Being in the presence of Luciana Shadowfell, the Young Corrupter, the Sorrowful Child, was interesting.

She wasn’t like the other gods. She had a large and shadowy presence while also feeling strangely inviting.

Maybe Zarian was naturally drawn to her more than the others. Maybe that was why Ariana wanted Zarian to open the portal leading to Shadowfell territory, because Zarian and the young goddess naturally vibed well together.

My little sister is a mastermind of the highest degree.

Was Ariana on the evil alignment side?

Probably.

That was going to be tricky to navigate once he found her. Zarian loved his little sister, but if she was truly evil, then he would have to correct her on some things. She had shown signs of being idiotic and manipulative already, so he had his work cut out for him.

It’s tough being a responsible big brother, Zarian thought as he lounged as a broken mess on his throne. Oh, well, at least Ariana’s stupid manipulation led me to meeting Luciana.

“I think I like you,” Zarian said with a bloody wheeze.

He was still all screwed up, barely held together by the dregs of his vitality and parasitic strings. Spectral spiders appeared over his body, the little ghosts scurrying everywhere while applying arcane webbing.

They sealed up any open wounds and bound any broken parts. It was probably a bad idea to stay weak and wounded while sharing a space with the altar of Sickspread, too. Zarian risked it anyway.

Luciana took a while to respond. “Do you really like me?”

“You have a deep gothic theme and you’ve been tackling adversity since you were a baby. And we’re around the same age, with you being a year younger. What’s not to like?”

“A gothic theme, you say? And adversity? Hm. It’s rare that anyone would recognize the troubles of my position.”

“So I’m not the only one who recognized it, huh?” Zarian grinned.

Luciana let out a soft, somber laugh. “I’m not the best at conversations. If you push for information I can’t provide, I will repeat ‘I will not say’ until you grow annoyed with me and eventually leave.”

“I will leave.” Zarian felt the air grow tense. The Shadowfell Tears bubbled in the bowl and spilled over a little. He continued his point: “But I won’t leave because I’m annoyed with you. I have to check on a bunch of things before we leave Central Bramblevale for North Crown Peak.”

North Crown Peak was technically a lookout fortress that was part of the Bramblevale region. However, it was the most northern area of the Eternal Garden Kingdom to the northeast. It was supposedly more well-fortified than even Central Bramblevale.

North Crown Peak was in charge of protecting several communities of walled villages, which were its own mini farming villages. There were the horrors of gnoll raiders and other evil creatures living in the Blood Prairies even further north of North Crown Peak. There was a range of stone forests and hills such as the Wolf Dragon Den to the northwest where, unsurprisingly, the wolf dragon reigned supreme.

“We’ll be out of Central Bramblevale and on our way to slaying the wolf dragon,” Zarian boasted. “Wouldn’t that be exciting? My first dragon hunting quest. That’s the stuff of legends.”

“Dragons are the stuff of legends for a reason,” Luciana said with a somber warning edged into her voice.

“Okay, so it’s legendary in quality. And up there in level. We’ll win.”

Luciana didn’t respond for a while. Zarian wondered if his cockiness was chasing the somber goddess away.

Should he pull back a little?

He didn’t want to. He’d suffered the invasive power of Sinfeast and would have to carry the mental scars for the rest of his life. He’d turned aside two boons of Killall and survived to tell the tale.

If she doesn’t like me being me, then it is what it is.

Zarian wouldn’t sweat it.

Maybe he would feel a tad sad.

But he would move on, some way, somehow.

“Your tenacious nature … it is infectious,” Luciana said darkly, with a hint of amusement. Then her voice dipped into sorrow. “I’m almost tempted to be tenacious, too. But it is difficult. And I prefer not to be a bother, if I can.”

“What do you want to do?” Zarian had Para pull him up in his seat. He was interested in hearing the goddess’s problem. Maybe he could help.

“I have a troublesome … acquaintance.”

“Lovewar.”

“You didn’t have to say it aloud like that. It is embarrassing. I shouldn’t associate so closely with her. She is good, after all. But she invites herself anyway regardless of our diverging alignments. She is irritating. Yet, I don’t mind her. In fact, there are times I find her presence a welcomed contrast to my own.”

Zarian chuckled. “What’s the problem, then?”

“I don’t know if I should tell her I welcome her company aloud. It has gone unsaid, and I fear she’ll draw away thinking I dislike her when that isn’t the case.”

“Well, get her a divine sword or something. I bet Lovewar would like that. Then you don’t have to say anything. She’ll understand through the gift.”

“It can’t be that simple.”

Zarian thought back to all the illustrations of Lovewar posing in bikini armor and holding a mighty weapon.

Yeah, it was that simple.

He hadn’t expected the conversation to go in this direction with Shadowfell, but he was glad the goddess was confiding in him about her personal affairs. It also offered more insight of how the lines between good and evil blurred despite how the alignments appeared on the surface.

“I’m glad I have you two as my benefactors, since you’re both friends already,” Zarian said.

Luciana hesitated. “It is too forward to say we’re friends, isn’t it? I wasn’t sent to Infinita to make friends.”

Zarian had Para lift him up more. Parasitic tendrils readjusted the evolving dungeon core in his lap.

Luciana’s last statement was a curious one. Was she aware of outer factors beyond the Star System?

Zarian tried to go the roundabout way of fishing for info. Which wasn’t hard, since he was curious about everything regarding his evil benefactor.

“So … you were dropped into the Infinita Star System as a baby. And now you’re twenty years old and in charge of your part in the evil alignment. Must’ve been crazy.”

Luciana took her time. She spoke slowly, haltingly at first. Her voice was still a major draw. A temptress of darkness, corruption, and the welcomed end. But there was an inherent awkwardness that was unique to her, humanizing her godly goth chick vibes.

“I found it all sad. I was separated from the warmth of family and left to fend for myself with a dubious mission. I was quite aware as a baby. Because of my inherent power, I was placed in a position where I’m on level with other divine beings.”

She had to deal with the same type of creatures who traumatized Arnold long ago? The Tier 4, kingdom-destroying, and godly entities might have their own unique profiles hooked up to the Star System.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

If not, then those types must have a stupid amount of stats that would warp the lesser world to their wills. Zarian imagined thousands or maybe tens of thousands of stats. Maybe even hundreds of thousands.

Doesn’t that make Foodie more and more important?

The little goblin’s legendary ability to promote stat growth through her food really was worth more than a kingdom. Perhaps with time, Foodie could be worth more than a lesser world. Eating her food while leveling up could be the difference between being under the tyranny of Tier 4 divine beings and world bosses or not.

Luciana had more to say: “Many went after me to claim me or take my life. I killed many of them. And if I didn’t kill them, I gave them reasons to let me be. Then, when I was three, the Star System decided I will stand as a major goddess of evil.”

Luciana sighed deeply. Her power swept through the ruins of the evil hideout, flowing out with her breath.

“I do little of the work you would think a goddess would do. Many wish for my power, too, and that can be quite troublesome. Yet nobody questions the source of my tears.”

“You like crying, don’t you?” Zarian pointed out.

“How do you know that?”

Zarian thought of his silly party member, Bianca. Oh crap, Bianca and Luciana should never meet as long as I can help it.

The corruptive tears Luciana would shed with Bianca egging the goddess on would cause ceaseless damage to Infinita.

The things I do to save the universe. Look at me, a real evil hero.

“I just figured you were a big crier. You find beauty in the sadness and the inevitability of the end. Death. Darkness. Depression. You live in it. So where others might avoid tragedy, you accept it. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have your own struggles that hurt you deep down. You probably wish to be reunited with your family, so there’s that, too.”

“Wow … how do you know all of this?”

Zarian used Para’s help to shrug. “I can vibe with that. In fact, I can feel the same way. I just deal with it differently.”

“Interesting. Very interesting. You truly keep me on the edge. I find this overwhelming, yet alluring.” Luciana sounded breathless and eager. “You are another one, Zarian. You are one who is too good to be true. When you appeared in my territory, I couldn’t believe it.”

“Why?”

“I find that I like you as well. It was instantaneous for me. But to like someone so quickly is troubling, for I’m not sure if it’s a temporary fancy, or if there’s truth in my adoration of you. There are other factors, but they don’t truly weigh on whether you can truly connect or not.”

Zarian took a long time to respond to that. Luciana was good at waiting and respecting the depths of silence. Her presence was comfortable.

Zarian could almost imagine that they could sit in silence and let all conversations die and still enjoy each other’s company. Yeah, he liked her. And she liked him, too.

“Do you want to be friends?” Zarian asked.

“Wouldn’t that be too troublesome? Are you sure you’ll want my friendship? I would understand if you would prefer some measure of separation from me with our partnership.”

“Nah, let’s be friends.”

“How forward of you. You’re like Lovewar. I haven’t seen her in person in quite some time, in fact. I believe she’s busy hunting Goldhound for what he’d stolen from her. But I’m sure she will have much to say about you when she invades my space again. I will have a gift prepared, as you said.”

Zarian was enjoying the turn of the conversation so much he nearly lost track of fishing for important information. He didn’t like the idea of hamstringing the vibe, however.

He let the deep lore stuff go. It felt more important to keep the flow and dark vibes going with Luciana than to get all his serious questions answered this instant.

“So, are we friends now?” Zarian asked.

“Hm. I suppose there is no stopping it. You are inevitable in your personality and charisma. I shall accept this vow of friendship. We are now … friends.”

A baseball-sized ball made of opaque glass fell into Zarian’s lap. It clinked against the head-sized dungeon core.

Zarian used Identify on the new item.

“Oh, hell yeah. Luciana, can you help me patch through to Foodie later?” Zarian asked.

“I can do so now. She’s looking at a mirror in her personal chambers and preparing for her day.”

Oh, it’s already morning?

That was a reminder that he’d been up for nearly four or five days now.

“Let’s do it!”

The milky surface of the Supreme Crystal Ball spiraled. For a moment, Zarian saw a dark figure flicker across the ball’s surface.

He could’ve sworn the figure was feminine, and perhaps irresistibly beautiful, but he wasn’t able to capture her full features. At least he had a vague idea of what Luciana Shadowfell looked like in person.

He was already grinning in anticipation of a more familiar face when Foodie appeared in the crystal ball next. Yellow slitted eyes. Big leafy green ears. A large mane of pale purple hair running over her head, and a long braid over her shoulder.

Yup! It was Foodie! Both of her ears were up. Her eyes were wide open like a surprised cat.

She was dressed in a slip of a brown nightgown. Despite some of her inhuman features, she looked adorable.

Zarian had the urge to scratch behind her ear. Instead, he gave Foodie a bloody smile through the crystal ball.

“Zarian Darkrun, you are in my mirror,” Foodie said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, I’m using a divine crystal ball. My friend, Shadowfell, is connecting us right now.”

“Zarian Darkrun, you are saying unbelievable things.” Foodie sounded stilted. Uh oh, did he break her that fast?

“Okay, damn, how do I explain all of this? Ugh. So we’re in Bramblevale after dealing with all sorts of bullshit. And we’re nearly at the end of our time in Central Bramblevale but my party, Naomi, Bianca, Gilbert, and Hannah have been involved in loads of major quests, fights, and unlocking hidden secrets here and there as I lead the way, of course. Well, sometimes.”

Zarian chuckled as he thought of Bianca’s bright idea to lead a genocide on the evil alignment in the Bramblevale underworld. He picked up where he left off:

“While Hannah and I dealt with a Rare Level 40 dungeon hidden in the city’s library, Bianca, Naomi, and Gilbert slaughtered a bunch of evil humans in the underground underworld. I had to come down and talk to the evil gods. The Dragon didn’t respond. I’ve convinced Sickspread, Goldhound, and Hisscreep to leave things alone. I had to fight Sinfeast and Killall. Now I’m hanging out with Shadowfell, and she apparently likes me. And I like her, too. So we’re friends now.”

Foodie’s ears were still up. Her eyes were still wide and alert. After a minute of silence, Foodie responded.

“Zarian Darkrun, let me cook for you.”

“You will! I swear you will, Foodie! We’re on our way to kill a wolf dragon and unlock the secrets of the Forgotten Kingdom dungeon.”

“The Forgotten Kingdom? My father has written about it in his journals. But neither he nor our ancestors of the Green Hop Explorers have found the Forgotten Kingdom. You’ve located it?”

“That would be my party member, Hannah Townhouse, who found it. You know? One of the weak humans you thought would serve better as a meal? Yeah, well, she’s a Level 42 Runic Engineer, legendary by the way.”

Foodie took a deep breath. “Let me cook for you and her.”

“Remember Bianca, the silly girl who liked to cry a lot? She’s a legendary Level 41 Light Princess, and good +3.”

“Good +3?!” Foodie shrieked, jolting back. Something broke under her. She fell, then she popped right back into view. “And you’re still friends?”

“She calls me papi now and then. So, yeah, we’re still in a party together.”

“I’ll cook for you all!”

Zarian burst into a roar of laughter. He hadn’t even gotten to his legendary status, but it needed not be mentioned. He could tell Foodie was overwhelmed by everything that he was dropping on her. Things only got worse for the poor goblin when her eyes lifted upward and she visibly shivered.

“You’ve said the Evil Goddess Shadowfell is connecting us?” Foodie was breathing through her mouth.

“Yeah, we’re friends. I did say that multiple times.”

“Your friend, Evil Goddess Shadowfell, is paying attention to us? Directly?” Foodie sounded faint.

“What? Don’t you have an altar for her? Can’t you talk to her directly?”

“I’ve never heard her voice before. We pray to her. She’s never responded. This is the nature of the gods. And you’ve talked to six of the Evil Gods. And you’ve fought Sinfeast and Killall! You’ve fought gods?!”

Zarian was trying to hold in his giddiness. Mostly because it was hurting him to get all excited because of his wrecked body.

Still, Foodie’s reaction was the greatest ever. He hadn’t even expected such a reaction, and now he was enjoying it as much as he enjoyed her food.

“I have a good relationship with Lovewar, by the way. She likes my vibe. Hell, I think Serveserf would get along with me, too, if I can find Arnold and get him to listen to me.”

“You have relations with good gods, too? Zarian Darkrun, that is dangerous.”

He waggled his brow. “Have you seen me? I’m a dangerous and daring man, Foodie. I have to be so I can save you from your awful mother and make you my legendary cook.”

Foodie fell silent.

Zarian’s heart raced.

He blurted out, “What is it? What happened?”

“I’m not a legendary cook anymore.”

“What are you?”

“I’m mythical. I’m the Indomitable Cook, Level 45. Mother has allowed me to hunt bigger and more dangerous creatures. For a heavy price, of course.”

Zarian’s excitement struck a peak, settled, then rose again. Foodie had a mythical class? And it was called the Indomitable Cook?

That sounded so badass and powerful, Zarian imagined the stat growth from eating her food would be insane. He nearly missed out on the price factor Foodie mumbled at the end.

“Foodie, how’s everything going over there?” he asked.

Her ears slowly lowered. “We are to kill you.”

“You mean you and your mother?”

“Me … and Jack Masters.”