Eleanor placed her hands against the door while applying minimal force, her heart so loud that any sound created by the massive glass gateway was snuffed out.
With her blonde hair tucked up, her skin pale, and her gray eyes trembling, she pushed hard, fully opening the way forward.
On her shoulder, the owl cooed before diving off like a swimmer, colliding with the ground and sinking into a pit of pure black darkness as if it were water.
This is it.
She braced herself, forcing her gaze towards the ground to prevent the cardinal sin of the universe from recurring.
To stare upon a god would eviscerate her, something she did not wish to experience for a second time.
Yet, as she moved meter by meter further into the warm, humid chamber, grass sprouted out under her feet with faint water droplets clinging to the sprouts.
The girl's brow twitched with uncertainty, and she pressed her lips together in a thin line before daring to look upward, the varied smells meeting her nose in a rush of overwhelming fragrance.
Eleanor stood near the entrance to a narrow clearing that was surrounded by large trees whose branches soared up into the sky.
Overhead, where the heavens met the leaves, a single root with the thickness of a wire hung down, dripping a strange, multicolored fluid.
She herself felt an uncontrollable urge to step closer, to investigate the odd fluid; however, the corruption in her chest warned her, begging her not to take a step closer.
Nowhere in the large greenhouse stood anything resembling a god—the delicately sculpted garden was something that immersed her completely in nature.
Staring wide-eyed at the continuing path that broke through the walls of billowing trees, she walked ahead, feeling the wind blow past her.
Birds chirped in the lofty heights of the room while forest creatures danced around lovingly within the shrubbery.
To call this chamber a place that exists in opposition to death itself would be no false comparison; the very essence of life filled the room entirely.
Deeper within, Eleanor felt a pull as if attracted by a magnet, her feet drawing her closer and closer to what lay within.
Returning her eyes towards the grassy floor, she continued forward, not daring to look back the way she had come.
She walked for perhaps ten minutes, yet her legs felt like jelly, her mind like an oven, and her heart like a balloon.
Physically, there was no issue with her; however, mentally, the greenhouse seemed to reject her, protecting the magical space from something so tainted in malice that it could be considered a vile evil.
Such a feeling persisted even as she crossed a small creek flowing with the multicolored liquid, even as she watched a lamb with a beautiful wool coat stroll past, and even as birds landed on her shoulders, weakly pecking away at her hair.
Is it endless?
Unwilling to lift her gaze and risk the sight of a true god, she kept the anxiety tied down in her heart, walking only until she reached her goal.
For Death himself had summoned her here personally, it would be impossible for him to refuse her now, right?
Her patience and faith in the ruler of the Great Beyond were not unfounded, as after what could be compared to an eternity, she noticed something different.
Ahead of her, she could hear the sound of metal clicking together as if multiple pieces of machinery were working in tandem to accomplish a shared goal.
Shearing the sheep?
She couldn't confirm just by the noise alone, so she could only take a guess, but as she moved closer, she could vaguely dismiss her earlier thought due to the lack of such animals.
That noise is clipping something… But what?
The closer she got, the harder it became to move, as if the universe itself was pushing her away from her goal, urging her to give up.
Similarly, the corruption in her chest vied for control of her emotions, dragging her into despair and coercing her to stop, to cease all movement and crawl into a ball to die.
Eleanor Lynn was not the bravest soul in the world nor the smartest, yet in those aspects, she made up for it with her sheer stubbornness.
Images flashed within her mind, fading into nothingness as that deity, the one whom she had gazed at without permission, burned her soul alive.
Fighting with all her willpower to remain standing, she plowed across the proverbial line in the sea, the negative feelings instantly fading into absolute zero.
Now only a few meters in front of her, the clipping sounds stopped, and she heard faint rustling of clothing as a figure turned towards her, barely audible over the sound of her own heartbeat.
Beside her, she felt the birds that had landed on her shoulders turn towards her head, one on each side, moving their beaks right to her ears.
Defying the laws of the world, animals lacking the ability to speak now uttered a single word that resounded through her head.
"Look."
She did not disobey, her chin moving up and her eyes gazing upon the immensely tall figure before her.
Eleanor's pupils contracted, her relentless heart freezing as she gazed upon something she hadn't expected to see.
With long, willowy black hair, eyes as deep as the cosmos, and a worn-down set of angelic garbs, the Angel of Humility smiled warmly at her.
"Hello again, Eleanor."
As if seeing a ghost, the girl took a step backwards, the grass beneath her feet instantly wilting as if it had confronted death itself.
Smiling with an unexplainable amount of joy, the elderly man began to change, his faded white wings sprouting black feathers.
His long, salt-and-peppered-colored beard grew longer and longer until it touched the floor, the color shifting into the same shade of multicolored radiance that she had seen from the dripping root.
Behind him, the sound of a familiar coo emerged, the owl that had followed her since arriving in Neutrality now rubbing its beak against the man.
Eleanor could hardly comprehend the thoughts swirling in her head—the only reassurance she still had was her own two legs that trembled with ferocity unbecoming of a priestess.
"Y-you…"
She couldn't speak straight, her body flaring up internally as if she had been betrayed, yet not quite in the negative sense.
"『I am as you see me to be.』"
His smile deepened with a radiant, wonderful expression that showed humility, but rather a renowned pride.
The blonde-haired girl stumbled before catching herself and straightening as much as her legs allowed, still weak from the unbelievable development.
She heard his voice with a magnitude that she understood as sheer majesty, his presence permeating the world itself.
"『I am the beginning and the end. I am the primordial who stands above all else. I am the only certainty throughout all of time and space.』"
A breeze shook the greenhouse as his smile widened to its fullest, his cosmic eyes filled with utter warmth.
"『I am the Primordial God of Death, the first being brought into this world and the last one who will leave it.』"
…
There was silence for a moment after his words, his kind expression illuminating the greenhouse with a glee that seemed incompatible with death.
Eleanor stood in a daze while watching the man return to trimming the hedges with blades made of a strange wooden material.
T-The God of Death is cutting leaves…?
Such a thing was so preposterous that she nearly laughed aloud, her mentality bordering on hysteria.
Yet, as her adrenaline cleared and her mind finally caught up with her, the reality of the situation hit hard.
H-He is a…
Years of religious training from her not-so-kind mentor Godrick forced her to her knees in a deep bow, the deity glancing over with flustered surprise before smiling again.
"『You are right to kneel when approached by an unknown god. Most would erase you for simply looking in their direction.』"
He laughed dryly.
"『Something you would know better than most.』"
Eleanor frowned at the god's odd form of humor; however, after a moment of reminiscence and reflection, she thought she understood his personality a bit better.
He appears dark, gloomy, and dangerous, while on the inside, he is clearly kind, gentle, and fair.
Such a description was akin to that of death itself, something that all mortals fear, but in the end, is eternally fair and can even be gentle, almost peaceful.
Slowly, with this new mental profile of the great being, she raised her gaze, noticing a small hedge formed into a table and chairs.
Eh?
Confused, she watched as the deity placed his trimmers away and sat down in the chair made of leaves, his hands stretched outward and interlaced on the table.
"『Do you wish to sit?』"
He gestured forward towards the seat across from him.
Eleanor hurriedly leaped from the ground and planted herself in the chair, not wanting to keep the god waiting.
Death stared into the blonde-haired girl's gray eyes, as though waiting for something to happen.
She, not wanting to offend the god, waited for him to speak first, the two now locked in a standoff of who would start the conversation.
It was childish in retrospect; however, at that time, even their silence conveyed volumes.
"Hoo!"
The owl on Death's shoulder was finally the one to speak up, his cooing making Eleanor chuckle internally.
"Is he your pet?"
With the owl giving her a sliver of courage she needed to speak freely without the anxiety that had been eating away at her, she posed her first question.
The elder grinned, stroking the bird's feathers calmly.
"『Osiris is more like my child than my pet. He has accompanied me since I created the Great Beyond, and he was formed out of the concept of death itself.』"
Hearing the creature purr with enjoyment at its 'father's' touch, the girl smiled, the fear in her heart nearly entirely digested.
For, in reality, what was there to fear?
She had spent nearly an entire day alongside the Angel of Humility, who just turned out to be Death himself.
To meet a god in a courtyard on some random day…
Sighing internally, she watched as the deity opened his mouth to speak once more.
"『I think it is time for us to begin. Wouldn't you agree, Ms. Lynn?』"
The girl nodded, prompting him to continue.
"『Let us begin with something that I'm certain you are curious about. The connection between Aaron Grimstall and the being whom he refers to as the 'Old Man.'』"
With the Knowledge Barrier fully intact and a lack of special conditions being met, substitutions were necessary to have a stable conversation, and, as a deity, Death knew exactly where those would be.
The name of such a monster was not suitable for even normal deities to know, and if one came to know of it, the barrier's punishment was not even the worst of the consequences they would face.
Eleanor, having wondered the very same question that he now proposed an answer to, listened intently, not wishing to miss even a word he said.
"『That monster was born four thousand years ago in a dimension long since ravaged by a feud between gods. Until he first took the life of a deity, there had been no signs of his dissent. The dawn of his reign was his murder of the God of Darkness, who fell by his hand, an act of blasphemy that has never once been committed before.』"
There was a sadness behind each sentence he spoke, as if they were draining his energy—the tales of ancient times were the only solace one burdened with immortality could call their own.
"『For nearly two millennia after his first victim, he continued killing the deities indiscriminately. It did not matter who stood in his path, nor the ethics of those gods. He would kill them all; that is what he swore.』"
He paused, noticing an odd look across his guest's face.
"『You have something to ask?』"
As he smiled at her quietly, gesturing for her to ask away, the shy girl spoke up once more.
"How… No… What reason does he have for his murders? No rational man would do such a thing to a normal person, much less against the gods…"
The black-haired man nodded at her words, a deeper emotion buried beneath his plain expression revealing itself in his reply.
"『You are a priestess who believes in the good of all; it is not uncommon for you to trust that the gods are paragons of innocence and absolute justice throughout the universe. Yet, in that same regard, you would cast aside the unmistakable truth of the world. Whether it be mortals or gods, they will do whatever it takes to benefit themselves. The Slayer realized such corruption within Heaven even before I became aware of it myself, and his actions likely reflected what he had learned. I do not support his methods or anything he represents; however, it is impossible to deny that one might be driven to commit such blasphemy considering the actions of the Heavens.』"
Eleanor stared blankly into his eyes, understanding his intent clearly.
Reasons did not justify his actions; the end goal stood at the end of a path of blood that stretched farther than the ocean itself.
For a moment, she felt that she could relate to the Old Man, yet as soon as the thought had come, it vanished without a trace.
He killed billions for his own selfish beliefs. There is nothing remarkable about that.
Reading her thoughts calmly, Death nodded.
"『When he was inevitably taken prisoner by Heaven, there was only so much we could do to punish him. If we killed him, his mana core would almost certainly blow up due to his own unstable mentality, a disaster that would expel so much force onto the universe that it might wipe out the World Tree itself, killing us all.』"
Now, his previously relaxed face had become guarded, a sternness that one could consider the brutal wares of time overtaking all his carefree spirit.
"『Nine of us who had connections to the Slayer placed a portion of our Divine Authority within cores, something that I understand he has already explained to you. Those cores bind his physical form and astral form entirely to a location that I cannot reveal. Furthermore, a banished god far more dangerous than even I was placed next to his prison as his jailkeeper to prevent any interference.』"
Eleanor was left speechless after listening to his story.
T-there's a god guarding him? A banished one? C-could it be…?
Death shook his head, discerning the hope in her mind even before she could form it into words.
"『It is not the God of Depths, or rather, the God of the Waves.』"
Frowning at his confirmation, she wondered if he would elaborate further on her deity; however, unfortunately for her, he moved back to the original topic that he had been building towards.
"『The first time I noticed the existence of the boy named Aaron Grimstall was upon the creation of a certain Soul Pact, a contract of sorts, with that very same Old Man that I just mentioned to you.』"
Confusion bit at the girl's conscience, the need for knowledge too great to resist.
"What were the terms?"
The God of Death shrugged his shoulders before reaching into the dark shadow that surrounded his form, a cord made out of solid turquoise light appearing between his fingers.
Inscribed on the colorful wire were runes written in the Ancient Nordic tongue that Eleanor was quite familiar with.
Leaning in close, she began to read aloud.
"Party one, otherwise known as…"
There was blurred ink in place of the first name, so she simply skipped over it to read the rest.
"And party two, otherwise known as Aaron Grimstall, agrees that if party two retrieves the weapon known as Ocean's Bane, then party one will, without hesitation, simulate the conditions necessary for a total and complete revival of party three, otherwise known as…"
She paused, the last words tasting as bitter as metal within her mouth.
"Eleanor Lynn."