things about yourself must change.

But when your youth and your time are almost limitless, what is a few years in the eyes of beings like her and Azief

Katarina went silent and Azief smiles bitterly

The love he felt for Katarina did not change and Katrina love for him did not change

This is itself a peculiarity. How could emotions not change at all and burn so hot like it was the first day

It is because the stronger you are, the stronger the obsession, the stronger you are the more you are affected by emotion

Everything has a price.

Azief did not understand this before. But once he understands it, he knows now why even gods in stories, have fatal flaw. Gods for example always have hubris as their fatal flaw

Some have kindness. And some have envy.

But it is also because of this, when they realize something, it changes them profoundly and drastically.

All it needed was that sliver of enlightenment

And Azief got it when he met Wargod, the Divine Monkey and Odin.

All three of them show something to him.

And all of them hope that he can see and understand something. what he understand might not be what those three wanted him to understand but this is his comprehension and they could not interfere

They guide him but whether he could see the path and whether he wanted to walk that path…. that choice is still his.

..