Chapter 3: The White City Above the Clouds

Nerez let out a weary sigh, and the seriousness on his face contrasted sharply with the expression he had worn until now.

He had lost his composure at the beginning, and really, who wouldn’t have after everything he had been forced to endure?

Just when he thought he was finally free and was celebrating, he found himself surrounded by a crowd that seemed anything but human…

“First, I need to understand what exactly I’ve gotten myself into… Candidates for godhood? That gigantic gate leads to a new world? Then what world am I in right now?”

Around him, the thousands of supposed candidates kept leaving the hall. The gates they passed through shone with such intensity that whatever lay beyond the threshold was impossible to make out, yet no one seemed to care.

Anyone would have been dumbfounded by the situation, but Nerez had simply lived too long. He knew gods existed. In the distant past, he had crossed paths with one… and ever since then, very few things had managed to surprise him.

“My priorities right now are to gather information while trying to stay unnoticed during this ‘Festival,’ in case that angel-faced demon realizes I escaped… But if I really am chosen as a god…? Could I stand against the Goddess of Fate?”

Nerez looked around once more. An incredibly attractive pair happened to be passing nearby, and in fact, they were drawing the attention of everyone around them.

The man was tall and handsome, with fiery hair and an air of easy confidence. His eyes seemed to reflect the sky itself. Like Lirien, he too appeared to shine with a light of his own, but while hers had been more mystical, his was fiercer.

The girl walking beside him, on the other hand, had brilliant silver eyes. Her blond hair, touched by the light, shifted in tone as she moved, from a deep gold to an almost pale yellow.

Perhaps she felt his gaze, because she turned her head for a second and gave him a small smile before continuing on her way.

The smile didn’t surprise Nerez. Many of those passing by turned to point at him and chuckle under their breath.

All he could do was scratch his head and laugh awkwardly.

“No… even if I were chosen as a god…” Nerez closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “That old man had ‘Supreme God’ among his titles, but I’m certain not even he could defeat the Goddess of Fate… Mm?”

He brought a hand to his chin, deep in thought.

“The old man and his granddaughter were gods of life… does that mean there could be other gods of fate?” Nerez rubbed his arms as a chill ran through him. “I don’t want to think about that possibility…”

But it was then that a voice behind him pulled him from his thoughts.

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“My Godscript says your name really is Nereziel… Have you no shame? A name like that is reserved for…”

Nerez recognized the man with the broad, cleft chin approaching him. He was the same one who had been bragging that his spiritual energy was over twenty thousand.

But before Nerez could snap back that he had no idea who had given him such a cringe name, or why, the man fell silent on his own and looked at him thoughtfully.

“No, more importantly… why does my Godscript show me nothing but your name?… Does that mean your spiritual energy is higher than mine? Impossible… Wait, that’s right, I’ve heard there are all sorts of ways to conceal information…”

“If you’re going to keep talking to yourself, may I leave? I fail to see how my presence is contributing anything to this ‘conversation.'”

“I am Odrian, son of the God of Fire of Ferendil, grandson of the great Goddess of Light of Calenna. The mere fact that I am addressing you at all should be an honor.”

“Mmm, honestly, I still don’t see myself contributing to this exchange…”

“Start by stating your lineage. If you have no relevant close kin, your clan will do.”