A deep fear rushes over me at the declaration of the two. They know who I am. What I am.

I step back slowly, willing my body to move faster, to run from a situation I'm not ready for.

The glow from the three reduces significantly until I can see the youths in greater detail. All three seem to be adolescent girls, each showing the early signs of puberty.

The glow subsides further and it's revealed that even though they appear as young women, none of them are human. From the neck up, they seem perfectly normal, but none of them has the usual defining characteristics of humanity. Their small breasts are smooth, as are their stomachs. None have genitals either, shamelessly showing a smooth crotch.

They remind me of dolls briefly. Each has a pretty face, but I'm too scared to admire them at all.

Something is stopping me from running, and I know it's more than just fear. My body is incapable of motion from the neck down. Even the shaking of my breath is gone, my breathing mechanically steady.

I can make out the details of their faces now, but that does nothing more than confuse me further.

Each has different coloured hair, but all of them have it styled more or less the same way. Long hair that falls past their waists, but a fringe that hangs low enough to reach almost their mouths.

The one to my left has red, almost pink hair that fades to white at its full length. She has a thin clip made of darkness that holds her hair out of her right eye, letting the rest of her face remain covered. Her hair matches her eye, which is a striking scarlet.

The girl to my right appears identical in appearance aside from a key few colour changes. Her hair is a light blue that also fades to white, and she has the same black clip holding hair from her left eye instead of her right. The eye I can see is as striking as her twins, but sapphire blue instead.

The third, expressionless one, hidden behind the others has bright blonde hair that has no clip to hold it back, but instead, her hair has naturally curved away from her eyes. Curtains of bright yellow that show off a pair of striking golden irises.

She blinks, the first sign of motion I've seen from her, and my body relaxes instantly.

I can move my legs again, but something is telling me it would be worse to run. All I can do is wait and wonder what the hell is going on.

The blonde girl opens her mouth, but after a pause of silence, she closes it again, a slightly frustrated expression on her face.

The red-haired girl breaks the symmetry with the blue-haired one and sighs dramatically.

"I apologise for my elder sister. She has yet to master the art of breathing, and as such, can't speak."

I open and close my mouth several times, so baffled I'm worried I'm going to pass out from the stress. I manage to stutter out a few words, speaking almost without thinking.

"H-how? How did you... Do you know wh-what I am?"

The blue-haired girl giggles, a sound I can appreciate as beautifully sweet despite the setting.

"We've been watching you since you washed up in our territory. Why your god would have forced you out is beyond us-"

"- but we are most pleased to have received you. And you are lucky to have found your way to us."

The red-haired girl finishes the other's sentence, reinforcing their proclamation of being sisters.

My mind is filled with questions, but my brain feels like it's pushing together a puzzle. A very simple puzzle that doesn't seem to want to fit together.

The golden-haired girl steps forwards, pushing the others out of the way. Two quizzical expressions follow her as she slowly walks towards me. Her motions are careful but obviously not smooth. She doesn't appear to be in full control of her body.

Only a step away from me, she ushers me lower. Against my better judgement, I fall to one knee, my own head now just lower than her own.

She leans in until her lips are right next to my ear. I can hear a quiet inhale, and a pause as she seems to consider her actions.

"Thank... you..."

My body stiffens, such a phrase something I didn't expect. I nod slightly and she stands straight again, a small smile on her face.

The red-haired girl steps forward and puts her hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"That's all we came here to say, immortal. You may cause a great threat to discover us, but for now, we are glad you are here."

The blue-haired girl appears with her hand on the other shoulder.

"We hope to see much more of you very soon, but for now, let us leave you with this."

Both the blue and red-haired girls lean in and each kisses me lightly on a cheek. My mana reaches out to the point on my right cheek and my muscles burn, a sensation radiating from my left cheek. My eyes shut tightly at the combined sensations, but information still pours into my mind.

Greater blessings of Meli and Alo received.  +30 mind

+30 body

The final piece of the puzzle clicks and I open my eyes, finally realising the identity of the triplets, a fact that should have been obvious from the beginning.

Senca, Mali and Alo. The gods.

I want to ask them every question under the sun, but they're gone. And I'm in my hut, still kneeling. The spots where they kissed me still tingling.

My heart is still pumping like crazy from the whole encounter. From a scene straight out of some horror film to a bizarre first-hand religious experience. I collapse onto my furs, exhausted from the busy day that's been topped off in a way that could only happen to me.

As soon as I can relax, the questions I wanted to ask still filling my mind, I drift into a troubled slumber. Images of the gods imprinted on my conscience seem to linger long after I've fallen asleep.

----------------------------------------

I wake with a start, my heart racing like crazy. The echoes of a headache remain in my head, reminding me of a dream of glowing triplets...

No...

I open my status, and as clear as day, my sudden stat gains are there. 30 in both body and mind given for... Whatever reason.

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Name:

Reuben (The Cause) Hp: 580/580 (6.14%) Species:

Human (Immortal) Mp: 2280/2280 (6.14%) Level:

12 (11%) (+) Class:

(none) Body: 58 (+) Mind: 190 Soul: 614 Perks:

-Body:

• [1] Strong body

• [2] Stronger body

-Mana:

• [1] Big spells

• [2] Bigger spells

• [3] Soulful spells

• [3] Mana manipulation

• [4] Shapeless Magic

• [4] Hard Mind

-Soul:

• [1] Moulded Soul

• [2] Hunter Soul 

• [3] Neutral Soul

• [4] Soul of Magic

• [5] Strong Soul

• [5] Monstrous Soul

• [6] Hidden Soul

• [7] Powerful Soul

• [7] Surviving Soul

• [8] Alien Soul

• [9] Soul of the Fool

• [10] Wings Skills:

(none) Spells:

• Hard 

• Fast

• Barrier

Influence:

• Greater blessing of Meli

• Greater blessing of Alo

Not only have my stats jumped, but there's the new list of influence. I have no idea what it means. Just another thing to add to the list of things to ask about without letting people know that I don't know. An irritatingly difficult problem, but one for later.

My status seems so unbalanced now that I look at it. With no skills and an abundance of perks that I can't use properly.

Scanning through the higher-end perks from my soul, I can't really remember if any of them have shown whether they work. I've killed... a handful of monsters since receiving monstrous soul, and I haven't absorbed any of them. Alien soul is supposed to make people less curious about my past, but the first creature to take an interest won't stop asking.

I can't learn skills despite having all the knowledge I should need. I can't read the stupid language...

From my position on the floor, everything seems so far from reach. My body and mind are weary, something about my encounter last night prohibiting any recovery.

I sigh heavily.

"Senca, what am I doing here?"

Half expecting a reply, I pause and stare at the dome-like ceiling of my hut. The sound of the village waking up in the background draws me from my wallowing and I begin a basic set of stretches following a tune I silently recite. The calisthenic routine is something I've memorized and will readily execute whenever I feel like crap in the morning. It's never failed to pick me up just enough to face the day. And although I still feel worn out, I'm slightly more optimistic.

I go to leave my hut, but as I put my hand on the canvas covering the entrance, I hesitate. Suddenly I feel a presence behind me and a slight pressure on my back.

I glance backwards, but there's no one behind me. Oddly, I can't feel any danger despite the heavy presence. The pressure increases and I'm pushed out of the hut, stumbling under the low doorway and barely finding my feet a few steps away.

Staring in shock at the interior of the hut as the flap is falling back down, I can see the slight outline of a pale golden-haired girl.

I smile slightly when the dots connect. Just as her sisters mentioned, Senca must not be strong enough to be able to easily contact me. I have no idea how easy it is for a god to influence the world directly, but I appreciate whatever effort my goddess has gone through for me.

I can't hesitate any more. I'm sure I'll be able to talk to them again, and based on their gifts, they want me to get stronger. As soon as I help Syzslic with his complicated task, I can switch my focus from magical growth to a more physical calling.

As I pick up a larger than normal breakfast from the village, I fantasize about the arena I suggested to myself just a day prior. With even a small amount of finesse in mana infusion, I could face off against far stronger opponents, I'm sure. And winning in the arena would probably help me build up my body stat faster. Building some money and renown wouldn't hurt either.

I sit and lean against a tree that will hide me from the rays of the rising Sun. I should have some time before Syzslic comes to continue my magic training with his next spell, so I relax and repeat the motions of infusing my mana throughout my body. Before I work on mastering output and function, I need to be able to infuse myself as quickly as possible.

The slight boost to my mind stat from Meli seems to have some slightly more tantalising side-effects as the process seems easier than ever. Before long, I'll have to shift to infusion practice during higher stress situations to progress at all.

The shadow of a smile flashes across my otherwise motionless face. My former fatigue is all but forgotten by the mana coursing through me. My near future promises to be interesting.