A Moment of Respite

We entered the mouth of a yellowing limestone cave with strange, illuminated lights on the wall after half an hour of traveling the surreal overworld. I couldn’t see any discernible power source for the lamps, and as we made deeper, the lights suspended themselves overhead with some levitation magic.

As the cave terminated, the interior was spacious enough. If you weren’t clumsy, drained from who knew how much venom, and coming to terms with how fragile your mortality was, you might have been able to avoid jarringly implanting each of your surprisingly brittle toes into the hardened earth.

Admittedly, that was the trigger to shed my rationality and my withdrawn attitude. I suppose I must have had some frustration building up for a while, combined with a healthy sense of helplessness from the past hours.

My voice echoed endlessly in the geometric, curved hollow cave-end.

“Your oh so mysterious attack can go to hell, Asa. I…I don’t see how we can ever use it again!” I raged. “I shouldn’t have to mention that if anything in that long sequence of what-ifs had gone wrong, we would have been among the dead. Do you see how Vioshmight treated me and even you? We were at his mercy! I believe you also mentioned that other gods had the potential to have arrived at any moment!”

Asa remained silent as if my presence were minor.

Why wouldn’t she answer me, for god’s sake? I needed to know what we were doing next. My confidence was in the gutter, and all at once, I really had the same urge to go home again. I knew that would never happen, which tormented me to no end.

I wanted to punch someone. Like my backstabbing coworkers, useless supervisor, or the stupid god who created this realm. They would so get it if they were within my reach.

Eventually, I gave up brooding and tried to telecommunicate with Asa. I was met with a sturdy wall that made assessing the pathway to her white, glowing soul impossible. I tried again, and the barrier’s see-through membrane erected itself to a multiplicative degree and rebuked me.

She could do that at will? Argh. Damn it.

“Gwydion is coming after me,” Asa whispered, pacing back and forth in the back corner. “Does that mean others are next? Was that a rogue attack or a complete change in policy? What does that entail for my course of action? I need the most recent information to be logical.”

I had seen a man many times stronger than me die. My life was saved not by mercy. I could only breathe by way of a god’s boredom.

Confrontation, I readily ran away from, but I was changing that now! I had every reason to.

Pretend I don’t exist enough, and this was what you would get. I stormed up to Asa, ready to air out grievances. Dazed, I was met with her folded arms around mine, just above my waist.

“It’ll be ok, Astrid. I heard everything you said,” She comforted. “Give me a minute to think. I’ll come back around to your concerns in a few moments. The attack won’t be used again. Once is enough to set a precedent that the other gods will find hard to ignore.”

Hmffff. Fine. So you say.

I enjoyed the way she put a seamless hand behind my neck, and I hummed softly as she kept her eyes closed in focus. I erected a calm facade and didn’t let it go.

A frontal hug. A frontal hug! My heart was resoundingly beating.

Her strands of silk hair were set down over my chest. I was ambushed by her darling and floral aroma. What I was trying to say was everyone has a scent, and this one connected to the stupid little brain cells I assumed rampaged in my head.

Afterward, she got extremely worried. Yeah, I was the one dying, but that’s the proper outcome to ignoring me!

Her magical analysis said healing magic would do no more for the venom wrecking my spiritual condition and my body’s internals, specifically my head. I had qualms with her suggestion to sleep in this rough and ragged cave. If I had some cute, plump legs to sleep on, then that wouldn’t be the case.

Libidoesque thoughts aside, it turned out that gods didn't bother to sleep, so what I imagined was totally possible. I found it fairly fitting for them to have that ability. Sleep was human and annoying.

My head and ridges of my neck felt wacked seven times with a coat hanger when I arose from my disjointed sleeping position among the stone. I should have predicted that divine karma for my folly was inbound.

In the new morning air, I found a newfound perspective, born from time and distance. I had my own questions to ask Asa. I found her calmly meditating at the mouth of the cave.

“What level of emblem do I have?” I said.

I silently hoped it wasn’t rude to interrupt.

“The third of seven.” She said. “I would consummate with you once more, but I used too much of my energy in that battle that it would be ill-advised. You will have to wait for some time for advancements.”

“Can you describe the emblem levels?” I responded.

“The fourth allows you to heal others. The fifth can reform your dispatched limbs. The sixth is for curing illness and poison based on diagnosis. The seventh is a moderate self-healing factor, [Benevelonce’s Rejuvenation].” Asa explained. “And lastly, there is a basic attack to overheat opponents. Let me demonstrate the [Light of Valor].”

She brought out her open palm, and orange light funneled in, condensing into a sphere. As fast as I processed the magic, she coalesced her fingers closed one by one into a fist, which dissipated the color. “It is not that useful in combat and takes more spirit energy than you would think,” Asa said.

It was very flashy and colorful. I kind of wanted it to be mine. “How does my spirit energy work?” I inquired.

“You can use your soul’s reserves to do magic. It should regenerate passively every day, most effectively during sleep,” Asa said.

As I was left in thought, and Asa honed her meditation.

I suppose that was my first time doing it with someone? It wouldn’t leave the back of my mind.

No, it wasn’t exactly the type of procreation I expected or recognized. I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest, however. It…It was triumphant to hold hands and explore unburdened with someone else. I was probably happy enough to kick out my legs in the air for no good reason. That was how not being alone defrosted my cold heart.

Ehh. I coughed. Enough. I almost experienced death. I needed to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“Are the other gods' process of consummation the same?” I asked. “Like the words I will have to say, and the view and actions during the ritual?”

“No, they are all unique,” she said. “I don’t know much about the individual process, just an underlying guess on the abilities you may gain.”

Huh, what else was left? I happened upon a lingering thread.

“Asa, what was that book you were browsing yesterday?” I said.

With that, she physically fell out of the semi-meditative state she maintained even during speech. She was definitely gathering her wits as I searched for her eyes.

“Uhm. I’ll explain if you don’t laugh,” Asa said.

I nodded in agreement.

“I–I’ve been looking into fashion and trying out a different style of outfit,” she said. “I don't know how to recreate it with my magic, but I imagine I can figure out how soon.”

I contended with my mouth in an uneven line, receiving a playful punch.

“Liar.” She accused, pouting.

“I didn’t do anything much less laugh,” I said, putting my hands up.

“I can’t believe you. I saw that look on your face,” Asa said.

“That wasn’t my intention,” I said. “It has some type of psychology from when you tell and force someone not to laugh!”

"I'll remember this," she muttered and then spoke clearly. “I think it's time for you to try to convince or deceive another god to give you their emblem. I’m sure you're done with my supposed attacks.”

I nodded at that sagely wisdom. “Wait, are you just trying to get rid of me?” I asked.

“No, why would I?” She said with a teasing smile. “This is what you are meant to do. Get out and steal from the divinity for us. I have some options in mind. The trickster god or the goddess of love.”

Oooh, I had options like choosing a character’s class or class promotion! I wondered if the weapons would be as distinctively different as a bow and a sword, ranged and melee. It would be great if I could get my hands on a shield ability, too! Although healing was like a shield. Well, not exactly. Both were protective. The difference was that one was reactionary and the other was preventative.

Asa continued by explaining it was nothing like that at all. “The trickster god will help you manipulate other gods, and he owes me a single favor. You should be able to get him to take you on with that. On the other hand, the goddess of love will enable you to fight now. If I had to make a judgment, I would say the trickster is the best option. They are both relatively friendly and the least likely to kill you on arrival out of the false gods.”

I tried to ask for more details, but she couldn’t offer anything else. In the end, she said I had a man’s intuition and that I should try using it. Whatever that meant.