Aperio turned away from Moria and Neria, focusing more of her attention on her Scion. Laelia was agitated — angry, even — but the reason for it was not something the All-Mother could discern. Her mental query for clarification went unanswered as her Scion was not able to express what caused the issue.

The All-Mother tilted her head and let out a sigh. She could not simply leave the situation in Foderys behind to check up on Laelia, but neither did she want her Scion to deal with whatever she was dealing with alone. Been doing that for long enough already. After basically handing Laelia the reins to her church — which was more of a burden than anything — Aperio had not been in much contact with her. But then, her Scion had also not reached out to her to ask for her help either.

"Something wrong?" Caethya asked, stepping up next to her love and placing a hand on her arm. "Does Ferio need something?"

"No," Aperio replied as she wrapped her wing loosely around Caethya. "Something is wrong with Laelia, but she remains quiet and I cannot simply leave to check on her."

"You can go," Moria said with a slight shake of her head. "I’ve wasted enough of your time already."

The All-Mother frowned at the words and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You are a friend, and incapable of wasting my time. Additionally, I do not know what else these idiots might have done," she said while glancing at the remains of the [Keeper of Voices]. "I do not want to see you die."

"No," Moria said with a sigh, "you wish to see me ascend."

It was true that Aperio would like to see her surrogate mother ascend to the level of a divine, but that was mostly because she felt like most of Moria's problems could be solved if she actually possessed the means to care for her people.

"I want you to be happy," Aperio replied. "I simply happen to think that becoming a Goddess would help you, and by extension your people. You know what the guard — and the tribes as a whole — need, and you obviously want to help." She shook her head slightly as Moria remained quiet. "If you do not wish to ascend, nobody will force you. I will make sure of that."

"I simply do not know what I should do," Moria said as she set her gaze back on the body of the [Keeper of Voices]. "No matter what I try, the guard seems to be doomed to fail."

Caethya shrugged. "Then let it fail. Perhaps it is time for something new. Having you as their Goddess might be the difference the tribes need the most. But, like Aperio said, whether you want to do that or not is up to you."

Silence reigned for a moment before Moria took a few steps away from the body of the [Keeper of Voices] and took a deep breath. Instead of speaking, however, she simply opened and closed her mouth before her shoulders slumped and she shook her head yet again. "I simply do not know what to do," she repeated.

Moria looked at her hands, trying to distract herself from the System notification that lingered at the corner of her vision. The System had seemingly heard that Aperio wanted her to ascend and had dutifully brought that prompt back for her to answer. It had done so many times by now, always asking if she wanted to complete her ascension after she had chosen to live yet another life.

And even that was starting to get harder and harder. Not the living part, of course, as that only got easier. It was the conclusion of her life that had become an issue. Her lives no longer ended due to being murdered, or because her aging body became too frail to continue on.

That simply did not happen anymore.

Her Soul had lived through so many lives that she would always be born with access to more mana than many mortals would see in their entire life. Moria's most recent past lives had ended only because she herself had chosen that it was time to do so. Not having to end a life and start over again and again was alluring, but Moria also knew that she was not ready to be a Goddess. She would never be.

Taking responsibility for an entire race was not something she thought anyone would ever be ready for. Not even the old Aperio tried to guide the beings that lived in her creation. She simply appointed deities and let them do that for her. And that had failed.

How Aperio had handled this in her previous attempt at… existence, Moria did not know, but neither did she want to. Even thinking about the fact that her friend was entirely capable of simply ending everything to start over was giving her a headache.

Moria straightened slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It belonged to Neria. While the All-Mother's gaze had shifted away from Moria — through Moria — to a place she could not see, her daughter had taken the opportunity to come closer. "I'll take care of this as best I can while you make a decision. Okay?"

"This is not something I can just decide like this," Moria replied with a small shake of her head. "I cannot go back once I chose to ascend."

"You can become a mortal again," Aperio corrected, tiling her head slightly. "Everything that is given can be taken back; if you no longer wish to be a Goddess, I can and will remove your seed of divinity." She hesitated for a moment, cocking her head to the other side. "I cannot promise that it will be painless, however."

Moria let out a long breath at the words of the All-Mother. It did not matter that it would hurt, she merely wanted the option to go back to a mortal life if she so chose; something she had not thought possible before. And a luxury not many will be granted, I'm sure. She knew Aperio; had known her for so long that she could not even recall a time without the All-Mother. Except the bit after she… lived as a mortal.

"I-I still need some time to think," Moria said. She set her eyes on the body of the [Keeper of Voices] and let out yet another sigh. Such a waste. She would probably never understand why he had chosen this path or why the other members of the council had not tried to stop him.

But, in the end, that also did not matter; she was still here and so were the other members of the guard. They needed leadership in one way or another and, as luck would have it, she was the only one in a position to give guidance.

"If you need my help, do not hesitate to ask," Aperio said. "You have done more for me than I can remember, it is only fair that I offer a hand when you need it."

Moria set her eyes on the All-Mother and nodded slowly, a mixture of happiness and fear flowing through her as Aperio shifted her weight to her other leg and offered a small smile. She could not feel any malice in the offer — knew that there was none — but the idea of having the literal creator of the universe do something for her still managed to frighten Moria.

"I will," she finally said. "And thank you for rescuing my daughter."

Aperio did not reply, only bowing slightly. There was no need for words at the moment, as the same understanding she had shared with the All-Mother countless times permeated the air. A moment later, the feeling vanished, along with Aperio and Caethya, replaced by the voice of her friend echoing through her head, reminding her yet again that all she had to do was ask.

Moria shook her head and stood up. If only it was that easy.

Laelia lowered the report she had been reading and shook her head lightly. The fact that she was going over a complex document, one that only a few weeks prior would have caused her physical harm, while having a conversation with her Goddess — the literal creator of everything there was — was not something she was used to. Neither was the feeling at the back of her mind that told her that the mana of the world was changing; twisting itself apart. A moment later her Goddess and her disciple appeared, looking more concerned than she had expected. Did it take that much out of me?

Learning that Inerlius was not only alive but had been actively avoiding her ever since he had fled from Aperio had certainly put a damper on her mood. What she hadn't expected was that it would impact her to a degree where the All-Mother herself would become concerned.

"What happened?" Aperio asked, her voice accompanied by a wave of mana that filled Laelia with a comforting warmth. The All-Mother tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side before she appeared in front of Laelia and placed her hands on the Human's shoulders.

Laelia felt her muscles relax as more of Aperio’s mana flowed through her body in search of anything that might be wrong. Being able to tell the intent of someone else's magic — while undoubtedly useful — was something else she was not quite used to. But then, that was true for most things her new Class afforded her.

"I merely learned that someone I thought I knew was not the person they pretended to be," Laelia said as she directed her gaze towards the floor. "Perhaps I was blinded at the time, but I should have been able to see it."

There was a brief pause before she could feel her Goddess frown, the mana of the world itself flaring with anger for a brief moment. "Who is this person you are talking about?"

"Inerlius," Laelia mumbled in reply. "He's the paladin you encountered in the dungeon near the village where you met me."

"I see." Aperio removed her hands from Laelia's shoulders, her mana lingering for a moment before the All-Mother appeared behind her Scion, and wrapped her arms and wings around her.

The calm that her Goddess’ mana brought amplified with the gesture, causing Laelia to stagger slightly before catching herself. A sense of relief quickly followed, spreading through her body as the fear of being punished yet again by the deity she had chosen to follow was washed away. Aperio was not like Vigil; she had known that all along, but apparently she had not believed her own words.

"Did he not approve of your choices and avoid you?" Aperio asked as she let go of Laelia and stepped in front of the Human again. “Did he use you?”

"In a way," she replied, her hand searching her neck for the promise ring she used to wear. A moment later Laelia shook her head and lowered her hand again, balling it into a fist. "But that doesn't matter anymore. There are more pressing issues I have to take care of."

"Your health is more important than whatever duty you think you have towards me," her Goddess said as she lowered herself slightly to better look into Laelia's eyes. "I do not wish for my followers to be mindless in their efforts to serve me. If it was possible, I would have no-one follow me, but that is not something that will happen unless I force it not to."

Laelia wanted to contradict her Goddess, but she knew she was right. Unless Aperio disappeared from the world of mortals for countless millennia — and got everyone to actually forget about her — there would always be someone who devoted themselves to her. Like me. Some might say that her devotion stemmed from the fact that Aperio had freed her from Vigil and had saved her children, and while that played a part, it was not the entire story. The All-Mother reflected the values Laelia herself held dear and, perhaps more importantly, she actually did something to make those values a reality.

The ruins of the Not-So-Eternal Empire of Zeltar were a testament to that, and so was the situation with the [Ancestral Guard] her Goddess had told her about. Whatever their goals might have been, their actions had brought harm to not only themselves but the entire federation of the Beastkin tribes. The actions of the guard would reflect on all of them, no matter what anyone said.

"What did this Inerlius do?" Caethya asked, stepping closer to Aperio and breaking the silence. She brushed her hand along one of the wings of the All-Mother before placing it in the small of her back and setting her eyes on Laelia. "I am sure you can feel her anger. What she thinks this person has done might be a lot worse than what he actually did."

The Demigoddess was correct in her assumption that Laelia could feel Aperio's anger, but it was almost lost in the sea of her own. What Inerlius had done — or rather, had not done — might not be that bad to many, but for Laelia it was one of the worst things a person could do. Betrayal.

He had betrayed her, plain and simple. The man she had spent years of her life with — had promised her future to — had betrayed her. Not only did he let her believe he had died, he had made no attempt whatsoever to set right the wrongs he had committed while serving Vigil. He had simply stopped being a paladin and started working for whoever could pay him the most.

"He was supposed to marry me — promised it," Laelia eventually said. "We wanted to settle down once Ern and Kaam had been healed, and become a proper family. Instead, he let me believe he had actually died after he… after he encountered you, Aperio."

"Oh," the All-Mother said, taking a step back and directing her gaze at the floor. "Is that why you were angry at the time?"

"Partly," she replied. "But even then my feelings for him had… changed already." She paused for a moment and pulled one of the chairs in her office closer with a touch of her magic so she could lean on it. "I am not angry at you for what you did. Knowing what the Vinmaier child tried to do, your reaction was rather tame."

"Do you want him gone?" Aperio asked as she lifted her head and stood at her full height. The weight of the question was almost physical as the mana that always accompanied her Goddess' words reached Laelia.

There was no misinterpreting the words; no misunderstanding. If she said yes, Inerlius would disappear from this world without a trace, Laelia knew that.

"No," she eventually replied. "I hate him for what he has done, but he does not deserve to die for it."

The All-Mother narrowed her eyes at the words but gave a nod nonetheless. Caethya simply shook her head and stepped next to Aperio, taking her hand. "Both of you need a break," she declared. "All of us, actually."

"I cannot take a break when so much is left to do," the All-Mother said as she looked at the Demigoddess with slightly narrowed eyes. "Ferio is still on Geshwen dealing with the mortals and Moria is about to make the biggest decision of her life."

"And you need to take care of yourself," Caethya rebutted, poking her finger at the All-Mother's chest. "In fact, your daughter should join us. I would say Moria too, but she needs time with Neria to figure everything out."

"And what would you have us do?" Laelia asked, not quite sure what the Demigoddess wanted to achieve.

"Not deal with the stupid decisions of mortals for a moment," she replied with a shrug. "Maybe visit Adam and ask him about Earth. You wanted to go there, no?"

"I do," Aperio replied. "I wish to know if a world without Gods falls to the same level as Verenier did."

"Then let us do that," Caethya said. "Banging your head against problem after problem is not the solution. You will undoubtedly make them go away, but you would be more likely to break something than solve it."

Aperio mumbled something Laelia did not quite understand and clenched her free hand into a fist. After a moment of silence, the All-Mother relaxed and opened her hand again, shaking her head.

"Fine," she said. "Ferio said that the mortals need some time on their own and will be with us shortly."

Laelia could only give a slight nod as Caethya smiled and motioned for her to follow. She could not claim to understand what had just happened or why the formality of the All-Mother fell away when she was with her disciple. She knew, of course, that the two of them were in a relationship of sorts, but she had not expected it to lead to this.

She would not complain, however. Caethya had been right, at least in regards to her: Laelia needed a break from dealing with the people of Ebenlowe making one stupid decision after another. She just hoped that she could afford that same luxury to her knights sometime soon.