Chapter 28: Sacrifice – Chapter 26: Blessed Truth

GamingWolf

Aperio continued her slow descent, questions still forming in her mind. Are the other Gods just weak? Or do they bless people with lesser stuff on purpose? She could not see a reason why they would use anything but the best, but then, she had only been a Goddess for a short while. Maybe blessing more people gets exponentially harder? The accidental blessing she had given Arden and the replacement she made for Laelia required such small amounts that she would not even notice if she did not look, and even then it required a decent amount of scrutiny. Just another thing she would have to figure out.

She was also still not sure how she should feel about imposing her will on others. Being helpless, nothing more than a passenger in her own body, was something she had hated for as long as she could remember. Doing that to someone else was something she could not bear to do, and yet, she had had potentially set two unsuspecting Humans on such a path. The only thing keeping her from flying into a rage against the universe and herself was the fact that – thus far – her mana had never done something she did not want. And the thing she wanted most was to be free.

I hope it stays that way.

Setting down as lightly as she could, still holding the unconscious form of Laelia in her arms, Aperio pushed the apprehensions from her mind. They would only be in the way for what was to come. The others had been busy while she had cleansed the paladin – Is she still one? – of what she considered to be corruption. Thaddeus had disappeared, likely inside the carriage again, while the Beastkin was looking after the horses who seemed to have simply ignored most of the commotion. Are those really horses?

Aperio never got to further question just what kind of animal was drawing the carriage, as a still rather pale-looking Ira approached her. He gripped his staff a little tighter as he saw Laelia's limp body in her arms.

"I-Is she..." He was unable to finish the question, either dreading her reply or simply unable to find the right words.

"Dead? No, just unconscious." Aperio chose not to tell him about the corrupted blessing for now; she wanted to talk about that with Laelia herself first. Ira seemed to relax at her words, but was only able to do that to a small extent as she had chosen to not hold back her voice. There has to be a way to get rid of that without having to whisper.

Moving past the old man Aperio ignored the hushed voices behind her, instead grabbing hold of the carriage’s door with her magic and swinging it open. She had always wanted to use magic, but it had never been available to her before and once she had been reborn with the ablility to use it, she had feared she would not be able to control it. Now, she knew that it was just like another limb for her to use. A hand to shape the world as she saw fit.

Ignoring the wide-eyed Thaddeus inside, she very gently placed the unconscious Laelia on on the other bench inside the carriage. Before leaving, Aperio briefly checked on her replacement blessing. So far it only seemed to do what her mana always did, running around the paladin’s body and making it better. But, having seen what a blessing could do, Aperio was not sure if she was just perceiving her own blessing as something good for Laelia while it was acting the same way as Vigil's had without her knowledge.

Stepping back outside, she found herself surrounded by Ira and the adventurers. They seemed to be on edge, but that was understandable – she was as well. Not for the same reasons, but that mattered little. Aperio would prepare herself for the worst. The possibility that they would try to kill her was there. Not that they could.

She shifted her weight and tilted her head, simply looking at them. If they had questions, they could ask them. She would not start the conversation. The only one Aperio herself wanted to talk to was currently unconscious.

Her movement caused some of the adventurers to squirm. She was not sure if it was because they were nervous or because she had stopped caring about preserving her dignity. Not that that matters. If they got any ideas she would put them in their place.

The one to speak was the Elven mage. Do they expect some form of kinship? "We ask for your forgiveness. We did not know–"

Aperio waved him off. "Her actions were neither yours nor those of your companions."

She had no quarrel with them. If anything, them asking for her forgiveness annoyed her. Do they really think I would kill them if they did not apologise? There was a part of her that abhorred the fact that mere mortals were in her presence and demanded their deaths, but it was easily ignored. The joy of being able to actually talk to people was far greater; even if said joy was quite small to begin with.

"Is there anything else or can we be on our way?" Suddenly Aperio felt something: a light tug on her mind. It felt much like the blessing she had given to Arden, but this was something she could mentally grasp hold of. There was only one other person who she had blessed, and the fact that she could feel it now lead her to believe that the ex-paladin was beginning to wake up.

The group seemed surprised by her quick dismissal and rather abrupt question. Ira was the first to get his bearings again, daring to ask a question in return. "You… still want to travel with us?"

Aperio cocked her head and directed her gaze on him. "Should I not?"

"No. I-I"– He was struggling for words, either not knowing which ones to use or simply unable to give voice to his thoughts. Or did he just think I would leave?

"I still want to meet your [Grandmaster]." Ira shrunk at her words. Does he no longer want me to meet them? Maybe they also have a blessing? While she was not particularly inclined to visit another person who would potentially try to murder her, she had an inkling that it was something else that caused the old man's reaction.

"That won't be an issue. It's just the nature of your… existence, will cause quite a stir."

"Then why not simply tell people I am an Elf and not a Goddess? Should garner less attention, no?"

At her words the others just stared at her in disbelief, something Aperio did not understand. Was it not logical to not announce her as a Goddess if she wanted to enter quietly? Or try to, at least. It seemed like the right choice to her.

"Yes, but you are a Goddess. Wouldn't that break a sacred rule of your kind, to go unannounced?" The Elven mage sounded more composed than he looked. "The last time the pantheon grew, it was heavily implied that all Gods and Goddesses had to be announced."

And who would force the Gods to do that? She chose to keep the thought to herself, their views on the Divine obviously already faltering. Maybe a Goddess walking among the people is not that normal?

"I do not know of any such rules," Aperio said while she shifted her weight to the other leg and slightly stretched her wings. The motion put the group of adventurers on edge yet again, some of them even going for their weapons. Why are they so jumpy? "I do not intend to punish or otherwise hurt you, so you can stop reaching for your weapons." Not like they would be able to do much even if they used them.

While the others seemed to relax again, Aperio took the moment to briefly check on Laelia's blessing. Being able to do that without touching her was nice, but it also made her more anxious. The amount of mana she had put into the other's body had exceeded both that of the blessing she had removed and of the healing and blessing she had given to Arden. So far she could spot nothing out of the ordinary, as her mana was still diligently improving the Human’s body and repairing the last bits of damage the corruption had left behind.

Maybe it was a curse? Can a curse overcome a blessing? She knew nothing about curses or how they worked. She had always assumed the collar's magic worked with one though, but she couldn't be sure.

A movement inside the carriage, perceived through her aura, caught at her attention; Laelia was, without a doubt, waking. Turning around Aperio ignored the people behind her; their stammered questions could wait. She had to talk to the ex-paladin of Vigil.

Opening the door, she looked at Thaddeus. Words were not needed for the man to understand that he was not welcome for the coming talk and he hastily left through the opposite door. Stepping inside Aperio sat down on a free bench, watching the woman in front of her stir awake.

j̵͕̥͔̜͔͉u͖̮͔̣̰͠ː̧̖͈̝ͅ ̴͡҉͕̣̺̜̹h̵̫̘̺̳͖̮̥æ͓͓͠v̵̹͡͞ ̣̖̥͟b̷̜͝ì̛̲̯͇̩̪͈̺̯̱̕ː̩̯n̯͎̘͖ͅ ̵̳̣̭͖̼͔̲̰͉f̞̼̦̰͚̺̲͝͡r̵̝̝̤̥̱͞i̧̢̟̻̼̹̘͈̞ː̶̡̢̗̮̝̹ͅd͓͕̰̫͟ ̲́͜f̢͉̗̤͍̼͔͞r̭̖̙̹̘ɒ̛̤͎͖m͏̸͕̙ ̡͏̣͕͈̭̫̗ͅð̸͈͕͡ə͎ ͇̗p̧͖̲̪̠̙̹̝͘͟r͢͏̤͍̙̱ɪ͎̮͙̻̦ˈ̵̨͕̬͓ṭ̰̠̕̕ɛ̗̘̤̫͓̲̻͘̕n͇̝͠d̳͎͖̳̦̥͕͈ə̢̧̝̘!̫҉̬͚͍̙̱͢͡

m͗͋̀ë̢́͠͡ɪ̂͗̒̽͆ͭ̂ͧ̅͜ ̈̔̓ð͊̑ͯ̐͡͠ə̧͛͐̃̈͋̑ͨ̀ ͩ̉ͫ̎̾͒ˈ̈́̍̈̈͆̽̐̋͏͘bͪͬ̔̍͛̕͠l͛ͯ͡ɛͦͩ̋̾̈́̾̎͑҉s͌ͣ̈́͂ͦ͏ɪ̢̄ͥ̈̄ͬ͜ŋ̧̨͌̎̔͡ ̅̊͗̏͛ͭͬͧ͠ɒ̏̉ͧ̎v̌̐̾̈͡ ̷̵̔̋̈͢ð̢͌̀͛҉̡iͨͮ̊̀̈́̇͠ ̅̊̏̾̋̌ͥɔ̋́ͤ́̈ͮ̐ː̸ͨ̿̍ͦ͡͞l̵ͭ̈́̾ͣ̎̃̆̽̕-̿͗͊ͬ̓͊ͣˈ̉̀̌͋̚m̢ͤͤ͆̚͡ʌ̴̢ͮ͋ͭͬ̇͆ͥ̏ð͆̑ͥ͞ə̛̽̽͛̅̄́ ̸̂̔͟͢g̨̈́̒͡ä̵ͭ̓ͯͭ̍ɪ̸̍͘͘d̢ͤ̕ ̷̴̇̾̈ͯ̓͘j̴ͩ͏̛ɔͨͯ̏ͭ̐ͦ̿ː̓̃ͫ̚͘ ̷ͪͭͭ͌̈́͂̉̈́͠ˈ̓͠f̃ͯ̾ͩͦ̆͢j̀ͪ̉ͪ̃͑̔̄u̓ͦ̋̆͘ː̨̐̂ͣ͂͛̏̀ʧ̡̀ə̎̑̓ͤ̋ͮ͌̂͜ ̴̨ͭ̓͆̑ͤ̚p̶̨̎̂̓̚͏ɑͮ͗͋̑͘ː̴̡̛͆͒͒ͦ̀̅ð̈ͤͣ̏͢҉zͭ̈̐̅̐҉͘.̄͞

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Before she even opened her eyes, Laelia saw the notification in front of her. What it said she did not know; she could only see a garbled mess. She did not question the absurdity of something breaking the System, instead trying to figure out why she had fallen unconscious and felt like she had broken every bone and torn every muscle in her body.

Luckily, pain was not everything she was feeling. A soothing warmth spread through her, and while not taking all of it away, it did lessen the pain significantly. It felt different from any magic she knew. A potion, maybe? But who...

The events that had lead to her current situation flooded her mind. The pitiful attack of the bandits, the delivery of them to the village, and the boring journey back. After that the memories were fuzzy. She had talked to some adventurers, and they had told her something about a follower of Natio attacking what apparently was a Goddess.

Laelia opened her eyes and was greeted by a pair of unblinking silver-grey eyes that seemed to bore into her very soul. The woman in question tilted her head, causing her silvery-blue hair to slide over her sharp features and pointed ears, making it immediately obvious that she was an Elf. With a preternatural grace that belied the strength she knew the woman had, she brushed aside the hair. The paladin wanted to look away, but her eyes were drawn next to the newly-torn patch of the dress. Upon toned abs lay what seemed to be freshly shed blood – none of it belonging to the Elf. Of that, she was sure.

Laelia knew who this was.

Aperio, the Elven woman that had wandered into their village in a stolen, blood-covered robe. No, not an Elf. She was supposedly a Goddess of some kind. And I fought her? ...why? After her talk with the adventurers, the Elf had approached her to ask some questions, but Laelia could not recall what she said. She only knew that she felt an overwhelming need to kill her. Or die trying.

Looking at her now she felt no such urge; only a small amount of embarrassment at the state of her clothes. Decency was apparently not something the woman cared about. Not that she has to. Laelia knew first hand that she would have little trouble dealing with anyone who got any bright ideas.

She shifted her eyes to look at her feet, not knowing where else to look. She wanted to apologise, but did not know how to start. It wasn't the first time she had lost control and it probably would not be the last. Her blessing was supposed to help with that, but she did not feel its presence.

A second passed before she realised what that meant. "I… failed."

The rustling of feathers and cloth caused her to look back up. The Elven-Goddess had tilted her head at her words, something she seemed to do quite often. Does she really only speak that old-ass Common all Elves use? Laelia knew that at least Vigil spoke all the mortal tongues and she would've expected other Gods to be able to as well. But it was clear that the woman in front of her had no clue what she said.

With a sigh, Laelia willed the System notification away; she could not read it anyway. It was replaced by another – equally unreadable – one which she dismissed after giving it a brief glance.

j̧҉͞͏u͏́͟͢͝ː̶̢̛͘ ̛̛́́͠h̛æ̸͠͡v̷҉̷͜͟ ̨̕͘͟ǵ̕͘e҉̧ɪ͜n̸̸͜ḑ̸̀ ̸̷̕͡ð̶͟҉̵̡ə̰̺̭̠̲̞̜̙ ͡҉̸͍̬̱̪̼̥͇̤ͅˈ̸̪͇̼͞b̶҉̱͜l̸̨̪̦̥͈̣͕̱̙͟ͅɛ͈͖s̶̜̹͜ɪ̗͕̕ŋ̧̜̳͙͈͙ ҉̢ɒ̷̛̀̕̕v̸͘͘͡͠ ̴̀͘͜A͏̮̜͕p͙̜̱̮̱̩̭͜͞͞e̩͈͉̫͎̬͠r̶̝͔̙͓̭̫̠i̱͍͓̱̝͓͡o̭͉̼͇,̪̪͓̭ ̸̯̠̟͎̥̦̯͟ ̶̢̩̦̲̬s̛̝͉͉ˈ̙͈̘͔̀a̴̗̰̘̘͇k̥̕͡ɹ̧̪͍̤̙i̖͚͖̳̞̙̯̕ː͜҉̫̟̘̮̝͍͜ ̦̲͈͇̞͇̦͘͝n͎̭̩̬͖̬͈̲͟j̳͇̙̬̞̻͕̻͍͜͜ˈ́͡҉̭̗̦͙̯̗͈u҉̠̞̜̝̤̖̰̕ͅː̦͇̻̣m̢̫͢ɛ̵̨̟͇̩̯n͔͎͖͓̟̖ ̢̭̬͞ͅd̸̪̭̱͍̼̕͟ˈ͟͠҉̘i͓͝ː͍͇̕

d̍̃̌̈́ͬuͩ̈́ːͩ̉̆ͫ̊͟͞ ͫ͐̀͑͟͞ń̶̷̑ͯ̍̆ͩ̍͢ɒ̀̅̾͠ẗͥ̕ ͣ͗ˌ̡ͤͫ̍ͤ̒̓̑̏ͤ͘d̨ͦ̑̊͐ͧɪͪ̽̈́̎̒̈́͘̕͜ş̴̃̄́̄͐ͮ͌̄ə͑̾ͫͮ͛̌̎͠ˈ̡̅p̏͛̃̈́̈͑҉͠ɔ̊̂̈́͡ɪ̍̿̇̎ͧ̌ͫ̿n̛̊̈́ͯ҉t̷̐̃̚͜.͌̅̽͒͠

She waited for the woman in front of her to speak, or deliver her punishment, but nothing happened. Aperio simply looked at her, shifting on her bench occasionally in an obvious attempt to make herself more comfortable. Something that did not quite work thanks to her wings. Every time she moved, Laelia feared the wood would give. She had no idea how much the Goddess weighed, but it had to be a lot more than one would assume by looking at her. Definitely won't ask her about that, though.

A couple more seconds ticked by, but soon the Goddess grew tired of waiting. "How do you feel?" The words she spoke still held the same power they had before, but for reasons Laelia did not understand it now felt more pleasant than harmful. Something within her danced in harmony with the words of Aperio. The soothing warmth that she had previously felt spread further with every word she spoke; spurred on by the Goddess.

Realisation dawned on Laelia. "Did you heal me?" Why else would the magic inside her react that way?

"Yes," Aperio replied. "But I also stripped you of your blessing. It tried to take you over, forced you take a fight you knew you could not win."

Laelia shook her head. "That can't be true! The blessing supposed to help me. Stop The Rage."

The Elven-Goddess cocked her head at the mention of The Rage. Laelia clamped her mouth shut – she had been warned to never speak of it in front of others. She was lucky the priest had found her when they did, so she was able to get a blessing from Vigil to save her soul from eternal damnation.

"I removed what had tried to wrest control from you." She paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "Can you still feel your blessing?"

She couldn't.

It was one of the first observations she had made after waking up. She thought she had disappointed Vigil, causing him to temporarily withdraw his grace.

"No..." The words were a mere whisper, but Aperio seemed to understand her just fine.

"I gave you one in exchange." Her voice sounded small, as much as that was possible when every word would still shake a normal person’s being.

Laelia blinked at that. She did not feel a new blessing. Or is that warmth it? She directed her attention inward and was shocked to find her body flooded with divine mana. It was healing her wounds; mending things the healers had declared incurable. She was unable to truly grasp the godly energy, but it still followed her intent. Were the notifications about that? But why were they scrambled? ...Could the Gods always do that?

"Thank you?" Laelia was unsure what to say. The Goddess had stripped her her blessing, something that only Vigil himself should be able to do according to the priests. But she knew it was gone just as sure as she knew her name to be Laelia Whytegaard. A Goddess that could remove the blessings of others surely had to be known far and wide.

How have I not heard of her before? It was a simple fact that the Gods and Goddesses gained power from their followers. Everyone knew that. Is that a lie? No. Maybe her followers are secretive? Not everyone openly advertised who they pledged their loyalty to, after all. Some even claimed to not believe in the Gods, a silly notion when you could pray to one and get an answer.

The Goddess left Laelia to her thoughts, leaving the carriage before returning with Thaddeus. A short while later, they were joined by one the adventurers who seated himself next to Aperio, obviously uncomfortable. With a slight shake, the carriage resumed its journey towards Ebenlowe. As they were rocked back and forth by the uneven road, Laelia let her eyes rest on the Elven-Goddess. If the old blessing really tried to control me, will hers do the same?

GamingWolf

Soon we will reach the city. I promise.

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