Regarding Death (6): The Black Knight
Talos began relentlessly smashing rocks made of the same material as himself with his greatsword.
Hmm. Nice. Perfect. Hunting really is best on auto-hunt mode. Mining's auto-mining too.
I'd dug down by punching holes with my bare fists before, but that was a pain in the ass.
In that sense, Talos was a golem perfectly timed for creation.
Well, Talos—who was smashing rocks with the greatsword I'd so kindly made for him to expand the space—somehow seemed to be glaring at me with accusatory eyes.
What can you do? I made you, Talos. I'm your master!
Anyway, as Talos shattered the black rocks and shoved the debris backward, I used mana to teleport the fragments outside while starting to sketch out my vision for the afterlife.
Let's see. How many gates should there be? Seven or so ought to do it, right?
Talos, the first gate, was ready, so I needed to secure the remaining six.
After passing the final seventh gate, something like a god ruling the underworld would appear in all its glory...
Hmm. Nice. I like it.
Now, time to think about what gatekeepers to prepare.
Well, one of them was already decided.
When you think underworld gatekeeper, that one's a must.
The guard dog protecting the underworld, obviously.
Greek myths had Cerberus, Norse had Garm, so there had to be a wolf or dog keeping souls from escaping.
Oh, and that too would be nice. The ferryman. Charon, was it?
But for the ferryman to row his boat, we'd need a river... and there's nothing here but black rock. Tricky.
Well, if it doesn't exist, make one. What choice is there?
As for the other gatekeepers... hmm... later.
For now, this much would do. I could expand gradually and add more as needed.
Alright then. What shape should my afterlife take?
Should I lump the dead into heaven or hell? Or reincarnate their souls through the wheel of rebirth?
Well, my heart was already set on one direction.
I planned to blend both afterlife systems.
It was a decision born from the idea: both have pros and cons, so what if I combined them?
...Maybe a bit half-assed.
Still, if I could merge just the advantages, that'd be great.
Reality's harsh, though. Usually, you end up with the downsides combined...
But I wanted to mash the two afterlives together anyway.
First off, here's how I envisioned it.
Dark spirits—future reapers—gather souls from across the world and bring them here.
Then, from the underworld's entrance, they slowly descend, showing souls the sights to make them regret their sins.
Well, no big deal if they don't regret it.
But regretting would be smart. I'd lighten their sins just a tad at the final judgment.
Souls heading deep into the underworld, passing terrifying gatekeepers without bodies to flee or hide.
Oh! Can't forget to show them suffering souls along the way.
Tortured in all sorts of ways, enough to spark self-reflection just by watching.
After exposing them to those horrors to loosen their tongues on sins, record their name, cause of death, and crimes in detail.
Finally, judge the soul's sins.
Weigh them on scales—if heavy, the pan drops.
Through that process, judge the soul.
Souls with no or light sins go to heaven; if they want, send them to reincarnate.
Souls with sins... well, suffer in the underworld.
Tortured in hells matching their crimes until the evil taints scatter, leaving a pure soul for reincarnation.
The more sins, the more taints, the more suffering.
Sure, I could smash them with overwhelming power, but that's too much work.
Better to process them in bulk in a big space—way more efficient.
Once the taints are purged, reincarnate the pure soul. Soul processing complete.
And that's my underworld vision, finished.
Of course, issues like inserting souls into newborn babies remain, but... the cloud whales made of drifting souls were already handling that automatically.
Hmm... Angels or something to insert souls into babies would be nice.
More thorough than random dumping.
Anyway, later for that.
Even while scheming, I nonstop teleported Talos's rock debris outside.
"Urgh! Hah!"
After loosening my slightly stiff body, I gazed at the ice-choked sea with its biting winds.
Or rather, what used to be a sea.
"It's really filling up."
Between the small island and continent, a not-too-wide sea had churned with cold waves, but now black rocks had sunk in, filling it solid.
I lightly leaped onto the towering black rock before the island.
Hmm. Solid enough not to shake under me.
Thanks to those rocks, a thin connection linked continent and island.
Hmm... Fine as is, but...
Something bugged me.
Alright. Carve it.
Shape it properly. Gotta make a decent bridge or it won't satisfy!
I cast a spell, poured in mana, and began carving the black rocks.
First, slice off the bumpy parts for flatness, attach debris to both ends, carve railings at good height.
Leave sea-touching rocks alone, just tweak the top simply.
Surprisingly decent bridge complete.
Nice. Anyone could cross this. Even giants or dragons!
Genesis Dragon!!
Suddenly, a voice called me.
Well, not a real voice—GodTalk reacted.
Who's calling?
Genesis Dragon!!! We need help!!!
A distant voice.
The owner... ah! Right! The kid I named Dragon Lord ages ago!
Forgotten voice took time to recall.
I leaped lightly, rocketing via GodTalk's direction.
Genesis Dragon!!!!
"Why call me so desperately?"
A massive dragon with golden scales. The Dragon Lord called me desperately.
Ooh... Genesis Dragon... you were in such a remote place. We need your help...
"My help?"
I asked puzzled; he nodded without denial.
Something we can't handle occurred. Please help us!
Dragons can't handle it?
They were quiet from lack of activity, but dragons unable? What the hell?
"I thought nothing was beyond you. Calling me piques my curiosity."
Dragons have no impossibles, really.
Fear of me kept them quiet, but still dragons...
Truly sorry. We couldn't resolve it. I'll guide you.
The Dragon Lord flew ahead; I followed.
We arrived at...
"This is..."
The place where fools' bodies are buried.
The spot I'd visited for dark spirits, where dragons became spirits.
"What's happened here?"
An anomaly struck, so one of us investigated.
Anomaly? No way...
The dark spirits dwelling here all vanished.
It's my fault! Wait, that's not an anomaly!
I just sent them on tasks—they scattered!
My sister-like black dragon was investigating when a sinister, eerie aura surged from underground... and seeped into her body.
Sinister eerie aura? What's that?
I only tasked the dark spirits...
Why some weird aura now? Erebos again?!
This way.
Following the Dragon Lord's guide into a nearby cave.
Grgh...
Inside, a black dragon in a state hard to call alive.