“Tell me, Auros Argento. Having learned everything that you have about the gods and their capabilities… Do you really think that your death was an accident?”
“That question…” I looked at her, suspicious of her motive behind asking it, but certain of what it truly was. “So that is your test.”
In response, Isharnnat didn’t say anything. Instead, she smiled, she smiled with her eyes, she smiled with her mouth, she smiled… even with the space behind her as she curved it into one. And for a flickering moment, Isharnnat’s very face was nothing but the smile, a disturbing, empty, smiling void. Despite that, and much to her disappointment, I hope, my reaction to all of that was not the one she was looking for, as my expression remained unchanged. Glaring. Vigilant. Steeled. Just like I mentioned many a time, yet you ignored it, Isharnnat.
“Now, now. You cannot expect an Old Goddess like me to take your word for it when you could have said that in some cheap attempt to lie to yourself. All so that you could maintain the feeble semblance of control you so desperately cling to with that… narrative paradigm of yours, mortal.” Said Isharnnat, each word of her seemingly a knife. Sadly, they were nothing but blunt ones, for her attempt at putting me down by using that which had bothered her all this time only does the contrary, making me smile and in turn making her huff. After all…
“I did not stop doing this while on the presence of two gods, what makes you think that I’d suddenly feel ashamed of doing it after that basic attempt at deconstructing it, Goddess?” Also, I play gacha games for attractive pngs and polygons, I have no semblance of control.
“Well, well. Aren’t you being quite the cheeky one right now?” She said, her voice dripping with both sarcasm and annoyance thinly disguised as amusement.
“You started it by trying to make me doubt Yawue and Nerinne as your test,” I shot back sharply. “If my death wasn’t an accident, but something they caused on purpose, then I wouldn’t be here. Simple as that.”
“Are you sure?” She asked, doubtfully raising one of her eyebrows ever so slightly before taking yet another sip of her divine tea. And yes…
“I am sure. My meeting with them, my relationship with Nerinne, my irregular reincarnation, all of it stems from the fact that my death was a result of an accident caused by them. If they had done it on purpose, there would be no point on doing any of what they did, much less saying what they said.” That is my answer.
“I see, so you learned nothing despite everything mine self did to teach you properly.” Disappointed, she put her teacup down before continuing, her gaze as sharp as a blade. “We are gods. When it comes to you, a mortal, small as your self is… There is nowhere we cannot be. Nothing we cannot see. Nothing we cannot know. And nothing we cannot do. Yet, you still foolishly believe that something like an ‘accident’ can truly be just that? You are wrong. It is not.”
“…”
“Silence even in your mind, huh. What? Could it be that your steeled mind was not able to endure my true, divine killing intent unlike my more playful imitation? Or could it be that you are just letting me continue in hopes of just silencing me at the right moment by mentioning the one thing you purposefully left out? The Divine Law? Oh? Was that a ripple in your soul? Of course it was. I was right after all. Not that there was any doubt about that, kaka.”
“So what?” I protested. “The point still stands; if they had done it on purpose, there would be no point on doing any of what they did, much less saying what they said. The Divine Law lending credence to it by way of binding all of you to follow it just further reinforces my already strong belief in Yawue and Nerinne. Especially since the Divine Law is currently the only thing stopping Nerinne from going into her world and enjoying it. You are her friend, supposedly, so you should know that.”
“Please,” she scoffed as she rolled her eyes at that las jab of mine. “Not only have I shown you that there are loopholes, but you yourself circumvented it to dance with her under the moonlight. What was it that you said back then? Ah, yes. ‘We humans are always looking for ways to cheat the system!’”
“You do not have to remind me. I know.”
“Of course you know, Auros Argento. As much as it irks me to say, you are not someone who forgets about these kinds of details, or any for that matter. So stop deluding yourself. You and I both know that people, even gods, can lie. Who is to say that they could not do the same? Who is to say that they did not concoct a plan to abuse the Divine Law? Making it so they could shove a mortal’s soul into an exceptional vessel and turn it into a convenient solution for Nerinne’s troubles, all without it counting as an intervention. Don’t you see it? You are a weapon to wield as they like.”
No.
“A tool to put all the unruly parts back in their place.”
I am not.
“A pawn to move as desired in their grand game, which is quite fitting for you if you think about it.”
I am not any of that. What they said. What she said. What she did. It is all real. There is nothing you can say or do to make me believe otherwise. And that includes all these damn illusions you’re casting around me. Because regardless of how realistic they may seem in showing us acting in the ways you speak of, they are just that, illusions. So, I ask you again in another way, “what is your point, Goddess Isharnnat?”
“Kaka! Look at you! So mad yet your trust is still… unshaken. Now that is quite surprising since that level of anger usually stems from the opposite. You know, as a way of lashing out at the one who made you doubt,” said a smiling Isharnnat as she reached out and mockingly traced her fingers along my jawline, only to then use her index finger to lift my face from the chin, eager to see my anger from all angles while saying something that will stoke it more. “Am I that predictable? Then again, perhaps I am. I care not. I will say what I desire to say either way. And what I want to say is that I suppose I can understand you being this adorably angry while remaining steadfast. After all, I am casting doubt on your death, your reincarnation, and… her love.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
In that moment, I saw myself slamming the table with my fist, but rather than doing that… I held back and put my everything into saying, “get off me.” Then, as I had hoped, it happened again, Isharnnat was pushed back like last time, or rather… her hand was, making her raise an eyebrow as she looked at it.
“Interesting, so, so interesting,” she said as she licked her lips. “This has happened twice now, and this time you were hoping for it. What could this be, I wonder. Some sort of hidden protection weaved by Nerinne that activates with your emotions? Or perhaps Yawue had something to do with this? Hmmm… or maybe neither is the answer, and this was all done by your strange will interfering with this plane, mortal?”
Her gaze as she wondered all of that was not just piercing, it was as if she was disassembling every mote of my very being, my existence, trying to look for the source of that force that had rejected her immaculate touch. And I could do nothing but glare at her straight in the eye until she was done.
“I see,” she said, having seemingly found the answer, which she kept to herself, of course. I don’t know what else I expected. “Kaka, indeed. One thing you can know though is that you would have regretted it had you slammed this table, for that would have been the last time you did something like that. Remember, you are in mine divine realm, mortal. I might have just implied it before, but I can do whatever I desire with you here.”
“Good thing I didn’t then,” I answered immediately, not crumbling under her intimidation and, heh, probably making Ere proud because of it. As for the thing that prompted all of this… “I won’t ever doubt her love. Her very essence is love. I have seen it in every gaze, felt it in every touch, heard it in every spoken word, and held it every time she held me. She is mine and I am hers. That is our unshakable truth.”
“Kaka! I admire your stubbornness, but listen to yourself, Auros Argento. To pretend that you, a mortal, know the essence of a goddess is nothing but the cusp of stupidity and arrogance. She is not like you. Her love, just like her morals, is quite different from yours. Like any of us, she would fake what you think is love, a relationship, if it means that her little pawn will dance in the way she needs to for her beloved world. Everything that you brandish as unshakable truth, her gaze, her touch, her laughs, her tears, her words, her warmth, all could be an act, and you would be none the wiser.”
Not satisfied with doubling down on the illusions, you’ve even shapeshifted into Nerinne to make her say things she’d never say and show expressions she’d never do, trying to goad me… who really is the stubborn one here, Isharnnat? “And yes, I’m a mortal. But I was a soul when I first felt her warmth, heard her laughs, saw her surprised, and just like with Nada, I can feel the weight of that which is nothing but true in all of those. Moreover, stop wearing that face, it doesn’t suit you one bi—ngh?!”
“Shush.”
You…! Using all these golden paper hands to shut my mouth and bind me to the chair does nothing! I told you already, I can still talk like this! So stop dancing around me and unbind me!
“I rather not to since I want to keep dancing around you while I mock you, kaka! I just cannot hold back anymore after you used Nada to spout nonsense! I mean, surprise her? You? Kaka! As if! At the very least you are amusing to her! Touch her? Kakaka! Maybe a golem with her form but not her! Not really! She might even find you disgusting but she tolerates you to keep her weapon happy and agreeable! And that unshakable belief of yours? Is it really yours? I mean, she is in your head most of the time, it would be quite easy for her to plant it there and make you think it is yours!”
How many times must we do this?! I believe in her! And nothing you say will change that!
“How do you know? I might be the only one telling you the truth.” Ha! Say that one time, say that a million times! It won’t make a difference; I won’t ever believe you! So get off my shoulder! I don’t like you whispering into my ears!
“Oh, do not be like that, Auros Argento. After all, I might be the only one who truly cares about you.” Pfft…! Hahahaha! Right! Do you really want me to believe that? Because I don’t even need to have been taught by a reformed conman to know that that is a bold-faced lie! So again… Get. Off. My. Shoulder! You whispering cacodaemon!
“Kakaka, alright, alright! No need to pull out the really mean words! I just thought it was worth a try, sorry. Here, I shall even unbind your mouth. Still, to answer your question about how many times we will do this push and pull, I would say… as many times as it takes for you to understand. The doubts I am casting are what awaits all who follow the path of love between mortal and god. So tell me, Auros Argento. Are you truly sure that my words are lies? That you have not held any them as your own doubts, even for a moment?”
“Of course, you goddess! My answer will always, always be the same! I won’t ever hold those doubts! I won’t ever doubt her! No matter what!” SO DANCE AROUND ME, WHISPER ALL YOU LIKE, TURN INTO HER, SHOW ILLUSIONS, BIND ME, AND THREATEN ME, IT DOESN’T MATTER! I WON’T EVER BETRAY NERINNE’S LOVE!
“Kaka… even with your very soul on the line?”
“What?” I asked immediately, not realizing that… that… wasn’t fast enough to see her put… those words… into actions… instead, I just saw her change into the smiling void again… but one thing I failed to notice then was that… she was not any void… she was a void I was all to familiar with… she was Death and her… agh… golden clawed, blackened hand was already… deep inside my chest… inside my soul… “Ugh… how… instinct…”
“Please, I am the Old Goddess Isharnnat, that budding annoyance means nothing if I wish it so, for it cannot warn you of things so fast that they already happened. Now, you might have triumphed against the facsimile made by your youngest’s previous life, but these… these are the real deal. So burn, Auros Argento, burn in true soul blazing flames and scream the truth!!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHH!!” BURNING! ITHURTSITHURTS! VIOLET FLAMES! ITHURTSITHURTS! INSIDE OUT! ITHURTSITHURTS! CAN’T MOVE! ITHURTSITHURTS! CAN’T ESCAPE! ITHURTSITHURTS! BUT MY ANSWER—ITHURTSITHURTS—WON’T CHANGE!!
“REALLY, MORTAL?!! YOU EVEN SAID IT YOURSELF; YOUR LIFE IS LIKE THAT OF THE NOVELS YOU READ! AND WHO ELSE BUT HER TO BE THE AUTHOR?! WHO ELSE BUT HER TO PEN YOUR STORY IN A WAY THAT PUSHES YOU TO FIGHT AGAINST THE ENEMIES OF HER WORLD?! WHO ELSE BUT HER TO CHAIN YOU WITH MORE AND MORE OF WHAT YOU NEVER HAD TO KEEP GOING?! WHO ELSE BUT HER, AUROS ARGENTO?! SO, ANSWER BEFORE YOU CRUMBLE INTO NOTHING! ARE MY WORDS LIES OR ARE THEY THE TRUTH THAT YOU WILLINGLY REFUSE TO SEE?!”
“THEY ARE LIES…! GAHHH! THEY ARE NOTHING BUT LIES…!! GNNN…! AND EVEN IF THERE WERE A PART OF ME THAT… AGH… THOUGHT OTHERWISE, THE REST WOULD… AGHHH… SHUT IT UP!! BECAUSE I TRUST HER…! I TRUST HER WORDS…! HER LAUGH…! HER SMILE…! HER TOUCH…! HER LOVE…! I TRUST… MY HEROINE! THE MOTHER OF OUR CHILDREN! AND I TRUST YAWUE…! SO, GO ON AHEAD…! BURN ME UNTIL I CRUMBLE AWAY…! DO IT…! I DARE YOU…! I DOUBLE DARE YOU…! BUT I ASSURE YOU THAT NERINNE AND YAWUE WILL NOT…! BE…! HAPPY ABOUT IT!!”
“MORTAL! WHAT YOU HAVE SAID…”
GO ON! USE THE GIANT YOU TO THREATEN ME WITH CRUSHING ME OR TWIST YOUR HAND AND CAUSE ME MORE PAIN! MY ANSWER WILL NEVER BE DIFFERENT!!
“...is the correct answer. Congratulations! You passed the test!”
Following that, Isharnnat snapped her fingers, and everything suddenly changed into a scene that made it seem as if everything that just transpired hadn’t actually happened. For one, I wasn’t tied to the chair anymore. I wasn’t suffering indescribable pain either. And Isharnnat wasn’t piercing my chest with her hand. Heck, rather than that, she was just… happily sipping on her tea while sitting across from me, as if she hadn’t moved from there at all. If that wasn’t enough, I was also being bathed in celebratory confetti, ribbon streamers, and the like, which only pushed my confusion to the point that I could only respond in one way…
“Eh…?”
To be continued… (cue giant Isharnnat being the one pouring confetti on a confused Auros while also blowing a party horn)