Meeting the Goddess (Seriously, WTF?)

"Great Goddess Sol!"

Marcius's heart sunk at the mention of the goddess's name.

Some might feel happy, receiving a visit from the goddess herself in person.

But Marcius knew better.

Gods, especially in this realm of Rubrum, were cynical, ruthless, self-centered and possessive.

Their attention was never a good thing, except for the rare events where you received their favor.

So, yeah. Marcius was not really thrilled about this whole situation.

"This one is humbled. For the Great Goddess to visit during the trial." The voice said in a devoted tone.

'Yikes, I guess the totem is also a fanatic. That makes sense, since the goddess probably created it.'

Marcius thought, as he could see the environment shined with golden light.

The feeling of aura got stronger and stronger, as the golden light shined brighter and brighter.

Then he saw her.

The goddess.

Well, not exactly the goddess.

It was just a golden insignia floating in the air. Yet, Marcius could feel the strong godly aura from the palm-sized emblem all the same.

'What is happening? In the original storyline, the protagonist had to go through some kind of past events in his vision, and had to make the 'right choice.' So, why is there a goddess in front of me, in the middle of a trial?'

Marcius couldn't think of what caused the change.

"I'm regretful of this infringement on your rightful privilege during the trial, but I will be taking charge of conducting the third test on Marcius Aemilia."

The goddess's voice was delightful and pleasing. But at the same time, it had a sharp edge to it.

Her words seemed empathetic and respectful, but they were actually just commands.

"Of course, this servant obeys. The trial was created as per the great goddess's desire, the rules are yours to change." The voice replied in the same fanatic tone.

"Then, you are free to leave. The test will continue with the two of us only." The goddess commanded.

"This servant obeys, Great Goddess." The totem at the center slowly faded away, at the end of its sentence.

And it was only the two of them in the room, surrounded by grey stone walls.

Marcius carefully observed the insignia in front of him.

It took the shape of the sun.

With a golden circle at the center and golden tendrils surrounding it, giving of the scene of shining rays coming out of the sun.

"Oh my. No respectful behavior in front of a goddess. Not even a greeting. Aren't you an interesting person, Marcius Aemilia?"

The insignia floated around Marcius, and the goddess's voice came out of it.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful. I'm just very curious about why the great goddess had taken a keen interest in me." Marcius replied.

His tone was courteous, with a touch of politeness.

But he did not kneel, like most would.

Marcius didn't necessarily want to antagonize the goddess, but he would not allow any deities to walk all over him either.

Some would say Marcius was arrogant, standing up to the gods; while he, himself, did not even have a cultivation base.

But Marcius just did not believe in blind worship.

And knowing what he knew, Marcius's respect for the gods of Rubrum was not on the high levels.

"Why won't I be curious about you? A boy with two souls, a boy whose future was paved by his great knowledge alone."

The goddess's reply made Marcius freeze. That was also the reason why Marcius did not enjoy the goddess's attention.

There was no way he would be able to hide that he had two souls combined into one.

The goddess even knew he had future knowledge. Maybe not exactly, but still…

The insignia continued to circle Marcius.

"At first, it was just a mere curiosity. A person with two souls is rare, but not that rare. Reincarnations are not new in Rubrum."

The sun emblem pulsed every time the goddess spoke.

"But then, you absorbed my divinity."

'What?'

"You destroyed my puppets. And some of the divinity, which were rightfully supposed to return to me, got snatched away, into you."

'That is bounty hunter system! The only way I can absorb her divinity was for the system to take in the spirit energy of the bounty targets to create bounty points and artifacts.'

Marcius thoughts were running wild. But he could only think of this one possible explanation.

"What is more interesting, is that, I sensed the divinity of another god on you. I could see that it is using you as a bridge to collect the nature laws and energy of this realm."

'Creto! F**k! You are getting me into some deep troubles!'

Marcius was cursing Creto with all the curse words he knew from the two lives.

"Humm… to be honest, I don't mind. The rate of nature laws being collected is so insignificant that the realm can replenish that with no problem. But, stealing my divinity? Task, task. That won't do."

'Knew it. She is angry.'

"So, I decided to come down here and guide you though the third test. You better complete the test successfully, or there will be punishment for stealing what is mine, little human."

The aura of the goddess flared up a bit at the end, as if to intimidate Marcius.

But unbeknownst to Marcius, the Goddess Sol didn't dare to act rashly with him.

She could feel the aura of another god on Marcius. And she could tell the god was way above her league.

And the aura was unlike any other gods in Rubrum.

So, the god might be an outer deity. Outer deities who could interfere with a realm's affairs were extremely strong and difficult to deal with.

No, the reason she came down was Marcius, himself.

One of her domains was foresight.

And she could foresee a great future ahead of the boy. A great future capable of turning the entire Rubrum upside down.

He could be a great savior, or a terrible destroyer.

And the goddess was not very fond of the idea of the entire Rubrum burning. That was the reason why she helped the high king to fight off the Tridons, after all.

That was also why the goddess took a special interest in Marcius. She needed to guide him not to walk the path of destruction.

"I'm ready, goddess. Please start the third test."

The human had guts, the goddess would give him that.

"Very well. To complete the third test, Test of Heart, you need just to answer my one question."

The insignia stopped moving and floated in front of Marcius.

"What is justice?"

'W.T.F'

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Author Notes

Hello! MidnightMK here!

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