It wasn't that he found the Grimoire of Death at the bottom of the cliff. Instead, those two things came out of his own body right as he fell. It's just that at that point, he couldn't guess that.
It wasn't luck that saved his life, but his own self.
Pushing the door of the abandoned house open, Gabriel stepped inside, taking one last look at the place where he spent more than half of his current life.
"Everything is fleeting." He muttered, stepping out of the house that came crumbling down as soon as he stepped out. It wasn't just his old house that came crumbling down, but every other house as well.
Within seconds, the entire town was destroyed. Everything turned to dust, making it impossible to know that a town even used to exist in this place.
Winds started intensifying, bringing sand with it, covering the land of town in sand, making it look like a sand desert instead.
Leaving the town, Gabriel had only one last place that he wanted to see.
He went to the distant cliff, which was somewhat far from his town.
The cliff was void of people, but it still felt threatening since it was so high that an ordinary person would've died after falling from it.
Gabriel stood at the edge of the cliff, looking straight down.
The view from the top was breathtaking, as she could see that the end of the cliff was still covered in a white mist.
He couldn't help but remember how different this place was, compared to last time. A thousand years ago, this place used to be completely different.
There used to be crashing waves of the ocean on one side and the endless expanse of the desert on the other.
Even in his last life, he had come to this place quite a few times. Whenever he used to stand here, he used to feel as if he was standing at the edge of two different worlds.
This World was huge. Yet, at the same time, it felt small enough to fit within his palm.
Gabriel remained on the cliff, the entire night, just lying there and looking at the moon in the sky. It felt very similar to the time he used to spend on the roof, gazing at the moon.
"A world beyond, huh..." he muttered, basking under the moonlight.
He had always felt that there was something... Something beyond the upper realm. It was as if it was a subconscious feeling that was constantly telling him to get stronger.
In fact, even before he awakened the Element of Death, he used to feel like that. Even now, he didn't understand what that feeling was. It was like a natural instinct.
The war, the destruction, and even the appearance of elemental energy... At initial glance, it felt like it was all a coincidence that led to the eventual outcome of his awakening, but he could feel that something wasn't quite right.
Why him? Why was he the only one who received a Supreme Element in this world? And what was that strange feeling he had all his life even before he awakened? It was as if he could hear someone calling for him from the eternal darkness.
Gabriel spent the entire night deep in thought, unable to drift into slumber. He lay still and quiet, feeling the gentle winds caress his skin.
It was only in the morning that he stood up while the moon went into something akin to a slumber.
He cast a simple spell to alter his outfit, opting for a more subdued appearance. After changing his clothes, he disappeared, finally going back to the Arecia Empire. It was the promised time of departure.
Even though he wanted to go to the Nether Realm first, but since he hadn't been able to unravel the mystery of the Skeleton, he delayed that plan for later. Before going there, he wanted to solve the mystery of the skeleton.
Moreover, since he already had a domain, the reason that he wanted to go to the Forbidden Land of the Nether Realm wasn't as important anymore. In any case, he believed he could go there from the Upper Realm as well.
His figure appeared at the entrance of his castle, where all the Undead Soldiers went down on one knee, greeting their master.
Gabriel nodded in satisfaction. "Today, we shall leave."
Gabriel cast a new spell that he hadn't used in over a thousand years since he didn't need to. It was a spell that altered his shadow into a special space where all his army could reside.
This spell was also what he used in his last life, since moving with his army was too eye-catching.
The Undead Soldiers revealed a look of understanding. Even though it was just Gabriel's shadow, the space inside that shadow was no different than a vast world. They could even train there until they were called.
Raphael had been staying with his ancestors for the last few weeks and now he had a better understanding of Gabriel and all his past achievements which impressed him.
Previously, he used to think that he was all alone, which was also why his mood was always so solemn. However, now that he had something akin to a family, he was starting to adapt. Especially since Gabriel also brought his horse to this world from the Undead Realm.
In the end, he also wanted to train with his ancestors to become strong enough to be called a General. He went with them all to Gabriel's Shadow Space, where he wanted to train and fight more with the others.
He still had the Space Crystal and he wanted to master that crystal completely, since he had already experienced how strong that thing was.
Within a few minutes, his army disappeared entirely, returning to his shadow.
The majestic Training Arena that used to be filled with battle sounds of his Undead was completely silent now as not a single undead was left behind.
Gabriel entered the Castle. He still had to inform his sister, Avilia and the others about the fact that he was leaving. He intentionally left that for the last moment.
Inside the castle, he expected to find them one by one. However, to his surprise, he found all of them together.
Zena and Avilia looked at him, as if they already knew that he was going to leave.
"Are you really leaving?" Zena asked, after slight hesitation.
Even though she hadn't stayed with Gabriel for long, she had already started considering him a close family member with the time they spent.
She didn't know where Gabriel was going, or if it was dangerous. She was only informed that he was leaving and might not be able to return for some time.
Gabriel maintained his calmness. "Don't worry. I'm just going to meet some old friends."
