Weylin hadn’t thought that finding that bastard would be that hard. He hadn’t thought that once he ascended to the damned deity’s realm, he would find a sign leading right up to the bastard. But he hadn’t thought that it would take him years and years without getting even a glimpse of him.

  Strange how he was always present back in their world. Each and every city bustling with people praising him. Each and every corner adorned with his symbol. Each and every square devoid of anything not glorifying the deity, his statue at the center, looking haughtily over the populace.

  It had taken him time—time and effort—to figure out the origin of the deity. But once he figured it out, getting there was easy. Easier than chasing him around, back in his world, where he would disappear at first notice of danger.

  He had thought the deity was important in their own world—one of the heavenly rulers. But strangely enough, he hadn’t heard a word about him. There was another deity, the ruler of the domain Weylin had ended up in—the master of scales.

  Weylin had kept away from her sight. For years, he had kept to the edges of the domain—a feat more difficult than escaping outside the shield formed around the area. As soon as he left the premises of her domain, no eyes bothered to track his movements. As long as he kept to the shadows, he was as nonexistent to the beings around him as the very air they breathed. In fact, many had thought him one of them. The mere thought of him being a stranger to this place didn’t even cross their mind. It suited Weylin. He was able to gather information without putting himself in jeopardy. To be found out now, before he found the deity, wasn’t part of his plan.

  He had spent years and years searching through this strange world for a trace of the deity, to no avail.

  What he learned in those years was more than he thought he would ever get from the temple’s archives. The deity was but one amongst many. Hundreds and hundreds of deities dwelled in this world, with varying powers and ranks. Perhaps the most infamous one was the one he had spent years in her domain. The master of scales.

  He had heard whispers about her. A powerful Idirian—for that was what this world was called—that had suddenly shown up, brought by the previous master of the domain. No one knew where she came from or what she was. The previous master had insisted she be given an Idirian status and was then named his successor. The other Idirians were, at best, apprehensive about her. She was painted as a heartless, bloodthirsty, power-hungry deity, so much so that Weylin made it his mission to stay away from her sharp sight. It was hard. He nearly got caught times and times again. Each time her eyes nearly strayed to his hidden place, he had to stir the other souls and make them crowd around her, demanding their second chance.

  Weylin never cared for a second chance. He was here of his own accord. Leaving this place before he found who he was looking for was the furthest from his mind. He would stay here for thousands of years to find him. That bastard wasn’t going to escape from his hands. Not now. Not after he followed him to his own world.

  But just like all things, everything was temporary. As he was inching closer to the weakest point of the barrier, a small space in the garden, he was finally caught. The small tear in the shield was created by both the element of time and the strange flowers that adorned the space. The residues from their worlds chafed at the shield. The more flowers there were, the more lasting the tear was. He had discovered it during the first decade of residing here. The tear was small, so small it was barely noticeable. It was small enough to let a soul through.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Getting the master of scales’ attention wasn’t ideal. The beast that shadowed her, that paraded as a human, was now even harder to fool. It followed him with its dead eyes, relaying his every move to its master.

  But who would have thought that she would be his ticket to getting to the deity? This second chance he was avoiding was his only way to find any other Idirian that might have escaped his notice. He wasn’t here to win any stupid trial. All he wanted was to scour for the elusive deity. He already had everything in place. All that was required was for her to meet the other Idirians. Then, it would notify him of everything around her.

  It being the flower she personally gave him.

  He was glad the idea had crossed his mind. It took him a while to infuse it with enough power to serve as a beacon but not enough to be detectable by others. Especially the master of scales herself. While she was completely different than what he had heard of her. She wasn’t cruel, far from being heartless or bloodthirsty. But who knew? Deities were fickle beings. Their whims changed faster than lightning took to strike the earth in a storm season. He would know. He was subjected to their cruel nature. They would destroy whole cities for daring to contradict them, for daring to cut a portion of the offerings, even if it was due to drought or other calamities.

  They were cruel, fickle beings. And he doubted the master of scales would be any different, not if she thought he had tricked her. She would exert her revenge on him, a punishment greater than his misdeed. He couldn’t trust her, regardless of her gentle smiles or soft eyes. No. He couldn’t trust her because of them. Her gentle demeanor only meant that her punishment would be even crueler. But all of that would no longer matter. As long as he found that bastard, he was willing to pay with his life. He already did. He wasn’t expecting to wake up from this world, nor did he care. There was nothing waiting for him on the other side. He had made sure of it.

  Weylin blinked as light shimmered around him. The last thing he saw was the worried expression on the master of scales’ face. It was instantaneous. One blink, he was still in the garden, the next, he was standing amongst trees. He stood there, waiting, but nothing happened. He felt a slight breeze brush against his cheek. He turned, surveying his surroundings with calculating eyes. But no matter how much he looked, he couldn’t find anything strange.

  He frowned. Didn’t the trials start?

  He stilled when he heard light footsteps hurrying towards him. A monster? A demon? He readied himself, calling his powers to protect him from any sudden assault. He couldn’t help the small smile that pulled at his lips. They had miscalculated. Throwing him here, amongst living nature, was the worst thing they could have done. He was in his domain. As long as there was life around him, he would draw from it and fuel his own. He was invincible here.

  Energy danced around his palm. He shaped it into small, pointed daggers and patiently waited for the approaching attacker. But as the attacker crossed the line of trees, his breath stilled in his lungs. His legs nearly buckled, the strength gone from them as the small body connected with him, small arms wrapping around his waist.

  “Brother! You’re here!” his sister called, a beaming smile splitting her face.

  His little sister, his innocent sister, who had died in a small display of the deity’s anger.