No matter what Hephaestus said, Hestias knew that her decision to descend onto Genkai was not an impulsive one. It had been a long time coming.
After all, the decision had been centuries in the making.
The truth of the matter was that life in Tenkai was…boring for her. Hollow. The gods were immortal, and because they were immortal, they knew of neither fear nor danger. Every day was spent in a static and predictable fashion. Gods did not get born; they just came into existence fully formed and perfect. They did not change.
She…did not change.
Because of that, Hestia had always been fascinated by mortal children and their exciting lives! They lived each day to its fullest, knowing that it could be their last. And then! Every night, they would gather around her hearth and share in companionship together. They told each other stories about what they each went through and rejoiced in their shared experiences.
Their bonds growing stronger with each shared tale of joy and struggle.
Hestia envied those bonds. There was nothing like that to be found in Tenkai. Bonds built on shared struggle and challenge were an idea utterly foreign to gods.
And yet, or perhaps precisely because of it, Hestia had always longed to experience something like that.
She knew that it was impossible.
Or at least she used to think that it was. That was before Ouranos descended into the lower world like a blazing shooting star, ushering with him the Age of Gods that had endured for the past thousand years.
He opened Pandora's box, and following in his footsteps, a flood of other gods began to abandon their divine duties in Tenkai so that they could follow Ouranos's example and similarly fall onto the lower world in search of mortal pleasures and entertainment.
The gods began creating Familias by sharing their blessings with the mortal children.
Hestia immediately wanted to go down and join them as soon as she heard!
And yet…she hesitated. She hesitated for a long time because she was scared. More than most gods, she knew that life in the lower world wasn't all perfect.
She wasn't blind to the ugly sides of things.
Hestia was the goddess of the hearth, family, and the very concept of home.
Whenever a group of adventurers came together at night to share tales of loss around her hearth, she was there to provide them with warmth. Each day another family grieved the loss of their child; she was there feeling with them.
She knew that although life was full of beauty, it was also full of sorrow. Hestia was scared of the pain she would inevitably invite into her heart by getting personally involved in the lives of the mortal children. She was scared of forming strong bonds, only to end up losing them.
She knew what loss did to people, and although the feeling was unknown to her personally, in the thousand years since the Age of God began, she had seen numerous gods fall into despair and choose to return to Tenkai. They then refused to hear any more of the happenings of the lower world. Closing their minds and hearts to the affairs of mortals.
The other deities never heeded the warnings those gods gave them, but Hestia did. While she did not fully understand them yet, she knew that the pain of loss, should she experience it, would hit her just as hard.
Such consideration had held her back from immediately falling down to the earth below like she had wanted to. In the life of an immortal goddess, a few centuries was not a particularly long time, but it also wasn't exactly short either.
It was, however, just long enough for Hestia to finally overcome her fears and decide that just because opening her heart meant inviting in pain, that did not mean that it wasn't worth it for the possibility of love to enter as well. For the chance at experiencing real bonds the way only mortals could, Hestia was willing to endure any pain.
With her mind made up, she had descended onto Genkai three months ago with an optimistic attitude. The reality of the situation that awaited her there was nothing like what she had been expecting.
No words could describe what it felt like for a god to seal away their divinity and suddenly be cut off from the majority of the domains. The domains that had previously defined their very existence.
It might not have been a big deal for most gods, but for Hestia…it was crippling. She had long grown used to existing in many places at once. Always surrounded by family and warmth. Despite not actually being part of said family.
Without that constant connection, the mortal world felt cold.
The people living in Orario were used to gods, and nobody paid her any special attention. When she asked some of the prospective Adventurers to join her familia, they even laughed at her!
It wasn't what she had expected at all. The gods returning to Heaven never reported having had any difficulties with recruiting Familia members!
Hestia knew that she did not have much to offer yet, but she was still a goddess. Surely there could not be so many gods walking Genkai that receiving The Blessing was worth nothing anymore?
Utterly dejected, she had spent the last couple months freeloading in one of Hephaestus's mansions. She had briefly grown disillusioned with the experience provided in the lower world and felt terrible. Falling into as close to what could be called a depression as a goddess-like her could.
The things she saw in that time did not reassure her at all!
Far from the tight-knit families she had expected when thinking of the word "familia," the Hephaestus Familia worked more like a business than anything. With the goddess functioning as the company head while her captain was the second in charge.
The mortal children under her did not join because they were looking for companionship. Quite the opposite! A lot of them were even in heated rivalries with each other and would not miss a chance to knock one another down when the opportunity presented itself.
Seeing all of that. Hestia felt saddened. From what her friend told her, her Familia was not the exception! In fact, most of them worked like that.
The gods descended into the lower world for entertainment, not to become babysitters. Sure, they would take in people to grow their Familia, but they would often only have a handful of core members that they genuinely paid any real attention to and nurtured.
Those few members were almost always the most interesting and outstanding members of their Familia. They would be lavished with gifts and attention, while the other members of the large Familia were lucky to have their Falna updated every couple of months.
This preferential treatment created a system where those children who held their gods' favor only grew stronger by getting their Falna updated. Then they went on challenging themselves with their newly gained powers and in return grew even more once the interesting things they did attracted their gods' attention, who then updated their Falna again.
Meanwhile, those who did not hold the favor of their deity were left out to rot. They either had to accept a life of mediocrity or die stupidly trying to tackle challenges they simply were not ready for in a futile attempt to impress the head of their Familia and enjoy some of the divine favor that came with it.
That discrepancy was one of the reasons why the vast majority of adventurers in Orario never got past level 1 and why so many of them died every day in the Dungeon.
Being an adventurer was not a profession that was kind to stupid people, and so, in a process of natural selection, only the brightest of them made it out of their rookie phase. This led to a state of affairs where most Adventurers were actually pretty smart!
Still, they each shared one common trait that damned them all the same. They were too ambitious. One did not walk into the jaws of Hell each day for no reason.
Every adventurer was looking for something they thought could only be found in the depths of the dungeon, and as such, they always went in deeper than they knew they should.
If one considered it with a rational mind, the first four levels of the dungeon would be enough for any adventurer to live comfortably and remain safe, yet that was never enough.
Neither for the gods who demanded excellence from their children, nor for the adventurers themselves, who each thought they were meant for more.
A lot of them were talented. Oftentimes, the people that came to Orario were the most talented people of the village they grew up in; sometimes they were even the most talented of their whole country.
The world was a lot bigger than just Orario after all.
And yet, it was in this place where the strongest people in the world all gathered and competed with each other. Talent was not a resource that was rare in this city, and because it was not rare, the gods did not value it.
The only thing gods valued was rarity. Something as simple as talent alone would never be enough to excite them.
The mortal children did not understand that. They thought that if they just trained harder, fought harder, and sacrificed more of themselves for the Familia, their god would eventually start valuing them. Start to take care of them.
But that was simply not how the mind of an immortal deity worked.
For gods, mortal lives were fleeting. Mortals came and went like day followed night. In every time period, however, there would be some mortals that were simply more than others.
The tides of history flowed according to the movements of those rare, shining individuals.
These mortals did not just have talent; they had a story that the gods were all desperate to witness. The world paid attention to them, and their every action was of consequence.
These were the kind of people the gods were in a competition with each other to attain.
The mortal children, either unable to see or accept this truth, wasted their lives fruitlessly chasing favor that was never going to be given to them.
Once Hestia realized all of this, the true game her people were playing with the resistance of Genkai, her heart broke. She swore to herself right then and there that she would never allow her Familia to fall into such a state.
No child of hers would ever have to think that they needed to risk their lives just to win her approval. They would have it from the moment her Falna manifested on their backs, and she would never let any of them have a single moment where they had to doubt her love for them!
Unlike the business the other gods had turned their Familias into, hers would be a true Family! She would make sure of that.
For a moment, she even doubted her plan to have a dungeon exploration-centered Familia, as had always been her goal. Would she really be able to send her children into that terrible place where hundreds, if not thousands, died each day, knowing she could do nothing to save them if the time came?
To her shame, the answer she eventually came to was yes. Yes, she would be able to. Not because she was looking for the glory and prestige only the dungeon could bring, far from it, but because she knew that while working a trade could also be used to build up Excelia, nothing compared to the high-level Excelia that could be gained from killing monsters in the dungeon.
Hestia wanted her future children to level up. She needed them to level up as fast and as often as they possibly could so that they would gain the boost to their longevity that would come with it.
She understood the danger that came with mortality. For most mortals, death was only ever one stone's throw away. It was something difficult for a goddess like her to really conceptualize, living a life like that, but still, she understood.
What she could not accept, however, was being forced to watch her children grow old and slowly waste away. Leaving her alone. She could not even bear the thought of it.
She hoped desperately that her future children would share her wishes and seek to level up with all their might. She would make sure to update their Falan as often as they wanted if they did.
—————-
Once three months had passed. Hestia slowly dragged herself out of the facsimile of a depression she had fallen into; it was just in time for Hephaestus to have decided that enough was enough and it was up to her to throw her shut-in friend out of her mansion.
Hestia did not hold that decision against her.
She was a goddess after all. She needed neither food nor sleep. She was not a mortal woman who would die when placed on the street by her lonesome. If all else failed, she could simply go back to Heaven and all its comforts.
Hestia suspected that this was actually Hephaestus' way of showing care. Her good friend knew of her inner struggles and likely sent her out into Orario so that she would either learn how to swim or sink.
Seeing her socially awkward friend showing her support in her own typical clumsy fashion, Hestia felt guilty for having abused her goodwill for so long.
Once her Familia was successful and rich, she would be sure to pay Hephaestus back!
Suddenly being out on the street, Hestia had felt new determination taking hold of her. She had come to this world to build a family on her own, and she would not leave before she achieved that goal!
Hestia felt herself getting agitated again while climbing on top of Cain's broad back as she recalled what had happened next. It was all in the past now, but she still felt aggrieved at the injustice she had suffered!
After being out in the street, it did not take her long to find the abandoned church on the outskirts of Orario she had chosen to claim as her temporary home.
It was quite a step down from her comfortable residence in Tenkai and then living in a home provided by a first-class Familia, but it was part of the authentic mortal experience, so Hestia did not mind it too much.
She could not wait to bunker down and share her warmth with her first child!
Once she went outside the next day to recruit said child, she was exasperated beyond words to see that nothing had changed. Just like her first day in Orario, she was rejected at every turn!
She returned home later that day feeling slightly dejected. Yet still, utterly unwilling to accept defeat.
That was when her fortunes finally turned for the better and she met her darling child!
It was like a dream. Just as she reached a new emotional low, he appeared before her like a hero out of a story.
The first thing she noticed about Cain was that he was tall. Really tall. Heastia knew that she was a petite goddess, not short! But it was rare even for her to have someone tower over her like this. He had to be at least two heads taller than her.
The second thing she noticed was that he was quite good-looking. In a Bad Boy kind of way, like a handsome rogue. With bronze skin, amber-colored eyes, and dark hair.
As a rule, every god was physically as close to perfection as possible. Some deities, with domains linked to beauty and desire, even decided to abuse their natural charm and enhance those divine looks even further. Being exposed to such physical beauty for an eternity already, Hestia had long grown used to it.
Beauty alone would never be enough to impress her.
Still, she knew that humans were not like gods, nor even like elves. Gods were all beautiful, and as a consequence, every god was also just average. Their beauty held no worth because it was common. A beautiful human was rare, and as such, they were exciting and interesting!
The last thing she noticed was the intense look in his eyes. He stared at her with eyes that seemed stuck in a perpetual glare. However, the following short exchange reassured her that he truly meant no harm.
She eventually ended up offering him a place to rest once she found out that he had no home yet.
And oh boy, was she glad that she did!
It led to her getting her first Familia member after all!
Hestia's smile, the one that had not left her face since Cain had asked to join her family, widened even further as she got comfortable on his back.
She blushed a little when she recalled the slight misunderstanding her telling him to undress immediately after leaving his embrace had caused. He seemed not to have known how falnas were applied.
Anyways, that was all in the past!
Now it was time for Hestia to officially get her own Familia. Her very own family!
"And now, I will let fall a drop on your back to inject a tiny bit of my divine power into you. Then, I will inscribe the divine letters that make up the falna directly onto your soul," she explained patiently as she got to work.
Cain had asked her to explain what she was doing while applying the blessing. He looked at her with such clear interest and sincerity back then that she could not have denied him even if she had a reason to, which she did not.
Cain let out a quiet humming sound as he felt her fingers trailing across his back. Seemingly utterly unworried at the fact that he had quite literally opened his soul to her. She always wondered whether the mortal children truly understood exactly how much leeway they gave gods when consenting to having their souls played with in these moments.
Of course Hestia would never do anything to hurt her children in such a way, but still. There were a lot of ways a more malicious god could hurt someone when given access to their soul. None of which involved the application of a Falna.
Hestia shrugged at that and got to work. "My blessing will then resonate with your deepest desires and ambition. Eventually manifesting as a Falna. The physical representation of your potential. While I am working, you might feel a bit warm and tingly for a while, or so I am told. Please do not feel alarmed."
Cain relaxed even further at her reassurance. Hestia felt a warm heat spreading in her chest.
He already trusted her so much, and they only just met today!
She could not wait to see how much the bond between them would grow and develop in the future! The thought alone was so exciting that she could barely stand it.
Just as she was about to complete the final step, something unexpected happened.
It almost felt like something was…fighting the blessing she was inscribing into Cain's soul. The resistance barely lasted long enough for her to feel surprised before it disappeared, and she saw the Falna fully take shape on her first child's muscled back.
That was weird? But probably nothing bad. It was the first time Hestia had applied a Falna herself, so she did not stress the slight anomaly too much. She quickly put it out of her mind and focused on the piece of art in front of her.
It was the image of a hearth.
Gods could personally design how their blessings would manifest, and she had spent a long time designing hers. She was quite proud of it!
She felt emotions overtake her and smiled brightly.
"We are bonded now, Cain. You and I, we are a familia, a family. You are my first child, and for as long as you will have me, I will always be the home you can return to."
She gathered herself and cleared her throat. "But first! There is one last thing that needs doing"
Without standing on ceremony, Hestia took to hand the blank sheet of parchment she had put aside for this exact purpose beforehand and placed it on her child's back. Letting his new status copy onto the paper.
That was a trick she had seen Hephaestus perform the one time she was updating her children's Falna. It was faster than manually writing down the status for each child every time.
"And finished, now let's take a—"
Her mouth hung open as she looked at the page in front of her in shocked disbelief.
"What…what is that?"
Name: Cain
Level: 1
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0
Skills:
Morsalis
Each life taken with the Blessing of Death is used to empower the host.
Magic:
None
"I will always be the home you can return to."
I honestly did not know how to react when the goddess who had made herself at home on my back said those words.
I had spent the past eighteen years of my life in the foster care system. Being traded around like a hot potato from one set of prospective parents to the next. My "difficult personality" was apparently too much for any of them to handle. I was unwilling to act within the confines of what society dictated a proper citizen should be even at an early age, and as such, I never lasted much longer than a single year in any of those places.
A genuine home was not something I could remember having in a long time.
Hearing the sincere tone in the woman's voice, an unfamiliar heat spread from my chest up to the back of my throat. A strange tightness took hold of my heart.
A home, huh? I think I would like that. I would like that…very much.
I was torn out of my idle train of thought when a gasp tore itself out of the goddess who had proclaimed herself to be my new home.
Hestia scrambled off of me and stood next to the tiny bed. The piece of paper she clutched in her hands trembled.
A frown twisted my features. I sat up and assumed a position that would allow me to observe the woman and her distraught face more clearly. Despite the Falna, I did not feel any different from how I did just moments prior.
Hestia's eyes were shaking, and there was a cluster of tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. The look on her face was accusatory.
What is going on?
"Hestia? What happened? You can tell me."
Her tightly pinched face relaxed slightly, and she let out a deep breath. The hand holding the piece of paper was still trembling.
"It is nothing, Cain! Really…don't worry. I simply…overreacted, for a stupid reason!"
Seeing the way I looked at her, Hestia seemed to understand that that vague explanation would not be enough for me.
With a strained smile, she continued.
"It is just that…I thought that I would be your first goddess, you know?…Like you are my first child…Can you tell me what Familia you were a part of before? There are a few death deities I could think of. Was it Anubis or…Hel? They are both beautiful…I would not be surprised if you were interested in them, you know! That is alright! I am not a…jealous…goddess, and you are a healthy young man after all!…But why did you leave their Familia? And what could I offer you that they cou—"
I quickly interrupted her ramblings.
There is definitely some strange misunderstanding going on here.
"Hestia, stop…I have no idea what you're talking about. I have never been part of any Familia before, and neither do I know of any death deity. There are only a few gods that I know of besides you…Where did this come from? What made you think all this?"
My voice turned worried at the end of my question. It would be just my luck to finally find a place to belong…just to have it torn away from me because of something out of my control.
Hestia peered up at me, her eyes blinking rapidly. The expression was unexpectedly cute on her perfectly symmetrical face.
Then, goddess blushed red.
"You…you are telling the truth! But how? Your Falna said…it said that." She gathered herself and stared at me with a raised brow.
"Cain….What is the Blessing of Death?"
My expression turned blank in an instant. My heart skipped a beat as the goddess addressed the one topic I had…hoped to postpone for at least a while longer.
How did she?…Was it the Falna?… Well, I knew this was going to come up sooner or later. I really should have expected something like this when I gave her access to my Souls of all things.
I had been very interested to find out that the blessings this world offered were vastly different from the ones I was used to.
Instead of being born with them. In this world, everyone could get the Falna. Instead of some people awakening stronger powers than others, creating natural hierarchies, here everyone started on the same starting line. It was fascinating. If I understood it correctly…what you could achieve with the divine blessing, was only limited by your own talent and determination. There was no system in place to suppress the masses while empowering the few.
It was almost like a dream come true.
"The Blessing of Death is…it is an ability I was born with." I paused my explanation and took a moment to look into the goddess's wide eyes. She stared at me with undisguised curiosity.
How do I even begin explaining this to her?
As if sensing my discomfort, Hestia put both of her small hands on my bare arms and spoke in a low tone. "Don't worry, Cain…You do not need to tell me, if you don't want to…Knowing that it is a natural ability and nothing bad is all I need! That is actually very extraordinary, you know! It is rare for adventurers to have skills. Having a skill at level 1 is super rare. Having a skill the moment you get the Falna?…I have never heard of something like that before."
A smile grew on my face at her obvious attempt at cheering me up.
This woman…how is it fair for someone like her to exist? I did not know that people this kind are actually real…Maybe it's because this is a different world?
There was no real reason for me to hide my story from her. As she called it, we were bonded now. As far as I understood it, I would carry her mark upon my soul for as long as I lived. What was a bit more trust in the face of that?
"It is alright. I…do not mind telling you, Hestia. As you said, we are a family now. I don't want there to be secrets between us."
In the books I read on the darker corners of the Net, family was always proclaimed to be the closest bond people could share. That was not always the case in the Theocracy, especially for me, who had never been part of a family before, but I always wanted to experience such a bond. And now that I had the chance, I would give it nothing less than my best shot.
"What I am about to tell you will sound unbelievable. I can scarcely believe it myself…But I swear to you that it is the truth."
I stared Hestia dead in the eyes to properly convey the sincerity of my words.
"Until earlier today…I was not a part of this world…I have never met a deity besides you, ever. I do not know what the Dungeon is, and I did not arrive in Orario by choice. I…come from a world very…different from this one. In that world, a small part of the population is born with what we call a Blessing. It is different from the Falna. The selection process is…unknown, but the people that awaken them do so without aid and do not use that power to fight…monsters like the Adventures do here…The Blessing of Death is the ability I was born with. It allows me to kill…anything…with a touch of my hand and gain power as I take their life."
I grasped her hands into mine and leaned forward until only a breath separated her face from mine. The goddess did not flinch back from my touch.
"It is…important… to me that you understand that I have never used my Blessing to kill an innocent person before. Nor do I wish to! I did not choose this power…but I will do my absolute best to use it for good!"
I released her still hands and leaned back into the bed. My shoulders were tight as I observed the woman's expression shift through a wide range of emotions in rapid succession.
It looked vaguely comical.
Eventually, her face was torn between an expression of wonder and surprise. She paused for a moment and then smiled at me.
"I know that you're telling the truth, Cain! You don't need to worry about that! I also know that you are not a bad person…Power is just power. It is neither good…nor evil. What matters is how you use it! I would never judge you for something that you have no control over…but never mind all that!"
Her tone if voice suddenly rose to a higher pitch. Stars ignited in her beautiful blue eyes.
"Why were you even hesitating?! This is amazing! It is like a story out of legends!…The hero who was summoned to Gekai, seeking to become an adventurer and slay monsters with his special power!" She squealed loudly and twirled in a circle. "Ah! I am so lucky to have found a child like you!…I'm so happy!"
My mouth hung open as I stared at the goddess with wide eyes. While what I had told her was undoubtedly the truth… It was also a heavily summarized retelling of what had actually happened. I did not want to burden her with the true…reality of my world….Of exactly how it was that I ended up in this place.
My goddess did not deserve to have her mood stained by such a ghastly tale.
Still, while I had already realized that the people here were of a more martial culture than the citizens of Solstaris…I still expected some negative show of emotion at the mention of my Blessing.
Even in the societies that littered the continent pre-unification…an ability that could do nothing but kill….It would have been demonized.
A heavy weight lifted off my shoulders as I beheld Hestia's bright expression. I leaned back even further and sank into the deceptively comfortable bed.
"Oh!…I almost forgot. That means you truly know nothing about this world then?…Not even about Gekai?" Hestia met my eyes with an earnest gaze. "Do you want me to tell you?"
A smile bloomed on my lips. "I would love that."
Hestia grinned and jumped onto the bed next to me. She shifted in place for a few moments and then came to a stop with one of her legs crossed over the other.
"Alright!…I will start by telling you about my people, the gods, and how we came to walk among you mortals in Gekai. You see…this realm is what we call the Lower World. I originally come from Tenkai, also called Heaven…it is the home of the gods."
Her azure eyes lost some of their clarity.
"Long ago we, the gods, descended into the world of our children, the mortals, in hopes of finding excitement and inspiration…We decided that we would reside here in the lower world for the rest of eternity! Seal away our divine powers and live a modest life…surrounded by all the discomforts of mortal inconvenience." She locked her gaze with mine and smiled.
"I personally descended three months ago, and like the others, the only truly unique thing I can offer you in my earthly state is the blessing…The power to fight and defeat monsters that spawn from within the Dungeon! The children who receive this gift become a gods Familia…which means that you…are now my family! The first and only member of the Hestia Familia!"
I closed my eyes for a moment to properly digest the influx of information.
And she said my backstory was like a story out of legends? This sounded even more exciting than the myths of the heroes I read about in my youth!
Maybe…I could even fulfill my childhood dreams of becoming a hero here. "Thank you for telling me, Hestia…" I averted my gaze from her clear blue eyes. "There is…something else I have been meaning to ask you. When you call us mortals, children…when you call me your…child…what exactly do you mean by that?…Do you see me as your…son, now? because I…well, I—"
Hestia interrupted me before I could finish. A choked yelp leaving her throat. "No! It's not like that!" She crossed her arms in front of her face into an X shape.
"How do I explain this?…"Children" are simply what we gods call mortals, because…well… I would not exactly say that you are all children to us…but it's not far from the truth either. It's a result of our age compared to mortal lifespans, you see. As for you being my son…well, I do not really know what that means. If you really want to, I would not mind you calling me "mother,"…but I should warn you that I would not know how to respond to that…Gods do not have families in the same way humans do….We all come into being fully formed. We have neither parents nor siblings…nor do we have offspring."
Her deliberate tone shifted into something brighter. "I wish to create a real family of my own down here in the lower world! I want to build bonds like the one we share now!…. but that family is not the same definition of the word that you are imagining right now."
I hummed in response to her words.
With the way she acted so…normally…I had almost forgotten that the radiant woman in front of me was in fact not a human, but an immortal being of unfathomable power just…role-playing as a human…because it was exciting.
What a strange thought.
Almost as strange as the fact that the first person I would end up forming a connection with was not even a real person, but a goddess. It really was just like me. I had never managed to do anything the normal way a single day in my life.
Still, I was…happy. I truly did not regret joining this goddess.
"Ah…I see. That is…good. I think I will stick to calling you just Hestia though. In any case, I should thank you for accepting me into your familia."
The petite woman stilled at that. Her body sitting to my left turned away from me. She averted her eyes and stared at the floor.
"I…I…no. You shouldn't. To tell you the truth, Cain…I should be the one thanking you." Her gaze snapped back to mine and her blue eyes shone like dying embers. "Thank you…for settling for a penniless goddess like me."
I stared at her with a tilted head. A penniless goddess? The idea of a deity lacking money was baffling.
If there was one thing my old world had taught me, then it was that while a rich man could lack power, a powerful man would never lack for riches.
How is it possible for a goddess to be poor?
Seeing that the silence between us was starting to stretch. I took my mind off of the thought and spoke up….I would not say that I had fully figured out the woman by my side just yet… but one thing had already become clear to me.
There was only one thing I could say in response to her self deprecating words.
"Hestia…Look at me." I grasped her chin with my right hand and gently turned her head back towards me. I waited quietly until her blue eyes met my amber-colored ones again. They were filled with thinly veiled insecurity.
This will not do at all.
"I did not…choose you…because I expected any kind of material reward from you. You gave me the Falna; that is more than enough for me. You have offered me a home. That is more than I would have asked for. We are bonded now, aren't we? That was what you said" The corners of my lips curled upwards. "Never think that you are somehow in any way lesser than any other god I could have ended up with. You are perfect. Do not doubt that."
Hestia stared at me with wide eyes. "You…you really…you really mean that! I…I—" She choked up and struggled for words. A moment later, a beautiful smile stretched across her face and she threw herself at me again, pulling me into a hug.
"I am so happy! You are also perfect, Cain! I could not have asked for a better first child!"
I had grown used to her physical displays of affection at this point…so I was merely glad that I was able to reassure her. I leaned farther back until my shoulders touched the bed, and I was fully lying down. Hestia rested her head on my chest and turned quite.
I released a deep yawn.
The events of the day were beginning to catch up to me…I truly never could have expected how this day would end just hours ago…when Indomitable opened the doors to my cell and escorted me to a fiery death.
I am so tired.
Hestia raised her head from my chest and peered up at me with wide eyes. "You are tired! You should sleep, Cain. From what you told me…you went through a lot today….We can talk more tomorrow…if you want."
I lifted my hand to her head and, in a movement that came so naturally I barely registered it, stroked her silky black hair. The goddess froze for a moment…and then quickly relaxed even further onto me.
"I would love to, Hestia." I snorted in as I suddenly recalled an important detail.
"You also still have not shown me my… Status was the word, right? The actual contents of my new blessing"
Hestia's eyes widened. "You're right! I can't believe I forgot to show you! I…will give it to you first thing in the morning, okay?"
I nodded silently and continued stroking her soft hair. My mind turned sluggish as sleep took me over.
My last conscious thoughts went towards the infamous Dungeon…the one that I was determined to challenge on the following day
I wonder how different killing monsters will feel compared to killing humans…Will it be worse?….or better?
I could not wait to find out.
The warmth that surrounded me when I woke up was unlike anything I had experienced before. It was like I was submerged in a hot bath and receiving a full-body massage at the same time.
I smiled in utter contentment and opened my eyes. The sight that was presented to me as soon as I rubbed the sand out of them was as soothing as it was breathtaking.
Black hair spread across the bed and framed the beautiful face of a sleeping goddess. Her expression was serene as light snoring noises filled the room.
So…yesterday was real. I really am in another world. And this… The gaze I had directed at the woman lying on top of me sharpened; she is my goddess now.
I snorted quietly at the thought.
If somebody had told me that I would end up joining some god's family a mere few days ago... I would have called them crazy.
A chuckle rumbled in my throat.
Since I did not wish to wake Hestia up just yet, I remained motionless and instead swept my eyes around the basement of the abandoned church. It was a tiny room, but also very cozy.
The only real furniture I could see from my position was a green couch next to the bed and a round wooden table. Behind them, attached to the wall, a dimly shining lamp illuminated the room. The lamp held within it a small purple crystal that was the source of the light.
This must be one of those magic stones I heard so much about. How fascinating. How do you get one of those from monsters?
I lifted my hand and tangled it into Hestia's silky hair. My mind lost in thought.
Everything had happened so quickly yesterday. I could still scarcely believe that this was real; I barely managed to keep up.
I was burned to death.
Only…I did not die. Instead, I woke up here, in another world. A world with elves, monsters, and gods.
Then I was again attacked by a criminal and forced to kill in self-defense. Despite not having initiated the fight and even trying to de-escalate whenever possible, I could not deny that I had…enjoyed it. I enjoyed killing him.
Killing humans with my blessing… It was a pleasure unlike anything else. It was an indescribable experience.
A tight knot formed in my stomach at the direction my own thoughts had gone to. With conscious intent, I dragged my attention outward to what my hands had been doing all this time.
Stroking the goddess's soft hair was therapeutic.
Once again feeling anchored, I resumed my earlier introspection.
I had killed my second person. And I still felt like it was justified. After all, I did not kill an innocent, unlike what the Bishop had accused me of. I killed a slaver who was actively trying to bring me harm. I told Hestia that I had never used my Blessing on an innocent before and that I would do my best to only use it for good. I had no intention of becoming a liar in her eyes.
I would prove both to this world and to myself that Solstaris made a monumental mistake when they allowed me to be executed based off the words of an oracle of all things. I would become a hero greater than anything this world had ever seen. My Blessing was evil; I truly believed that. However, like Hestia said, what truly mattered was how I used it.
I did not feel regret after killing criminals. I did not care what the laws said or if every single person in the world told me that I was wrong. Some people just did not deserve to be alive.
All who try to rob others of their freedom, all who kill innocents, and all who physically abuse others. All of them were acceptable targets for my blessing.
Those were the only morals I would never compromise on. I had held that moral code since I was just a young boy, and my third set of foster parents "educated" me on what a proper citizen of the theocracy was allowed to do and what they weren't. Suffice to say, I did not agree with them. Why should I stand by when evil is committed right in front of me? Why should I not be allowed to fight back? I rejected a society where that was how a "proper citizen" behaved.
Still, I did not expect to encounter a situation like that so soon into this new world. It did not paint a pretty picture. Was it possible that this fantastical world was just as corrupt as my last one?
I refused to believe that.
As if in response to my discomfort, Hestia hummed softly and snuggled even closer into my embrace. A smile tugged on my lips as I glanced down at the goddess.
If nothing else, I was fortunate to have met here. In the state I was in, I likely would have been willing to accept a worse deal, with worse people.
A thin crease formed between my brows as I fixed my amber eyes on the sleeping goddess.
I had been too exhausted to really take note of it the day before, but now that I was fully rested, I was somewhat put off by the absolute trust she had given me.
How quickly she accepted me into her family.
My own reaction to her grand displays of affection, was just as unexpected. I never thought of myself as a person who grew easily attached to people. Or at least, I did not used to think of myself that way.
Clearly, I was wrong.
An irrational desire to protect the short woman lying on me surged from my chest. It was a futile thing, I knew. She was a goddess, and therefore had to contain more power hidden within herself than I could even begin to imagine.
Someone like that did not need the protection of a mortal man like me.
Still, I could not help it. Now that I finally knew how it felt like to be wanted by someone…to be accepted so unconditionally…I would never let go of that feeling.
I would never let go of the one who had invoked these strange feelings within me. I wanted more of it. Much more.
Relationships with other people were not something that I had much experience with. No matter the form such bonds might take. I never had a real family, and it was hard to make friends with people when they were just so different.
Hestia…was almost too easy to get along with.
A huff escaped me when a pleasant smell reached my nose.
She even smells nice….This is ridiculous.
My gaze snapped downward when something pushed back against my hand. Hestia had leaned into my touch and slowly stretched herself awake. With a deep yawn, she opened her gleaming blue eyes and addressed me in a sleepy voice.
"Good morning, Cain."
A smile rose on my face as I continued to run my fingers through her hair. "Good morning, Hestia."
The goddess melted into my arms. The sounds she made were reminiscent of a cat purring.
"You know…I really am happy that you chose to join my Familia…This is perfect. I want every morning to start like this!"
My breath hitched.
Hestia perked up without waiting for a reply and scrambled toward the wooden table. Once there, she grabbed the piece of white paper that had been lying on it. The smile on her face when she pushed it into my waiting hands was blinding.
"I forgot to give this to you yesterday…but I promised to show you your status first thing in the morning!"
I raised my upper body into a seated position and directed my undivided attention onto the unassuming object that held within it a detailed report of my soul's potential.
Name: Cain
Level: 1
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0
Skills:
Morsalis
Each life taken with the Blessing of Death is used to empower the host.
Magic:
— None
My shoulders sagged. A bunch of parameters with a zero behind them was not what I had been expecting when thinking of the "physical manifestation of my divinely enhanced soul."
The only silver lining was that, if nothing else, I could now finally put a name to my previously nameless Blessing.
Morsalis
How appropriately ominous. As expected of an evil power like mine.
"I know you told me that you were born with this skill, Cain…so I'm sure it must seem natural to you, but it really is important that you do not tell anyone about it!"
Hestia peered into my eyes with more seriousness than I had seen her express before. "I know my people…if they found out that somebody like you existed…they would not leave you be!…Do not tell anyone that you came from a different world, and do not tell anyone that you got your first skill the moment you received your Falana…. Please, Cain, promise me that you won't."
My own amber eyes held her gaze with matching intensity.
Does she not trust the other gods?
"I cannot make a promise that I'm not sure if I'll manage to keep, Hestia…I don't know what will happen in the future…but…I will make sure to be alert. I promise. I have…some experience when it comes to keeping such secrets."
Hestia searched my face with glowing azure eyes. After a few seconds spent in silence, she seemed to have found what she was looking for. A deep exhale left her, and she spoke up again.
"I did not write that skill into your soul, Cain….that likely doesn't mean much to you just yet…but it really should be impossible. The way the Falna works is that you children gather excelia by performing extraordinary feats, and then we gods take that excelia and convert it into power…For a skill to have just appeared by itself..." She breathed out a strained sigh. "It is very unusual…It is also extremely rare…and that's what makes it so dangerous…I…I really just want you to be careful…I don't want to lose you."
My arms reached out as I pulled the goddess into a hug. "I know…and I appreciate your concern more than you know."
I released her from my embrace and sent her a smile. "Besides…it's not all bad. Did you know that I don't actually need to eat as long as I use Morsalis?…I'm also pretty sure that it would heal me if I ever got seriously injured….It looks like I still need to sleep, though…mental exhaustion is apparently not so easily fixed."
Hestai blinked and tilted her head to the side. She appeared caught off guard by the sudden change of topic. That expression did not last long as she quickly answered me with enthusiasm. "That is great! Did you know? I also don't need to eat!… But it is somewhat of an unofficial rule amongst us gods that we would start doing so once we formed a Famila…. You know, to get the full Gekai experience." Her wide smile was radiant.
How cute.
The tension left my body now that I was able to take her mind off of her previous worry. "Goddess, I was planning to sign up at the guild today and then head to the Dungeon… So I was wondering, what exactly do gods do other than awaken the Falna for their…children?"
Hestia returned to her seat next to me on the bed and crossed her legs. "Gods…are free to do whatever they want, really…. Most of the others spend their days indulging in whatever vice or obsession they are currently most interested in, while their children are busy working… However, gods from small Familia like ours…well, we also need to work! It is our duty to support our children in their journey until they are able to take care of themselves."
My mouth hung open.
Gods need to work a job just to get by?… This world really is something else.
"If you want to work, goddess, then I would never stop you from doing so…. But if you only do it on my account, then please don't…" A tight pressure took hold of my chest at the thought of becoming a burden. "Being an adventurer is supposed to be the most profitable profession in the world. I am sure I will make enough… Valis, for both of us… I don't even need to eat if I don't want to! And this home we live in is free."
I rotated my body until I was fully facing her and took one of her hands into mine. "How about this: let me go into the dungeon first and see how much I can earn, then we will check our finances, and if you still think that it is necessary for you to work as well…I will not stop you."
Hestia stared at me with wide eyes. "Are you…sure that is okay?"
Without hesitating any further, I jerked upward and straightened my clothes. "Yes, I am sure. Just wait for me, and I will see what I can do…We can postpone any further plans until then…Is that alright?"
After I received a single nod in confirmation, I prepared myself to leave the church and once again journey out into the labyrinth city.
————
Hestia watched her beloved child leave with a smile so wide it almost hurt.
Is it really alright for me to get this lucky?
Contrary to her expectations, the goddess had not been the least bit prepared for just how strongly having her first family member would hit her.
The affection she felt for Cain was almost too much for her to handle. He was flawless! The cute child didn't even want her to work! Had there ever been a mortal in Gekai as perfect as him?
Hestia had observed them for long enough to know that mortals tended to be…put off when they finally realized just how deep the affections of divinities really went. With that knowledge in mind, she had forced herself to repress her more immediate urges and refrained from grabbing onto her child and forcing him to stay as close to her at all times as she possibly could.
She wanted to lock him up in their home and never let him leave so that they could share their warmth forever! She wanted him to be hers…and only hers. She wanted to claim him like she had already claimed his soul with her blessing. It was a feeling unlike any she had ever felt before.
…Is this why Freya always gets obsessed so easily?
Hestia did not know. She did not have much experience when it came to romantic relationships. The only man to have ever seriously shown such interest in her was Apollo, and…well…the less said about that pervert, the better.
In Tenkai, Hestia was the goddess tasked with looking after the sacred flame. As such, she did not have much time to fool around as the other gods did. The short amounts of free time she did have, she rather spent with her friends or witnessing the mortals and their exciting lives in the lower world.
However, now that she herself had become part of that world and was finally experiencing the feelings that she had seen so many of them display so readily for herself…they were a lot more intense than what she had expected.
The goddess could not wait to see just how many more new experiences and feelings Gekai had in store for her!
——-
Once I exited the building I now called home, I was immediately faced with a scene of ruin. I had not been paying too much attention to it the day before, but the surrounding space really were left in a deplorable state.
It was hard to believe, but the church was actually one of the more preserved buildings in this part of Orario.
I wonder what happened here… Was it a war? Who would dare attack a city filled with gods and their followers?… Or was it monsters?… Are they not all trapped in the dungeon?
My march toward the center of Orario was illuminated by the first golden rays of the rising sun. The day had only just begun, and I was momentarily awestruck by the sight of the approaching city.
This world really is beautiful.
When I finally arrived at the inner part of the city, I was once again struck by the diversity of the people that called this place home. Adventurers in full armour were headed toward the heaven-defying tower in the middle of the city. Shopkeepers prepared for the moment their stores would open. Idle early birds strolled across the streets, taking in the sights.
Orario was a city bustling with life and culture.
I appreciated the scenery for a while longer and then took off to find someone I could ask about the whereabouts of the guild building.
While my sense of direction had always been excellent, that fact did nothing for me in a city that I had never been to before. Especially one as big and convoluted as Orario. The place resembled a labyrinth more than it did an actual city meant for people to live in.
My eyes widened imperceptibly when my gaze fell on a lone figure leaning against the walls of a clothing store. The woman's dark skin was barely covered by a purple strip of fabric wrapped around her chest and transparent pants of the same color. Her white underwear was clearly visible.
The striking woman had been staring at me with focused intensity since before I even noticed her. I closed the distance between us with an easy smile on my lips.
"Oh? See something you like, boy?…You certainly are handsome enough, but I'm afraid I will have to decline. You're still too weak to survive me." She smirked and propped a hand on her wide hips. "Come and visit me when you're stronger….We'll have some fun together then."
My smile faltered.
Is this how they greet each other in this world?
"…You are without a doubt a great beauty, my lady…but…that is not why I have approached you today….I wanted to ask if you could direct me in the direction of the guild building. I am new to Orario and just recently joined a Familia."
The woman leaned forward and pinned me down with piercing purple eyes. "I see, you're a fresh rookie… Well, that is not too bad. It means you still have potential…How irresponsible of your Familia Captain to let someone like you wander around aimlessly after you just received your Falna…Who knows what could have happened? Luckily for you, you met me….Come on, let this big sister guide you for a while."
Her gold jewelry reflected the sunlight as I listened carefully to the directions she gave me. From there, it did not take much longer until I found what I had been looking for.
The guild building was just as impressive as I imagined it would be. It was also very hard to miss. Multiple floors, colorful green stones, and painted banners marked its front. It appeared older than the buildings surrounding it.
Fortunately, it was open for business even this early in the morning.
Light entered my eyes as I crossed the entrance and entered the famous building for the first time.