CHAPTER 246: WILL YOU MARRY ME?

Cassandra lay down beside him and said, "Perhaps it’s because all the burdens on your shoulders have been lifted, my love..."

"Huh... All the burdens... Is that so?" Atlas murmured.

There were no words to describe how right Cassandra was.

Atlas couldn’t even remember the last time he had felt this relaxed. In his previous life, he had never left the battlefield for over twenty years and had even died on the battlefield, but in this life, everything had ended in just a few years.

He could see the Sages around him, watch his sister joking around with Talon himself, and even feel the eyes of the gods and goddesses fully upon him.

Every single one of the highest-ranking demons was dead. Lucifer had wiped out every last one of them, and everything had returned to normal.

Even if Atlas didn’t know it, his way of thinking, his actions, and his expressions of reality would spread to the countries of the world one by one, and indeed, had already begun to spread.

Many countries, even while at war, had embraced Atlas’s ideas and done everything in their power to eliminate the concept of racism. It would not be entirely accurate to say they were completely successful; after all, people raised with such ideas could not simply abandon them.

Still, one thing was true.

Atlas’s heroism, his willingness to sacrifice himself for the citizens of the world, had forced everyone to change.

The concept of slavery had been abolished within just two weeks.

Sex slaves, labour slaves, hunting slaves, and many other types of slaves had been completely freed. The slaves’ debts had been forgiven by countries, indeed by kingdoms and empires, and although many of their backgrounds could not be erased, efforts had begun to find them work.

Lucifer and Michael had personally chosen to remain in this mortal world. At least for a while. In doing so, they managed to find every remaining devil worshipper to pay their debt to humanity and all other races, and executed them along with their leaders.

The world had undergone a complete purification. Although how linear or, in other words, ethical this was, was a debatable matter.

Everything began with Atlas’s desire to fix the world, to fix the future, first for his sister and then for the rest of his loved ones.

Atlas really did breathe in and out loudly enough for everyone in the room and watching him to hear.

When everyone turned to look at him, the first thing they saw was Cassandra’s expression.

The Ancient Woman was smiling so brightly, pure and clean.

Cassandra knew that Atlas’s breathing was not troubled. The young man was simply happy, truly happy.

Perhaps he wasn’t smiling, perhaps his still expression didn’t convey any emotion, but Cassandra, who had her head on his shoulder, could feel his warmth.

Atlas was happier than he had ever been.

Having finally managed to get out of bed, Atlas had gone to the balcony window of the room and started looking out from his bedroom in the palace.

The conditions of the northwest seemed to have taken hold of the region once more, the moment Nyx’s rain spell vanished. Snow had begun to fall again.

Cassandra stood directly to Atlas’s right, holding his hand as she watched the snowfall.

At that moment, Atlas took another breath, this time in a calm tone, and exhaled. Within seconds, he asked the following question in the calmest and gentlest tone possible:

"Cassandra, shall we get married?"

The moment he asked this question, time stood still. Not literally, of course, but everyone stopped breathing for a few seconds, and only Atlas’s breathing could be heard.

The young man continued to watch the falling snow, enjoying the sight of the sunlight breaking through the clouds and mingling with the snowflakes.

Cassandra looked directly at his face. The Ancient Woman was excited and, frankly, a little scared.

She hadn’t expected Atlas to ask so directly.

"Are you serious, my love?" Cassandra asked gently.

After this question, Atlas slowly turned his head towards Cassandra, then, within seconds, asked again, this time more clearly, "Will you marry me?"

Cassandra swallowed hard at that moment. For the first time in her endless life, the Ancient Woman took such a deep breath, her heart beating so fast for the first time.

For the first time, words got stuck in Cassandra’s throat.

Time stood still for Cassandra. Perhaps only ten seconds had passed for those around her, but Cassandra felt as if she had lived ten years in that moment.

The Ancient Woman quickly composed herself and began to speak:

"The moment I thought you were dead... the moment you stood motionless beside Mr Lucifer and Mr Michael, my whole world collapsed. At that moment, I wished I could just die. I thought that despite all the evil I had done, perhaps I could reach heaven, the real heaven, and see you again, because I know deep in my heart that you are a man who will go to heaven."

After these words, Cassandra gently took hold of Atlas’s hair and stroked it lightly, then continued speaking:

"Only when I learned you were unconscious, and then when I learned you were in a coma, did I realise that heaven had already been delivered to me within the mortal world. I have lived a very long life. A very, very long life indeed. Perhaps in the future I will see your life fade away, perhaps we will have children, and I will see their lives fade away too, because I am immortal."

After these words, Cassandra took Atlas’s hand as if she were a knight and kissed it.

"Even so, I want you to allow me to choose you, so that I may continue to love you until the end of my eternal life and beyond. I will marry you, Atlas Shorekeeper. This would be the greatest gift you could give me."

These words had sealed everything. Words that had never been heard before, words that even Cassandra would never have thought to utter...