Chapter 354 -: 353 Roasted chicken.
"Let’s see... what should I cook?"
Ian stroked his smooth chin thoughtfully, his brows slightly furrowed as he stared at the chicken Destiny had brought.
Beside him, Destiny watched with open curiosity, her eyes following every movement he made as though she were preparing herself to memorize every word he said.
She seemed completely ready to learn whatever he decided to teach her, but there was one small problem that Ian had only just realized.
He hadn’t cooked in a very, very long time.
"Ahem."
Ian coughed lightly, trying to hide his momentary uncertainty. It had been so long since he had personally prepared a meal that even he wasn’t entirely sure whether he still remembered the proper steps.
Back then, cooking had been something he did occasionally when he happened to find himself in a world where he had enough free time to bother with it, but as the years turned into centuries and the centuries into millennia, such mundane activities had gradually disappeared from his life.
Fortunately, Destiny had brought an entire chicken with her.
That made things considerably easier.
Ian picked it up and examined it for a moment before a faint smile appeared on his face. He didn’t need anything complicated.
There was no reason to prepare some elaborate dish with dozens of ingredients when a simple roasted chicken would be enough.
"Do one thing," Ian said, finally making up his mind. "Go light a hearth in the courtyard. We’re having roasted chicken tonight."
"Roasted chicken?" Destiny echoed, tilting her head.
"Um-hm."
Ian nodded as he carried the chicken toward the water pot. He dipped it into the water and began washing it properly, his movements becoming more familiar as he worked.
"It’s been a long time since I ate it," he said casually. "I remember it being pretty delicious. I’ll teach you the recipe later, but for now, go light a fire in the courtyard."
Destiny’s expression became slightly puzzled.
"But can’t we roast it here? The hearth still has some fire. Wouldn’t that be easier?"
"No."
Ian shook his head without even looking at her. He pulled the chicken from the water and began making several cuts across its surface with the kitchen knife, allowing the seasoning he planned to use to penetrate the meat more easily.
"Some things have their own charm when they’re done properly," he explained. "I’ll tell you why later, so go and light a fire."
Destiny stared at him for a few seconds as though she were trying to understand the profound meaning behind his words, but eventually she seemed to give up.
She crouched beside the hearth, carefully picked up some of the remaining embers, and carried them outside.
Ian watched her back disappear into the courtyard.
He couldn’t help but shake his head. She must have some godly screws loose.
There was no other explanation.
Even after spending only a short amount of time with Destiny, Ian had already realized that she was fundamentally different from the gods he had encountered throughout his long existence.
She possessed the same arrogance and absurd authority that came naturally to beings standing at the peak of existence, yet there was something about her that Ian couldn’t quite understand.
Her behavior was sometimes childish, sometimes strangely innocent, and sometimes completely incomprehensible, but none of those things explained the feeling he experienced whenever he sensed her true presence.
Ian’s expression gradually became more serious.
Even in his current weakened state, he could still sense it.
Destiny was not ordinary.
The three Preserver Gods he had fought and killed had possessed powers that had once seemed almost impossible to comprehend.
Time, Space, and Destruction had each stood at the absolute pinnacle of existence, their authorities extending across entire worlds and their names being feared by countless civilizations.
Ian had fought them at the height of their power, and although the battle had nearly destroyed everything around them, he had ultimately emerged victorious.
But Destiny was different.
He couldn’t properly measure her. Her existence seemed to sit somewhere outside the boundaries through which he had once understood power.
Even his perception, which had once allowed him to observe the flow of time, trace the distortion of space, and sense the destructive laws woven through reality, failed to properly grasp the depth of her existence.
That alone was enough to make Ian cautious. If he had to make an estimate, Destiny was probably stronger than the three Preserver Gods.
Perhaps considerably stronger. There might have been only one person who could truly stand against her.
And perhaps Ian himself, if he were still at his prime. But that was nothing more than speculation.
Ian clicked his tongue.
"Alas..."
His expression darkened.
"But that bastard Time had to ruin everything."
His thoughts immediately turned toward the god who had caused the greatest problem with his current condition.
Ian’s eyes narrowed.
"You better be dead, you deadass," he muttered while continuing to prepare the chicken. "If I ever catch you reincarnating somewhere, I’ll kill the living time out of you."
He snorted before returning his attention to the food. There was no point thinking about it too much.
Time was dead.
At least, Ian hoped so.
Ian picked up a small bowl and began mixing the seasoning, his expression slowly returning to normal. He rubbed the mixture into the chicken, carefully working it into the cuts he had made earlier.
The familiar smell of spices slowly filled the kitchen.
It wasn’t anything complicated.
There were no rare ingredients, no divine herbs, no magical spices capable of enhancing one’s body, and certainly nothing worthy of being called an immortal delicacy.
It was simply food.
And strangely enough, Ian found himself enjoying the process.
Perhaps that was because he had forgotten what it felt like to do something so meaningless.
Ian glanced toward the courtyard.
Destiny was crouched beside the hearth, apparently struggling to arrange the fire properly. She occasionally poked the wood with a stick before staring at it with an expression of deep concentration.
Ian sighed.
Even lighting a fire was apparently something that needed to be taught to a goddess.
"Anyways..."
Ian lowered his gaze toward the chicken.
"There is something that still bothers me."
His expression gradually became colder.
Why was she here?
Destiny had already told him that she wanted to experience mortal life, but Ian couldn’t accept that explanation so easily. There were countless ways for a being like her to experience mortality.
She could have sealed away her powers, created a mortal body, descended into the world, or even divided a portion of her soul and reincarnated it as a human being.
The latter method was considerably more complicated, but for someone of Destiny’s caliber, it shouldn’t have been particularly difficult.
Ian himself had been capable of doing something similar at his peak.
She could have been born from the womb of an ordinary woman, grown up as a completely normal human, experienced hunger, exhaustion, emotions, relationships, aging, and death without anyone ever realizing what she truly was.
But she hadn’t done that.
Instead, Destiny had deliberately chosen to stay with him.
"Ah, whatever."
Ian shook his head and continued rubbing the seasoning into the chicken.
"Whatever her reasons are, I don’t give a shit."
He wasn’t going to waste his remaining time obsessing over the thoughts of a goddess whose existence he couldn’t even properly understand.
His eyes slowly lost their previous warmth.
The truth was that this life was already approaching its end.
There was no escaping it.
His River of Time had been accelerated beyond what his current body could withstand, and Ian had no way of reversing it. To undo something like that, he would need to find someone who understood the nature of time better than the God of Time herself.
And that was impossible.
Even if the God of Time had somehow left behind some method of restoring what had been lost, Ian had no intention of relying on such a possibility.
Time wasn’t the only problem.
The flames of Destruction had ravaged his body from within, leaving behind wounds that couldn’t simply be healed through ordinary means. Space had also left its own aftermath, tearing apart the structure of his body in ways that even Ian’s former abilities couldn’t completely repair.
His current body was weak. For the first time in an incredibly long time, Ian had to acknowledge that his body could actually break.
His lifespan was limited, his strength was gradually disappearing, and every day brought him one step closer to the inevitable end.
Yet Ian didn’t look afraid. Instead, he grasped the chicken firmly and continued rubbing the seasoning into it, his movements becoming almost deliberate.
He looked down at the roasted chicken that had yet to be roasted and gave it a cold stare.
"Ahh, but don’t worry."
His voice was quiet. There was no fear in it. Only an old determination that had survived countless centuries.
"It’s only temporary."
Ian’s fingers tightened slightly around the chicken. The corner of his mouth lifted into a faint, almost sinister smile.
"Once I, the Great and mighty Heavenly Demon, the God Slayer, and Heaven’s Nemesis, get reincarnated..."
His eyes gleamed.
"It’ll be the last day of you, Fate."