Warning: This chapter might be a little bit disturbing.
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"You are saying is not was the God of the Afterlife. Why do I have the feeling that he is still alive?" Inukimi asks, and Athanasia chuckles at the remark.
Why is she chuckling? Is Inukimi right?
"Yes, he is still alive, but as I said he can't leave the gate of the afterlife," Athanasia answers and lands on the ground with Inukimi following us.
Athanasia walks towards the book on the table and flips through the pages, but I have no idea what the words mean. The language is unfamiliar to me.
"What language is this?" Inukimi curiously asks. "I have tried to read it but failed. I assume you have an idea since you were the one who wrote it," She continues.
Athanasia hums and puts the book back on the table. She looks at Inukimi and asks her to pour a drop of her blood on the book. Inukimi tilts her head in confusion but doesn't ask questions and does as Athanasia asks of her. Inukimi pinches her thumb with her sharp claws and a drop of blood gets swallowed by the book's cover.
"This book is sealed by the first dog demon, and only his kin's blood can break that seal," Athanasia explains and continues, "It's readable now."
"What is the meaning of all this?" A questioning and angry familiar tone brings our conversation to a halt.
How much did he hear?
Athanasia turns to Sesshomaru's direction and answers with a firm tone, "It means your bloodline is a descendant of a God."
"There is nothing that supports your claim," Sesshomaru frowns, and threatenly walks towards me, giving Athanasia a deadly glare, but Athanasia doesn't budge and looks him in the eye, challenging him.
Why is he angry hearing the truth?
"Why do you think your father was able to have Totosai forge him the Sword of Life, Tenseiga? It's not because he is of great powers or Totosai is of great skills, but because his powers extend to the afterlife-" She pauses and narrows her eyes at Sesshomaru, making sure he is listening carefully to her words.
"So does yours and every descendant of the Inu clan. It doesn't matter if you are a full demon, half breed or a quarter demon. The result will be the same, all of you will be able to see the demons of the afterworld."
Sesshomaru clenches his fist and says, "All you spew out are mere feebles. If he is truly alive and well, why did he choose to leave his lineage behind and live among the dead? Why can't he just leave and live here like you?"
Athanasia looks away from Sesshomaru, and with a sad expression consuming her face, she walks towards the table and says, "Because he must have lost his mind by now." Athanasia pauses and gently touches the book she wrote with the first demon before continuing, "This book will give you all the answers you need."
I suddenly feel my knees let go of my weight so I quickly rest my palms on the table for support, realising I'm back in control of my body. A knot feels heavy in my throat. I guess this must have been the last emotion Athanasia felt; she probably had a sad ending with that God.
How close were they?
I reach out to the book and Inukimi stands beside me to see the written words. I flip through the first few pages, seeing two different handwritings and a few drawings. It starts off with a lively vibe. They recorded what powers they had and how they experimented with them. However, my eyes widen at reading the name of the first dog demon.
Anubis!
Isn't he one of the Ancient Egyptian Gods?
'People call him the first dog demon.'
In this era, he is known as the first dog demon, but in mine, he is the God of the Dead. Those who live in the feudal era don't really shed light on the meaning of Gods because they think demons are Gods. They more likely don't understand the weight of the word God. While in mine, people probably just enjoyed creating interesting stories.
"What is it?" Inukimi asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I realize I didn't flip the page for a while so I answer, "His name is familiar to me, but I'm not sure if the information I have is canon."
Inukimi hums, and I flip the pages until things start to become suddenly dark. One of the Gods died, shaking all the other Gods. It meant they weren't as immortal as they thought. As time passed, Gods started reproducing a mutated species, which they later were named Demons. The mutation didn't stop at only demons, but humans were born as well causing all the remaining pure Gods to think of a way to preserve their existence.
By the time, the first human was born, the Gods came to the conclusion that Athanasia is the only immortal being. The father of Gods, Zues, summoned Anubis and ordered him as the God of the Afterlife to give him and the remaining pure Gods Athanasia's flesh.
'Her body will regenerate,' was Zues's only excuse, Anubis wrote.
However, Anubis knew that Athanasia's flesh can't be pierced by anything, no matter how many times Athanasia tried, nothing could come close to shedding a drop of blood or leaving a scratch on her skin. Therefore, to avoid angering the Gods, Anubis decided to fool them by giving them his flesh instead, knowing well enough if he said the truth, they will torment Athanasia.
For nearly 100 years, Anubis fed the Gods his flesh and blood while Athanasia looked for a way to hide. The only solution was to gather the Coven and put her body and soul in the far future where the Gods won't be there to chase after her.
Athanasia was in so much pain watching Anubis destroy every spec of life left in him. He ignored his kin and spent long times behind the gate of the afterlife, experimenting on the dead. He cut his flesh and merged it with others. Throughout his experiments, he created a fearsome demon called the Hellhound; a large dog demon with three heads but no mind of his own, only Anubis is in control of the hound's actions.
I turn to the final page and see a note that seems like Athanasia's handwriting.
'Your body is covered in bandages, and you look worn out all the time. The sun burns your flesh, and I know you find it hard to breathe whenever I'm around you. Our eyes don't meet anymore. You have been surrounding yourself with human corpses for the past 100 years, and I'm afraid you will follow them. I have tormented you for far so long. Apologies won't be enough for you, it hurts me to see you in this state so I will leave this world and relief you of this burden. I beg you to stop and look after your kin. Farewell, my dear friend.'
Tears roll down my face as I place the book back on the table with trembling hands.
"Anubis lost his mind protecting Athanasia," I say between tears, feeling my heart clench at the realization.
'You are me.'
"Protecting me."
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😭😭😭😭
I love this chapter. It was a bit sad for me to write it. I hope you enjoyed it, and it wasn't as disturbing as I thought.
I have one more thing to say though. I had another dental surgery yesterday, so I'm not quite sure if I will be able to update on Tuesday or not. If there won't be updates, I will put up a chapter, letting you know.
I hope you understand and stay tuned.
See you later 🍬
-👑 Noorie.