Chapter 44: Gods, Gifts, and Graces (Patreon)

[Do you wish to commune with the gods? Y/N]

I selected yes and found myself standing in a dark void. My feet felt like they were touching solid ground but when I looked down, I could see nothing except myself.

[Calculating]

[You currently have 5 patronage offers]

[Calculating order of appearance]

[Beginning with Gundred, the goddess of conquest]

Okay, that sounds ominous. Although, Hugo got his Twilight Conjuring blessing from the god Roan which seemed to enhance his power at certain times. Maybe this is just how it works with the System? You agree to a god’s patronage and they reward you with power. Though I guess the better question is not what they can offer but what will the price be for such power.

The black void I was standing in turned white. The sudden change in light blinded me and for a moment I had to shield my eyes. When I finally opened them again there was a little old lady sat at a small table with a tea set on it. She wore a powder blue dress with flowers on it and smiled kindly at me before cocking her head to the side.

“Well? Are you just going to stand there gawping or are you going to sit down and have some tea with me?” she asked.

An empty chair materialized opposite to her and I reluctantly sat down in it while wondering what exactly was going on.

“Gundren?” I asked.

She frowned. “Hmm, not too bright then. Not a dealbreaker but we’re not off to a great start.”

She paused and waited for my next response. When I didn’t give one, she sighed. “Oh come on. Don’t be like that. I’m only teasing you. Frankly, you should take it as a sign of your importance that we’re meeting at all.”

“My importance?”

She looked around bewildered. “My, this room does seem to have an echo.”

Annoyed, I replied with, “what are you, the goddess of tea parties?”

Suddenly I felt an invisible presence slam the side of my head into the table and hold it there. The goddess chuckled, “better. Your aggression is more honest but you must remember not to overstep.”

“Oh? Am I supposed to beg for your help?” I sneered, angry at being manhandled. “To kneel and pray for some shiny bauble? I don’t think so.”

The presence holding me down was lifted and I sat back up in the chair. The goddess stared at me with cold, hard eyes. No not at me, through me. Like she could see into the depths of my soul. It felt like someone was walking over my grave.

“Stop it,” I said.

She cocked her head again. “Can you make me?”

I grimly smiled. “Not yet. But I’ll remember.”

This time her laughter boomed out so loud that I almost jumped. It echoed around the white room and when it died down, she poured herself some tea.

“Would you like some?” she offered.

I nodded.

“It’s an interesting ritual, the process of making tea,” she said. “You see if you pour it too early then its too bland but if you let it steep too long then it becomes too bitter. Timing is everything.”

I took a sip and found it delicious. It tasted like jasmine and honey.

“What’s in this?” I asked, feeling suspicious.

“Nothing mind altering if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s just very good tea. Now what can you tell me about this meeting?”

“That it’s an interview. You’re trying to see if I’m worth your time while I’m doing the same. The System called you the goddess of conquest and yet you appear as a kind old lady offering tea. You were hoping this façade would keep me off balance and I must admit it did at first. Now let me ask you question. What do you want and what are you offering?”

She took a slow sip of tea, appearing entirely unfazed by the bluntness question. When she set it down, she spoke with a sweet smile, “I could kill you with a thought. Not just you but your whole world.”

I stared into those eyes. “Is that why you came here? To lecture me about my manners?”

A pressure started to build around me. Constricting me. Crushing me. First it became uncomfortable and then slowly into increased into painful. All the while we locked eyes. I refused to look away. A part of me thought that she really was going to kill me. But if that was the case then I refused to give her the satisfaction of averting my gaze.

Then, out of nowhere, the pressure stopped and she clapped her hands together.

“Okay, you pass,” she said jubilantly. “I will grant you the right to be my supplicant.”

I wasn’t sure if that was something that I wanted. The old woman seemed a little unstable and scary.

“What would I get in return for that?” I asked carefully since I was getting tired of being smacked around.

“What would you like? To rule over the tower and its many floors? I can give you that. Or perhaps you’ve set your sights higher? Would you like to be the strongest person on your planet? I could bestow such blessings and powers upon you that you would stand mighty above all your peers. All I ask in return is that you serve my interests from time to time. It wouldn’t be much right now since you’re busy with the tower. But later orders will come for you to carry out.”

When she finished speaking, she waited for my answer. I enjoyed the power I held in that moment and let the silence linger by slowly finishing my tea. It should have been difficult to come to a conclusion. This was a being of unbridled power that was offering me some of it and yet instinct told me not to take her offer. There was so much I didn’t know about the System and these god’s. Making an agreement to serve one when I was still so ignorant seemed foolish. Worst of all, what if it was a lifetime commitment? I could be binding myself to one of them for eternity. It would create my own form of hell.

The final and simplest reason for saying no was that I simply didn’t like her. She felt wrong. It was like looking at a performance of someone trying to be human then trying to fit into my perception of an angry god. The only sincere thing I got from her was when she spoke of power over others. Of conquest. But I sensed that I’d only get as much from her as I needed to complete her tasks and achieve her goals.

I set the teacup down gently on the saucer. “I respectfully decline,” I said and braced myself for whatever ensuing violence was to come. It was a gamble but I believed she was bluffing when she said she’d kill me now. Not when other gods still wanted to speak with me. Taking action against me now would be opposing them in a small way.

I expected anger from her but Gundred’s face froze and without her lips moving a voice whispered in my ear. “In time you will come to know the depths of the mistake you’ve made. You will be mine as all others are or will be. Only now it will be as one of my victims. A martyr to your own arrogance.”

There was a clap of thunder and room turned black. The chair beneath me disappeared and I fell onto the floor.

Her words shook me. They weren’t just sounds; they were the promise of a god. A supreme being that can crush planets with her mind. Her words and will have an unfathomable weight to them that I could barely tolerate.

“I’ve changed my mind,” I said to the System. “Cancel communing with the gods.”

This was a waste of time. I should never have agreed to this. I’ll not trade my freedom for some slice of unearned power.

[Calculating next appearance]

I cursed. The System had ignored my plea. How am I supposed to endure four more of these?