I’m stupid. Well, my past self was stupid. I tested fate and fate sent me a god damn hurricane.
…alright, it’s just rain, but rain without an umbrella is now the thing I most hate in this world.
On the bright side, the rain soaking me like a wet cat and leaving me entirely fucking miserable seemed to have noticeably cooled off Riary’s extreme hatred. I almost saw a neutral expression once, instead of a frown. At least her pupils had stopped being literal flames.
It had all started off so wonderful. The Heroes hadn’t wanted me to be around a human village for another microsecond, so we had left while it was slightly dark. Tyler had gone to grab the pack they traveled with, an unwieldy thing that carried their supplies. Said supplies meant water, food, tents, and other basic things. It was bigger than his whole body. Apparently they’d dropped it off when they had first entered the village.
From there, we had walked in total silence. My presence noticeably made the group uncomfortable. That’s when the first hurdle had appeared. Tyler hadn’t brought along a spare tent. He looked genuinely upset and Konahora rolled her eyes, even Riary letting out a breath of exasperation. It seemed like this sort of thing happened pretty frequently.
We had stood awkwardly for a moment, before, surprises of surprise, Konahora had spoken up for me.
“He can…. share my tent with me.” Which was the wrong thing to say, judging by her nervous expression, Tyler’s suddenly shaking pupils, and Riary looking like she was about to implode. My words had been spoken quickly, mostly out of a sense of self preservation.
“No no, I’m hardy. I’ll sleep outside.”
And that’s when the rain hit. Hard. It was spring it seemed and it had decided to stop fucking around. Have you ever tried to sleep while being pelted and soaking? It’s impossible.
We had moved on and I had given my best smile when everyone had woken up. That was when I had almost not seen a frown from Riary, looking at my exhausted face and miserable body. I hadn’t even packed, seeing as I was essentially gang-pressed into moving without gathering anything. So I had to walk in soaked clothing, through even more rain.
Apparently my figure was too miserable, because Konahora broke the silence. Broke the silence by speaking directly to me.
“We’ll… get you some supplies at the next village.”
“It’s alright. Just need enough to survive the trip and get out of your guy’s hair.”
She frowned again and I could do nothing but sigh a little. Well, in my mind. Did I want proper gear and not to have the next few weeks suck? Yes. Did I want to not be surrounded by three people my power gauge was screaming at me, constantly, could easily kill me if they fully got serious? Yes, and in fact, I wanted that more. So, please, laugh or snide or smirk at my miserable rain drenched body. Hell, I’ll take arriving half dead to the elven kingdom even. Just don’t, for all that’s holy, feel like I owe you or like you’re doing me even more favors. I would not survive the resentment.
Still, conversation had been opened, and there was something I had been damn curious of ever since it had literally saved my life.
“So, how do you heal?”
Konahora looked at me, and I caught the other two freeze, turning back around to look at me with very, very serious gazes. Konahora’s face went particularly blank and I was starting to feel cold sweat add to the rest of the water on my body. Was that… not a good question to ask?
“I am a priestess of Truth.”
I blinked, kinda waiting for more. The gazes were borrowing into me, and I knew I had to say something.
“Um, I have no idea what… that means. Do you mean… the concept of truth itself or…?”
Konahora looked at me, with an expression I had never seen on… anyone’s face? The closest came to Selve answering a few of my stupid questions like ‘what is this planet called’ or ‘why do those damn scary squirrels have four eyes? Does everything?’ It was a look of confusion, disbelief, mixed with being purely offended.
“You don’t know about Truth?” Her voice was, odd. I dared not look away because her eyes had suddenly become very serious and very focused. I answered carefully, walking through unknown territory on what was going on.
“...if you mean the definition, to not tell falsehoods or lies but actual facts of what has happened, I know that. Judging by your stare, you mean… something else?”
She let out a choked gasp of a half laugh. Then she breathed deep, in and out.
“Do you know anything about the Gods?”
Oh thank god, an easy question.
“Not a single thing.”
Far be it from me to judge anyone’s relig- wait. Wait. Oh god. Were the gods worshipped here actually real beings? I felt a cold pit form in my stomach. That… it was only by a supreme effort of will my jaw didn’t just drop. My head felt dizzy with the implication. The questions I had, multiplied, a lot. Before the thought could really get away from me, Konahora took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Slowly, she launched into a mini-sermon.
“There are Twelve Gods that govern the human kingdom. Each embodying a different concept and bestowing their powers on those who worship and revere them. The Goddess of Truth, True Name of Truth, is the one who I’ve chosen to dedicate my life towards. As a follower and worshipper of Truth, both name and concept, I have been granted certain abilities. One of which being healing.”
I had absolutely no god damn clue how restoration or healing involved the truth. Still, seems like a pretty good deal. So, she was a follower of Truth, Goddess and concept. That doesn’t explain why everyone was looking at me like-
“Konahora.” Spoke Tyler, voice serious. I could hear Riary growling.
“I must.” she said to him, before looking back at me. “As a priestess of truth, I can tell no falsehoods. And I can see through them all.”
I blinked in shock. She could tell if I was telling the truth or not? My mind ran back through all my interactions with her, no, all interactions she had with anyone really as I first thought of Celena telling her story to them. Part of me had just assumed The Heroes were just, I don’t know, good people? Trusting? They had interrogated me for hours after all. It never occurred to me that they had a living lie detector.
They would have known every single word Celena had spoken was true. The fact that they still came in prepared for a fight spoke volumes then…
No, more than that. That means I was in the clear, right? I had answered almost everything honestly, only lying about being summoned. Which explained the small frowns I sometimes saw on Konahora’s face… lying directly to her when she worshipped truth must make her really pissed. I promised myself not to do it.
And the gem! They had asked me about the gem!
‘Never seen that Gem before in my life.’
If they had shown me a picture of the hell gem….
That worry put away for the moment, I thought more and more on the interactions I had and came to one scary conclusion. Without Konahora, I’d be dead. There’s no way they would’ve risked a demon lying directly to their face about everything. Hell, even knowing the truth, they still separated me away from the people I had saved immediately.
I had been quiet, in thought, but now everyone was looking at me. I strongly tried not to look at Riary, whose hate was starting to ignite across her again. Her killing intent and nearly insane rage were coming back in full force. Telling someone, anyone, especially someone you viewed as an enemy, that you were capable of telling if you were lying… was a loss of a strategic advantage. But there must be some code that said Konahora had to announce it.
Thankfully, I could use this to my advantage.
I smiled and looked directly at Konahora.
“I am generally friendly, have no intention of killing or hurting anyone, unless they attack me first, and really, truly, just want to leave the human kingdom because if I don’t I’m going to be murdered.”
Konahora just rolled her eyes. I had said as much over a dozen times during the interrogation. None of that was new information. Still, it bore repeating. After all, knowing something and wanting it to be true were different things. I was pretty sure Riary straight up didn’t care that I was non-hostile. Only the genocide of all demonkind rested in her eyes. Tyler at least gave sympathetic and guilty looks occasionally. It looked like he wanted to talk to me, but had no idea what to say. I’d suspect I’d get a chance sooner or later. After all, as long as I didn’t lie, Konahora would probably not dislike or hate me. Making sure Tyler didn’t hate me, and Riary at least was socially pressured not to kill me, were my main goals.
Things got quiet again as we walked. And walked. And walked. Honestly, if they were sponsored by the king, he could’ve at least given them horses. Horses couldn’t be that expensive for heroes right?
Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me.
“So how do I do it?” I asked Konahora.
“Hmm?” She looked at me.
“How do I worship Truth? Do I have to confess my secrets or be bathed in holy oil or something?”
I got to see the very amusing sight of three incredibly powerful individuals nearly fall flat on their face all at the same time.
“You?” Tyler was actually the first to ask, his voice laden with utter bafflement. “A demon?”
“Sure. Healing and truth telling sound pretty good to me. Why wouldn’t everyone want that?”
I meant it too. Lying was very important. It could save your life a hundred times over. But… I felt that healing wounds and seeing if someone was trying to bullshit me might be a little more practical. Konahora had turned me from a burnt corpse into a healthy creature again. The healing had regenerated my god damn eyes. Hell, even my hair came back. That was overpowered.
“I-...” Konahora seemed genuinely lost. “I do not… know if a demon can be blessed by the goddess…”
“Well, do I have to do anything special? Is prayer enough? Oh, and I’m not giving her my immortal soul or anything right? I mean, the deal seems good to me. I never tell any lies again, I get healing and see-through-bullshit powers. Or are there other requirements?”
Riary had had enough and actually took the time to speak to me. She actually must have been even more tightly wound than expected as she lightly breathed fire. “Stop. Fucking. Around.” Each word like a tsunami of rage.
“I’m not. I want those powers.”
Konahora seemed to pull herself together and look at me. “You… see it like an exchange? Actions for a reward.” Her voice wasn’t filled with rage or hate, but I sensed a bit of… please don’t be resentment.
“....yes?” God damn I would have loved to lie about that.
Konahora snorted. “Mortimer, God of Wealth, would be your god then. He grants the ability to sense opportunities for wealth and divine shields, in exchange for large sums of money. The power of both depending on the amount of wealth given.”
I had to ask. “Does every god have a random secondary ability they give their followers?”
“Yes.”
Well, okay then I guess. I got the feeling that Konahora was not okay with my transactional nature when it came to the divine. I’d have to go to a church and do more research. As long as it cost nothing but some words and/or some light tasks, I don’t see why everyone wouldn’t do some worship. If it required actual, well, worship though… sorry divine but what’s impossible is impossible.
I sighed and some of the tension was relieved. The Heroes started to actually talk, even Riary simmering down ever so slightly, while still giving me angry hateful side eyes. God, how recent was the war… I became nothing more than an annoying NPC being escorted by a group of Heroes. Which, honestly? Thank god. Please, don’t pay attention to me. The last time you did, I nearly became a puddle.
Actually… thinking on that…
That had been pretty… weird. There had been a few other signs but…..
As discreetly as I could, I folded my arms and turned one of my fingers into claws. And then I poked my arm. Hard. Harder.
I glanced down. I could see a small thing of blood dripping but…
I didn’t feel anything.
Yeah, this might be a problem.
I’m stupid. Well, my past self was stupid. I tested fate and fate sent me a god damn hurricane.
…alright, it’s just rain, but rain without an umbrella is now the thing I most hate in this world.
On the bright side, the rain soaking me like a wet cat and leaving me entirely fucking miserable seemed to have noticeably cooled off Riary’s extreme hatred. I almost saw a neutral expression once, instead of a frown. At least her pupils had stopped being literal flames.
It had all started off so wonderful. The Heroes hadn’t wanted me to be around a human village for another microsecond, so we had left while it was slightly dark. Tyler had gone to grab the pack they traveled with, an unwieldy thing that carried their supplies. Said supplies meant water, food, tents, and other basic things. It was bigger than his whole body. Apparently they’d dropped it off when they had first entered the village.
From there, we had walked in total silence. My presence noticeably made the group uncomfortable. That’s when the first hurdle had appeared. Tyler hadn’t brought along a spare tent. He looked genuinely upset and Konahora rolled her eyes, even Riary letting out a breath of exasperation. It seemed like this sort of thing happened pretty frequently.
We had stood awkwardly for a moment, before, surprises of surprise, Konahora had spoken up for me.
“He can…. share my tent with me.” Which was the wrong thing to say, judging by her nervous expression, Tyler’s suddenly shaking pupils, and Riary looking like she was about to implode. My words had been spoken quickly, mostly out of a sense of self preservation.
“No no, I’m hardy. I’ll sleep outside.”
And that’s when the rain hit. Hard. It was spring it seemed and it had decided to stop fucking around. Have you ever tried to sleep while being pelted and soaking? It’s impossible.
We had moved on and I had given my best smile when everyone had woken up. That was when I had almost not seen a frown from Riary, looking at my exhausted face and miserable body. I hadn’t even packed, seeing as I was essentially gang-pressed into moving without gathering anything. So I had to walk in soaked clothing, through even more rain.
Apparently my figure was too miserable, because Konahora broke the silence. Broke the silence by speaking directly to me.
“We’ll… get you some supplies at the next village.”
“It’s alright. Just need enough to survive the trip and get out of your guy’s hair.”
She frowned again and I could do nothing but sigh a little. Well, in my mind. Did I want proper gear and not to have the next few weeks suck? Yes. Did I want to not be surrounded by three people my power gauge was screaming at me, constantly, could easily kill me if they fully got serious? Yes, and in fact, I wanted that more. So, please, laugh or snide or smirk at my miserable rain drenched body. Hell, I’ll take arriving half dead to the elven kingdom even. Just don’t, for all that’s holy, feel like I owe you or like you’re doing me even more favors. I would not survive the resentment.
Still, conversation had been opened, and there was something I had been damn curious of ever since it had literally saved my life.
“So, how do you heal?”
Konahora looked at me, and I caught the other two freeze, turning back around to look at me with very, very serious gazes. Konahora’s face went particularly blank and I was starting to feel cold sweat add to the rest of the water on my body. Was that… not a good question to ask?
“I am a priestess of Truth.”
I blinked, kinda waiting for more. The gazes were borrowing into me, and I knew I had to say something.
“Um, I have no idea what… that means. Do you mean… the concept of truth itself or…?”
Konahora looked at me, with an expression I had never seen on… anyone’s face? The closest came to Selve answering a few of my stupid questions like ‘what is this planet called’ or ‘why do those damn scary squirrels have four eyes? Does everything?’ It was a look of confusion, disbelief, mixed with being purely offended.
“You don’t know about Truth?” Her voice was, odd. I dared not look away because her eyes had suddenly become very serious and very focused. I answered carefully, walking through unknown territory on what was going on.
“...if you mean the definition, to not tell falsehoods or lies but actual facts of what has happened, I know that. Judging by your stare, you mean… something else?”
She let out a choked gasp of a half laugh. Then she breathed deep, in and out.
“Do you know anything about the Gods?”
Oh thank god, an easy question.
“Not a single thing.”
Far be it from me to judge anyone’s relig- wait. Wait. Oh god. Were the gods worshipped here actually real beings? I felt a cold pit form in my stomach. That… it was only by a supreme effort of will my jaw didn’t just drop. My head felt dizzy with the implication. The questions I had, multiplied, a lot. Before the thought could really get away from me, Konahora took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Slowly, she launched into a mini-sermon.
“There are Twelve Gods that govern the human kingdom. Each embodying a different concept and bestowing their powers on those who worship and revere them. The Goddess of Truth, True Name of Truth, is the one who I’ve chosen to dedicate my life towards. As a follower and worshipper of Truth, both name and concept, I have been granted certain abilities. One of which being healing.”
I had absolutely no god damn clue how restoration or healing involved the truth. Still, seems like a pretty good deal. So, she was a follower of Truth, Goddess and concept. That doesn’t explain why everyone was looking at me like-
“Konahora.” Spoke Tyler, voice serious. I could hear Riary growling.
“I must.” she said to him, before looking back at me. “As a priestess of truth, I can tell no falsehoods. And I can see through them all.”
I blinked in shock. She could tell if I was telling the truth or not? My mind ran back through all my interactions with her, no, all interactions she had with anyone really as I first thought of Celena telling her story to them. Part of me had just assumed The Heroes were just, I don’t know, good people? Trusting? They had interrogated me for hours after all. It never occurred to me that they had a living lie detector.
They would have known every single word Celena had spoken was true. The fact that they still came in prepared for a fight spoke volumes then…
No, more than that. That means I was in the clear, right? I had answered almost everything honestly, only lying about being summoned. Which explained the small frowns I sometimes saw on Konahora’s face… lying directly to her when she worshipped truth must make her really pissed. I promised myself not to do it.
And the gem! They had asked me about the gem!
‘Never seen that Gem before in my life.’
If they had shown me a picture of the hell gem….
That worry put away for the moment, I thought more and more on the interactions I had and came to one scary conclusion. Without Konahora, I’d be dead. There’s no way they would’ve risked a demon lying directly to their face about everything. Hell, even knowing the truth, they still separated me away from the people I had saved immediately.
I had been quiet, in thought, but now everyone was looking at me. I strongly tried not to look at Riary, whose hate was starting to ignite across her again. Her killing intent and nearly insane rage were coming back in full force. Telling someone, anyone, especially someone you viewed as an enemy, that you were capable of telling if you were lying… was a loss of a strategic advantage. But there must be some code that said Konahora had to announce it.
Thankfully, I could use this to my advantage.
I smiled and looked directly at Konahora.
“I am generally friendly, have no intention of killing or hurting anyone, unless they attack me first, and really, truly, just want to leave the human kingdom because if I don’t I’m going to be murdered.”
Konahora just rolled her eyes. I had said as much over a dozen times during the interrogation. None of that was new information. Still, it bore repeating. After all, knowing something and wanting it to be true were different things. I was pretty sure Riary straight up didn’t care that I was non-hostile. Only the genocide of all demonkind rested in her eyes. Tyler at least gave sympathetic and guilty looks occasionally. It looked like he wanted to talk to me, but had no idea what to say. I’d suspect I’d get a chance sooner or later. After all, as long as I didn’t lie, Konahora would probably not dislike or hate me. Making sure Tyler didn’t hate me, and Riary at least was socially pressured not to kill me, were my main goals.
Things got quiet again as we walked. And walked. And walked. Honestly, if they were sponsored by the king, he could’ve at least given them horses. Horses couldn’t be that expensive for heroes right?
Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me.
“So how do I do it?” I asked Konahora.
“Hmm?” She looked at me.
“How do I worship Truth? Do I have to confess my secrets or be bathed in holy oil or something?”
I got to see the very amusing sight of three incredibly powerful individuals nearly fall flat on their face all at the same time.
“You?” Tyler was actually the first to ask, his voice laden with utter bafflement. “A demon?”
“Sure. Healing and truth telling sound pretty good to me. Why wouldn’t everyone want that?”
I meant it too. Lying was very important. It could save your life a hundred times over. But… I felt that healing wounds and seeing if someone was trying to bullshit me might be a little more practical. Konahora had turned me from a burnt corpse into a healthy creature again. The healing had regenerated my god damn eyes. Hell, even my hair came back. That was overpowered.
“I-...” Konahora seemed genuinely lost. “I do not… know if a demon can be blessed by the goddess…”
“Well, do I have to do anything special? Is prayer enough? Oh, and I’m not giving her my immortal soul or anything right? I mean, the deal seems good to me. I never tell any lies again, I get healing and see-through-bullshit powers. Or are there other requirements?”
Riary had had enough and actually took the time to speak to me. She actually must have been even more tightly wound than expected as she lightly breathed fire. “Stop. Fucking. Around.” Each word like a tsunami of rage.
“I’m not. I want those powers.”
Konahora seemed to pull herself together and look at me. “You… see it like an exchange? Actions for a reward.” Her voice wasn’t filled with rage or hate, but I sensed a bit of… please don’t be resentment.
“....yes?” God damn I would have loved to lie about that.
Konahora snorted. “Mortimer, God of Wealth, would be your god then. He grants the ability to sense opportunities for wealth and divine shields, in exchange for large sums of money. The power of both depending on the amount of wealth given.”
I had to ask. “Does every god have a random secondary ability they give their followers?”
“Yes.”
Well, okay then I guess. I got the feeling that Konahora was not okay with my transactional nature when it came to the divine. I’d have to go to a church and do more research. As long as it cost nothing but some words and/or some light tasks, I don’t see why everyone wouldn’t do some worship. If it required actual, well, worship though… sorry divine but what’s impossible is impossible.
I sighed and some of the tension was relieved. The Heroes started to actually talk, even Riary simmering down ever so slightly, while still giving me angry hateful side eyes. God, how recent was the war… I became nothing more than an annoying NPC being escorted by a group of Heroes. Which, honestly? Thank god. Please, don’t pay attention to me. The last time you did, I nearly became a puddle.
Actually… thinking on that…
That had been pretty… weird. There had been a few other signs but…..
As discreetly as I could, I folded my arms and turned one of my fingers into claws. And then I poked my arm. Hard. Harder.
I glanced down. I could see a small thing of blood dripping but…
I didn’t feel anything.
Yeah, this might be a problem.
