Chapter 29: [Valencia]
I studied Valencia for a few moments. A face similar to Alepsia’s, perhaps a bit too much if not for the tiny mole below the right corner of her lips. And obviously the golden blazing hue, much in contrast with the warm yellowing one that Alepsia had.
Two sisters. One was the Goddess of Light while the other one the Goddess of War.
If I were to describe her...Valencia was... well, Valencia.
The Goddess of War did not get her title just for show. She was the strongest minor god, whose powers were on par with the major goddesses, besting more than half of them if not for the restrictions placed on her by the All-Father.
She was the type of person who would bloom on battlefields but suck at most other jobs. Not exactly a total idiot, but pretty much a mediocre person. A dumb kid, if I were to be blunt.
"You are thinking something rude about me, aren’t you?" She asked, her eyes narrowed at me, trying to gauge my intentions.
Women’s intuitions are scary. I shrieked before speaking,
"You are looking much better than I thought."
Reaching the chair opposite her, I sat there, picked up a normal-looking apple and took a bite of it. As I did that, I also recalled a few things that happened while I was in Coast City.
Around the time when everyone was preparing for the fight against Laplace, Valencia was trapped as a prisoner. The reason was in relation to what happened in Mirag City, regarding the whole Half-God descent fiasco. Since they couldn’t target Alepsia, with her being a Major Goddess n all, they captured Valencia, trying to get as much information about me as possible.
Thankfully, I interfered before they could even begin their interrogation. I sighed in relief once again as I wondered if there would have been an internal war between the Gods if they had rubbed Alepsia the wrong way.
Alepsia would certainly have lost, but the damage would have been irreplaceable.
But that’s considering if I were not to help her. With my interference... hmmm... that would be fun. Should I restart and see if the war really happens?
"Now you are smiling creepily," Valencia pointed out, pausing my thoughts before I shook my head slightly and then turned to her.
"Is the All-Father still harassing you?" I asked directly.
"Thankfully not. I guess being the strongest Minor God has its perks," she said sarcastically. There was a certain flare in her gaze when she said that. Then, observing the cloudless sky, she focused a distant look. Most probably recalling the past few events that had happened.
"Ask away. I might not have as much information as she does, but perhaps I can help you out?" Valencia added, her eyes fixed on the distant horizon.
I guess it’s obvious why I would come here. If it were an emergency, I would have acted more than I talked. I deduced.
"About that mountain range on the north, is there any history related to it? I was going to venture into that place, but wanted to know if there was something I should be aware of," I asked, making her a bit surprised. Turning towards me, she narrowed her eyes at me for a brief moment before a puzzled look appeared on her face.
"Seeing how you always seem to know about the dangerous things, I thought you would know more about that place than we do," she said before finishing that apple, which then vanished into thin air. She then added,
"Well. It’s a place carrying on of the Seven Anceint Temple of the Forgotten Gods. Far as I know, Alepsia, being a major God n all, has a duty to visit that place once every week. That, and removing any unnecessary threats to it."
"Forgotten Gods? The Ancient Gods or the Titans?" I asked a bit intrigued. It wasn’t something that I knew. Neither in this timeline nor during the time that I had played this game.
Valencia stretched her arms up with a yawn before continuing,
"Titans in this case. Those temples are a gateway to Netherrealm, but honestly, they haven’t opened up in like a millenia or so, so I don’t have any idea whether they still work or not. Still, following the protocol never hurts anybody," she added, making me ponder it a bit more.
Makes sense. Titans are the last beings that should walk on the Mortal Realm. Just their existence could destroy cities, if not the whole country. I recalled a bit of lore I had heard about them. Nothing good ever came out of getting involved with a Titan.
"Anything else I should know about?" I inquired again.
Valencia pondered deeply for about half a minute before saying,
"I think I remember a few guardians living there. Elemental beings who would guard the place when Alepsia wasn’t looking. If you are going in there, you should be carrying a certain [Mark of the Goddess] before you meet any of them. If not, a fight is inevitable. You can wait for Alepsia to come. Knowing her, she would give you that mark for free if you asked for it."
There was a certain exhaustive smile on Valencia’s face as she said the last part. Then she looked back at me and added,
"That’s all I know. If you want to know the details, you know who to look for."
I nodded at her with a slight smile before recalling the details she had told me one more time.
There are a few more questions, but... well, it doesn’t seem like I would get the answers from her. I concluded observing Valencia, who was once again focusing outside.
Deciding that there was nothing more I could ask, I stood up, preparing to venture into this temple, open the gate, and see if there is anything relative to the situation that I am facing. If it is a dud... well, hopefully it will have some fruitful results in another form or so.
"Hey, Adam," Valencia called me, making me stop for a moment.
"Thank you for helping me," she said with a grateful smile on her face.
I paused.
Then I smiled brightly.
"No biggie! Just helping a friend out," I added, getting out of there before moving towards the North once again.