Chapter 465: Wheat Field and Death, Living Towards Death
The River Styx is swift, its banks are barren, and dark clouds obscure the sky.
On the barren land, Yeats set up an easel, hung a blank canvas, raised his eyes and stared at the woman in black standing on the shore.
Although it was unclear why the goddess of death asked him to help paint her portrait, Yeats was ready to do his best and vowed to leave a masterpiece for the god of death.
The fog was thick and in the dimness only a lonely figure could be seen, gazing quietly at the river. Her profile was beautiful, with deep melancholy hidden beneath her eyelashes, like a widow in a black robe.
If this were a portrait, she should have held a bouquet of flowers in her hands, but there were no flowers in the underworld, only pale specimens of plants, which would have dulled the image if she held them in her hands.
However, this seemed a bit stiff, so Yeats took the initiative to suggest that the goddess of death hold something in her hands.
The goddess of death remained silent, and readily drew out a terrifying sickle from the shadows, holding it in her palm. An aura of law of life and death spread from her body to the surroundings.
Ye Zhi shuddered, coughed lightly, and said, "Your Highness, the goddess of death, the tone of the underworld is too gloomy and cold. It is not suitable for the portrait. How about changing the background?"
The goddess of death raised her eyes, her gray-white pupils reflecting Yeats, who was a little reserved behind the easel, and whispered, "How to do it?"
Yeats said: "Please allow me to open up my territory and let you enter it. This will be conducive to creation."
The goddess of death nodded solemnly and acquiesced.
Soon, the realm of Avalon, filled with vitality and breath of life, expanded in all directions.
On the emerald green grass, stood a lonely woman in a black robe, leaning on a sickle, looking around with a little surprise, a hint of nostalgia in the depths of her eyes.
Snap!
Yeats snapped his fingers.
The eyes of the goddess of death flickered slightly, and a wave of golden wheat spread out from under Ye Zhi's feet, quickly spreading across the entire area.
The breeze brought the fragrance of wheat, and there seemed to be a sun shining in each full ear of wheat. The layers of wheat waves were a scenery that had never been seen in the underworld. The goddess of death stopped and gazed, the hem of her black robe swaying in the wind.
"This is called wheat. It is a crop that can be made into bread and is the staple food for mankind," Yeats explained considerately.
"I know." The Goddess of Death said calmly, "Many years ago, I saw a similar scenery in the material plane."
Golden wheat symbolizes life, sunshine and hope. When you are surrounded by wheat waves, the vigorous and strong vitality will hit you like the fragrance of wheat.
Yeats once heard someone say that if you want to impress the opposite sex, you can either take her to see scenes she has never seen before to broaden her horizons, or take her to see the scenery of her childhood to evoke memories.
The goddess of death seemed touched, and she slowly bent down and touched the full, lying ears of wheat.
Yeats also seized this decisive moment and quickly splashed colors on the canvas.
Among Van Gogh's most representative works, there is an oil painting called "Wheat Field and Death", also known as "The Reapers". The painting contains thoughts on life and death, rich and bright colors, and a warmth overflowing from the picture and a hint of deep sorrow.
As an artistic god-chosen one, Yeats created with astonishing efficiency under the influence of a flash of inspiration, and even used his "trickster hand" to operate multiple brushes at the same time.
"Can I move?" the goddess of death suddenly asked.
Ye Zhi felt a little flattered for a moment that such a powerful god actually asked for his opinion, and then he said, "Of course, please feel free to do as you please."
The Goddess of Death said with a hint of nostalgia: "Someone once told me that it is best to stay still when someone is painting her portrait... If you really want to move, you should ask for the painter's permission. This is a sign of respect for both parties."
Has anyone ever painted a portrait of the goddess of death before? Yeats was a little surprised. He asked while putting pen to paper:
"Could the painter from before be...the God of Light?"
The gods in the Midgard mythology are not omnipotent, they also have personalities, and they also experience birth, aging, sickness and death. Therefore, the gods also fear death.
Yeats remembered that in the background story, the God of Light and the Goddess of Death were childhood friends. When the gods avoided the Goddess of Death, only the God of Light took the initiative to become the playmate of the Goddess of Death.
However, the God of Light was later assassinated. The gods were horrified and blamed the Goddess of Death. The latter then swore never to have any contact with the gods again, and stayed away from Asgard and went to the depths of the underworld.
Therefore, the goddess of death is the most mysterious and lonely among all the gods. She has performed miracles very rarely in the material plane, and her believers are the rarest among the major sects.
However, the Goddess of Death does not rely on the power of faith. The law of death that she controls is an extremely powerful law. Even the Goddess of Moonlight and the Goddess of Dark Night cannot confront her head-on.
Seeing that the goddess of death did not answer for a long time, Ye Zhi apologized: "Please forgive me if I said something wrong..."
The goddess of death stood up, looked back at Ye Zhi, her deep eyes flickered slightly, and whispered: "You are very similar to Him."
"What?" Yeats was caught off guard by this turn of the subject.
"Poetry, music, eloquence, courage... Your abilities are very similar to his, and you may even have inherited his legacy."
The goddess of death was silent for a moment and sighed softly: "But you are not Him after all."
Ye Zhi was silent for a moment, and then said, "I am who I am. I don't want to play anyone, nor do I want to be anyone...except myself."
The goddess of death smiled, so beautiful that the world was eclipsed, and she said softly: "Among the three great prophecies of the God of Light, do you know what the last one is?"
"Know thyself," Yeats replied.
"That's right... Know yourself and be yourself. This is the last of the three great prophecies and also the most powerful spell in His heritage." said the Goddess of Death.
"Spell?" Ye Zhi was surprised.
"Each prophecy corresponds to one of His inheritances and contains one of His spells." The Goddess of Death said calmly, "Since you have already embarked on His path, then finding these prophecies will be of great benefit to you."
Yeats had already learned something about the oracle of the God of Light from Nephthys, the chosen one of Anubis - the three oracle tablets of the God of Light recorded His three prophecies. Now it seems that these three prophecies are quite powerful spells.
Ye Zhi pondered for a moment and said, "Can I ask you a question?"
The goddess of death stared at the wheat waves, as if she already knew what Ye Zhi wanted to ask, and said lightly: "Ask... before I change my mind."
Yeats raised the question that had troubled him for a long time: "What kind of conspiracy is behind the death of the God of Light?"
As the childhood confidant of the God of Light, the Goddess of Death was extremely concerned about him and should have investigated his death.
And He seemed to have known that Yeats would ask this question, and whispered: "He must die... before there will be light."
Ye Zhi was stunned: "What do you mean?"
"The laws would conflict with each other. His existence prevented that will from coming. So they used the Ragnarok as an excuse to send out the Death Knight disguised as the God of Darkness to assassinate the God of Light."
The tone of the goddess of death was so indifferent, as if she was describing someone else's affairs.
"The laws of the Death Knight are similar to mine, so I am also a suspect... But all this is no longer important, because with the arrival of Ragnarok, both the God Realm and the Heaven Realm have been completely reshuffled. The old gods are sleeping in history, and the new gods are walking in the Heaven Realm."
Yeats had long guessed about this possibility, and after getting the confirmation from the goddess of death herself, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
It's like... there can only be one sun in a world.
Since the Outer Gods want to devour this world, the God of Light becomes a necessary target to be eliminated.
Ye Zhi asked, "The Death Knight is so powerful that he easily assassinated the God of Light?"
The Goddess of Death said: "Among the Knights of Apocalypse, the Knight of Death is the most powerful one... and He has obtained the only weapon in the world that can harm the God of Light."
Ye Zhi said: "Silver Oak Sword."
The Goddess of Death said: "That weapon should be in your hands."
"Yes." Ye Zhi said truthfully, "I also got it by chance during a trial."
"I don't care how you got the Silver Oak Sword. I just hope that this sword won't harm innocent lives." The Goddess of Death lowered her eyes and spoke so gently that it didn't sound like something the God of Death would say. "Many beautiful things have perished because of this sword... Of course, this is not its fault..."
Yeats had gotten the answer he wanted.
However, how to defeat the Death Knight is not something he should consider with his current strength...the priority is to upgrade to the Eight-ring True God.
By then, the full power of the Silver Oak Sword will be fully unleashed...
"The painting is finished." Yeats gathered his thoughts and said, "You can take a look at it."
The goddess of death walked over leisurely and her eyes fell on the painting.
It was a style of painting she had never seen before.
It is not a realistic portrait of a person, but a groundbreaking technique that seems to record the changes of light and shadow faithfully on a piece of drawing paper.
In the painting, the image of the Grim Reaper is unclear, but there is a unique beauty conveyed in the rhythm of the character, which directly touches people through impressions.
This is an art that transcends classical genres and is hundreds of years ahead of its time.
A hint of surprise appeared in the eyes of the goddess of death. She stared at the painting for a long time, nodded, and then shook her head.
"Now I finally understand that you are not "He", not the savior who is destined to lead the world to light." The goddess of death spoke.
It is said that everyone thinks they are extraordinary when they are children, until they are beaten by life into soft dough and are no longer special.
But Yeats believed that it was a great thing to embark on the path of one's own choice and choose the person one wanted to be.
Standing in the thriving wheat waves, Yeats saw Morning Frost Ridge, saw Hilde, Gray... and a glimmer of determination gradually appeared in his eyes.
Yeats said: "But I can be Him, the savior."
The goddess of death was moved, as if she saw the mortal in front of her for the first time, and immediately said: "This is a road that is destined to be bumpy."
"We have to give it a try." Ye Zhi smiled, "What if it succeeds?"
A touching smile appeared on the pale face of the Grim Reaper, and he said softly:
"What is the name of this painting?"
Yeats said: "The Rye Field and Death."
"Can you let me choose a new name?" the Goddess of Death asked politely.
"Of course, please." Ye Zhi said.
The goddess of death said slowly: "The most eternal thing in this world is death, and the most beautiful thing is life. But if you ask me, there is something in this world that is more beautiful than life and more eternal than death."
"What is that?" Yeats asked.
"Live towards death."
The goddess of death waved her sleeves lightly, and wisps of dark grey light gathered in the air to form runes, which fell on the edge of the oil painting and became a new signature.
Yeats was touched and looked at the signature of the goddess of death, but saw the oil painting slowly floating up and flying towards the goddess of death.
The ring on the finger of the goddess of death flashed, and the painting disappeared.
"I will gladly accept this gift."
The Goddess of Death said: "I will teach you the [Law of Death] in return for this painting!"
For the next week, Yeats stayed in the underworld and learned new blessings from the goddess of death.
The Command of Death, as the most powerful blessing in the death school, is just like the nine-ring spell "Command of Death" in DND, which can kill anyone it points to.
During this period, Yeats also asked the goddess of death about the "Valley of the Dead" and the black dragon king Nidhogg.
"He is indeed sleeping in the Abyss of Corpses, but only the souls of the wicked can go there." The Goddess of Death said, "You are still alive, and being able to stay in the underworld is already the limit. You cannot go deeper into the Abyss of Corpses."
"Is there any other way?" Ye Zhi asked unwillingly.
The Goddess of Death thought for a moment and said:
"When you achieve the eighth ring, I will open up part of the authority of the underworld to you. Then, you can enter the Abyss of the Dead with your soul and body and talk to Nidhogg face to face."
After the portrait incident, Yeats could clearly feel that the attitude of the goddess of death had softened, and she even offered to help.
Yeats was naturally happy to have such a powerful partner and nodded happily.
A week passed in a flash.
Yeats tried out the newly mastered [Death by Law].
Buzz——
A cold white flame ignited on the Silver Oak Sword, and there was also a black flame burning outside the flame. The black and white cold flames surged with an extremely cold breath of death, causing Zuanya to open his eyes wide.
"The [Law of Death] that can control the life and death of mortals...Did the Goddess of Death really teach Ye Zhi?"
Zuan Ya's throat rolled, and he said in disbelief: "What kind of magic potion did Ye Zhi give her..."
The Law of Death can not only be cast directly as a spell, but also can enhance sword skills, which is a significant improvement for Ye Zhi.
"If I had known this trick a week ago, Daisy wouldn't have needed to help deal with Plague Knight... I could have done it myself." Ye Zhi sighed.
Speaking of Daisy, she has been missing since she was teleported to the underworld, and it’s unknown where she is looking for fun now.
But before she left, she left the Holy Grail in Yeats' hands, which was also the most important gain of the trip to the bottomless pit.
"The God of Light's stone tablet also records His spell..."
Ye Zhi thought to himself, "After leaving the underworld, I will first ask Louis for the stone tablet to prepare for my ascension to God!"
(End of this chapter)
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