I looked around the space while taking a discrete peek at my soul. 'It's still here,' I thought with relief. I did not know why the [ Gods ] summoned me there but if it was about the Artifact, then it was bad for me. Finishing my inspection of the surroundings I waited for them to speak with trepidation. And when they did, it was unsurprisingly the [ God ] Rekdat spoke. " Welcome once again, Kayden," He said. " It is your greatest honor, to witness all four [ Gods ] of the [ System ] again, Kayden," the female voice- the [ Goddess of Magic ] - stated in a gentle tone (I did not know her name- they were not given away easily, at least not more than once). 'And like I wouldn't exchange this honor for a blunted knife' I lampooned inwardly.

I was highly surprised at hearing her speak to me first and took a moment to form a proper response.

"Yes"- I flinched at the sound of my voice, it was harsh and took time to form words. ' How long has it been since I had a conversation?...'I thought-" indeed it is, Goddess," I finished as formally I could manage and stood still as a statue. No, I did not ask why they summoned me or did I ask for any [ Boon ] that would cure my desperation like I was sure they wanted me to. I just stood there, admiring the stars. I had no intention of speaking more than it was necessary, it was equally dangerous and tiring- especially so with the divines.

While I was waiting for the [ God of Trials ] to reignite our passionate conversation, the unexpected happened again. A young voice sighed and said evenly " We have a quest for you, Kayden "-' Again, with the name! '-" and one as pressing as the one entrusted upon you at the event of your first summoning. Which you abandoned for your own safety," his tone slowly transforming to condescending as his speech went on " So, will you accept this quest to redeem yourself, human?"

Well, what could I say, except that He really tried. For a Warrior God to utter my name and request my help. Mine, the kind of person who he absolutely disdained- a coward who did not dare take risks until it was too late, a runaway who sought to hide in the Wildlands for the rest of his life. Wow. It sufficed to say that I was speechless, now truly. But those words also reminded me of the past. It reminded me of the time right after my awakening.

I was one of the first few to get access to the [ System ] but was the last few to actually use the powers it granted. In my defense, I could say that I had no other choice. With many chosen ones, heroes and other awakened strutting about, demonstrating their abilities and a daring lot even enacting their own form of justice on the rich and on those who wronged them, civilization collapsed to mayhem. And then, an heir of a fading noble house of the then old era, having awakened and quickly adapting to his abilities and gaining awakened allies, killed The Republic's men and declared himself King. That caused unease which spread around the whole continent and people anticipated The Republic's Peace Treaties to become void any day. As such, all abnormal people were promptly imprisoned and in some cases killed. This continued until the monsters came.

I was interrupted from my musings by a growl that sounded like "- now answer me, human," from the Warrior God. ' It seems I missed some of his speech ' I thought. Still, I kept my calm, and rather than ask about the mission I said " I respectfully decline, Your Highness."

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I did not doubt that the [ Gods ] were trying to use me in some ways I could not comprehend. Maybe, if I was a dozen years younger- when I was an angry mess of hatred -I would have taken the quest. Any mission given by a [ God ] would fetch me a great deal of power, adventurers would kill for that. But in my time, I realized a few things, one of which was that -all it takes was a bigger fist for a man to crush, abuse, and exploit weaker men, say nothing about magic. Then how would I ever trust literal [ Gods ] to have compassion for me or be fair with me. No, I would not trust any of them. God Rekdat, maybe. At this point, I was sure they need me for their quest, or most likely my Artifact. Most quests given by them did not provide much information and were very vague. It was the sole responsibility of the adventurer to figure them out. I might be accepting a quest to hand over the Artifact straight to The Vanguard.

Anyway, the Warrior God was enraged and it showed when he yelled " You!" only to be cut off by the Goddess. " You are audacious beyond measure, Kayden Nayne," She stated calmly. "You know your days are numbered. You may have the capacity to kill your prison wardens"- I do? Did I overestimate those adventurers? - " but that will only end with your gruesome death. You are being offered a generous way out of your predicament. Yes, it will indeed help you escape your prison."

I was shocked, ' a way out of the prison? I did not have to lose the Box?'

What they were offering was food to a starving man. I just did not know what I had to pay for it.

'How? Did their quest have something to do with the eastern continent?' I thought.

But even there, The Vanguard and his men operate. My absence would be noticed almost immediately and they definitely would search for me on the other continent. Then how?

My warring desperation and hope became visible on my face, but I was still silent. I did not want to trust anyone again. I was prepared to die alone in the wilderness- in fact, I had a [ Contract ] with an [ Orgoath Ape ] to bury my body, if it was still in one piece, after my death in exchange for my personal mana. To not surrender the Artifact until death or even to destroy it with me. A small color of dignity on an otherwise bleak canvas of life.

But this quest of theirs......

Noticing my conflicting emotions and sustained silence, the Goddess hummed inquisitively and spoke "Then what is it that you desire human, if not to flee your enemies?"

"Is it that you are bargaining with the [ Gods ], do you expect to be granted a [ Boon ]. Hmmm? What [ Boon ] do you desire? The death of 'Our' Champion?"

She finished with a contempt-filled laugh.

'She is good. She knows where to hit for it to hurt. As expected of the [ Goddess of Magic ],' I thought. Still, the last part irked me. No, I would not choose such a boon even if they were willing to grant me that. Killing him will doom many many people- of both continents'- to death. They would be powerless against the waves of monsters, not to speak about oceans. No, I did not want that, I wanted something more, something no longer possible for me.

Will a cold face I replied " You are mistaken, Your Highness. Now, I must request you to send me back, I am quite famished and must hurry to make dinner," and I meant it.