Before Zamira stood in the presence of a true god, the moment she raised her head and saw Constantine holding that tree's 'hand' she knew it. It wasn't faked or a lie.
"No god has been witnessed ever since the curse of Rotborn plagued humanity and the death of God Lucius…" she said with awe, looking up and down to the person before her, it could be fake... it could simply be magic, but then again, what magic? the trees are moving and the entire forest is responding to this person's presence.
Without divinity, that's impossible.
"My name is Aurelianne, Goddess of Life. State your name, mortal." The Goddess didn't release Constantine's hand, she wanted to address several things, but her first-ever worshipper was also important.
"M-My goddess, I'm Zamira, may your name be haughty across all kingdoms!" Zamira didn't fail to shower the goddess with praises, such is the way for mortals to address Gods.
The tree lady nodded with contentment, "It seems my champion has made an acquaintance out of you, I must thank you for assisting him through his first days in this land, you have my deepest gratitude."
'Champion!?' She was wondering what their intimate relationship was, that is no different than an envoy.
"N-No! He saved my life! It is me instead who should apologise for challenging your faith, my goddess... it won't happen again." She apologised deeper, challenging a living god's faith would oftentimes result in death, a sudden disease, or a lightning strike, sometimes the gods were even more overbearing and threw a mountain up their heads.
She didn't want to go through it.
"Do you believe in me now?" The Goddess inquired with a cute tilted head, just to make sure.
"Yes!"
"Will you worship me as your goddess, life for my sake and receive my blessings?"
"I shall worship the true goddess that lives above the land, please tell me what my endeavour shall be, my goddess." Zamira knelt down happily, it was such an honour.
Aurelianne extended her hand and a translucent sparkle of light left her body, entering her body, she felt indescribable warmth.
"I'm afraid my greatest blessing has already been given away, but for assisting my champion until this moment, I shall gift you with vitality, this should slow down Rotborn for several decades."
!!!
"Thank you! Thank you!"
For any human in Sandoria, being able to extend their lifespan was the greatest of blessings.
"As for your endeavour, please, assist my champion in the mission with which I have sent him here, that's all I ask of you." Aurelianne asked kindly and Zamira noticed how some roots came out of the earth and caressed her knees.
"I heed!"
"Could you allow us a few moments alone, Zamira?" Aurelianne no longer called her 'mortal', with Zamira being her first worshipper, her existence became 'relevant'.
Zamira nodded and bowed once more before leaving the area.
...
"What about him?" Constantine pointed at the sleeping bulky man who apparently was having a good dream, salivating even.
"Don't worry, he's still sleeping, a rather heavy sleeper dare I say~" She was referring to Andre and with no one else around she quickly pulled him against her wooden body.
"Is there a particular reason as to why you wanted her to be my worshipper and not that man?" Aurelianne pouted and embraced him by the waist, it was complicated for him as he simply was unable to embrace the entire tree's stem in this position.
"There are two big reasons." He whispered beside her ears huskily and her eyes rolled.
"Yeah, sure… I know what reasons are those… my champion it is time for me to leave, thank you for gaining me my first worshipper~" Her nose touched him and she rubbed them cutely, even if it wasn't as soft as usual he still relished in the feeling, she was so cute all the time...
"I have a question, regarding the blessing that you gave me… it is called the blessing of the golden seed…" He gulped slightly and began his enquiry.
"Yes~" She gigged.
"And it says that I shall gain someone's potential by inserting my seed in them."
"Yes~ you will awaken their potential too, it is a seed of 'life'~" The Goddess giggled again.
"And how exactly do I insert that seed *cough!*" That's the most important part.
"That's something you'll have to research on your own, I am not about to tell you what you have to do as I would be a failure as your woman to do so. One of my legs is already in the realm of Inexistence just by giving you that blessing, the moment your wives see it, they're going to hunt me down~" She caressed his cheek.
"Why?" He couldn't understand, by now he knows what exactly the blessing is, if that's the case, why did she do it?
"I desire that you enjoy yourself as much as possible in Sandoria, my champion, you have already suffered enough in your world, Dragoncrest. Just make sure to protect me from them when the time comes~"
"Always." He was happy with the 'gift' but it also produced complications in him, such power was something he would have killed for before 'settling down' with his wives, but now.
A new addition like Aurelianne was an exception, not the rule.
"But remember who is your goddess, alright?"
He nodded with a slight glint of suspiciousness that she noticed and only laughed lightly as a response, it was slightly odd for him still that his five wives, being goddesses themselves, had allowed Aurelianne to make him her champion.
"Can someone be the champion of two goddesses?"
"It is possible, but extremely unadvisable... depending on the relationship between gods, they might even kill each other for a champion, but don't worry, the sisters won't cause trouble for this~" She said with a straight face, but he could notice a drop of sap rub down her forehead.
"..." That didn't sound good.
"Will you get jealous when the time comes?" He referred to the time when he was to impart the 'seed'.
"I will not so long as you don't become someone else's champion. Why would I? Love is an expression of life, the golden seed of life can only be given to those you love, I only hope you will be responsible this time and not leave a sea of broken hearts in your wake."
"A-Are you telling me to make a harem?" His eyebrows twitched, she's completely opposite to the rest.
'I can already see Caroline bullying her...'
"You didn't hear that from my mouth, farewell, my champion~ whenever you pray for me, just remember, I am always hearing." The goddess' lips sealed and the silhouette morphed back into the tree as her divinity was banished, even then, the tree remained as it looked amazing and bigger in between all those smaller trees in this forest.
The testimony of a god's presence.
**
**
"H-How should I call you now?" Zamira came back after being called and afterwards knelt down to continue what they had left off, her pledge.
"Just call me Constantine, listen, I don't want a servant or a maid, I want a companion… if you want to stay with me you will have to get stronger." He helped her up with a sigh.
"I will try hard, Constantine." This is exactly what she wanted, that prowess he displayed, she wanted to emulate it.
They sat against that same tree, it was still the night and the sun was far from coming up again, he patted his lap and she blushed and acceded, laying on it while he caressed her hair.
...
"Could I ask you a question?" She suddenly asked to break the silence that the nightly insects weren't able to achieve.
"State it."
"Why would you only introduce her Grace to me but not Andre?" She looked at the still sleeping Andre and also switched his way to address her new goddess.
"Three reasons, first off you're a girl..." He confessed unashamedly, there was no need to conceal it.
[...]
"And how does that relate?" She didn't understand why would that change anything, and it made him understand that relations in this world were truly skewered, it seems being male or female is indifferent, in hindsight she and Anne were working just as hard as the other guys to survive.
"It is easier for me to trust women than men, a matter of preference, the second is that we've had fairly good chemistry and you've been very helpful ever since we met, Zamira. I trust you" he didn't add 'not completely'.
"Yes... and what is the last?" Ever since she saw hope in him showing up with his head through, she trusted him, to her, life is extremely important.
And that's because 'life' is the only thing she has, at least until Rotborn takes it away.
"That is, that unlike Andre; you have nothing to lose." The Conqueror smiled.
"H-How do you know?" Her body shivered and for a moment she felt vulnerable, but his soothing caresses made her know otherwise.
"That face and behaviour of yours... you scarred your face because no one would take care of you, you'd have to fend on your own. You're not scared of Luke's threats because nothing awaited you outside that cave, you were as good as dead."
"..."
"The way you fight, how you carry your broken sword, we've come across several better weapons along the way, but you're still hanging onto that sword... someone gave you that sword when you had nothing, and for you, nothing is as valuable."
"... How can you know?!" She was awed that he could realise so many things about her without asking directly, merely unconscious actions of hers.
"Because I have gone through the same, before... that's why I trust you. I can tell that you have nowhere to go back to, Zamira." He twirled some of her hair strands.
"Hehe, that's right, I have nothing else... are you intending to use that against me?" She smiled self-mockingly, that's what people in this world would do, take advantage of someone else's vulnerability, without even knowing she exposed herself completely to this man, however, it wasn't only her, all of them did.
"Would you believe me capable of doing so?" He actually deadpanned, 'do people perceive me that unfriendly?'
[I would...]
'Nobody asked you.'
[See? you're quite unfriendly.]
'Certainly miss tactful horsey.'
...
"If I did, I wouldn't have pledged myself to you... I trust you." She held his hand and blushed, but then she also noticed his lack of reaction, his smile contained kindness, but nothing else...
"Then I won't~ instead, I will help you attain things you can call your own."
"Can I ask you a question, now that we are in this setup?" She shot Andre a brief gaze.
"Say..."
"What exactly is your magic? you said it was wind and fire but... some other things don't make sense... I'm not a magus, but magic isn't exclusive to magus, there are artefacts that we can use as non-magus as well, arrays and so on, they're quite expensive... I know that you didn't use just wind and fire." She said, especially the wholes that he made, it was so obvious, no one said a word after his threat but they all suspected he was using Earth Magic.
And with that, there were many questions, that 'quartz' that he made in front of her, they were just afraid to ask and get killed.
"Well, you got me there, it is not like I was trying to conceal it excruciatingly." He scratched his head and sighed, in a situation like that, how could he not use every means available for survival just for the sake of concealing his true prowess? it was merely a matter of trust.
"Then..." The purple-haired beauty insisted on her question.
"I can use all of the elements. Earth, Wind, Fire and Water."
!!!
"And I am an elf hybrid, I can use light as well... you better keep this a secret~" He whispered beside her ears, amused at her reaction.
"Y-You!" She looked at him up and down in disbelief, her perception had changed.
'H-Hybrid, a Goddess' champion, someone that can use five elements...'
"What?"
"You're a monster!! do you know how incredible is for anyone to be able to use merely TWO elements!?"
"Don't yell or it won't be a secret anymore..." He closed her mouth and she was left mumbling in his hand, he didn't really care if Andre heard, he planned to make the man into his retainer as well, but later.
"There might not even be anyone like you in this world, I will keep this SECRET WITH ALL MY-"
"You're yelling again..." He sighed.
"..." The girl calmed down, but the light shining in her eyes wouldn't fade.
"D-Do you have a red core too?" She asked suddenly, a question he didn't understand.
"Red core?"
"Your magus core... is it red?" There were apparent expectations in her words?
"Before that, could you tell me what types of cores are known?" He requested an explanation, as far as he's concerned, 'Ether' is the only one.
"Black, yellow, blue and red... those are the standard grades, it usually determines how strong the spell is once cast, how fast a person can replenish their mana reserves, sometimes even how versatile they are with their spells, the natural capacities they have with their inherited element, and much more, red is the top of this world, is yours red too?" She wanted to know, it would only place her surprise yet another step up the ladder.
'T-There is not even an Ether core here!?'
[It is not that there aren't there are several types of cores which are exceptions, whereas those she mentioned are the standard among mortals, yours is merely one of the exceptions.] Zebellia stated.
"Hmn, how normal is it to have more than one core?" He decided to avoid that question for now and instead ask something else.
"U-Uh...?" She didn't even want to imagine the implications of his question, eventually, suppressing her curiosity, she answered.
"T-The Witch Queen Aemir, the strongest and most evil witch in the ancient times... was said to have three cores... she could control a lot of elements, even profane divinities, but she's the peak of magic beneath the Gods, don't tell me you have three cores too!?"
*COUGH!*
"Of course not!"
'Zebellia, what the hell!? why am I so loaded?! they don't even have these ether cores thingies here, the strongest has less than I do?! I didn't have any of this before!' Sometimes having too many secrets and strengths was a disadvantage, especially when one is still vulnerable.
[Why is that a problem? isn't it better to be stronger?]
'I just don't want to be seen like a walking treasure by revealing prowess that I shouldn't possess!'
[Clever... what do you expect? all of those blessings were ingrained in your soul due to the constant bonding with five powerful minor goddesses, they unconsciously nurtured your soul to this stage, it would be odder if you ended up being a normal human after coming here... ether cores might be odd here, but they're not that strange in the entire universe, as for having several cores, I know a lot of emperors who possess five divine cores.]
"I see..." It was sort of relieving to know there were precedents he could analyse
[But even them with five standard cores can't begin to approach what you can achieve with four ether cores, what kind of monster you're going to turn into, I am already aware of... how sad that such potential is wasted in a wife stealer]
'It is unfair to call me that without putting 'Emperor' after.'
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom ...
Constantine coughed slightly after his inner rabblings with Zebellia and addressed Zamira.
"Listen Zamira, I have a lot of things that I can't reveal, I hope you understand... they're sensitive and would put us in danger if known." The most he could reveal was his half-elf origin.
"I know, you don't trust me completely yet, I will make sure to earn your trust, nobody will know! NO! I WILL KILL ANYONE THAT DISCOVERS IT!" The girl nodded excitedly.
"I like your enthusiasm!"
Andre's eyes moved back and forth, annoyed at the noise that people were making, he just slapped several insects away before going back to sleep.
"Hmn dear, I w-will be back... soon, I survi...ved..."
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