Myths Reawakened

Sukra shook her fists as her excitement grew. She turned to Wayne and said proudly, “What do you think? Isn’t the Underworld great? Don’t you feel proud?”

It’s alright. It’s not that different from the Seven Sacred Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins.

Wayne shrugged. “You’ve put it nicely, but the process seems difficult. Has any soul really reached the twelfth level and returned to the goddess’s embrace?”

He had gone to Hell and Heaven, so he knew a thing or two about the Divine Realms. Hell was sealed, preventing those on the outside from entering and those on the inside from leaving. It provided little value as a reference. Heaven would be a better example.

Not every follower could enter Heaven, and the Papal State alone controlled the access. One’s devotion didn’t matter. What mattered was connections and raw power.

He believed the Underworld was most likely similar. The souls of regular people would never enter the Underworld. They wanted to return to their goddess’s embrace? They were welcome to want that. Yearning for something wasn’t a crime. Just stand aside and keep dreaming.

One would at least have to be a legendary mage to return to the goddess’s embrace, he reckoned.

Hearing Wayne’s challenge, Sukra put her hands on her hips and tried to sound more convincing. “The Sacred Tome of Death came from the Underworld, and every line of description is accurate. You may not believe me, but you have to believe in the goddess’s compassion for all life. You’ve said so yourself that everyone is equal in the face of Death.”

“That’s just the promo,” Wayne grumbled. “If you look closer, you’ll see a small text that says, ‘Image for reference only. Actual product may vary.’”

Sukra puffed out her cheeks angrily. “You’re the Death Knight. You shouldn’t say something so sacrilegious!”

“Maybe I’m only telling the truth,” Wayne said with one eyebrow raised.

“Impossible.”

“Wanna bet?”

“I’m g—”

Sukra was going to agree when she suddenly remembered something. Arms crossed, she took a few steps back and looked at Wayne warily. Finally, after putting on a front of disinterest for so long, the evil one extended his grabby hands toward the innocent maiden!

“What’s that look for? Don’t think I won’t notice just because you have a mask on.” Wayne huffed, rubbing his hands together. “I just realized that no one would hear your scream here, in the middle of nowhere. I think I can do something.”

“Um, you didn’t have to scare me like that,” Sukra grumbled. “I know you aren’t that kind of person.”

“You think you know me?”

Sukra looked at him. When Wayne pretended that he was going to tackle her, she yelped and bolted.

Wayne followed her unhurriedly. Every time Sukra paused, he would take a heavy step to hurry her up. He wanted to go through all twelve levels quickly.

In his opinion, the twelve levels of the Underworld were merely the tourist attractions used to draw followers. Aztimor the Goddess of Death was trying to recruit more human filters for herself.

Slaves should know that they were slaves. While the leadership was at fault for making empty promises, it would be a slave’s mistake to believe the promises.

They advanced in starts and stops, crossing the Forest of Forgiveness and the Lake of Wisdom, walking through an ocean in the Fire of Greed and a glacier in the Ice of Envy. Past the Marsh of Sloth and the Summit of Pride were the Valley of Hope and the Bridge of Mercy. Finally, they arrived at the One Universe, the eleventh level.

The starry cosmos flowed slowly, unfurling a mysterious, magnificent scenery. Bands of shimmering light interwove in the cosmos like rainbow bridges pointing the way forward.

“Strange, why haven’t we seen a single soul after so long?” Wayne asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“What’s strange about that?” Sukra countered. “The three subordinate gods rebelled, and the goddess is in slumber. The Divine Realm has stopped operating.”

“Wanna bet?”

“No!”

Sukra shook her head decisively. Her faith was unquestionable, but there was something about Wayne that ensured no one would ever win a bet against him. She had witnessed the strange phenomenon. The latest unfortunate loser was Darienne. She had lost so terribly that she even lost her pants.

Ignoring Wayne’s sarcasm, Sukra pointed at a scintillating bridge and said excitedly, “According to the Sacred Tome, the Temple of Eternity is located at the center of the cosmos. We’ll meet the goddess soon.”

“Wake up. Your goddess is sleeping, with three traitors watching over Her coffin!”

Your goddess? As if She isn’t your goddess, too, Sukra grumbled in her head, recovering her composure. “Now I know why you insisted on taking me here. You plan to awaken the goddess and have Her descend through me, having Her rise in a different manner. Am I right?”

“I have considered that, but not now...”

Wayne shook his head, looking at the infinite starry cosmos.

Darkness and Death were good friends, so it made logical sense for Ines to hand her boyfriend the spare key to Her bestie’s bedroom. However, if this was the core area of the Divine Realm, there should be some sort of barrier for access control, like it was the case for the Heaven of Crystals in Heaven.

But he saw nothing. Not only had he not seen a mosquito net that would be found in Aztimor’s bedroom, but he didn’t see the knowledge and corruption that should be in the cosmos, either.

This cosmos was fake!

Wayne grabbed Sukra’s head and stopped her from advancing, considering the possibility that something had gone wrong. It was unlikely for Ines to set him up; if She wanted to do that, She could just give him the coordinates to the Divine Realm of Darkness. Then the problem had to lie on Aztimor’s side. Death was still in a limbo state, so the ones who could change the Divine Realm...

“The three subordinate gods...” Wayne murmured, intrigued.

It seemed that the three subordinate gods had gained partial control over the Divine Realm, becoming stronger than he had expected. It was a mistake not to bring Mikhael.

“Still, this will be a good chance to test myself against those fake gods.” Wayne kept his anticipation to himself, pushing Sukra on the back. “Let’s go. This isn’t our destination. Be ready. It won’t be easy to meet the goddess.”

Sukra staggered. Before she could say anything, her foot hit the ground, and she entered the starry cosmos. The world spun around her, the scenery becoming surreal.

It was a mist! An infinite mist!

The infinite mist appeared like a thick layer of gauze fabric, rustling and rippling as it washed over everything between heaven and earth. All that met the eyes was white. It was as if they had entered a forgotten land on the edge of the universe.

Sukra narrowed her eyes. With her seeping thoughts, her intangible gaze caught vague shapes in the distance. They could be mountains, or they could be palace-like structures. Immediately, thicker mist overwhelmed and countered her mental gaze, depriving her of her vague vision.

“Something is wrong with the mist. I’ve lost my sense of direction fully...” Sukra frowned deeply. The vague shapes concealed by the mist continued to shift. The sense of oppression unnerved her. She stepped closer to Wayne and whispered, “My mental senses have been sealed by the mist, so I can’t see far. What about you?”

“I...”

Wayne frowned wordlessly.

His grave expression further compounded Sukra’s ominous feeling. A terrifying sense of danger hit her, making beads of sweat pop up on her forehead.

“I’m fine,” Wayne said, his brows relaxing. “My view is bright and clear. I feel great.”

Then why did you frown, jerk?!

Sukra shot him a glare and kicked him.

The kick didn’t hurt at all. Wayne grabbed Sukra’s grey-haired head and slowly injected her with the information of Death, corrupting her and transforming her.

Her heart stopped. She rose over two meters with pale, almost translucent skin that clearly showed the dried, congealed dark purple veins beneath. Her well-groomed long grey hair elongated and draped her like silk, glowing faintly blue. A tattered grey robe shrouded her tall, slender body. Under her eye mask, two orbs of cold blue fire lit up.

As if she had blended into the mist, her energy couldn’t be sensed by the outside world.

“Hey, what is this?” Sukra was frightened by the change she couldn’t reverse. Her voice came out hoarse like the sound of friction. “Did my body... die?!”

“You’re not dead. You can still come back to life... Someone’s coming. Keep up your act.”

Wayne spoke hoarsely. He handed Sukra a wooden staff that was about a hundred and fifty centimeters long, with a tapered, curved tip embedded with a light blue crystal. It radiated grey mist like it was one with the thick mist around them.

Sukra took the staff reflexively. Hearing Wayne’s suddenly hoarse voice like he had contracted throat cancer, she turned around and looked.

His flesh and blood had wilted, now a dark-colored skeleton with a horned helmet and tattered armor. In his hand was a chipped double-edged sword that had been Shadow Nightmare.

Sukra blinked in confusion.

Her transformed body adapted perfectly to the environment. Her mental gaze, originally repelled by the thick mist, was now incredibly clear. When she cast her gaze to the vague shapes in the distance, she realized that they were massive skeletal beasts with grotesque horns.

Some were humanoid, and others were beast-like. In the sky were skeletal avian creatures hovering like giant eagles. There were also massive beings of the blood of great dragons. Their damaged bodies radiated a thick mist of Death. So numerous were their numbers that they formed a dense carpet, making Sukra break into goosebumps.

She looked in shock and found banshees that looked just like her. Each of them controlled ten or more skeletal beasts. The most powerful of them rode on the corpse of a great dragon while leading an army of hundreds of skeletal beasts.

She realized why Wayne had transformed her into a banshee. Just like what they had done in the underground catacombs in Palis, this was an infiltration operation. The undercover agent was supposed to become the leader.

“Would this work?”

“It will. Just care about what you need to care about and leave the rest to the rest.” 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Wayne gave her a thumbs-up. “You have the strongest skeleton, me. You’ll be fine.”

***

Somewhere in the Underworld, clear water rushed down in a fall and sped along a verdant canyon, splattering water and mist. The thunderous rumbles reached far into the distance.

On a nearby rockface, an elevated garden was built in the middle. A grey-robed man put his hands behind his back, looking at the map of the Underworld, which had been divided into three parts.

The man stood tall and strong with a handsome, sculpted face and an overbearing aura. Yet a single scar that extended from his brow to the corner of his mouth gave his appearance a vicious edge, making the righteous face look particularly malicious.

He was the Executor of Death, Sizorn the Wings of Winter.

“Grau, Saigner, you two think you can take on me...”

“Do you know death? Do you know resurrection? You don’t know anything. What gave you the right to become the new god of Death?!”

“I, on the other hand, have gained a life that Death pursues. I’ve completed my reincarnation. By taking over all of the Underworld, I will surpass Aztimor and become a god greater than Death.”

Sizorn pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his strong beating heart. The hearty vitality was the perfect foil for death, allowing him to come back to life. That was a height that Aztimor hoped to achieve, that he had reached first.

“And you, Rognes!” Sizorn stared at his territory on the map, his eyes gleaming viciously. “I decapitated you in the human world. I can do the same in the Divine Realm. You shouldn’t have come back. You definitely shouldn’t be stirring up trouble for me at a moment like this...”

“This time, no one will save you!”

He turned to look at the shadow in the forest. “Juvian, the Butterfly of Gravity. This isn’t where you should be. Our deal is finished.”

“Our deal is finished, but our partnership may continue. We’ve had a pleasant experience, haven’t we?” The shadow consisted of countless broken shards. As the subordinate god spoke, the shadow scattered into a large swathe of dappled butterflies. “Friendly reminder, someone has infiltrated the Underworld through a secret spatial passage, almost reaching Aztimor. Based on the coordinates they arrived at, they should be the Goddess of Darkness’s subordinate.”

“Goddess of Darkness...”

“Be careful. My master regards Darkness highly. The goddess never does anything without a reason. She’s very likely sent Her subordinate god.”

“Who? The Listener, Briar the Eye of Tears, or the Avenger, Kaya the Blade of Nightmares?”

“I don’t know, but they’re likely after you.”

“Preposterous. Given my current power, anyone but Darkness Herself would be marching to their death against me!”