Chapter 275

Iemis could feel his health stabilizing while he was within the pool of holy water that the World Tree had left behind. It was peaceful inside the Theapan Temple. None of the mortals who worked there had realized he had come... except for one.

BAM!

The temple's doors slammed open from the pope. He seemed to be in a rush from sensing the presence of Iemis inside his temple grounds. Pope Johann Lovette was not expecting any visits from the gods. Long ago he had swore he had gotten use to how unpredictable the gods were. It seemed he had forgotten his own realization in that moment.

"My Lord, are you alright?!" Johann asked while striding towards the holy water where Iemis was relaxing.

Iemis was submerged so deeply into the water that he could not be seen. Due to the pope being the mortal chosen by the gods he was connected to them on a deeper level than average mortals. It was easier for him to sense the presence of the gods even if they hid themselves carefully. This was a gift from the heavens the chosen pope was given in order to help then distinguish mortals from gods; a way to prevent gods from toying with the chosen pope. All gods were incapable of hiding their godhood from the pope.

When Iemis heard the pope's startled voice calling out his eyes opened. Standing up from the water he turned his head towards the pope. The cool water dripping from his naturally shaggy hair that glistened like steel beneath the moonlight coming down from above where the ceiling had been open for the world tree to receive natural light. His colorless eyes made the pope shiver for a second as the god's expression only made them give off a heavy sense of emptiness.

Iemis hesitated before answering him with a single word, "Invalid. I was never here."

"My lord, I can not ignore you in this condition. I will have Uriel-" Johann was unable to let things go when the god was in such a dire state in front of him.

Iemis did not give him any time to complete his words. The god rushed out from the holy water and ran for the doors. The pope was startled because he had never seen Iemis ever react so strongly in front of him. Iemis was the eldest god, but those who knew of him had decreased greatly over time. Those who were aware of him saw him as a god who did not show much reaction emotionally. Witnessing that god run with a startled expression was enough to make the pope freeze in action.

BOOOOMMMMMMM!!!

They both stood by the doors staring out at the night sky. Thunder seemed to roar viciously throughout the sky above the mortal realm.

"What's going on??!"

"The sky! Look at the sky!"

"The sky has gone red!"

The pope flinched at the words he heard from those that lived within the temple grounds. People had began to gather outside in order to see what was going on.

"No way..." Pope Johann Lovette struggled to find the words. Turning his eyes to the side he glanced at Iemis to see the god Iemis standing in a heavy silence. "A blood red rain."

The mortal's realm only rained a blood colored rain during one occasion. It was a situation that was so rare that the number of mortals who understood it could be counted. They had kept it in written records but nobody had seen it in thousands of years.

A blood rain signified the death of an original god.

While an original god dies their mana is released into the atmosphere. It is a powerful mana explosion that could become deadly for the mortal realm. That was the reason the gods kept their personal fights to the heavenly realm. Their realm could withstand the impact without worry however the gods mana as he died would still seep out into the skies of the mortal realm. It would cause a temporary storm that would look as if the skies bled for the original god themselves.

Meanwhile in the heavenly realm,

Shides coughed up some blood as he wheezed while trying to catch his breath. His eyes were staring straight into the cold gaze of Chynir who knelt down to his level. It did not matter what part of him it was. Shides's body was burnt from head to toe and he could already feel his mana leaking out from his body as he grew weaker.

"Ah," Shides did not know his life would end this way, when someone becomes a god you defy death more then anyone, he realized he must have forgotten what it was like to fear death since long ago like most gods tend to do, "It almost feels unreal."

Gods were unlike mortals in many ways. One of those ways was a difference that all gods were well aware of. Mortals after death had a chance at their souls being reborn for another chance at life. Though their memories would be erased upon their birth in order to start over cleanly.

The gods were not given this chance. Whenever a god died it was the end for their soul. Gods could not become such an existence without paying their own prices in order to receive such power. It meant that once they died they were simply dead. There would be no chance at reincarnating.

"It is the end for you, Shides. What would you possibly have to mutter about right now?" Chynir felt annoyed with Shides muttering to himself over the realization of his own death.

"I understand," Shides wheezed as his body wobbled a bit in the position he had collapsed into, "that more then anyone else."

Chynir slammed his foot into Shides causing him to collapse completely on his side, "Where is your loyalty now? He did not even come back for you."

Shides felt his body shudder violently as if he was seizing from the sudden kick against his charred body, "... I ... Forgive you..."

"What?" Chynir wanted to snarl at the words that Shides had just said. Forgive me? What for?

"I... have to... because.." Shides lips seemed to twitch as if he wanted to smile through the pain, "once I.. die... I fear nobody else will.. ever.. again.."

He hesitated to respond to Shides, "What nonsense is this?"

Consider it my last gift for you. Shides thought to himself as the light went out from his eyes. The last image he saw before his hazy eyes was that confused expression on Chynir's cold face.

He knew that Chynir would not understand his reason for forgiving him before he died. It would be difficult for him to know what was truly on his mind. Things were not that complicated. He was not trying to play tricks on the fellow god.

Simple as the answer was he knew that once he died there would be no chance for Chynir to redeem himself in the future. There was no turning back from killing one of his fellow original gods. Perhaps the last bit of forgiveness Chynir would receive in his lifetime going forward would have been from Shides in his final moments.