Yeah, that seems about right, Thera sighed to herself, trying to eat her stress away as she snacked on some sweets she’d gotten from a street vendor in the park before another notification rang out in her head after it.
And so does that, she sighed again. Not in Ben’s party for that job run since she didn’t have a key role to play, she had instead been receiving experience from his work like the rest of the planet had been and had already finished the heretic, queen of intelligence, and now staff user jobs, all for what little they were worth, with the only level from any of them being one to her intelligence enhancement. Not that she’d expected more. Fighting with her staff especially had felt like a lifetime ago, back before she’d met Ben or had control of her mana, leaving her to use the medium that channeled her magic as a weapon to fight off beasts the best she could.
But, even though she’d done her best at the time, she hadn’t been trained, and while Ben had shoved information on the topic into her head since she already had the skill, she hadn’t used it since. Getting a level from her new blessings was already more than enough for a skill she didn’t see herself using again, and with nothing else of note, she touched her crystal to decide on what to take next, not wanting the opportunity to slip by when Ben wasn’t going to be taking any breaks himself.
AVAILABLE JOBS
Musician
Bard
Darkness mage: charm specialized
Mathematician
Apprentice chef
Mind user
Kin
… Kin, she thought after a moment, hoping that it might give her a level that would help, but got nothing to rid her of her minor headache as the notifications for it went through.
Hmm, Ben got bonuses to his demon skills, but I guess this is the sort of job that changes the bonuses based on what you’re modified by. Still, I was really hoping for a level to my divine body.
That would have been a nice enough distraction at least, something to take her mind off everything that had happened. After all, how could she not be at least somewhat stressed over the fact that now even some of the gods had tried to murder Ben? The fact that he already seemed so unbothered was madness to her, and she couldn’t help but worry. She wanted him to be okay and to live a good, long life, but how was she supposed to see him manage that when it felt like the entire world wanted him dead?
It was as obvious enough that she was distracted to the rest she was with as it was that she’d just silently taken a new job, leaving one of her companions to sneak up behind her and wrap her arms around Thera where she sat, whispering in her ear as she did.
“Thera, leave your own little world there and talk to us instead,” Aso said, making her jolt to find Sachel and Ralia looking mildly concerned too, the small get-together doing less to ease Thera’s mind than she’d hoped when she’d been invited.
“Sorry, my bad. I’m just a little distracted.”
“Mmh, what happened to Ben this time?”
“... How is that so obvious?”
“Because you only stress out like this when something happens to Ben,” Aso laughed, the other two left to nod in agreement. “He’s too accident-prone.”
“Ugh, Sachel can give you the details then; I’m trying not to think about it.”
“And failing, from the looks of it,” Ralia chimed in, while Sachel shook her head.
“Why would I know anything?”
“Wait, I’m sorry, Myriad didn’t tell you?”
“No, why? Was it something concerning the church?”
“I mean… given that Ben’s the apostle of it, yes?”
“Sounds like Sachel needs to be caught up to, then,” Aso told her. “Come, we’re curious.”
… Well, I guess they’re going to find out eventually.
While she hadn’t used his name during it, knowing that saying the apostle of Myriad would have a far greater effect given how well known he was for that moniker, she and the spirits of the world had replaced the churches and monuments dedicated to each of the defeated gods with pillars declaring their crimes and, as a result, eventually, word of just what those gods had done would spread to more distant towns and communities, including Stonewall itself, and when it did, considering he lived there, gossip was going to travel fast.
… Which means I’m going to need to deal with Mora hearing about this anyway, so long as no other spirits bring it up to him first. Damn it, why is parenting so tough… You know what? No, other parents and guardians don’t have to explain to their kids that their partner got dropped into hell. This is exclusively an issue in my life.
“Okay,” she gave in, already feeling worn out as she did. “So, long story short, a group of gods tricked Ben and dropped him into hell-”
“What?” Sachel yelled, beginning to stand as the other two moved as well before Thera could go on.
“But he got out, so he’s fine.”
“... What?” Sachel asked again in a quieter, significantly more confused way that the other two joined, looking at Thera while she shrugged.
“He was down there for maybe a couple of hours? I took it poorly at the time, you’re definitely going to hear about how I reacted, but if you realize anyone’s talking about me, they probably won’t know my identity so don’t attach my name to it, please. I’m pretty sure I committed, like, ten thousand crimes and oH MY FUCKING GOD I FORGOT ABOUT EVERYONE IN MY RING AGAIN!”
“Um, everyone in your ring?” Ralia asked, trying to keep up with things while Thera just dropped her head in her hands.
“Don’t focus on that bit; it’s embarrassing, and it looks like I’m going to have to run off to deal with this when we finish lunch. What matters is the fact that now even gods have decided to start trying to murder my boyfriend is stressing me out, so I’ve been a little distracted, sorry.”
“Um, is that not a super major issue though?” Aso asked. “Like, basically the biggest potential issue a person could have?”
“Ugh, no, it’s fine. He beat them up when he got back and forced them to give up all of their faith so they shouldn’t be a problem again.”
“Wait, this is a lot of very shocking info all at once,” Aso told her as they were all forced to listen to the fact that Ben had attacked actual deities, a fact that Thera waved off.
“No, like I said, he won, so there’s nothing to worry about from them. It’s just… these things keep happening, and I think I’ve begun to accept that if anyone ever actually succeeds in permanently killing Ben, that I’m going to go insane.”
“... Well, he has you to rely on though, right?” Sachel said, choosing to not focus on the madness she’d just heard while making sure she remembered to get more straightforward answers from her god later. “You’re like, the most powerful person I know… except maybe Ben, if he’s fighting gods in his spare time. Okay, no, not the point. You guys can count on each other, right? And if he’s in danger, I know you can rise to the occasion to help him.”
Rise to the occasion…?
It felt like empty words at first to help ease her mind. In all of her core skills, she was beginning to hit limits that might take decades or centuries to surpass, whatever Ben thought her odds of awaking any of her other powers to the third tier be damned, but the more she looked at herself, the more she couldn’t deny that she had options she hadn’t been exploring. Maybe nothing as great as a third-tier awakening, but still potential she could exploit, with things to practice and room to grow, leaving her to nod before calling some soul spirits over with her mana, the rest around her watching as she brightened.
“You’re right, I can, and if I’m going to, then I can’t keep avoiding doing something. Alright, if you guys could get bonuses to any skill or attribute, which ones would you choose?”
“What’s that have to do with this?”
“I’m giving you bonuses to whichever you decide, so think it over a bit.”
“My beastfrom skill,” Ralia said, needing no time to make that choice, even if she was curious about how Thera would do it while the other two answered as well.
“My plant magic then.”
“And my mana.”
“Okay, great,” Thera nodded before beginning an aspect of soul magic she’d been avoiding. Using her mana, she sliced off a small piece of her soul and was immediately left feeling lethargic for it as she forced herself to work through her exhaustion, asking the soul spirits to start healing the damage she’d caused herself while also asking them to judge the quality of her work as she gave it shape, giving her first blessing she’d ever made to Ralia and ignored the reaction it brought as she moved onto the next, building on each experience until she got to the end and gave Aso hers, fighting the deep exhaustion it had left her to hear the girl yell.
“HOW?”
“I grew Ben a new head when his old one was cut off,” Thera mumbled out, the explanation telling the others nothing when they didn’t know the event had led to her own third tier awakening while at the same time provoked a whole new round of reactions she didn’t get to see. Just as when Yuzu and Elvat had given her theirs in the past, with that done she felt herself losing to her desire for sleep, unable to give an explanation as to why and panicking the others as she passed out.
Huh, what? Thera thought, groggy as she tried to put her mind in order, distracted only by the smell of food nearby. I was… with Sachel and Aso and Ralia, and then I… right, blessings, that’s what I did. Mmh, I should have planned that better.
Opening her eyes, she found herself home, lying in bed while Ben sat down beside her, holding her hand while dinner sat on her end table, looking hot and fresh and immediately pulling her eyes.
“Morning, hungry,” he teased. “Well, actually still evening. You caused quite the panic.”
“Mmh? What happened?”
“Sachel got Myriad’s attention, and he told me before he was able to confirm why you passed out. Man, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”
“Sorry,” she told him, sitting up and wiping her eyes as she did. “They know not to be worried too, right?”
“The other three? Yeah, I gave them a brief explanation before taking you home. The little soul spirits look like they’ve been helping you, but I asked Fontesh to look after Mora again. Sorry, I know he could have fixed you up a bit faster, but I didn’t want to panic him.”
“No, that’s good, it’s not like I was actually in danger or anything, but… Ugh, yeah, I am not going to be as generous about giving blessings as Yuzu or Elvat are. Or you, for that matter.”
“Ha, good. I’d be worried if you did. Still, finally felt motivated to practice that aspect of your power, huh?”
“Well, it’s been a motivating few days. You still want enchanting more than anything else?”
“If you want to give me one, then I’ll be happy to take it, but worry about it when you’re all recovered.”
“I am all recovered. I know you can see souls, along with all of the spirits swarming me right now.”
“They have been fairly worried too, yeah.”
“And they also sped up my recovery while I was out. I’m all better, so tell me before I give you the wrong one. Do you want me to give you a blessing for your enchanting?”
Looking far more awake and dead serious with it, she stared in Ben’s eyes, watching him sigh before he nodded.
“Yeah, if you’re sure, then I’ll take it.”
“Good.”
She cut off a piece of her soul before beginning to shape it once more, the soul spirits around her immediately healing the damage she did but, while she felt groggy again, given it was only a single blessing that time instead of three, she didn’t pass out and placed it down, watching Ben smile as he got it before he leaned over to kiss her.
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
“Use it to make sure nothing manages to kill you and that will be more than enough,” she told him, flopping back into bed and used her magic to cut slices of the meal Ben had prepared and fed herself without moving more than that. Even if she was awake, she was worn out, and not in the mood to use her hands, seeing her boyfriend hold back a laugh at the sight before eating his own, carrying the plates to the kitchen when he was done and finally joining her in bed.
“There’s something else I want to do.”
“We do have some privacy right now, so no need to keep quiet,” he joked, getting his arm lightly hit as his reward.
“I’m not talking about that right now… maybe the morning. No, not important. Ben, I want you to help me awaken my sacrilege.”
She focused on him as she said it, trying to convey her seriousness in regard to it and watched a range of emotions flash across his face, starting with excitement and ending with a grimace.
“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea, Thera. I mean, honestly, I actually think it’s a great idea, but… it is the sort of thing that gets a lot of judgement when it comes out, and you’d be living with it for the rest of your life.”
“I don’t care. I love you, and some gods just tried to murder you, and I’m going to be up there with them one day too. I want them to feel in danger around me, I want the attribute bonuses from awakening the skill, and I want all of the sacrilege jobs I can get. I don’t know if I’ll retroactively get ones for the master branches I finished, but I might, and those alone would be worth it.”
“I mean, if you want awakening bonuses, I could just help you awaken connect. Maybe your knowledge too, if we try hard enough.”
“Yeah, and I’ll take both of those too,” she nodded, wanting all the power she could get. “But the awakening bonuses were my smallest point. I’m not a child, Ben. I can make up my own mind about this, and this is what I want. My own goddess isn’t going to care. If she did, then she would have tried to stop me from gaining all the levels I just did.”
“Okay, if you’re really sure, then fine, but there’s another issue. Unless you’ve forgotten, this isn’t exactly the easiest skill to awaken. If everything you did the other day wasn’t enough to push you over the edge, even while you were wearing a bracelet giving you my authorities, then you might just have a really bad compatibility with it. I can tell you’re close, but as for what I can help you do that would push you over the edge-”
“What’s there to think about?” she asked, grabbing his arm where a particular bracelet clung to his flesh. “You’re doing it right now, aren’t you? Just bring me in and give me a turn.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why? You can protect me from whatever exposure to a god's mind might do, and Ben… you think you’re going to die fighting the demon’s god.”
“I actually think my odds of survival have increased a fair bit.”
“Enough that you’re confident in winning?”
“I’m never going to be confident in winning.”
“Exactly, and if that’s the case, then having me there will only increase your odds.”
“No, it won’t. I’m sorry, Thera, but if anything, it will lower them. There is no conceivable way you’re reaching the same level of sacrilege as I’m at in the time we have left.”
“I don’t need to. You were planning on going off to get yourself killed so long as you reached the third tier of it, so I’ll just do the same.”
“Which is also going to be impossible for you. No, forget it.”
“Maybe it would be normally, but we have a bunch of god souls to use, I can get the experience.”
“Except I can do things to them you can’t, even with my help, not to mention that when I’m doing that, I’m existing at timeframes that would drive you mad. You aren’t spending a million years in my head torturing someone.”
“Who says it’s going to have to be that long? That’s the sort of insanity you have to do to level up when you’re already in the third tier. I'm just aiming to reach it, and if I’m wrong and can’t make it, then I won’t go. Simple.”
“... It’s not that simple,” Ben said, hanging his head back. “Thera, I’m not a good person. I don’t feel a shred of remorse for what I’ve done to the forbidden gods, but that doesn’t mean I want you to see what I’ve put them through.”
“You think I’m going to care?”
“... No, that’s solely for me,” he told her, shaking his head before facing her. “Fine, but I really won’t bring you with me if you don’t get to the third tier, even if I have to actively stop you. I promise, anything less than the third tier in front of this guy would be a death sentence, and even now I still want other awakenings because I don’t know if my sacrilege is going to be enough.”
“That’s fine with me; all I need is the chance.”
She could see he was unhappy, but he still accepted it in the end, believing that, regardless of if she reached the third tier, awakening the skill at all would give her an important protection from the gods, and even if he didn’t want her to see it, still pulled her into the section of the mindspace where he kept the forbidden god currently in his possession, knowing that she’d completely failed to hide the shock seeing it had left her given that by pulling her mind into his thoughts, he had to be accessing her own.
“... I thought you would fix them up when they got too broken,” Thera said, seeing something that looked more akin to raw, pulsing meat than any sort of deity and briefly wondered if Ben was forcing it to look like that or if the experience within his mind had made the mental form it created for itself to appear such a way, with Ben’s answer both cold and detached as he looked at it with indifference.
“That’s because one, it’s not too broken yet, and two, it will be easier for me to make sure nothing goes wrong while you’re using it if it’s already beaten down.”
“Alright, well, what should I do to it then?”
“You don’t have the right skill set to treat it the way I do, which means you’re going to be fairly limited. If you wanted to use it for practice, I’d go over there and start kicking.”
“Kicking?”
“For as many hours or days as you can handle. It won’t be fun, but that thing is still a god and, if nothing else, I can guarantee it will at least get you your awakening.”
She looked at it, a thing that barely looked like it could be considered alive, let alone a being that had once ruled an entire world, but she forced herself to remember what it was. One of the forbidden gods who, in their own self interest, had not only potentially doomed the planet and the greater universe beyond, but had also hurt their own believers, the demis who she’d grown to care about as well and, having put herself in the correct frame of mind, walked over, pulled her leg back, and began to kick.