Chapter 47: Celestial

Dhein picked up his pace, glancing furtively behind him.

’Someone is following me?’ he thought with dread.

Then, he asked the god:

“Who is it? How close are they?”

Cyreth answered.

’Don’t worry, they are quite far. But they are protected by a mysterious energy that prevents me from identifying them.’

Dhein felt his heart race. All alone, lost in this forest, an encounter with a dangerous foe was the last thing he needed!

While walking fast, a question popped up in his mind. He saw no reason not to ask, so he did.

“Wait a minute. Why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me?”

When the god answered with silence, Dhein continued.

“Even the thing about the constellation ladder. You could have just kept that as a secret and it would have been easier for you to gather enough stars.”

The fallen god scoffed.

’I’m not like those greedy cowards who don’t fight fairly. Since we’re in this stalemate, you deserve to know how you will be replaced. And I am in no rush. I know you’ll need my power one day.’

’Besides, you amuse me, human. The way you so desperately fight to hide your weakness is, by far, the most amusing thing I have ever witnessed. So, as long as you continue to entertain me, I’ll be on your side.’

The god let out a mocking laugh that rang in Dhein’s ears.

Sighing in annoyance, Dhein asked:

“Is that how you lost the war? You were outsmarted by a weaker enemy?”

He heard Cyreth scoff once again.

’Yeah, that’s right. They knew they couldn’t defeat me, so they resorted to underhanded tactics.’

Hearing that, Dhein couldn’t help but wonder how strong Cyreth actually was. If even the winning gods couldn’t defeat him in a fair fight, then the mortals here on earth wouldn’t stand a chance at all.

But at the same time, he was grateful Cyreth had lost. Seeing red stars in the night sky seemed like a fuel for nightmares.

“What was the war even about?” Dhein blurted.

The only information humans had about the celestial war was its aftermath. Eons ago, when humanity was still starting to develop into what it was now, the gods physically roamed the earth and helped humans prosper. They gave them the teachings of the divine that helped them survive in this world. Included in that was a bit of information about the Great Celestial War.

It only told them about the rules implemented by the new gods, but not how the war went or its cause.

A moment later, Cyreth replied casually.

’We were bored.’

Dhein blinked a couple of times. He must’ve heard that wrong.

“What?” he asked.

The fallen god continued.

’As gods, we exist for eternity. Even when we die, our souls will continue to live on in a different form which is an even more meaningless existence. So, we created what you call the universe. It’s an interesting branch of reality — the physical one as you call it.’

’The universe has laws that even we can’t overwrite lest it crumbles into oblivion. That’s why only certain things could exist in it. One side of the war wishes reality to stay as it is, while the other wants to change it. We have fought for what we think is interesting, that’s all. There isn’t a deeper meaning to it like life and death or love and peace.’

’When you’ve lived a life in an infinite amount of time, without surprises, challenges or even a bit of struggle, you would find even the smallest things enough reason to wage a war, too.’

Dhein couldn’t believe what he was hearing. All of a sudden, his view about gods and the heavens, the divine forces that governed the world, was slowly crumbling.

“It was a pointless war,” he muttered with a tinge of disappoinment.

’Like our lives. There is no point to anything, human. Just do what you want to do in your short, worthless life.’

’After death, you return to nothingness which renders your whole existence without meaning. The world will end, too, someday, so all the efforts you’ve spent to leave your mark in it will go to waste as well.’

’We gods, will exist for all of eternity without a purpose. It’s all the same. A life that doesn’t end is just as meaningless as the one that does.’

Thinking how Cyreth couldn’t be more wrong, Dhein wanted to disagree with the god’s words. But before he could even voice his thoughts out, his next step made his heart skip a beat.

He fell into a hole.

Flailing about, Dhein panicked as he was sent to a free fall inside a dark tunnel that extended vertically deep into the earth. Even after several seconds, he still hadn’t reached the bottom!

The impact would certainly kill him, so he needed to think fast. And there was only one thing that could save his life.

Right before his body hit the ground, he switched his consciousness to Cyreth.

Cyreth effortlessly flipped midair and landed on his feet, shattering the rocky surface of the torch-lit cave.

Dhein had fallen into a hidden tunnel of the demon base in Callex. This was probably the tunnel they used when they wanted to retreat or make an ambush on the imperial soldiers.

He immediately switched back to himself after landing, causing the fallen god to fume.

’You bastard. How dare you use me like that.’

Ignoring the god, Dhein looked at what was in front of him.

His blood ran cold.

Two figures with towering height and broad, muscular builds were looking at him. They wore thick metal armors over their dark purple skin, and each had a pair of sharp horns on the forehead.

They were middle-ranked demons!

But instead of fighting, upon seeing Dhein, fear displayed itself on their faces and postures. It seemed like they heard rumors about how powerful and viscous he was from Krushe, and that fighting him was pure suicide for they immediately bolted away from him and out of the cave.

Though petrified, Dhein figured that they should know where the exit was.

So, mustering his resolve, he followed them.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep