Seianes’s sorrow and tears threw the Surface into chaotic transformation.
In the places where Seianes, who had wandered searching for Abrisius, had passed, the shadow of death lay heavily.
The land that had once been surrounded by fresh vegetation had long since become a wasteland.
The sound of wind brushing against the withered, emaciated branches rode on sorrow and wailed drearily.
It was pandemonium that occurred as Seianes, who loved his work more than anyone, neglected the earth he had always cherished.
It would have been an unimaginable situation before, but now nothing entered his eyes. His duties and responsibilities had long since faded, devoured by the endless sorrow of losing Abrisius.
Because he didn’t care for the earth, many lives died. The diseased land saddened the forest gods and fairies, and livestock that ate the withered grass collapsed in droves. As the earth dried up, rivers ran dry. When the crops wilted and hung their heads low, humans despaired at having nothing to eat.
As disease began to spread over the corpses of dying beasts, humans, tormented by terrible pestilence and famine, crossed the river leading to the afterlife one by one.
Seeing that miserable sight, other gods who felt stifled stepped forward and asked.
“Seianes, please tell us what on earth is going on.”
“That’s right, little brother, tell us what you want. Don’t just cry endlessly like that.”
As the earth died and even the domains they governed were affected, their headaches were considerable. They tried somehow to comfort Seianes and find out the reason for his grief. However, Seianes only shook his head. He gave no answer whatsoever.
“Don’t ask me anything.”
Today as well, Seianes walked blankly along the road, searching for Abrisius.
“Abrisius? Can you hear my voice?”
The same name he’d been calling for days and days.
How much longer had he called? When he no longer had the strength to walk or the voice to call the child, he finally reached a cliff overlooking the sea and only then realized.
That he had gone around the entire world. And that he had come so far that the child couldn’t come back on his own.
‘My child is gone. At least from this Surface…… He’s disappeared forever.’
The moment he faced that fact, Seianes felt pain as if his heart was being torn into seven pieces.
No tears, no screams, no groans—nothing came out. He just wanted to become dirt and disappear like this.
He closed his eyes, unable to face reality. When he closed his eyes, he could at least see the child in his memories.
[Seianes!]
When he closed his eyes, he saw the child.
His sparkling red eyes folded into crescents and the child smiled brightly.
My child, more beautiful than anything else. My most precious Abrisius, incomparable to anything in the world. My beloved of the earth.
Right now, he just wanted to stay like this.
“Abrisius, my baby. What on earth happened?”
Whispering toward the world one last time, Seianes closed his eyes.
Having forgotten even his own duty to care for the earth, he was consumed by memories and longing, thinking only of Abrisius.
If I hadn’t left Abrisius behind at that time, if I had paid more attention to locking the door so the child couldn’t go out……
Would you have been by my side?
Repeating the unanswerable question to himself, he looked at the scenery before his eyes.
It felt like if he walked further from here, he could see Abrisius. The fact that there was nowhere left to go made him even more miserable.
* * *
Among the lives preparing to fall into eternal sleep, death appeared impartially and gathered lives one by one without discrimination. That was the work of the God of Death, Siomopess.
“Come here. It’s time to go now.”
He whispered toward the soul of a dead fox on the withered land.
The fox that had died after excessive starvation perked up both ears toward Siomopess’s voice.
But it couldn’t leave the side of its own corpse that had already grown coldly stiff.
“Whine…… whimper.”
Two cubs wriggling on top of the corpse.
Unlike their mother’s emaciated body, the two plump cubs burrowed into their mother’s embrace, not knowing their mother had died.
“Yelp!”
The mother fox began to cry sorrowfully, as if she couldn’t leave her cubs behind.
She resisted death, asking what would happen to her cubs if she left like this, and struggled desperately to somehow stay by her cubs’ side.
Though she knew, sadly, that death could not be resisted.
“You must go.”
Muttering coldly, he guided the dead mother fox’s soul to death.
Because that was what he had to do.
“Whine…… yelp. Whiiine!”
The dead mother cried until the end, unable to leave her cubs.
The cubs who had lost their caretaker mother would either survive fiercely, or starve to death before long.
That was the law of nature.
There was nothing Siomopess could do.
Because that was Siomopess’s work and duty, and the reason for his existence.
“So now let go of what’s holding you from behind.”
At his words, the mother fox looked back. A dark form stretched out long like a shadow behind the dead soul. From within it came a woman’s sigh like sobbing.
“It’s Harpiter.”
Siomopess’s jet-black eyes looked at that form.
She always lingered near souls like this, constantly interfering with Siomopess’s work.
Because of her, souls wandered the Surface and avoided Siomopess.
Today as well, she clung tenaciously to their sides, trying to leave countless souls on the Surface.
Harpiter.
She was the lingering attachment that remained heavily in this world and in people’s hearts, a goddess who interfered with Siomopess who led them to eternal sleep and bound the dead to the Surface.
“…… Do you like interfering with my work like that?”
Naturally, from Siomopess’s standpoint, there was no way he could view her favorably.
Making life refuse death and still hold attachment to the Surface—Harpiter’s work was, in a way, no different from invading his domain, which displeased him.
Of course, for her this was natural. Sadly, that’s why he couldn’t say anything about it.
Because her role was to wake humans from sleep and give them attachment so they could focus on the reality of being alive.
Though they were a combination that could never get along, the two had always existed on the same plane.
“…… I’m just doing my work too.”
“By the way, do you know why so many lives are dying these days?”
As the goddess whispered with a laugh, Siomopess’s eyes narrowed. A tone as if she definitely knew something. Her every cryptic action was stimulating his curiosity.
“Well…… Why?”
At Siomopess’s question, the goddess giggled as if she’d been waiting. Hanging on his shoulder, she whispered softly in his ear with a sweet voice.
“My sibling told me. A child came from the Underworld.”
“…… What?”
“Surprising, right? But that’s not the problem. Seianes loves that child. That’s why he’s searching like this. Throwing aside even what he should be doing.”
Siomopess became silent for a moment. Blinking his eyes, he looked up at the goddess giggling on his shoulder. Gripping his razor-sharp scythe, he looked up at the sky.
“Ah, Father.”
There were words his father, the God of Life, had said long ago.
[As time and I, life, combined, mortality was born—and that is you children. My dear. If a child appears between the Underworld and the Surface, make your siblings flee far from Henelion. Otherwise, their souls will no longer be able to return to being gods.]
Looking back on those words, anxiety welled up anew.
“……”
“Why does your expression look so grim?”
Seeing Siomopess’s expression harden, Harpiter made a slightly flustered expression. She hadn’t expected him to become so serious all of a sudden. To Harpiter’s question, Siomopess maintained silence. Still, fine wrinkles were deeply etched in his brow.
He must protect his siblings. He must keep them far away from Henelion.
While he wondered if Henelion would dare lay hands on his siblings, he had already seen long ago how he pursued greed and self-interest over reason, and this time might be the same.
“…… I should watch the situation for the time being.”
Looking at the dry land, Siomopess frowned.
From far away, he could hear someone’s fervent wish calling out to the gods. At the breath heralding death, Siomopess’s head turned toward the direction of the sound.
In his view, far in the distance, he could see Henelion’s temple built magnificently in some kingdom.
The priests and knights inside it. And people forming a long procession were offering prayers in order before the temple’s altar.
“Please save us, at least my children……”
A man wailed and bowed before the giant statue of a god positioned on the altar.
“Great Henelion, I beg you……”
All he had was his wretched body and a few remaining grains. Though insignificant, to the man they were precious crops that would let him have one meal without worry.
Offering those precious things, the man prayed while crying bitterly.
His complexion was haggard, and his flesh was swaying precariously as if about to die soon.
“Great Father of this Surface, look down upon us humans suffering from famine and pestilence. With your holy love and devotion, deliver us from suffering, love mankind, love me, love my children, our plaintive wishes……”
The man who couldn’t finish his last words collapsed on the spot. The priests managing the temple stood up in shock and ran to the man.
When they checked on the man, he had already breathed his last.
His gaze with both eyes wide open was filled with lingering attachment. To his children who would be sleeping soundly knowing nothing. To his wife full of worries about having no bread to eat tomorrow.
His soul, heavily shrouded in the shadow called lingering attachment, was bound to the corpse.
Desperately hoping that the gods would look down upon his children and wife.
Regrettably, his fervent wish reached neither the God of Earth immersed in grief, nor the God of the Surface and Light stained by greed.
