Chapter 391 – The Way Back (1)

Sarah carefully descended the rocky mountain. Having climbed up with the help of Mayatrey, it wasn’t easy to find the way down.

Still, for some reason, it felt like she knew where to step, so she continued to move.

As she descended to the middle part of the mountain, she noticed a small cave.

She entered the cave, walked inside, and saw a maze-like structure.

“It is here.”

This was the space where she struggled to escape from after being rescued by Mayatrey.

As she walked, she started to look for the wide space where Shiva was and it wasn’t too difficult to find.

It was because of the strong energy Shiva had.

“Here you are.”

Shiva, who had been conveying his words through her mind, greeted Sarah, but his appearance was quite different from before.

Originally, he looked weak, but now he looked like he was dying.

His skin looked like that of an old tree, and his bloodshot eyes were so dark that she couldn’t see any light in them.

“G-Grandpa.”

Sarah called out to him in a worried voice.

How long did it take for him to turn like this?

“Are you fine? You look like you’re in bad condition.”

He looked like he would collapse any minute. His body was still stuck to the wall, but this time she thought he was in real danger.

Sarah wanted to reach out and do something, but there was nothing she could do.

“I am fine.”

Shiva smiled wide, trying to reassure her.

“Rather, I have something to give you.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

When he said he had something to give her, Sarah tilted her head.

What would he give to someone he just met today?

He was curious about what he would give her, so she waited.

Shiva reached out somewhere.

As if squeezing out what little was left of him, blue flames that seemed to be his energy swirled in his hand.

It was the power Isis displayed when she defeated the God.

Drrr-

The place where he reached out shook, and something began to come out of the ground.

“That…”

It was a golden stick about one meter long.

An unknown language was inscribed on each side, and just looking at it made her feel that it was an ancient item.

“Try grabbing it.”

“Can I do that?”

“Yes.”

With Shiva’s permission, Sarah moved to the stick like she was possessed. Looking closer, she could see a soft light moving around her. She reached out and grabbed it.

The entire stick seemed to be shining with light, and soon it turned into a familiar shape.

As Sarah swung it in the air, golden sparks spread around the stick, revealing its shape.

“… sword?”

What had apparently been a golden stick until then changed to a sword when she held it.

And it wasn’t just any sword.

It looked like an amazing sword, and above all, Sarah had never felt a sword fit her hand this perfectly. It looked like the sword was made just for her.

Sarah asked Shiva,

“What is this?”

“As you see. It is an item that transforms into a tool in the form desired by its owner.”

He said it so simply, but it wasn’t such a simple ability. It wasn’t just the shape the owner wanted. It was the perfect form required by the owner.

In other words, it would be right to say that if she held the stick, there would be no other weapon better than it.

However, one important thing that he didn’t mention was that one could become obsessed with tools.

Warriors who rely on their weapons too much forget about their own training and solely depend on them.

He didn’t think Sarah would be the type, but since people could always change, talking about it wouldn’t be right.

“A tool in the desired form… this…”

Sarah liked the sword very much, despite its plain shape.

Since she pursued practical and rational things, she never preferred flashy things, and now she was after efficiency.

Sarah looked at the sword with an innocent expression for the first time until she thought,

“Why give it to me?”

She couldn’t understand.

From Sarah’s point of view, it was not an ordinary item.

“If this was given to Teacher Isis, it would be an even better tool.”

“Because she doesn’t need it.”

“Uh?”

“Of course, she could use it better, but you can use it more effectively in terms of efficiency.”

For Isis, who was now a God, weapons were no longer a priority.

It was because she has reached the point where she doesn’t need weapons, but Sarah is still growing now. Having a nice tool in her when she was still growing could be a poison that would delude her, but when used at a moderate level, it had a positive feature.

Especially since it was Shiva who talked to Sarah, he knew how much she would grow.

‘Above all, bloody fate will guide her path.’

It was also the biggest reason Shiva gave it to Sarah.

Nature God.

Among them, the highest-level Nature God was Shiva, so he knew how to see fate.

Just like how Osiris did.

Even if he couldn’t grasp the specifics of her fate, he knew that the path this young child would take was a bloody and thorny one.

Maybe even a lot tougher than her brother.

‘I hope it can be a tool to clear her harsh path even by a little.’

It may not be much help at all, but that’s how sad Sarah’s fate was.

In the past, he thought that no matter how harsh the fate of a person was, they had to live by accepting it as their fate.

Shiva thought that fate could never be changed or escaped from. Even now, these thoughts haven’t changed much.

However, he wondered if such a harsh fate could be alleviated a little.

So he thought trying to change it even a little would be enough.

“Sorry.”

Hearing Shiva’s apology, Sarah’s eyes went wide.

“Why are you like this?”

Why was he feeling sorry for her?

Shiva shook his head with a bitter face and said,

“No. Nothing. Anyway, it is up to you. It’s yours now.”

“Can I really take this? Even if it’s not Teacher Isis, some other Ran warriors can…”

“Your potential is not inferior to the Rans’, and there are many outstanding things about you. Never underestimate your strength and continue to work hard.”

“Grandpa…”

“I have passed down the qualifications now, but this old man, the God of War, has finished his task. So believe and move forward. Carve your own destiny.”

“Yes!!”

Sarah replied right away.

Seeing that, Shiva smiled and nodded his head.

“I will bring Teacher here when she wakes up. If it is her, she can surely get Grandpa out of there now. And it wasn’t a joke. Overpowering such a ridiculously hideous monster alone gives you goosebumps, right?”

Sarah spoke with her eyes shining.

Shiva replied.

“Get some rest. You look bad. As soon as you can be pulled out of there, we will treat you. I will come back.”

“Sure.”

Sarah said it and climbed back to the mountain. Shiva, who was now alone, sighed and stretched his body.

“I am tired.”

He kept trying to look fine in front of Sarah, but from the moment he handed over his essence to Isis, he was weakening.

The flame was going out, and he could see the final embers drying out his skin.

“I…”

Shiva was losing his life.

“…have finally reached this state.”

Even though it would be impossible to achieve it with his own hands, he let someone else carry his will. It wasn’t known whether they would reach the end but even if they failed, they could pass it to another.

If that happens, then one day…

“I will leave first, everyone.”

The wide cave went silent.

“Grandpa!”

Sarah came back to the cave with an excited voice. She was followed by Mayatrey, Isis, who had regained consciousness, and the other warriors.

Isis watched Sarah’s back as she ran.

“She seems quite excited.”

“Right. Is it because the fight is over?”

“It was rough.”

Isis mumbled in a bitter tone.

She won, but she didn’t feel like she did. So many sacrifices were made.

At the top of the mountain, the corpses of the warriors who lost their lives were laid out. As soon as Shiva was rescued, they would take the corpses and return.

“Grandpa! You should be able to get out of there now! Come, let’s go back together!”

Sarah smiled and entered the cave, and she looked at Shiva hanging in the distance.

He looked tired and seemed to be asleep.

“Grandpa. Wake up.”

Sarah approached Shiva and slightly shook his shoulder to wake him up. But the man didn’t budge.

He seemed to be in a deep sleep.

“Grandpa!”

Sarah shook him harder. However, Shiva’s body only dropped.

“G-Grandpa?”

Sarah called out to Shiva, sounding panicked, but she didn’t get an answer.

“Grandpa! Wake up! It is all over! Let us go to a place where we can rest well! If it doesn’t work out, then I will get my brother too! We are not close but if I ask him then…”

“Sarah.”

As Sarah continued to speak nonsense out of fear, Isis slightly tugged at her shoulder.

“Teacher. Ha, Grandpa isn’t waking up. I talked to him earlier, but he suddenly isn’t waking up. They say old people sleep a lot. I guess Grandpa is like that too. Hahaha….”

“Sarah.”

Isis shook her head.

Sarah gulped and looked down. She saw the warriors, along with Mayatrey, behind her. And all of them seemed gloomy.

“Why is everyone like that? We need to get Grandpa out. He doesn’t like it here.”

“…”

“Guys?”

“Sarah. Lord Shiva is dead.”

Sarah shook her head at Isis’s words.

“What are you talking about? I am telling you, we had a normal conversation until now! He was fine. He looked a bit tired but he couldn’t have died suddenly like this…”

“He held on. He wanted to look as fine as he could in front of you.”

“No…”

Sarah shook Shiva in disbelief. However, the more she did that, the more limp his body began to look.

“Grandpa… lie. You are lying. When I told him I was bringing people, he said ‘alright.’ Then why… suddenly?”

“Let’s send him off. He needs to rest.”

The man was trapped here for so long, and he lived a horrid life. He always wanted to give up, but he held on to life until the end and waited for another day to come.

And today.

He held onto the guilt for years and completely shook off his remnant emotions as he handed over his will to another person.

And then he went into eternal rest.

“Your will, I will surely carry it.”

Isis bowed her head to Shiva and hugged Sarah from behind.

All the Ran warriors followed her to honor the hero who gave himself up for the world.

Sarah felt tears flowing down as she said,

“I will. I will definitely carve my own destiny.”

It was a short meeting, but Shiva’s intentions were delivered to Sarah.

He would rest in her heart for the rest of her life.

Forever.