Advent of the Three Calamities

“Haa… Haa…”

Heavy breathing echoed through the Strait as An’as rushed ahead, his footsteps stirring ripples in his wake.

His heart pressed heavily against his chest as he moved ahead, an intense sense of dread washing over his mind.

‘We need to leave, now!!!’

He didn’t know what was going on, but for one of the seven lords to be killed like this…

It couldn’t be anything good.

“Haa.. Haa…”

As his rough breathing echoed throughout the otherwise silent Strait, An’as turned his head to look behind him, hoping to see Lazarus following from behind, but…

“Huh…?”

An’as stopped, his eyes blinking as his chest grew heavier.

He was nowhere in sight.

“Wha… Wha… Where did he go?”

An’as quietly swallowed, his lips pressed into a thin line as he scanned his surroundings. To his shock and rising dread, the fog had thickened so drastically that he could barely see beyond a few meters.

With the darkness already pressing in, he felt utterly blind.

He was alone and blind.

The silence around him heightened as his breathing grew even rougher.

‘O-oh no.’

Looking around, An’as found himself losing all sense of orientation as he had trouble finding his bearings.

‘Was I running this way, or this way?’

He looked all over, but felt completely lost.

His face sank, and his heart sped.

‘I need to stay calm. Calm…’

An’as secretly prayed to the Goddess while he moved a little forward, hoping to spot the side of the Strait. So long as he managed to find that, he’d at least have some sort of bearing.

“There.”

Thankfully, it wasn’t too far from him as he managed to spot the rough and tall rock surface.

Placing his hand over it and feeling the cool touch of the rock, he slowly lifted his head and looked up.

His eyes lit up.

“Right, who said that I have to move along the Strait? I can just move up. I’m sure that merchant is also doing the same thing.”

It was the most logical and safe route.

An’as pressed a hand against the rough outer rock, found a secure hold, and hauled himself upward.

With his current physique, climbing a tall cliff was an easy task, as his movements were nimble.

Even if he didn’t find any foothold, he could just make one.

‘Yes, this is much easier…’

A smile formed on An’as’s features as he slowly climbed up.

However…

Splash!

The moment he climbed up, the top of his head seemed to hit the surface of the water as it suddenly became submerged.

“Uhak!”

It was as if the world had suddenly flipped.

Jotting his head out of the water, An’as looked around to see his entire body deep within the dark crimson waters of the Strait.

‘What the hell happened?’

He looked ahead to see the rock surface he was climbing.

Wha…

Wasn’t he just climbing it?

How in the world did that happen?

The sense of unease and dread that An’as had been feeling grew even more pronounced at this very moment as he looked at the rock surface before him with deep apprehension.

I…

Don’t tell me…

“No, maybe I just lost my bearings. I’ll try again.”

Clenching his teeth, An’as reached for the rock once more, dragging himself out of the water to resume his climb. This time, he didn’t bother searching for a foothold; he slammed his foot against the rock face, carving a path upward through force alone. If something went wrong, he wanted to know exactly where and why.

He was also a lot faster than before.

An’as believed that speed could’ve been the key.

But…

Splash!

Yet again, his face sank into the water, and the world around him flipped.

“…..!”

Resurfacing out of the water, An’as looked towards the rock surface, and his entire face changed when he stared at it.

There…

He could still see the markings he had left on the rock surface.

They moved up before slowly… taking a turn and moving back down towards the water. Almost as if forming a U shape.

“What…? “

An’as’s grew slack at the scene.

He was having a hard time understanding the scene. He understood what had happened, but what he didn’t understand was how he didn’t notice any of this.

It felt as though he had been climbing up the entire time.

How did…?

‘An’as, what are you doing here?’

“…..!”

An’as’s thoughts were stopped by an abrupt whisper. His head flicked back, but he saw nothing.

With his entire body growing rigid, An’as quickly got out of the water as he stood above its surface. His eyes scanned the surroundings with deep apprehension.

And then—

SPLASH!

A hand shot out from the water, grasping An’as’s ankle directly.

“…..!”

An’as didn’t even manage to get any words out before a figure he was all too familiar with popped out from the water.

“An’as… Don’t leave your mother alone. It’s been so long…”

***

Not far from An’as, calmly walking the surface of the waters, Lazarus looked at his surroundings.

It was calm, and the darkness around him had completely swallowed up his vision.

In spite of this, he didn’t look at all fazed.

With his connection with Owl-Mighty still there, he knew exactly where he needed to go.

However, soon… Lazarus’s brows furrowed.

“Something about this place feels odd.”

He couldn’t quite put it into words as he looked around.

The fog had seemingly grown denser, and all noise ceased.

All at once, it was as if every sense but touch and smell had been stripped away. The biting cold still clung to him, seeping into his skin, and the stench of decay grew stronger.

Lazarus came to a stop as he observed his surroundings.

“…..”

His eyes eventually paused towards the distance, where he felt a strange disturbance. His mana started to circulate, and Pebble appeared right next to him, its pupils small as he looked towards the distance.

Soon, the faint image of a silhouette appeared…

It drew closer and closer to him, until their features were revealed.

“…..”

With unmistakable gray eyes that he could never forget, and a face that could only be described as stupid, Leon appeared, his face a little pale and his body disheveled. Meeting Lazarus’s gaze, his eyes shook.

“I-I… finally found you.”

His voice trembled as the two’s eyes met.

“Do… do you know how much I’ve gone through to look for you? Do you… know how much I’ve struggled?”

His voice was frail, and his face turned even paler.

“If it weren’t for my sharp senses… it would’ve taken me longer. But I figured it out. Even if you erase my memories, I’d still know what you did. You weren’t exactly subtle about it. I’ve had my suspicions, but I was right. You… are still alive.”

Leon’s face shook as he looked at Lazarus.

“You are… still alive.”

He began to laugh, although his laugh felt forced.

“You won’t believe how much—”

“How cheap.”

Lazarus cut through Leon’s words as his hazy eyes looked ahead. Staring at the figure, he felt nothing. Though his finger trembled, he felt nothing.

He just saw a figure that appeared to have been close to the guy he had once been.

But Julien was no longer here.

He was Lazarus, and as such, retrieving his sword, he directly swiped it in the direction of Leon.

Swoosh!

“Uh? What…!? What are you doing? I—”

His body was severed in half, fading into the fog.

The coldness in Lazarus’s eyes turned deeper as he took another step forward.

But as he did, several more figures appeared.

“Fucker, that shit was harsh.”

“What are you doing? Why are you attacking Leon like that?”

“Do you know how hard it was for us to find you? Why are you doing this to us? What is wrong with you?”

Lazarus recognized all of them.

Kiera, Evelyn, Aoife…

The three appeared out of nowhere, their figures similarly battered. It almost looked like they had gone through a tough struggle to get to where he was.

And yet, Lazarus’s face remained impassive.

He raised his hand again and swiped down.

Swoosh!

Their figures were sliced in half once more.

As if the familiar figures had no effect on him, Lazarus continued to move forward, Pebble whispering to him things as he moved towards the right path.

More familiar figures continued to show up before Lazarus.

Kaelion.

Swoosh!

Caius.

Swoosh!

Linus.

Swoosh!

Whoever stood in his way was sliced in half.

His eyes remained unmoved, and his spirit unbroken.

No illusion could affect his mind.

That was until…

“B-brother.”

Noel showed up.

For just a moment, Lazarus’s feet slowed.

It was just a moment, but that moment was present, and as if sensing the weakness, the fog grew denser.

“B-brother.. Please help me. I need your help. S-ithrus, he’s found me. I… I…”

Lazarus’s heart skipped a beat, his hands slowly balling into fists as his knuckles turned white.

“Brother, please.”

Noel drew even closer than before, his body showing signs of injuries. Slowly holding onto his chest, he took another step towards Lazarus.

However, just as he drew closer, Lazarus raised his hand and sliced down.

Swooosh!

“Whaaaaa….!!!”

Noel was similarly sliced in half.

Lazarus’s eyes turned cloudy at the sight before taking another step forward, but it was then that another figure showed up.

Her glossy black hair fluttered in silence as her deep black eyes, deeper than the darkness around them, fell on him.

“Why…”

She mumbled, her eyes shaky and her expression pale.

“…Why.”

Lazarus stopped once more.

However, this time, he couldn’t move.

He found himself unable to move, his heart pulsing with more intensity than it had ever done before.

He stared at the figure standing before him, his expression slowly starting to change before settling back to normal.

Even before everyone else, he remained steadfast.

Even before his brother.

Even before Leon.

But before her…

Lazarus felt his insides stir as his face paled.

“Do you love me?”

Delilah moved forward, a tear tracing down her cheek as she took slow and steady steps towards him.

“You left me… I know it’s my fault, but you left me…”

The tears streamed down her face as she moved closer to him.

She felt… so vivid. So clear that for a moment, the deep haze within Lazarus’s eyes faded.

He started to show emotions.

…And soon, Delilah stopped before him, her thin finger pressing up against his chin and slowly lifting it.

Her lips pursed as the two stared at each other.

Until…

She slowly moved her head down.

“…..”

Lazarus’s eyes shook at the sight, his eyes closing to meet her gesture.

But then…

The haze returned.

And his heart stopped.

Gradually opening his eyes, he clenched his hand and sliced down.

He could never forget the look of shock and betrayal on her face as he sliced down on her.

Swooosh!

“W-what… why?”

Lazarus could only shake his head while taking a step forward.

“I am not him.”

His voice calmly echoed through the fog.

“I had once felt, but now I’m unmoved.”

It came almost as a whisper, yet it cut through the fog like a blade.

“This is what makes me… me.”

The haze completely took over his eyes.

“Lazarus.”

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