Chapter 458 - The only answer she needs

“Do I have a choice?” Sofia asked the human-looking God.

What? Don’t wanna come? Your mates are waiting for you, you know?

“My mates…”

Yeah, funny bunch those. Your sister’s already left, though, am already done with her. The horned one too.

Cinthia?

“... I’ll come. Just give me a minute to store all the bones,” Sofia told him as she turned around and started to separate the walls of the camp and the furnace to store them. The God silently watched. As she quickly swept up the camp, Sofia asked another question, “What do you mean you’re done with them? Are they back into the trial?”

No, they’re back on the main planet. I’m done reforging them.

Sofia stopped, “The mana waves! Did something happen to them?!”

So you did feel them then. Not totally oblivious. Nothing happened to them, no, but I did get royally fucked after I got done with your sis. The bitches took control of the excess mana and used it to fuck around. Did quite a bit of damage, you were the main target though so you probably know best.

“So that’s how it went…” Sofia murmured to herself. She turned to face the God properly “I hope you will excuse my crude behavior until now. You should be able to understand why I have my reservations about trusting random Gods, especially after I got imprisonned in Peace’s domain.”

This where they sent you? Had a run in with Peace? The God asked back, visibly intrigued.

“If you’ve noticed my lack of a body, that’s Peace’s work.”

Oh. He must’ve been in a good mood.

“That’s a ‘good mood’ kind of meeting with Peace?!” 

Course, he didn’t alter your blueprint to remove your face so he must’ve been lenient.

“That’s… Disturbing.”

Well, that’s Peace, yeah. The god said, awkwardly scratching his beard.

Sofia apologized again for her initial reaction, and told the God she was just about ready to leave whenever.

Heh, no harm done, I’d probably be even more wary than you are if I were you; they did erase you from all the system’s records and protections after all.

“What? Really?!”

Yeah, more than that, even, they infected the lower tier scribes to erase people’s memories of you, some fucked up stunt they done pulled.

Sofia’s expression darkened. “I already knew about Everelle forgetting, but everyone? They were really trying to erase me…”

Well, it’s not that bad, not everyone got affected. Us Divine ones have no scribes so we’re good. The entire upper system staff is unaffected too, and all the fuckers at level 500 obviously wouldn’t let such a joke of an attack affect them. For everyone else it’s a different story.

“Alith and the others still remember me, right?!” Mr. Scribe said the Mark would protect them!

How’d they be waiting for you if they didn’t? Ah, the kid did forget about you for a bit until Moon came to fix her up. From what I understand your sister’s friend forgot too, and that’s still being worked on…

“So it can be reversed? Does it need to be a God?”

Honestly don’t know, ask Kyle. On my side I’m more excited about what imma do about the thing your scribe’s been cooking inside you.

Cooking inside me… Does he mean VPPV? “You’re the one helping people fuse with their mana heart if I understand everything correctly. Who are you? Forge? Handicraft?”

Ahah, not far. I like to go by Clint, but if you want the formal, it’s Creation. You’ll need to come see me when your heart’s ready.

“Creation… How did Saria do?”

Got an interesting keystone. Anyway, we’re going now?

Of course she reached SSS rank. “Wait, two more questions, if you will allow me.”

Creation scratched his beard again, waiting for Sofia to continue.

“Are you really still going to help me with my mana heart even though I failed the Trial; and who is it exactly who is after me? It can’t be just Scripture, so who are the others? What do they want?”

Yeah I’ll still reforge you, you kiding? Why do you think I picked this job? To help the system? I couldn’t give less of a fuck, lassy; Life’s handling this crap. I’m just out here perfecting my craft.

He’s here for his own personal interest? I wonder if he knows Erredis since she spends so much time making things. This might be a good opportunity. I need more allies right now. Strong allies. And preferably ones who can rescue me from the Gods’ realm if I get trapped there again.

Sofia nodded along to his explanation. “I see you are a much more approachable God than I originally feared,” she said while absorbing the dagger she had still been holding until now back into her bone body. “Per chance, would you be looking for someone to hold on to a few of your essences for you?”

Creation threw his head back with a hearty laugh, Hah, you’re a fun one. You know essences aren’t something we can hand out so- Wait, you’re serious?

“You noticed what my Scribe has been working on and you’re surprised about that?” Sofia asked, bewildered.

As the discussion was starting to grow long, while Pareth still stood next to Sofia, Bookie had walked away and was drawing Dragons in the dirt with a stick.

Creation frowned and mumbled in his beard. What… Oh. The dagger. To think it’s still so blinding even now… A weird large mask with a visor appeared on his head, and Creation lowered the visor, gasped, and brought it up again. Woah, I understand why you might be a target. By my Divine beard, this is something! Are you Sun’s secret daughter?

“That might have made my life easier. But no. I just helped her form some… Connections.”

Sun would give five… Creation mumbled to himself again. He grabbed his mask off and made it disappear. I’ll think about it. He finally said. Won’t be free.

“I’m glad to see Sir Clint is a reasonable businessman. What about my other question?”

That I don’t have the slightest damn clue. This trial’s Archangel was with ‘em, that how we ended up here, gave him a rightful beating and he fucked off, that about all I know.

“So at least two Gods and an Archangel…”

Well, if all’s good, down we go.

The scenery just changed around Sofia her her group, it was seamless and instantaneous, Bookie let out a surprised yelp. “My drawing…”

Sofia looked around while she walked up to Bookie and grabbed him in her arms to comfort him. The place they had been sent to was the interior of some window-less room lit by lightstones imbedded into the metallic walls. There were closed doors on two sides. “Where is this?” she asked Creation.

My teleportation room. We’re in somewhat of an emergency lockdown right now, gotta wait for Kyle or Life to transfer us over.

Sofia kept hugging Bookie as she walked along the room observing the rituals embedded in the walls, “It’s the second time you mention Life. Are there that many Gods on the physical plane? I thought it was supposed to be hard to cross into it.”

About twenty of us down there maybe? The big players, mostly, me, Life, Victory, Moon, we ain’t small fries like Scripture. Though I guess he managed to scam his way in too. Some transition from a plane to the other quite frequently, Sun being the most notable since she can cross easily.

“That’s a lot more than I thought. Did you include the Recessed in the count?”

Nah, don’t know about them. I’m already hard pressed to care about the politics of my own plane, let alone whatever the hell them crazy bunch are doing.

“Hmm. Thank you anyway, you’ve answered a lot of my questions. Anything you want to ask me?”

Heh. I’d ask you to sell me the key if your life didn’t depend on it. Would’ve gladly traded that for a few essences for sure. Besides that, not really. I’m very content to stay outta the Deep’s way, Creation explained with a snort. His eyes wandered to Sofia’s right arm, and he turned around and mumbled. I need to have a talk with Moon, though. Sneaky bitch.

A tall woman with ice-blue hair appeared in front of Creation. She was wearing a thin and pointy golden crown, a tight blue and white outfit, and her face was strangely flat, with no nose, no mouth, and only two blue pupil-less eyes staring straight at the bearded God. 

She grabbed Creation by the neck and and ripped his head off his chest.

Her words were like icy daggers. You sure have a big mouth, Clint.

Hah, at least I have one, Clint’s disembodied head answered, completely unfazed.

Sofia only noticed one thing.

So Gods DO have a skeleton.