Chapter 73: Crusade – Chapter 70: Forging Bonds

As soon as the barrier Aperio had previously created had fully dissipated, Caethya stepped closer, the concern clear on her face. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

Before she could continue, Laelia took a step forward and spoke. "We could feel your anger; your grief. It was not as pronounced as before, but your emotions are still quite strong."

That's my theme, is it not? Aperio thought. Too much strength. That her emotions still affected the ones she had blessed was not to her liking but, nonetheless, she had expected it. It isn't as though realizing where the emotions come from would have changed much.

"I apologise," Aperio said, the vile taste in her mouth an annoying reminder at her own inadequacy. "The discussion we had was required, however."

Caethya looked at Aperio for a moment longer before she cast her gaze down. "I just hope you share more of yourself in the future."

"Mother is not the most sociable of people," Ferio said, taking the surprisingly heavy burden of an answer off Aperio's shoulders. "You will need to give her some time. It's not like either of you will have a shortage of that."

Laelia's eyebrows scrunched as Ferio's words washed over her. "What do you mean?"

"Your age. Time's clock no longer holds as strong a sway over you." Aperio knew that the mana she had given was more than enough to keep their bodies going for as long as they needed. They were functionally immortal, if they didn't do anything foolhardy to get themselves killed by other causes. And if they manage to ascend, they wouldn't age anymore either.

As neither of the two replied, Ferio took a step towards them. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Besides, both of you would have lived a lot longer than normal, even without mother's blessing."

I don't think I have gotten used to the idea of living forever yet. Aperio doubted her two followers would easily accept the reality either. Though, do normal people even think about death as much as I did? She had once spent a good part of her days simply trying to come up with ways to end her life, always knowing just how fragile she was but never quite able to actually end it.

She somehow doubted that that was normal behaviour. Most mortals seemingly believed they were immortal anyway, something she had seen a few times in the dungeon below. They went into impossible fights thinking that they would win, and then struggled until she killed the monster for them. Why would they do that? They can't possibly be that foolhardy. Do they, perhaps, have no other choice?

Aperio couldn't claim to know how life worked in the city. She did not know how much it would cost for a mortal to stay alive and healthy, not having needed to know such things in either of her lives. "If you want to talk, I will gladly listen," the winged Goddess said as the pair continued their silence. "Though I might not be the best to ask about such things." Perhaps I should try talking to Mayeia? She was once a mortal.

Of course, she could also go and ask Natio — he was in the same building after all — but Aperio felt no need to ask for advice from someone who had not only tried to kill her but also insulted her while doing so. She was also fairly certain that the fallen God would not speak to her on his own accord, and to force the conversation would most likely result in him saying what he thought she wanted to hear, and not any actual truth.

"Yes, you wouldn't be a good source for any of this," Ferio agreed. "But neither would I."

Despite having said it herself, Aperio still felt a bit of anger at her daughter's words. It was easily dismissed, of course, but its continued appearance only annoyed her. Just focus on something else. Luckily for her, that was an easy task. All she had to do was to remind herself that she could hear everything that happened in the city at once which, while distracting, was probably not the best thing to allow her to regain a sense of calm. I will learn how to deal with this someday.

She could simply live in ignorance, but that would only work if she somehow never focused on the act of hearing. How can I even ignore all of this? she thought as her ears twitched a little at a particular grinding sound. Someone, somewhere, had not taken proper care of their equipment. It wasn't like the sound hurt her, but it was still uncomfortable to listen to. That the people around her now had even less privacy than before just added to the discomfort that spread through her. I understand why I did not like cities before.

"I think we can manage on our own," Laelia said, glancing at Caethya who nodded her consent shortly afterwards.

A small smile briefly settled on Aperio's face at the words. Even if it was only a small matter, she liked that her two followers chose to deal with the situation themselves and not depend on her aid. Even if I would enjoy helping them. In fact, upon further reflection she was not quite sure which way she would prefer.

On the one hand, she wanted to be useful in a way; show that she could do things besides break reality wherever she went. On the other, however, she wished for the people to not depend on the Gods, and specifically on her. Once the masses figured out who and what she was, Aperio had no doubts that they would seek her favour in order to use her might for their own goals.

Her brows furrowed ever so slightly at the thought. What should I do when random people start seeking me out? The best choice was probably to ignore them, but she also had little doubts that some would simply claim to do things under her guidance; no matter how silly their claimed notion might be. What she would do with those she knew already.

"Still, should you wish to talk, I am willing to listen. And, should I not be able to, find someone that can help you if necessary," Aperio replied, directing her thoughts away from potential mortal troublemakers.

That she only got hesitant nods in reply hurt Aperio, but should not have been unexpected. I did just leave after becoming unreasonably angry, after all. It was still better than outright refusal or no answer at all. Though, perhaps they only did so because they were scared?

With a slight sigh, Aperio moved towards the door. "I plan to visit Maria; you are free to accompany me."

Just as she had expected, Ferio joined her immediately while Laelia and Caethya took a moment longer to follow her. Stepping out of the room required Aperio to duck slightly to avoid ramming her head into the wooden frame. Aside from the mild discomfort she might have potentially felt, she had little doubts that the wood would lose that encounter. Ridiculous.

The hallway outside was devoid of people, all of them scattered throughout the building; either in conversational groups, or occupied with taking care of those that could not do so themselves. Aperio had to note that those she had healed the first time she had come here were mostly gone, replaced more injured and sick. Should I heal them too?

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Aperio did feel like she owed the people here something. She had left them with a rather large group of very confused people, after all. And they take care of Laelia's children. A small flex of her mental muscles caused her aura to briefly flare, her mana quickly spreading into the sick and injured.

Compared to what she could do now, her first attempt at healing a large group of people had been clumsy at best. Guiding her mana to aid in the healing of the bodies of the sick had become an easy task, something that required no more thought than breathing had before her sacrifice. The thought of having her aura simply heal everyone within its reach briefly crossed her mind, but was swiftly followed by the fact that, technically, her aura had no limit as it was comprised of the same threads that made up reality itself. Probably not the best idea.

She also did not want to solve everyone's problems simply because she could. As the people who actually ran this house of healing had previously helped her, and helped those she cared about, lending a hand to tend to the patients here was something Aperio felt no issues with. The same couldn't be said about the rest of all creation. Most of them would probably welcome her as a one-stop solution to their problems, but that was decidedly not what she wanted to do.

Can't really hide myself either… Not without losing what I like, at least. She could let her wings disappear and stop drawing on her well, but she would still be someone that could, quite literally, talk someone into the ground. Or break something by simply existing. She was still grateful that Ebenlowe made no use of wards. Whatever the [Guides] had set up was a much better solution.

Before leaving, Aperio made a small detour, ducking into the room that appeared to be the home of Laelia's children. Brenia was the only one to approach, running at the winged Goddess as soon as she caught sight of her. Aperio caught the girl as she jumped into her arms, using a touch of her magic to properly slow her. While she did not know if Brenia would have injured herself with her action, Aperio had no desire to find out.

The girl bombarded her with questions, the rapid babbling in a language Aperio did not know. "She does not understand me, correct?" Aperio asked, gently stroking the girl’s back.

"You’re right," Laelia replied with a small smile. "She does not speak anything besides Common. The new Common, I mean. But, can you understand her?"

Aperio shook her head lightly, and her ears twitched at a particularly high-pitched noise outside. She tilted her head away from Brenia, who was now reaching for her ears with interest. "Don't."

It was, perhaps, a bit of an overreaction, as the mortal child would be unable to hurt her in any meaningful way. But, Aperio did not want anyone touching her ears when she had only just gotten them back. She had no need for a reminder of the scarred mess that the Empire had given her.

"I cannot understand her, no," Aperio said once Brenia had stopped trying to go for her ears, having settled on simply watching the pointed tips move ever so slightly whenever Aperio heard something loud or grating. "I do not speak your new Common. Something I should, perhaps, fix sometime soon."

"I can teach you," Caethya exclaimed, the enthusiasm apparent in her voice before it faltered a little as she continued, "if you even require any help with that."

"Your help is appreciated," Aperio said, gently setting Brenia down. "I would like to acquire a book on the language first, however. And it will also have to wait until after we have visited Maria, which brings me to something else I wanted to ask." With those words she turned and settled her gaze on Laelia who, perhaps fearing a reprimand of some form, shrunk a little.

"Maria has been isolated for most of her life," Aperio explained. "I thought that, perhaps, she could meet with your children. If you are fine with that, of course."

"I don't see a reason why not," Laelia replied after a moment, standing up straight again. "But, do you think her parents will agree to that? It sounds like there was a reason for her isolation."

Aperio watched Brenia wander over to her disciple, carefully tugging at her dress to get her attention. "The reasons for her isolation are gone. I would also keep an eye on her, just in case someone seeks misguided retribution."

Aperio paused briefly as she watched Caethya pick up the girl and tilt her head so Brenia might touch her ear, answering the question Brenia had asked at the same time. "I think your daughter is fascinated with Elves."

"What did you expect, mother?" Ferio asked. "You are the first one she has actually met, at least as far as I can tell. That had led her to believe that all Elves are of divine origin. Something your disciple has just told her is not the case."

"Oh." There will be a group of supremacist Elves that think they are better because I look like them, won't there? She could only sigh at the thought. Even if she would not be the target of their hostilities, the last thing she desired was for another incarnation of the Inaru Empire to arise. It would be the opposite of what she wanted to stand for.

"There is also another thing, mother. Why don't you just bring all of us to the Terenyk estate? I doubt they would complain."

Her daughter certainly had a point, but Aperio disliked the idea of popping in unannounced with a large entourage. Then again, even if I were to be the only one showing up, it would still cause a stir. "Perhaps you are correct."

With those words, and a small flex of her mental muscles, Aperio twisted reality apart and formed a portal that led to the Terenyk estate. "Please, follow me."

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