I woke up with a raw taste in my mouth I guess I must of bit off a chunk of my lip in my sleep, and my body still hurt a bit from earlier. I glanced around in a bit of a haze I noticed the wound on my ribs had closed up fully almost like magic. The small woman was sitting on a leaf nearby she was looking down at me with a blank face her eyes lacked pigment. She sighed, "Finally awake are you kid. You slept for almost an entire day." Contrary from the previous incident her face was now stoic devoid of any of the previous panic she had displayed.
I snorted, "Yeah, and I thought when I woke up I would be a fusion, but here I am same old handsome face." The woman raised an eyebrow, "I can't believe you are my host. Listen up kid your body couldn't handle being fully fused yet. I fused you yesterday temporarily to heal your wounds since my body is capable of regenerating at an accelerated pace." I had to wonder how that was even possible? The woman gave me a knowing face, "I can do this because I am a goddess albeit in my current state I couldn't even beat a dire rabbit, but nonetheless my body is special."
I laughed, "A goddess? Come on you must be joking everyone knows there is only one god, and he rules over every aspect of Zonus." Wait a second how did she even know I was curious about how my wounds were healed? The woman mocked, "I can see your every thought I meant it when I said we are fused now." She pointed to her necklace it had ancient text around the chain, and the center of the necklace their was a giant ruby, shrouded in old rocks. The woman continued, "I can fuse, or defuse with you at will with this necklace although your body is not yet adjusted to my power, so you will die if left fused for too long. We are linked soul to soul already though, so keep that in mind, and don't do anything stupid."
The woman declared, "I care not if you believe I am goddess or not, but I will give a proper introduction to you at the very least since we are linked now. I am Numis goddess of souls, curses, and hunting." Assuming I believe Numis why would a goddess be here in a remote spot on Zonus, and why would she be in such a form. Numis interjected, "I suppose I should also explain about why I have been reduced to such a state, and about the other gods that are now awakening across Zonus." I was getting a bit annoyed with her reading my mind frequently, but I decided to hold off on the complaints until after she explained.
Numis continued, "I am one of the many gods centuries ago that fought for the single throne that would reign above everything. Only recently did Zonus have one prime god, but before the throne wars we each ruled different aspects of life separately, but as one. Once the throne wars began it was everyone for themselves with power as the motivation. Seus one of the primordial gods was the victor, but since the gods cannot die by normal means instead he stripped the remainder of their powers. He cast the rest of the gods from heaven, and began his reign that has now lasted centuries." Numis paused for a second as if recalling a painful memory, but quickly returned to her explanation.
Numis explained, "Those that were cast out of heaven would take centuries to even regain a sliver of the power they once had. That brings us to the present some gods will still be sleeping, but when they awaken they will at least have enough power to acquire a host. The host speeds up this rejuvenation process exponentially, so it is always beneficial for the god to find a host. The reason for this is because gods rely on humans in more ways than you think belief is fuel for a god to grow in power. Having a host is beneficial because if other humans form a connection with the host that energy is transferred to the god directly. Not many people would want to trust and believe in a forgotten god, but with a host gaining follows that trust in you is a much simpler task."
I took a moment to process that barrage of information, so in short Numis needs me to act as her host to regain her power. Numis asserted, "I looked into some of your memories while you slept since we will be sharing a destiny now I figured it would be a good idea. I think we both want the same thing you want to freedom from the angels, and I want to take back what should be mine." I raised an eyebrow, "I suppose, but you really need to learn some boundaries I don't really like someone poking around in my head." Numis smiled a bit, "What's wrong we are linked now I know all your little weird habits." I cried out, "S-shut up come on lets go we have a lot of ground to cover probably, and I am starving." I still wasn't completely sure what to make of this situation, but I figured it was better to keep going than to stand around talking forever lest she bring something embarrassing up again.
Numis followed behind me quietly we would need to find something to eat, and fresh water to drink if we were to survive out here. Numis spoke up after a little while along the path, "Kreyol I have to tell you one last thing we can only fuse for about 15 or so minutes at the moment. You will need at least another 15 or so minutes to fuse again keep that in mind going forward. In addition to that my powers are still extremely weak not at all god level, so keep that in mind too." That wasn't a ton of time to work with, but I also didn't exactly understand what it meant to fuse yet.
Numis perked up, "Hey boy I know your limited senses can't see it, but a few feet to the left of us off the path is a deer. I haven't been awake in centuries, so this will make a good first meal since I only just woke up a day or so ago." I got excited I loved the taste of deer meat I jogged to the location, but slowed down to a crawl once I spotted the deer. I had no weapon dammit I couldn't catch a deer without my bow, or traps. Numis assured, "No need we just need to fuse catching that deer will be easy even without any weapons plus it will be a good first test of our fusion."
I interrupted, "Ok that is all well and good, but how exactly do we fuse?" Numis mocked, "Just watch." Numis grabbed my shoulder she then rubbed her amulet while chanting something in an ancient language we both began to glow. I felt my body heat up I feel like my body was changing in a unnatural way I began to grow in places I didn't expect. I felt myself grow slightly taller, but above all else I felt myself getting way more powerful than before. I felt a strange energy around my body, the feeling was something I would previously only thought possible in a dream.
Once it was all over I felt something unnatural I had lost my manhood in place of womanhood I can't believe it I really had turned into a woman. Numis talked in my head, "No need to get that excited this body is both your own, and my own body." I wore the same necklace that Numis had, my hair was a lot longer I saw red hair flow down my back, I had markings all over my legs and arms, and my previous clothes were replaced with the purple shrine outfit Numis was wearing. Numis put me back on track, "Kreyol we are going to some basic magic get ready I want you to picture in your mind green mud shooting out of your hand towards to deer. In order for magic to work you need to visualize it, hold out your hand, and my energy will do the rest."
I did was I was told I pictured green mud shooting out of my hand, held out my hand, and waited for what was to come. I felt something fly out faster than an arrow I opened my eyes about a handful of green mud was covering the deer. The deer struggled for a moment, but once the green mud cleared off the deer almost like it was sentient the deer was very clearly dead. No visible wounds covered the deer, and if you told me he was sleeping I would of believed you, but perhaps because of Numis' power I was able to see the life energy of the deer was snuffed out. What the hell? Numis chimed in, "The green mud is a spell that sucks out life energy directly, but for hunting purposes it keeps the kill fresh, and unharmed. You humans love to name things so I will leave the name to you. Pretty good for your first kill, but if we are fighting a hostile enemy closing your eyes will not do." I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little happy at the skill I just learned, but I could also tell there would be a lot of growing pains with our new team.