Adrian and Jihan arrived at the cafeteria with the former being shocked with the diversity of food for selection. Jihan then introduced the one behind this delectable assortment of food.
"She is basically our mother here in the compound. We all call her Baba, and she also likes it when we call her that. One thing that she does not like is disrespectful and disorderly children." Jihan stated.
"Oh my! Dearie do not scare our new resident here or else he might not come to me for his problems. You can call me Baba like the rest of my children here at the compound." Baba stated to which Adrian took her hand and placed it in his forehead as it his custom for elderly respect.
"She might look like she is a grandma in the age of 50 but she might be older than Joe." Jihan whispered but Baba caught onto it and playfully flicked his forehead.
"Never blurt out a woman's age. This is why you still do not have a girlfriend despite being brimming with youth. What would I do with you if you do not get married? I do not want you to become a bum all your life and take care of you." Baba stated jokingly as she then noticed Adrian's deep gaze.
"Interesting…To think that she would be here. I should pat Joe on the back for even managing to recruit a goddess in his faction." Adrian thought as he could feel the energy of a goddess from Baba.
"Is there something in my face, dearie?" Baba asked Adrian.
"Oh! I am sorry. I was just reminded of the old woman who used to be my caretaker in the orphanage when I looked at you. You radiate the same kind aura as her, so I was taken aback." Adrian stated as he took a tray to put food into.
"Sorry about that. He is an empath so he could see the aura you radiate. I believe they called him the Child of Gaia or something because of how powerful his abilities as an empath are. He could even read the mind of an evil spirit." Jihan stated in order for Baba to not get offended.
Baba then took a good look at Adrian as she knew a Child of Gaia once in the olden days where the gods freely walked the earth. She then excused herself to look for Joe while the two people prepared for a feast. Adrian in question took a lot despite him being slim which even made Jihan question if he could finish it all.
"Do not question the appetite that has been fasting for years." Adrian replied.
"Years? Did you not like eat for a few days?" Jihan exclaimed but he just ate since the person in front of him is gorging himself.
====
"Joe, could I have a word with you?" Baba stated as he went to the archive room where Joe is currently located.
"Sure thing." Joe answered.
"I think our conversation should be somewhere more private." Baba stated as she went outside of the archive room.
They then went to another room beside the archive room. Joe did what Baba asked as she never talks to him unless it is important. He thought that she would go on vacation or something which is why she wants to talk alone.
"Did you really recruit the actual Child of Gaia?" Baba suddenly asked which caused Joe to be surprised. Baba is not the type of individual to act this way.
"Let me tell you beforehand that it was not my intention to do so. Sofia became desperate to find the source of the erratic behavior of Deviants. You have seen that numerous Deviants started committing inexplicable crimes. They were getting desperate and searched the highly confidential files." Joe replied.
"Did you know that a Child of Gaia is not a name taken likely because there was a goddess that coined that term to herself. Even the other gods feared her for her mastery of the natural elements. The mages practically worshipped her or rather them." Baba stated with her tone getting higher.
"Them? But there is only one Child of Gaia in existence, right?" Joe asked as he has no information of others. They might be strong empaths but not as strong the first empath of the world.
"I called the goddess them because that goddess took on three different forms." Baba stated with her lips trembling.
"Why do I feel like I know who that three are? Please tell me it is just a coincidence." Joe told himself but he knew that his hunch is correct.
"The Child of Gaia called herself Hecate. She took on three different forms as the mother, the maiden and the crone. The founder and the goddess of magic called herself the Child of Gaia despite not being an offspring of the actual titan." Baba stated with excitement as she was a student of the goddess herself.
"You mean to say that the magic that those mages could use has been knowledge passed down by this Hecate?" Joe asked as he has experienced this magic concept before. He managed to encounter a school for wizards once when he got lost in Europe.
"Do not mutter the name of the goddess in a negative manner! She might smite you! Although, no one knows where she went after fighting this monstrous thing." Baba stated as she looks for magic fluctuations.
"Are you not a goddess yourself? Why are you afraid of the Goddess of Magic?" Joe stated as he knew that Baba is a goddess although weakened as almost no one worships her anymore.
"The gods and goddesses obtain about half of their power from their believers, but the goddess Hecate was different. She could command nature itself and even made Zeus get electrocuted by lightning when he tried to get jiggy with her." Baba stated as she reminisced of the times when gods could freely walk on the earth and boss the humans around.
"I think that goddess should be taught a lesson for teaching the humans something dangerous!" Jos stated while his fists curled into a ball.
Meanwhile in the cafetria…
"Achoo!"
"Dude…Gross! Could you not have turned away when you sneezed? Thankfully, my food did not get any of your germs." Jihan complained.
"Someone must be badmouthing me." Adrian stated as he went back to eating.