In the ashes of the burned village, the soot covered figure of a young man could be seen dragging things around.
"What are you doing?" Daiyu asked with piqued curiosity as she floated next to Alden.
Alden wiped the sweat off his forehead and started to dig before responding. He had had a short rest in the ruins of his home before the sun rose again.
"I'm digging a grave for my parents, their sin was being born poor. Those knights have to pay for this!"
Alden carefully dug out two graves before gently lowering a covered body into each hole. He had mixed feelings about actually finding their bodies. Thankfully they were identifiable but the small hope that they were still alive was dashed.
Many of the villagers were killed when their homes were burned down, but Alden's parents were struck down while out shopping at the general store.
Alden clasped his hands together and knelt down while closing his eyes.
"Mother, father thank you for looking after me for all these years. I will make sure justice comes to you and all those who died here!"
It was a short prayer, but to the point. Now there wasn't anything tying Alden down here, but the cost was something he didn't expect to pay.
When Alden opened his eyes, he saw that Daiyu was praying with her eyes closed as well. It wasn't something he expected the goddess to do, something so … human. She was praying in front of his mother's grave, so Alden knelt next to her, in front of his father's.
After his goodbyes were finished, Alden shoveled the dirt onto his parents' bodies. He wasn't religious in his past life, but he felt it was the appropriate thing to do in this instance.
Their final resting place was near the large tree in the center of the village, the heart of their lives here. The tree also served as a nice landmark for when Alden would visit again.
Throughout Alden's entire time digging the graves, Geri was curled up and sleeping under some shade.
It was still projecting a defiant attitude towards Alden, only really listening due to Daiyu's instructions. The rest of the wolves hadn't come back and the village was mostly abandoned once more.
The only other inhabitants were currently flying overhead, their black feathers occasionally falling down.
"They're still here?" Alden frowned as he saw the flock of ravens again. They were there when Alden had returned to the village and it didn't look like they were going to move on anytime soon.
Alden could not think of a good reason for them to possibly stay. There was nothing but soot and ashes, no food or valuables should be left.
"Hmmm." Daiyu looked at the ominous birds with great intensity as if planning something.
As Alden started to cobble together a makeshift grave stone for his parents, one of the ravens got a lot closer than the others.
It's curiosity was ultimately what got it caught.
Daiyu seized the bird and imbued it with the same energy she had given to Geri.
"Alden, I have another for you. This is all the help I can give for now. I need more power before I can affect this world again. But you may still sacrifice for power."
"No more free help from you then?"
"Yes, not until you take a Demon God's power. Right now, only my abilities of alteration can be used since it is simply modifying something you give me."
Alden nodded in acknowledgment to Daiyu's explanation, she seemed agreeable enough but her powers would be too much for Alden if he used them too often.
"I'll name the raven, "Huginn" or "thought"."
Daiyu released Huginn and Alden eyed the raven suspiciously. Geri was extremely temperamental so there was no telling what Huginn would act.
Fortunately, Alden's worries were for nothing.
Huginn hopped a couple of times before flapping its wings and flying to Alden. At the very least, Huginn was easily approaching him.
Alden held out his arm and the raven landed on his forearm. It was slightly bigger than an adult cat, which with its wing span made it quite terrifying.
"She seems to like you." Daiyu said joyfully, once again pleased with her handiwork.
"She? I guess that explains the friendliness." Alden said as he scratched the bottom of Huginn's beak.
"CAW!" Huginn happily flapped her wings once more and landed on Alden's shoulder. She was a decent sized raven and her weight threw him off balance a little. Nonetheless, Alden appreciated a friendly ally like her.
"…" Meanwhile, Daiyu felt a strange feeling as she watched Alden pet Huginn some more. She was glad that the raven at least was friendly to him. But there was an itch in her heart unlike anything she had felt before.
In the end, she chalked it up to being protective of her contractor.
Alden's parents' bodies had been chewed on by scavengers, but luckily, the wolf pack had not fully tore them apart yet. He had been able to tell their bodies by their clothes as their faces were long torn off.
It was for that reason that when Geri approached them, Alden couldn't help but frown at the wolf's presence.
The beast seemed to hold Daiyu in high regard since it bowed to her, possibly because she had a hand in its transformation.
"Now what do we do? Do you have any idea where the first Demon God is?"
"Fortunately I do. After watching over your village for years and the land for far longer, I have heard rumblings. There is one they call a "Demon Lord", a warlord in the far north with inhuman powers. I believe he would be a good first clue."
"We head to the town of Stonevalley then, I remember going there a few times with my parents. We can gather more information about the world, being a poor villager doesn't give me much knowledge."
Daiyu looked at Geri and he snarled in disagreement but in the end, he lowered his body for Alden. As Alden got on Geri's back, Huginn fit herself between Alden's thighs.
Geri howled as soon as Alden got on and started to dash across the fields, finally leaving the village ruins behind.