<Episode 96>
“What do you mean by that? And where have you been all this time, Your Highness?”
Eveline asked Ferite, directing her gaze at him. In response, Ferite smiled with a peculiar expression and looked at Eveline.
“Don’t you feel like something is strange, Lady Wilden?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I’m not around, you don’t think about me at all. But the moment you see me, you become aware of my existence.”
At those words, Eveline realized that the thing she had unknowingly forgotten all this time was Crown Prince Ferite himself.
“That’s because I was forced into this wager.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Elkais, sensing something ominous, stepped closer to Eveline. He was ready to strike down even the Crown Prince if necessary, his sharp gaze locked on Ferite as he guarded Eveline.
“You should remember, Lady Wilden. I once spoke to you about the gods.”
<How many gods do you think exist, Lady Wilden?>
Ferite’s words suddenly flashed through Eveline’s mind.
“The theology of the Croppers Empire teaches that there are three gods. But do you know how many gods existed in the beginning?”
<But did you know? At the beginning of time, there were only two gods.>
Recalling Ferite’s words, Eveline instinctively took a step back, finding him strangely unsettling.
Behind her, Abellard was also prepared to unleash his abilities and fight if necessary.
“There were two primordial gods.”
“That kind of blasphemy—”
“You must know the truth, Young Duke. Didn’t you refuse to become a priest because of the gods’ unfairness?”
“……”
“As the Young Duke, you surely understand how gods are created and what has been deliberately concealed.”
At those words, Abellard pressed his lips together in silence. Seeing this, Crown Prince Ferite smiled and continued.
“I am one of the primordial gods. One of the two original gods. I was the god of chaos, while the other was the god of order.”
“But the primordial gods shouldn’t be alive. If they were, creation as we know it wouldn’t be able to exist.”
At Abellard’s statement, Ferite looked at him with a bright, amused smile.
“You’re right. That’s why I was sealed away. My name is Euros. And the name of the god of order was Axis.”
“Could it really be…?”
“Yes, I truly am Euros. The three divine powers you now possess originally belonged to Axis.”
Eveline felt her mind cloud with confusion at his words. But the overwhelming presence emanating from him made one thing clear—this being was not human.
He was merely something wearing the shell of the Crown Prince she knew.
Something inhuman.
“Axis and I never got along well. I was always hungry, you see.”
The moment Eveline met his gaze, she felt as if something was pulling her in, making her frown instinctively.
“Axis’s creations were truly delicious. The satisfaction of filling that emptiness was utterly euphoric.”
“……”
“But one day, Axis, in a fit of rage, sealed me away.”
He spoke with a laugh, as if recounting an amusing tale, but no one else found it funny.
“I was sealed and put to sleep, but when the seal was finally broken, I saw many interesting things. That great Axis had ultimately split into three gods.”
Abellard gripped Eveline’s hand tightly, his fear evident as he rested his head against her back. At that moment, Eveline turned to look behind her.
For some reason, the three of them—herself, Elkais, and Abellard—felt strangely connected, as if they could read each other’s emotions.
“The three gods you know—Remeros, Yulias, and Dekarv—are what became of Axis.”
“……”
“Funnily enough, only Remeros inherited Axis’s intelligence. Yulias and Dekarv became gods while still immature, like children.”
It didn’t seem like a lie.
Among the three, Remeros, as the leader, was always rational and composed. But the other two behaved unpredictably, like spoiled children.
It was those two who frequently treated humans as mere tools for their wagers, using them and discarding them at will.
In contrast, Remeros was known for allowing humans who had perished because of him to choose their next life.
“Do you know why they made wagers using you?”
Eveline tensed as Crown Prince Ferite took a step closer.
“Because they already knew I would awaken.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You must have realized it as well—the death of all the Omegas.”
Eveline suddenly recalled the strange phenomenon from that fateful day. A powerful lightning strike had sent out an eerie wavelength, causing all Omegas to perish.
It had happened on a stormy night when lightning had mercilessly struck the earth.
By the time morning came, all the Omegas were dead, and the Alphas had been thrown into chaos.
The investigation later concluded that an unusual wavelength from the lightning had stopped the hearts of every Omega.
“The reason the Omegas died was because of me. When I awakened, I devoured them all.”
“……”
“They knew I would awaken, so they made a final wager. In order to return to their original form as Axis, they decided to gather all their power while leaving behind only the persona that would become the supreme god.”
Ferite’s golden eyes were no longer gold.
In an instant, his pupils turned pitch black, like an abyss swallowing all light.
“Remeros was truly a fool. If he had simply used force to subjugate and absorb the other beings, the one standing before me now would have been Remeros, reborn as Axis.”
Even as Elkais stood behind Eveline, he couldn’t shake off the thought of Remeros—the god who had always tried to give everyone a chance. It left him feeling even more unsettled.
“When I first intervened, I sent the Omegas I had absorbed to kill you all. Corrupted beings are easy to control. I promised them new lives if they wiped you out.”
At that moment, Abellard finally understood why the goddess Yulias had continuously urged him to kill the corrupted Omegas.
He had never questioned the purpose of his task.
Those Omegas were going to die anyway, and Abellard had only ever wanted to dedicate his life to Eveline.
“You’ve been here for a year, hunting the corrupted Omegas. You must understand by now, Young Duke.”
“……”
“When I first saw you, I thought you wouldn’t last a week. Weak, frail, unable to even choose proper food. Sometimes, you even picked up poison and hovered on the brink of death.”
Abellard felt humiliated but did not deny it.
“Then… was Grand Duke Rubellite Croppers also—”
At Eveline’s question, Ferite responded with a smile.
“Yes. But unlike the others, I put quite a bit of effort into creating him. I even allowed him to take over a body, yet he still ended up dead.”
“But the Grand Duke seemed to know almost nothing about the wager. How…?”
“You’re right. I barely knew anything myself—about what kind of wager they were making. But once I arrived in person, I finally understood.”
Eveline felt her mind momentarily go blank as she met Ferite’s gaze, but she quickly shook off the sensation.
“A wager where someone who despises their own nature must be imprinted. A wager where someone who accepts sacrifice as natural must become a murderer. A wager where someone who values their own life above all must be forced to sacrifice themselves.”
“……”
“I adore creations, you know. No matter what the gods plan, they always manage to defy expectations. That’s why…”
“……”
“They taste so delicious.”
The moment Ferite’s mouth twisted grotesquely, they could no longer see him as human.
“What are you trying to do, Euros?”
Hearing his true name, Euros turned to Eveline with a pleased expression.
“I intend to devour everything Axis created. I’ve been sealed away for far too long—I’m absolutely famished.”
“……”
“If I consume everything Axis left behind, this hunger will finally be satisfied.”
Euros’ silver hair began to fade into transparency, and his body gradually turned semi-transparent as well. But his eyes—black as an abyss—remained unchanged.
“If you all disappear, everything will finally belong to me.”
“……”
“Do you know why you can feel the power of the other gods within you?”
Eveline felt her anxiety ease slightly when she met Elkais’s worried gaze. As long as she was with him, she felt they could overcome anything.
“It’s because before they perished, they transferred their powers into you.”
Euros lifted a hand and pointed at Elkais.
“Remeros.”
Then he turned to Eveline.
“Dekarv.”
And finally, to Abellard.
“Yulias.”
At that moment, Abellard finally understood why he could sense divine power from himself and the others.
“The three gods attempted to merge back into one because, separately, they stood no chance against me. But now, you three possess separate personalities, meaning you can never reunite.”
“Why are you telling us all this?”
Euros’ expression suddenly softened into one of sorrow.
“Didn’t I tell you? I truly like you.”
“……”
“That’s why it’s such a waste to kill you. Talking like this is enjoyable, too.”
His words sounded completely genuine.
“If we had met under different circumstances, I would have let you live much longer.”
“Is there no other way?”
At Eveline’s question, Euros let out a bitter smile.
“No. You all have to die.”
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