Chapter 74: Seed of Trouble

As the sun set, the sound of waves breaking against the sand and the calls of seabirds formed the backdrop for the encounter between three figures on the beach.

Two of them carried scythes and had only just arrived, while the third gazed at the vast expanse of the sea in complete silence.

"Rozer the Immortal, I presume," said one of the newcomers, gripping the segmented shaft of his black scythe.

His companion, who carried two scythes on his back, made an impressive leap onto a gigantic nearby rock and sat down. It seemed he was only there to watch.

The man, apparently called Rozer, finally turned away from the sea and faced the one who had addressed him.

"And you must be reapers, the lieutenants of the god of death. The aura surrounding you gives you away." As he spoke, Rozer had drawn the sword he wore at his waist. "But I am honored that two of you came for me."

"Falagor only followed me because he was bored. Do not think his intervention will be necessary."

Falagor, who carried two scythes on his back and was now lying on his side atop the rock, waved a hand before using it to cover a yawn.

"Hmm... I think we'll see about that," Rozer said as a smile formed on his lips. "You see, they don't call me the Immortal for nothing."

"That is precisely why I, Destemos, have personally come for you. Your time came to an end long ago. Now you must fall to the Underworld."

The man with his back to the sea broke into a long laugh at those words.

"Just as I thought. Destemos and Falagor. Yes, I have heard of you two. The old women in the villages use your names to scare children who misbehave," Rozer said as he began walking across the sand toward Destemos. "But to take me away, Cerys herself would have had to come!"

"I don't know who you think you are, but I already told you I alone will be enough." Destemos also began walking toward his opponent.

"Who am I? That is simple..." Rozer suddenly broke into a run and made an enormous leap into the sky, one almost impressive enough to rival Falagor's. "I am the champion of the Goddess of Life!"

Rozer came down on Destemos, bringing his sword down in a powerful blow.

!!

Destemos blocked the attack with the shaft of his scythe, and the impact was powerful enough to cause a small tremor, sending ripples across the sand.

"One of the Goddess of Life's champions," Destemos corrected him, wiping the smile from Rozer's face. "And not even the most powerful."

!!

At that moment, the segmented shaft of Destemos's scythe separated into dozens of sections linked by a chain and coiled around Rozer, immobilizing him.

"But do not misunderstand. Even if you were the most powerful, you would still only be a demigod." Rozer's face twisted more with every word Destemos spoke. "We reapers are gods."

With those words, Destemos drew the blade of his scythe across Rozer's throat, cutting off his choked cry.

"Are you done already?" Falagor asked from atop the rock. "Although I don't know if Nereziel will approve of sending him to the Underworld so easily, considering he had ties to the Goddess of Life."

"Our lord is too lenient with Lirien, even though she is clearly hostile to us," Destemos replied, studying Rozer's lifeless body. "If we leave her to her own devices, she will fill the world with her champions, including some like this one, who should have departed for the Underworld long ago."

"What we do about that is something Nereziel must decide," Falagor answered, descending from the rock and covering another yawn with his hand. "As for me, I rather like the policy of avoiding unnecessary trouble."

"How many hundreds of years have you been in Nereziel's service, Falagor? You need to be more aware of your position... Mm?... This is..."

Destemos brought his hand to Rozer's chest and sank it into the dead man's body as though it were water.

"What did you find?"

Destemos withdrew his hand from within the corpse, a small seed now held between his fingers.

"My Godscript says this is... a seed of Yggdrasil."

The calls of the seabirds and the waves crashing against the shore continued to accompany the sunset on that distant beach of Eryndea.

***

There were several visiare villages and towns in the Last Valley, but nothing even came close to Altazar, the capital.

The city still stood where the river split, though over time it had grown until it surrounded both branches, which now divided it into three large sectors.

At the very point of the fork stood the imposing palace of the Archonte of the visiare, its tallest tower rising like a beacon between the main channel and the two branches of the river.

On one of the balconies of that same tower, Nerez was sipping from a cup of herbal tea alongside Saelith.

"So Osvel is the captain of the royal guard now," Nerez remarked, taking a sip from his cup. "In Altazar, the captain of the royal guard is also a general in the army, isn't that right?"

"That is correct, Lord Nereziel. The highest-ranking general, to be exact," Sae replied, lowering her own cup.

"For someone with his talent, I feel like it took him quite some time..."

"Actually, Akenor, the previous captain, retired early so Osvel could take the position," Sae explained with a smile. "For the visiare, it was a fairly rapid promotion, considering his age."

"That is true. The visiare's lifespans really do surprise me. None of you look any older than you did fifteen hundred years ago. In fact, Thaelor even seems younger than he did back then."

"He loves his work as high priest of your temple, Lord Nereziel," Sae said with a laugh. "Even though our temple is dedicated to the god of death, its high priest seems more full of life by the day."

"What shocks me most, though, is that Osvel doesn't look a day older than any of his many children or grandchildren..."

"He should grow a mustache, shouldn't he?" Sae agreed with a laugh. "That is the tradition, but he says it isn't his style."

Sae raised her cup again and took another sip of the herbal tea.

"And you, Sae? Are you still not planning to get married or have children? Thaelor must surely be waiting for another descendant."

Pfffft!

The mouthful of tea immediately sprayed out over the balcony.

"Lord Nereziel! What kind of question is that?!" Sae exclaimed, red as a tomato.

"No... well... it has been fifteen hundred years. One would think you would have moved past your feelings for Osvel by now and have a family of your own..."

"We visiare are slow about that kind of thing! Even slower than those elves on the surface!" the Archonte protested, lowering her head. "That is normal for us... It is just that many have made an effort to populate this city and the Last Valley in general... But I have had so much work to worry about!"

"Hahaha, I wasn't judging you or anything like that," Nerez tried to reassure her.

"Please do not laugh at me, Lord Nereziel..." Sae puffed out her cheeks like a little girl.

Knock, knock

That was when someone called at the door.

"Lady Archonte, forgive the interruption, but someone has come seeking our god, and I do not have the authority to tell them to wait..."

Ugh... I can't escape to any corner of the Underworld without being bothered anymore...