Chapitre 345: Chapter 346: The Meeting of Gregory and Azik
Chapter 346: The Meeting of Gregory and Azik
A familiar yet strange sensation was slowly approaching from afar. Azik's body trembled involuntarily, torn between desire and fear. Long-buried memories began to reassemble themselves - battlefields, death, blood, countless dismembered bodies, and gazes too terrible to behold.
Azik's head throbbed with pain. He crouched down, clutching his head with both hands. He could clearly feel his soul thrashing wildly, as if trying to escape from his skull. This was the soul's yearning to be made whole again. Yet a familiar yet alien force was helping to suppress this desire, binding his soul tightly within his body.
The intense pain he felt now came from the tug-of-war between these two forces. In the midst of the tearing sensation, he saw a pair of pale, flame-like eyes on the verge of extinguishment gazing at him. A feather stained with pale yellow oil fell, splitting his once-complete soul in two.
Fortunately, the balance of the struggle gradually tipped towards stability and calm. The pain slowly began to subside.
"Sir, are you alright?" The bookstall owner looked at his suddenly distressed customer with concern.
"I'm... I'm fine. Sorry to worry you," Azik said, gradually overcoming his headache and struggling to his feet. His face was deathly pale.
After purchasing two books, Azik made his way through the bustling streets and chose a street-side café. Sitting by the window, he observed the street while sipping bitter coffee, a Southern specialty known for its strong, sugarless brew.
As he rested, Azik's headache eased and his fragmented memories began to coalesce, revealing his past. He was the offspring of the Death Emperor Salinger and the Death Regent of the Fourth Era Bylan Empire. During the War of the Four Emperors, he had followed his father into battle, only to lose his memories after a single glance from the Blood Emperor Alista Tudor.
Since then, he had been caught in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, losing his memories each time and starting anew. Compared to his cold life as Death Regent, each subsequent reincarnation seemed warmer, with memories tinted in soft hues.
The rekindled flames of war in his homeland had ignited his past memories, but the person he remembered being was not who he had imagined or wanted to become. Azik stared out at the street, lost in complex emotions.
Suddenly, the busy chatter of the café fell silent. A towering figure entered, exuding an aura of authority that demanded submission. With eyes full of reverence, he approached Azik and knelt on one knee, saying respectfully, "The god has sent us to welcome you, Lord Death Regent."
Azik gave him only a cursory glance. This man carried the bloodline of the Eastern Bylan Empire's royal family and was the current ruler of that nation.
So this day had finally come. When Azik regained his past memories, he understood the truth behind his countless cycles of memory loss and rebirth. His amnesia stemmed from the incompleteness of his soul, and the architect of it all was his father, the Death Emperor Salinger of the Fourth Era.
This so-called "welcome" was actually for his father, who would take over Azik's body and be reborn. This was the resurrection method Salinger had left behind when he fell long ago. There was no vessel more suitable for his revival than his own offspring. The notion of familial love between father and son was too naive and simple for beings like them who had attained godhood.
But Azik had no intention of refusing. He calmly prepared to face the ending that should have come long ago.
At that moment, another figure appeared in the café - a woman with ordinary features, dark eyes, dressed in a simple robe tied with a bark belt, her long black hair hanging loose, and barefoot.
"You still have a choice," she said.
"It's too late," Azik replied with a smile. "You've come too late. He has already returned. The reason he's only now coming for me is because he has absolute confidence."
After a pause, his gaze seemed to look past the woman to something beyond. "If He had come in person, perhaps there might have been a chance. You are merely a worthy believer."
"I can try to send you away from here," she offered.
"But I no longer wish to continue running away," Azik declined her kindness. At this point, he only wanted to face his destined end with dignity.
"His return will cause more chaos and death. Your willing sacrifice will destroy everything you once valued," the woman warned.
"Perhaps," Azik said, glancing into the distance before continuing, "But my long, muddled life should finally come to its rightful conclusion."
"You shouldn't so easily abandon your human side," she urged.
Azik replied calmly, "But humanity will ultimately be replaced by divinity."
"There will always be a difference," the woman insisted.
With those words, the mysterious woman attempted to take the unresisting Azik away from the café. However, they didn't go far, inexplicably falling into the spirit realm before reappearing back in the café.
Azik wasn't surprised by this outcome, and the mysterious woman's face remained expressionless. Her actions seemed to have been a test of some kind.
The atmosphere instantly became tense. The king of Eastern Bylan, still kneeling on the ground, finally spoke up hesitantly, "Lord Death Regent, the god only instructed us to welcome your return. There were no other divine orders beyond that."
"It seems He doesn't require my sacrifice just yet," Azik said, seeming to understand something.
"Chirp."
A clear sound broke the silence in the café. A carriage stopped outside, and a girl as delicate as a doll stepped down. On her right shoulder perched a small fire bird, its eyes calmly observing everything around it.
As the girl entered the café, the small fire bird fluttered its wings and landed on the table in front of Azik. It looked at Azik, the mysterious woman, and the king of Eastern Bylan in turn, before fixing its gaze back on Azik.
After a moment, it chirped again. A thunderclap seemed to resound in Azik's mind, and the restless half of his soul was reinforced with a golden phoenix seal.
The mysterious woman now understood. The being that had returned was Death itself, not purely the Death Emperor Salinger. If Azik were to be forcibly consumed now, it would lead to Salinger's true resurrection - an outcome the current Death did not desire. What Death wanted was for Azik to continue living with half a soul until Death fully grasped its authority, at which point it would seek to complete the soul.
"This is an outcome Salinger himself probably didn't anticipate," the mysterious woman murmured, turning her gaze to the doll-like girl and examining her carefully.
Azik also fell silent. Although his distant memories and familial feelings were somewhat blurred, the shared bloodline still filled him with sorrow. He looked at the small fire bird on the table, which appeared confused and thoughtful. He wanted to reach out and stroke it but stopped halfway, instead turning his gaze to the girl who had arrived with the bird.
He wanted to understand what was different about someone who could accompany such a being.
Gerald Aegis, still kneeling on the ground, also raised his head slightly to observe the girl. He didn't dare look directly at the small fire bird. In the divine revelation he had received, he had seen a giant phoenix in flight, resembling an enlarged version of the small fire bird before him. The fear deep in his heart clearly told him the relationship between the two.
Sharon, now the focus of three gazes, felt somewhat bewildered. Although she didn't recognize any of these people, the aura and feeling they emitted clearly indicated they were extraordinary individuals far more powerful than herself.
Especially the woman with the calm expression - her gaze seemed able to see through everything, leaving Sharon feeling completely exposed. This sensation was even more intimidating than being in the presence of her teacher.
Sharon hadn't intended to enter the café at all. She had only dismounted from the carriage because the small fire bird had suddenly urged her to visit this particular establishment.
The moment she stepped into the café, she had a strange feeling, as if everything around her had fallen into an peculiar state. Although the other patrons seemed to be normally drinking coffee and chatting, it felt as if only these three individuals were truly real, apparently discussing some significant matter.
After a moment of silence, Sharon looked at the small fire bird on the table. She felt it would be best to leave with Hastur's spirit realm messenger quickly, to avoid any unforeseen incidents.
"Chirp."
Gregory turned and flapped its wings, giving Sharon a reassuring look. The gaze seemed to say, "Don't worry, it's fine. I've got your back."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone