Chapter 398 Deathness



POV Random Guard:

Erich let out a tired yawn, his arms stretching languidly in the dimly lit surroundings. The crackling orange light from the fireplaces and the eerie golden glow emanating from the terrifying portal were the only sources of illumination on this starless, cloudy night.

As winter approached, the biting cold seeped into his bones, causing a slight shiver to run down his spine. Fatigue crept into his weary mind, and his eyelids drooped, threatening to close completely.

Suddenly, a distant yell pierced through the air, jolting him awake. "Damn, this is such bullshit!"

"Yeah, how could I die of a heart attack? What nonsense is that?"

'They just keep trying. How I envy them.'

His loathing for the job intensified. It was a wretched existence, enduring the cold darkness while constantly on guard for the potential emergence of a monstrous entity from the ominous portal.

'This dungeon is cursed. Everyone just dies there. Even after years we can't get deeper into it.'

A strange sound resonated from the portal, causing him to tighten his grip on his halberd.

'Damn these politics... why do they insist on keeping this accursed thing open? It should have been sealed and closed long ago.'

eαglesnᴏνel In the blink of an eye, fire, lightning, and ice erupted from the portal, engulfing the surroundings. A massive black silhouette, concealed by swirling clouds, shot out with such incredible speed that the resulting shockwave knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground.

POV Vesuvius:

The aura of death intensified as the dragon plunged deeper into the dungeon's depths. All signs of life had vanished, even the once radiant crystals now dulled and devoid of vitality.

"So, you have returned, dragon."

A voice reverberated through the pitch-black tunnel, as mist and darkness condensed into a singular point. Gradually, a dark silhouette took form, its black attire shifting in a nonexistent breeze.

Within the mist, two purple eyes glowed with an eerie flicker.

Vesuvius hovered in mid-air, his elemental aura and life force pushing back the encroaching sea of death, forming a protective bubble around him.

"I have come to claim my promised payment."

"Tell me, what do you seek? My service?"

For a fleeting moment, Vesuvius wavered. 'To have a reaper of such high rank kill someone for me... No, that would be a waste.'

"No, I seek something different."

"Gold?" The dragon's dual hearts skipped a beat at the mention, but he steeled his resolve. 'No! With sufficient power, all the gold will come to me in due time. I must not be blinded by this.'

"No, I desire materials or relics infused with traces of divine energy. I want remnants of deceased divine beings."

A heavy silence enveloped them, the two purple focal points fixed upon Vesuvius.

"No, your assistance holds lesser value."

'So it has come to this. Perhaps I wanted too much....'

Without warning, the air grew oppressively dense, even causing the dragon difficulty in drawing breath. Reality blurred, and the world spun.

In the next instant, Vesuvius found himself adrift in a boundless void of darkness.

'Hu...' His thoughts froze as an overwhelming power, saturated with nothing but death, surged throughout the vast expanse, leaving him as the sole beacon of life in an unfathomable ocean of endless demise.

His soul quivered as an overwhelming chill enveloped it, but the inherent vitality of his draconic nature, mana, and divine energy provided a barrier against the icy grip.

"I feel every death, I can guide you where you want. I can show you the thing you desire." The voice, distant, sounding like whispers, yet at the same time loud as if someone spoke straight into his ears sent vibrations through his soul.

A dreadful presence materialized, its terrifying power akin to what he had sensed in the presence of the dragon god, but saturated with the essence of death.

'The god of death.'

"I have savored every life you have extinguished in this world."

The aura of death weakened, stabilizing his soul and returning clarity to his thoughts.

'Should I bow? No, dragons bow only to other dragons. That would be an insult to our way. Yes, if the god of death is anything like their reapers they will not get offended by something like that.'

The whispering didn't stop, instead, it grew louder and louder with each word, "The mortal gods have been breaking the precious balance for too long. So, I shall help you to even up the battlefield."

'Huh?' With his clarity back Vesuvius noticed something, a faint connection going between his soul and the sea of death.

He had no time to think about it as the god kept speaking in its cold whispering voice, "Go to the northern sea, once you get there you will see it. Ohhh, I can feel the remnants of time magic on your soul."

The dragon's heart froze and his mind clouded with horror. He saw it with his own eyes with how frenzy the usually inactive reapers hunted down the mere dungeon boss using it.

'Is this really how am I going to end? Where are you, dragon god?'

"Truly interesting. Hide it well or you will be hunted. Hunted by many powers."

In an instant, he found himself hovering once again within the depths of the dungeon. The touch of death still lingered within his soul, akin to a shard of ice.

'I am actually alive.' The euphoria of being alive exploded within him. He already thought he would die, but he was well and alive. He felt like licking the cold walls of the dungeon after experiencing the ocean of death and nothingness.

'Now, that I think about it, the reaper wasn't pissed off as much about the time magic, but more about mortals getting their hands on it...'

"You have met their deathness. Now, you have your reward."

He was missing it before, but after meeting the god of death he could feel it even with the reaper. There was that exact same connection as with his dragonkin or with the wyrm, just much, much more distant and weaker.

'Can dragons and reapers be somehow distantly related? How could that even be possible with so many differences?' He tried to think more, to push back the lingering coldness of death.

His encounter with death had left him with a multitude of questions. 'Mortal gods? Balance? What is in the northern sea?'

Ding!

//

You have gained a blessing [Lesser blessing of the death god]

Effects: Reduced damage from death and undeath attributed elements; Increased comprehension of death magic; ???; Undead will be more prone to respect you

//