Chapter 287 - Death Gate

'Four already,' showed on the screen, '-guess, work for this week is complete,' [Shut Down] from lit with a blueish glow, the face's usual paleness returned. *Drip, drip, drop,* '-what's this?' confused by a monotonous sound, '-blood?' he thought, stood, and moved over to a small mirror inside a shelf with decorations, artifacts locked inside. 'My eyes are bleeding,' nonchalant, '-it's sure has swollen up,' touching the neck, '-I knew this would have happened. Forcing Nike's wing to activate has rendered the assimilation of divine mana inconsistent and dangerous. I've turned into a walking bomb,' no emotions nothing, '-I should have access to the upper plains,' *Heed mine call, portal whomst carries the divine from the mortal realm to the land of promise. I, God of Death, order thy to come forth: Divination,* a clap followed by circular motions, the floor shook mildly. 

"What is it that you wish?" stepped inside a familiar place, one where a massive clock stopped moving – stars, planets, a seat in the middle with an ever-changing figure.

"Creation," he called, "-I've something to ask."

"Quite bold for a child to enter mine realm in search of answers. Thou doth intrigue," given permission to speak, Staxius took charge.

"Having attained divinity, I've come across a lot of knowledge. Things that were unknown and unclear were as transparent as water. I felt as if I was enlightened. The History of the universe itself has been etched into my very soul – my responsibilities as the next Death Reaper." 

"Yes, that much is true," arms crossed with its body tilted to the left side, the entity was curious. 

"I was wondering about my divine realm. Each god has a domain to control and rule over, a domain from where they draw power and so forth." 

"I see," it stood, "-no need to get into more details," a few inches away, "-the God of Death doesn't have a realm," *snap,* a cube with a spiral turning clockwise, "-thine power comes from every possible realm. The point of convergence," pointing at the middle of the circle, "-that's where all are tied. Bound by death, tis how the universe is controlled."

"Does that mean that I've no control over how my powers will grow?" asked Staxius a little worried.

"Do you know why death reapers are changed quite often?" it asked.

"No, do explain," spoken with a relaxed face.

"Tis simple enough, thy kind often explode and die. Chosen souls, once reaching their limit, overflows with power and break – death by death. Quite ironic, the more people die, the more power you get, and the more power you get, the higher the risk of you dying by people dying," it paused and stared.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" he asked formally.

"Yes," with a sigh, the throne reappeared, ���-why did you come here for then?" 

"I've come here in hopes of being able to stop and control my powers, however," glaring at Creation, "-I got told that tis impossible," he walked.

"Yes, no domain, means that the ability to control a god's power is null."

"Isn't that the quandary," glaring at the Creator, "-would you do me a favor then?" he asked.

"You dare use such an insolent tone in my presence?" it stood with anger.

"Lord Creation, I'm sure that thy creed is to create and to never destroy. That's where I come in, without, the balance will shift till the day of reckoning arrives. Nevertheless," leaned closer, "-I mean no disrespect," he smiled, "-a favor is all I ask," from formal to courteous – the persona changed without notice.

"I digress," it sighed.

"Thanks," standing straight, "-what I wish for is a limiter. Lock which will help in controlling and holding back my power. At the rate I'm going, I see only destruction as the means to let-loose. Hence my dilemma, I've no intention of causing harm to the realm. The hope in asking if I had a domain was so that I'd be able to go all out and reduce pressure." 

"I've got an idea," having a change of heart, "-I was wishing to create another realm. One where gods who have long served their purpose to sit down and relax. Not heaven, but one where humans and all of us can co-exist peacefully without trouble," turning to Staxius, "-I've been trying to gather up the strength to build such a place for long."

"Is what you say true?" he asked, "-does that mean Lord Death will also have a place to rest?"

"Yes, the man has grown old, and so have I," a faint chuckle was heard.

"If that's the case, then use me as you see fit. Channel the excess mana into building the new heaven." 

"Good," the tone seemed friendlier, "-with your help, I think that it might come to pass quicker than I expected," it turned, "-Death Reaper, do you wish to become the one who will protect the new realm from invaders?"

"Lord Creation," holding out a hand, "-thee who art most powerful. I've but one thing to say – I shall do as you please as long as it aligns with mine principle. We both seek what the other has."

"A companion born of necessity,' taking his hand, "-Staxius Haggard, you sure are very eccentric," teleported back to the throne, "-I'll grant thine wish," a blinding golden light with the characters of D E A T H – hovered in ancient tongue. "-I shall create a limiter of which bears five levels," from scratch, the process began. "H for Hell, T for Terror, A for Annihilation, E for Eleo and D for Death. The five gates of doom – I name it: Nevermore. From lower gate H, to upper gate D, thine divine power will be locked and stored until it's open by thy will. Once you've opened one gate, you'll have the power of that level. The moment the gate of Death is opened, the host will die and be reborn as one twice as strong as before. With this, my friend, you'll be able to live in the mortal realm without being at risk of destroying all in thy wake," hovered and engraved on the back, he screamed. The body levitated and burnt with different colors depending on the character used.

'PAINFUL,' he gritted, '-I can see it all clearly,' each letter meant more than was let on. A powerful spell to aid in limiting his power. 

"Sure are ruthless," the implementation ended.

"Creating from nothing requires a lot of mana and focus. I hope you realize the honor that has been granted. With the Five Gates, you'll be able to fight at your fullest power given the gate that's being used. Not only that – any excess power will be stiffened away into my project of starting a new realm, now go back home, Death Reaper," *CLAP.*

'I'M AWAKE,' asleep on the desk, "I feel lighter," he stood, "-woosh,* a dash, "-my speed is still here. The symbols of power don't hurt any longer. Guess the limiter is working – it has put a stop into the Death Element. Blood-Arts isn't affected. Good, I'm back to being somewhat normal; opening H-gate will grant me the power of an Apostle. T-will be Angel. A-gate; Demi-god, E-gate; God, and Death gate; Higher God. Good arrangement, I was closing in the rank of Higher god. If nothing was done, I shudder to think what would have happened." 

"Vampire," 

"First Progenitor?"

"Where did you go?" asked Adete.

"I went to meet creation. There was something I needed to have done," stood, twenty-minutes were gone. 

"Alright, I'll sleep if you don't mind," laying on his head, she slept.

'Tomorrow's going to be a full day. The town is opening, then I have the interview with Aceline in the afternoon,' coat on, he teleported to Town Eden.

More activities were seen on the non-human side as opposed to the human district. 'There doesn't seem to have that many people there,' closing the eyes, he got a vague idea of the numbers.

"Commander," entering the military camp, "-well, well," sat with a lollipop in mouth, "-if it isn't king Staxius."

"Triste Jr," he approached, "-I need to speak with Triste," friendly, the kid stared up and down, '-sure, majesty.'

*Poof,* "-how may I be of help?" asked Triste.

"I've spoken with Hidros's guild. A high-level adventuring team is on its way," *beep,* "-speaking of the devil. They will be here at 7:00 tomorrow. Is there anything else?"

"No, no," laughed Triste, "-with the guard details sorted. There's nothing more we need thy assistance for. Do check in tomorrow for the opening ceremony, apparently, Hidros is sending over a representative with a filming crew. Haru will be representing our side," he smiled.

"Good, I'll be here first thing in the morning. Reach out to Serene if anything comes up – tomorrow is very important in our alliance," leaving the tent, *Ancient Magic: Teleportation.* 

"Majesty, Majesty," a voice spoke rather urgently, shy of the castle, Staxius stopped.

"What's the matter?" he turned to see a courier with a letter. "This came in the post earlier this week – I apologize for having taken this long. Sadly, the monster problem around the capital sure is a pain – I almost didn't make it."

"Do take a breath or you'll bite thy tongue," a remark that reassured the boy. The speed at which the words rolled off the tongue was impressive.

"Here," delivered, "-I'll take my leave," a bow later, he sprinted down the street. 

'Quite peculiar,' heavy with a red seal, one of Claireville academy's crest. 'Is this relating to Eira?' he asked and walked with the item in hand. The receiver's name was: King of Arda written in elegant calligraphy, 

"Majesty, it's a pleasure to see you," voiced Ruslan as he moved about the premises. 

"Pleasure is all mine," returning the greeting, "-how's Noctis's Hallow?" stopped next to a fountain with the statue of a goddess pouring water from a pot. A rest area where one would bask in the pleasures of exotic plants and heavenly smells. 

"Everything is tame, your grace, the people are happy with the announcement of the blood-king. Power was what we sought and power is what we got; all are restless for thy next visit. The new leader of Nox's clan has taken to her role admirably."

"What about Alaric, has the man settled or wish he still of sowing the seed of rebellion?" 

"Contrary, the man has had a new purpose given. To make amends, he has taken to the research of alternatives to Blood as our food. Appearance aside, we've got a good scholar – he wishes for the people to be able to self-sustain."

"What about the monster problem?"

"Sabbath has started a new training regiment per order from Serene. She has asked for a squad of elite vampires to be trained for the sole purpose of protecting the King. I do agree with her on said front, sullying thy hands-on worthless garbage won't but bring the wastage of effort and time." 

"What about the lesser-nightwalkers, how are their living conditions?" 

"Matter of state should be discussed with Serene for she's the one in charge. I've no say in the matter," he bowed, "-with all due respect, I'd like to take my leave now." 

'Guess a visit is in order,' sat on a bench, the letter was read.

'I see,' a few minutes later,'-Josiah has a new idea in mind. One for the second-year students. One scheduled a month before vacation, he wishes for the students to join guilds as temporary adventurers and fight. On-site training, though it's optional to the student. The list of guilds that have accepted is quite impressive. I see Pegasus at the top – I guess it's a good thing. If they are involved, I'm guessing Raulf has a hand in settling the deal-' 

'Eira and the majority of her class have asked this of me. They want to join in the exchange program only if Kniq and its leader Xenos, is present. The paper works and confirmation will be sent over to headquarters. Do accept this, the students are excited to work with since the talk you gave on that night,' a private note from Josiah.

'-Kniq wasn't on the list. I'm guessing because the members have scattered around the kingdom. Still, her class, and Eira, want to learn from me. I'm quite flattered,' he smiled, '-better have more details on the issue.'