Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 613: God of Slaughter

Chapter 613: God of Slaughter

’Khanna’ sat at the stairs, meditating with her eyes closed and her legs crossed in a lotus position.

Her breathing measured, she seemed prepared to wait for as long as it would take for Alex to return.

Why did she not consider the possibility that they would die?... Well, it was quite simple.

Because she had no other choice.

If Alex died, that would mean the only way to bypass the corpse of the Immortal King would be gone as well, forever locking up the Fountain which was perhaps her only means of recovery.

She could surely consider other options but the poison was proceeding at a rapid rate.

At the rate it was going, she might not witness Astra so she could only hope that Alex would return with a drop from the Fountain.

Letting out a sigh, she suddenly felt something causing her to pause, her eyes quickly opening as her expression turned sour.

"What has that fool done?"

Immediately, she turned and ran up, quickly returning to the workshop.

She rushed out just in time to be met with a most terrifying sight.

The blue-skinned Asura, who held the title of God Of Slaughter, was currently rampaging the streets of Cinerath, destroying all He came across.

Her eyes going wide, ’Khanna’ muttered. "Eklir."

***

"You can talk?" Alex broke the awkward silence that persisted with the black and white owl casually replying.

You persist in a world where gods and Cryptids reside, yet it is a giant talking owl that surprises you?... Humans are indeed quite peculiar.

"It’s not that it surprises us... it just caught us off guard." Ana tried to explain only for the owl to respond.

It doesn’t matter. I am Ga’Hool, guardian of the Library.

"Are you the representative of the Fountain?" Alex inquired with Ga’Hool raising a brow.

I do not know what that is, I am but a guardian of these hallowed grounds. Within these walls, you shall find knowledge of all things, past and present, that have occurred in Eventide in its long history. You are welcome to peruse the contents of the books here but I must warn you. Knowledge is powerful, and so, you must prepare your mind for earth-shattering truths, or else...

"We aren’t here to read, we wish to find the Fountain," Alex repeated.

I will leave you to decide on what you wish to do.

With that, Ga’Hool turned to leave only for Alex to call out behind him.

"You claim that these walls possess all knowledge yet for some reason, you don’t know the Fountain?"

Silence followed as the giant owl paused, though not bothering to turn.

"It is quite suspicious that a library that claims to have all knowledge wouldn’t have information about the Fountain, so how don’t you know?... Unless it’s a lie, and it doesn’t have all the knowledge." Ana remarked only for Ga’Hool’s head to turn a full 360 to regard Ana while his body remained in place.

You dare to say that my library does not have all the knowledge?

"Then how do we find the Fountain?" Alex stepped forward.

The owl blinked before replying.

You are good.

Following that, the owl and the library disappeared, revealing a large dark cave with strange golden letters floating around while whispers spoke about things unknown.

Unlike the library where knowledge was contained within books, in this dark place, it thrived freely, causing any unlucky fellow to succumb to madness after listening to the secrets it held.

"Cover your ears!" Alex warned as he inserted two fingers into his ears with very little success.

Knowledge drilled into their heads with Ana being the first to succumb as she collapsed to the ground, screaming as she glimpsed the past.

Ulysses swiftly followed as he also was subjected to the horrors of the past.

However, for Alex, even as the streams of knowledge assaulted his senses, for some reason, he was unable to decipher them, ensuring that what made them harmful was removed.

Even as more knowledge rushed in, that only caused him to groan as he dropped to his knees, the veins in his forehead bulging as he struggled to stay sane.

Just as he reached his limit, everything stopped, and he found himself kneeling before a Fountain filled with clear flowing water. beside the Fountain was a fair woman with pristine blue hair, donning a transparent blue dress.

Drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, Alex struggled to find himself only for the lady to speak, her first words being a question.

"How come you have their scent?"

Swallowing hard, Alex asked in a hoarse tone. "What?"

"Ashtyx and Ere, you have both their scents. Why?"

Taking a moment to figure out how best to respond, Alex finally intoned. "I’m on a quest to retrieve the Branches."

"Why?"

"To save this world."

Despite being a blatant lie, the lady seemed to accept this as the truth as she asked yet another question. "Ere protects you, why?"

"I don’t know who that is."

"You will answer me."

"And if I don’t?" Alex asked.

"Death by knowledge shall be your fate. You may not have a past to succumb to, but there is surely knowledge you are not meant to understand at this stage."

Letting out a sigh, Alex replied. "I don’t know who that is, Ere or whatever."

"... I see." The lady held a complicated expression as she scrutinized Alex for a bit before remarking. "You aren’t from here."

"Something like that." Alex replied. "Eventide... it’s not my home and I’m doing all this to return home."

"I see." The lady got to her feet and approached him, coming to stand an arm’s length away from him before crouching to his eye level after which she used her fingers to raise his chin.

"I do wonder what they saw in you to not have killed you for daring to contemplate the idea of collecting them like some casual trophy."

Alex stayed silent, not quite what she meant by her words.

Seconds passed before she got to her feet and intoned. "Fine then, if you can offer me knowledge that I am unaware of, then I will allow you to make any three requests of me."