The world known as yesterday and the past began to pass away alongside the demise of Chronos. Everything here began to crumble. Li Yue lowered her head, and in that final moment, she couldn't resist taking one last look at the dark sky. Even though it was the worst of eras, she still couldn't help but miss it time and again.
The scenes before them began to dissolve into fragments. By the time Clo regained her senses, Li Yue’s black-robed figure had already appeared in front of her. It felt as if she had just possessed everything, yet also as if she had nothing at all.
“Take this. As for becoming a god, you still need to wait for an opportunity.” Li Yue tossed a silver pocket watch into Clo’s arms. She looked at the surrounding scene; the final trace of the Mythological Era within this cathedral was finally beginning to slowly dissipate. Everything was passing away with that era.
“I...”
“I know. You saw my past. It seems I don't need to explain much to you...” Li Yue fell silent for a moment. She thought about how she should evaluate the era she missed most.
“That world... it was beautiful, wasn't it?”
“Yes. I saw the past, and I saw the past you.” Clo looked at the pocket watch in her hand. It had completely stopped, frozen at a specific point in time. Clo didn't know what it meant, but she guessed that this was perhaps the final curtain call of the Mythological Era.
“By the way...” Clo rummaged carefully through her ring and found two dresses—one black and one white. They were embroidered with various scales but styled like formal gowns, seemingly blending the aesthetics of two eras. A trace of magic lingered upon them.
“This black one is yours. Astarte sent it to you...” Clo handed the black dress to Li Yue. Li Yue’s indifference was somewhat unexpected to Clo; she silently accepted the dress without saying a word.
“Her craftsmanship didn't survive to this day. Yours is white, and it gets dirty easily, so you should take good care of it,” Li Yue instructed. She then led Clo as they slowly began to walk out of the broken church.
“Wait, what did we come here for again?” The overload of information had left Clo’s mind in a bit of a haze, to the point where she had even forgotten their original purpose for coming here.
“To eliminate the madness and corruption within my body. You witnessed it too; even those gods were helpless against it.” Li Yue looked at several piles of ash in the corner, her face devoid of any particular emotion. “They died for the path they pursued.”
“?” Clo raised an eyebrow. “Speak plainly.”
“They discovered I was a follower of Death and tried to kill me, so I killed them instead.” Li Yue shrugged, her expression looking quite innocent. “They made the first move.”
“You look like you're in much better shape. What did you do? Did their ritual work?”
“I let those fools bear my pain and corruption. They turned into blood demons, and I gained sanity and clarity—temporarily.”
“So the books were right; you really are the creator of the blood demons.” Clo leaned in, trying to find even a hint of the past Jormungandr in that frost-cold, indifferent face, but she seemingly found nothing.
“It was me. But compared to them, I consider myself the most gentle deity toward humanity.” Li Yue looked into Clo’s eyes, and her expression finally softened slightly. She pinched Clo’s cheek, causing the stiff atmosphere to relax considerably.
“The past you was more adorable,” Clo muttered, looking a bit disappointed and huffy.
“The current... the current me isn't Jormungandr either,” Li Yue said with a faint smile. “I am Li Yue, and I am also her. We are the same, yet we are different.”
“...”
“That naive little girl died in the Underworld, and I am her reborn—the World Eater...” Li Yue avoided Clo’s gaze and sighed, yet she still couldn't completely distance herself from her past self.
“It’s fine. I just happen to like the current you.”
“Then let’s go. There seem to be quite a few ‘eyes’ outside the door. As expected, they haven't been completely wiped out. The ignorant are truly fearless.” Li Yue took Clo’s hand and turned to look at her. Her eyes were filled with complex emotions. Clo now knew that Li Yue finally considered her a true companion on this journey.
“I want to sweep away the remnants of this world and atone for their sins.” Li Yue gently pushed open the heavy doors. A sliver of sunlight fell upon Clo, and she saw Li Yue’s face clearly in the shadows of the light—she was so distinct, yet so familiar.
Li Yue lightly snapped her fingers. One by one, the blood mists in the sky exploded. Crimson flesh fell to the ground, and in the next instant, the hideous blood demons turned to ash, merging into the dust of this secular world.
“You should know... this is a path leading toward corruption... and darkness. If you come with me... there’s no turning back...” Li Yue sighed softly. At this moment, however, she could feel the warmth coming from Clo’s hand. She tilted her head, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“Look, A Yue... the rain has stopped...” Clo looked at the dispersing dark clouds. Even though the people nearby were too terrified by Li Yue’s horrific magic to step out of their homes, they still opened their curtains, greedily enjoying the hard-won light.
“Fate... is this the gift you promised me?” Li Yue pulled Clo along as they quickly fled the scene, their figures darting rapidly through the Death Abyss.
“If it were true, then why would I pull her into such a dark world?”
...
A few days later, the Specter Church was furious. They dispatched a large number of enforcement officers to the Central Cathedral of Limbo in an attempt to find this follower of Death. Aside from that shadow of death, they couldn't find even a trace of her.
The suppression of the sect of Death grew increasingly severe. Some witnessed it, yet they merely acted as bystanders, powerless to do anything.
The Royal Court began a secret search for this mysterious killer, wondering if she truly was that never-before-seen vassal of Death.
Or perhaps, she was simply an executioner walking her own path alone—only now, she had finally found where she belonged.
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