Chapter 498 (1): Just Care About What You Care About and Leave the Rest to the Rest

“What? Divine Realm?!” Mikhael’s eyes widened. “Great Anointed One, I thought I was prideful, but you’re worse than me. Your redemption reaches even the Divine Realms.”

When Wayne invited him to go to a Divine Realm together, he had immediately turned him down.

“Mikhael, that wasn’t what you said yesterday. You said that there were two gods in Heaven, and if the goddesses had problems with that, they should reawaken mythology and start another War of Faiths. You even said that you would capture them alive and bring them to the Temple Garden in the Ninth Heaven to make them sing and dance for me.” Wayne shook his head, labeling Mikhael as a coward who was all bark and no bite.

“I didn’t say that,” Mikhael said bluntly, exasperated. “The two gods in Heaven have the power of gods, but that alone won’t help us defeat such formidable enemies in their own Divine Realms. I suggest that you keep yourself in check, Great Anointed One. You already have many women around you.”

“No, I’m going to the Divine Realm for business. I’m promoting the greatness of the Holy Light and telling the goddesses about the return of the god who could defeat all five of them alone, someone just like Elohim.”

Wayne tapped on the back of his head, creating such a large halo that Mikhael couldn’t keep his eyes open.

“Mikhael, Viceroy of Heaven, He Who Is Like God, the strongest angel, the right hand of the divine realm, and the second-in-command, what are you afraid of? Your father is waiting for you to bring back his glory!”

“That...”

Mikhael hummed with his eyes closed, so lost in the flattery that he couldn’t stop himself from humming. Just like Hesione, he felt great pleasure whenever the Anointed One spoke like that. The poison of faith had gone bone-deep in them. They couldn’t be saved.

“What do you say, Mikhael?”

“You make a good point, Great Anointed One, but I refuse!” Mikhael planted his feet on the ground and schooled his expression. “I have more important missions and cannot venture into a Divine Realm with you. Let Hesione accompany you. If there’s any danger, she’ll risk her life to protect you.”

“It’s because it’ll be dangerous that I want you as an angel shield,” Wayne said with wide eyes, making his nefarious motive clear.

“It’s because I’ll be an angel shield that I refuse to go!” Mikhael widened his eyes further.

“...” x2

They stared at each other. After a moment, Wayne huffed and put away his halo. “Is this how you demonstrate your loyalty to the Anointed One, Mikhael?”

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t you worried about the Anointed One meeting his demise in the Divine Realm?”

“I believe in Father. He isn’t going to let you meet a premature death after creating such an unorthodox Anointed One.”

Mikhael huffed. He had gotten to know Wayne quite well back in Hell. He never did anything that wouldn’t benefit him, anything that was too risky, or anything that gave too little profit... He was cautious and greedy, a typical vermin.

He was right. Wayne had been thinking about entering a Divine Realm for more than a few days. He just hadn’t talked about it when he wasn’t a hundred percent sure of his chance. Only after his power jump did he relaunch his plan.

Basically, Wayne was only heading to the Divine Realm because he was confident, and he was looking for an unlucky teammate just in case something went wrong. Since he didn’t want to risk someone of his own, Mikhael, who was neither inside nor outside his inner circle, was a perfect candidate.

Bah, hypocrite!

Mikhael refused to be Wayne’s insurance. He waved and claimed that he was busy with work, so if the Anointed One didn’t have anything important to say, he would like to kindly ask the Anointed One to stop interrupting his work with the Sacred Tome.

Wayne rolled his eyes. No wonder the strongest angel would be tossed into Hell as Pride. Were he the Heavenly Father, he would’ve done the same.

Just wait. Once it’s me against the five goddesses, I’ll send you and Auriel to Hell to watch the Seven Deadly Sins tear at each other.

***

Manor of the Holy Maiden of Darkness.

Wayne lay on his white moonlight’s chest and shared his grievances. He didn’t have the courage to go into the dungeon without teammates whom he could put right in front of him as shields. Vichy was eager, but Wayne shot her down. When Darienne said that she could be his bodyguard, he shot her down, too.

Anastasia patted him on the head and whispered that the Goddess of Darkness could go with him.

Pass, Wayne thought. I don’t want to wander into the Divine Realm of Darkness after a wrong turn.

He just wanted to enjoy his white moonlight’s comfort. Never had he considered going with Darkness. Instead, he turned to the sofa and said, “Hey, you. I’m close to forgetting your name. Aren’t you going to come with me to the Underworld?”

Sukra pressed her face into the sofa without a word, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Wayne frowned, grabbing her by the nape and freeing her from the sofa’s seal. “Just one more gig. After this gig, no matter the results, you’ll get to lead the rest of your life in abundance with the merits you’ll earn alone.”

“What if I’m crippled in the process?”

“I’ll support you.”

“What if I die?”

“Then you’ll return to Death’s embrace in the Divine Realm, embodying the doctrines and enjoying serenity. Wouldn’t that be the greatest prize?”

“...”

His irresponsible response left Sukra shedding dry tears. Wayne and Rognes would be there to stop the sky from falling. What did it have to do with the Holy Maiden of Death, who had a weak voice and a weaker body?

Still, she stood up and followed Wayne. She couldn’t say no to a trip to save the Divine Realm. Although she knew she couldn’t do it, she still decided to try.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you if we ever run into a formidable enemy.”

“You said that you would keep your teammate in front of you—”

“Yeah, you’ll just cry out once if you’re put in front of me, but you’ll cry for a long time behind me. It’ll hurt!” Wayne patted her on the shoulder. With him around, she would live a long life.

(╥﹏╥)

Moving to the garden, Wayne drew Shadow Nightmare and locked onto the Astral Plane with his thoughts. He threw the blade right at the coordinates.

As soon as he raised his hands, he saw a familiar giant.

“The Astral Worm...”

“Why is it still there? Does it not know how to give up?”

Wayne made a face. He didn’t understand what about the Chosen Land attracted the worm so much. Since it didn’t matter, he didn't pay it any attention. Picking one of the two sets of coordinates, he vanished with Shadow Nightmare.

Sukra looked around. Realizing that she was still in the garden rather than taken away by Wayne, she was excited, but also a little disappointed.

It was a bit of a shame that she couldn’t participate in the grand operation of saving the Divine Realm.

“Wayne tricked me again. If he doesn’t want to take me, he should’ve just told me. That terrible man just has to scare me.” Sukra patted her chest and cheered. “Forget it. Since he’s keeping me well-fed, I’ll forgive him. But only this once.”

A hand reached out of the void and grabbed Sukra by the collar. She cried out as she got dragged into the dark vortex.

***

In the depths of the infinite Greater Universe lay a world shrouded in mystique—the eternally serene Divine Realm of Death.

It was also known as the Underrealm, the Underworld, and the Land of the End of Life.

The doctrines of the Church of Death specified that death wasn’t the end of life, and that death didn’t mean an empty conclusion. Returning to Death’s embrace was the process of a soul becoming liberated from worldly concerns and reaching the sacred land of peace and wisdom.

That was the Divine Realm of Death!

Light distorted. The spatial passage stretched Sukra and Wayne until they emerged in the vibrantly green world. Sukra felt nauseous, unable to endure the sense of weightlessness and vertigo from crossing the passage. She took Wayne’s arm to steady herself, but still couldn’t stop herself from turning away and throwing up.

Wayne patted the slacker on the back gently, scanning the world of Death thriving with chirping birds and verdant vegetation.

The Underworld wasn’t deathly desolate and bleak like Wayne had expected. The mysterious forest stretched far and wide, with ancient trees towering over them, their dense canopies forming a thick green dome. ‘Sunlight’ shone through the crowded leaves, casting dappled light and shadow on the ground. The golden shards shifted gently in tandem with the breeze, like time broken into pieces.

The air was permeated with the refreshing smell of soil and leaves. Following a path of slabs covered in moss, the sound of a creek could be heard, composing a requiem of nature alongside the harmonious bird song in the forest. The vibrancy and vitality of life jumped out starkly.

Wayne took a deep breath of the air, smelling the grass. He caught the shifting play of light and raised his hand, watching the dappled shadows on his palm.

Realization dawned on him. He looked at the world again and saw something completely different.

This patch of nature was an illusion. An eternal peace had frozen the forest’s time. There wasn’t the perpetual motion of life nor the endless cycle of reincarnations. This was simply a land frozen in time where souls could enjoy peace.

“That scares me. I thought Nature had claimed this place.” Wayne smiled with hooded eyes. “I could just enter freely? This set of coordinates has higher clearance than I thought. My goddess, you still cared about me even when you were angry.”

It was difficult to enter a Divine Realm, and it was even more difficult to leave one. Such free access should be nigh impossible.

Ines was indeed close to Aztimor, yet She sold Her bestie out after getting a boy toy.

“This is...” Sukra failed to throw up anything after a while. She used Wayne’s sleeve to wipe her mouth and looked around with her masked eyes, exclaiming in awe, “This is the Forest of Forgiveness in the Sacred Tome of Death, the third level of the Underworld. It’s considered a core area.”

She then explained that according to the Sacred Tome of Death, the Forest of Forgiveness was an eternally serene site where souls learned to let go of their grievances upon entrance. Every step they took represented forgiveness, and the dappled light and shadow represented understanding and tolerance. Once a soul walked out of the forest, they would have moved on from their past conflicts.

Wayne raised an eyebrow. He would like to borrow a Sacred Tome of Darkness from Ines for a read.

“Wayne, this is the heart of the Underworld. We’ve bypassed a lot of travel. Do you know the Forest of Forgiveness? She’s—”

“A forest that’ll trap you forever if you don’t let go. I get it.”

“Um...” Sukra deflated, rendered speechless by Wayne’s twisted interpretation. “You’re the Death Knight and the chosen one blessed by the goddess at the end of the day, and the Divine Realm is your home. Why would you badmouth it like that?”

“What do you know about the Underworld, Holy Maiden of Death? I, the Death Knight, have the final say.” Wayne huffed. Since he had a more powerful fist, his interpretation of the forest was the truth.

Sukra couldn’t do anything about that. Inhaling the fragrance of the forest, she pointed at the path and said, “According to the Sacred Tome, past the forest is the fourth level of the Divine Realm, the Spring of Wisdom. Our souls will be cleansed and enlightened like they had never before.”

Wayne nodded, walking alongside Sukra. “Pardon. How many levels are there at my home?”

“Twelve.”

“That many?!” Wayne was confused. “You said that the third is considered core, then why are there nine more? How big is the heart supposed to be?”

“No. According to the Sacred Tome of Death, the first level, the Mist of Oblivion, is infinite and boundless; the second level, the Ocean of Serenity, has no end in sight. It’s where souls will have their regrets filtered by the mist until they become clear like water, and their hearts calm until there isn’t any ripple. Only then can a soul enter the third level. The first two occupy such a large area that it cannot be measured. In comparison, the other ten can be considered the core area.”

After the explanation, Sukra cocked her head and asked, “This is all common sense. How could you, the Death Knight, not know?”

“You chose me as the knight,” Wayne said without shame. “You dropped Shadow Nightmare and walked away, killing all the members of the Church of Death who came after me. How would I know anything if not from you?”

Right.

Sukra nodded, continuing to inform Wayne about the basics of the Underworld.

It was a massive space that was shaped like an hourglass. Only the purest soul could enter the twelfth level.

From bottom to top, the levels were: the Mist of Oblivion, the Ocean of Serenity, the Forest of Forgiveness, the Spring of Wisdom, the Fire of Greed, the Ice of Envy, the Marsh of Sloth, the Summit of Pride, the Valley of Hope, the Bridge of Mercy, the One Universe, and the Temple of Eternity.

“A soul will be cleansed every step of the way, igniting the fire of hope and reclaiming their belief and yearning for what is beautiful. They’ll learn humility and self-control, becoming able to love and share...”

“They’ll experience what it’s like to become one with everything in the universe, no longer divided and separated. They’ll understand the uniqueness of the self and the universe and thus qualify for immortality. Stepping into the twelfth level is returning to Death’s eternal embrace...”

“Becoming part of the universe, wisdom, and truth, becoming eternal!”