“So this is Albus, huh?” I whispered as I swept my gaze over the sprawling city that spread out before me as far as I could see.

  It was the first time I had ever been to the Capital City of the Sanctus Empire. In my previous life, I had been too afraid to even get close to a temple in my younger years, and by the time I had accumulated enough power to have the confidence to challenge the Church, I was already known all throughout Parvos as the Death God.

  At that point, I would have had to come to Albus with an army if I hoped to not be killed on-sight. Unfortunately, my reign as the Death God never took me close to here, since that was never my goal in the first place.

  However, I couldn’t lie and say that I never wondered what the heart of the Sanctus Empire looked like back then. But now, I finally got to see it with my own eyes, and I had to say, it didn’t disappoint.

  While its streets were not paved with pure white marble, nor were each and every citizen walking down the roads were nobles adorned in garbs woven from silk and encrusted with diamond and lined with gold, it was still a vast metropolis with far more wealth and luxuries than any other city I had been to before.

  There were dozens of minarets built from limestone that rose up above the city’s skyline. Temples of all shapes and sizes practically stood at the end of every other street corner— some of them were massive with domed roofs and stained glass windows, while others were much smaller places of worship, amounting to nothing more than an altar with a stone statue of the Goddess of Life.

  The cobbled streets of Albus were busy with people of all backgrounds, whether they were [Farmers] or [Miners] coming from outside of the city, or adventurers and guards going about their day. There wasn’t a single designated market street by the looks of it either, street vendors of all kinds lined the sidewalks, selling anything from spices and food to magical artifacts and potions.

  It seemed that the city had also expanded far beyond its original planning, with there being three walls that circled each other, each one covering more of an area than the next. The largest area that was protected by the smallest wall that barely rose up to fifty feet off the ground was the most haphazardly built, the landscape uneven with houses and buildings being built onto hillocks. Meanwhile, the second largest area was surrounded by thick walls that were over a hundred feet in height, and it was also where I was currently located, with all the temples and street sellers.

  A river cut through the two main sections of Albus, going on to curve around the third and smallest area of the city. I hadn’t been there yet, but I could see its magical walls in the distance. It was a small, gilded wall that was barely as twenty to thirty feet in height, but the sigils woven onto its surface made it evident that it was enchanted to be protected by a powerful barrier, so it was the most secure area of all.

  These three sections were respectively called the outer city, the inner city, and the noble’s district. I had just reached the inner city not long ago, briefly passing through the outer city, but not lingering there since Richard did not intend to sell his wares there, since it was the poorest region of Albus.

  While I hadn’t seen any slums while I was there, I wouldn’t have been surprised that if I went further off-road, I’d start to see more and more squalid and overcrowded dwellings.

  Nevertheless, now that I was in the inner city of Albus, it was time to part ways with Richard, Bran, and the others. I had pretty much already bid all my farewells to them over the last few days, so I just waved at them and said my final goodbyes as we parted ways.

  “Don’t forget my offer! If you need anything, come find us!” Bran said as he waved my way.

  Meanwhile, Richard called out at me as he gestured towards a large domed building further down the center of the inner city. “I’ll probably set up shop at the Grand Emporium of Albus for the next few months. You can check out my wares there anytime! Oh, and if you make any rich friends at the Holy Academy, send them my way too—”

  “Alright, that’s enough out of you,” Bran cut him off.

  And I watched the group disappear down the road, their caravan mixing in with the crowds of [Traders] and adventurers entering the city. Then I turned back to Sister Frida who was waiting behind me, her head bowed my way.

  “Let us get going, [Healer] Eli,” she said as she raised her head.

  Ever since what happened with the Gold Skulls, she had treated me with a lot more respect than before, even referring to me by my Class every time she addressed me. I had told her that it was not necessary, however she insisted upon it, and I did not bother arguing against her.

  She led the way, bringing me through the final stretch to my destination.

  As I had already known, the Church of Life was located in the city state of Lux, within the walls of Albus. However, when Richard had explained the layout of the Capital City of the Sanctus Empire to me just earlier, I had assumed that Lux would be within the noble’s district.

  But that was not the case.

  I followed Sister Frida as she crossed a bridge, going over the river that cut through the city. And I spoke as I glanced curiously at her.

  “So why did we have to walk the rest of the way to Lux from here again?”

  “Because we will not be able to ride into Lux from the inner city,” the [Nun] explained, glancing towards the enchanted and gilded walls of the noble’s district in the distance. “Traffic leading in and out of Lux is heavily monitored and restricted by the Church of Life. After all, it is a separate nation from the Sanctus Empire, despite their close relations.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “I see…”

  I nodded as I looked beyond the river, towards a cluster of ornate buildings located adjacent to the noble’s district. They were connected by a large bridge crossing over the river, but there was a guardpost stationed there, stopping any carriage from just riding through.

  “And I assume that’s Lux, huh?” I asked, turning back to Frida.

  Not only the buildings there were far more grand than the rest of the inner city of Albus, the entire section was also cordoned off by these giant pillars that rose up to nearly a hundred feet each, supporting a marble roof etched with symbols at the top. And standing at the base of each pillar was a single guard dressed in gilded armor that was distinct from what soldiers of the Sanctus Empire wore.

  “Indeed it is,” Frida replied as a small smile slipped onto her lips, cracking the normally neutral expression she wore. “It has been a while since I’ve been here, but it seems not much has changed…”

  Shaking her head, she stepped ahead of me, and I trailed after her.

  “We are close. Let us make haste, for I am sure Archdeacon Emmett has been anticipating our arrival for a few days now.”

  ***

  Even though it was seemingly possible to enter Lux through the gaps between the colonnade, nobody dared stray even close to those pillars. And I could tell why as soon as we got close. I sensed a powerful dome-like barrier was there, surrounding the entirety of Lux and separating it from the rest of Albus.

  So the guards that were stationed at the pillars were practically only there for show, and there was no real threat of anyone sneaking into the city state.

  The real entrance to Lux— at least, from the inner city— was located at a large gap in both the colonnade and the barrier towards the north. There was a long line of people waiting to enter, but Sister Frida just brought me to the side and spoke with one of the guards there.

  They stepped aside and let her through, bowing deeply her way. She nodded at me as she ushered me into Lux, and I swept my gaze over my surroundings as I walked alongside her.

  Once we were past the colonnade, we entered into a massive courtyard that stretched out for miles in every direction, with a tall obelisk decorated with gold linings located at its very center. There were various temples and shrines lining the side of the courtyard, although a single palatial structure drew my attention.

  It was a massive basilica that rose to nearly a thousand feet in height, while stretching out over a mile wide. A tall marble stairway led up to a pair of giant double doors which were cracked slightly ajar to allow entry into the building.

  When I saw this sight, I came to a halt to take it in. I stared at it all breathlessly as Frida waited beside me. But while she might have thought that I was looking at it in stunned silence at its majesty or beauty, in actuality, I was resolving myself for what was to come next.

  Because this was the Church of Life.

  This was the bane of my existence in my past life.

  And here, I was going to begin my machinations of breaking the wheel of destiny— of putting an end to this entire game of [Hero] and Death God that had been set into motion so long ago.

  Taking in a deep breath, I took a step forward as I smiled to myself in thought. I did it, everyone, I recalled all my fallen friends, comrades, and followers who had aided me to get to this moment. I am finally going to put an end to this cycle of suffering—

  And my thoughts were interrupted as I accidentally bumped into a figure walking past me. I immediately glanced back apologetically at that.

  “Sorry, that was my fault—” I started.

  But then I froze as I saw who it was standing there. It was actually a group of men who were there, but I had walked into the man leading them out of Lux. He was a tall man dressed in a silk tunic that was decorated with badges on his left breast, and he had a rapier sheathed on the leather belt at his side. The men surrounding him were dressed similarly to him, although he wore a crimson shirt, while the others were dressed in black, but I did not pay attention to them.

  Because I recognized him.

  I knew who he was, even though his hair had grayed since I last saw him, and his face was wrinkled now. But the scar on his face— that cut across his left eye— was unmistakable.

  He was Zander Clay.

  The Grandmaster of the Templars.

  One of the few Emerald Ranks in all of Parvos.

  And the one who had been responsible for making my past life a living hell.

  I stared at him as my blood ran cold. He turned his calloused gaze towards me, and I shivered just from his sight alone. My instincts screamed at me to ready myself for battle— to prepare all the spells in my repertoire for a confrontation.

  To kill this man standing right before me.

  But he just nodded back at me and spoke coldly. “My apologies.”

  And then he continued walking away, accompanied by the other higher-ranking Templars surrounding him. I just watched him go as my heart continued racing in my chest. I remained tense as I recalled the terror I felt when I met him for the very first time. As the memory of seeing him standing in a sea of blood and corpses lingered in my mind.

  As I remembered the deaths of all those who had been close to me at his hands.

  Waine, Abel, Tiara, Beal…

  Eve.

  I thought about them. I remembered each and every single one of their deaths. I still heard their screams. Their cries of terror echoed in my ears. And I—

  I calmed myself.

  I just watched the Grandmaster of the Templars walk away from me, staring into his back silently.

  That was right, I told myself as my eyes fluttered shut. I had thought that things were going to be easy now that I had arrived at the Church of Life. After all, I could see my goal manifested before my very eyes. But no— that was not the case. Instead, this was where the real challenge began.

  Because now that I was here, no longer could I slip up and make even a single mistake. It was not like I was traveling through a dangerous road where there could potentially be bandits or monsters hiding in the shadows.

  It was a fact that the danger was lurking all around me.

  I knew I could not be discovered by anyone.

  Otherwise, I would die, and the sacrifices of all my friends would have been pointless. It was not like the situation with Hannah, Nicky, or Mary where my true identity could be ignored. Everyone here was a fervent follower of the Church of Life.

  So I steeled myself as I looked back towards Sister Frida who was waiting to the side expectantly, and I took another step forward.

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