"Hey, Yue," I started. "If people love me as a person , does that help with the relationship I have with them?" There was no response, which was odd. She was tsundere and useless most the time, but she usually answered questions when asked.
Actually, I hadn't heard from her in a while, now that I think about it. It has me kind of worried. She used to speak to me, if only a few words.
"Yue?" I tired again. There was once again, no response. It's starting to make me worry. But I had to push the thought out of my mind as I approached the exit of the capital where Sora, Rubellia, Hans, and Patora all waited. They had new gear, no surprise.
Sora's bow was all black with a highlight of gold. Rubellias staff was also gold with a sapphire gem imbedded at the top. Hans ax was mostly black with some gold and red while Patoras spear was gold with green highlights. They definitely all had legendary weapons. I don't know how I could tell, but I could sense the power coming from them.
Not just the weapons either, but all of them. I could sense all their magic power. And Han….there was some magic power emitting from him. A lot of it in fact.
"Hey guys," I waved as I reached them. "Y'all ready?"
"Oh yeah we are." Han smirked.
"It's an abandoned building in the woods, right?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, just on the outskirts of the Forest of Gilmesh." Patora answered.
"Isn't that where we completed the dungeon?" Rubellia asked.
"Yep," Han nodded. "Looks like we're heading back to the same forest. At least we won't be in strange terrain."
"That is true," I pointed at him in agreement. "We know our way around the forest. So, we won't exactly get lost or anything."
"Alright. Well then let's get going!" Sora smiled brightly as she headed onward. If you asked me, she was the real leader of the party. Always leading us. I'm just the decision-making guy.
We all followed behind her as we walked. I was attempting to reach Yue, to get her to talk back. But she still wasn't replying, no matter what I said. Now I'm really worried….
I blinked and when my eyes opened, I found myself in an unfamiliar terrain. "Wait…." I frowned as I looked around. "Am I-"
"At Stavias office? No," a familiar voice answered.
"Iren?" I sighed exasperatingly. "What is it this time? Am I in another fight?" This was NOT a good time for that.
"No. I brought you back to speak to you." She pressed her fingertips together as she looked me. She appeared to be inspecting me.
"What?" I asked, my skin crawling.
"I…don't know. Last time I met you, you emitted no magic power. But now…I sense a strange power coming from you. I can't quite tell what it is, but it's….cold. Dark even. But I can't pin point it…." She frowned as she continued inspecting me. "Well, whatever," she sighed. "I've been doing research on this…"skill connect" ability you told me about."
"I hope you found something of interest if you called me here," I frowned.
"Oh, I have. There's record of a similar ability. But it's only mention is from a book dated over 12,000 years ago."
"Really? That far back, huh?" I was genuinely surprised at that. So, someone else had had this ability. Did they create it? If that's the case, is it possible to create my own skill? Or for anyone to be able to?
"Yes," she frowned. "And the origin of the power is not a good one."
"How do you mean?"
"You've heard of the Demon King, correct?" She asked. I nodded a reply. "Okay, but do you know about the Demon race altogether? I know you aren't from this world, and you don't know much." Wait, she knows? Maybe Stavia told her, or maybe all the Gods know.
"Well, no," I scratched the back of my head. "I don't know about the Demons. What are they?" I asked. "And I heard they were sipped out, is that true?"
"Yes. The Demon race was wiped out, 10,000 years ago." She walked in a circle around me as she spoke. "The Demons were a race that excelled in the mystic arts of Magic. So much so that they eventually developed Magic's that surpassed the learnings of any other race. Even if the other races had access to the knowledge the Demons had and learned of the mystic arts, they would never be able to understand let alone cast the spells."
"Okay. Is that a bad thing?" I asked. "Did they use the magic to kill?"
"No, they did not kill anyone. But the other races feared the Demons. Feared the power that they held. And even more so, they feared the Demon King. For he was the only one that wielded the ability to cast spells without incantation. Powerful Magic spells casted in an instant. The power to destroy an entire capital in the blink of an eye without preparation."
"The humans feared it, and so did the other races. So much so that the 3 decided to work together to wipe out the entire Demon race."
"Wait, why? Why would they do that? What did the Demons do?" That's bullshit! They wiped out an entire race because they were scared?! Even though the Demons posed no true threat to them in terms of reason to attack? "How did they wipe out an entire race that excelled in Magic?"
"…." Iren looked away from me as she answered. "Well…we may have had something to do with that."
"We?" I scowled.
"Us Gods."
"You helped wipe out an entire race?!"
"It wasn't that simple boy!" She hissed. "You know nothing about the power the Demons held! And that Demon King was a threat to the entire world. Not just the humans, but the Gods as well."
"So, you helped them kill an entire race because you were scared?" I growled.
"Tsk. Don't look at me with those eyes of judgment. Do you know what it's like to be a God? You need people to believe in you in order for you to get any power. Why do you think we chose heroes to carry on our name?"
"We had to aid the 3 races that believed us, for if we hadn't who knows what could have happened. The Demons have no Gods. They don't worship us, so in turn we Gods were in danger if they were to ever start war with the other races."