Chapter 117 – Just Do Everything
Chapter 117 - Just Do Everything
”Do everything you think is right, and what makes you happy.” ~Catelyn NivanFello’resh’s resting place was located inside of a skeletal wing the size of a mountain. Specifically, the first joint of the frame after the point where it had connected. It had originated from one of his divine bodies, the one that had been the first to be corrupted by the madness.
One that Shallies had been forced to kill.
Of course, the Godkiller only recognized this part of the skeleton because she’d known this piece of information beforehand. For someone inexperienced, it would simply look like any other joint, and that was if they were able to recognize it as a piece of a dead god’s skeleton, and not some weird, looming, malformed mountain in the first place.
The rest of the wing’s skeletal structure was hidden amongst the clouds below, but that was the least of Shallies’ interests. She was after what the visible parts were surrounding.
There, on a small platform above the clouds, was a throne.
Fello’resh’s throne.
There was no preserved body of the dead god sitting on the chair of bones and gold. Empty. Only hints of his divine mana remained. A whisper of his authority. But that was enough for Shallies.
For her, at least, it was a sign of activity. An indicator that the visions she and Arun’dul experienced had been no coincidence. It was a sign that the God of Famine and Destruction had regained some of his awareness, as far as the divine was involved.
During the end of that particular Divine War, she had left Fello’resh’s death in a special state. Rather than completely sever him and disallow his ability to resurrect or reincarnate, he was one of the few she had expected to return to normal before coming back to life.
It was a bit out of bias, if she had to admit. But this special stasis wasn’t reserved only to her friends. All maddened gods and goddesses were judged equally. And if there were signs, it was Shallies’ responsibility to allow for recompense, or a second life away from the divine. The same was true for the seraphim’s god, who had been stripped of his name. Not all divine entities who had turned mad were lost in the first place, and some who were could find their way back. It was just a matter of how and when.
Only, the Godkiller had expected Fello’resh to return sooner. Way sooner.
“So that’s what you’ve been up to…” she mumbled.
“What’s going on?” Yoshelle inquired. She was staying a few steps behind Shallies, keeping her distance from the throne. “Is something wrong?”
“No, not really,” Shallies said. “Fello’resh is stuck in stasis because he’s feeling guilty.”
“Guilty?” Yoshelle repeated. “About the Thrush’ven Alir Raid? Well, it was sort of his fault that it’s like this, right?”
The Godkiller turned to face the Guild Princess. “Well, there’s that, too. But he’s mostly guilty about the five million people he had killed when he became mad.”
“F-five million!?” Yoshelle’s eyes widened. “Shouldn’t you have erased his existence completely because of that?”
“Maybe…” Shallies said, not bothering to explain.
In truth, Fello’resh’s kill count was lower than that of the other mad gods she had killed. Even some global catastrophes had taken more lives. But that was simply because Shallies had been keeping a closer eye on him than the others given his role, and back then, she had just recently taken the role of Godkiller, as well as the population hadn’t been as booming. Not to mention, how most gods had been willing to help their newly titled Godkiller during those times.
Regardless, that fact alone wouldn’t justify sparing Fello’resh from severing his existence. But the guilt was there, and that was enough for Shallies.
“It doesn’t really matter,” she said finally. “Whether he’ll come back or not, and if he wants to keep avoiding me or not, is up to him. I’m not really concerned about that.”
All this time, Fello’resh had avoided sending Shallies any visions. Only now that Nefurul was threatening to return did he start to show up in her dreams more frequently and purposefully.
Shallies studied the throne a bit more. Confirmation aside, she wanted to make sure she didn’t miss any prophecies or messages left behind. She had expected either Valor’el or Phey’lan to find these signs, so they should’ve been pretty easy to spot. But other than the hint of Divine Authority, there was nothing else. As if Fello’resh had simply sent the visions and then vanished to return to his guilt-driven exile.
The Godkiller sighed as she arrived at that conclusion.
“Idiot…” she whispered.
With the throne refusing to show any more clues, Shallies went to her next agenda. This one, neither seraphim would have been able to do on their own.
“Chaos,” she called out. “It’s about time you explain yourself.”
“Eh, I don’t want to!” a disembodied voice of a kid complained, like he had been caught in the middle of mischief.
Shallies frowned, placing both hands on her waist like an angry mother disciplining a child. Mana swirled around her now-long hair, causing the pink and blue strands to glow as they undid her ponytail. They manifested into a pair of small humanoid shapes of mana, like lumilettes or teacup fairies made out of pure light. Both Concepts, Secret and Veil, now stood on either side of their keeper’s shoulders, mimicking her pose.
“Go get him!” the Godkiller ordered.
Both sprites launched with blinding speed, reaching the top of the skeletal mountain in an instant. The pair laughed and giggled, while the one being chased complained and screamed. A dark, golden streak shot out of the sky, rushing and zipping away, while both blue and pink were hot on its tail.
“Are those the Concepts?” Yoshelle asked, walking closer to Shallies. She had her neck craned up, however, completely unaware where she was walking.
The Godkiller caught her before she tripped on the first step of the stairs up the platform.
“You can see them, huh…” she commented. “Even when called out in the open, most people are unable to see a manifestation of a Concept. Have you been formally introduced to one before?”
“To Duty,” Yoshelle replied without hesitation. “Lord Syakumishi introduced me at a party once. He also taught me a few things about the Concepts.”
“Ah, that explains it.” Shallies turned her attention back towards the chase. “I won’t be formally introducing you to those Concepts, but I’m pretty sure you can infer by yourself as to which is which.”
“Are there requirements to get introduced?”
“Well, the Concept has to express interest, first and foremost. And I’ll be honest with you, Secret and Veil have been with me for a long time, and not once have either of them asked to be introduced. Chaos, on the other hand, doesn’t really care about that sort of thing.”
“Right…” Yoshelle said, nodding along. “I don’t really mind either way. But I do wonder why Duty wanted to be introduced, then?”
Shallies shrugged at that. “Beats me. You should ask her keeper.”
The Guild Princess scratched the back of her head. “If I get the chance, maybe…”
In the skies, Secret and Veil had finally caught up to Chaos. They said some words of comfort while ushering the Concept back to Shallies, but the one caught himself didn’t seem all that troubled anymore as he sighed in defeat.
“It was a deal I made with Nefurul, before you became the Godkiller, okay?” he said, admitting the truth like it was a penalty in a game he lost. “She didn’t die as a mad god.”
Shallies didn’t like the shiver that came running up her spine as she anticipated the next words. Secret and Veil had let go of Chaos, seemingly understanding the Concept’s demeanor.
It wasn’t that Chaos would always choose wrong from right. It was more than that. Deeper than that. But in the face of the Godkiller, even he would have to deliver the truth plainly.
He sighed. “She died an evil one.”
Shallies found herself standing on the beach west of Cinterbrim Town. She had fond memories of the place, if only scarce ones. One predominant memory was something she had shared with Catelyn, one of her students who had passed away and the previous owner of The Adventurer’s Beginning, before it had become the tavern that it was now.
The person who had asked her multiple times to take a break.
Even now, she could see the Biomekeeper enjoy her youthful years on the beach, relaxing after an intense day of training. The place wasn’t too far from home, after all. Not when she could run with engaged Agility.
But that was a memory. A recent one, as far as Shallies was concerned. For most mortals, however, it would’ve been a couple of centuries ago already at least.
Now, the beach was empty. Spring would soon be passing for Summer, bringing crowds with them to this place. But for now, she had the entirety of it to her own.
She, and three small souls lingering behind her.
Thrush’ven Alir had finally calmed down. After she had left with Yoshelle, the raid had confirmed that all its Raid Bosses had been defeated, bringing an end to its seemingly endless storm. The Gaiamaxims Guild was still recovering, so there was still time before Shallies would be forced to explain things to them. For now, she wanted to fulfill a more somber duty, and then have a few moments to bring her thoughts together.
“Larin, Mephia,” she called out to the first two souls. She recalled them as the two guests who initially hadn’t liked her tavern. That mattered little, now that the only thing left for them to do was to choose. “Do you want to pass on, or try again?”
Souls were decisive things. They were the nature of a person, solely derived from the very existence of its previous vessel. Love played little part, if any. Contentment, less so. Frustration, absolutely none.
Sometimes, a couple that truly couldn’t let go of each other, called ‘soulmates’, would always choose to try again. But whether they ended up together in the next life or not, was something Shallies had decided not to look into. She didn’t need the chance at second-hand heartbreaks.
Nonetheless, it was incredibly rare for a soul to be unable to decide. In their case, Larin chose to rest, while Mephia wanted to try again.
With a nod, Shallies sent them on their way. Mephia would go on to return to the cycle, be rid of her past life, and live again some time in the future.
“Daryl’kan.”
The nephilim’s soul was fractured. No. Tainted. Marked by the goddess that had been previously bound to him. It didn’t take the Godkiller much effort to remove that mark, and heal the wound left behind.
“You’re still adamant to rest, right?” Shallies asked, if only to make absolutely sure. It was rare, indeed. But sometimes, a soul would choose the opposite of what its vessel had previously wanted. And despite her promises, the Godkiller would always honor the soul’s choice, first and foremost.
This time, the soul agreed with its previous vessel, and Shallies sent him on his way to cease existing.
No longer needing to exert her authority, Shallies recovered her veils. Her Concepts hid underneath her hair, which had returned to their shorter length. Pink and blue strands were now joined by a small streak of dark gold. A temporary refuge, now that Chaos was in need of protection.
Now, she was truly alone.
The Godkiller didn’t hate being alone. It gave her a moment to breathe, to settle her thoughts. Quietly, she sat on the sand and rested her head on one hand, while the other traced some doodles in the white, fine grains.
“Evil, huh…”
Shallies found it quite difficult to believe.
There was a distinct difference between a maddened god and an evil one. And while Shallies had experience fighting both of them, the possibility of the latter had long since been removed, ever since she had taken up the title of Godkiller.
“Well, I guess it makes sense, since Nefurul was before I became one.”
The waves turned silent for a moment. Shallies felt someone staring at her. She turned, not alert, but surprised.
In front of her was a young lady with long, brown hair and hazelnut eyes. She wore casual clothes. A sundress with a pair of sandals. She had an awfully familiar smile. One that was expectant, but reserved. She was waiting for her name to be called.
“Catelyn,” Shallies finally called out. “Hey…”
Catelyn frowned. “I thought you’d be more surprised.”
“I am.” The Godkiller shrugged. “I was. For a bit.”
“Well, bummer. I suppose I’m not the first person who thought of leaving a fragment of their soul to talk to you, huh?”
At that, Shallies lightly shook her head. “Not the first, yeah. I was actually expecting to meet someone else earlier, but he didn’t show up.”
“Oh! He?” Catelyn beamed, jumping with anticipation. She quickly sat next to the Godkiller, leaning in with unbridled curiosity. Though her physical form was tangible, she weighed absolutely nothing. “Who?”
“You sound like an owl.”
“Who!”
“You wouldn’t know him, but his name’s Fello’resh. He was a god from a long time ago. A dear friend.”
And just like that, the energy escaped out of the soul-fragment, and she deflated. She understood the implications.
“Aw…”
“Well, it’s fine. That doesn’t matter now.” Shallies waved a hand. “What matters is you. Why leave a soul-fragment here just to talk to me?”
“Oh, right. Well, I figured, if you ever do try to get that tavern running, you might eventually show up in this place.”
“Well, I do, somewhat, have it running,” Shallies said, shyly putting a hand to her neck. “Somewhat.”
“Eh? What does ‘somewhat’ mean?”
“I don’t exactly have a lot of customers. I do have some regulars from a guild that’s temporarily stationed here, but they’ll be returning to their headquarters soon, and I imagine I’ll have a lot of off days when that happens.”
“A guild, huh? Even when taking a break, adventure seems to find you.”
Shallies flinched. “Yeah… about that.”
“Hmm?” Catelyn narrowed her eyes. She leaned closer, piercing an accusatory stare. “You haven’t taken a break at all, haven’t you?”
“Yeah…” This time, Shallies scratched the back of her head. “No. Not really.”
For a second, it looked like Catelyn would explode in anger with how hard she was pouting. Shallies thought she looked adorable. Eventually, the Biomekeeper deflated, sighing loudly.
“Ah, I tried!” she said, lying on the sand. Even as she plopped, not a single grain moved from her actions. “Oh, well.”
“Well, I haven’t been going to back-to-back raids and towers,” Shallies said.
“That’s a good start—”
“Except, I just finished one today.”
“Which is it!?”
“Not back-to-back,” Shallies said defensively. “Just one. One dungeon and one raid with a few weeks of break in between.”
“That’s still back-to-back, you liar,” Catelyn clarified, giggling.
“Yeah, I know.” Shallies giggled back. “Have you heard of Thrush’ven Alir?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that one appeared here.”
“Oh.” Catelyn sighed again. “Yeah, you just can’t seem to escape it, huh?”
“And I just found out there might be an evil goddess resurrecting five years from now.”
Shallies felt a stare. She refused to turn in response, but eventually, she was forced to look back. Catelyn was angry and pouting again. Then she burst out laughing.
“There’s no way!” she said, struggling to keep it together. “You really can’t get away from it!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Shallies sighed, though she was smiling. “It is what it is.”
“I assume you’re training students, then?”
“Three. From here. They know you.”
“Oh, let me guess!” Catelyn sat up. “Tayin, Ren, and Grace!”
“Are they that short on talent here?”
“More like, those three are absolutely gifted and hardworking.” The Biomekeeper proudly nodded. “More than me when I was young, in fact.”
“Oh, definitely,” Shallies agreed, remembering the irony of her lectures. “I had to tell them to take it easy from time to time.”
That made Catelyn break into another laughing fit. “That’s crazy!”
“I know, right?”
“Well, I suppose, there’s really no breaking your cycle. At the very least, you’re taking it easy, by the looks of it. If you can’t take a break, how about I give you a different challenge instead? If you’ll humor me.”
It was Shallies’ turn to squint her eyes. “I’ll hear you out.”
“If you can’t catch a break, why don’t you just do all of them at the same time?” Catelyn suggested. “Divine War, training, tavern-keeping, and everything else. Do everything you think is right, and what makes you happy.”
At that, the Godkiller smiled. “Doesn’t sound too difficult to do.”
“Great!” Catelyn beamed, smiling. “Now, I don’t have much time, tell me everything that’s happened since you arrived.”
The next day, Grace went to the Adventurer’s Beginning to find that Shallies hadn’t returned home. That made her anxious, until she spotted Apple.
The teacup fairy beckoned her over. Closely behind were both Ren and Tayin as well.
“Is Shallies still gone?” asked the half-orc.
Apple made a series of gestures, pointing towards west with one hand, jogging in place, then pointing at them with the other hand.
“We’re going to her?” Tayin inquired, which then the teacup fairy confirmed with a nod.
Their pace was quick, Grace noticed. Apple didn’t bother hiding her speed, confident that they would be able to catch up without any problems.
They were moving faster than most mana-engine vehicles. Still, the half-orc recognized the direction they were headed in. Not long after, they finally reached the beach.
There, they found Shallies sitting on the sand, facing towards the sea. Grace barely caught it, but she saw the Godkiller waving at what seemed to be residue of dispersing mana.
Apple waited quietly, smiling expectantly at her and the other two.
Grace took the signal. “Shallies?”
The Godkiller’s arm moved. Not out of surprise, but… the gesture was familiar to the half-orc. It looked like she was reaching for something on her face.
Then she spun with a smile. “Let’s run back home! We have lots to talk about!”
“But we just got here!”
End of Book 2