Chapter 32: Chapter 27- A Meeting with the Gods

Heed the Gods’ words.

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“As she has said, let us get down to business,” Kel’rk’ath said, greeting the two visitors. Mori was sure that the water skeleton shrouded in darkness was the God of the Death Tides for obvious reasons. “Hmm… You have- ah, that is right, you created a great amount of death knights just last night. It is… interesting that you are still conscious...”

Both Mori and Fara tilted their heads, “What do you mean by that?” Mori asked, “I have a headache, but that was it. Was something else supposed to happen?”

The two gods nodded, “Of course, dear,” Sa’ar’kik replied, “Most mortals will go into a coma if they create even a single death knight. I am no expert, but creating eleven of them would kill you.”

Mori was taken aback, but nodded, “I… thank you for telling me… But, why do I have a headache in the first place? Is it because of the death knight thing?”

The mass of flesh that was Sa’ar’kik smiled a half-dozen elongated smiles across her body, “Pretty much. Giving a being such an advanced level of sentience from scratch is extremely taxing. Doing that eleven times is that much more so. I can only imagine the pain you’re in, but… well, you’ve been through worse.”

Kel’rk’ath nodded, “Indeed. I do want to ensure a smooth meeting, so let me fix that for you,” he said. A small burst of mana, just as viscous as the mana around them, seeped into Mori, through her body and into her soul. It sunk in, clearing away the pain like a deep cleanse, “Please do not do that any more, Mori. Not often and not on that scale, anyway. That would have taken a year to feel better, you know?”
Nodding, Mori felt the new clearness in her mind and soul, “Thank you. Truly,” she said, “But you obviously want me to do something, so… what do you need?”

Mori had the impression that the two gods were amused by her bluntness as they nodded to each other. Suddenly, the wall to her left lit up like a screen. A blue rectangle appeared, showing a massive map. Familiar names appeared, from Green Oasis to Hard Sand in the center, but other names, like Aekan to the east, Gribnik to the north, Nolus to the southwest, Nikolan to the direct west, and Mount Averus to the south appeared as well. Lines that seemed to be routes snaked through the map, Green Oasis at its center. It gave Mori a new perspective on how vast the Vast Dust was. One thing, however, stood out to her, something that Fara noticed as well, “E-Excuse me?” she nervously asked.

The two gods looked at her and she shrank in her seat, “Ah, I’m sorry, Fara. I meant to give you some assurance that you are welcome as well. Please, don’t be reserved with us,” Sa’ar’kik said.

Fara stiffly nodded, “Y-Yes… I was w-wondering… why is there so m-much clocksteel in Aekan?” she asked, her confidence appearing to return at a snail’s pace.

Kel’rk’ath chuckled, “Good eye, young one. Indeed, there is too much Clockwork flesh. That, however, is what we want to discuss,” he said, “There is a Hive in Aekan. It has fallen.”

Fara’s eyes went wide while Mori tilted her head, “Um… what’s a Hive?”

“A Hive is what happens when the Clockworks invade an inhabited place. It looks exactly like a wyrm hive made of steel. It’s… one of the worst things that can happen,” Fara explained, “That’s why we’re here, right? So you tell us to take care of that?”

Sa’ar’kik’s mouths gave sad smiles, “Yes, that’s right,” she said, “We want you two to eliminate that Hive. Of course, like all tasks we hand to the inhabitants of Granulous, there will be a reward in store.”

Mori nodded, “Of course, but I don’t think we have enough power to even try that. How do we pull it off?” 

Fara nodded, her confidence seemingly returned, “Agreed. No matter how powerful we are right now, there are just too many of them.”

The two gods nodded in understanding, “We understand, young ones,” Kel’rk’ath agreed, “But you will not be alone. Rally the Vast Dust and attack. In fact, they are already rallying right now.”

“They are?” Fara asked, “How do they… wait! It’s in Aekan, so… That’s what Olga was talking about!”

Mori simply shot Fara an understanding look and turned back to the gods, “So, we help them rally, then we go and attack the Hive… That seems too simple,” Mori said.

Sa’ar’kik laughed, “Simple to say, maybe! Listen, there’s a reason why we equate it to an insect hive. There will be thousands of high level Clockworks. Even with the forces of every city behind you, it will be a pretty even fight, all things considered.”

“Then why don’t you deal with the problem?” Mori asked. Fara stared at her, eyes wide, while the two gods shared a meaningful glance.

Kel’rk’ath sighed, “Of course we want to deal with it, but we cannot interfere. If we do, then the world will become unbalanced; it will become incredibly difficult to stop its destruction in that case.”

Fara widened her eyes, “Your interference could destroy the world? How?” she asked, having seemingly entirely forgotten who she was speaking to.

“Your world is already running on borrowed time, you know?” Sa’ar’kik replied, “It has been for a few thousand years. It took a lot of trial and error to get the constructs working, but we are able to keep a world from falling apart as long as an intense amount of mana is not added at one time.”

Fara listlessly nodded while Mori stared at the two, “Then why doesn’t the Demon of the Clock or whatever do exactly that?”

Kel’rk’ath held up a hand, stopping Sa’ar’kik from replying, “Firstly, please do not refer to En’gem’ia as a ‘demon.’ She was an old… acquaintance of ours. Secondly, we do not know. It is likely that Granulous is not very important to her, in all honesty.”

Fara’s eyes widened, seemingly hurt, while Mori nodded, “Why isn’t the world important to her?”

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Kel’rk’ath shook his head, “That is already plenty of information, little one. I assure you that it was our own doing that discouraged her interest. That much is certain.”

“I see… I won’t pry,” Mori conceded, patting Fara on the shoulder, “We’ll take your word for it. For now, though, what kind of reward were you talking about earlier?”

Sa’ar’kik smiled her half-dozen smiles, “Well, how does this sound: [Soul Sight] for you and [Metallic Sense] for her?” she asked.

Mori considered it for a moment before turning to Fara, “Well? What do you think?” she asked.

Fara, finally out of her confused daze, returned Mori’s gaze, “I… think it’s good. They seem pretty useful, honestly.”

Mori nodded, “Alright, we accept. We’ll leave with whatever force goes to deal with the hive. Is there anything else?”

Sa’ar’kik chuckled, “Well, we have some more time, so I thought it would be nice to simply chat for a while. What do you think?”

Fara and Mori gave confused mumbles while Kel’rk’ath sighed, “There are a few things we want to talk to you about. Firstly, young Fara.”

Fara tilted her head, “Yes…?” 

“Your soul is… unique. Were you born in another world, En’gem’ia would desire your service. Do you have moments where you are irrationally confident in a certain outcome?” he asked.

Fara reluctantly nodded, “I… I do. What does that mean?”

“As I thought. That is… both a curse and a blessing. You see, we are able to see your soul, and it has a very odd resemblance to En’gem’ia’s soul.”

Fara’s face blanched and her eyes widened, “W-Wait, does that mean…”

Kel’rk’ath laughed, “No, no. You are not a creation of En’gem’ia. It is… more of a mathematical inevitability. Out of every configuration of soul there is, yours simply resembles hers in some ways. It will not be of any issue, but there will be some similarities. For example, that blind confidence is a major part of her power. She is not the Great Goddess of Machines, she is the Great Goddess of the Clock. Her powers mostly pertain to prediction and time manipulation,” he explained, confusing Fara once more.

“If she’s the Goddess of time, then what’s with the legions of killer robots?” Mori asked.

“Adaptation of her powers to other things, really,” Sa’ar’kik replied, “The thing that connects them to her is how she floods them with her mana and their continued operation. I doubt you two could understand it, not being gods and all, but their existence in time and space cause them to be hers. Like I said, it’s complicated. But the only part of her power Fara has is the prediction aspect, a very weak version at that. It’s a niggling feeling in the back of her head that triggers randomly, he thinks,” she said, pointing to Kel’rk’ath, “Like he said, it’s nothing to worry about. We just wanted you to be aware so that you know what to expect if you start getting kidnapped by the Clockworks.”

Fara slowly nodded, “I… Thank you. So much…”

“Not a problem, dear. Now, the second thing! Mori, please do not share the whole ‘psychic powers’ thingy with anyone else. We usually kill anyone who starts delving into soul manipulation, and you’re only fine because we are alright with you, so please don’t start spreading it,” Sa’ar’kik said.

Mori nodded calmly, “I never planned on it.”

“Good,” Kel’rk’ath said, “Finally, do you know that others came from Earth to Granulous?”

Mori nodded, “I kind of assumed that. I honestly don’t want anything to do with them. I’m not the same person who died on that plane or who some of them knew. I’m Mori, not… whoever I was before.”

The two gods nodded, “A respectable decision.” 

“Good for you, Mori!” Sa’ar’kik cheered, “Just as an added bonus, because you two are pretty entertaining, I’m going to take the liberty of giving you a Trait that alters your base bone structure to be more similar to how your mind is. Is that alright?”

Mori nodded, “It is. Thank you.”

The goddess giggled, “Not a problem, dear! But I won’t leave Fara without something either. Hmm… how about [Enhanced Beauty]?”

Fara gave a flat look, “Is that even a real Trait?” she asked.

Sa’ar’kik shrugged, “Probably not, but we run the system, so we can add whatever we like. Anyway, you’ll be getting the Traits tonight, so don’t worry about any pain. However, our time is about up. It was nice talking to you two, you know. Even for Mr. Serious over there.”

Kel’rk’ath sighed, “A certain amount of decorum when speaking with others should be common sense for the gods, Sa.”

“Shush, you. Anyway, sorry about whatever theological mess you’re about to be thrown into!”

The two visitors gave questioning remarks, but the world spun around them before they could ask anything coherent. The world turned to a black void, fading back into the garden they had left the world in after a few moments. Mori turned around, hearing shouting coming from behind them, and sighed as she caught sight of the blue-robed priests, “Ah, that’s what she meant,” Mori remarked.

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