《The Worship Of Dale》
Chapter 1: Pale Dale, A Forced Object Of Worship.
Chapter 1: Pale Dale, A Forced Object Of Worship.
Dale opened his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings.
¡°Where the heck am I? How did I get here? My head is pounding. It also smells like shit. Wait. Those religious people sprayed me with something while I was walking around town, didn''t they? It must have been them....Tsss. That smarts. Was I sleeing on stone? Damn, the pain''s making it hard to see properly." Dale asked, rubbing his head.
"What is this, a bracelet? What is this thing? It reminds me of an altar. There are a few rocks over there. More rocks over there. A ceiling, stained glass, a ton of seats...wait, why are there rocks in a cathedral?!" Dale asked, unreasonably bewildered by mere rocks.
He sighed and continued to take in his surroundings.
"There¡¯s one guy in a religious cloak staring down at me on my right, another one staring-wait, what?¡± Dale asked as his eyes cleared.
The figure shifted, making Dale flinch.
¡°Hello. What is your name?¡± It asked, taking off the religious garb.
"Pfaah. That''s better. These stupid clothes suck." Said a girls voice.
¡°I expected a weird looking monster,¡± Dale said, raising an eyebrow.
¡°Well, I''m not. The mask garbles my voice, and nobody would expect a cute girl to be wearing this thing. So I kinda get it. I¡¯m Maya. It¡¯s nice to meet you¡.?¡± Maya said.
¡°I¡¯m Dale. Can I go now, and can you never kidnap me again? Why the hell did you bring me here, anyway?" Dale asked, sitting upright.
His eyes widened.
"Wait! You didn¡¯t steal my magic, did you?¡± Dale asked, panicking.
He held out his palm, and a screen appeared.
"Ignite," Dale whispered.
A small ball of fire erupted in his hand but flickered away almost instantly.
A blue bar on the screen had lost a small amount of its color, but it slowly deepened back into a darker blue after a few seconds.
He breathed a sigh of relief.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°Oh thank god! It¡¯s still there." Dale rejoiced.
"Wait, then why did you kidnap me? To convert me into one of you freaks?¡± Dale asked.
¡°No, of course not. We¡¯re just going to make you the avatar of god that we worship.¡± Maya said.
¡°Oh my god that¡¯s a thousand times worse¡± Dale said.
¡°It¡¯s not that bad. You have a power greater than even the king now. Why don''t you just calm down and listen to us?¡± Maya said.
¡°Look, I¡¯m not interested in this stupid scam, so can I go?¡± Dale asked.
¡°No. It¡¯s not a choice. Sorry for any inconvenience it may cause, but it isn''t up to me to decide your fate.¡± Maya said, shrugging her shoulders with an "Idunno, sorry" look on her face.
¡°Look, you seem like a good person, so can you possibly just let me go? Please?¡± Dale asked.
¡°No can do, chief. We already performed the operation, and we can¡¯t undo it.¡± Maya said.
Dale paled.
¡°Oh god. What the fuck did you do to me?¡± Dale asked.
¡°Don¡¯t worry so much, Dale. We gave you a blessing from the one true god. You now walk the earth as the avatar of god!¡± Maya said.
¡°......I have no idea what the fuck that means. And I have no idea what the fuck is going on.¡± Dale said.
¡°I¡¯m not surprised, I''ll explain if you want me to.¡± Maya said, tinkering with a machine in the background.
¡°You''re...Maya, right? I have a lot of questions, but for some reason, the only one I can think of is; Why did you choose me?¡± Dale asked.
¡°Well, you passed the test and didn¡¯t die after becoming a living god, like those guys did.¡± Maya said, gesturing to a pile of dead bodies and melted corpses in the corner.
"Holy shit!" Dale exclaimed.
He nearly puked.
So that''s what that smell was.
¡°What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why are you acting like that¡¯s completely normal and all in a day''s work?!¡± Dale yelled.
He tried to escape, but large steel chains that were clamped on his wrists stopped him from getting very far. The chains were long, but not loose.
¡°Fuck. Stupid long-ass heavy chains.¡± Dale muttered.
¡°It is normal, Dale. Sacrifices are nothing new, lots of people have done them over the course of human history. And you can¡¯t leave, no matter how hard you try.¡± Maya said.
¡°I think I figured that out already.¡± Dale grumbled.
¡°Good to hear that you finally gave up. Do you want to know more about what we did to you? Surely you¡¯re interested in the magic core we fused with your mana.¡± Maya said.
¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck about what it is, I wanna know how the fuck I can get rid of it! I don¡¯t care about you, I don¡¯t care about your stupid religion, I don¡¯t give a fuck about your stupid god-¡° Dale started.
Thunder rumbled, and the cathedral was bathed in purple light.
"You made god mad, Dale." Maya said, shaking her head in disapproval.
¡°....I think I¡¯ll shut up now.¡± Dale said.
¡°That¡¯s probably a good idea.¡± Maya agreed.
¡°How the hell did that happen?! It¡¯s not raining, there¡¯s not a storm, nothing!¡± Dale said, clutching his head in his hands out of utter shock and genuine fear.
¡°It¡¯s god. What do you think happened, Dale?¡± Maya replied.
¡°Fuck.¡± Dale said, realizing the situation he was in.
Chapter 2: Unlucky Dale, A Mob Main Character?
Chapter 2: Unlucky Dale, A Mob Main Character
¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to know more about what we did to you?¡± Maya asked.
¡°Unless it can help me get out of here, no.¡± Dale said.
¡°It might, but that¡¯s extremely unlikely.¡± Maya said.
¡°...Worth a shot. Shoot, what do you got for me?¡± Dale asked.
¡°Well, what we¡¯ve implemented into your mana is a magic core. That alone boosts the amount of magic you can use at any given time.¡± Maya said.
¡°Hm. True, I can feel a massive increase in the amount of- holy shit." Dale said, so surprised that he gave himself a migrane.
"I think I know what you mean by avatar of god, now. But seriously, that shit made my head hurt.¡± Dale said.
¡°No, you don¡¯t know the half of it, Dale. You and the core aren¡¯t completely merged yet, so you aren¡¯t able to access more than the smallest amount of power from it. And there are a decent amount of people out there who have mana equal to or greater than what you have right now. Besides, that¡¯s not the cool thing. You may be a random nobody-¡°
¡°Thanks.¡± Dale muttered.
¡°-, but that thing can pretty much give you plot armor. You¡¯re basically like the main character right now.¡± Maya said.
¡°And what the fuck does that mean?¡± Dale asked.
Maya froze.
¡°You have no idea what it means, do you?¡± Dale sighed.
Maya slumped her shoulders.
¡°No. I was just reading off of this guidebook trying to sound smart.¡± Maya said, holding up a thin and floppy book.
¡°Maya, I found a cute little caterpillar! Look!¡± The other person in religious garbs interrupted.
¡°Zaz, that¡¯s not what we¡¯re here for,¡± Maya said, annoyed.
¡°Then what should I be doing?¡± Zaz asked.
¡°Um. Just do something. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Maya said.
Zaz threw the caterpillar at her, and Maya freaked out.
¡°Eeeeeek!!! Get it off! Get it off!¡± Maya shouted, flailing about.
¡°You¡¯re the one who told me to do something.¡± Zaz grinned, mischievously.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Maya ran after her, and Zaz stayed just barely out of her reach at all times, mocking her.
This continued for quite a while.
¡°I was kidnapped by these fucking idiots? Seriously? What the fuck? Why me?¡± Dale asked.
A boom resounded in his head.
"Oh my fucking god that fucking hurts! What the shit!" Dale shouted.
¡°Hello? Hello? Ah. Can you hear me?¡± A voice asked.
¡°Ow. I think I¡¯ve said this before, but fuck it, I¡¯ll say it again. What the fuck.¡± Dale said, scowling.
¡°So you can hear me. Good, good. You asked why you were kidnapped, right?¡± The voice asked.
¡°Well, yeah, but-¡° Dale said.
¡°It¡¯s because I was bored.¡± The voice said.
¡°...you¡¯re god?¡± Dale asked.
¡°Glad I don¡¯t have to literally spell it out for you. Yeah, I¡¯m god.¡± God said.
¡°You sound a lot less intense and serious than I thought you would. So what¡¯s up with the lightning and thunder from before?¡± Dale asked.
¡°What, that? Ha! Yeah, that gets everyone. It¡¯s a light machine and a noisemaker. Basically, you got duped. Idiot.¡± God said.
¡°......Fuck you.¡± Dale said.
¡°Wow, so mean. You hurt my feelings.¡± God faked.
¡°You¡¯re that kind of person, aren¡¯t you. Ugghhhh.¡± Dale groaned.
¡°Yup. Annoying god, at your least convenient time, and not at your service. Get it?¡± God said.
¡°Yeah, I get it. But it sounds stupid.¡± Dale said.
¡°Ruuude. You do realize you¡¯re talking to god, right?¡± God asked.
¡°Huh? Oh. You act like one of my old friends, so I kinda felt a little less stressed. It¡¯s kinda nice when you aren¡¯t alone in a situation like this, somehow. Also, I''d prefer to keep pretending that you aren''t actually god, and I''ve just gone insane.¡± Dale said.
¡°Dale. You¡¯re weird. Eh, whatever. I¡¯m fine with you being casual with me. Oh, speaking of that old friend! We¡¯re going to be stalking her. What a coincidence. Are we sure you aren¡¯t a main character?¡± God laughed.
Dale thought for a moment, trying to pick apart what he meant.
¡°.....If you mean the star of a story, I think I¡¯m the star of my own story.¡± Dale said.
¡°Actually, that¡¯s pretty close to what I mean, yeah. I¡¯ve never heard that phrase outside of movies, though.¡± God said.
¡°Movies? Not sure what that means, but it¡¯s what my mom always told me when I was little.¡± Dale said.
¡°Hm.... You aren¡¯t exactly a mob, but you definitely aren¡¯t even a minor side character. A little bit of a bent cookie cutter shaped you. But you can¡¯t break the mold. I see. Maybe that¡¯s the ultimate mob character. You seem...Bland. Hollow. An empty character.¡± God said, studying Dale.
¡°You explained nothing. Or I just didn¡¯t understand your explanation.¡± Dale said.
¡°Well, this world is different after all. Speaking of, did you know that the friend you talked about before is actually someone from that world who reincarnated here?¡± God asked.
¡°Yeah, I think so. A lot of what you said sounds familiar. But she acts like you, so I never understood jack shit. The only reason I knew she was serious was because of the crazy things she did all the time.... Now, whenever I think back, I always point at her and say ¡°that¡¯s someone who can do something with their life¡±. To be honest, I¡¯m rather jealous of her. Well...Jealous isn¡¯t the right word.¡± Dale sighed.
¡°....She also seemed to avoid me, so we weren¡¯t too close. We got a little bit closer eventually, but then I moved. I haven¡¯t seen her since, and I doubt she even remembers me.¡± Dale said.
¡°Darn, thought that would surprise you. You''re boring... Hm. I¡¯m going to check something. Seeya in a bit, Dale.¡± God said.
¡°Hey, wait, wha-¡± Dale started.
God had disappeared from his head before he could even say hey.
Chapter 3: li-love-ly
Chapter 3: li-love-ly
¡°HEY, LILY!!!¡± God shouted.
A young girl, no older than 19, spun backward in surprise, swinging with her right hand.
¡°What the heck?!?¡± Lily yelled, covering an ear with her left hand.
Her right hand gripped a sword that was now lodged in a wooden pole, which she promptly removed.
¡°I recognize that voice. You freaked me out for a second. I almost had a heart attack.¡± Lily said, putting her hand over her heart in relief.
¡°You¡¯re the hero, you can¡¯t get heart attacks anymore,¡± God said.
¡°...It¡¯s an expression. I didn¡¯t mean it literally. But that¡¯s not important right now. It¡¯s been years since you¡¯ve spoken even a single word to me. What do you want this time?¡± Lily asked.
¡°Nothin much. What are you up to?¡± God asked.
¡°I¡¯m training. Didn¡¯t you want me to get stronger?¡± Lily asked, turning her head upwards.
¡°Actually, looking at the sky right now, it¡¯s probably already past 7 pm. I¡¯m done for today.¡± Lily said, relaxing.
She leaned on a wall next to a straw dummy, throwing the sword she was holding to the ground, and picked up a small canteen of water.
It was lukewarm.
¡°Gross. Let¡¯s see, ice magic, ice magic...ah. Here we go.¡± Lily said, holding up the pouch.
She pulled up a screen that seemed to float in midair. It had numbers, symbols, shapes, and colors. She navigated to a section that had a very long list of words in an ancient language.
She tapped one.
Frost coated her hand and slowly began to creep down the now glowing canteen.
¡°That''s better. Anyway, isn¡¯t training what you wanted me to do? To grow stronger as a hero?¡± Lily asked.
¡°I don¡¯t care about that right now. I¡¯m bored with it.¡± God said.
¡°Okay, then? What are you here for? Other than interrupting my training, that is.¡± Lily asked, picking up a towel and wiping the perspiration off of her face. She screwed the cap off of the canteen and put it to her lips.
¡°Do you remember someone named Dale, who you grew up with, by any chance?¡± God asked.
Lily started to choke, sputtering the ice cold water she had just taken a sip of.
¡°Whk-ack!¡± Lily coughed. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
¡°Heeeeh? Why so surprised, Lily? Is something wrooong? I only asked you a simple question¡± God asked mockingly.
¡°*Ahem* Why do you ask? And why does god care about an easily forgettable background character? If you came here just to mess with me, I¡¯m going back to my training.¡± Lily said, reaching for her sword.
¡°You seem to still remember him. Is he really that forgettable?¡± God asked.
Her hand stopped.
Lily blushed.
¡°I¡¯m the hero, it¡¯s my job to remember stuff like people¡¯s names,¡± Lily argued.
¡°What¡¯s the name of the man you met two nights ago at the party, the one with long pink hair? The guy who was trying to hit on you. His name is clearly written, in bold, on all of the love letters he keeps sending you, isn¡¯t it?¡± God asked.
¡°.....That doesn¡¯t count!¡± Lily insisted.
¡°Fine. Name one other person you grew up with. Not Dale.¡± God asked.
Lily crossed her arms in thought for a few seconds but failed to come up with an answer.
¡°Arggghhhh!!!¡± Lily shouted in frustration, kicking the training dummy.
The dummy went flying and hit a brick wall, smashing a large hole in it.
Lily flinched, wondering how much that would cost to repair. She shook her head to get the question out of her mind.
¡°....Fine, I give up. What do you want from me?¡± Lily said, annoyed.
¡°First, I have a question. How old were you when you reincarnated, again?¡± God asked.
¡°Ugh. Why do you always ask such pointless questions? 22. You already knew that, though.¡± Lily said.
¡°I forgot.¡± God replied.
¡°Yeah, right. And paradoxes are solvable.¡± Lily laughed.
¡°That isn¡¯t important. You, a 22 year old, fell in love with a child. A random mob character, at that. Wouldn¡¯t you say that¡¯s pretty important?¡± God said accusingly.
Lily scowled.
¡°...... I can live my life however I want. It¡¯s not for you to judge.¡± Lily replied angrily.
¡°But you can¡¯t live however you want, can you? Isn¡¯t that why you like Dale? That¡¯s why you fell in love.¡± God said.
¡°You envied that. You just wanted to be with him to live a normal life. You thought that maybe, just maybe, if it were him, you might finally be happy. Right?¡± God asked.
¡°What¡¯s that matter now?! This is my duty! Just like how I had to carry the burden of being perfect in my last life, I have to do so here, as well. There¡¯s no difference!... Well, this is the only time I ever fell in love.¡± Lily said, trembling.
¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you could live however you want?¡± God asked.
Lily sat on the ground, her body sliding down the wall she leaned on.
¡°Shut up! I can¡¯t do this anymore. I try and I try, but all I get is god coming over to bully me.¡± Lily said, a tear rolling down her cheek.
¡°Lily,¡± God said.
¡°No! Just go away! Get out of my head!¡± Lily shouted.
¡°I¡¯ll find some kind of reason to get back up. I always do! I don¡¯t need your help, and I don¡¯t want it. It¡¯s just gonna take me a minute. I¡¯m not some fragile doll you have to coddle.¡± Lily said, pounding the floor with her fist and gnashing her teeth.
¡°...What do you really want, lily?¡± God asked.
¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?! To no longer be in the spotlight! To no longer be the center of attention! I want to be able to dedicate myself to what I want to do, not what others want me to do. I want to be selfish, for just once in my life.¡± Lily shouted.
¡°Perfect. Lily, I have an offer for you. I¡¯ll let you leave allllll of this behind, pass it to someone who wants to do it. I¡¯ll let you live a normal life. If you want, you could even go find¡..Dale. Whoops.¡± God said
Lily stopped trembling.
¡°What?¡± Lily asked, looking up.
¡°Ah whatever, this is good timing. I¡¯ll let you think about it for a little while I go fix the situation with Dale.¡± God said
¡°What? Wait, what situation with Da-¡° Lily asked, before being cut off by god¡¯s disappearance
Chapter 4: Lily鈥檚 Sword
Chapter 4: Lily¡¯s Sword
A loud screeching pierced Dale¡¯s ear.
¡°What the fuck! Why do you always have to explode my god damn head whenever you come back?!¡± Dale asked, clutching his head in pain.
He unfortunately hit himself with the chain around his wrist, which just hurt more.
¡°Sorry. Faulty mic. At least it¡¯s working. I get a ton of interference in this room.¡± God replied.
¡°I¡¯m not even going to try and understand that nonsense,¡± Dale said.
¡°Anyway, I¡¯m bringing Lily over. Just needed to let you know so it doesn¡¯t freak you out.¡± God said.
¡°Wait! Before you leave! Can you at least take off these chains?!¡± Dale asked.
He held up his hands, once again rattling the chains attached to his wrist.
¡°No can do, chief. Sorry. It¡¯s not up to me. Or, rather, I can¡¯t.¡± God said.
¡°What? What do you mean by that!¡± Dale exclaimed.
His question was met with silence.
¡°Hello? Wait, did he leave already? Fuck!¡± Dale said, pulling at the chains with frustration.
¡°Nono, I¡¯m here. Sorry, I forgot that you couldn¡¯t see me. I was shrugging my shoulders. Also, I¡¯m not a he. Hmph.¡± God said.
¡°Shrugging your shoulders?¡± Dale asked, his brain unable to process this information for literally no reason.
He stared at the chain on his wrist, lifting his shoulders upwards.
He shrugged.
He squinted, realizing he was a complete moron.
¡°Shit. You meant that you didn¡¯t know how to. I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I?¡± Dale questioned.
¡°Well, kinda! You¡¯re wrong! Lily should be able to remove them.¡± God said.
Dale let out a laugh.
¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty convenient. It¡¯s always her, isn¡¯t it.¡± Dale said, softly smiling.
¡°It really is. But there¡¯s a reason for that.¡± God said.
¡°Is it because she reincarnated?¡± Dale asked.
¡°No. Well, sorta. She¡¯s the hero. As such, she has a natural affinity for anything that has to do with major gods or minor gods. Those chains should snap off the moment she touches them.¡± God said.
¡°What do you mean by that? Major and minor gods? It¡¯s not just you?¡± Dale asked, somewhat surprised by this new information.
¡°Wow. Well, I guess you did move out to the middle of nowhere before you were taught any of this properly. But still, you know nothing at all about this religion? Seriously? how long has it been since you got here? Haven''t you seen at least one church in the city?¡± God asked.
¡°If I did, I wouldn¡¯t be asking! Just tell me already!¡± Dale said.
¡°Fine, fine. Okay, so it¡¯s like this. There¡¯s one main god, a decent amount of major gods, and quite a few minor gods. Each minor god can grant a blessing to one person, giving them permission to lead and represent that god''s worship. Or, at least that¡¯s how it normally is. Major gods can grant multiple blessings and have an avatar that represents them in physical form. So those with a blessing represent the religion and an avatar represents the god itself. Basically, once everything merges properly you¡¯ll be the avatar of the main god. Another example of an Avatar of the main god is the hero. So unless Lily chooses to worship another god, she¡¯s also an Avatar of the main god.¡± God said.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°Wait, hold on. Didn¡¯t you say there could only be one Avatar for each god? How can both me and Lily be avatars of the same god?¡± Dale asked.
¡°I never said that there was a limit on the number of avatars the main god can have. You didn¡¯t listen to me. But I¡¯ll make another thing clear. You weren¡¯t chosen by the main god to be an avatar of the main god.¡± God said.
¡°What? How is that even possible?¡± Dale asked.
¡°Teaching you all of this would probably take years, so I¡¯ll answer one more question before I leave. As for the question you just asked, there are a few things that are major factors. One of those is how you become an Avatar of god in the first place. Usually, it¡¯s passed down through some sort of object. A necklace, for example. Do you really think that a god¡¯s just going to come down every time one of their Avatars or the people they blessed dies? No. The same is somewhat true for The Hero as well. Unfortunately, for the most part, it¡¯s something that changes the properties of their magic and mana completely, completely fusing with them and disappearing upon death. But it has quite a potent effect." God said.
"Lily is on a different level compared to most people, in terms of fighting prowess. For example, you know how the mana bar in your menu is blue? Lily¡¯s is silver right now. That means it''s been affected by external factors and is slowly leveling up. As it levels up her spells grow in strength. As well as how often she can use them." God said.
"But that doesn¡¯t exactly explain how you became an Avatar of the main god, now does it? Well, first, there are precedents of mana lingering after death, or crystalizing. This leads to quite a few problems, but the main one is that technically a hero¡¯s mana can also crystallize or linger after their death. And it has crystallized before, a long time ago." God said.
"What happened to it? That crystallized mana of the long-dead hero? It was surgically merged with your mana. You are an artificial Avatar of god. The first one ever, actually." God said
"In other words, you¡¯re an abomination. Something that shouldn¡¯t exist.¡± God said.
¡°Then why aren¡¯t you doing something about me? Wouldn¡¯t you want me gone?¡± Dale asked.
¡°I¡¯m not doing something about you, because this is actually beneficial to me. I¡¯ll tell you why I don¡¯t want you gone yet after I bring lily here.¡± God said.
Lily was in her room, putting away her gear.
She put her sword in its sheath and hung it above the fireplace.
¡°That¡¯s a pretty nice sword.¡± God said.
Lily froze, frowning.
¡°Yeah...It is. Do you mind if I bring it along with me? It¡¯s part of the clothes I was going to wear today.¡± Lily asked.
¡°Eh?.... That sounds rather dull, but I guess if it¡¯s a part of your outfit it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s pretty sturdy for a prop though.¡± God said.
Lily picked the sword off of where she had hung it, affixing it to her waist.
¡°You ready now?¡± God asked.
Lily nodded.
¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go.¡± Lily said.
¡°Try smiling. Scowling like that just looks intimidating. You don¡¯t want to scare Dale off, do you?¡± God asked
¡°Sorry. I¡¯m just a little bit stressed.¡± Lily replied, replacing the scowl with an obviously forced smile.
Her attitude still felt aggressive, and the smile made it worse.
¡°Lily...You suck at this.¡± God said.
Lily reddened.
¡°W-well, excuse me! I¡¯ve never done this before! I¡¯m not exactly sure how I should act.¡± Lily said, brushing a hand through her hair.
¡°Your hair looks fine. Just relax a little and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± God said
Lily relaxed a little bit but still seemed ready to cut something down at a moment''s notice.
¡°Better?¡± Lily asked.
¡°Good enough. I guess. You really need to work on being more feminine. And that outfit...No, nevermind. I guess it¡¯s fine.¡± God said.
God sighed.
¡°No matter how much I fuss, I¡¯ll probably just make it worse. So let¡¯s go before that happens.¡± Lily answered, trying to smooth out her clothes.
She adjusted her sword to make it easier to reach.
¡°Jeez. Fine, hold your breath. This might knock the wind outta you if you aren¡¯t careful. I''m bringing us to Dale.¡± God said.
¡°Yeah, whatever, let¡¯s just g-¡± Lily started, suddenly glowing.
Space around her distorted.
It was nauseating, but it worked.
When she opened her eyes again, they were suddenly in a large cathedral.
Chapter 5: The Earth Goddess
Chapter 5: The Earth Goddess
¡°Oww.¡± Lily said.
She heard the rustling of chains and looked up.
In front of her was Dale.
¡°You look pretty much the same as I remember. Just older. Hey, Dale.¡± Lily said, smiling.
Dale grinned as well.
¡°I could say the same thing to you. How are you, Lily?¡± Dale asked.
Lily shook her head.
¡°I¡¯ve been having a few problems, but nothing too bad. How abou-Wait, those chains.¡± Lily said, standing up quickly.
She grabbed Dale by the wrist and scowled.
¡°What the hell have you done to him? Come out from wherever you¡¯re hiding!¡± Lily shouted.
A figure stepped into view from a dark corner.
¡°Darn. I didn¡¯t think you would figure it out so quickly.¡± The figure said.
¡°Who are you? Why did you do this?¡± Lily asked.
Dale looked back and forth between the two figures, confused.
¡°What¡¯s going on? Wait, you¡¯re Maya, right?¡± Dale asked.
¡°Dale, shut up for right now. Let me talk to-¡± Lily started.
¡°Don¡¯t be a spoilsport. Let the boy talk. Or I¡¯ll tell him how you feel towards children, Ms. 22-year-old reincarnated hero.¡± Maya said.
Lily''s eyes widened, and she drew her sword.
¡°How do you know about that!? Who are you?!¡± Lily growled.
The figure sighed.
¡°Does this remind you of anything?¡± The figure said, pulling out a machine.
Lily lowered her sword slightly in a mix of confusion and surprise.
¡°No...That¡¯s a microphone and whatever you call them, right? How do you have that?!¡± Lily asked.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
¡°Does this give you any clues?¡± God asked, holding the mic to her mouth.
¡°.....I knew something was weird when you suddenly talked to me. Especially for a reason like that....¡± Lily said, disappointed in herself.
¡°Weird? How was I weird? I thought my acting was great!¡± Maya said.
¡°God doesn¡¯t care about clothes, and God is definitely aware of this sword. He gave it to me, after all.¡± Lily said, pointing the sword¡¯s tip at Maya¡¯s throat.
¡°Well, shit. Also, it¡¯s rude to point your sword at someone. That¡¯s bad mann-Woah!¡± Maya said, dodging something that flew past her and exploded a wall.
Moonlight flooded the room, forcing the dark shadows to retreat, and illuminated a gruesome picture.
Lily grimaced at the sight before her.
¡°So that¡¯s what the smell was¡¡± Lily said, disgusted.
She shook her head.
¡°No. I can think about that after we fight. How did you dodge that, by the way?¡± Lily asked.
Maya ignored her.
¡°Tch. Moonlight. You know, I¡¯d really rather you guys behave,¡± Maya said, snapping her fingers.
The wall that had just been blown to smithereens immediately put itself back together.
¡°Do you understand your situation now, little hero?¡± Maya asked.
Lily''s mouth fell open, trying to find words but repeatedly failing.
¡°You...You...What are you doing here? That body isn¡¯t...Where is...No. No way.¡± Lily said, shaking with a mix of horror and fear.
¡°No matter how much you try to deny it, you already know the truth, don¡¯t you?¡± Maya whispered into Lily¡¯s ear.
Lily tried to whip her head around but froze.
Lily dropped the sword and raised her hands.
¡°Fine. What do you want?¡± Lily asked.
¡°Break the chains,¡± Maya said.
¡°....Who are you?¡± Lily asked.
¡°I already told you, didn-¡± Maya started.
¡°I meant your real name,¡± Lily said.
¡°You aren¡¯t really in a position to ask me questions, but fine. I''ll be nice. I¡¯m Gaia. It¡¯s nice to meet you again, Lily.¡± Gaia said.
¡°You¡¯re...A major god? What the hell are you doing here?¡± Lily asked.
¡°Hmph. I answered your question. Just do what I told you to already. It¡¯s easy. Simple. He passed out ages ago, anyway.¡± Gaia said, referring to Dale.
¡°Fine. Will you let us go if I do?¡± Lily asked.
¡°Of course n...Yeah, actually. I don¡¯t really have a reason to keep you, and you guys kinda annoy me. So yeah. You can go. Good luck with trying to live a normal life, though. The world has already been informed of the true Avatar on the main god. Everyone will be looking for you.¡± Gaia laughed.
Lily undid the chains and picked Dale up.
¡°Why are you doing this?¡± Lily asked.
¡°I didn¡¯t really want to, but...Eh. Not much choice. Oh, you might know this if you studied out religion, but I¡¯m not the cruelest person. I¡¯m not interested in pursuing you any further. I don¡¯t really play with my food too much.¡± Gaia said.
Lily looked at the only small pile of melted, dissected, and tortured bodies that were still visible in the dark room of the Depressed Cathedral from a small beam of moonlight that shone through a tiny window.
¡°I beg to differ.¡± Lily said bitterly.
¡°Yeah, yeah. Look, I¡¯ll be honest. I actually do value life. I¡¯m not even supposed to be letting you guys go. So you best run like hell when you get outside. They might send me after you. Or worse.¡± Gaia shrugged.
The front door creaked open with a clap of her hands.
She pointed to the door.
"Run." Gaia said, grinning.