The temple that Teti entered was nothing like the grand, marble temple from my memories. Instead, it was just as makeshift as the rest of the town, with the priests seemingly repurposing the largest and most intact building available to serve as a makeshift temple. More importantly, it was functioning as a field hospital rather than a temple, and a dangerously undermanned one at that.
Hardly anyone paid attention as Teti walked by, with most of the people either running around to treat people or lying on the ground to be treated themselves. Teti stopped a teenager who was running nearby with a bucket of water from the river in his hands.
The bags beneath his eyes were a clear sign of exhaustion and lack of sleep.
“What? If you need healing, get in line. If you’re not dying right now, stop bothering me.” He said.
“I’ll be out of your hair in a moment. Where can I find the head priest?” Teti asked.
“He’s sleeping. Are we done yet?”
The teenager didn’t bother waiting for an answer as he went ahead. Teti looked around in silence to see if anyone paid her any attention.
When she saw that no one did, she moved further inside. Room after room, she saw nothing. The few occasions she entered a room with an occupant, they were laid on the ground and sleeping like the dead.
Eventually, it wasn’t long before she reached a room that was significantly larger than the others.
Inside the room were stacks of parchment, shelves filled with medicinal herbs, a table that was overflowing with letters and documents, and a middle-aged man snoring in his sleep on his chair.
“That must be the target.” Teti whispered to herself.
She took step after step, and in no time at all stood on the other side of the desk.
“I am sorry…” Teti whispered, pulling out the talisman with a shaking hand.
Teti’s hand slowly moved across the table, talisman in hand. Beads of sweat ran down Teti’s forehead, the girl a nervous wreck. She was about to inflict the same, vile ailment that tormented Apis, and she was going to do so on the person doing the most to help the people here at that.
Teti’s breaths grew shorter and faster.
The talisman was less than a mere inch away from the man’s forehead. All Teti had to do was push the talisman a little further ahead, and she’ll be done.
“…Fuck!” she cursed under her breath, withdrawing the talisman back to her side.
“Honey bread… Tasty…” The head priest murmured in his sleep.
Panicking, Teti froze.
Was the Head priest about to wake up?
Waiting in agonizing silence, Teti waited for the moment to pass. Soon enough, the man went back to snoring peacefully.
A silent sigh of relief escaped Teti’s mouth.
“That was too close.”
More than ever, Teti’s misery was evident. She could feel the contract urging her to place the talisman on the man’s forehead, and it won’t be long before she finds herself unable to resist its command.
“This is my life now, until I die.” Teti whispered.
“Until I die…” Teti’s eyebrows rose.
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Her eyes narrowed to one of the tools on the table. A surgical knife, and one that had seen plenty of use.
“This will do.” She whispered.
Teti laid the two talismans on the table, and gently picked up the knife in question. She walked to the wall, fighting against the mounting pressure commanding her to afflict the sleeping man.
“Just a little more…” she grunted.
When she finally made it, Teti slumped with her back to the wall, and fell down to her rear.
“Hehehehe…” she giggled silently.
Without another word, Teti plunged the knife into her heart. Surprisingly, Teti felt nothing. The strength in her limbs rapidly began to fade, as her arms fell to her side.
“The world didn’t break me. The last laugh was mine. Hehehehe” Teti giggled again.
Her vision began to fade.
“I am sorry, Apis…”
***
The vision faded, and I was back at the table in the Garden of the Gods.
“Huh. Tragic story indeed.” I said, thinking over what I learned.
“You seem to have taken it better than I thought. I am glad to see it.” The god said with a smile.
I shrugged.
“I mean, even if you tell me that Teti was my past life, I still can’t think of her as myself. I am Kiara Azoth, not Teti the orphan. More importantly, what happened after Teti died?”
The god sighed.
“When the head priest woke up, he was shocked to see a dead girl with his knife in her heart. Seeing the talismans on his table only confused him more, so he prayed for assistance. That was when I possessed him in order to answer his call for help.”
Hurun closed his eyes and recalled the scene.
“That day was quite the shock to me, Amn, Huros, and Mett. After using my power to look into your memories, my heart was broken by your story. I called for Amn as quickly as I could in hopes of guiding your soul to the Tameryian afterlife, but it ended up being too late. Like I had told you before, the time that passed since your death meant that the Goddess of Death could only grant you the [Sapient Monster] title. We knew you were going to be born in the Abyss, but not when.”
“So, what happened after that?” I asked.
“Huros and Mett were infuriated by what had happened to you – or more specifically, Teti. We didn’t tell anyone else that you are her reincarnation since we felt that this is your decision, not ours. In any case, Mett is the Goddess of Order, and thus, the direct opponent of Setoth, the God of Chaos. Your story drove the already diligent goddess even harder at restoring order. Still, her wrath was nothing compared to that of Huros.” Hurun said.
“While Mett and Setoth may be enemies due to their opposing ideals, Huros and Setoth are enemies due to a personal history between the two of them. Setoth is the killer of Huros’s father, and learning that he was the one behind the [Eternal Hunger] affliction only infuriated him further.”
Wow. It’s not hard to see why Setoth is an Evil God.
“Things moved on quickly from there. After learning that the cult of Setoth was active and the culprit of the afflictions, a hunt throughout the broken nation ruthlessly searched for the cultists to kill them. I am sure some had survived, but they were dealt enough of a blow that they were unable to operate until Tamery was back on its feet from the Celestial War. With Huros and Mett both behind this initiative, it wasn’t surprising to see results.”
“The talismans you’ve left behind were studied, and it aided us in developing a spell to cure it far more quickly than if we had to create one from nothing. [Eternal Hunger] was wiped out, and it hasn’t reemerged ever since.” The God of Mercy said with a bittersweet smile.
“What happened to Apis and Khonsu after that?” I asked.
“Apis took your passing especially hard.”
“It took him months to recover, but when he did, he began hunting with Khonsu to support the rest of the orphans. Eventually, when we finally got the manpower to spare, I sent a contingent of my followers to the makeshift orphanage. With the orphans taken care of, the two were finally relieved of their self-imposed duties.”
“I offered Apis to be my Champion, though he declined. He was embittered by what Setoth had done to you and angry with all of the gods. I was unable to refute his accusations or blame him for it.” Hurun said tiredly.
“Eventually, however, he came around and asked me if the offer was still available. When I asked what changed, the boy had said that he wanted to spend the rest of his life helping those who needed it. In exchange, he asked me to reincarnate him as your brother in your next life.”
My eyes widened in surprise.
“While we couldn’t exactly do that, we had a few work arounds. Amn was able to place a connection between both of your souls, so that the two of you would gravitate towards each other in your new lives. Since Apis was both my champion and had died after a long, virtuous life under my care, I was able to place his soul in the Tameryian afterlife, where he rested until I found the opportunity to allow you two to meet once more.”
“After consulting with Aanat, we managed to reincarnate his soul into one of the dragon eggs rather than a random one from the reincarnation cycle. Hopefully, you’ll meet him some day after the eggs hatch.”
“As for Khonsu, he led a fascinating and long life of his own. Through evolutions, he managed to greatly expand his own lifespan, and he still lives to this day. If you wish, I could arrange a meeting between the two of you.”