Night had fallen by the time Sero returned to his apartment. He had spent the entire later half of the day looking up information on Elena Hale as well as reading through various books in between breaks.

"Champion?"

"Oh, shit," Sero almost dropped his key to his apartment. "Aphiel, where have you been all this time?"

"I was at the council meeting."

"What?" Sero closed the door behind him and flipped the lights on.

"Oh, apologies. I attended a meeting with the other gods and goddesses to discuss the upcoming Champion tournament. Well, it was a discussion until some of the other gods began to bicker with one another over which of their champions would win."

"You guys have meetings like that?" Sero began to strip his clothes off, throwing them into a basket before he headed to his bathroom. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. By the way, I have another thing I want to ask you."

"Yes?" Aphiel squeaked out suddenly.

"Well-" Sero paused at the shift in her tone, beginning to realize something. "Well, now I have two things I want to ask. First, why do you refer to me as your 'Champion'?"

"O-oh, that's because... we select you to represent us! A-and, as our representatives, you essentially... spread our influence. We... expect you to conquer and... overcome whatever is thrown your way! You are our hope of victory." Aphiel sounded more and more flustered.

"Hmm, I don't exactly get it, but I can see where you're getting at." Sero turned on the shower and sighed with relief as the warm water washed over his body. "So, the second thing is, can you see my body right now?"

There was a long pause before Aphiel answered. "Uh... yeah. I can see everything."

"Like what you see?" Sero grinned boldly as he switched to his thoughts.

Aphiel squeaked out a reply, her voice barely audible over the sound of the running water. "I-I don't want to be rude or anything, but I think it's better if I don't comment on that..."

"I think not replying is more rude," Sero grumbled in his thoughts. "But, anyway, so you can see me at all times?"

"Ah, no... not all the time." Aphiel seemed to have recovered somewhat as the rising steam obscured parts of Sero's body. "I can only do so when we maintain a mutual connection like we are now. I can view you as you are as well as see what you see through your eyes."

"Huh. That's... kind of creepy." Sero admitted. "But, uh, it's cool. I guess it's part of the deal, huh?"

"I cannot speak for others, but I'd rather not establish connections while you are... unpresentable."

"Can you not just... look away?"

"When we establish a connection, I have to envision you in order to communicate."

"Oh." Sero scrubbed his body with soap. "That's kinda unfortunate for you. I just have to imagine some aspect of you to communicate."

"Of course. It's easier for champions because of the difference in status. Mortals only need to concentrate on a portion of our divinity while we have to remember the entirety of our worship- our champions since you all do not appear distinct amongst yourselves."

"So high-and-mighty." Sero muttered. "I guess you want to stop looking at me now, huh?"

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"I... apologize if I've made you feel uncomfortable." Aphiel said weakly. "It's just that I never really... had any experience with this."

"It's all good," Sero turned off the water. "I never had experience with this, either."

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

After he dried off and covered himself, Sero relaxed in his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Aphiel?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you have any goals or dreams of your own? Like, as a goddess, is there anything you haven't achieved yet?"

"Well..." Aphiel hesitated, clearly taken aback by the question. "...I've always wanted to have more followers. You see, there are gods and goddesses that have entire pantheons of deities at their command, while I... I'm not so fortunate. Some deities are simply more popular than others. I've tried to attract more worship, but it hasn't been easy. I suppose that's why I'm so invested in your success; I hope that by association, some of your fame might rub off on me as well."

"Oh. How old are you?"

"As gods and goddesses go, I'm still considered quite young. I've only been worshipped for a little over a thousand years. But the competition for followers is fierce, and time passes swiftly when you're trying to make a name for yourself."

"Have you ever had a large following?"

For a moment, Aphiel didn't reply. Sero wondered if it was a sensitive topic for her.

"No," she finally spoke with a heavy undertone. "I've always served as a guide to other major gods and goddesses. I guess you could say that those with the same status as me could be considered what you know as angels."

"Really? That's interesting."

The pair grew quiet, the ticking of Sero's clock prominent. Sero mulled over everything Aphiel said, and finally sighed.

"Well, I don't know how, but I'll make you stand out in front of the other gods," he declared with a smirk.

"Champion..." Aphiel began, her voice uncertain. "I appreciate your support, but I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything you don't want to do."

"That'd be a first," Sero sarcastically replied. "But, I want to do it. I can sorta relate to you. The whole, 'wanting to be recognized' thing."

"I... thank you." Aphiel said softly.

Sero grunted in response.

"Good night, champion."

"Night, Aphiel."

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

The next morning, Sero eagerly got ready and headed to the association building early. He couldn't wait to get his hands on Gregor's skills, whatever they may be. The prospect of adding S-rank skills to his arsenal was pretty much the only thing on his mind.

As he entered the building and headed to the liaison office, Sero's phone buzzed.

"The fuck? What does she mean by 'Good luck'?" he muttered to himself as he read Nala's message.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket as he walked into the office, looking for Amaya. He spotted her at her desk, typing away on her computer.

"Hey," Sero greeted as he sat down in front of her. "I know I'm early, but I'm too excited."

"I can see that." Amaya kept her eyes on her screen. "What are you going to do for an hour?"

Sero shrugged. "I dunno. Just hang out, I guess." He glanced around the room, noticing that it was quieter than usual. "Where's everyone else?"

"It gets slow during the morning. You'd be surprised at how many Ascendants aren't early risers. Besides, with the upcoming tournament, most of them are probably getting ready. Last minute training before they register, setting up recruitment stands, organizing merchandise, all that stuff." Amaya replied absentmindedly.

"Are you going to do anything with your guild?"

The Ascendant Liaison stopped typing and glanced at Sero.

"Right. Taking a break." Sero grinned sheepishly.

Amaya rolled her eyes and went back to her computer.

"Well, it's not like I don't keep in touch. I just don't participate in guild activities." She grabbed a folder and pulled out some documents, glancing at the papers before she entered the information. "At first, I avoided the guild because it brought up some painful memories, but now I'm too swamped and preoccupied with work as a liaison to come back."

Sero fiddled with a pen on her desk. "If you had the chance, would you go back?"

Amaya paused and closed her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a sigh.

"I don't know. Why are you asking so many questions?"

"My bad," Sero dropped the pen on the floor. "I'm just trying to pass the time by getting to know you more."

"We can do that when I'm not working," Amaya snapped, but then took a deep breath as her shoulders dropped. "Sorry, Sero. I'm just really stressed out and have a lot of work to do on top of the investigation. Would you mind giving me around 20 minutes? We can talk more on the drive to the union."

"Sure." Sero leaned back and pulled out his phone, keeping himself entertained by reading news of the upcoming tournament.