Early in the morning. Day and night split into two as the sun rose from beyond the sky. As the moon set toward the opposite land, dawn appeared for the first time at the midpoint between them.
Seianes, welcoming the dawn born by his own hands, watched the setting moon.
Since the sun rose from the eastern direction, the Kingdom of Atlante before his eyes received the sunlight and shone brilliantly.
It was beautiful enough to be enchanting just by looking at it. But Seianes felt no emotion whatsoever.
He couldn’t feel Abrisius’s energy at all.
Atlante, which he had come to after hearing Siomopess’s words. Even though he had come to the land where his half-brother, who was like his own flesh and blood, resided, he couldn’t feel any trace of his younger brother.
“Did Siomopess lie? Or did you erase even your traces and leave far away from me?”
What on earth happened for you to disappear? And why can’t I feel your energy even in this land? Are you really in this land?
‘Is he unintentionally hidden… If someone hid Abrisius, who is of the Dark Divine Race, in this land… then who exactly?’
Various doubts filled his mind, but it was too early to make conclusions. He hadn’t looked properly yet, and perhaps he might be living safely and well.
‘Since they said he’s here. I’ll have to find him even if I have to turn the land upside down.’
Seianes, looking at the city gate, stepped inside.
His young and beautiful appearance transformed into the shabby appearance of a wandering old man as he got closer to the gate.
The old man concealed his form among the crowds full of confusion over the changes in the sky.
* * *
“Your Majesty. This is a grave matter!”
From early morning, along with a noisy voice, the office door burst open. The king, who was already troubled by the great famine, became irritated at the sudden visit.
“What on earth is the matter that you’re making such a fuss?”
“M-My apologies, but there’s urgent news…”
What appeared after opening the door was the diplomatic delegation he had sent to a foreign country not long ago. Though it hadn’t been long since he sent them, they burst in from early morning with urgent faces.
“We have committed a breach of etiquette. P-Please forgive us…”
“No, seeing that you all have come, it seems something has happened, so what on earth is it!”
When the king, sensing something was amiss from their sudden appearance, asked, they hesitated, opening and closing their mouths, then spoke while gauging the king’s mood.
“Heaven and earth have been remade and the land has split into two. Fortunately, Hanelun did not suffer great damage, but Miteke, our trading nation, has disappeared far beyond the horizon along with the split land.”
“What kind of absurd words are those? Is that truly… true?”
“Yes, there are more than one or two witnesses. They say half the nation and half the people disappeared beyond the horizon along with the split sea.”
At the unbelievable words even after hearing them, the king couldn’t close his mouth. However, having witnessed the roar that came last evening and the river in the sky splitting into multiple branches right before his eyes, he couldn’t not believe it.
“Huh… We were close enough to have arranged a marriage engagement with them…”
To think that an allied nation that was so great and had achieved tremendous civilization and wealth would disappear in an instant.
With everyone already struggling from the sudden great famine, the king, who had futilely lost even an allied nation, fell into worry.
“At this rate, even our Atlante might face some catastrophe. How can we, mere humans, go against the will of the gods?”
The king, who as a powerless human could do nothing, fell into great fear.
Anxiety that his nation might disappear at any time overwhelmed him. The fact that they had Cairens, the son of a god, was at least a consolation.
That being was a hero sent directly by a god to humans.
And the king of Atlante firmly believed that Henelion had allowed Cairens to be born in this land for the sake of humanity’s future peace, well-being, and salvation.
Cairens is a hero for humanity.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been born borrowing the womb of his sister, who was human.
“Bring that child, Cairens.”
Couldn’t that child save this kingdom?
Perhaps this incident was the reason for Cairens’s birth. The salvation sent for humans by the great king of the Surface, Henelion, and his foresight.
The demigod of Atlante’s bloodline.
“Your Majesty, before that, the Atlante Temple and temples from various countries have jointly sent a letter.”
“What?”
“First, if you would read it…”
His brow furrowed at the sudden joint letter from the temple priests.
The letter received from his vassal was densely filled with insignias representing each temple.
Had they all gathered and formed an alliance or something? His brow furrowed at the absurd behavior.
Not knowing the reason, he unfolded the contents of the letter they had written together with a tense heart.
“Does this… make sense?”
The king’s expression, having read the contents written inside, hardened and turned pale.
* * *
In the peaceful garden brightly lit by sunlight, Abrisius was grazing on grass he had never chewed in his life.
‘Doing deer-like things when I have nothing to do…’
Finding it absurd even as he did it himself, Abrisius spat out the grass he was chewing with a ptooey and sprawled on the grass. The strangely addictive taste as he chewed was somehow insulting to his pride.
“Biiing.”
‘By the way, everyone’s been quite unsettled lately…’
Not only were the people outside the castle starving, but now there was gossip inside the palace about having nothing to eat, and it wasn’t just for a day or two. Moreover, along with the noisy sounds last night, the cluster of stars that had adorned the sky like a belt burst and split into multiple pieces last night.
According to Cairens and others, they whispered that the river in the sky had split.
To Abrisius, who lived in a world in his previous life where this was a natural phenomenon, that sky was familiar.
‘It just seems like a cluster of stars connected like a thread turned into the Milky Way.’
Anyway, since a phenomenon that was natural in that world had changed in an instant. It was natural for the people of this place to be surprised.
‘I was surprised too when the Milky Way suddenly appeared in the sky like it was exploding with a pop.’
Still, Abrisius was relaxed, knowing this world would keep turning fine after that.
There was nothing to worry about since it wouldn’t be destroyed even until Cairens became an adult. Of course, he didn’t think this leisureliness and ease would last forever.
Even if he continued living as a companion deer like this right now, he couldn’t live like this forever. Even if he feasted well here right now, the future was uncertain, and since he had transformed into a deer, there must be a way to return to his original form.
‘Should I just take a nap here?’
Right now, it was too bothersome.
Honestly, the boring and leisurely life of a deer—eating, sleeping, and playing every day—was emptily comfortable. It’s not like he had to go anywhere right now, and couldn’t he live like this without any plans for the time being?
Thinking that way, just as Abrisius was blinking his drowsy eyes and about to close them, through his blurry vision, something shaped like a black form touched his body.
“Caw?”
“Biing!”
It was the appearance of a crow sharply pecking Abrisius’s forehead with its beak.
Abrisius, who hated crows enough to shudder at them since having his butt fur plucked by a crow a few days ago, screamed.
‘You dare pluck my butt fur!’
It must have come targeting his butt again.
‘Get lost!’
“Bi-bi-bi! Biyayaang!”
He wouldn’t let his butt fur be plucked this time no matter what.
Puffing up his small body and fur as much as possible, Abrisius acted threateningly toward the crow.
The crow, startled by the deer scratching the ground with its front hooves and screaming like an angry deer, fluttered around on the spot.
“Caaaaaw!”
However, the crow’s temper was also not to be underestimated. Flying around in the sky, it screeched toward Abrisius.
—Shut up! You pig-like deer!
The large crow’s voice spread everywhere like a roar from the tree branch.
‘Did it just speak?’
Abrisius, startled by the human voice coming from the crow, looked at the crow.
The crow, which had settled in an empty nest nearby, confidently screeched toward Abrisius who was looking up at it.
—Hmph, what kind of deer isn’t even nimble? I thought it was a pig-deer I’d never seen before and poked it for nothing.
—What? You can understand me?
Ignoring the crow’s insult, Abrisius chirped.
As if the crow found it fascinating that Abrisius could communicate with it. The crow, which had been happily cawing, gaped its beak.
Carefully, the crow that flew near him cautiously cawed.
—…Oh my? You can speak?
Could they communicate because they were of the same beast family? The crow’s voice clearly stuck in his ears without missing a single syllable.
The crow also seemed quite surprised.
—Hmmmm… Seeing that you can communicate with me, you don’t seem like an ordinary beast. Are you perhaps a spiritual creature?
—A spiritual creature? That’s what I want to ask… Who are you?
—Just a passing crow. I came here with my younger sibling yesterday. I like the location here and the nest. I borrowed it from other crows.
In reality, it was no different from having stolen it.
That was something he could tell even without the crow saying it. He’d been wondering why the other crows that had been here weren’t visible, and the cause was right there.
Seeing how it chased away the guys who always stole his butt fur, its temper was definitely not ordinary.
‘If I pick a fight here for no reason, it’ll become more troublesome than last time.’
Then there was no need to be hostile for no reason.
—I’m living here. I’m Abrisius, and I’m not a spiritual creature.
—Hmm, really? For that, you have a somewhat unique energy… I’m Lyriet… no, no. Just call me Lily.
—Alright, nice to meet you. I’m Abrisius. Honestly, thank you for coming here. The guys who nested here before were quite bothersome neighbors.
—Hmm… Thanks for welcoming me.
It felt good to meet someone he could communicate with after such a long time. Honestly, he was glad. Having become an animal, it wasn’t bad to have an animal friend.
—I don’t usually like beasts much, but I like you. Call me often when you’re bored from now on.
Lily didn’t dislike Abrisius either, who showed a friendly attitude toward her. Honestly, she rather liked him.
Should she say she felt strangely favorable? It seemed like this was what it meant to be compatible with each other. Of course, Lily didn’t know at all that this favorability and emotion originated from instinct.
At that moment when Abrisius was having a conversation with someone after a long time, a murmuring sound was heard from afar.
“You mustn’t do this… If you come here so recklessly…!”
“Shut up! Get out of my way right now!”
“Bii?”
‘Isn’t that that bastard from before…?’
A fierce and ill-mannered impression he couldn’t forget even if he tried. It was definitely Ricarkos, who had tried to capture him.
“Cairens!”
With an extremely pleased face for some reason, he called for Cairens in a hearty voice. It was so different from his usual unconfident appearance, always intimidated in front of Cairens.
What on earth was going on? Forgetting about conversing with the crow, as he was looking around with the servants, suddenly Ricarkos’s eyes, which had been calling for Cairens desperately, sparkled.
Soon, as the corners of both eyes curved up eerily happily, Abrisius felt something was seriously wrong.
