Lost Faith

"Cute"

I was mesmerized by the Saintess in front of me

So much that I didn't even pay attention to her words... But It didn't take long for me to realize what she had just said....

'-I already know-' 

Aveline had already decided to travel with me before I even had the chance to talk about karma

...

She already knew about my situation....

...

"How much did Rahu tell her ?"

...

This thought crossed my mind for a few second....

Oh... Well

I had already forgotten about it !

It got completely overwhelmed by my imagination

"Aveline is going to travel with me !'

It was like winning the lottery...

...The feeling of ecstasy that you get when something you wait for years actually happens

...The epitome of happiness

Such words weren't even enough to convey my joy...

...

And yet...

...

I still felt that something was bitter

...

I was uneasy about her choice

I...Was sure that I would have regretted this

...

Soon, my lovey dovey fantasies about the two of us turned into the worst possible outcomes of ours future journey

The deletion of her character or a sudden death caused by a rock that made her trip and fall from a cliff that was actually full of monsters at the bottom

Tragic and yet dumb endings or The worst and most cruel 'success' where I would have won at the cost of her life ?

...My thoughts were faster than light... 

My tongue was even quicker

...

Why ?

You should know what will happen from now on...

I will be constantly targeted by everything that will come in the way...

I..

I don't want you to get hurt because of me...

-I've already decided-

-Nothing going to chance my mind !-

-Also-

-I'm not so weak that I can't protect myself-

[ You are ]

[ I don't want to ruin this moment... ]

[ However.... Aveline.... You can't fight in the state you are ]

... 

[ How can you be a Saintess if you don't have Faith in the goddess anymore ? ]

...

[ Don't you feel it ? ]

[ You have already lost your divine power... ]

[ You don't feel any attachment to Theia ]-[ Theia has already abandoned you ]

...

[ You aren't the 'candidate' Saintess of light anymore ]

...

All I could see was a gloomy look on her face

Rahu had just been quite harsh... but fundamentally 

He was right

...

-Hmm-

-I think it's better like this....-

I looked at her with a doubtful glaze

It was good for me, who hated Theia, but definitely not for her

-Cheer up !-

...

She stared at me while saying words of encouragement

It might have seemed like she was trying to brighten this gloomy atmosphere

...

...They were meant for herself

She couldn't hide her resentment

Seeing Aveline, who's the kindest person in this entire world, get betrayed by the one she trusted the most....

It made my blood boil

...

[ What's with your faces ? ]

"Said the god who made them like this"

...

[ You just have to become The Saintess of Darkness ]

What was the point of telling her all that if you had already found the solution ?

Why didn't you say this from the start ?

Hm ? You think Aveline's a stress reliever ?

Abuser. .... ... When ... ..... .... .... ..Should ... ...

I started nagging to actually lighten the mood

Rahu understood what I wanted to do and followed my lead

However.... I didn't expect him to pull out the big guns...

[ 'The sun is high in the sky...' ]

[ 'Wind is blowing peacefully...' ]

[ Want me to continue ? ]

[ Pff ]

Please stop....

Don't remind me of that....

[ It seems you understand ]

...

-Smile-

-I think it will be a fun travel...-

-Then...-

-How do I become your Saintess ?-

-Are there other candidates ?-

-Do I need to train or meet some requirements ?-

[ no, nothing like that... i do things a bit differently.... ]

He was probably reminded of how weak he also was compared to other gods

[ Normally there shouldn't be any problem ]

[ Take Ethan as an example ]

[ I just gave him my divine power ( in very low-concentration ) directly ]

...

[ However... You're a special case ]

[ You were the perfect container for light... But what about darkness ? ]

...

[ With recent events... You definitely have an aptitude... ]

...

[ Sigh ]

[ It's been a while since I got a new Saintess ]

[ "I hope she won't get discriminated for her powers like others..." ]

...

[ "What am I doing... Listening to a kid wishes" ]

...

[ I didn't want another one ]

[ There was definitely a reason why I hadn't chosen someone new for centuries... ]

...

[ I had watched the end of too many of them ]

...

[ That night...Aveline was going to be ruined ... ]

[ The situation had reminded me of something that I couldn't stop ]

...

[ Helping her was the best choice ]

[ I would have simply killed two birds with a single stone ]

[ Ethan would have been happy and I wouldn't have gotten any regrets ]

...

[ I had never-not even once thought that saving her was a mistake ]

[ However... ]

[ I already knew what would have happened if she decided to believe in me as a god ]

...

[ She was going to become my Saintess, but she wasn't exactly doomed like Ethan... ]

[ If she had wanted... Aveline could have simply decided to travel alone and run away from the hero ]-[ That would have probably been not a good choice, but it was a possible way to escape from Theia's grief ]

[ And yet ! ]

[ She decided to become the believer of a dated god and the traveling companion of a mindless meat shield ] 

...

[ It was my duty to take care of her... ]

...

...

[ Ethan... ]

[ We will need to do something very stupid ]

I'll do anything !

[ First of all... Go a little further in the plain ]

...

Rahu's plan was fundamentally easy.

I needed to clean up every 'stain' left by Theia's divine power in Aveline's body by letting my Darkness flow in every single of her blood vessel, fibers, veins.... It would have a very long method but at least It wasn't difficult to understand

That is, if I was on the same level as Aveline in terms of divine powers

The traces of light left in her body, were beyond my capabilities...

To put it more simply

Someone of the first level of divine power couldn't stand a chance against against a very weakened almost-third level.

She was Theia's most favorite Saintess.... Until now... Aveline had been continuously spoiled with an immense amount of divine light

To compensate the evident lack of darkness....

Rahu added himself in the equation

He said that in the past, the procedure could be done directly by him

However, considering that he would have needed to precisely control divine power inside the body of a human that he wasn't even in contact with.... He couldn't do it

That's why, he was now the infinite supply of Darkness that would come to me like a tsunami

Obviously, it wasn't something that could be repeated daily.... No, monthly

As much as It would have been a strain on mine and Aveline's body, It would have greatly decreased Rahu's authority

...

I was going to be the link between light and darkness 

...

After the boring explanation he gave me some tips

'[ If a river is too strong... You should try to put some dams to deviate in in the right direction ]'

'[ Don't try to control it fully ]'-'[ Just let it flow and just set a 'limit' that shouldn't be passed ]'

That's what he said

At first... I didn't understand

...

...

[ Are you ready ? ]

Why is it that everything I do can potentially kill me ?

Sigh

-...-

My words made her think she was guilty of dragging me in this dangerous situation

-Are you sure about this ?-

-Maybe there's another way...-

Yeah

Don't worry...

She turned her head in the opposite direction....

I instantly knew that she was scared

You really shouldn't be concerned

I'm the one who will lower the concentration of Rahu's powers

If someone going to come to a bad end...

That's me

-That's the point !-

She was really too kind...

I already decided to do it !

She wouldn't even look in my direction...

Just focus from now on

You need to bear the pain until I'm finished

...

She didn't speak... I supposed she was ready

...

[ It seems the conversation is finished ]

[ Ethan... Just check one last time if anyone is around... ]

Only grass and clouds could be seen

...

I was finally at the last step before the actual start

...

We were both sitting with legs crossed.

Aveline was in front of me

My hand were on her back

They were the channel between me and her

...

This really reminded me of the 'lotus' position

It was pretty common in murim novels...

...

Thinking about it... This world itself was strange

...

Every single thing that was created...

Was a cliche of some genre

...

Aristocrats full of pride

Forests that had slimes, Forests that had goblins, Forests that had werewolfes

And then what... Orcs ?

Exactly

Forests that had orcs

Bosses that turned into potential wives

Adventures that underestimated others too often

Sword masters that were just hot mommies

Tsundere girls

... This are just a few of the many I encountered while reading that shitty novel

...

I would have probably come across every single one of them one day

...

...

[ Ethan... It's going to be tough ]

[ Brace yourself, Grit your teeth ]

...

[ And remember... DO NOT TRY TO CONTROL IT FULLY ]

...

[ N. Karma acquisition rate ]

[ Ethan 98.6 % ]

[ Damien 1.4 % ]