Side Story #2: A Divine Discussion

In a vast expanse of space, an isolated star, which burns through its lifeforce without complaint, twirls in place. The sole companion said star can lay claim to is a large planet who's size seems to dwarf the sun's in comparison. Even from a sizable distance, an immense building can be seen built on the equatorial line which seems to span the entire longitudinal length. This planet, separated from sentient life by the distance of a galaxy or two, is the summer retreat of a certain Grand Goddess.

Walking in one of the immeasurable lobbies that are contained in the building is a white Arachne, who seems to be in a stressed state of mind. The reason for her presence in the building is to report her findings on the person she inspected.

An amused look befalls her face as she reminisces about the irregular person she inspected.

Divine Beasts are bound to the Grand Goddess in servitude through their soul, which in turn enables the master to monitor their actions with ease and accuracy. In most cases, the master is able to use their servants physical senses as if they were their own. Entering and connecting to another's soul and mind are exceptions to the rule and therefore Emmaline is mandated to report what she saw to her master.

Emmaline reluctantly traverses the lobby and enters a long corridor that with only a sole set of doors which reside at the far end. Due to the sheer expanse of the building that she is in, the top of the large double doors are barely visible to her because of the rounding of the planet. A journey to the other end of the hallway would be a lengthy journey for a human at an estimated 2 weeks on foot. Even a Divine Beast such as herself would be hard pressed to cross the distance in a couple hours. Without pausing a beat, Emmaline begins her trek, following the regal gold and red carpet which spans the entire expanse. Now with a decent interval with nothing to do, Emmaline's thoughts turn to one of the few humans who've gained her attention.

{I cannot believe that I cried in front of that human. What a disgraceful blunder as a respected Divine Beast.}

The embarrassment from that incident still brings a red hue to her features even now.

{No, I must calm myself. Letting my emotions show in these halls will lead to a horrible outcome. In these halls, Lady Mariella's powers are amplified so if I were to show even a sliver of weakness, it could allow her to easily exploit it. I wish to finish my report and leave with great haste. The arrival of the Evil God has upset many of my juniors so I must return to ensure they do not take matters into their own hand…}

Her scatterbrain thoughts seem to be actuated by her accumulated mental state as she flits back and forth between thoughts until she calms herself. Realizing that hasn't taken her own advice, she clears her mind, making her thoughts return to the human in question.

{Shin, was it? What a strange human. I've never heard of a beings mind being under such protective measures. Perhaps only the Lord Acacia could rival his soul fortitude, however he is a founding deity and not a meager human. I am unaware if Lord Acadia can even destroy the soul of an intruder like he can. The strangest point by far is that soul fortitude requires a constant connection to the soul which in turn acts a fuel source. Therefore, a human cannot sustain such expansive and effective measures, which is why humanoids are among the easiest to invade. Lord Acacia's roots are alleged to span galaxies which enable him to gather energy at an alacritous speed. Which begs the question, how is a human able to perform it?}

{No, considering him the one in control may be my analysis' weakness. Perhaps this is the work of that "God Aishal" which granted him Divine Protection. In my capacity as a Divine Beast, I am required to thoroughly understand the God's rankings and to memorize all of the major Grand/High Gods to ensure no offenses are committed. However, I have yet to hear the name Aishal among the rankings. A God being able to sustain such a spell would have to be a High God at the very least. Perhaps it is an up-and-coming God…?}

Even the elevated intelligence of a Divine Beast cannot connect the pieces to this puzzle, confirming the intricacy and complexity of the situation.

{Perhaps Lady Mariella will be able to unravel this mystery. Although I do not wish to complicate that human's life any more than necessary due to his honest and caring demeanor, my hands, (and limbs) are tied.}

Noticing that the hallway point to the door has been reached, Emmaline prepares herself.

{The closer I get from here on out will multiply Lady Mariella's abilities exponentially, therefore I must focus my self rather than ponder these thoughts.}

Shutting out her inner thoughts, Emmaline presses onward.

…

Now in front of the mountainous double doors, Emmaline prostrates with her head down and awaits her permission to enter.

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While most Kings and Lords of humanoids, demi-humans and heteromorphs maintain a large assemblage of servants, Grand Goddess Mariella, retains and requires not one. For what use would a congregation of inferiors possibly have? In fact, if one considered her "real" personality, the addition of lesser servants would only hinder her abilities. Although it would possibly allow the doors to open at a much faster pace.

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The large double doors open slowly, beckoning her to enter after a day's wait. While most sentient beings would feel either snubbed or impatient at the long delay between their appearance and their audience, all of those who value their lives patiently wait to enter.

Emmaline patiently waits another fifty minutes for both of the large double doors to open fully before rising up and entering the antechamber ahead.

While the prior corridor was spacious and decorated enough to fit entire civilizations within them, the chamber they lead to is much more modest in its size and design. Although still large enough to fit a small town, couches of varying sizes and bookshelves filled with a plethora of literature decorate the perimeter of the wall making the ambience of the room work oriented yet relaxing at the same time.

In the center of the room stands a three obsidian desks in a U shape, each the size of a recreational vehicle. A literal mountain of papers and documents are orderly stacked with care along both the desks parallel to the entity sitting in the center. Although the previous form of Grand Goddess Mariella could not possibly use the large desks effectively, it would seem that she has enlarged her figure in order to accommodate the desk.

Emmaline approaches the desk with caution and silence, as if she were a naughty child sneaking out of the house. At around 40 paces from the desk, Emmaline prostrates yet again and awaits her master's acknowledgment before speaking. After a couple minutes, the Grand Goddess' quill pen falls back into the inkpot, signifying that her work is stopped.

"Hey Emmaline, glad you could make it. So, what brings you here…Oh right! You have to report on the human you were assigned to. So, who were they and what cool Titles did they have?" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

If any one of the students, who cowed submissively under her gaze, heard her take such a tone, they would all pass out from shock without a doubt (Especially Parker).

"Yes, Your Eminence! I am here to report on the human Shin Okamoto. His three Titles are: Magic Swordsman, Hunter and Merchant." [Emmaline]

"Hmm… so another dud huh… Well maybe the next one will have something interesting. You can leave now." [Grand Goddess Mariella]

"Understood, then I will take my leave, Your Eminence." [Emmaline]

While some conversations with the Grand Goddess may span many days, the vast majority of her conversations are both blunt and efficient in order for her to maximize her time in governance and management. Luckily for Emmaline, she was not asked any subjective questions. While the Grand Goddess holds an air of majesty when performing her public duties, her personality behind closed doors is most troublesome. Her carefree and blunt attitude lead to one lowering their guard in her presence, which in turn creates many problems.

Bowing once more, Emmaline slowly rises and begins to make her way towards the door.

"I am curious about one thing though…" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

A sizable amount of panic rushes through Emmaline's mind. For the Grand Goddess to be "curious" it must mean…

"When I released you into the air above those humans, I was quite sure that Borak positioned herself above that human, yet it appeared as if you fought him for that position. Why is that?" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

The temperature of the room being a crisp 20℃, (68℉) there should not be any reason for anyone to perspire. Yet Emmaline's forehead seemed to gush with a thick and unpleasantly heavy line of sweat.

"After checking the records, you were also responsible for conducting his procedure as well. After double checking to see if it was operational, I found that I was unable to access his mind. Would you like to explain yourself please?" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

Emmaline's throat parches at the exact moment the Grand Goddess falls silent. After trying to swallow some small amount to spit to lubricated her trembling vocal cords, Emmaline finally works up the courage to answer. Of course, not before kneeling on the spot to show complete respect.

"Yes, Your Eminence. If it is your will that I answer the question on why the procedure did not work, I am unable to provide a suitable answer. I performed the same exact procedure on the half of the humans, only he rejected it. After trying all manors of ways to ensure the procedure succeeds, I was unable to find a single successful method, so I was unable to implant him with what you order me to. To answer your first question, I must admit that I felt attracted to him when I saw him, so I fought over the position of guiding him." [Emmaline]

Emmaline could feel the gaze of the grand goddess upon her as she finished her explanation. It took a tremendous amount of willpower to not succumb to the pressure in the room.

"Hmm… I see. So, you were attracted to him? In a romantic way? No, you're an Arachne and he's a human so that would not make much sense… Well, you didn't tell a lie so I guess I must take your explanation at face value. However why did you not mention that the procedure didn't work? You should have thought it pertinent to mention such things to me surly?" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

"I was not under the impression that your implants could be rejected so I assumed that you were the one who annulled its effects at first, your Eminence." [Emmaline]

"So, he must have had a Divine protection then. Which God did it display when you inspected it?" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

"After delving and spending a substantial amount of power, I was able to reveal his divine protection, Which stated "God Aishal."" [Emmaline]

"God Aishal… Who's that?" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

"I am unaware of the name either, Your Eminence." [Emmaline]

"Okay then, that's a bit strange but the Cosmos are innumerable. He's probably a God from a new system or something. Okay then you can really leave now." [Grand Goddess Mariella]

Just as Emmaline's hope rise that she will escape unscathed, a peerless chill, enough to make her lungs to cease, sweeps through the entire area.

"Make sure not to lie to me or keep things from me ever again. Okay, Emmaline" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

The murderous aura subsides just enough to allow Emmaline to answer.

"O-Of C-Course, Your Eminence." [Emmaline]

Just as quick as it appeared, the murderous aura dissipates and fades as if it were a misapprehension. Seeing her path to escape open up before her, Emmaline turns around after bowing and exits the room with great haste.

…

As the door shuts behind the Emmaline and her presence extinguishes from the room, so does the façade that Grand Goddess Mariella utilizes.

"Now. What shall I do about that one?"

Standing up from her desk, Grand Goddess Mariella walks over to one of the large windows that overlook her garden. Of course, it is no mere garden, but several biomes stitched together with deserts visible in the west, snow to the north, forests to the east, and jungles to the south.

"That Arachne's reactions show that she is still hiding something from me, but there is not need to ask all of my questions at once. What fun would it be if all the answers were revealed at once?" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

Although saying this in a rueful tone, disgust is apparent on her visage.

"Those "Divine" Beasts are much more Beast than Divine." [Grand Goddess Mariella]

Just because they cannot lie to me does not mean they cannot obfuscate the truth. While having them as subordinates hold less merits than demerits at the moment, they will be useful in the long term.

While think about her plan, her mind ponders the name of the God Emmaline mentioned.

"God Aishal… What a pleasant surprise" [Grand Goddess Mariella]

A sadistic smile emerges on the Grand Goddess' face.

"So, you would not let my interference go unanswered. As a "Grand" one myself, I understand your position and would most likely react in the same manor. However, you have been rooted in place for eons and are severely limited in your opportunities to retaliate. Therefore, what good would antagonizing me be? No, perhaps the simple reminder that you are still alive is your goal. Hmm… I must say, I do miss the battle of wits with a peer." [Grand Goddess Mariella]

"Now, how shall I vex your pawn... Perhaps a test run of the procedure would be fun. Let us try both spectrums. A war on two fronts is has always amused me. Whether the gradual route or the hastened rout, which one shall you succumb to?