Chương 15: A Moonlit Encounter

[Soulwarden] [Proficiency E] [Bind a soul to serve as a warden of death] For a few moments, Nerez studied the skill he had just chosen as it hovered on the holographic screen before finally letting out a sigh.

"Now I understand why the Godscript doesn't even bother showing descriptions when it asks me to choose. If they're all like this, I wouldn't have the slightest idea what they do anyway... What's a 'warden of death,' and why would I want one?" The shapes and symbols that had been drifting about aimlessly now formed the image of a hooded figure holding a scythe.

"A grim reaper? Who in their right mind would want anything to do with a grim reaper...? I have a feeling this skill is going to stay at the bottom of the drawer." He went back to the tab in his Godscript that displayed the information for one of his other skills. [Death's Touch] [Proficiency D] [Immortality is but a state, all the more so for the weak and wounded; mark those whose time has come]"Just like with skeletal soldiers, the description changed along with the proficiency.

And since it talks specifically about immortals, I doubt it's referring to gods just yet. It's probably talking about demigods and the like." His gaze drifted to the blue sky, toward the direction where Helux had disappeared.

"It's not that I want to keep using a skill like this, but I have to admit, it isn't bad to have it in reserve." He had spent quite a while wandering through the forest without any real destination, and fortunately he still had not run into anyone.

"But seriously, what am I even supposed to do now? Keep fighting complete strangers? What for? I should be able to live out my last life in peace now that I escaped the cycle of reincarnation." Without realizing it, he had reached a small stream, so he took the chance to drink a little water, easing his thirst while fooling his breakfast-starved stomach for a while.

"If I'm not chosen as a god, they might drag me back to the Silver Sea by force..." Since his worries refused to leave him alone, he sat down on a rock to think.

"But being a god is the exact opposite of having a peaceful life. Though, to begin with, I'm not even sure I really escaped the cycle of reincarnation... In that sense, immortality might be the alternative." He leaned back and laid the open book over his face.

"That sounds like a different kind of eternal punishment... Ngh... Ugh... Gah!" he burst out, jerking upright and dropping the book onto his lap in the process.

"I'm going to be a hermit god like I planned, and that's final!" He rose with renewed energy... only to lose heart again almost immediately.

"For that, I'd still have to keep fighting? Well, more like throwing skeletons at people..." He looked up once more and noticed that, between the treetops, the light was already beginning to fade.

"If I leave the skeletons on watch while I sleep, camping near a stream shouldn't be much of a problem. The problem is that I don't want to spend the night alone with the skeletons..." Pushing past his reluctance to use skeletal soldiers, he sent a pair of them off to try their luck hunting. He could have done it himself, drawing on one of his past lives as a hunter, but he had no desire to touch those dead men's bows. To his surprise, they were back in no time with a rabbit, which he chose to clean himself.

"I think I heard Aren say this area had already been 'cleared' of monsters for the battle royale. But as far as animals go, they seem pretty similar to the ones on Earth," Nerez mused as he bit into a roasted rabbit leg.

"Ugh, it needs salt... Actually, it could've used a good soak in salt water to get rid of that gamey taste." By then, night had already fallen, and he had ended up camping some distance away from the stream. In the end, he had not liked the idea of sleeping surrounded by walking skeletons. He had still used them to guard the perimeter while he cooked the rabbit, though. But now that darkness had fully set in, he had dismissed both the fire and the skeletons.

The moon was already visible, its light filtering through the treetops. It fell more fully across a clearing not far from the bed of leaves he had made for himself (while praying there were no venomous bugs nearby). Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Mm...? I think sleep is finally catching up with me. I could swear I see a figure standing in the middle of the clearing..." He rubbed his eyes, but not only did the figure fail to disappear, it raised both hands as if to show it was unarmed.

"Uf... just what I needed..." He got to his feet and began walking toward it, one hand gripping the Book of Death tightly. The moon that night shone with a yellow tint, though it was closer to white than anything else. It was the same color as the hair of the girl waiting for him in the clearing. Her eyes were a silvery shade unlike Nerez's hair, brighter, more alive, and they watched him with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

"Look, I'm really not in the mood for trouble right now," Nerez said as he stopped in front of the newcomer.

"If you leave me alone, you can have a piece of rabbit."

"Haha, a piece of rabbit?" the girl echoed.

"That's right, a piece. I need to save some for breakfast."

"Pfft!" The newcomer looked as though she was struggling to hold back her laughter, but she managed to keep talking.

"No... don't worry, I'm not here for your food, nor am I here to start trouble. My name is Selene. I come on behalf of the Celestial Conclave."

"Celestial... Conclave?" The name brought back some very recent and very unpleasant memories.

"It seems a member of my clan offended you. That dense fool never realizes what he's doing..." Selene sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"That's exactly why they sent me along with him, to make amends for whatever damage he might cause." Nerez's expression made it painfully obvious that he did not understand a word of what he was hearing.

"Offended me? Aren't we taking part in a battle royale? To be honest, I appreciate the thought, but what I find much stranger is that you still haven't attacked me..."

"One has to know how to choose one's battles," Selene replied with a smile.

"I see..."

"Which is why I consider joining your faction, Nereziel, compensation enough for the damage Helux caused by abducting your allies."

"..."

"..."

"No thanks. It's enough for me if you just treat them well."

"..."

"..."

"Too late. I've already sworn my loyalty before the Divine Order. You can check it in your Godscript." Nerez hurriedly brought up a holographic screen and quickly found the lines he was looking for. [Leader of unnamed faction] [Members: Nereziel / Selene]"How did this happen without my consent?! I refuse to accept it! I demand a lawyer!"

"Hahaha! Calm down, Nereziel, it's not as if you're being forced to do anything." Still clutching his head, Nerez turned back toward the source of his problems.

"First of all, didn't your parents teach you not to talk to strangers?! But you're on a whole different level! You swear loyalty to them!"

"Swearing loyalty isn't some kind of slave contract," Selene explained, still trying to contain her laughter.

"It only prevents me from acting against you. Think of it as my way of earning your trust."

"I think you're getting the exact opposite result..."

"If you wanted to give me orders, you'd have to make an oath of your own and seal the pact," she added.

"An oath from me? The only thing I'd swear is that I'm going into a cave and never coming back out. First of all, why this interest in me? How is it supposed to help your clan if you join me instead of Helux? None of this makes any sense..."

"Your allies belonged to a clan blessed with the gift of light, didn't they? I'm fairly skilled in those arts myself. I can see things others can't..." Selene replied with a mysterious smile as she began to circle him.

"Your clanmate seemed much more knowledgeable about that whole light business, and he tried to kill me without the slightest hesitation..."

"Of course, there are exceptions like Helux, who possess so much light that they end up blinding themselves with it."

"But seriously, what do all of you see that draws you in? Can you at least tell me what it is, so I can throw it to the bottom of the ocean? Assuming it's not plastic, of course..."

"Hahaha, on the contrary, what makes it interesting is precisely what we can't see, even with the power of light."

"Nereziel... What is 'plastic,' by the way?"

"... It's nothing. And I'd rather you call me Nerez.

"Nereziel" gives me the chills." Selene finally came to a stop. She stood with her back to him, both hands clasped behind her. It was probably a display of trust in him... or in her own abilities.

"But don't worry... Nerez, I'm not going to bother you. I have plans of my own, and a domain to look after."

"What do you mean?"

"Can't you see it in your Godscript?" He looked at her again, this time with his Godscript active. Two titles stood out clearly above the rest of the information. [Goddess of the Moon] [Major God]"Not to sound like Helux, but it was honestly rather anticlimactic how easily I was chosen..." There were still plenty of things that did not add up in Nerez's mind, but his long experience had not been for nothing.

The moment he realized this future goddess had already gained the means to stand on her own, something clicked inside him.

"You aren't using me as an excuse to slip free of your clan's grasp, are you?"

"Doesn't that seem fair to you?" Selene asked, turning back to face him.

"No. I don't even know you, and I'm not getting anything out of this. Why would it?"

"Nothing? Aren't you securing yourself one less enemy?" she asked between laughs.

"Wasn't peace and tranquility what you wanted?"

"Quite the opposite, I think I just gained a whole lot of enemies this very moment..."

"Besides, contrary to what you seem to think, it isn't the gods who stay out of trouble who live most peacefully, but the ones with the largest factions."

"I am absolutely willing to debate that..."

"Ah, what a shame. They won't even give me time to talk..." Selene lamented. A glow had already begun to appear around her.

"Could you please not become a beacon and draw even more trouble my way?"

"Pfft! Hahaha... don't worry, I'm already leaving. But I assure you, we'll meet again."

"Wouldn't letters be enough? I'd appreciate one saying you no longer swear loyalty to me..."

"Speaking of my loyalty, it isn't free. I expect great things from you," Selene said with a smile; by then the radiance had grown so bright her face was already hard to make out.

"You could start by defeating the little nuisance that slipped away from me and securing your authority over the laws of death." As soon as she finished speaking, the radiance erupted into a pillar of light that vanished along with the new goddess....

"She's billing me for something I never bought, and on top of that she wants me to clean up after her... And I don't even know who she's talking about! Why does no one in that clan ever listen to a word I say?!"... Nerez stared at the spot in the clearing where the pillar of light had disappeared....

"And now I'm going to have to move camp in the middle of the night..."

Far from there, in one of the palaces of Empyrean Peaks, a girl with hair the color of cherry blossoms watched the challenges with keen interest. Her emerald eyes were fixed on one event in particular.

"After all, the Queen of the Night has yielded to the Lord of Darkness..." Lirien, the Goddess of Life and Zorovan's granddaughter, rose from her seat and left the room.