Advent of the Three Calamities

The commotion caused by the Living Saint was large. Almost everyone within the plaza turned their attention towards them.

“It’s the Saint!”

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Everyone knelt on the ground, holding onto their hands while silently praying towards the figure standing next to Lazarus, who took all of this in with a smile.

He looked used to this type of scene.

Feeling the numerous gazes of the people around, Lazarus remained indifferent as he looked towards the Living Saint. Though he didn’t speak, his meaning was clear.

“Yes, I do believe we should go.”

Smiling again, the Living Saint stepped forward and moved towards the distant cathedral.

Lazarus followed from behind as the crowd parted.

Thankfully, none of them dared to cause any trouble. As Lazarus looked around, he could see the amount of reverence the people had for the Living Saint.

His face showed no signs of change as he walked back into the cathedral.

At the same time, his mind churned with all sorts of thoughts.

‘So the Goddess is indeed alive, and she expects me? Why is that? Could it be that she detected something from me, or is there more that meets the eye?’

Lazarus’s feelings were a little mixed.

From everything he had heard, this Goddess… she didn’t seem like a person worth trusting.

Especially since ‘he’ had once tried killing her. Or at least, sworn to.

“We’re almost here.”

Stopping before a certain door, the Living Saint turned towards Lazarus as he reached for the door.

“I’ll be stopping here. The Goddess will be waiting for you at the top of the stairs. I hope you have a productive conversation with her.”

With that, he turned to the door and opened it, revealing a long flight of stairs spiraling upward.

Lazarus stared at them in silence for a moment, then gave a small nod and stepped forward, beginning the slow ascent.

Shortly after he moved up, the door closed behind him, and the world around him grew silent. The only thing he could hear was the slow and rhythmic sound of his own steps.

They echoed loudly within his mind as he slowly and gradually made his way up.

Until…

He finally reached the top, where the space opened up into a large, flat room.

The room barely had any decoration. It was a simple hexagonal space that offered an unobstructed view of the entire city from all sides. At its center sat a woman with long, flowing blonde hair, her back turned toward him.

She wore a white dress, and her entire presence appeared to radiate an indescribable purity that made one want to worship.

For a moment, Lazarus’s gaze got lost in her back.

He felt like bending over and worshipping her.

“You came.”

This sense of worship only heightened the moment she spoke, her soft and melodious voice sounding like that of an angel.

Lazarus had to take a deep breath in order to calm himself down.

“…What other option did I have? You called for me.”

“That is true.”

Though he couldn’t see her, it almost felt as though she was smiling.

“I wasn’t sure at first, but now that I see you, I can tell that you must be the one that Noel sent.”

The one that Noel sent?

Lazarus paused for a moment before coming to an understanding.

So this was the case…

“You must be here for the eye, correct?”

“Correct.”

Given the way she was speaking, it became clear that she was aware of why he was here and that Noel had made some sort of agreement with her.

“You must also be aware that the eye is in the Eclipsed Maw, correct?”

“…..”

Lazarus didn’t answer. He thought that at first, but now… He wasn’t so sure anymore. The Goddess was alive, and just standing before her felt extremely pressuring. Surely she might have it?

“You don’t seem to be convinced that it is?”

“…..I heard that you lost it during a big fight. That is what the rumors suggest. If—”

“Those weren’t rumors.”

The Goddess gently spoke over Lazarus.

“I indeed fought a long battle, and ended up losing my scepter in the process. The eye was embedded deep into the scepter. If you wish to collect the eye, you must go directly into the Eclipsed Maw.”

Lazarus frowned.

“Why didn’t you try to collect it? If the scepter contained the eye, then…”

“Because I can’t.”

The Goddess answered calmly.

“The battle was one where I barely came out on top. It took everything from me, and even now… I am still suffering the consequences of the battle.”

The Goddess paused there, but from her subtly shifting tone, Lazarus could tell that those weren’t memories she wanted to recall.

‘So, Noel is that strong?’

Lazarus did recall hearing that the one she fought was Mortum.

In that case, for him to make such a strong figure suffer like this… He was certainly extremely strong.

But still, something still made no sense to him.

“Why did you fight him in the first place?”

If she fought him and suffered such injury, why was she willing to help someone he had sent? Did they make some sort of agreement during the fight?

…That could be the case.

At least, that was what Lazarus believed at first.

His mind blanked the moment he heard her next words.

“Why did I fight? That’s obviously because I wouldn’t have survived otherwise.”

“Hm?”

Noel was trying to kill her?

…Well, taking into consideration everything he knew about the past, it made sense. Had he been in Noel’s position, he would’ve done the same.

Perhaps he fought because he had to.

For his freedom.

For—

“The only reason I survived was because of Noel. He’s the one who saved me, hence why I’m doing him this favor. I wouldn’t have done so if it weren’t for him.”

“…..?”

Lazarus’s mind paused for a moment.

Noel saved her? Then… it wasn’t him that she was fighting?

“Haha, based on your reaction, it doesn’t seem like Noel told you anything.”

Her back was turned, yet she seemed to sense every one of his reactions as if watching him through some invisible mirror.

“The stories beneath are mere lies and speculations. Noel and I were never fighting. If anything, he was helping me.”

Her voice grew a little dim from that moment.

“Even though he didn’t have to… after all the things that we had done to him, he still decided to help me. I was blinded. Truly blinded.”

Her body stirred slightly, emotions started to well up deep within her body as for the first time, she turned her head.

Lazarus stood still, feeling a certain pressure coming from her as she slowly turned her head.

And then…

Their eyes met.

Or more like, his eyes met her face.

She… Didn’t have any eyes. In their place burned two steady, unblinking flames.

But beneath those flames… Lazarus could see a certain emptiness. He knew then that they were merely placeholders for what wasn’t there anymore.

“I paid a heavy price in the battle. I lost my eyes, and with them, my connection to the Source. But in that darkness, my mind became clear. I finally saw the truth of what I’d done.”

She gave a faint, sorrowful smile as she brought her hand to her face.

The flames in her eyes flickered.

“Maybe this was the price I had to pay… to atone. A way to show how blind I once was.”

Lazarus stared at her eyes without making a face.

It wasn’t because he didn’t want to, but because his entire body was frozen in place, unable to move at all.

Just staring into her eyes made him feel completely and utterly helpless.

This…

If this was how strong a crippled god was, just how powerful was a full god?

Eventually, she closed her eyes, and the pressure alleviated.

When Lazarus came to, the Goddess had already turned her head away.

“How much do you know about what happened to us…? About the past?”

Lazarus opened his mouth, but soon closed it.

He didn’t really know much.

Just…

“A meteorite fell, and people gained powers. Then the world started to crack and the mirror dimension formed.”

“Pftt.”

A small laugh escaped the Goddess’s lips.

This prompted Lazarus to frown. Was he wrong? But how could that be… He had seen the recollection of what had happened back in the time he had been at the Kasha. Could it be that it was a lie?

“Don’t get me wrong. You’re not necessarily wrong with what you’ve said, but you’re also not quite correct. It really does seem like Noel hasn’t told you anything.”

“We weren’t exactly in the best position to speak…”

“I can see that.”

The Goddess replied, her tone growing a little somber.

“While what you said is mostly correct, there are a few things that you are missing out on. No… It’s more like you’re missing out on the most important aspect of the entire ordeal.”

“Which is?”

“Powers weren’t the only things that came with the meteorite.”

“What…?”

Lazarus’s expression changed upon hearing her words.

His chest suddenly felt heavier, and some of the things that didn’t quite make sense before started to make sense.

But at the same time…

He was suddenly overcome with a certain sense of dread.

“Emmet was right all along. But we were too blinded by our lust for power, too consumed by the promise of immortality, to see it.”

“…”

“And when we finally did… it was already too late. He was gone. And we were—”

She stopped.

Just for a moment.

It was that short and brief pause that created a subtle, yet visible tension that made Lazarus unable to breathe.

“The Mirror Dimension didn’t form because of the meteorite.”

Her voice softly drifted throughout the room. Quiet… and almost in a whisper.

“The Mirror Dimension was never supposed to be a thing to begin with. The only reason why it is even here is because… we grew too strong. The Mirror Dimension was formed to trap us. To… seal all of us.”

The Goddess paused again, her voice straining.

“The Mirror Dimension is our prison.”

“A construct forged by the Outer Beings to seal us in, and never let us out.”

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