I kept my expression calm.
Not too smug. Not too stiff. Just the right amount of "I’m-totally-not-scheming-against-a-goddess-right-now."
But Hel?
For the first ti since I t her...
She really looked at . And sweet rcy of the void, that stare could definitely freeze a sun or two. Cold didn’t begin to describe it.
It felt like she wanted to have ritually dismbered, slow-drained and put on display.
And I couldn’t, for the life of , figure out what I had done to earn that particular flavor of hate just yet.
I an, sure, I had a question lined up that she couldn’t answer but I hadn’t even dropped it yet. That one was locked and loaded for the final round.
So what had I done?
All I did was ask about her favorite snack.
Just a little harmless nonsense to paint myself as a dumb, desperate mortal who had stumbled into godhood’s deal-making.
It was all part of the plan.
Make her underestimate .
Let her think I was harmless, unworthy and forgettable.
It was a setup, a perfectly crafted façade so I could really do sothing crazy afterwards.
And yet here she was...
Staring at like I had reached into her past and slapped her first crush.
Why?
What the hell was in that snack mory?
May it be mortal, immortal, noble or nobody, won just had to be so damn complicated to understand.
In any case, I had my second question ready.
Truth be told, there were countless things I could have asked.
Mysteries people would kill to know.
Secrets even kings would beg for.
But let’s be honest.
I already knew too much.
And for the things I didn’t know?
I sure as hell wasn’t about to ask her.
This world had a price for knowledge.
And those who chased after divine secrets?
Yeah... they usually didn’t get a happy ending.
Just a tragic one with better foreshadowing.
Besides, where’s the fun in getting all the answers handed to you?
Half the thrill’s in the puzzle.
And I wanted to solve it myself.
Yeah, I know, it was kind of dumb.
If I were in so novel, so poor reader would probably be screaming at the page right about now.
"What kind of stupidity is this?"
"Bruh, the protag is so useless!"
"Screw this guy, I’m dropping the story!"
Because if I were reading this, I would probably say the sa damn thing.
I an, who wouldn’t want the main character to die, unlock so forbidden cosmic truth, co back as a literal god in the next Chapter, annihilate his enemies, and ride off into the void with a harem of dinsion-breaking wives?
It’s clean, flashy and sothing which would sell.
But that’s not .
I didn’t want to blow my brains out by learning sothing I was never ant to hear.
That’s also why I was so damn cautious, especially when it ca to even thinking about the real truths.
About the nas of the Primordial Gods.
Because in this world?
Sotis just hearing a certain na could twist you.
And in all honesty, there wasn’t much I wanted to know from Hel... or at least I couldn’t think anything much at this mont.
So, without any further hesitation, I threw my next question towards her.
"My second question is..."
I scratched my head like I was actually debating so cosmic truth.
"... did you ever look at the sky just to see the stars?"
—
Hel looked at the mortal who had asked yet another ridiculous question...
And yet, for the second ti, she couldn’t bring herself to dismiss it.
Not because the question was clever or because it held hidden aning.
But because it made her rember her mortal days.
She didn’t think much this ti and replied.
"Yes."
A single word.
She didn’t explain.
She didn’t need to because the question only asked yes or no.
She awaited the final question.
Will it be sothing simple like others?
Or will he ask her for so knowledge this ti?
She didn’t doubt him asking a question she didn’t know the answer to because in the vision she had seen herself smile.
Not out of mockery, triumph or even cruelty.
But... genuine joy.
And she had clung to that aning.
Because Hel did not smile for nothing.
So... this next question, whatever it was,
It must be the one that would unlock everything.
She was sure of it.
She had to be.
Because if not...
Then she didn’t understand the mortal standing before her.
The mortal looked at her in puzzlent, his expression strange for a mont.
But he regained calm before asking his final question.
"My third question is..."
He paused for a mont.
"... what is your Primordial Mark?"
—
[Rael’s POV]
As soon as I muttered those words an imnse amount of pressure exploded outward from Hel.
My body crashed onto the ground.
My vision trembled, flickering in and out and through that haze...
I saw my hand start to vanish.
There was no pain... probably because my body was long dead and I was being simply erased by Hel.
Still, I didn’t panic.
I didn’t even flinch.
Because I knew, absolutely knew, nothing was going to happen to .
The Heavenly Principles weren’t about to let a challenger get erased just because their opponent couldn’t answer a question and decided to throw a divine tantrum.
And soon after, the pressure vanished and my body started solidifying again.
But even as the laws began to rewind and rebuild , as the decree shifted in my favor...
I wasn’t thinking about victory.
I wasn’t even thinking about the Chalice, or Helheim, or the cosmic scale of what I had just pulled off.
I was thinking about sothing else entirely.
Why was she smiling?
Back when I asked her sothing dumb.
Did you ever look at the sky just to see the stars?
I hadn’t thought much of it.
It was just a distraction. Sothing to pass the ti before the killshot.
She had answered simply.
But her face had cracked just for a mont as a small smile had touched her lips, uninvited.
It was almost like...
She didn’t even realize she was smiling.
Yet as I looked at her now, there was no trace of that smile anymore...
...only fury remained.
As a voice echoed within the area.
[The Seraphic Decree Has Concluded]
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