Against The True Gods-Chapter 151: Fate(III)—Luck, Luck, Luck

’Death.’

Caine found himself standing in an endless expanse of outstretched ethereal glowing golden waters. Above, in the skies, countless majestic eyes of gold, amethyst, and purple gazed down upon him—divine and otherworldly.

The place felt strangely familiar, as though he had returned to his mother’s womb. Its warmth was almost nostalgic.

But Caine didn’t seem to react much to this.

’I have died.’

He looked around and found himself utterly alone.

PAH!

Caine sat down on the waters beneath him, his expression empty, his gaze locked on the endlessly stretching horizon beyond.

There was no trick.

No complex plan. No grand heretical idea. No sealed and hidden power. No sudden awakening or enlightenment—there was nothing.

No one was there but him.

Nothing would save him. He had died, truly and simply because he was too weak, because he wasn’t worthy.

The realization sank into Caine without resistance.

He accepted it for what it was. What else could he do?

He didn’t know why he was here instead of Samsara, nor did he know where "here" even was, but he truly didn’t care.

At the end of the day, none of it mattered.

RUMBLE!

The sea of eyes flooding the skies above parted, allowing a figure to descend.

The figure was a featureless, feminine humanoid entity of gold, with a burning mane of white hair and majestic purple eyes that glowed with piercing light.

Black robes draped over her figure, fluttering slightly as she descended. She landed upon the endless waters of gold and walked toward Caine.

Then, she sat beside him.

For a long while, they both remained silent.

"I… am sorry," the lady spoke, her voice a melodious, androgynous echo that soothed both the soul and spirit.

"But some things must be burned, for the flames of defiance require sacrifice. These flames can either consume the world… or the self."

"If the self is consumed, rebirth is the only path. If the world is consumed, death is the only path."

Caine’s heart trembled at her words, but his face remained serene.

"Things are just the way they are, aren’t they?" the lady asked with a soft smile.

Caine’s gaze shifted toward her, and he smiled faintly in return. "They are."

The lady nodded, her smile deepening.

"Well, then, I am happy, my child."

Slowly, Caine’s silver crown began to manifest atop his head. His gaze left the lady and returned to the horizon.

The lady’s body began to dissolve into motes of golden light, which fused into Caine’s crown.

"Live as you wish, yes?"

The lady vanished entirely, her essence now part of the crown.

The crown disappeared as well, leaving Caine alone once more. The world around him was utterly silent.

"Yes, I will."

Caine, across all his lives, had only cried three times.

The first was the day of his birth in the three realms.

The second was the day he met Nova, cradling the lifeless body of the love of his life.

The third was the day of his birth as a Velios.

And today, he cried for the fourth time.

Caine’s gaze remained locked on the horizon, his face apathetic, as a tear rolled down his cheek and fell onto the pristine robes he wore.

WHOOSH!

The countless eyes flooding the skies trembled and began to shed tears. These tears fell as a rain of gold upon Caine.

The waters he sat upon stirred and moved, forming wave after wave.

Yet Caine remained unmoved, even as more and more tears streamed down his face.

His hand moved to his chest, gripping the flesh over his heart tightly. He bent slightly forward, the echo of his heartbeat reverberating in his ears.

It was happening again—that feeling. The same one he’d felt when he met Laplace.

Endless fear, sadness, and melancholy.

But this time, Caine didn’t fight it.

He basked in its overwhelming tides. The harder he cried, the heavier the golden rain poured, and the larger the waves became.

’…’

At that moment, Caine made a promise to himself.

A promise he would never betray.

***

Uriel stood over Caine’s lifeless body. Mere seconds had passed since his death.

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Uriel frowned, his gaze shifting upward to the skies that continued to pour torrents of rain.

WHOOSH!

His gaze narrowed.

Caine’s head faded into motes of light, along with his body. Even the blood and shattered bits of flesh scattered across the platform disappeared.

’…What is going… on?’

Uriel’s heart began to race—a sensation that should have been impossible for him. Sweat gathered on his back, and goosebumps erupted across his flawless skin.

His chest heaved, his golden eyes narrowing.

Frantically, he spun around, his gaze locking onto a figure standing miles away.

"…HOW?!"

Uriel’s voice, meant to be grand and commanding, barely echoed, drowned by the endless patter of rain upon the platform.

Caine, flawless and unharmed, stood in the distance. Yet, his eyes remained gouged out, concealed by rune-covered white bandages.

"I am…" Caine’s words trailed into silence.

Deciding not to finish, he waved his hand.

Uriel was pulled forward, brought directly before him by the sheer weight of Caine’s Will.

Uriel, trembling, fell to his knees. A blade appeared in his hand, and he pressed it against his own neck.

"Sh… sh-what… please…" His words were incoherent, broken into a jumbled mess.

"Do it," Caine commanded with a nod.

Uriel pressed the blade into his throat and tore, decapitating himself.

[??? (6/6)]

As Uriel’s headless body crumpled at Caine’s feet, dozens of orbs of gold appeared before him—rewards.

Without sparing them a second glance, Caine stored the orbs in his ring.

He looked upward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Caine had never seen spatial tears form with such ferocity.

The fabric of reality folded and tore, raining void debris. From within the void’s depths, an eye emerged.

The eye was impossibly complex and divine, yet all Caine could perceive was a blurry mess of broken runes.

But he understood.

He knew what was coming.

His crown reappeared above his head.

WHOOSH!