He was sitting at the bar counter, with a plate of food and a drink next to it. He turned around and saw a man standing right behind him, two men actually. He spun in his seat to face them and saw two hidden blades that they carried. He said nothing and looked up at them, "I am eating, why are you disturbing me?"
"Vidian, the nature of your journey isn't holy, you are trying to bring back the Death of the World, we can't have that happen, our god has demanded that we end you," One of the men said as he reached for the blade, "Lord Boros has told us t-," Vidian drove his fist into the man's chest and grabbed for the blade, making it crumble. The man bent in half as the other tried to attack Vidian, receiving a kick below the belt and Vidian grabbed the revealed blade, it crumbled to dust in his hand. He pushed the man to the floor.
"Go back and tell Lord Boros that even if he is a god, this attempt he has used twice already, is getting boring, tell him to deal with me personally, when I go see him, I will have to anyways," Vidian said as the men scrambled out of the inn, "Lord Boros, huh, well, I have a work to do tonight once more," He sat down on the stool and spun back to his food and continued eating. The rest of the room, that was silent, went back to doing what they had been doing. He shook his head and continued eating.
He was sitting on Diabellariana's bed as she walked around the room, clearly frustrated, "Lady Diabellariana, what is frustrating you so much?"
"Ah, nothing, nothing, let's just start."
"No, no, talk to me, I don't want this to be something annoying for you."
"Why would you? You probably are just trying to get my work, you don't care."
"I do, actually, Lady Diabellariana."
"Do you really?" He nodded as she sat down next to him, "I am just frustrated about what happened in town, with Lord Boros."
"It's nothing."
"He is so annoying, trying to hurt you when you already have to try and complete a work, ugh, it annoys me," He moved his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, "And, I don't like that, that he tried to interfere in Fendian's work."
"I have a question."
"Yes, Vidian?"
"I want to know more about you, so can you tell me more?"
"About me?"
"Yeah, I don't think I can just sleep with a goddess and ignore her, I think that I would like to learn more about you, I want to talk about you."
"Oh, um, okay," She started to get shy and nervous, like Fendian had told him, "What do you want to know?"
"Tell me anything, hopefully, that I don't know."
"Um, okay."
He woke up with Diabellariana lying next to him, holding his arm against her naked chest. He lay his head back and decided to let her wake up instead of making her wake up. He moved closer to her and looked at her, she was actually sleeping, not like the day before. She whimpered as she opened her eyes, "That was cute."
"Oh, Vidian, um, good morning, I thought you would still be asleep."
"I woke up a little time ago, that was fun, it seemed to please you more that last night," Vidian said kissing her, "I had fun, for sure."
"I actually liked it, I haven't been this pleased with a non-god in a long time, maybe even ever, you passed my work, I need more rest," She said as he got dressed, "Tell Fendian that I am done with you, so that you can move on, oh, and you can call me Diabella, the nickname I get from most gods."
"Um, okay Lady Diabella, thank you," He left her room as she lay still on the bed, exhausted. He walked into the entrance of the Temple where Fendian was talking with Malvenon, before noticing Vidian, "Lady Diabella said that she was done with me."
"Ah, perfect, perfect, your next work will be Dratkin's, Justia," Justia walked into the room, "Bring Vidian to Dratkin, he doesn't know where he is, and I will be out, so tend to the temple, for the moment."
"Yes, Lord Fendian, Vidian, follow me," She was wearing a black robe, representing Lord Fendian's gods. She lead him down a flight of spiral stairs, into an open space under the temple, water flowed down from the roof into a circle in the ground before flowing out of the room, probably to join the river again, "Lord Dratkin should be here, he will talk to you, I have to leave you."
"Thank you, Justia," As she left a figure rose from the dark water, "Lord Dratkin, you are good at hiding."
"That isn't me."
"I know, I know you are behind me, I knew that was a fake."
"Ah, yes," He jumped down from a beam on the roof, "I forgot that you had Inventaariy's blessing, I have a simple work for you."
"Tell me then, Lord of Thieves."
"Justia wears a small emblem, Lord Fendian's emblem, around her neck, that hangs in the center of her chest, steal it from her," He said pacing around the room, "She probably never takes it off, unless she does when she sleeps."
"I'll try, Lord Dratkin."
"Go, you have an unlimited amount of time," He said as Vidian walked out of the room, "She hasn't been told about it, but she, she is special, you'll figure that out soon," Vidian walked back up from the room and into the temple. He saw Justia cleaning the altar of Fendian. He walked up to her and leaned against the wall.
"Hey, Justia, how are you doing?"
"Oh, hello Vidian, how am I? I am fine, just cleaning the altar, like usual, what do you want to ask me?"
"I just wanted to talk, I have to rest a little bit, my works are tiring, and I started talking to you that other night, until Lord Belanos's disruption."
"That is true, what do you want to talk about?"
"How is being the priestess of Fendian like?"
"It can be tiring, since I only ever get a few hours of rest and the days can be long, especially when the gods move around, like Lord Fendian, when he leaves for a little bit of time, but at least, the gods like Lady Diabellariana don't leave, I would never be able to speak and advise with people looking for her guidance."
"Does that happen often?"
"Not really, but still, better her than me, I don't have her experience, or her knowledge," She giggled, "What works have you done?"
"I have done, um, Lord Belanos's, Lady Diabellariana's and Lord Malvenon's, I have Lord Sionar's and Lord Dratkin's, which he said I could delay, to rest."
"That's good, am I that interesting?"
"I don't know, I guess so, when do you finish you work here?"
"Never."
"Not what I meant."
"I know, I finish at night, after dusk, the temple closes, so that I get to rest, so I go to the tavern and such, why?"
"Just asking."
"Let me guess, you want to invite me for a walk in the forest or something?"
"Is that something you like?" She nodded, "If you want."
"Okay, just meet me here after dusk, I'll have finished by then."
"Of course, I'll see you later Justia, bye."
"Bye!"
Vidian sat on the stone bench outside of the temple as the sun had set. He waited for Justia to finish. He looked down at his feet, his boots were in a miserable state, along with his pants that has small tears above his ankles. He combed his hair back with his hand as Justia walked out of the temple, looking around for him. She smiled at him and skipped towards him. "Lord Fendian told me that I wouldn't be called to the temple for the night, so we have all the time we want."
"You seem to be hinting at something?"
"Not at all, Vidian, let's go?"
"Did you see the stranger?"
"Yeah, that guy with the priestess?"
"They seem like they are going on a date."
"Let's go ruin their fun, what do you two think?"
"Definitely, there hasn't been much brawls at the bar and nothing much in town, I am bored as hell, let's follow them from a distance for a while."
Justia had slowly, but surely been able to grab Vidian's hand. He rolled his eyes as she got a hold of it, probably thinking that she had gone unnoticed. She began talking, "I haven't talked about you too much, tell me about you, where are you from?"
"A small town by the Great Desert, on the other side of the Great Desert, not this side," Vidian explained, "I left a month ago? Something like that, to collect the blessings of the gods."
"You left everything for that? Your family? Your home?"
"I don't have a family, Justia, I never have, so I didn't leave anything but a small home, and maybe a few friends, but I met a few more over my quest, I think I am having more fun than I could've ever had in my town."
"What are the scars on your back? You are covered of them."
"I had a bad childhood, beating, whippings, mixed with the sand, dust and dirt from my labor, made these scars, but they are behind me, literally and figuratively."
"You are able to make humor with things that traumatizing? You must be very resilient, emotionally and physically."
"Thank you, I try to do everything for others, not really for me."
"Wow, I have never met anyone like that, but, why did you start this quest of yours?"
"Lord Eternum came to me, he told me too."
"You talked to Lord Eternum? I talk to gods every day, but even they sometimes don't talk to Lord Eternum, he is the almighty, you are really lucky."
"That is coming from the priestess Justia, I think that it is an honor to have him talk to me and give me a quest."
"What is the endpoint of this quest?"
"He hasn't told me yet, so, so far it is Lord Boros's blessing."
"Sorry to crash your moment," Three Darkkin men appeared out of nowhere, "But the stranger seems like a fun target," They were armed to the teeth, two blades each with a blade on their belts, small like a dagger. He began mutating his arms, "Get him," Justia moved away from the fighting as Vidian caught two of the men in his mutated arms, and tossed them to the side. He hadn't seen the third man. He drove the blade towards his shoulder. Vidian felt the blade bounce hard on his shoulder and he turned and swung at the man as the Blessing of the Conqueror, blasting him with both his hands. The man fell unconscious to the floor, maybe dead. He turned and saw one of the two men he had stopped. He drove his fist down against the man's blade and drove it into him, against his force. He turned as Justia screamed, the last man had her with a dagger to her throat. He created a bow with his arm, "Move any closer and she dies," He drew an arrow and aimed towards them, "I told you to stay back, or she dies."
"Justia, do you trust me?"
"Yes," He let loose the arrow and it found its mark in the man's eye, making him drop his blade and let go of Justia. He rushed towards her returning his arms to their human state, "Thank the gods, Vidian, you are a savior, thank you so much."
"It's fine, I am sorry about the arrow thing."
"Don't, you saved me, I can forgive that."
"You want to go back to town? Like, maybe eat something?"
"Ohhh, sure, let's go," She looked at the bodies, "Let's not stay here."
"Whatever you want, I am actually pretty hungry."
"Now that I think of it, so am I."
"You want to know anything else about me?"
"How strong are you?"
"I don't know, why?"
"Because of your body, you look very powerful."
"I get that, I was a labor man, so lifting heavy loads and moving and heavy duty works were my thing, I did them for a living, so here is the result, if I flex apparently I seem inhuman."
"I want to see that," She said as they walked back towards town, "Show me," He stopped and flexed his left arm, "Wow, okay, that is what you meant, you are impressive."
"What food do you like?"
"Anything good really, but, tell me, how old are you?"
"20, I think, not sure anymore."
"You are young, wow."
"I guess you are older."
"33, yes, a little older, just a little."
"You aren't old, 33 is pretty young actually."
"Are you trying to be less rude?"
"No, but you don't look like that, you look younger than 33."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't lie for that."
"Well, I guess, what happened to your family?"
"I was sold as a slave after a foreseer told them that I would be weak, well, at least that is what he told me before I killed him."
"You killed him?"
"Revenge for what he made me do, like I killed my master, I know, I know, it is bad, that I killed my master, and killed pointlessly."
"I think I would've done the same, if I had your strength, well, that was a nice walk, despite the men and their attack, it would've been even better," She stopped on the side of the road, "Do you mind if we sit here, I want to watch the sky, there is no rain today, nor clouds, the sky is beautiful at night, the mix of Lady Diana's beauty and of the stars that light up the sky, and their light upon our mortal realm, it makes them very pretty."
"Not as pretty as you," He said as he sat down next to her. She began blushing brightly. She sat down next to him and looked up as the sun had nearly entirely set, "You liked that comment? Didn't you?"
"I guess I did, you make me nervous, like, the comments, and the way you dress, it is awkward."
"You don't have to be awkward, you have a gorgeous body as well," She was completely red, she could have even had steam leaving her head with the way she was blushing, "You are by far the prettiest Celenstial, no, actually, the prettiest being I've ever met."
"You can't say that, that can't be true, you slept with Diabellariana, she is prettier than I am, you can't say that I am that pretty."
"I think so, I don't think that comparing you to a goddess would be fair, I have to see you with my mortal eyes, not the one of a blessing hunter, one that contemplates gods as equal powered to himself."
"Wait, what? You have matched gods in power?"
"Yes, Lord Reignus's work was to defend someone for two hours, so I had to match him, I nearly died, but that doesn't matter, I think that if I looked at the world with those eyes, I would never be able to show any type of care or kindness to the world, whereas with mortal eyes, I can see that the sky shines only to try to match your beauty, the way your robes meets your body, the way you blush, the way your hair gently sways when you walk, and the way your body rivals that of the goddesses of this world, I think that without mortal eyes, I would miss those thing from you, and ignore them, while I can't do that."
"S-S-Stop, y-you are making me n-n-nervous, I am not used to get these types of comments, I never really have anyone flirt with me."
"That's too bad, well, you want to go eat?"
"Y-Yes, let's go," He held out his hand and helped her up, "I am hungry now."
They were sitting together, Vidian was sitting next to her at a table in the inn. She was nervous, maybe it was the first time she had done something like this. There was food on the table, he waited for her to start. She slowly took some food and began eating. He smiled at her and took a bit as well.
"I met you here, you must spend a lot of time here."
"I do, I do, I eat here when I don't eat in the temple, and I like it here, it is lively, music, people, not gods, those can get a little boring at times, since I see them every day, and I always have."
"Where I lived, we didn't have a temple, I didn't really pray to sub-gods, only to the supreme gods."
"I have a question, I didn't ask you before, how did you do those things with your arms, like the bow? The arrow? The sheer strength?"
"Lord Eternum's Blessing, the amulet gives me that power, to do anything with my arms, but I can't wield a weapon, or it crumbles."
"That is really cool, I don't have any powers."
"You don't need any, you're already perfect," She blushed again, "I am still imperfect," She was bright pink, "You are perfect in every way."
"Um, um, um, um, I d-d-don't know what to say to that."
"You don't have to say anything, I enjoyed our little walk."
"So did I, it was nice, except for the last part, you know, that was a little scary, but you saved me, so I thank you for that."
"Don't worry, I would've never been able to let you down."
"I have a question, why are you flirting with me today? All of a sudden?"
"I couldn't when I was doing Lady Diabellariana's work, Lord Fendian told me to give her all my attention, so I couldn't do what I wanted to do, so today, I can do that, does it bother you?"
"A little, but not because of you, but because it embarrasses me to have someone giving me so much attention, I, I, I am not used to that."
"I find that weird that no one has tried to charm you."
"Are you trying to charm me?"
"Maybe a little."
"At least you aren't hiding it."
"I don't need to," He moved closer to her, "I have only ever seen you in these black robes, do you have any other ones? Or do you only have similar ones?"
"All my clothes are dark, but I have different ones, unlike you, clearly, only having those pants and those boots."
"I had only a few, they are expensive to make, these are made for work and labor, hard leather and hides with hard lining, the boots are less expensive to make, but I only needed one."
"I assume you had shirt beforehand?"
"It was torn to pieces by some creatures during my travels, I killed them afterwards but still, they destroyed some of my maps and such, but I got through it," He turned his head towards her, "You've lived here all your life, I assume."
"Yes, my mother was a priestess as well, my father was murdered."
"By bandits?"
"How did you know?"
"This is yours, maybe, since it looks like a family crest of some sort," He placed a small decorated ring on the table, "Bandits of the bridge, they had it, I found it yesterday, as I did Lord Malvenon's work, so I thought it was important, and apparently this is a symbol that Malvenon told me was your family's and so I wanted to find a moment to give it to you."
"You found it? I thought I would never have find it," She said sliding it onto a finger of her right hand, that already had two other rings, "So now my family can be complete again, I have to mourn them, now that I found them I can give them back to them, can you come with me?"
"Where are we going?" He asked finishing the food in his mouth.
"The Necropolis, were my mother's body is, along with some of my father's things, I can now give these back to them."
"Okay, sure, I'll go with you."
They were in a small, candle lit room, part of a massive underground room, below the temple. She walked slowly with the three rings in her hand, placing them in front of a coffin, next to a batch of shriveled flowers and ash incense. She hadn't been there in a long time, she placed the three rings, tears slowly crawling down her cheeks, she turned and looked for comfort in Vidian. He hugged her and tried to comfort her, she was now completely crying. She probably was crying of joy and of sadness, to see that she had 'found' her father yet having to see their coffin again. She walked in his arm, still close to him, as they left the Necropolis. He walked her to her room, but as he went to leave, she grabbed his hand, "Vidian," He turned around to face her, but she pulled him into a kiss, she still had tears in her eyes. He closed his eyes and gently lifted her in his arms as they kissed. She let go and was blushing, "Goodnight, Vidian, see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, goodnight, Justia, see you tomorrow, that was a nice evening."
"Yes, it was, thank you."
"I'll be going now, goodnight, Justia."
"G-Goodnight, Vidian, sleep well."
"You too."