Shadows flickered across Roel’s face under the fluctuating luminosity of the lamp. A petite girl with orange braided hair happily observed him with curled lips.
To Edavia, Roel was a conversation partner that had finally appeared after countless years. Every bit of his reactions was as exciting to her as stumbling upon new land was to an adventurer.
On the other hand, Roel could no longer remain calm after hearing the evil god’s words.
The Inner Sanctum had a special meaning to Roel. It was the mysterious core of his bloodline and his soul, and he had always been trying to uncover the significance of its existence.
The first time he came to understand its importance was during his fight with the Collector. The latter had attempted to stifle the candlelight burning in him, nearly sealing away his powers. Fortunately, he managed to overcome the crisis with his timely breakthrough to Origin Level 3.
Nevertheless, that incident shook Roel up. It prompted him to investigate his Inner Sanctum. It was just a pity that the Inner Sanctum was not a place he could enter whenever he liked, and he hadn’t been able to return there since then.
That was why he was dumbstruck by his unintentional re-entry today.
“Prison? Wait a moment; that also means that…”
“Fufu. That’s right. I won’t be going anywhere if you contract with me; I’ll be residing in your Inner Sanctum.” Edavia looked at the startled Roel as she chuckled joyfully.
Her body began to glow with a faint light. Her braids slowly unraveled as she took off her top hat. Her harmless, innocent image vanished with these changes, taking a sinister twist instead.
She stepped on the table with her little leather shoes and happily skipped her way up to Roel. She placed her hand on Roel’s chest before looking up at him with a curious smile.
“Is it frightening to know that I’ll be inside you? I reckon it’ll be hard not to feel that way. After all, it’s almost like an evil god is possessing your body! Were you wondering what trials you’ll have to overcome to contract with me? That’s how the others do it, right? Well, I don’t need you to do anything at all. It’s just a matter of moving homes for me, from this place into your body.”
It was as if Edavia had undergone a complete personality change, transforming from a sweet angel into a scheming devil.
Roel was conflicted to hear those words.
It was never a wise decision to allow something foreign to reside in one’s body, let alone an evil god. Only a deranged cultist would do something as insane as that!
Even so, he didn’t reveal a sliver of fear, for he knew that was Edavia’s goal.
This was not the first time he was interacting with an ancient god, and he wasn’t in the hobby of embarrassing himself before others. He knew that he would only be giving Edavia leverage over him if he revealed that he was wary of her.
Thus, he met her eyes with a composed smile instead.
“Moving homes? What an interesting choice of words. But Edavia, I think the more apt phrase to use here is ‘borrowing accommodations’.”
“Oh? You’re thinking of putting a leash on me?”
“Not at all. It’ll be an equal contract. That has been the case between me and the other ancient gods. I’m also afraid to say that I don’t feel frightened at all. Aren’t you telling me these to signal that you don’t intend to harm me?” Roel answered with firm eyes.
While Edavia might be an evil god, that didn’t necessarily mean that she harbored malevolent intent. For instance, she shouldn’t have mentioned her background if she was up to something. She could have simply contracted with him under the pretext of helping him deal with the Mother Goddess and quietly entered his Inner Sanctum. It would have been much easier for her to do what she wanted to then.
Admittedly, she did look much more unnerving after the unraveling of her braids, but Roel personally believed in judging a person by their actions rather than their appearance. While her words were intimidating, he thought that those sounded more like a greeting lest these factors hinder their relationship in the future.
These deductions emboldened Roel, allowing him to keep his back straight.
Edavia quietly stared at him for a few moments. Then, she took a step back and reverted to her original expression.
“You are a bold one. You don’t appear to be a devout believer despite having received Sia’s blessing. Fufufu. I am relieved to hear those words. It doesn’t sound that bad to borrow your accommodations.”
“I am thankful for the Genesis Goddess’ blessing, but blind faith is not my thing. Still, Edavia, could I ask why Sia imprisoned you here?”
“Spiriteers are one of the rare races with the ability to directly attack the soul even when it is protected by the body. There are plenty of my kind who exploited that to do as they pleased. Furthermore, I am the only existence with the power to threaten Sia.”
“…Threaten Sia?” Roel was taken aback.
Edavia smiled once more at his response before further elaborating on the matter.
“It’s nothing more than a theoretical possibility. An existence like Sia can’t be defeated through normal means. The only way to threaten Her is to thoroughly destroy Her soul. That’s also the reason Sia is fearful of me. However, we have already come to an agreement on that matter. My people and I will fall under the jurisdiction of Her most trusted Overseer and lend our strength to their cause. That’s also how the Inner Sanctum came about.”
“…You’re saying that it is inevitable that the Kingmaker Clan will encounter the Spiriteers?”
“Not at all. To be precise, I’m saying that the meeting between us is inevitable.”
Edavia turned around and leaped back into her chair. She rested her head on her palm as she looked at Roel with interest.
“I mentioned that the Overseer is the person whom Sia trusts the most. Only one person in every generation can bear that title. The fact that you’re able to find me—a feat no other Overseer has been able to achieve—shows that you’re special.”
“I don’t think that I’m special at all, though the Overseer you mentioned… Does it refer to the Kingmaker?”
“Mm, that seems to be what others call the Overseer. You are the Overseer of your generation—Sia’s blessing is proof of that. I can tell She’s exceptionally fond of you,” Edavia said with narrowed eyes.
Roel was startled to hear that. An inexplicable feeling arose from his heart. Even he couldn’t refute that he had a special connection with Sia.
So, I am the Kingmaker of my generation! Could that be the reason I was able to substitute the Kingmaker of this era so seamlessly?
There was one more thing Roel was curious about.
“Edavia, there’s another question I’d like to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“The Mother Goddess—how is she related to Sia? What’s her stance on the Kingmaker?”
“Fufu. I thought that you’d ask that. Unfortunately, I can’t answer your question right now. It’s a complicated question. I need more information, and there isn’t enough time for that.” Edavia shook her head and sighed.
At the same time, Roel’s body began flickering like the image on an old television box. This told him that he was on the verge of waking up.
“I see. I’ll have to leave that question for the next meeting, then.”
“Mmhm. It was a pleasant chat to me. I’ll look forward to our next meeting.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I hope that our future conversations will continue to entertain you.”
“Fufu. You sure are good with words. All right, let me offer you a tip.”
“A tip?” Roel was confused.
Edavia nodded affirmatively.
“Our clan is highly sensitive toward fluctuations of the soul, and souls do not lie. This grants us the ability to keenly perceive our surroundings.”
“I see. So, what is the tip?”
“Tread carefully. I can’t confirm the origin yet, but the killing intent looming around you is almost suffocating,” Edavia reminded him with the expectant smile of an audience.
Roel’s expression turned solemn.
Moments later, there was a brilliant flash of light, and Roel’s body vanished from the room. Just like that, his first meeting with Edavia came to an abrupt end.
…