The rest of the shopping trip passed in a hazy blur. Alyx picked out armor for herself and Cass from the armory. Metal things for Alyx. Flexible but study leather pieces to be worn under her robe for Cass.
They stopped at a few other stores, though Cass barely remembered any of it. A change of clothes was procured for Cass: simple travel clothes and new boots. Some more herbs. A cooking pot. A dozen other small supplies like this. It all went into her Bag with little comment.
The joy of being back in civilization had been thoroughly drowned by the alley of corpses.
Salos said they were still being followed for the duration of their outing, but Cass didn’t catch sight of them even with Atmospheric Sense. Maybe she was just too distracted by the memory of blood to notice, though.
Neither Alyx nor Salos seemed at all bothered by the carnage they’d left. At least they seemed to understand that she was highly disturbed and didn’t push her to interact with the shopping.
The last stop on their trip was the temple, a tower of white stone and stain glass.
“What are we doing here?” Cass asked as she and Alyx walked up the stairs leading up to its front door.
“Its customary that Trial Takers give thanks to their patron after a successful Trial. I need to give thanks for my survival. You should pick a patron,” Alyx said.
Cass frowned. “A patron, meaning a god?”
Alyx nodded.
“Do I have to?” Cass wasn’t exactly religious, but she’d been raised in enough of a religious household that nonchalantly worshiping another god gave her pause. And she wasn’t exactly atheist, but she wasn’t much for worship of anyone who thought they’d done a good job with creating the current state of the world or anyone unable to do anything about it.
“No, I suppose not.” Alyx shrugged. “But most people pick one.”
“Why?” Cass asked. It was a blunt question, but she wasn’t feeling up to subtlety.
“Those favored by their patron sometimes receive a blessing or a boon,” Alyx said. “The Goddess of Endurance, She of Twisting Paths and Fortuitous Meetings, blessed my mother. She made my mother an unmatched swordswoman.”
“And which one is your patron?” Cass asked as they entered the temple.
“The same.” Alyx pointed at one of the smaller rooms. “But I also intend to pay my respects to the goddess of Alacrity, She of Brilliant Lightning and Striking Inspiration. She’s one of the most popular gods in this region.” Alyx nodded at the statue in the center of the room.
It was a statue of a woman wearing a crown of twisting horns. She towered over her surrounding patrons. Above, the tower was hollow, the light of the stain glass shimmering down over the stone casting dizzying patterns of color over the room. Along the walls were eight arches, each leading into another smaller room with their own statues.
I think I will wait outside, Salos said, hopping down from her shoulder and disappearing before Cass had a chance to crack a joke about demons in churches.
“I didn’t think Alacrity was an important stat for you,” Cass commented.
“It isn’t.”
“Then, why?”
“She’s my city’s patron goddess,” Alyx said. “And the goddess of dragons.”
Cass was pretty sure she still didn’t get it, but she didn’t stop Alyx as she walked off to kneel at a pew before the statue.
Which left Cass alone with her thoughts in a quiet place clearly intended for contemplation. Cass bit her lip and set her entire mind to not doing that. She could think later. For now, it was more interesting to explore a foreign religion.
Yes. She was definitely was exploring out of genuine interest and not a desire to not think about earlier today.
Quietly, Cass walked through the temple, stopping in each of the side rooms one at a time. They were all set up the same as the main room: a statue in the center, pews around it. But each held a distinctly different atmosphere.
One was calming, the walls painted soft blues, a figure with down turned eyes in the center. Another set Cass on edge, the man in the center pointing his sword at the entrance with uncanny accusation. Another felt empty, despite the imposing statue in the center taking up no less space than the others before it.
Cass moved quietly from one room to the next, careful not to disturb the worshipers with in each.
The second to last room was all black and white with silver embellishment lacing through the stone. In the center was a humanoid statue with the head of a raven. In one hand they held a human faced mask which could never fit over their beak up against their breasts, in the other a single arrow held like a wand.
As Cass stepped over the threshold, she felt a ripple in the air. Something twisting around her. She was sure there had been other people a moment ago, yet now there was only a single supplicant sitting in the first pew. A single person staring directly at Cass.
Cass stopped in the archway, but found herself unable to step back.
“Er, hi?” Cass said, not sure what else one should do when a stranger was staring at her as hard as this person was.
They were a woman, probably. They had long black hair, streaked in silver strands. Their face was what Cass would have described as feminine: soft and slender.
“Hello,” the person said, their mouth unmoving. They waved back, their silver eyes shimmering with mirth.
Error: Unable to Identify higher order beings.
Identify has increased to level 7.
Identify has increased to level 8.
Identify has increased to level 9.
Identify has reached the First Step! Congratulations!
[+ 4 Per
+ 3 Vit
+ 2 Dex
+ 2 Ala]
Cass’s eyes widened as Identify failed to describe the person in front of her. She’d never had it fail before. She’d never gotten three levels with it off of a single use.
What was in front of her?
The person clicked their tongue, their lips still immobile. “Look at you, acclimated like a native already, Identifying strangers at the drop of a hat.” They clapped their hands together. The skin of their hands did not match. One was as black as night, the other as pale as snow. Neither matched the skin tone of their face. “Though, you should know, it is incredibly poor manners to use Identify in a temple.”
They leapt up to their feet, their coat flapping around them. It was a layered thing, each section a different shade of grey. “For exactly this reason, actually.”
“Who are you?” Cass asked slowly. Given where she was, she had a guess, but she had never wanted more to be wrong.
“Rude, Cassandra Yuan, rude. Don’tcha know you should introduce yourself before you ask for other people’s names?” The stranger’s head tilted back like they were laughing, but their face was still frozen in complete indifference.
They knew her name already.
Her full name.
Cass wasn’t sure Salos even knew her full name. No one else in this world should know it. She hadn’t said it once.
She wanted to bolt out of the room and not look back, but she couldn’t make even the slightest movement backwards. It was like there was a solid wall behind her. Not even the air dared cross that boundary.
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She forced herself to respond calmly, anyway. “You don’t seem to need me to tell you.”
The stranger laughed loudly at that. It came out in a squawking laugh. Entirely inhuman. “No. I suppose I don’t.
“But, look at you. Look how far you’ve come. Falling apart at the seems but holding fast, anyway. You know, I made a bet with some of the others about whether you’d survive that trial. The one ###### and ###### built in the last age.” The stranger spoke fast, like a teenager gossiping among her friends. They said two names, and Cass heard them clearly, yet it was like the sound bounced off her memory. She could not comprehend the names they listed so casually. “She was sure you’d die on the first day. ###### didn’t think you’d make it to level 5. I bet not only would you survive, you’d make a complete clear of the Trial.
“Now look at you! Congratulations on getting this far. Almost four times everyone else’s best guesses as to your life expectancy and level, a full set of Concepts, and some promising Traits under your belt? And you aren’t even using everything you’ve been given yet.”
These people were betting on her survival?
No. Betting on her death. Why? Because it was fun?
Her heart was pounding in her chest. She could feel herself losing her grip on the situation.
“Got to say I’m disappointed that you didn’t go kill the Lord of the Forest after everything.” The stranger’s face was as impassive as ever.
No, it wasn’t a face. A mask. They wore the mask of a woman, only the eyes beneath were real. Eyes which glistened like a child that had found an unusual bug in the grass and was now gleefully showing their friends. “I really wanted to see ######’s face when you killed her favorite pet! Still, my guess was the closest, so they all had to pay up!
“The others are in a real tizzy over you, you know. Most of the rest of the first wave is dead, dead, dead already. We really didn’t expect any of you to make it this long.”
Like a child that had caught that bug in a jar and was now shaking it to see if it would do anything interesting.
“Well, I say that, but I did bet you’d survive, didn’t I!” They laughed again, throwing their head back, their hands on their hips.
Cass’s mind whirled with the stranger’s words. It was too much. But there was one thing she understood. “You brought me here?”
The stranger clapped again. “That’s right!”
“Why?”
They cocked their head to one side, their mask still. “Why? Why was it again? Oh, right. ###### wanted a champion. He’s quite upset with ###### and wanted to wipe her country off the Continent. Very rude if you ask me, but what’s a god to do? When your peer wants to summon Champions, you jump on the bandwagon because they’re paying and it’s cheaper if everyone does it.”
Gods? This was a god.
Her breath caught in her throat. Maybe her lungs had just stopped entirely.
She’d known, of course. That was the only explanation for the sudden isolation of the temple and the appearance of the stranger. Logically—could she really claim logic in the face of gods? Contextually, maybe?—that was the obvious explanation.
Alyx had all but said they were real, after all.
No. Actually. She had said they were real; Cass just hadn’t believed her. Who would believe her?
The god was still talking, though Cass struggled to keep up with their rapid chatter. “Oh, you should have seen his face when he pulled you initially. Broken, defective product, right off the bat! Ha! Hilarious.”
“Defective?” Cass latched onto what she could.
“Oh, I mean. No offense, but your trait makes you useless to us. Contrary Will? Who wants a pawn with that kind of free will? I mean, it might be fun in a morality game, but an awful choice for a war game. Can you imagine? Your player character ignoring your commands and wandering off on unrelated quests? No, thank you, I say.
“And yet, here I am, wondering if you’d like to be my Champion, anyway.”
They summoned her to be a god’s puppet? Then rejected because they didn’t think they’d be able to control her. Abandoned in the Uvana Valley to die because those same gods thought it would be fun?
That was all her life was worth to this thing in front of her.
The desire to run had never been so strong. But there was nowhere to go. Somehow, the god had separated this space from the rest of the temple. Not even the air could escape.
She was a plaything in front of this creature that wore a human face. An animal to bet on. No different from horses at the racetrack or dogs chasing rabbits. She was the flip of a card on the river. Her worth only relative to the bets already on the table.
“You still haven’t told me who you are.” Cass had no idea if she’d kept her voice level or if it had squeaked out in a panicked whimper. She didn’t need the answer. She knew already. This was a god. Which one was hardly important.
But the other option was to crumple into a terrified ball of devolving questions, and Cass refused to give this thing in front of her the satisfaction.
“Ah, how rude. How rude.” The eyes behind the mask glistened silver. They were eager eyes. Hungry eyes. “The truth is, your little mortal mind can’t comprehend my name unless I make a specific exception for you, which is frankly more expensive than it’s really worth. What you can understand is I’m the God of Perception. They of Shimmering Silk and Sharp Truths. Be appropriately awed. But not too awed, we have more to talk about.”
Cass’s stomach dropped. “What do you want from me?”
The god sighed, visibly sagging. “Were you listening? I want you to be my Champion!”
They must have seen the lack of recognition on Cass’s face. They tapped a finger to their still lips. “How best to explain it to you? You get to be my agent in this world? I give you some of my power and a Quest. It’s an easy quest. Very doable in your lifetime.”
“A human lifetime or a slyphid one?” Cass asked slowly, her suspicions about this god’s nature growing.
There was a vicious grin shimmering from their silver eyes. “Now, what kind of question is that? I said your lifetime!
“But I promise it’s a good deal for you! Champions who complete their quests get a wish! You have a wish, don’tcha? A big wish! A wish that you have no idea how to make reality!”
A wish? Could this god send her home, then? Could it really be that simple? Did Cass dare trust the words of this being?
“Isn’t that exciting? You get a whole new set of powers, a purpose here, and a light at the end of the tunnel! Everything you could possibly want and then some.
“And as a bonus, you get to represent me in this realm! How exciting!”
And that was the price, wasn’t it? She had to represent this stranger. This god.
Cass didn’t know a thing about them, and what she’d observed so far failed to reassure her. This was a dangerous being to get involved with. A dangerous being to make any kind of deal with.
Even speaking with them was probably dangerous.
Cass forced herself to breathe. There were a lot of questions, but there was one more important than the rest right now. “Why me?”
“Oh? Is that little head of yours full of thoughts about not being worthy? Completely insignificant before the greatness which is Perception? Lost before the glamor of shimmering silk? Small before the weight of sharp truths?”
“Why was I summoned to this world in the first place?” Cass clarified.
“Oh. That. Well.” The humor left their voice, complete disinterest creeping in its place. “In part, it was random. You have those random loot games in the place you came from, right? Summon a hero, see what you get? It’s like that.
“###### and I did one together. ‘Guarantee SSR class hero’, the system said! (Not literally, of course, but that was the idea if I mold it into game concepts you’d understand).” A snicker snuck back into their voice. “I still remember his face when he got you and compared you to the one I pulled!
“I’m a kind and generous soul, though, and it’s not like I am desperate for a champion. I offered him my summon for a very generous price and even promised to clean up the summon he didn’t want. You should have seen him!” They were laughing again.
Cass could only hear one thing, though. “Someone else was summoned at the same time as me?”
“Sure, sure.” The god waved off the question. “Truthfully, we did a bunch of summoning after that, but the two of you from that summons were definitely the best.”
A chill settled over her. “Were we summoned from the same place?”
“Oh, definitely. Your world is so rich in potential its pooled into physical form. No other way to get such choice summons, really.”
“No, I mean, the same spot from my world.”
“Hm? Oh, probably?” The god shrugged. “Not super important, honestly.”
But it was the most important thing to Cass. Only three other people had been immediately around her when she was kidnapped. Kaye, Robin, and the elderly camp host. That was a two out of three chance it had been one of her siblings. A two out of three chance, Kaye or Robin was the pawn of another of the gods right now.
“Is it possible to quit?” Cass asked.
“Aw, no commitment?” the god whined. “Fair enough. Always have an exit strategy, I always say. Sure, sure. I’ll let you go at any point. No questions asked. I will take back all the powers and boons I gave you, though. That’s just par for the course.”
“Is every god as magnanimous as that?” Cass asked.
Perception cawed loudly. “Oh, no. Definitely not. I’ve got an easy come, easy go approach to life. I’m greedy, but I can be convinced generosity is more interesting. Most of my peers are greedy to a fault. One has to be to get to where we are, can’t fault them for it.
“This conversation, for example, watching your little mind whirl with every new speck of information, is much more interesting than playing all this close to my chest. I doubt the others will ever understand.”
“And if I refuse after all this?” Cass asked slowly.
“Then you’re a fool, but an interesting fool.” The god crossed their arms over their chest, dropping back to the pew. “Are you a fool, Cassandra Yuan?”
The god had said a lot and yet had still failed to mention anything concrete. A lot was implied. A lot was suggested.
How much was Cass willing to trust this being in front of her? Could she trust them to send her home? To find Kaye or Robin if they were here?
On the other side, could she really expect there to be no consequences for refusing? This god was petty. Cass could feel it in her bones. It was obvious in every word and every intonation. This was a bored and petty god. And if the stories of Earth were any indication, there was little that was more dangerous.
Should Cass risk slighting them? Was that a greater risk than agreeing to work for them?
If only she knew something about the gods here. If only she had another opinion. If only Salos were here to help her decide. Would he say not to trust anyone, to depend only on her own power? Or would he say not to let the chance for more power to slip through her fingers?
Was it his demonic nature that kept him out of the temple, or was it an inherent distrust of the gods?
There was no way to know. She could only pick one and hope.
“I can’t agree to work with you,” Cass said finally.
“Oh? A fool then, alright,” they said, their voice unconcerned. “Why?”
Cass hesitated, but they didn’t sound upset. And refusing to answer was unlikely to go over better than lying or the truth. “I can’t trust someone who brought me here against my will.”
“Oh, right. There is that, isn’t there? Well, alright. But if you change your mind, let me know. Just fervently pray to me, I’ll be there!”
Space split around Cass, shifting again like gears turning.
Neither Cass nor the god moved, yet one moment it was just the two of them in a silent temple, the next Cass stood before the altar to Perception, the low murmur of the other patrons around her.