"Downfall of Karyk?" Gabriel's expressions darkened. From all the legends he had heard, the only existence that was worthy of being called invincible was Karyk.
"How could a Spirit cause the downfall of a god who controlled life and death?!"
If there was one thing that Karyk was the best at, it was controlling spirits and the undead! So how could a Spirit become his calamity?
Gabriel had always wondered just how exactly someone like Karyk died but to think that the answer was right before him?
There were still many questions in his mind and finally he had a person who could answer! Unfortunately, despite his questions, the man didn't say anything.
It was as if he didn't even hear what Gabriel asked, despite clearly hearing the question.
"How did he die exactly?" Gabriel asked again.
Unfortunately, this time he was also ignored.
While ignoring Gabriel's question, Alion's focus remained on the woman before him, as if he was treating it as an excuse for ignoring the question altogether.
"The Destiny Soul Stone didn't disappoint. To think that it actually worked..." He walked around the spirit, as if observing the spirit aura carefully.
"Are you ignoring me?" Gabriel asked again, this time, stopping right before Alion and blocking his path.
Looking at the innocence in the eyes of the spirit, she didn't look like an evil existence who could even dream about hurting someone.
Alion finally stopped and turned serious. "Are you sure you want to enter the muddy waters of the past?"
"I want to know what happened in the past. I want to understand the source of my powers and everything related to it."
Ever since he received the Grimoire, he had been looking for answers as to why he was selected and just what was the origin of this element that he received.
"Alright. I'll tell you then."
Alion finally gave up, even though he felt that it was still too early for Gabriel to know such things, especially about the complicated past. Even though he didn't think he could tell Gabriel everything now, he could at least tell him some things to ease his mind and give him a glimpse into the past.
"How much do you know about Karyk?" he asked Gabriel, placing his hand on Gabriel's shoulder and bringing him away from the child-like spirit.
Gabriel didn't hide anything and told Alion everything he had heard about Karyk through Lambard, along with his own understanding.
After listening silently for some time, Alion shook his head. "That's more or less correct, but not entirely."
"If you want to know where everything started, it was probably something you've already seen," he said. "The Tomb... You've already been to that place. And as you said, the dream you saw was also correct. It was indeed a part of the past."
Gabriel didn't interfere and let Alion speak.
"The Goddess of Nature lost her brother at that time. Her brother was her last family member, so no matter how much of a friendship she had with Karyk, she couldn't stop her anger and attacked Karyk."
Alion appeared slightly dazed, as if he could still remember the past vividly, losing himself in the bygone era. "When she attacked, she didn't hold anything back. She was strong, but even she couldn't last long before Karyk, and was defeated shortly. Not only did Karyk defeat her, but he also imprisoned her at that Tomb."
"I think you already guessed that much, right?" he asked Gabriel who nodded in response.
"What you don't know is what happened after that..." Alion sighed. He snapped his fingers and the mist around them started changing shape, showing a scene from the past from Alion's memories.
****
[An unknown amount of time ago]
"Do you know how much trouble you've caused for yourself?"
In a room, a person was standing near the window, looking outside.
From the back, the man's face couldn't be seen, yet the mark on the back of his hand was visible. The person was the God of Death and Necromancer, the person at the center of a storm to be, Karyk.
Also inside the room was a woman, sitting in a chair, glancing in the direction of Karyk. She was also the one who had just spoken. The Mark of Light was on the back of her hand and she looked exactly like the Goddess of Light Theia that Gabriel had seen before, just slightly younger.
There was another person in the room, standing with the support of a wall lazily. The last person was none other than Alion himself.
Three cups were placed on the table before the chairs, filled with a blue unknown liquid that had a very sweet smell, like it was a drink. Despite that, none picked it up.
Theia looked in the direction of Alion. "Aren't you his so-called friend? You should've stopped him, shouldn't you? It's the first time a God has been imprisoned here. You know how much this situation has made others concerned about him?"
"You think I can stop him?" Alion shrugged. "Also, it was her who attacked him first. It can be called self defense."
Theia rolled her eyes in response, as if telling Alion to stop considering her as an idiot who didn't know the truth.
"It doesn't matter what it was." After a period of silence, she spoke again, "Karyk's constantly increasing strength was already concerning to the others. However, none of the gods interfered with each other, so the situation was stable. However, with what happened to her, the situation has changed."
"Let me guess. Since Karyk defeated and captured the Goddess of Nature, the other gods are scared of being targeted next?" Alion asked, taking an educated guess. It wasn't hard for him to understand the reaction either.
Theia nodded. "That's right. The situation is complicated and quite tense. None of them wants a war, but if nothing is done, then the situation might explode at any time. Given Karyk's temperament, just one spark can cause a headache for everyone..."
"Let it be." Karyk finally chimed in, still not looking bothered at all. It was as if he was quite lazy to care about the situation. "If they want a war, I'll welcome them with open arms. I won't mind creating seven more tombs."
Hearing the response, Theia wasn't surprised. She had expected this kind of response after all.
"I don't want any more tombs though. You know that if there is a war, it'll only weaken us. And we can't afford to forget that with the kind of enemy we face, we can't afford to be weakened with internal strife. So I have a suggestion. It might help alleviate the situation…"
