Sitting alone by a table in the Guild Hall, Riana found herself immersed in an ever-increasing train of questions and doubts. There was a part of her that still couldn’t help but doubt the girl’s words, and another part of her that doubted whether the girl really was the ‘Vynl’.

“Vynl, huh…”

After all, Vynl wasn’t just a small time deity. She was revered by countless followers as the ultimate goddess of Creation, whilst the ‘Church’ worshipping her was the largest religious organisation in the Empire of Arcadia, no, the entirety of the Dual Monarchy.

Sighing, she recalled her meeting with the supposed goddess that had taken place just a few days ago. Out of all the appearances she could have chosen, the goddess had come to her under the guise of a young little girl.

Riana then tried recalling the few times of her visiting the city’s Church. A lot of her memories had faded, but she could still remember the sight of extravagant paintings and marble statues all dedicated to Vynl. And in all of those, Vynl had always been portrayed as a mature, illustrious woman, not some young, immature girl.

“Maybe she’s trying to hide her identity…?”

Riana shook her head at those words. What mortal would dare try to comprehend the thoughts of a god?

“A god…”

Yes. A god. They were the great and noble guardians of this world who wielded tremendous powers. And with these powers, they would grace their followers, guide their lost lambs, and smite the wicked.

Suddenly, a wave of pain and nostalgia overcame her at those thoughts. They echoed through her heart, tugging at the faded strands of memories within her.

With shaking hands, Riana took out an old wooden brooch from her pockets. On its surface were a set of lovingly-hand carved words, having laboriously withstood the sands of time.

To Riana, my little breeze

She shut her eyes, before flipping the brooch around.

And on the other side, there was a delicate carving of a deer wearing a crown of ice. Below, several more words were engraved onto it, once so ornate, now faded and barely legible.

May The Whispers Of Skadi Follow You Through The Wind

She gripped the brooch with all her might. She could begin to feel tears welling in her eyes.

“Liar…”

Riana had been naive. But now she knew better than to believe in gods. Skadi didn’t protect her father from their tribe's traitor, nor did she protect her Guild from those lying serpents in human skin.

“Liar, liar…”

She knew better than anyone that gods always played their favourites, even if those ‘favourites’ turned out to be absolute psychopaths that killed their entire tribe and scattered its survivors to foreign lands with foreign faiths.

That was how gods played, and that manipulative ‘little girl’ would be no exception.

Opening her eyes, Riana glared loathingly at the despicable brooch in her hands. The miserable reminder to her past follies. She began to grip it tighter and tighter, until even the wood started to splinter under her strength.

All of a sudden, she was beginning to feel so, so angry at everything.

And it was that pure, unadulterated anger that would cause the spectacle of a century.

In a fit of rage, Riana would end up hurling the brooch with all her might. By sheer coincidence, the brooch ended up hurtling right towards the doors of the entranceway at the other end of the room.

“Riana–!!”

By another coincidence, the same doors just so happened to slam open at that very moment.

“What’s the meaning of this?!”

And through those open doors, entered a small figure. It was a young girl with sky-blue hair, wearing a hooded raincoat. And with glaring, tearful eyes, the girl began stomping right towards where Riana was sitting. That was, until–

“Ack–!”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The flying brooch slammed into the approaching girl’s face, halting her momentum.

“Owww–!”

Covering her face in pain, an undignified groan escaped through the girl’s trembling lips. Staggering backwards, the girl then managed to somehow trip backwards, falling onto the ground in one pathetic heap.

“Ugh…”

In the grand span of three seconds, Riana would unknowingly manage to achieve what a ‘Lord Of Gehenna’ had previously failed to do.

“Uhm…are you okay?”

“Do I look okay to you?”

Rubbing her swollen forehead, the little girl slowly got back to her feet whilst mumbling, “Jeez. I take down my barriers for one day, only for this to happen. Is that ‘God of Luck’ still holding that grudge against me?”

The ‘little girl’, also known to Riana as the goddess Vynl in disguise, then noticed the little brooch lying on the ground.

“Hmm? This is…” Leaning down, Vynl picked up the brooch in her hands, before glaring at it intently.

Seeing this, a wave of concern flashed across Riana’s mind. What if Vynl broke the brooch in retaliation?

Raising her voice, Riana hurriedly interjected. “Wait, please stop. It’s a precious memento of mine.”

‘And you flung it halfway across the room?’ -was what Vynl seemed to be mouthing in silence, but Riana held her gaze firm against the goddess’s. Seconds passed, until it became a full minute. During this time, Vynl's gaze constantly alternated between Riana and the brooch. But finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Vinyl handed Riana back the brooch.

And as she handed it over, the ‘little girl’ asked Riana with a curious tone, “Where did you get this from?” To which Riana replied with a bit of hesitation, saying, “My father left it in my care shortly before leaving my side.”

The goddess paused, seemingly in thought. And after a few more seconds of silence, she then sighed disheartedly once more. “Well, I’ll forgive your transgression for today,” She glanced one last time at the brooch, a hint of amusement now present in her voice, “-since I got to see something really interesting.”

Before Riana could ask what that meant, Vynl had already reached a hand into her raincoat. Shuffling around for a moment, she then took out a small silver card. The same silver card that Riana had given her several days ago. Flicking her finger, Vynl then tossed the card across the air and into Riana’s hands. Peering at its surface, Riana could see those same words she had inscribed on its surface just a few days ago.

[

Adventurer Guild Card

Name: Alicia Verys

Occupation: Mage

Specialisation: Close-Quarters Combat

Overall Prism Grade: S-1

Overall Physical Grade: S-2

Overall Guild Rank: S

]

____________

Crossing my arms, I glared at the puppet in front of me.

“When I first showed some people this Guild card, they kicked up a fuss about my Grade. Anything you know about that?”

After a short pause for thought, Riana replied nonchalantly, “Well, that could be because ‘S’ is the highest of all Guild grades.”

Hearing that carefree answer, I could feel a vein bulging from my (still sore) forehead. Slamming my fist onto the nearby table, I yelled, “And why did you give me such an absurd rank?! I had a lot of trouble explaining this to people, you know?”

In return, Riana shouted back, also frustrated, “You didn’t specify what details to include in your fake identity! How would I assume you were trying not to draw attention?”

“Ngh…” I tried in vain to refute those words. Back then, I had made sure that Riana knew nothing more than she needed to know about my plans, but that had apparently backfired. Sighing, I decided to let her in on a few key details.

“Alright, so the truth is…”

I exhaled, before continuing.

“I need this Guild card to get into the Imperial Academy of Arcadia.”

Riana’s eyes widened to my words. Half-dazed, she muttered, “Are you serious?”

I snapped back. “Yes, I’m serious! That’s why I’m telling you this.”

A small chuckle came out of Riana. She responded teasingly, “Well that explains a lot. Come to think about it, the admission period just started, huh?”

I gasped melodramatically. “Impressive of you to know that, considering you’ve had no lover, let alone any kids, for the entirety of your twenty-years of existence.”

Riana’s face flushed red at that comment. “Hey! How did you–?”

I smiled smugly, “The same way I discovered your name when we first met. Us Gods have our ways, you know?”

And against that cheat-like answer, Riana could only groan in return.

After a short while of silence, she mumbled. “I can’t imagine the shock on the school officials’ faces. Not when faced with a little girl claiming to be on the same Guild level as the former Sword Saint showing up to apply as a student.”

It was my turn to groan. “Ugh, don’t remind me. The crowd and attention I got afterwards was a nightmare.”

Unfortunately, I realised a little too late that saying those words had been a mistake. Riana latched onto my words, grinning sarcastically. “Did I hear that right? The all-powerful goddess of the ‘Soyuzniki Church’, the one-and-only Vynl, being afraid of a mere crowd?”

“Ngh…you’re getting rather cocky for a mortal, you know?”

Riana smiled. “Not denying it?”

I snapped back, “It’s true that I can be bad with mortals or that I panic when facing crowds, but I’m still a ‘God’, you know!”

“That being your only redeeming quality only makes it worse,” Riana paused afterwards, seemingly in thought. “But wait, if you’re that shy of a person, why didn’t you act that way when we first met?”

I giggled in response. “Why, that? I was so overtaken by your sheer sloth and filthiness, being covered head-to-toe in dust. Even in my long life, I hadn’t met any mortals as sleezy or repugnant as yourself.”

Riana squinted her eyes. “Why you little–!”

Smirking, I continued on, “Well, at least it looks as though you’ve been cleaning up recently. You’re no longer rolling around in grime and dust, and this place finally looks semi-functional.”

Riana seemed poised to retort back, until she was stopped by a strange sound.

Creak

A slow, creaking sound resounded across the room. Both Riana and I turned our heads towards the doors that were slowly prying open. The doors to the Guild Hall, once silent for decades, had been opened for a second time in a single day. A soft breeze greeted the two of us as we both simply stood there in shocked silence.

Standing amidst the ajar doors, was a pair of faces I couldn’t help but doubt at first sight.

“Is this place the Adventurer’s Guild?” One of them asked.

Shivers ran down my spine. Hearing that voice, all of the words I had saved up for Riana died in my throat, instead being replaced with a sudden, undignified shriek.

“Eep!”

Before my mind could fully comprehend the situation, my body immediately sprung into action. Mustering whatever strength in this puppet avatar of mine, I pulled my raincoat’s hoodie over my head, before quickly hiding my little body behind Riana’s much larger frame. In turn, the woman who I had been arguing with just a few seconds ago was now staring at me with the dumbest look on her face. I couldn’t help but inwardly berate the dumbfounded puppet.

Stupid puppet, does she not understand the predicament we’re in?

“Uhm, hello?” A second voice called out hesitantly, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“This is the Adventurer’s Guild, right?” The first voice asked out. Riana finally broke her eyes off of me, before staring at the two children still standing at the door.

Riana then spoke. “It’s rude not to knock, you know? Anyways, what brings a bunch of kids to this fine establishment?”

The two children looked at one another, a look of understanding flashing across their faces. Simultaneously, they spoke up.

““We want to register ourselves as Adventurers!””

Upon hearing those words, cold beads of sweat began forming on my (slightly less sore) forehead. I absolutely couldn’t be here. Not in front of those two. But at the same time, I couldn’t be seen blinking myself out either.

Waving them inside, Riana spoke up. “You’re both way too young…or so I’d say, but…come on in and tell me your names.”

The two children nodded at one another, before walking into the crooked room and right towards us. With each step they took, their faces came closer and closer. With each step they took, I could feel strength rapidly sapping from my limbs. My breath began to grow ragged, and an ice-cold shiver began to make its way down my mortal spine. My hands began to shake uncontrollably even as they desperately tugged and clawed at Riana’s back with all their might.

As the two children began to introduce their names, I could feel my thoughts continue their uncontrollable spiral downwards, into a dungeon of deep despair.

This is a bad, no, the worst scenario ever. To think these two would come to the Guild whilst I’m here. But I-I...absolutely can’t meet with them, ever. Because the two of them–

“I’m Abigail.”

“And I’m Kiel.”

-are the protagonists of this story.