Odyssey of the Blind God

When Nial finally woke up from his slumber his back was drenched in sweat, and he was panting heavily.

"That…was just a dream….right?" He asked quietly, not really realizing what had just happened.

A distinct clue that he was not asleep and caught in the loop of a horrid nightmare anymore was the fact that his eyes were as lifeless as ever.

Nial got up from the bed and attempted to stretch his body. But the moment his feet touched the ground a searing pain spread through his feet all the way up to his head.

He was electrocuted and couldn't move for several seconds as he remained in that state.

However, Nial was not really bothered by this. His mind was still tormented with the nightmare that had felt too real and too terrifying.

The images of his mother dying over and over again had been etched on his mind and Nial wanted nothing more than to get rid of them.

Only the good memories of his mother was what he wanted to retain in his mind and heart. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done because it was near-impossible for his mind to consider the memories of his mother hugging him and her looking at him lovingly as higher priority than the moments of her death; the same scenario that he had seen hundreds of times in succession.

'Will they really blame me?' Nial asked himself, not sure whether his family would blame him for his mother's death. Even if they did, Nial was not sure how to react.

After all, he had begun to believe that he was also at fault.

"No, fuck it…I gave my best…" He mumbled quietly, knowing deep down how useless his words were.

After the electrocuted sensation had worn off, Nial stretched his badly damaged and horribly aching body a bit. This allowed him to realize just how bad his condition truly was.

'To think that I can even move,' Nial thought in astonishment when he understood how badly he was injured. He tried to smile wryly but the smile he was forcing on his lips disappeared the moment he put it on.

With a monotonous expression, Nial left the wooden hut he had been lying in before he walked through the Forest of Life aimlessly.

Tremendous amounts of mana swirled toward him and Nial's body absorbed it almost instantaneously, but he had not released his range of perception nor [Mana Sense] in any way.

In fact, it was currently not possible for Nial to perceive his surroundings in any way, and neither was he inclined to do so. The range of perception didn't work properly and [Mana Sense] couldn't be executed since the ability was bound to the Odyssey seed that was still transforming.

The Odyssey seed was probably forming into the black heart it had temporarily created when he had fought the Elite Angel, but Nial felt a bit weird about that.

'It feels like something else will happen…as if the black heart won't be the final result of the Odyssey seed's transformation…' Nial thought for a moment until he discarded this useless premonition.

It didn't really matter what would happen to the Odyssey seed because Nial had other things to be worried about.

'I have to find dad and Sabrina…' Nial reminded himself while dreading the encounter. He didn't really want to face his family just after the nightmare he had gone through, but it was not as if he could avoid them forever.

He somehow felt that it might be hard to meet both of them together if not for today. This was a bit weird, but Nial was certain that he was correct.

Thus, he spent quite a while searching for them using only his heightened senses to walk through the Forest of Life.

[Niallll, how are you awakeee?] The Nature Spirit of the Dryad emerged in front of Nial all of a sudden. She spoke drowsily and seemed very confused, but Nial didn't feel like speaking.

He sighed deeply and thought about avoiding the nature spirit by simply ignoring her, just to do the exact opposite.

"Where are my father and Sabrina?" He asked straightforwardly, his voice weak and cracking uncontrollably.

His body was simply too weak and his mood too low right now…

[I can take you to them!] The Nature spirit spoke in his mind before it landed on his head, pointing in a specific direction.

[Northhh!] She screamed in excitement causing Nial to sigh deeply once again as he walked straight ahead.

It took him a while but Nial found his parents. The nature spirit could only lead him through the Forest of Life before it told him exactly where they were located.

However, Nial knew very well where he was going and his expression paled in an instant.

"The graveyard…"

There was not yet a proper graveyard in the new shelter but the Elves and Humans had created a temporary graveyard after the battle against the vicious and vile Dryx. This temporary graveyard was still used, maintained, and expanded.

His mother's grave was likely to be there and Nial was truly afraid to visit it. Yet, instead of being the coward, he was in his opinion, Nial clenched his fists before he walked over the small parts of the wilderness.

He reached the graveyard in less than 10 minutes, where he realized that his range of perception worked a little bit, once again.

He could faintly perceive the mana fluctuations of his father and his sister and Nial approached them with lots of self-doubt and hesitation.

When he reached his family, he was able to visualize their almost soulless eyes and their body language which was void of any discipline or energy.

Nial's arrival was quickly noticed and Miles' eyes widened in surprise, while Sabrina shot toward him without hesitation.

Nial imagined the worst as it had been his sister, who killed him in his nightmare every single time.

However, instead of trying to evade this fate, Nial simply accepted it. If his sister wanted to kill him for what happened, he would have to accept it.

But what Nial didn't expect to happen was that Sabrina would punch him in the chest, forcing him to the ground.

He was too weakened and couldn't keep his balance anymore. As he lay on the ground, Nial wondered what Sabrina would do now, just to feel her embracing him tightly.

She started to sob and muttered incomprehensibly,

"I…thought…losing you….as well…."

Nial was not sure what was going on because the nightmare's images flashed through his mind over and over, but Sabrina was hugging him right now.

His father didn't move an inch, but he looked at his son with a faint trace of relief.

It was good that Nial seemed fine…

Miles' eyes moved back to the tombstone and his eyes turned soulless again after a few seconds.

Nial was relieved that Sabrina didn't blame him and he patted his sister's head while trying to calm his raging heart. He got up from the ground when Sabrina allowed him to and he walked over to his father.

They didn't exchange even a word but Miles grasped his son's shoulder once before his arm grew weak.

Miles' arms hung down his shoulder and Nial could easily visualize his father…or the shell of the person he used to be.

His father's condition seemed to be the worst. He was barely standing and it felt like he had given up on himself.

That was not good, obviously, but Nial didn't feel like he had the right to say anything.

Sabrina stood in between her brother and her father, holding one of their hands, without saying anything else either.

All of them were depressed and stood quietly, unable to say anything for more than an hour. They were merely standing in front of the tombstone of Maline, the person all of them had loved the most.

After an hour, Sabrina was finally ready to let go of her brother and her father's hands. She cleared her throat, which brought them back to the present and the two men turned to her direction at once.

"I will leave," Sabrina said after a while. Miles' eyes widened when he heard his lovely daughter's words and he quickly grasped her hands to hold her back.

"Noo! Don't leave me as well…." He exclaimed, looking ghastly. Sabrina looked at her father in hesitation and bit on her lower lip.

He was not doing well, but Sabrina had already made her decision. She had to do it!

"I will leave! I have to…kill this wench," Sabrina said in a choked voice, glancing at the dispirited Nial. She hoped to offer him some words of comfort but couldn't come up with anything.

'He will be fine, right?'