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Chapter 137 Ancient map

Ancient map. It had been the goal of many travelers for centuries, for in the scriptures found in the ruined temples of ancient religions, one could discover words about the existence of a special map... that would lead you straight to the gods. Such an unusual legend, one that no one had yet verified. And almost no one knew if this map truly existed.

"It exists."

It was when Adam met the mysterious man - Casanova. He was the one who held the profound secrets of ancient civilizations within him. And this never ceased to amaze Adam, who eagerly tried to retain all the information he would hear from him.

"From your stories, Casanova, you mentioned that there exists a map leading to the gods. Did I understand correctly?" Adam asked with evident doubt on his face.

It was understandable, considering how peculiar gods were. And if it weren\'t for the fact that Adam had witnessed the direct manifestation of the Goddess of Light\'s power and was convinced that the gods truly existed. But the existence of a map known only from ancient writings was a different level.

"I understand your doubt, but the map does indeed exist. Although I am not entirely sure of its current whereabouts or if it still exists in its entirety," replied Casanova, sitting down on the soft grass. His expression was tired and melancholic, which surprised Adam. "Well... now I realize how old I\'ve become. Time spares no one."

The man shook his head, and behind him, the raven mimicked its owner\'s movements. The snake, on the other hand, unhappily stuck out its tongue and slithered off his body, disappearing into the grass.

"..." Adam thought about asking about his age but decided to refrain out of politeness.

Nevertheless, he shrugged and sat down next to Casanova. There was only one question in his mind: "Why?" He asked the man, plucking a flower resembling a chamomile and bringing it to his nose, inhaling the pleasant and relaxing scent, which reminded him of his wife, Elyra. "Strange... it smells exactly like her."

"Tranquility flower. A rather rare type of flower that perfectly mimics the scent that helps you relax. In ancient times, every respectable noble had these in their chambers, often in bouquets. Sometimes, it even led to eternal slumber due to the incredible level of tranquility this flower emitted," Casanova replied to Adam\'s second question, also plucking a similar flower and twirling it in his hand. He inhaled the scent and then, after a few minutes, responded to Adam\'s first question, "Regarding your question of why... I believe you already know about the existence of the Gods."

"Indeed. And..."

"And you want to ask me, \'Who are they, and where did we- they come from?\' right?" Casanova said, patting the raven on the head, causing it to caw and flap its wings before flying into the air. It landed on the ground and smiled, gazing at the clouds. "Gods - that\'s what you call those who were once ordinary humans, you see? Gods were originally humans, but we... they found a way to ascend and become immensely more powerful. The key to this was the control over the laws of nature."

"The laws of nature... something like weather, the sun, light, and the like?" Adam asked, trying to understand the situation in more detail.

"Exactly. You\'re quite the clever fellow," Casanova smirked and closed his eyes. A breeze blew as if concentrating all its gentleness on his beautiful hair. Feeling serene, he continued with what he wanted to say. "As you\'ve already noticed, Gods are those who managed to gain control over such laws of nature as death, weather... some even gained control over Nature itself and merged with it, declaring themselves the greatest God - Mother Nature. Well, then they wanted to kill that weirdo, but they couldn\'t, as he had merged with Nature."

Adam pursed his lips and couldn\'t even fathom the scale of such power. It seemed to him that there couldn\'t be anything beyond the level of Gods, but, as expected, even among the strongest, there was the strongest. This couldn\'t help but make him wary.

"I understand you," Casanova said, bringing Adam back to reality. He raised his hand into the air and clenched it into a fist, and his face bore a cold smile that seemed to make the air several times colder, and his voice was filled with coldness and indifference. "The fear that you could be killed simply because you didn\'t please others... I\'m familiar with that feeling. All too well."

His voice was cold, and his words were filled with the most potent venom, capable of killing any unprepared person. Even if his face expressed nothing, his aura itself was dangerous. Adam felt emanating from his hatred and anger, but he didn\'t understand where these emotions were directed.

"However, those times have passed, Adam. Gods locked themselves in their paradise, which they called the \'Gods\' Realm,\' and then sealed all the entrances and exits from there. That\'s how they chose to isolate themselves from other beings," Casanova yawned and closed his eyes, and his entire dangerous aura vanished as if he had never released it. "Some did it out of greed, some because of countless scars on their hearts, and some just wanted to fall asleep and only occasionally wake up to see the outside world. Currently, the most active ones are the New Gods."

Casanova stood up and cracked his neck. His gaze shifted to a couple sitting nearby, chatting happily - they began to fade, and their bodies became transparent. Clenching his lips, Casanova turned to Adam, displaying a bitter smile that quickly disappeared. He continued his explanation to Adam, who was listening attentively.

"The New Gods... you\'ve met one of them, the Goddess of Light. In short, these Gods are the most active in the outside world. They have active religions and influence on the world of humans. They\'re the most dangerous because most of them are psychopaths who have long lost any shreds of sanity," Casanova smiled and looked straight into Adam\'s eyes as if peering into his soul. "As for the Old Gods or those known as the Ancient Gods - they\'re just lazybones who spend their time in slumber until they\'re poked with a stick, or their law is endangered. That\'s about it."

Casanova crouched down and placed his hand on Adam\'s head. Then, narrowing his eyes, he spoke with a serious expression, "And I once ended up in the Gods\' Realm. I left my legacy there, and only a chosen being, as selected by me, can unlock it. If you wish to become stronger and control your destiny, visit the Gods\' Realm. It will be dangerous, but you\'ll gain power beyond anyone\'s dreams. However, it\'s your choice, Adam, and I won\'t insist."

***

Inhaling the fresh air, Adam stepped out of the carriage and immediately wrinkled his nose as a strong, pungent smell of iron, or rather, blood, assaulted his senses. The sight before him was the reason why demons were hated throughout the world and considered a race of ruthless bastards who killed anyone they didn\'t like.

"How dreadful..." a quiet voice came from behind him. It was Chloe, who slowly approached Adam and stood beside him.

"Indeed. Take my handkerchief," Adam said, agreeing with her words, and handed her his handkerchief so she could cover her nose from the nauseating smell.

"Thank you, sir!"

Hearing Chloe\'s gratitude, Adam nodded and took a step forward. He frowned when he saw that miasmas were consuming human bodies, and the air was toxic. Quickly, he took out the Amaranth token and infused it with energy. The token immediately lit up, and when Adam blinked, he realized that his group was encased in a protective bubble that automatically cleansed any unpleasant and poisonous effects on them.

"That\'s better," Adam said and approached the first body he saw. It was already being devoured by various types of worms, and the body had grotesquely twisted due to the miasma\'s effects. Sighing, Adam stood up and turned to Chloe. "Chloe, note down the fact that there are miasmas here, and entering without protection is forbidden. We also need to send a squad of priests with Holy Magic at the Middle path level (5 sources). We need to do this within two days because, on the third day, these corpses will turn into zombies and other undead."

"Understood. Should I send this immediately to Queen Elizabeth?" Chloe asked, taking out her notebook and pen.

"Yes, immediately."

After giving her some more instructions and speaking to the chambermaids, Adam started to roam around the village, trying to find any trace of the map. However, it was all in vain. He frowned, feeling irritated.

"Where is it? According to the map\'s clues, it should be here, but..." Adam muttered to himself, putting on his magical glasses with round frames. He began looking around, trying to find something unusual, but... "There\'s nothing. Strange. Could someone with the same copy of the map have discovered this place before me? It\'s possible, but aren\'t the clues for each part of the map different?"

Adam squatted down and used a stone with a sharp edge to dig the ground a bit. This place seemed somewhat suspicious as he felt a trace of magical energy. After a few seconds of digging, Adam found a small chest, but...

"It\'s open. Someone took a piece of the map before me!" He furrowed his brow even more and felt irritation. But for now, he decided to coolly think about who could have done this. He didn\'t have too many options.

"First option..."

"As I mentioned before, it could be someone who had a part of the map before me, and they did it so perfectly that I didn\'t notice at first."

"Second option..." Adam stood up and tossed the stone away before dusting off his clothes. "Demons. I\'m sure they targeted this village for a reason, as there was a faster route if their target was a vassal kingdom. Someone must have the same clues as me, and that entity should be the Demon General in this war..."

"Azaroth."

To be continued...