Chains of Vengeance

Chapter 148: Ascension Part 4

The sky of Anura was dyed in shades of purple and orange as dusk arrived, covering the ruins in a soft, melancholic light. Lambert sat comfortably on Baal's back, who lay exhausted, breathing heavily after the "intensive training." The lamb was biting into a fresh tomato he had taken from his backpack, the juice dripping from the corner of his lips as he enjoyed it leisurely.

Lambert leaned forward slightly, letting the weight of his body sink Baal a little further into the ground.

"You have good wishes," Lambert commented between bites, his carefree tone contrasting with the seriousness of his words, "but you are too rigid. When fighting for your life, you must be willing to do whatever it takes, even crawling on the ground to survive."

Baal barely raised his head, exhausted from training. His voice came out halting, heavy with exhaustion.

"Why are you doing this?"

Lambert calmly stood up, letting Baal recover on the cold ground. He walked through the ruins, his footsteps echoing in the silence of the falling night. The twilight light played with the shadows of the stones, giving a solemn air to the conversation.

"Did you know how Narinder felt in the Veil?" Lambert asked, his voice now more serious, almost melancholy.

Baal looked at him in confusion, blinking slowly.

"He looked angry... always hating bishops," he replied, his tone unsure, as if he doubted his own answer.

Lambert shook his head, turning to him with an expression that mixed compassion and determination.

"Even though you always saw it, you had nothing to compare it to," he said, his voice laden with a deep truth. The first time I saw Narinder was just after the last second of my life as a mortal... and what I saw... in his red eyes filled with vengeance...

Lambert paused, his gaze lost in the horizon.

"There was a soul in agony," he continued, "a being that wanted to be free with all its might. I overthrew the bishops not only for my own vengeance... I did it because I had a greater purpose: to free that soul that had suffered more than me.

Baal, who had begun to catch his breath, was now listening intently. There was something in Lambert's voice that set his nerves on edge, a weight that went beyond words.

Lambert turned to him, his gaze calm but intense.

"And with you... I want you to understand something. Being a god can be painful."

The cat nodded slowly, gulping nervously. Lambert's words echoed in his mind, heavier than he expected, as if each syllable confronted him with a fate he was only just beginning to understand the magnitude of.

After a moment of thought, the young cat clenched his fists, his claws digging into his own palms. He squeezed his eyes shut, letting the tension built up over the years finally bubble out.

"I... along with my brother... were simply gifts to Narinder," he began, his voice heavy with emotion and suppressed rage. I grew up and was raised in the Veil... I know I was not chained like my master, but I was trapped in that place too.

Baal opened his eyes, now filled with determination, his intense gaze fixed on Lambert.

—I'm not saying I'm a victim, but... I deserve my prize! I don't care if it's a selfish thought. I deserve to be a god, not just because the master says so. My brother and I never had a life beyond the master's teachings. But now that we are free...

His voice rose, echoing in the ruins like a cry of defiance to fate.

—We deserve to change the world, even if we are new here.