Princess Minerva grinned triumphantly, and shot another arrow for his other eye!
"I see now! It only works for creatures capable of thought." She said to herself. "And these undead corpses do not have a single thought in their rotten brains. So I should only target their master instead!"
More silver owls rose from General Leonide's head, slightly translucent as if they were phantoms.
But the damage of their talons and beaks were real as they swooped towards the zombie soldiers attacking Pavor!
Pavor looked up, his hands still decapitating zombies effortlessly even when his attention was elsewhere. "Owls again? I never get why he liked those big-eyed birds."
He knew Memtem but did not really hold the same distaste he had with Amore towards him. Logic was often in conflict with Love, the age-old battle between the brain and the heart.
In fact, Memtem was rather displeased with Amore being the biggest god in the pantheon.
But he was smart enough not to attempt a revolution... yet.
Pavor did not mind this assistance, since he did need it. While he was still in this low level mortal form, he could not be too arrogant and take on every fight by himself.
It was something that he had to get used to though, as he preferred to fight solo.
Because of the endless parliament of owls bursting from the crack on General Leonide's head, he could not focus on spreading his curse and controlling the skeletons.
This made parting the huge sea of corpses much easier for Pavor, until he cleared a path to reach the dome that Princess Minerva and Tudo were in.
"Come now. This is our chance to escape." He told them.
"Escape? But this is our chance to get rid of a Cult Leader!" Princess Minerva exclaimed. "If he dies, that's one less fear to worry about."
Pavor guffawed. "Hah! Silly girl, it does not work that way. Cult leaders are just figureheads, nothing more. Fears exist without them, and even if you get rid of him, who can say that the Lord of Dread would not just appoint a new one?"
"But—"
"I know you have personal grievances due to your ancestors." Pavor gripped her shoulder, his voice stern.
He added: "But use your head, not that fickle thing beating on your chest. You are the princess of Sagacitur. Your ancestors will be more proud of you if you know to pick your battles wisely."
Princess Minerva realized that he was right, even though the words were cold and harsh like icicles straight to her heart.
She looked away. "But I have not found it yet…."
Tudo furrowed his brows. "What are you looking for, Your Highness? You could have asked for help from the Order of Retaliation."
The Order of Retaliation was the higher organization that manages all Retaliators from every kingdom.
While they were usually under the control of their kingdom's governance, the Order made it easier for them to manage larger missions and take care of internal affairs.
Princess Minerva shook her head. "I can't let this rest in the hands of anyone else but myself. I can't trust anyone.... Not when their lives are at stake."
Pavor can see that the phantom owls rising from General Leonide's head were starting to subside, and he would soon regain control of his curse and his legion.
"We can all discuss this outside the Outlands. Come." He held her hand, and turned to Tudo. "Get us out of here."
"Of course, Your Highness." Tudo nodded, though his eyes flitted towards their intertwined fingers for a moment.
Pavor narrowed his eyes. He was bad at detecting other emotions besides fear and emotions, especially positive ones like love and hope, but…..
He could detect jealousy well enough.
He smirked, as the three of them started ascending from the ground thanks to Tudo's spell. The disorganized zombie soldiers swarmed towards them but fell over themselves like dominos.
They were back into the sky, and the sun was starting to rise beyond the Outlands.
Dawn was approaching, painting the skies in hues of salmon, dandelion, and lilac. The castles of the Three Beatitudes sparkled like gems, on their continent that served as a tiara for Amoreas.
"Hopefully Their Majesties are not awake yet." Tudo said nervously, fidgeting with the edges of his spellbook. "They would be worried if they realized they were away."
"We could just tell them that we're doing our duties as a betrothed pair." Pavor said, not realizing the implication of what he said.
Princess Minerva turned as red as the deepest scarlet shade of the sky, unable to say anything.
Tudo almost blinked off his eyelashes from disbelief. "I-Isn't that a little too much, Your Highness? You could just say you went for a stroll together to get to know each other….."
The socially inept former god raised his eyebrow. "Yes, that's what I mean."
He did not think too much of their reactions as they approached the balcony of the castle on the West Wing. This was where the guest chambers were, adjacent to the East Wing where he and his parents' sleeping quarters were located.
The system screen appeared once more, only seen by him:
[Mission accomplished. You have gained 300 points.]
There was suddenly another notification:
[You are running low on Energy right now. It is recommended for you to rest or Damage condition might lower your stats temporarily.]
Damage?
As if the adrenaline rush had just left his body and he finally realized, Pavor felt exhausted for the first time. As soon as they reached the ground, he collapsed!
"Prince Pavor!" Tudo and Princess Minerva called out as he keeled over.
This feeling was new to him, and it almost felt like a temporary death. Pavor's chest seized up, remembering how it felt when his heart was struck with Xarian's blade again.
This feeling....
Thump….
Thump…..
Thump…..
Is it fear?
No.
Is it yearning?
No.
It was unfathomable. Of course, his own sense of logic was telling him that this was not really death, that he was not going to the Void.
He had spent his first day as a human in three separate battles. Though he did not spend as much effort in them due to his exemplary skill, he had truly spent all the energy this body holds.
So much had happened in a short amount of time, he did not even realize it had only been one day until he saw the sun.
The sun...
The figure of Tudo and Princess Minerva by his side looked like two figures he was familiar with, basking in sunlight.
No, not sunlight…..
The Light of everything, everywhere, at any point in time. The Lumen.
"From the Void, light was born. Two lights, crashing into each other, creating a great explosion. In this explosion, everything else was created. The Lumen and their children."
The voice that said those words were soothing, gentle. A man's voice.
"As the children of the Light, you all have a great duty to continue creation. To create life and help it flourish. That is your birthright."
The voice was firm, full of authority. A woman's voice.
The man's gentle voice was accompanied by his gentle touch. "Will you promise to take care of your siblings well, Solis?"
"I will, Father."
"As the eldest, you carry the responsibility to watch over them. Make sure they grow and prosper under your guiding light." The woman's reminder was as stern as the grip she had on his shoulder.
"I know, Mother. I shall take this responsibility seriously."
They looked at each other, and sighed in relief. They spoke in unison:
"We may now be able to rest in peace. We trust in you."
Before they vanished, a child's small voice came.
And in Pavor's blurring vision, he can see the familiar figure of the priest that ever eluded him. Davien knelt beside him, his face blocking the sun.
When he opened his mouth, instead of his own calm voice, the scared voice of the child came out.
"What happened, brother?"
Pavor fully lost consciousness before he could reply.
He was now in a land between Amoreas and the rest of the physical cosmos...…. And the Void. The Betwixt, ruled over by a god that was not a child of the Lumen.
This god does not interact with the others directly either, for they do not need sleep. But many of them were aware of the dreams of mortals, and often used dreams to communicate or make them do their bidding.
Pavor was very familiar with the power of the Betwixt and its illusive god, and he often used it as a channel for fear through nightmares.
But this was the first time Pavor would be in the Betwixt himself…. and to see the god face to face.
The god was nothing but a hollow veil.
Almost like that of a bride, but there was no bride nor any piece of clothing besides the veil. And yet strangely, it has the shape as if something humanoid was covered by it.
Man or woman, it was hard to discern. The veil shifts in colors and patterns like a kaleidoscope, sometimes at a slow pace, then picking up speed, then slow again in a way that does not make any logical sense.
The personification of entropy itself.
"Morphe."