[Bound By Faith]
Tanya was practically sweating as she lay face down on her bed. Despite the fact that she was practically naked from the waist up, and the overall ambient temperature of the room, she felt as if she had been dipped into a furnace.
And it was all because of that damn mark on her back.
The only solace came in the form of cool fingers pressing against her heated skin. Hunched over her, Loki frowned as she traced the golden vines crawling over Tanya’s naked back.
“Wierd...”
“How kind of you to say so,” Tanya muttered into the sheets.
Loki ignored the sarcasm, her fingers tracing the path of the shining roots up to their source—a coin-sized mark planted directly on the base of her spine. All the vines seemed to originate from there, growing outward like an infection.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Loki murmured as she pressed a finger against the mark. The delicate touch seemed to provoke a reaction from the mark, causing it to flare up and the vines to glow. Tanya tensed, hissing through gritted teeth, and Loki immediately withdrew her finger with a muttered apology.
Off to the side, the audience to the examination waited anxiously. Finn was present, as the captain of her Familia, as were the two friends that had been the first to respond to Tanya’s distress. Loki could feel her blessing on one of them: Licia, she recalled.
“What’s wrong with her?” The young woman asked, seeming a moment away from wringing her hands in worry.
“It looks like someone put a curse on her,” Loki replied, gingerly tracing the edges of Tanya’s mark. This situation was a bit strange for her. She didn’t normally do something like this unless she was about to bestow her blessing.
“A curse?”
“Mhm,” Loki nodded. “Though I’ve never seen one like this before. It’s more of a brand than any malignant magic I’ve seen.”
Tanya huffed. “Of course. That bastard just doesn’t know how to—nng!”
Loki’s hands paused above Tanya’s back as the seal suddenly glowed. It rapidly spread outwards, consuming more of Tanya’s skin and crawling up the side of her face. The girl seized as white-hot pain lanced through her very being, curling her hands into claws as it grew even hotter. She knew it wasn’t going to go away on its own, yet she only opened her mouth once she could no longer bear it.
“O Lord, creator of the cosmos and guide of mankind. Look down upon your humble servants and grant us the clarity to perceive your divine will, and the strength to enact it upon the world so that we might...”
As her sermon continued, the pain on her body began to die away. At the same time, a wash of relief and near-ecstasy clouded her mind, seeking to wash away her anger and humiliation, to show her that this was the right thing to do.
Just as she always had, Tanya resisted, clinging finger loathing like a drowning man to a raft. When she came back into herself, the room was silent, Loki’s fingers unmoving against her skin.
It was Finn who spoke first. “What was that?”
Loki didn’t respond immediately. Her fingers remained frozen against Tanya’s skin, and when she finally moved, it was only to lift her hand away. The absence of her cool touch left Tanya wanting to cover herself, though she knew rising would only leave her more exposed.
“Everyone out,” Loki said.
Her voice was quiet, but it carried the weight of absolute command. Tanya heard shuffling behind her, the sound of feet moving toward the door.
“Finn, stay,” Loki added, her tone serious. “The rest of you, out.”
More shuffling, the soft click of the door opening and closing. Tanya turned her head just enough to see Dorian’s retreating back and Licia’s worried eyes before the door shut behind them.
As the room emptied, Loki heaved a massive sigh. The bed creaked as she moved away, and Tanya took the opportunity to rise, holding her shirt to her bare chest as she looked at the goddess in askance.
“Well?”
Loki laughed humorously. “Well, it doesn’t make sense. That seal is definitely divine, but I don’t recognize the presence of the god who put it there. Moreover, I don’t understand how he put it there in the first place.”
“What do you mean?”
“Gods can’t use their Arcanum in the lower world,” Finn explained. “If someone unsealed their power and didn’t get sent back to heaven immediately, then everyone in Orario would be able to sense it, but nothing like that happened.”
“So you can understand why we’re confused,” Loki said, crossing her arms and looking down at Tanya. “How did he do this to you? Have you been in contact with him before?”
Tanya frowned, her fingers tightening around the shirt pressed to her chest. “Unfortunately, yes. Though I’d prefer not to go into detail if at all possible.”
Loki’s expression hardened. “I’m not asking for my health here, kid. This problem goes further than you. If a god managed to bypass the restrictions on their Arcanum, then that could have horrific ramifications for all of the lower world. We’re talking about a being who could reshape reality on a whim and there wouldn’t be a damn thing any of us could do to stop them.”
Tanya looked between Loki and Finn, noting the identical blank expressions on both their faces. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“This is going to be difficult to explain,” she muttered.
“Start from the beginning,” Finn reassured. “Who did this to you?”
Tanya was silent for a long moment, her jaw working as she tried to figure out where to even begin. Her relationship with Being X was not something that lent itself to easy explanation, particularly to people who had a fundamentally different understanding of divinity.
“His name is not something I can give you, unfortunately,” Tanya said slowly, “He’s only ever referred to himself as some variation of God. I’ve been calling him Being X for two lifetimes now because I refuse to play into his little game.”
Loki’s brow furrowed. “Two lifetimes?”
“Yes. I’ve had the distinct displeasure of being recycled through existence at his whim,” Tanya said. “I was born, lived, and died as a normal man, but rather than allowing me the dignity of a permanent death, he saw fit to shove me into another body in another world entirely. And when that life ended, he did it again.”
“Man?” Finn asked
Tanya smiled thinly. “Yes, I was originally male. I believe putting me into the body of a female infant was his idea of a joke. I don’t find it very funny but I’ve had ample time to learn to live with it.”
Loki and Finn exchanged a look, but to Tanya’s surprise, neither of them seemed to dismiss her claims out of hand.
“I guess that explains some things,” Finn said, while Loki nodded slowly, eying Tanya.
“So Being X has been with you the entire time?”
“We aren’t exactly paired together, but he had a habit of showing up at inconvenient times in my last life,” Tanya said. “In this life, he’s been far less... Troublesome. I was beginning to hope that he abandoned me here and went about his business, but as I suspected, he can’t seem to let go of me.”
Tanya was careful not to say anything explicitly insulting about Being X. Her skin still tingled with the remnants of her last little episode and she wasn’t exactly looking forward to another one.
“And he is a god, right?” Loki asked
“He claims to be the God,” Tanya corrected. “The society I come from originally was primarily monotheistic. There were several different religions, but the most popular of them agreed in the existence of an all-powerful creator, even if the creation myths tended to differ. If he’s to be believed, that creator is him.”
“Judging by the way you talk about him, I’m guessing you don’t believe him.”
Tanya scoffed. “If there is a higher power commanding all of existence as it sees fit, I doubt it would be so petty as to take the time to personally torment one atheist above millions of dastardly souls. I was a salaryman. A bit more career oriented than most, but certainly nothing that would warrant this level of personal attention.”
She turned, nodding toward the seal on her back. “He’s obsessed with making me see the “truth”. In my last life, he jettisoned me into a war hoping that I would find my faith in some act of desperation. That failed, so now he seems to be taking more drastic measures.”
Loki was quiet for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then, she stepped toward the bed, gesturing for Tanya to lie down. “Lay back down. I want to try something.”
Tanya raised an eyebrow but complied, shifting back onto the bed and settling face-down against the sheets. Loki’s hands found their place on her back once more. Tanya tensed at the contact, but forced herself to remain still.
“What exactly are you doing?” she asked into the pillow.
Loki’s hands trailed towards her ribs, following the path of a vine. “If this Being X has been with you for as long as you say, then he’s probably left some sort of mark on your soul. Something that connects you to him on a fundamental level.”
Tanya’s expression soured. That wasn’t exactly a revelation but to hear it stated so plainly was unsettling nonetheless.
“That... makes sense,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Yes...” Loki’s fingers stilled for a moment near Tanya’s shoulder blades before continuing. “And I’m beginning to think that might be a good thing.”
“Excuse me?”
“How so?” Finn spoke over Tanya’s confused declaration.
Loki ignored both questions in favor of pressing a finger against Tanya’s seal once more. Just like before, the intrusion of the goddess’s digit caused the seal to flare up dangerously. This time however, Loki didn’t pull back immediately as Tanya let out a pained gasp. Instead, she smiled.
“Just as I thought. This is how he did it.” Loki pulled away, her face and tone painted with satisfaction.
Tanya pushed herself up onto her elbows, craning her neck to look back at Loki. “Care to share with the class?”
Loki looked at her, eyes squinted with her mischievous grin. “He didn’t use his Arcanum.”
Finn’s eyes widened fractionally. “What?”
“The seal on her back,” Loki gestured toward Tanya’s spine. “It is divine in origin; I can feel that much. But it wasn’t created using Arcanum.”
Tanya frowned, not quite following. “Then how?”
“He used a link that already existed,” Loki said. “You said he’s been with you for two lifetimes, right? That he reincarnated you, interfered with your life, gave you power in exchange for prayer?”
Tanya nodded slowly, beginning to see where the goddess was leading. “That’s right.”
“Then he already had a connection to your soul,” Loki said, and her smile indicated that she was extremely happy to have solved this. “All he had to do was push his will through that existing channel and impose it on your soul.”
Tanya digested this. “Is there anything you can do about it?”
Loki’s smile dimmed and the goddess eyed her seriously. “Yes, though I wonder if you're really willing to go through with it.”
“That depends on what it is.”
“I would have to give you my blessing,” Loki stated plainly. “Though even then, there’s no guarantee that his influence would disappear completely. He’s intrinsically linked that mark to your soul, so giving you a Falna would basically be putting a dam in the middle of a river. Something is gonna leak through if he tries hard enough to reassert his influence over you.”
Tanya’s response was immediate. “I already told you I’d rather have your mark over his.”
Loki studied her for a long moment. “You understand what this means? The circumstances might be extenuating, but you'd still be joining my familia.”
“I’m well aware,” Tanya said. “But given the alternative is remaining tethered to a... To someone who wants to override my free will, I think the choice is rather obvious.”
Finn interjected quickly. “If we do this, we need to be prepared for potential complications. If this Being X can still exert influence through the seal, even diminished, it could pose a risk.”
Tanya scoffed. “I can assure you that I have no intention of allowing Being X any more leverage over me than he’s already claimed. If I feel his influence creeping back, I’ll deal with it.”
Loki eyed Tanya for a long moment, before turning to her captain. “I trust her.”
“I do as well,” he agreed. “I just felt the need to point that out.”
Loki turned back to Tanya. “I’ll do it, but I want you to understand that this isn’t going to be pleasant. His seal isn’t going to give up without a fight.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from him,” Tanya muttered.
Loki gestured for Tanya to lie back down. Tanya folded her arms beneath her chin and stared at the wall, trying not to think about the fact that she was willingly offering herself up to be branded by a deity.
“At the very least, she’s not Apollo,” she muttered.
“What was that?” Loki asked, already positioning herself over Tanya’s back.
“Nothing. Get on with it, please.”
Loki’s hands settled on Tanya’s skin, and the goddess took a deep breath. “This is going to hurt. A lot.”
“I’ve experienced worse.”
“We’ll see.”
Tanya felt a pulse of warmth emanate from Loki’s palms, followed by a tingling sensation that spread across her back like ripples in a pond. It was almost pleasant, in the same way that stepping into a warm bath after a long day was pleasant. For a brief, fleeting moment, Tanya allowed herself to relax.
Then the warmth transformed into an unbearable heat, and from there it didn’t get any better.
Tanya’s bit her lip to keep from crying out as the seal on her back flared to life, the golden vines writhing and twisting stop her skin as if they were living creatures desperately fighting for survival. She could almost feel them pushing back against Loki’s blessing, resisting the intrusion. The two forces clashed inside her body, and Tanya was caught in the crossfire.
It felt as though someone had poured molten iron into her veins. Every nerve ending screamed in protest as the competing powers battled for dominance. Tanya thought to pray to try and diminish the effects, but quickly discovered that she couldn’t conjure the words.
“Stay with me, kid,” Loki’s voice cut through the haze of pain. “Don’t you dare pass out.”
Tanya wanted to tell her exactly what she thought of that suggestion, but her jaw was locked too tightly to form words.
“I’ve almost got it,” Loki grunted, and Tanya was distantly surprised to hear exertion in the goddess’s voice. “Just a little more.”
The seal made one final, desperate push accompanied by a heat so deep Tanya honestly worried after her flesh, before the pain and heat began to withdraw.
Tanya lay there, face buried in her pillow, her chest heaving with labored breaths. Sweat plastered her hair to her forehead and neck, and every muscle in her body felt like it had been wrung out and left to dry. She was dimly aware of the fact that her hands were clutching the sheets, and she forced her fingers to relax one by one.
Behind her, Loki let out a breath. “Well, that was fun.”
Tanya turned her head just enough to shoot the goddess a withering glare. “Your definition of fun and mine differ considerably.”
“How are you feeling?” Finn asked from somewhere nearby.
Tanya took stock of mental facilities. She could still feel the seal in the back of her mind, pulsing with Being X’s influence and desire for change, but it was muted. A whisper compared to the screams she had been forced to endure.
“I barely feel that bastard anymore,” Tanya said before she could think better if it. No reprisal came, and she smiled, laying her head on the bed once more.
“Good to hear,” Loki said, and Tanya could hear the grin in her voice without needing to see it. The goddess shifted off the bed, her feet hitting the floor with a soft thump. “The seal’s still there, but it’s been pushed way down. It shouldn’t be able to affect you the way it was before, at least not without a serious effort on his part.”
Tanya rolled onto her side, wincing as her muscles protested the movement. She felt sticky.
“And if he does make that effort?” she asked.
Loki eyed her. “Then we deal with it when it comes. But for now, you’ve got my mark sitting on top of his, and that’s going to make it a hell of a lot harder for him to push his way through.”
Tanya nodded slowly. It wasn’t a perfect solution—she doubted anything short of finding Being X and personally removing his influence would be—but it was an improvement.
She sighed, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. "I suppose this means I have to leave my home here for the Twilight Manor.”
“Not if you don’t want to,” Loki surprised her with a shrug. “This isn’t the way I usually induct people into my Familia. Even if you’ve got my blessing, we’ve still got a lot to talk about as far as this whole thing goes.”
She paused, taking in Tanya’s haggard state. “But we can save that for later. You’ve had a hard day and I need to have a talk with some important people. Rest up, kid.”
Tanya heard movement toward the door and assumed Loki and Finn had made a rather unceremonious exit. She remained staring at the ceiling as another set of footsteps entered behind them.
“Tanya?” Licia’s voice broached softly. Tanya’s head lolled to the side to find her friends watching her with concern. “Are you alright?”
Tanya heard the question, but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she turned her eyes back to the ceiling, finally able to focus on this whole farce with a clear mind.
She had escaped Apollo’s clutches, freed herself from the sun god’s machinations through determination and tactical acumen. She had fought and bled and suffered for her freedom, and for what? To be claimed by another deity mere weeks later?
The indignity of it gnawed at her. Loki may have been an option she had chosen, but the fact remained that after everything she had been through, she found herself bound all the same.
And it was all because that damnable Being X didn’t know when the game was lost. Now he was here in Orario, possibly forming his own familia of sycophants that would be bound to his every whim, just as Azalea had been.
Tanya’s jaw tightened as the thought settled into her mind like a stone dropping into still water.
She had tried to live her life on her own terms. She had played by the rules of the worlds she had been thrust into, adapted to their systems, and carved out what success she could. And yet, every time she thought she had found her footing, Being X was there to pull the rug out from under her.
Not this time.
“Tanya?” Licia’s voice cut through her thoughts, pulling her back to the present. “You’re worrying me. Please say something.”
Tanya closed her eyes, resolve settling deep in her bones, and spoke loud and clear, yet mostly to herself.
“I’m going to kill him.”