Chapter 53: The Mercy of Death

Nerez knelt beside what remained of the figure formed from black mist, which was slowly fading away.

“I imagine I won’t have to redirect a veiled trail toward the gemstone if even the demons were able to capture souls…”

Without thinking too much about it, he brought the netherite close to the titan, and both the gemstone and a point deep within the dark mist began to glow.

“This is…”

The light that had appeared inside Erebion rose above the mist and entered the netherite just as the last of him disappeared.

That was when the gemstone’s light shifted to the same gloomy purple hue he had seen in the stones the demons carried.

But unlike theirs, the netherite in Nerez’s hands began to shake uncontrollably.

“Don’t tell me these things have a maximum capacity!”

He tried to hold it with both hands, but that did not stop it in the slightest. If anything, the intensity only increased with every passing second.

!!

Cracks had also begun spreading all across it, each one accompanied by a brittle creak.

“This isn’t going to last much longer… Wait! That’s right!”

Nerez focused on the netherite between his hands, and another light appeared around it, or rather, a darkness illuminated by blue and purple flashes.

Divine Blessing

The points of light in the tiny galaxy that had enveloped the netherite shone with such intensity that Nerez had to close his eyes.

By the time he opened them again, the netherite had stopped shaking and was whole again.

[Blessed Netherite]

That was its new description in the Godscript.

“It’s a much more useful skill than I imagined… I wonder if I can bless myself?”

Nerez focused for a few moments, but nothing changed.

“It was worth a try…”

Getting to his feet, Nerez slipped the still-glowing netherite into his pocket and headed toward Cerys.

“Nerez… the ground is cold…”

“Do you want me to help you up?”

“Carry me.”

“…”

“…”

“Ily, Sae, and now even you… I think I’m the real pack mule here.” Nerez let out a resigned sigh, but just as he was about to crouch down to pick up his battered servant, he stopped short. “Wait, I have a better idea.”

…

“Nerez… the bones hurt…” Cerys complained not long afterward, as a skeleton carried her in its arms.

As they left that natural throne room of sorts, Nerez cast one last glance at the fissure, or rather, the small luminous cavern through which the souls had appeared.

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Only the threshold seemed small. If it collapsed, it would create a hole of considerable size in the wall.

“If that cavern leads where I think it does, I’ll have to create a proper entrance here. Not that I want many visitors. Quite the opposite, I’m going to make gates as large as the ones in the Hall of Dawns to keep people out… Besides, according to the Godscript, that sort of grand treatment increases the faith generated by places like this.”

“Nerez… these bones are digging into my ribs and it hurts… and I’m hungry too…”

…

“In any case, I’ll come back another day to explore.”

***

It would not have been difficult to get lost in the network of caverns between the titan’s chamber and the Last Valley.

In fact, now that Nerez was more familiar with the skill and the underworld, it would have been better and faster to open a veiled trail tied to some creature from the valley.