I WAS The Rank–1 Hero-Chapter 169: Act 1: When the Dead Obey [2]

They say knowing yourself is the first step to enlightenment.

Well, if that's true, I must be walking backward, because right now, even the god of death is more sure of my identity than I am.

Who or what even am I?

Seriously, at this point even I don't know.

Blinking at the man in the black suit, who sat lavishly in front of me like he owned the place which, to be fair, he really did.

I asked in the most polite tone I could muster,

"…Pardon? Could you… repeat that?"

Yeah, I needed to hear it again. For the sake of my fragile mental health.

"You are becoming one of us," Agroth repeated, his expression as blank as ever.

"…As in?" I pressed, desperately hoping for a better explanation.

"A god."

"…" My eyelid twitched.

I really, really didn't want to wear a suit.

"Am I a… god, now?"

To my question, Agroth for some reason thought for a second, before he reminded me.

"The original body of you had 3 Authorities in total."

"Three?"

When did this happen?

Wasn't it only Paradox, and Death? Then what's the 3rd one?

Agroth replied, returning to a giant again, and taking his seat on the throne.

"Sister Ylthea, Me, and Sister Erise. You had their blessings."

"Wait. Wait. Goddess Eris?" I waved my hand several times, I blutter, confused. "Isn't she the God of Emotions? I don't recall having her blessings though?

To which he just smiled, "Have you forgotten? You have her in your consciousness."

"Ah," now it made sense, "so, Sera's Authority was also shared with me?"

That's the most logical explanation I can think of.

"Previously, and because she and you are connected, you have as much control over her Authority as she does."

That's good to hear, I had this doubt for several days now, and today Agroth cleared it.

Oh, now they are getting a chance to talk with a God, I can clear out my other doubts.

Nodding my head, I asked another question.

"Just as you said, that my real body had your blessings too, can I ask why did you choose me?"

According to the Nathalia, I was some kind of child of prophecy, who holds power beyond gods. Maybe that's the reason why Agroth blessed me.

And in this timeline, he also blessed me. And none of the other authorities existed in this body.

Yet, Agroth's answer only deepened my confusion.

"In this world, I blessed you because you needed it. But in your real world, I blessed you... simply because I needed you."

"..."

What does that mean?

In this universe, the gods didn't have copy-paste versions running around. There was only one of each, and that was the unspoken truth.

The god named Agroth, who vanished from my world, without any trace. I found him in this world.

I asked, with confusion and unease.

"What does that even mean? Why would you need my help?"

"Haahaa," Agroth sneered, before speaking, "do you remember that day when you first got killed?"

Memories of the day that unknown entity killed me during my final mission as Hope resurfaced.

Looking back, it was the first time I had ever been brought back after death.

Just recalling it made my blood boil.

"How could I forget?" I said calmly. "It was the first time I felt so utterly powerless… facing that thing."

Whoever—or whatever—it was, I'd like to finish what was started.

And this time, I'll make sure it knows exactly what I am.

I looked up at Agroth. His warm red eyes met mine, that ever-growing grin stretching wider with each passing minute.

There was something about his expression.

It was almost as if… he was hiding something.

Resting his chin on his hand, Agroth spoke with unsettling calm.

"That wasn't the moment I was referring to. What you believed was your first death… was actually your second."

My mind went blank.

I stared at him like he'd just recited the end of the universe.

"What?!" I blurted, completely dumbfounded.

"What do you mean, that was my second death?!"

I tried to reason out.

"It was—It was the first time I died which I remembered, and before that, I didn't even have that skill. Then how can—"

"Think," Agroth cut me off, his tone sharp. "Was that really the first time you died?"

I wasn't lying!

I wanted to scream at him, but I held myself back.

If Agroth was saying this… then maybe there was truth to it.

So this time, I thought hard. Really hard.

Every accident. Every close call. Every life-threatening moment I could recall.

But my mind came up empty.

Nothing came to me.

Agroth tapped his shoe on the floor. A gust of wind surged from the impact, rustling through the room.

"Let me give you a hint," he said. "It was the first time we met."

"I don't recall!" I blurted.

Why did he keep asking me these vague, useless questions? Why not just say what he meant?

"My bad," Agroth said with a light shrug. "You probably don't remember because you were in rough shape at the time. Your Essence was completely shattered. If it weren't for me, you'd still have trouble using even your Ice Essence."

He paused, and then added with a glint in his eye,

"But that's history now. I gave you a little gift… along with my Authority."

His eyes narrowed, and his voice deepened ever so slightly.

"It was the ability to use all Elementals."

My breath caught.

The room, the throne, even Agroth's smug grin… all of it faded into the background for a moment.

"A-All Elementals?" I repeated.

I wasn't born with the ability to use all five Elementals.

Like any ordinary human, I was born with just one—Ice.

It was only after the Frostvile Museum Incident that everything changed.

Wait…

"Frostvile Museum Incident?" I murmured, the words slipping out as my brain kicked into overdrive.

I remembered now. That day—chaotic, tragic. Over a hundred people had died, and yet… I was the only one found alive.

But I wasn't the same after that.

My Essence capacity had surged beyond recognition, and suddenly, I could wield all five Elementals as if I'd been born with them.

Could it be… that I did die that day?

Along with everyone else?

And Agroth… Was he the one who brought me back to life?

Did he revive me with his Authority? Rewriting the course of my life without me ever realizing it?

All this time, I'd been searching for the answer…

And now, I finally have it.

"Why did you revive me?" I asked, in a whisper tone.

Agroth's gaze turned relaxed.

"Didn't I inform you earlier?" He said, "I needed your help."

"Help? For what? What use do you have of me?"

I asked him desperately.

Why would a being like him, of all, need my help?

Agroth paused for a moment, before he closed his eyes as if recalling some distant memory.

"That day, your will to live was the greatest of all, that even death feared to reach you."

"Perhaps it was your fear of losing others that forged something in you… or maybe it was something deeper, hidden even from yourself. Either way, in that moment, you were worthy of inheriting death itself."

Even after everything he said, the one thing he didn't reveal was why he needed my help.

But before I asked, he simply responded.

"I am caged."

Caged?

That's what he said.

And there were many ways to interpret that word.

But the way he said it, calm, resigned—it didn't sound metaphorical.

What he truly meant was something far more literal.

He was actually locked away. freewebnoveℓ.com

"A god… locked away?"

I was amazed by the news.

"Haahaa," he sneered again.

He sure laughs a lot.

This situation was way more serious than I thought.

"Call it a faith," he said. "On that day, you were the only one worthy."

Clearly it was someone powerful than him, may be some God of other fraction.

And if that's the—WAIT!

"Wait—hold on, there's more I need to ask…" I spoke up again, my brows furrowed. "Did you just say you are locked away? Not… were locked away?"

"You catch it quickly." Agroth responded. "You are correct. I am still locked there."

"Then, who am I talking to here? Aren't you here?"

He was clearly seated in that throne. Looking at me with those sharp red eyes of his.

Then, what was he saying that he's locked away right now?

"What you are seeing right now, was a fragmented piece of me."

Fragmented appearance?

What's that?

But that's not my question here.

"So, this is not your real body?"

His grin widened, into a smug.

"If it were to be my real body, then by just a glance of it, you would go blind."

"..."

What a pathetic way to die…

Before, he kept saying the same thing. I blurred out.

"Why are you locked away? And who locked you?"

To which, he simply called out a name. And when he did, his expression changed to regret.

"By none other than my previous apostle. Nyth Valeshade."