Benjamin and Eluzan walked in silence, stopping a short while after the sun fully set and bathed the world in darkness on Benjamin's first night off Earth. Although Benjamin was having a hard time following Eluzan, the Black Fox God, in the almost pitch-black forest, that wasn't why they stopped.
"A town?" Benjamin cupped his hand over his eyes as if it would help him see better in the darkness. He also squinted, but all he saw was a shadowy silhouette with light shining out of it. They had reached the end of the forest and an open field lay between them and the town.
"I guess." Eluzan shrugged. Benjamin rolled his eyes.
They had reached the end of the forest and an open field lay between them and the town.
Benjamin started walking through the field but stopped suddenly. Still not because he lost track of Eluzan.
"Eluzan, there isn't anything hiding in these fields, right?" He had seen one or two horror movies with fields in them. Very rarely were fields the source of something positive in those kinds of movies.
"Of course, there's something in these fields. Don't be such a scaredy-cat, O' avatar of mine. Just walk to the city. If you're lucky, they'll let you in."
"And if I'm unlucky?"
"..." The only answer Benjamin got was the rustling of tall grass that might have been wheat when Eluzan started walking.
Benjamin inhaled deeply before letting it all out in a quick snort.
'It's not gonna be more dangerous than the forest.' Benjamin comforted himself with what he hoped was a fact before striding into the field toward the town.
Benjamin thought the town was further away, but he walked faster through the field than he had done in the forest, so he arrived after fifteen minutes. He found a road at the latter half of his walk, which he followed to the closed town gates.
Benjamin glanced at the shadow next to his feet, which he hoped was Eluzan.
"Do I knock?"
"Just so you know, I have not visited a human settlement in several hundred years. I don't know the right etiquette. I also have no intention of being seen during this visit, so before you do anything, I'll just…" Eluzan turned to Benjamin and jumped into his shadow. He disappeared.
"Eluzan?!"
*Mrm? Avatar, can you hear me?*
Benjamin stiffened.
He could hear Eluzan's voice straight into his head. It was like he had a speaker between his brain and his skull.
"Y-yeah?"
*Good. Others can't though, so you'll look like a crazy person if you respond like that every time I talk to you.*
"So, unless I'm alone, I can only listen to you without being able to respond?" Benjamin asked.
*No. That would be inconvenient.*
"What, do you want me to use telepathy or something to talk to you?" Benjamin asked sarcastically.
*Yes,* Eluzan answered honestly.
Benjamin sighed. It might be a fantasy world where telepathy was possible. Hell, Eluzan was inside his shadow and using telepathy to talk to him. But that was Eluzan, a denizen of this fantasy world. Benjamin was still a stranger to all things fantasy, at least in practice.
*You are my avatar, Avatar. You are an extension of me. You don't need to learn or master anything other than the connecting binding us. It should be easier now that I've taken up residence in your shadow. It might help if you close your eyes and focus on my voice, but there's no need to rush. You're young, and compared to this, you growing stronger is far more important. A couple of m—*
*Like this?* Benjamin asked. His first attempt at talking with Eluzan using the connection between them succeeded.
Eluzan was silent. It wouldn't have been weird if it took Benjamin months to learn that trick.
One thing was for sure.
Benjamin was not talentless trash.
But there was no need to tell him that.
*Yes.*
*Sorry, I interrupted you. What were you about to say?*
*Just that it might take a couple of minutes to figure it out,* Eluzan said nonchalantly. Doing it in a matter of seconds was still good compared to doing it in a few minutes, but it wasn't as extreme as the difference between seconds and months.
It was enough to give Benjamin some confidence but not extinguish the idea that he was talentless trash. For now, he needed that drive.
*Am I ready to enter the town, then?* Benjamin asked.
*Yes, if they open the gates. But before you knock, imprint what I'm about to say in your mind.*
*Okay?*
*Don't talk about me. Don't mention me, my name, or my appearance. Don't ask about me or any gods like me. Don't believe anything you hear about me or gods like me.*
Benjamin didn't need to imprint what Eluzan said in his mind. Eluzan spoke like he wanted his words to lodge themselves in Benjamin's brain.
*Okay?* Benjamin was confused. He had already guessed that Eluzan didn't hold the same status as the gods in the Pantheon, but this was sudden, and he didn't know how to react.
*Got it?*
*Y-yeah.*
*Got it?* Eluzan repeated.
*Yes. I got it,* Benjamin answered more affirmatively this time.
It didn't matter why Eluzan didn't want to be discovered or anyone to connect Benjamin to him. It also didn't matter why he wasn't supposed to believe anything he heard about the Black Fox God.
Benjamin was the type to believe what he saw.
Eluzan wasn't necessarily trustworthy. That was all the more reason for Benjamin to listen to what he said. If Eluzan were lying, Benjamin would die without knowing how, why, or when. If he weren't lying, then nothing happened and it wouldn't hurt listening to him.
Besides, Benjamin had already thrown his lot in with Eluzan, or rather, Eluzan had thrown Benjamin's lot for him. Whether he wanted it or not, Benjamin was stuck with Eluzan.
He had felt it as soon as he succeeded in talking to his god telepathically.
Eluzan had, at the very least, not lied about the depth of their connection. He would need something like a cosmic scissor to sever it.
*Is that all?* Benjamin asked, hoping it was.
*Yes.*
Since that was all, Benjamin walked up to the town gates and raised his hand to knock.