{A/N) I know I said ill save the chapters till I have enough but my will to post outweighed my rationality lmao, but don't expect quick updates. I tried to make all the dice roll outcomes, including the nonvisible ones, to seem natural so forgive me if it isn't, my trying my best here ;-;. The mc might seem a bit stale/boring at first but will get better with time. Sorry for any spelling mistakes too, I fixed those I noticed.
Word count: 7600 not including A/N}
There once was a race in the Outer Planes with an obsession to maintaining the balance between good and evil, ensuring that neither dominates the other.
They were called the Rilmani—a celestial humanoid race made up from ancient metals, none knows how they came into existence, nor how their society remained so stable.
The Rilmani had no hierarchy or government as their role is always dictated by the subtype they were 'born' as.
The Abiorach, appearing as adolescents with glowing skin and crystal eyes reflecting the colors of a rainbow, were the weakest among them yet served as the race's representatives and agents.
The Cuprilach had elongated, thin limbs with no abdomen, their upper bodies suspended by a floating orb while their skin looks to be made out of a copper-like substance. They were the assassins of the Rilmani, swift and nimble, eliminating those who posed a significant threat to the balance.
There were many more, some were the tanks, some act as generals while one stood above the rest—unofficial yet often regarded as their leaders and organizers.
They were the Aurumach.
Tall, radiant beings with golden-copper bodies and featureless faces, save for a glowing blue gemstone on their foreheads and two glowing eyes, bright enough to most not being able to stare directly in them. Their limbs, waist, and head floated freely, disconnected yet held together by an ethereal blue energy.
They are one of the most power race, considered an equal to the strongest celestials and arch demons. With the ability to cast their innate magic at will and even form their own weapons on the fly.
A powerful subrace—yet only one hundred of them existed.
Yet there was one question that was yet to be asked. One that no one has ever thought would have been a possibility.
"For a race obsessed with maintaining balance, what happens when one of their own becomes the cause of its disruption?"
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Anzareth was one of the younger Aurumach, but its dedication to its duty did not wane… or rather, it wasn't supposed to. But as millennia passed by, something within it began to change. A new sense curiosity began to grow within its 'heart' as it started observing the mortal races. Their short yet eventful lives were interesting while watching them power through all the struggles gave it a new sense of excitement.
Some even managed to become celestials through sheer determination and effort.
It began observing them more closely, watching individuals through its magic. Sometimes, unknowingly, it grew attached to them, subconsciously saving their lives with its magic to save lives that were destined to die.
At first, it was mere amusement. 'Saving one life wouldn't impact the balance,' it reasoned.
Yet it knew the weight of a single life. It knew it was disrupting the natural order. It knew that saving those fated to die could have unpredictable consequences.
It knew that a single year could change a mortal's psyche, leading them to become a celestial and disrupting the Cosmic balance.
And yet, it could not help itself.
It wanted to understand their 'joy.' It wanted to grasp why they wept for the dead, why they cried at the birth of their offspring.
And it wanted to learn the difference between those tears.
So, it took on a human form, mingling among them, only to find itself isolated. No matter how much it imitated them, mortals instinctively knew it was not one of their own.
At least, that was what it assumed when they called it 'unnatural.'
Yet some accepted it even though it acted differently from normal mortals and without realizing it, it began to 'enjoy' the way mortals lived. Though it had no need for food, sleep, or water, it found pleasure in the act of having a meal. The stories they told, the games they played—even their presence, no matter how they treated it.
Its attachment grew.
Until the moment it realized it had committed a grave sin.
Some of those it saved had begun to influence the balance, and it was its fault.
Its once-impartial view of justice and injustice had become skewed, making it no longer fit to be an Aurumach.
For the first time in its existence, it faced an existential crisis.
Returning to the Outer Planes—to its 'home'—it questioned what had come over itself.
It had been swayed by 'justice,' tipping the scales in favor of order.
It understood its transgression. Yet understanding changed nothing.
A side was already chosen, and the door behind it had closed.
There was only one option left for it to take, before it truly ruined the balance… and so it made an example out of itself to the rest of the Rilmani.
The Aurumach went down to ninety-nine that day.
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In an abandoned warehouse, a being lies motionless in the dim, dust-filled attic. Its once radiant golden-copper body now dulled, and its disconnected limbs rest on the cracked wooden floor. The blue energy that once held them together is nowhere to be seen. The vibrant blue gemstone now completely blacked out, while its eyes look like white glass marbles.
The Aurumach lied there as the minutes turn into hours… but the moment six hours passed, a sound went off inside the abandoned warehouse.
At first it was a silent and soft creak, then slowly it turned into quickened yet soft footsteps, then a few heaving things were moved around when finally, the hatch towards the attic opened up.
A cloaked figure started climbing up into the attic. Once they made sure no one was around, she removed the hood, revealing a beautiful woman's face with aqua blue hair and cyan colored eyes.
After readjusting the glasses on her face, she let out a tired sigh as she began to ruffle through all of the boxes and cobwebs, until her eyes finally fell on the Aurumach.
'A statue?' She wondered, but first made sure all of the documents she found were securely placed in her satchel.
She squinted her eyes as she trailed her finger over the metallic arm, but no dust covered her glove.
'A massive metallic statue that's been segmented… It hasn't been here for that long either, so someone is still using or started using this warehouse.' She sighed as she continued to inspect the metallic body.
'It seems durable… And the detail that was put into creating it is immense… Only a god is capable of this…' She moved on to its chest, noticing that the area seems to be hollow where the arm should have been connected to.
[Rolling wisdom save… 8(3+5)]
'…Did Hermes-sama send me here knowing that there was something like this?' Her eyes trailed up till its head.
She moved closer and inspected the black jewel on its forehead.
'It's craftsman even chose to make it seem so… Lifeless...' She felt a soft chill down her spine, looking at the pure white lifeless eyes, feeling 'seen' yet not at the same time.
[rolling wisdom save… 9(5+4)]
'They even used to a giant black diamond to create it… A thumb sized one is already rare yet this one is as big as my hand… Is this a magic item then?' Something clicked in her mind as she froze, this 8'6" (256cm) metallic body might be a magic item…
'Black diamonds are very valuable in creating magic items… yet most people only use a marble sized one… What did you drag me into this time Hermes!' She took in a deep breath and careful started walking away from it, but it was to late.
[Rolling wisdom save… 19(14+5]
The gem on its forehead instantly lit up, sending out a blue energy pulse throughout the warehouse, causing the woman to tense up instantly. She knew it had to be strong, but not by how much.
Her greatest issue was that she sensed and felt no magic…
'…If it isn't powered by magic… then what is it?' She felt danger, but didn't know what to do. This was unknown territory. She felt like running away-
But she couldn't… because their eyes had met.
In a mere ten seconds, all of its limbs had been liked by its blue aura, while its eyes were staring straight at the blue haired girl in front of it.
[Rolling (unintentional) intimidation…21(18+3)]
"{My apologies for scaring you}" An emotionless voice rang out in her mind as the being began to crouch down, to her level.
"{Can you tell me where I am?}" It asked, shaking her out of her stupor.
"Orario?" She answered, confused as to what's happening.
"{Is Orario the plane, continent, region or city?}" It asked, only seeking clarity. But the girl felt something else.
"C-city." It nodded, {"Mortal plane?"}
"Y-yes?" The way it was worded was strange, but something clicked in her mind, causing her to ease up a bit.
"Are you a god?" She asked but received no answer as it stared at its hand, moving each of its three fingers.
'It would seem I lost most of my strength…' It glanced at the woman,
[Rolling insight… critical failure (1+8).]
'I'm not even able to discern her strength, so why is this human woman so frightened if she could kill me?' It was curious but decided to ask another question instead.
"{Are gods common on the mortal plane?}" She nodded as she slowly began to regain her composure.
"Yes… Most gods had descended from heaven a long time ago… Kami-sama" It brought its hand to its chin as in wonder causing her to hear a small metallic clang.
"{Why would they do such a thing? Wouldn't the balance on the mortal plane be ruined?}" The cloaked woman started to understand a few things at this point. The god(?) in front of her had no intention to meddle with others, and somehow managed to decided unintendedly.
'Does that mean that this god isn't sealed? So far, every god is in a human form, yet this one isn't?' For now, she decided to take things carefully.
"The dungeon appeared, resulting in most of us mortals to die from the monsters that spawned from it. The gods descended in order to give us their blessing so that we can grow stronger and kill those coming to the surface."
'The other gods should have felt his divinity…I'll might have to take him to the guild just in case so that the gods can teach him how to seal his divinity.'
"{I see…}"
"What might be your name? Kami-sama?" She asked, staring directly into its eyes,
"{…Anzareth.}" The moment it 'spoke' its name, a sense of… underserving welled over its body.
"{What is your occupation?}" It asked, trying to ignore that feeling for now.
"Adventurer." It was a word it was familiar with,
'Most young mortals always wished to be one…' It remembered the young kids listening to the battle-hardened adventurers' stories, some of them overly exaggerated and others downplayed.
Yet those smiles it saw and those slaughters it heard were the only reason it remembers those story times.
"{How did you become one?}"
"…You become one at the guild… but Kami-sama can't become one as gods aren't allowed to go inside the dungeon."
{"I understand… but I should visit the guild, nonetheless, can you tell me where it is?"}
"Want me to take Kami-sama there?" It shook its head.
"{I want to go there myself.}" She nodded slowly,
"We are currently in the Daedalus Street so you should…" She started explaining the directions, making sure to give all the necessary landmarks and shops with signs it should take turns at.
"{You can leave now if you so wish.}" It paused for a bit before a memory referenced its mind.
"{And thank you}"
She nodded respectfully and walked away, taking her notes and everything with her.
It waited a few minutes as it tried to figure out all of its abilities… causing them to instinctively to come to mind.
'{I lost majority of them… but I think I can get them back.}' It looked at its hand as it slowly starts to melt down while the rest of its body follows soon after. The gem began to glow as the ethereal energy envelops all of its metal slowly forming a shape, the color of the golden-copper metal changing, finally forming an androgynous human, with black hair that reaches its shoulders, blue eyes that almost shines from its brightness. Wearing a long black robe with wide sleeves, a high collar and a gold ribbon tied at the neck. A golden belt hanging around its waist with a bit hanging down on the left side. While it's wearing black shoes with golden shoelaces.
While its height shrunk to 5'5".
It cleared its throat briefly making some light sounds, trying to test its vocal cords. "Da da da."
The voice held no definite gender, but the lack of gruffness made it sound like a young female or a prepubescent boy. The most notable characteristic was the faint, bell-like reverberation in its tone—light, but there.
It nodded to itself as it moved around the attic, seeing if everything is moving as it should, feeling the 'robe' and 'belt' moving around as it should, and nodded after confirming that they are. Luckily it tried to make the metallic consistency of the clothing as light and 'soft' as possible, leading to them making no to extremely soft metallic sounds when hitting its body, although that's only with light and normal movements.
Lastly it held its left arm out, resulting in the robe to meld into gold and form a short sword in its palm.
'Hmm… seems I can't move pieces from my body unless I use my normal form… Even parts of my clothing have to be attached.' It retracted the sword and reformed its hand as it walked towards the place the human left and followed along.
'I wonder what currency mortals are using now… and for how long I have slept for… It's still a concern that I 'slept'.'
'…I shouldn't even be alive…'
'Or is my life necessary to keep the balance?' It wondered as it left the dust filled warehouse. No one was outside yet as it was still extremely early. Sun hasn't even risen yet.
It looked at all the houses, most stacked or bundled together.
It walked alongside the road, thinking while following the directions the woman gave,
'Balance… Do I even have the right to still uphold it?' Its face stayed emotionless as it was deep in thought.
'I've already picked a side, choosing to save the mortals instead of letting those destined to die…' It grew frustrated.
'I can't be impartial anymore… I am already connected to the mortal races… does that mean that I should stay on the side of 'good' in order to balance the scale?'
'…It's the only logical explanation of as to why I was kept alive.'
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It wasn't in any hurry, so it took its time looking at its surroundings. The sun was rising too, as the people started leaving their homes, most of them being adventurers.
'It seems the mortal races are more united than they were before.' It thought as it noticed elves, dwarves and even beast folk.
It took a while as it passing by a cat café, entertainment district until finally making it to the place marked as Hostess fertility.
'It should be somewhere behind this building…' It thought as it continued across until it stood across the guild and walked inside.
The area was big and slightly crowded as most of the adventurers are still getting ready.
It looked at all the different counters and walked towards the one with the least amount of people.
The receptionist had purple hair and eyes with a bored look on her face.
"What can I do for you?"
"I'm new to Orario and would like to know how to sign up as an adventurer." She nodded,
"Do you have any form of identification?" It shook its head, causing the receptionist to raise an eyebrow.
"How did you enter Orario without anything?"
"I woke up somewhere without anything on me." She nodded with a soft sigh,
"I'll take you to one of the meeting rooms and figure out how to help you." It nodded and followed along.
"What your name, miss? I'm Lethe~" She said as she let out a yawn.
'Name…' It stayed quiet for a few seconds as the same feeling of undeserving started bottling up again, until its new feeling appeared as a name left its mouth.
"…Solren." It answered that feeling was still there, but overshadowed by a feeling of glee.
"Solren? Nice name. Where are you from?" She asked, but Solren stayed silent, causing her to peek over her shoulders, only to stare at that same emotionless face she saw at the counter.
"Do you have a falna?" She asked another question as she looked away something that it didn't know and assumed it didn't have.
"…I don't." Lethe stopped walking and opened the door, letting it walk in first.
"Wait in there, I'll bring someone with me that can get your identification sorted out." It nodded, walked inside and sat on one of the couches.
Orario is a big city, enough so that some people won't get registered until much later in life or are hiding/forced to hide because of circumstances.
The authorities couldn't just throw them out, as the city needs more adventurers because of the high mortality rate and so they came up with a way to know if they were dealing with criminals or simply citizens with their own circumstances.
Within a few minutes, a man walked inside the room with Lethe following behind.
"This is Forseti-sama. He'll be asking you a few questions and you have to answer them honestly." Forseti walked towards the couch opposite to Solren, this man held a dignified and calm air to him with golden hair and piercing silver eyes with fancy /royal clothing.
It knew from first glance that this man was most likely a god and knows that all gods can see through lies. Although that didn't bother Solren, as it dislikes outright telling lies.
"What is your name and where do you come from?"
"Solren and I came from a far away place." It answered, it already accepted its new name and so didn't tell a lie.
"How did you arrive in Orario?"
"I am not sure; I was somewhere else before waking up here."
"Where did you wake up?"
"In Daedalus Street."
"…Daedalus street…For how long have you been in Orario?"
"Unsure, but when I woke up, I met someone who gave me directions to the guild."
"Do you belong to a famillia?"
"What's a familia?"
"…Its when a god gives a mortal their blessing, resulting in them gaining a falna and becoming a part of the god's familia."
"I'm not part of one."
"Why not?"
"There was no such thing from where I came from." Forseti frowned slightly at the answer, but he felt no lie and simply moved on.
"Tell me where that is." Solren simply shook its head, causing Forseti to raise an eyebrow but didn't dwell on the matter.
It is possible that some obscure places to have no gods as it might not be interesting enough.
"…Are you going to put Orario in danger?"
"No."
"Have you ever committed a crime?" Solren stood quiet for a second, before saying,
"…yes."
"What did you do?"
"The place I came from believes in staying neutral, but I chose to be 'good'." Lethe was confused on how that is considered a crime while the god simply continued.
"Is that the only crime?"
"Yes."
"Al right, fill in this paper, any information you might not have, ask Lethe to help you." He said and left.
"Okay… Oh right, it would cost about two hundred valis to create a normal identification but signing up as an adventurer is free and acts as identification. You said you want to be an adventurer, right?" Lethe sat down across Solren.
"Yes."
"Alright, in order to become one, we need that forum, and you have to be in a familia, because having a falna makes you stronger and boosts your survivability."
"For now, we will accept the forum once filled in, but you will not be allowed in the dungeon and will only act as a placeholder for three days until you have to pay for a normal identification.
"How do I join a familia?" Lethe stayed silent briefly,
"You'll have to get accepted by a deity, I'll get a list of those looking for members… Are their any qualifications you have that the familia should have?" Solren stayed quiet briefly as it thought to itself,
'…Any qualifications… I think a blacksmithing one might be suitable, since my morphing ability can be improved by adding what I learn from smithing to it… I've tried in the past, but it was never necessary… but I also don't want to focus solely on smithing …'
"I want it to be a familia that's either based on smithing or fighting, the head of the familia needs to be a good person too and I don't want many restrictions placed on myself." Lethe nodded and left, leaving Solren alone on its own.
'The blessing should work on me, since I'm not considered as a celestial anymore… and majority of my innate abilities are gone as well… the main issue would be the people's view point on my real appearance since the gods won't feel any celestial or divine aura from me anymore, which could lead them to believe that I am a creature mimicking the appearance.'
'It feels strange being so weak…' A few mortals appeared in its mind, causing it to mimic a smile on its face.
'…Maybe I can be like them… Overcoming foes much stronger than myself... but that would upset the balance…' Its facial expression became emotionless once more.
'…It's going to take some time getting used to ignoring-' Its thoughts got interrupted when Lethe opened the door with a stack of paper and placed it on the table.
"These are all of the gods and goddesses that might suit your requirements, you can come see me or another receptionist when you find a suitable deity." She said as she quickly yet gently closed the door behind her and left.
It paid her no mind and started reading through the list of familias, and a few caught its eye.
'Goibniu and Hephaestus are good options for a smithing guild… Hephaestus is popular and so could protect me if my true self is discovered, but only if they accept me for that and could be more restrictive because of that… Goibniu is less popular but is still a good smith and might be less restrictive due to the lesser in popularity… but they have an open contract with the Loki familia to provide weapons on dungeon raids.'
Takemikazuchi seems like a good option as he sounds like a 'good' person… but their connections seem to be lacking. Even if they accept me, that won't do any good if they won't be able to protect me.
The Miach familia is in financial trouble… Ganesha seems to care for his members, but it might be too big of a group and also works as Orario's military force… so I might be forced into such a position… Dian Cecht is mostly based on healing… but also have an open contract with the Loki familia…
Maybe the Loki familia would be a good option? They seem to have a lot of connections…' It went through the rest of the options, some of them had the minimum requirements it asked for while some didn't meet a single one… and ended up finding the Loki familia near the bottom.
'…They have restrictions, but they go on frequent dungeon raids which could allow me to learn teamwork… they also have a lot of connections and they're one of the highest tier familias so learning some smithing shouldn't be impossible… but I'll have to show my worth and capabilities to seem worth it…'
'The other option is Artemis… too good aligned and patrol's to much… Tyr is an option, but Loki would be better… I'll have to ask Lethe a few questions before I talk to Loki.'
But there was something else that bothered it.
It recognized none of their names. Over the thousands and thousands of deities it had met and heard of, none of them were among the pile.
'…Deities are rarely born, even a millennium is considered short for one to manifest. So, having this many in front of me and not recognizing one? Either I have slept for an extremely long time or something else happened.' It finalized its thoughts and went to find Lethe- and ended up finding her slumped against a wall, looking like her soul got sucked out of her body and a female elf looking annoyed.
"…Is there a problem here?" Solren asked, leading the elf to jump a bit at the sudden voice.
"Eh? Oh um. Sorry, we just had a small issue here. Is there something you need?"
"I would like to talk to Lethe about the Familia options she handed me." The elf nodded while Lethe lazily got up and walked towards the room.
"Is she alright?" It asked the elf with its usual emotionless voice.
"She is, she's just not used to doing her job." It nodded at the smug elf and followed Lethe.
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"I would like to know how the blessing works and how big of a connection it makes towards me and the deity."
"Oh right, I forgot you don't know anything… The deity drops a bit of their blood on a person's back, causing a tattoo to form that shows the level, stats, skills and abilities of the person."
"Any other information like, name, age, race and racial features?"
"It does not show any personal information, although a deity usually adds the name on their own. As for racial stuff, it honestly depends. Most of the time it only shows a racial skill if it's a better version of the normal benefits of being that race." Lethe shrugged, to tired to ask for the reason, and the god earlier already proved that Solren bears no ill will towards Orario, so just assumes that its trauma related to being half human or something.,
"What's common for people to do without a falna?"
"Eh? Just normal things." Lethe answered with confusion evident on her facial expression.
"Does normal include using magic?"
"Some can, but the chants take like half an hour if not longer to finish while the strength is just as lackluster. "
'…How concerning… on the mortal plane I used to visit is usually instantaneous.'
"And what's the limit with a blessing?"
"Most are only able to learn three spells but rarely… but most struggle to learn one spell… Are you able to use magic?" It stayed quiet as it thought to itself for a few seconds before saying,
"I think the Loki Familia might be the most suitable, how would I be able to join them?"
"That would be very difficult… They usually recruit members on their own record and most of their members has already left on a dungeon raid… but there are exceptions when they find talented individuals." It nodded as an ethereal, golden hand materialized out of nowhere and gently picked up one of the papers on the counter.
"Do you think this spell would suffice?" It asked as it controlled the hand with ease.
Lethe at first thought that Solren was being arrogant, but it's facial expression never changed once the entire time, even its slightly feminine tone didn't even have the slightest shift.
She let out a sigh.
"Yes… I think that would…"
"Do I have to visit them for the recruitment?"
"No, we'll send out a notice about you wanting to join their familia. We already made an agreement with Loki-sama to only send notices of those we think are talented enough. You can visit us again a bit later today... around the fourth bell should suffice."
"Bell ring?"
"We use a bell to signify what time it is for those who aren't able to afford magical devices such as clocks. At dawn the first bell rings, at morning it's the second, third is midday, fourth is the afternoon, fifth is evening and sixth is nightfall."
"I see… The first bell rung a while ago, right?"
"Mhm."
I'll be here by the fourth bell then. Also, could you put in the notice that Loki should bring a mage with her?"
"Alright, I'll get that sorted out for you in a few minutes." She said as she lied down on the couch.
"Why are you lying down?"
"Need some well-deserved rest." It nodded, stood up and started walked towards the door, before stopping briefly.
"Is there a library nearby?"
"The guild has a library section on the left side if you look at the receptionist stalls." She closed her eyes.
"Thank you." It said and exited the room and moved to the library section and started to read some of the information, like 'beginner guide to adventuring' and 'upper floor monsters'.
As the hours went by, the number of books it finished reading began to stack up on the small table next to bookshelves while more and more adventurers entered the guild.
Some of the adventurers glanced at Solren or stared to admire its beauty. Some would have thought it was a statue from the lack of movement. Only thing stopping that belief as it turning the book's pages.
It continued, until it heard the fourth bell toll. It closed the last book it read and started packing them at the exact place it found them in.
It noticed some people staring at it, but ignored them and looked for Lethe-
[Rolling perception… 25 (17 + 8)]
'There she is.' It thought and walked towards her, luckily, she was not in one of the counters but simply standing there waiting.
'Is she sleeping?' It thought when it noticed her eyes closed.
'Is she exhausted?' It wondered and lightly tapped her shoulder.
"Hm~? No, I wasn't sleeping… I was only resting my eyes." She said after correcting her posture and blinking a few times.
"Oh, right, Loki-sama will probably be here soon. You can wait in the same meeting room we used last time-" Her attention got diverted by another guild worker.
"I'll be with you once Loki-sama arrives." It nodded and watched her leave.
'She must be busy.' It thought, noticing the darkness under her eyes. Solren looked away and walked towards the meeting room and sat on same couch as last time.
'…' It sat there for a while and closed its eyes, all movement on its body ceased. A cyan energy washed over its skin/clothing and receding back into its body.
'…I wonder if I can improve my Astral Self better now that I'm weaker... I wasn't able to improve it past my [arms of astral self].' It kept meditating, until it heard a group approaching the door.
"Come on Lethe-san~ You guys send over such an interesting notice yet you're not going to elaborate on it~?" It heard a female's voice from the door, and Lethe responding to it,
"Loki-sama can ask Solren-san, she's in the meeting room already." The tiredness of her tone was evident.
The door opened, revealing a red-haired flat-chest woman. Her red eyes mostly closed and a smirk across her face. Next to her was young brown-haired human girl clutching a staff, she was quiet the entire time, but a slight blush on her cheeks shows that she was feeling embarrassed for the lady next to her.
'That must be Loki.' It thought as its eyes locked with the squinting Loki, whose eyes slightly widened.
She appeared shocked, but soon after her grin widened.
"You must be Loki…sama?" It heard the way Lethe addressed the gods, and how the blue haired girl addressed it with 'sama' as well, so thought that it might be a good idea to use it for its potential blesser.
"…You are interesting…" Loki said and glanced at Lethe, who then left after closing the door.
"You asked me to bring a mage to show something off, right? Most of them went out on a raid, but I still brought a special one ya see~." She patted the mage's shoulder, who looked away in response.
"I want her to cast her weakest spell." Solren was still seated and shifted its gaze to the mage.
Loki already knew it might have been something like this and readily agreed.
The human mage saw this and took in a deep breath, starting her chant, "O gentle flow-" The moment the mind began to gather into a point, Solren snapped its fingers, causing a small clang to surround in the room as the spell simply disappeared entirely and the mind gathered dispersed.
"Eh?" The mage stopped, feeling the mind she would have used disappear.
She stood there, bewildered, while Loki looked gob smacked. She expected a lot of out comes, each being unlikely for a falnaless human… but completely stopping a spell? With only a finger snap?
"…What did you do?" Loki asked, her interesting completely piqued.
"I'll only explain if you accept me into your familia, along with accepting my requests." It said, facial expression as emotionless as ever, while Loki went deep in thought.
She was used to being able to understand and read others, gods included. Yet for a mortal to do the same?
"Did you make any deals with other deities to screw me over?"
"No." Loki nodded, at least pleased that her built in lie detector was working.
"Why my familia?"
"It has everything I need in order to grow." Loki smirked.
"Damn right~ So what's your requests?" Loki sat down on the couch with the human mage sitting beside her, feeling out of place.
"Protection, a way to learn blacksmithing on the side and more leeway so that I can do my own thing." Loki thought it over for a bit… before she nodded her head.
"I'll be more lenient, but you'll still have to listen to me and my familia's executives' judgement on important matters. You will also have to go in teams when you venture into the lower floors." It nodded its head.
The familia is a group, so it understood that it won't be able to act on its own the entire time.
"We'll have the rest of the discussion at your new home." Loki grinned, but her lips slowly started twitching when it simply nodded what that irritatingly neutral expression.
'She's worse than Ais… But at least I have a fellow lady in arms.' Loki saluted in her mind, noticing a fellow chopping board like herself.
While walking towards the Twilight Manor, Loki tried multiple times to touch Solren, all attempts ending up in failure and her rubbing her face against the human mage's.
As for any small talk? It didn't really go anywhere. All the questions that were asked were either not answered or they only got an emotionless response.
' 'Way worse than Ais.' ' The goddess and mage thought.
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The Twilight Manor. A huge, multi-story castle like mansion adorned with multiple towers.
"Watcha think? Impressive ain't it?" Loki nudged Solren in the side, ignoring the strange texture of the clothing and simply looking at it's facial expression, but seeing not even the slightest change.
"Tch." Loki clicked her tongue and walked through the gates, vowing that she would get a reaction out of Solren one day.
It followed behind while the mage went a separate path, looking at all the trees and flowers decorated around the manor, but no matter how beautiful the area looks, one can't appreciate beauty without understanding it.
The guards saluted and greeted Loki as they walked inside Manor.
The interior was spacious, with multiple decorated halls with their own purpose, like a dining and meeting hall.
They went up the stairs and walked past some of the executive's personal quarters until they made it to Loki's office and walked inside.
The most noticeable thing Solren noticed were a few paintings of a blond human swordswoman hung up on the walls, one of them having a sword gash across it.
"Strip~" She said with a smirk but was only met with silence as Solren walked to the couch on the side.
"Tch- just lie down and expose your back. Your no fun." She grumbled.
"And you can talk about that magic you used back there. It didn't even have a chant or any form of indication other than snapping your fingers." Solren removed the belt and rope around its waist, but kept holding onto it as Solren pulled the robe over its body but keeping it close to its chest and lied on the couch.
"The spell is called [Dispel Magic]. I can target a person, object or magical effect within range and dispel depending on how powerful of a spell it is. But I can only cost it once per day otherwise my life would be at risk." Loki understood that this spell was extremely powerful if fully understood. Sure, it has a limit, but a falna would reduce it.
"…What the range?"
"120 feet (36.7m)." She froze briefly,
"Wha- wait, the note did say you have magic, but you won't be able to use that one for the note… what else can you do?" Her grin slowly got wider, 'I have struck gold~' She thought.
Solren knew it couldn't hide much from the goddess as it would most likely show on its familia or omitting something might count as a lie, so it decided to test the waters by the goddess' knowledge.
'…At least my race and racial features won't show as I'm considered one of the weakest Aurumach… She's interested in my abilities but not enough to make a vow of secrecy… but she does not seem to know about [dispel magic]… one of the most common and used spells among celestials… Not only this, but her insignia according to the familia page is a jester. Trickster deities without dispel magic does not exist...'
"I can cast [Zone of Truth] which tells me who is lying in the radius but those with a strong character can resist, [Detect magic] which lasts for ten minutes. It lets me sense any magic within thirty feet of me and lets me see a faint aura of magic around anything with magic. It also shows me the type of spell is affecting someone."
"My body is only capable of handle these spells three times, but if I use dispel then I can only cast one other spell. After that I can use [Words of Radiance] I can choose targets that are within five feet of me and they will be burnt with a divine flame, but able to resist it and then [Mage Hand] which is a spectral hand that I can control to carry stuff. These two I can use indefinably."
"There is one I am omitting as I am unsure how to explain it." Loki halfway through froze with her needle in hand.
"…Are all of them instant cast?"
"Yes."
"HOW!?!" She yelled out in shock.
"One I could understand, two is stretching it but fo- no five??? And two that you can use indefinitely??? AND without a falna???"
'This isn't even talent at this point… What is she?' Loki wondered, but it didn't matter to her at this point. From their short exchange, she already knew that this girl had no ill intent and so started the ritual.
'She didn't lie once since our meeting.' Loki thought.
She pricked her finger and pressed it on Solren's back, causing her to feel it's cold and 'hard' body which confused her for a moment, but ignored it in order to finish the ritual.
Once she finished, a tattoo of a jester's face to appear on Solren's back, which caused her to go quiet once again, her facial expression turning into a twitching grin.
"Did you ask for my protection because you knew you had many skills and abilities without being a level one?" Loki asked while copying the status to a paper.
"…No." It said after a brief pause, fixing its clothing and looking at the paper she gave it.
Lv. 1
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
-Martial Artist, way of the astral self: D
Innate (Majorly sealed) Magic
-Astral Arms
-spiritual Body
-Improved Reflexes
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"Do you know what they mean?" Loki asked, usually the description of everything would appear in the deities' mind, yet this time she barely had anything. Only the obvious or self-explanatory ones gave her some insight.
Solren stayed quiet as it thought to itself.
'Almost all of my racial traits are hidden, leaving only my innate magic… but I wonder why that would be the case… The only way would be to ask Loki… but the deities are sealed according to the books, so it won't be much of an issue…'
"I do…" It noticed the suspicious look on Loki's face.
"Your innate magic is essentially sealed, along with three skills and a D rank development ability at level one no less. This should be impossible… The only ways for that not to be the case is for a god to be involved or for you to be some mythical race." She stared directly into Solren's eyes.
'Her back didn't feel like normal skin.' She thought, waiting for Solren to answer, who could see Loki brimming with interest, curiosity and glee.
[Rolling insight… 27(19 +8]
'That should be enough.' It thought as it said,
"Make a vow on your divinity that you won't tell anyone unless I allow it or go back on our agreement." Loki stayed silent this time.
"Is it that big of a deal?"
"It is to me."
"Is some big group after you?" Solren has already thought about this and knew without a shadow of a doubt that if the other Rilmani were after it, then it would not be alive right now.
"No one is after me." Loki thought it over for a while, but in the end, she gave in and let out a sign.
"You're too interesting to throw to someone else… and you're already part of my familia." She clicked her tongue and held her hand over her chest as a small aura started to seep out of her body.
She made sure to control the amount so as to not piss of a certain old man.
"I swear upon my divinity that I will uphold my agreement to Solren, giving her my utmost protection, the needed resources to learn black smithing, leeway within reason and to not tell anyone about her secrets unless she allows me to." The divine aura around her receded and wrapped around her heart before dissipating.
"There, now spill the beans!" Loki grinned while Solren nodded and stood up from its seat.
"I am an Aurumach Rilmani." It answered, causing Loki to tilt her head.
"Eh? No one from my knowledge created such a race?"
'As I thought… if she didn't know the concept of cantrips much less the other spells, then my race wouldn't be any different… but just to make sure…'
"Hmm… Do you know the outland?"
"You are asking a lot of strange questions…"
'So, it's a no…' It nodded to itself, piecing all of the puzzles together.
'The vow confirmed that she is a goddess, but has not only no knowledge of common spells but also the outlands, the plane plat connects to all other planes including the mortal realm… Which means two things. I am so far in the future that everything ceased to exist along with the deities with it, or I am currently in an alternative dimension where it didn't exist…'
"Are you going to explain to me what's happening?"
"…Hard to explain." It shrugged.
"That's it??? You made me make a vow and that's all you're going to tell me?" Loki started to grow frustrated, and even more so at the emotionless expression on its face.
"…From what I understand, my homeland does not exist anymore and the magic I wield is either considered forgotten knowledge or a divine gift."
"Eh?" Loki didn't sense any lies, nor hear any sadness from its tone.
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Our conversation."
"We barely talked??? And just because I am a goddess doesn't mean I know every single location on Genkai."
It simply shrugged as most humans do.
'She is a miracle child from a species a potentially ancient race and with a few screws loose… I just adopted another Ais, didn't I?' Loki wanted to cry but held it in once she glanced at Solren's chest.
'At least she's a fellow sister in arms.' A small tear rolled down her cheek.
Loki stayed quiet, letting everything sink in and then looked at its stat sheet. Her eyes then moved towards Solren's face until finally landing on its chest, feeling a 'sister'hood like connection.
"It fine, we'll sort all of that out later~ For now your gonna join me for a drink!" She pulled Solren from the couch and hooked her left arm over its shoulder and dragged her along.
"Your part of my familia now and I ain't ever gonna let ya leave, alright?"
"Why would I?" It felt confused, but at the current events, but went along either way.
This was its new home, so it would never leave.