The man who stood before Gabriel on the vast sea of blood carried no weapon. He wore no accessory. The man was so simple that none could've guessed that he was the Lord of Death, Karyk, just based on his looks.
However, the aura around that person was what made others realize that even though the man looked like a handsome scholar, he was someone who could kill without blinking an eye.
The man had killed so many people that he was surrounded by an aura of death that was even more powerful than anything Gabriel had seen before. Just looking into the pitch black eyes of the man was enough to make others feel as if they were shoved into the battlefield of blood and death!
"I've already received plenty of pain and suffering." Gabriel answered. Even though he stood before the god of death, he wasn't scared. He didn't feel any ill intent from Karyk after all. If anything, Karyk felt more familiar to him than anything.
Gabriel didn't know if it was because he had lived the life or Karyk in his dreams, or if it was something else. All he knew was that Karyk didn't mean any harm to him. Instead, he was warning him about something.
Karyk looked just like him. If one was to ignore the difference of temperament and strength between the two, it was quite hard to find any difference between the two just based on their looks.
"What you felt before..." Karyk muttered, as if he already knew what Gabriel experienced. However, in his eyes, that much was nothing compared to the past and what was to come.
"I don't know what pain and suffering you implied, but no matter what it is, I've never been scared of pain!" Gabriel exclaimed. "Not anymore! I've seen what happens when one lives in fear... Not anymore!"
He didn't know what Karyk wanted from him, but no matter what, he didn't want to be scared anymore! He already had plenty of enemies who were much stronger than him currently! He didn't want to be his naive old self who was nice to everyone, only to be killed by others again and again!
If anything, he wanted to live like Karyk! He wanted to be someone who could make people tremble just with his name! It didn't matter if it was gods or demons, he wanted to stand above them all!
Karyk simply gazed in the eyes of Gabriel that were filled with determination.
Gabriel didn't know if it was his misconception, but for a moment, he felt as if he was looking at himself in a mirror.
"Since you've decided, then so be it. It's time to return..."
Karyk walked over the sea of blood, covering the last few steps between him and Gabriel.
"You asked me before if I was Karyk?" He asked when there was only half a meter of distance between the two of them. "You are right. At the same time you are wrong."
"You mean...?"
Karyk didn't answer. "Since you've chosen to walk this path, then so be it!"
Karyk raided his right hand, placing his finger on the forehead of Gabriel.
****
Back in the real world, Gabriel was still floating mid-air. His eyes were closed and it even appeared as if he was sleeping. However, his eyes opened suddenly.
"Arghhh!"
Gabriel roared, as if his entire body was breaking apart and being healed at the same time.
Gabriel's hair became longer, at the time, slowly turning into the beautiful shade of silver, just like Karyk.
His beautiful blue eyes turned darker until his pupils were pitch black. His entire body was brimming with strength that he never felt before.
Unfortunately, more than his body, his mind was in pain! It was as if there had been a seal in his mind and his soul for a long time and that deal was just unlocked!
Thousands of foreign memories suddenly flooded in his head, as soon as the seal was opened!
Jia watched Gabriel cry in pain but she couldn't even stand up!
"He's hurt! Save him!" She yelled at Alion since only Alion knew what was happening here.
"Don't worry. He isn't hurt," Alion answered. He hadn't taken his eyes off Gabriel for even a single moment ever since Gabriel started crying in pain.
"Then why is he roaring like that? What's happening to him?" Jia asked. From what she could see, it felt as if Gabriel was almost dying from pain!
"He's receiving what belonged to him in the first place," Alion answered. "It is his choice."
"You should get ready," he told the little girl.
"Ready for what?"
"To witness the return... The return of a god!"
****
Gabriel's mind was in turmoil. Even he hadn't expected something like this to happen! All his seals that he didn't even know about were suddenly open at the same time, letting all the foreign memories rush inside his head.
In the memories, it was as if he lived a completely different life than his current life!He saw a loving childhood where he was born as the child of one of the most powerful Royal Families in the World. He was a Prince who grew up with a complete family with his mother, father and sister.
In one of those memories, he also saw the same thing that he had seen in one of his dreams where he stood on the balcony of the Royal Palace, greeting the subjects of the Empire!
It was as if the dreams that he experienced before were nothing more than memories that somehow managed to pass through the seal!
The memories showed him an era that was long forgotten! The era which was destroyed by war and battle between humans, giving birth to the gods!
****
For three days and three nights, Gabriel kept roaring in pain due to the torment. As his old memories merged with his current memories, he started understanding everything.
At the same time, as his souls merged, the strength and the aura of his body also kept increasing. In just three days, his aura had reached the level of the demigods but it didn't stop there as he continued getting stronger.
After five days, the aura finally stabilized. However, by now, it was at that level which couldn't even be sensed by Alion and Jia!
Gabriel's painful roars finally stopped. His entire body was covered in sweat yet he looked even more handsome than before. His skin was flawless. Even though his hair color and his eye color was different now, but somehow that just made him look even more charming.
After five days of torment, Gabriel finally stopped. His body floated down, ultimately landing on the ground softly.
The suppressing aura that made everyone kneel for five days straight finally disappeared as well, giving the others a sigh of relief! Many still didn't know what this aura was! They didn't realize that it was a sign...a sign that it was time for the world to change and for the entire universe to tremble…
