The God-King of Lareen (2/2)

A week later, Haalfrin enters the World Gate, and he's quickly escorted away by some people from the Ministry of Divinity.

Haalfrin knows by now that the god of Lareen lives nearly on the other side of the world, so he was expecting to have a long road trip ahead of him.

However, when he's shown to a hidden teleportation gate, Haalfrin nearly rolls his eyes and says, "I should've known he'd have one of these." This is as god we're talking about; there's no way he wouldn't have access to some magic that the commoners don't.

And so, Haalfrin steps through the gate and appears in a wide, open courtyard filled with a scenic garden.

He's escorted down a long path, and he's quickly shown to a large gate that's surprisingly not very far away.

Instead of being taken to a throne room, like Haalfrin was expecting, he's instead taken to a less populated corner of the palace, and his escort opens a small door for him. "He's inside," the young man says while gesturing inside.

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Haalfrin steps through the door, and the first thing he notices is that the room is quite dark – only lit by the flickering red glow coming from the fireplace.

From what Haalfrin can see, the walls of the room are lined with bookshelves. There's also a small bookstand right in front of the fireplace, on which is a small teacup with a steady trickle of steam rising from it.

On either side of the stand is a pair of cushioned chairs that are both turned towards the fire and away from the door. Haalfrin can see an arm lying comfortably on the armrest, and judging by the texture of the hand, he can tell that whoever it is that's here is quite old.

As for the person's face… he can't see it, due to the chair's positioning.

"What are you gawking at?" comes an old, raspy voice. "There's another chair for you right here."

'Why does this voice sound familiar?' Haalfrin wonders. Perhaps it's due to his curiosity, but he shuffles forward and sits down, almost eagerly.

Once Haalfrin sits down, he looks over…

… and his jaw nearly drops off his face out of shock. "DAS?! What are you doing here?!"

"What're you talking about?" Das shrugs. "Why can't I be here?"

"…" Haalfrin can't muster up his first response immediately. That's how shocked he is. "D-don't you have a job to do?! Go back to the Death Realm!"

Haalfrin is especially unsettled, since he can feel that Das's form here is his true body – not some conjured splinter of his soul.

Das smiles casually and reaches over to his teacup. As he raises it to his mouth slowly, he replies, "If you're wondering why a Death God is allowed to be here in his true body… I don't mind telling you."

He takes a sip, then puts the cup back down. He explains, "I'm the god of Decay, remember? I reap the things that are slain by time."

Das briefly gets distracted by a thought, then takes another sip from his tea to calm himself down. "Anyway, being the god of 'death by time' means that it's in my nature to accept that nothing lasts forever."

Haalfrin remembers an old conversation he had with this old man. A long time ago, Das had confessed that he was slowly losing his powers.

"So you mean…," Haalfrin's starts to ask, but his voice trails off.

"Yes. My Divine Mantle as the god of Decay is nearly gone," Das confesses.

Suddenly, the old god smiles and adds, "I've never really told anyone before, but I was a god-king – the ruler of a world, before the Death King came to me and offered me a job. I've always had the Divine Mantle of a god-king within me. Now that my Death god status is slowly being revoked, I suppose I should be grateful that I still have some form of godhood to still fall back on."

"Did you give them all that technology?" Haalfrin asks.

"You're talking about the humans here?" Das clarifies. "If so, then yes. I'm the one who originally introduced the war golem technology. I've helped and guided society here for years…"

"All so you can eliminate war from this world?" Haalfrin asks. "Why? You scared that I'll fight and get killed?"

"Well…," Das uncomfortably shifts in his chair, "yes and no. I sensed that Freyya was trying to do another Mantling Ritual in this world, so I took some extra steps to make sure that she can't manifest here. No war, no Freyya."

Seeing Haalfrin's… unfriendly gaze, Das quickly adds, "Oh, don't mind me. I may have done it for selfish reasons, but I've also saved countless lives in the process. With me here, none of the nations will dare target the peasant populations with their weapons of mass destruction. All wars will purely happen between automated, lifeless constructs. People don't have to die young anymore."

Das smiles, "Aren't these people quite happy? Aren't you happy with what I've done with your homeworld?"

Haalfrin shakes his head, "Eh. 'Happy' is a relative term. Humans evolved to survive in conflict and cope with hardships. If you suddenly take hardship away, people can get a little lost sometimes. Peace has its own set of problems."

"True," Das agrees, "Death by suicide has never been higher… though it's still not as bad as 'death by war', so I think it's worth it."

Haalfrin goes silent as he studies Das's face a little more carefully. Something about it is bothering him.

Suddenly, Haalfrin asks what he's been thinking this whole time, "Das... you look ill. Are you OK?"

Das's face goes stiff. "I'm fine... for the most part. I'm still in the process of losing my Death Reaper powers, and it's pretty painful. Plus, despite my weakening powers, I still have to send avatars out to collect souls. That's getting more strenuous."

"Are you going to be OK?" Haalfrin asks.

"I'll pull through it well enough… until a successor appears," the old god replies in a low voice.

Das shifts in his seat, then leans over toward Haalfrin. "Actually, I didn't invite you here just to catch up. I have a favor to ask of you."

Haalfrin crosses his arms, "What is it? If you're going to guilt trip me into becoming the next god of Decay, then forget about it."

"That's not it," Das shakes his head. "There's actually a growing problem in this world, and I'm worried. This kind of task requires someone who's extremely experienced, and has many gates open. I'm a busy man, so I can't do it. However, you fit the bill just perfectly!"

"What is it?" Haalfrin eggs him on. He hates the feeling of being flattered by a person who wants something from him.

Das coughs, recollects his thoughts, then gets to explaining…

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… "I've noticed that the people of this world don't know how to get high ranking Names anymore," Das explains. "At this rate, no god-candidates will be born here, and everyone will be stuck as only 1st Gate mages when they die and go to the Death Realm."

"Well, depriving these people of the chance to become high-ranking mages… well… it's a bit cruel," Das admits. "The Death Realm is heavily overpopulated, and the most extreme tyrants in history all live there – forever trying to conquer their neighbors. Keeping these people weak, then sending them to an afterlife like that is a bit cruel."

"What's the problem with that?" Haalfrin asks. "Being weak is the price for an easy life. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Why not have both?" Das says. "I could keep this world peaceful, and you could train these people up – help them become mentally strong and make stronger souls for themselves."

The old god sighs, "Eh… but that's besides the point." He leans in. "Haalfrin. I know you're busy standing guard at the Valor Hall, and I'm not going to try dissuading you from that. However, we need you."

Hearing the world "NEED" directed at him, Haalfrin's heart pricks a little. Frankly, he'd never have expected a god to extend a hand to him so sincerely - well, a god except for Freyya.

'Well, why not?' Haalfrin thinks. 'I got nothing better to do, so mind as well do something useful for society, right?'

Haalfrin subconsciously puts a hand over his racing heart. 'Maybe… if I do this, then this painful, empty feeling in my heart will go away?'

"I'll do it," Haalfrin says slowly. "What should I do?"