There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 422 - 415. A Little Gift

Chapter 422: Chapter 415. A Little Gift

Zein only spoke after a minute of silence. "I thought as much, but it’s your fault again, huh?"

It was rare to see a Goddess looking flustered, but here She was, suddenly looking more like the timid Medium than the Goddess.

"It’s not like we were meant for it to happen," the Goddess mumbled and turned her face away, as if sulking. "We didn’t expect things will become like this, or that someone would survive and hide in this land..."

"Hmm..."

Zein raised his brow and just watched as the Goddess busy grumbling and mumbling inaudibly, until she abruptly turned and pointed at Zein.

"Anyway, you’re at fault too, you know!"

"What? Why so suddenly--"

"It’s because you took one of the shards that the strength to suppress It weakened," the Goddess huffed, uncharacteristically childishly.

Zein widened his eyes at this sudden revelation. "Huh?"

"Well, It would still have woken up even with the complete shards, but at least you’ll still have a year or two of preparation."

Zein blinked and shook his head to clear his mind. "Wait--can you explain from the top?"

The Goddess looked at the confused guide and sighed. She seemed to realize she had been acting rather immaturely, so she cleared her throat and returned to her wise persona. "Well, this is just my conjecture, but I think the Fallen Star was following the fragment of Setnath that suddenly concentrated on one planet, and crashed into one of the fragments."

The Fallen Star--Zein tilted his head. Was that what they called the Celestial Beings who lost during the war?

"Anyway, It must have been hiding there in the East to regain Its energy all this time."

"For hundreds of years?"

"Of course," the Goddess nodded with a face that asked why would he state something so obvious. "If someone like me or Ophiucus lost our power, do you think we could just regain it in months or years?"

Zein fell silent. Honestly, he had no idea of these Celestial Beings’ scale of power. It wasn’t like he ever watched them fight, so how could he know? But thinking about how the entity in the Deathzone had to accumulate energy for hundreds of years filled him with dread.

Could they really stop something like that?

The Goddess saw Zein’s dimmed eyes and swiftly added. "Oh, but don’t think that merely hundreds of years would be enough too," she said. "Just to have enough energy to move or maintain consciousness alone would cost the Fallen Star so much. I don’t think It would have enough energy to do much right now by staying in the corner of the world like that. If It could take energy from the whole planet, then..."

"But you won’t let it happen, right?"

"Of course!" the Goddess scoffed. "Naturally, I couldn’t fight It unless the Fallen Star came to my territory, but the moment It stepped into other deities’ territories, It would face opposition too."

Zein narrowed his eyes to ponder, before expressing it warily a minute later. "If...if It stayed there and established Its own territory, would you do anything?"

The Goddess closed her mouth. She didn’t answer him, but her wry smile told Zein all the same.

"Is this what you mean by we have to do things ourselves?" Zein asked in a low voice.

The Goddess smiled and spoke gently. "Just like how humans use the power they get to their desire, they too, had the choice of which force they wish to follow."

Zein exhaled harshly. As he thought, he shouldn’t trust these Celestial Beings. He could imagine what would happen if the Horins were to be left alone; they would let the Fallen Star gain enough energy to establish a territory in the East and enjoy the slice of cake It would offer.

He took a deep breath and faced the Goddess again. "So, what do you mean by we caused this too?"

"Ah, that..." the Goddess snapped her fingers. "Because you took away a part of Setnath’s power that suppressed Its growth."

"The shards could do that?"

"Just because they aren’t in complete form, didn’t mean Setnath’s essence became useless," the Goddess chuckled. "He used to be the vanguard in the war, you know. Despite being a Celestial Being, his power contained an anti-Celestial Being essence. Why do you think you’re fine talking to me and Ophiucus for a long time like we were just buddies in a coffee shop?"

Zein blinked in surprise; first for the analogy, and second for the effect of Setnath’s mark that he didn’t even know until now.

"Anyway, taking the shard away meant you took one of the tools suppressing the Fallen Star; wasn’t the increase of--what do you call it?--dungeon anomaly and outbreak, yes--wasn’t it increasing after you took one of the shards away?"

Zein blinked his slightly widened eyes; his gaze fell to the ground as he wiped his face with his hand. It couldn’t, however, wipe his regret.

"Why...didn’t you tell me when I was here the first time?"

The Goddess sighed and reached out her hand to brush the black hair fallen to the guide’s forehead. "Because it did not matter anymore, no? Nothing you can do now that the shard is already far away, and you’ll be back there anyway, with a troop," she said gently, caressing the side of the guide’s face. "You already have too much burden and guilt; I didn’t see the need to pile another one."

Zein raised his face and looked up, sighing long and slow. The Goddess smiled and patted the guide as he digested the new information.

"What is your plan during your...campaign?" She asked.

"We’re...we’re going to go from shard to shard and use them as bases," Zein replied and cleared his throat, feeling glad to have something else to talk about.

"Good, that’s good. It would be where the Fallen Star is the weakest," the Goddess nodded in agreement.

Zein, however, tilted his head as something came up in his mind. "What if that...Fallen Star or whatever decides to attack us right from the start? Do you think we’ll be able to fend it off?"

The Goddess leaned back and chuckled. "Pfft--no way, It wouldn’t do that."

"Why?"

"Because, my dear child, all Celestial Beings are proud creatures," She said with a self-mocking laugh. "Attacking you personally would mean It sees you as equal. Would a King come personally when a peasant came knocking on the palace door? Of course, not--it would be the gatekeeper, or a servant, or a soldier."

Zein tilted his head. He had no idea how a kingdom worked, though?

The Goddess chuckled and rubbed her chin to look for another analogy. "Hmm...can anyone go and see your guildmaster?"

"Ah..." Zein nodded. Right--it needed a special code just to access the top floor where Radia and Bassena’s office were. "But...wouldn’t It get more cautious after losing one?"

"No, no--my child. It’s precisely because It lost that It would see the humans as...puny, inferior," the Goddess said. "To feed Its ego, you know."

"Hmm..."

Well, at any rate, Zein made a mental note to tell Radia about this stuff first thing--well, the first chance he could access his commlink.

"Enough about that," the Goddess suddenly said and stood up, patting the Medium’s dress from any dirt. "All you have to do is collect all of the shards and ask Setnath afterward."

Zein raised his brows and followed the Goddess to the tree where Her altar was. She glanced at Zein and gestured toward the small table. "It’s time for you to receive what I had promised."

Honestly, Zein didn’t wish or expect anything when he came here; merely answering the Goddess’s request the last time they spoke. So he was quite surprised that he was about to be given something, and instead of thanking her with joy, he asked cautiously.

"What is it?"

The Goddess turned to face him, and Zein could see a gentle smile on her face--perhaps...too similar to his mother’s. "Something that might help you in your campaign."

"You won’t ask me to be the Saint in return...right?"

She laughed softly and shook her head. "No, Luzein, I would not. Will you come here already, you distrustful child?"

Oh, well...if that was the case, there was no harm in accepting it. Zein stepped forward and lowered himself in front of the altar. He sensed the Goddess walking and stopped right behind him, after which a pair of soft hands touched his head.

Zein closed his eyes without being told, and suddenly, he could feel the wind blow. Soft, warm, fragrant; like the end of spring and the beginning of summer. The wind caressed his face and for a little bit, he felt like an invisible hand was stroking his face.

That soft and warm feeling seeped through his skin, spreading all over his body. He felt light, weightless and comfortable, like the serenity he felt as he swam and drowned in the lake before. As if the wind was sweeping all bad thoughts and negativity, he felt refreshed, calm, clean...

Zein wondered if this was what espers felt when they were being guided.

"It’s over now," the Goddess whispered softly, and Zein opened his eyes.

He blinked in confusion. That’s it? He looked up to find the Goddess smiled and tilted her head.

"How is it?" she asked.

"Hmm...it feels nice, but..." Zein raised his palms and looked at them while squinting slightly. "What exactly did you do?"

Laughing at the guide’s confusion, she leaned down and gently touched Zein’s forehead with her index finger. "A new skill."

"Skill?" Zein frowned, getting even more confused. Guides didn’t have ’skill’ like espers.

"Hmm...should I say it’s a ’blessing’ instead?" the Goddess patted her lips in contemplation. "Anyway, you can now guide others without the need to touch them."

"...what?"

"It won’t be as effective as when you do it by touch, of course, but it’ll be pretty useful in combat, don’t you think? The espers wouldn’t have to go back and forth to receive your guiding, and you can stay safely in the back while they do all the fighting."

Zein’s eyes fluttered as he felt completely flabbergasted. He looked at his palm again in disbelief. The Goddess looked at his surprised face and asked cheekily.

"How is it? Do you like my little gift?"

Zein looked up and parted his lips, speechless.

This was not a little gift.

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