The Greatest Sin [Progression Fantasy][Kingdom Building]
Chapter 334 – The Smallest Divine

“Hello, are you there Paida?” Iliyal said into his phone as he looked at the report.

“I am here Iliyal.” The Goddess of Rancais answered in that curling tone of an accent, as if every word she was saying was trying to become one with its neighbours. “Why did you ring? I’ve pulled everyone out of Aris, we’re falling back to the Doschian border.”

“I…” Iliyal blinked as he read through the report. It was a short thing, but he had taught everyone underneath how to not overwrite. He didn’t have time to read entire novels. “You said that Fer has shrunk.”

“I did.” Paida said. “It’s in the report.”

“I’m looking at the report now Paida.” Iliyal took a heavy breath. “You said you think it’s permanent.”

“That is what it seems like to me.” Paida said. “I mean, I can speculate.” Iliyal sighed as he realised why Captain Douglas said he needed to get to Arascus with Fer immediately. The elf wondered if he was in trouble. Maybe, no doubt Arascus would want to discuss it with him… But… Fer was his daughter…

“Alright, that’s all.” Iliyal replied as he dropped the call before Paida could acknowledge. A feeling he had not felt in how long silently crept up over him. He smiled, sighed and got back to work as the feeling was chased away: worry.

Fer said nothing as Captain Doug told her that Arascus was in Arcadia. She pulled the cloak that Paida had given her tighter around herself as Raptor Two bounced against the ground and felt herself lifted off the floor for a moment. Fer felt utterly sick as how even something that minor flung her around. She said nothing as Doug’s voice came onto the radio. “I couldn’t get in contact with Arcadia, they’re not responding.” The man said.

Fer sighed, her eyes glanced to the blinking red camera light and she shrugged. That was fine. Whatever. She would fine Dad herself. She always did. And then Douglas dropped a line that Fer had never thought she would hear be said to her by a human. “Do you want me to go with you?” He asked.

The sheer worry in the man’s voice almost broke her right there. The fact he wasn’t asking out of some self-serving gain, out of his own curiosity, the fact that a human in his thirties was actually worried about her. Fer smiled shook her head at the camera, said nothing and stood up. “Good luck Fer!” He shouted. “You’ll make it, don’t worry!” And the huge rear door of Raptor started to fall open.

Fer remembered Arcadia in the past, when it was a collection of towers and huge catalysts designed to control the energies of the leyline confluence here. Back then, she had feared stepping foot in this land because a dozen of those ancient archmages could easily rival a Divine’s power. Arcadia had no walls, no moats and no gates, but it had been an unassailable fortress. Fer remembered the Arcadia of Operation Sovereign. The huge complex of dorms and great buildings that utterly teemed and overflowed with life. It had hoarded all the magicians of the world, and when Fer and her pack had arrived, they had been afraid too. Whereas mages could be killed, it was only the fact that she had managed to free Anassa so quickly that allowed any of the beastmen participating in Operation Sovereign to survive.

And now, Fer looked at Arcadia. It was barren, buildings were being torn down by magicians, another spire was being pulled out of the ground, scaffolding of trees supported the stones as maybe fifty? No more than that, magicians worked on forging something new for themselves. Fer saw a few students practicing under the shades of trees, other students sitting down and reading a book. A few heads looked up to inspect the huge, four-engine jet painted in black with the iconic yellow peak. A few of the younger members even raced up to take pictures as older magicians stepped to guide them away.

Whereas they may have been secret in their inception, the Raptor Jets had become famous during the course of the Kirinyaan Invasion and the Epan War. Everyone knew that they heralded the arrival of someone close to Arascus. It could be a human, it could be a Divine, an elf, a soldier. It could just as well be a girl with golden hair that fell almost to her feet, wrapped in a cloak, that for a moment looked as if was going to burst out in tears.

That was only for a moment though. Fer looked around, saw everyone around her and told herself to keep moving. Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it. No one cared about her size. No one cared who she was. Get away. Fer set off with the utmost determination off the ramp and onto the path. She gave the air a sniff and felt her heart drop again. Usually, she would be able to smell her father’s position simply by his scent. Most of the powerful Divines had one that was very noticeably distinctive.

Fer smelled the warm, dry air. She smelled the sweat off the students that had been training in the warm sun. She smelled alcohol and meat coming off a few. The Raptor’s engines and fuel and the flowers that filled in the green meadows with plenty of colour, but that was it. There was no smell of earth, she couldn’t make out the scent of the plane’s metal, nor the sand and rocks she walked on. She could see apple trees in the distance, she should be able to know whether they were ripe or not simply by smell, especially when they were within eyesight.

Fer wondered if this was humans normally smelled the world. She knew her senses were supernatural back then, but… well, to her, they had been normal. She wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the people looking at her step off the Raptor. A few faces were questioning but most simply did not care. It wasn’t their business. Fer looked around as she realised she had no idea where to go. She looked around at the people and thought about what she should do.

And the moment she realised that she was questioning herself, Fer shut down once again. Why? Just go up and ask. Just go and say something to someone. Just go and demand the information flat out. Why was she stood here? Did her legs stop working? Was it really going to be like this? Fer blinked and realised the crowd was in the process of dispersing. Mages were backing off and looking respectfully into the air.

Fer looked up and made another realisation. She saw Elassa standing in the air, the woman had a necklace with a giant, fat sapphire on her bosom that was glowing brightly. In a black uniform, a similar fashion to Kassandora’s, without the cap over her black hair. Fer looked up, saw the Goddess of Magic, and realised she hadn’t smelled the woman. Even now, she could make out the tangy taste of Elassa, that dusty citrus, as if someone had chucked a lemon into an attic, and yet Fer didn’t know if the smell was actually real, or if she simply knew what Elassa was supposed to smell like. Elassa said something incredible. “Who are you?”

Fer blinked, took a step forwards and realised the mages around her. She had attacked them a year ago. She had killed how many members of Arcadia? And now, they looked at her, they saw a girl that reached up to a man’s stomach, and of course they did not see the proud Goddess of Beasthood, the Scourge of Civilization. She opened her mouth and then realised her throat had gone dry. Why did it have to be Elassa? Of all Divines, why her? And she waved the woman down to the ground.

Elassa tilted her head to the side and slowly came close to the ground. “There are not many souls who will beckon me like that beastgirl. What do you want?” Fer maintained her posture straight as she looked up at Elassa. What did she want? What sort of question was that.

“I want to see my dad!” Fer said it quietly enough that the humans wouldn’t hear but Elassa would. The Goddess of Magic lowered down onto the ground and Fer wished she didn’t. At least in the air, Fer could push the heigh difference away. When the woman stood on the ground, and when Fer barely reached up to Elassa’s knees, when she had to tilt her head back to look the woman in her blue eyes, it was crushing. That crushing weight became even greater when Elassa put her hands on her knees and bent down as if to talk to a child.

“Pardon me child, I think I misheard you.” She spoke gently, like a teacher who didn’t have much hopes for a student but still had to let them down.

“I am Fer Elassa.” Fer said and Elassa blinked, a stupid smile came over her face as she looked around, then into the plane as Douglas was getting out the cabin. “Elassa! I am Fer!”

“Are you-“ Elassa asked and cut herself off. “Is this? Did you come here to pull me away?”

“You’re fucking paranoid.” Fer didn’t know why she swore, but every word that she had to declare was another crack in the dam. Elassa’s humoured face, not even taking offence at the language and instead looking at the girl as if amused made Fer realise that the woman wasn’t taking her seriously.

“Please, I only came because it’s a Raptor. Tell Fer that she shouldn’t use these planes to play jokes.”

Fer thought of something she would know. “You gave Anassa the skillset required to delude herself into Divinity.” Fer declared quickly and quietly enough so that no one but Elassa would overhear. She knew she shouldn’t say these things out loud, but if Elassa was to leave her here, that would be even worse. She didn’t know what she would do then, maybe just lie and wait to die. The Goddess of Magic lost that patronizing gaze and blinked in shock. She once again looked Fer up and down, her eyes no longer curious but rather pitiful.

“Fer?” She asked. “What happened to you?” This was the one question that Fer didn’t want to answer. What happened to her? What did happen to her? Powers like this weren’t supposed to exist! There was leeching in the past, but that was through killing a person and physically devouring them. But this? She had merely been close to Anarchia and that was that!

“E…” Fer croaked, closed her eyes and shook her head. “Pl… please…” She said. She was exhausted. She didn’t care anymore. “Just… just take me to him.”

“Of course.” Elassa said waving a finger around. The gemstone across her bosom grew brighter and Fer was cast into the air. “You…” She said. “Wow… Wow Fer. Wow.” Fer shook her head and collapsed into the invisible cushion of air that Elassa was picking her up in. Fer appreciated honesty but even more so, the lack of explanation. She didn’t want Elassa to tell her it would be better or worse. She didn’t care about what Elassa said to her frankly. Elassa was Elassa, and Elassa was not a part of Fer. But Arascus, her father, was.

The Goddess of Magic flew with Fer to a huge, old, school building. With great columns and steep, pointed roofs and tall glass windows. The building itself was made out of an old stone. Onto a balcony where Elassa landed first, and then dropped Fer off by her side. Fer’s ears quivered, she looked past the curtains and the door and into the room. It was a simple office, with a desk and a couch and a fire that had been turned on. A bottle of drink was on the table, two half full glasses on the table. The Arcadian Purple and Red bicolour and the Imperial Red-White-Black hung on the walls. And Arascus was there, talking on a phone.

And again, Fer was crushed when she realised that even over this distance, she couldn’t make out what the man had to say. How had her hearing gotten so poor? Arascus saw her and Fer felt time come to a stop. Elassa stopped moving whereas the tiny Goddess stopped entirely. Fer heard her breath catch and felt her heart come to a stop as she looked up at Arascus. The God of Pride had always been taller than her, but not by much. Before, it had been comforting that there was one person she could look up to.

Now, the man’s height was terrifying. He loomed over her like a massive giant, the man could have been a tree instead, although trees did not wear red cloaks lined with fur and black coat. His eyes landed on Fer and Fer winced. She didn’t want to say anything. She knew that the moment she opened her mouth, Arascus would recognise her. But…

But was it bad that she wanted to test him? To see if he, even after she changed so much, would recognize her? When Elassa had failed to? When she herself couldn’t even imagine it? But… but it was her dad. It was the man who saw her the potential in her all those years back then. It was because of him that she now how a family. It was because he knew who she was, before she herself knew. Because if he didn’t, then who could? Arascus crushed the phone in his hands and crossed the distance.

And Fer didn’t know why she doubted him in the first place. Arascus dropped to his knees, put one giant arm around her back, the other behind her head, and he brought her close in a hug. “Fer.” He whispered. Fer said nothing. She couldn’t say anything. The dam broke. The tears came out. In her mind, Fer couldn’t plan for this meeting. She had assumed she would get to her father and that everything would be better. And now?

He recognised her. Everything was indeed better. He had not chosen her just for the sake of her strength. He had chosen her because there was something in her that he knew was important. He had chosen her, and now he embraced her, and not a single word needed to be said. Fer knew that if those giant arms, as thick as tree trunks, wanted to, they could crush her in the blink of an eye. But she knew they wouldn’t. They weren’t scary in the slightest. They were like a blanket she was hiding under from the night-time monsters, same as all those years back then with him.

“I’ll go.” Elassa said awkwardly. Fer didn’t even care, she felt her tears start to wet Arascus’ shirt, but she knew that he wouldn’t mind.

“Please do.” Arascus replied and Fer heard a gust of wind from the balcony. And from the cold command to Elassa, the man’s voice became a gentle whisper. “Fer, you’re here. I’ve got you.”

“I…” Fer didn’t know what to say, it was the sort of generosity that she simply couldn’t return. She always managed the feelings of her sisters, cheered them up when they needed cheering and annoyed them when they needing annoying, but… But she couldn’t simply have them like this. “Please, I don’t know… it…” Even though Arascus said she didn’t have to, she brought her legs to her chest, curled into a ball, and burst out in tears on Arascus’ chest.

“You don’t need to say anything.” Arascus said. Fer cried out, she tried to form words. She gave up.

Eventually, she formed a question she felt stupid for asking. But she needed to ask it. She knew she shouldn’t. The fact there was doubt in her heart hurt more than all the power Anarchia had stolen away. “Do you love me?”

Arascus hugged her tighter. “I love you Fer.”

Fer lost track of time. She must have fallen asleep in her father’s arms because when she looked around, it was already night time. The stars had come out, but they hadn’t moved from the position. Arascus was stroking her golden locks and brushing the ears that popped out from the top of her head. Fer looked up at him and smiled. “I… what are…” At least the tears were coming out now, but she simply didn’t know what to say.

“You’re not going to like what I’m going to say.” Arascus said flatly.

“What?” Fer asked, for a moment, she felt dread and then she saw Arascus smile down at her as she lay in his arms, listening to his heartbeat.

“We need to give you a haircut.” Fer blinked, felt her eyes tear up, burst out in laughter and slammed her fist into his chest. That was… Why did she think something would have changed?! She was still Fer! She was still his daughter.

“I love you dad!” She cried out. And she slammed her fist into him again. Arascus chuckled and knelt down.

“I’m going to put you down.” He said, before Fer could say anything her feet were on the carpeted floor and Arascus was kneeling next to her. Even then, she still had to look up to meet his gaze. “You are tiny.” He said. Fer blinked and looked down at herself in awe. It was magnificent, a moment ago, she felt like she was in a stolen body and now? And now she was herself again. Tiny, true, but still Fer. “The tiniest.” He said, some humour in his tone. “Dare I say, you are the tiniest Divine.”

Something cracked in Fer’s jaw and she slammed her fist into his chest again. “You don’t have to say that! I know I’m tiny! Look at me! I’m a fucking joke!”

“But it is a funny one.” Fer blinked, punched his chest again, and then burst out in laughter.

“It is a funny one.” She agreed.

It was amazing.

The God of Pride was no healer nor doctor, she didn’t know how he did it, but she knew that in however long she slept in his arms, he had healed her.