What’s Below

"Is something wrong? If your age is a sensitive topic I understand. I'm not exactly young myself, hahaha." Gabe said joyfully

"Yeah, my dad is super old so you're probably young compared to him," Ella said.

"If you'll excuse me I think I have someone to talk with for a moment," I said. Both Gabe and Ella were confused since I didn't even know a single person in the village.

I headed outside of the shop and sat next to the door. Compared to the first time I didn't need to ask and found a way for me to reach the goddess. I was again in the space where she laid at her bed.

"What do you mean, I'm 70 years old? I turned 20 just before I attempted to climb the mountain." I asked confused

"Yes and before your death you somehow took my soul and merged it with your own. Then instead of reviving yourself you waited for me to have to carry you out of that terrible snow storm. I'm not exactly physically strong, you know." She voiced her opinion in a very upset tone

"Well I only did so because my instinct was that harm would befall me had I grabbed the star." I argued

"Well that only proves that your instinct is to be a grade A asshole. You would have handled those demons with ease had you treated me a little better." she said turning her head

"I see, the closer we are, the stronger we are."

"How did I know that and you didn't?"

"Well this is the first time this ever happened to me. My dad was friends with lots of spirits but never gods."

"Yes I do recall Max being a divinely blessed being. It doesn't surprise me that you have similar abilities yet I never would have imagined it to be so much stronger."

"You know my father?"

"The gods know all beings that have divine blessing, especially if they're unique."

"You knew all of this and didn't think to tell me?"

"No matter what I said my voice wouldn't reach you. I can only talk to you when you reach me or you're unconscious."

"Oh I had no idea. Wait then how did you reach me when I was about to say that I was 20?"

"I don't know, it was one of the few times my voice came through and you could hear me clearly."

She's been stuffed in my soul without warning and hasn't had anything better to do than sit here and wait. I think I'm in the wrong here.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't blame you for withholding information when I'm withholding your actions. How about we try something that might fix this." I say

"And what would that be?" she asks

"If I can't hear you when you're only connected to my soul, how about I connect you to my mind? That way you can speak to me through thoughts whenever you'd like." I pitch

"How are you going to do that?"

"I believe I have some sort of protection that keeps things away from invading my mind but I should be able to open them. That way you can slip through."

"But won't that leave you vulnerable to psychic attacks?"

"Well yeah, can I count on you to defend my mind?" I propose

"I um, sure I can do that much. If your mind goes down then I do, so I would be a fool not to protect it."

With that I woke up back in the underground city. I was still next to the door of the shop but now Gabe and Ella were sitting next to me. We all got back up and headed inside. I told them both about my adventures and the people I encountered. Gabe also shared stories about his time in war and after dinner they let me stay the night at their place.  

The goddess took her new voice and went off on her own story. She told me all about how she was the most important god and that all the other gods were jealous of how awesome she was. And after all that I fell asleep.

I had a dream where I was back home but it wasn't snowing. It was back when the sun was beaming and my friends and family were all I ever needed. We were a small village but the people there were the nicest and most fun you would ever meet. But when I woke up I was crying. All those wonderful people are probably all dead. If it really has been over 50 years.

"Is everything okay?" Ella said standing in the doorway

"Yeah I'm all good. You have training tomorrow right? You should hurry back to bed." I replied

"Well it's pretty hard to sleep when your screaming like that."

"Sorry about that. I'll be sure to keep it down."

"What's going on?" she said, taking a seat next to me.

"Well I had a dream about my mom and everyone else from my village. I'm pretty sure they're all dead by now." I said looking down.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You know I also-"

"Don't worry about it, I didn't really care about them anyway."

She sat there paused for a second then stood up. I couldn't see the face she was making but she whispered something under her breath. After all that she quickly left the room before telling me to not wake her up like that again. I apologize for the second and last time.

The next morning came and the breakfast was awkward at best. When we had dinner Ella sat right next to me but this time she was as far away from me as she could possibly be. Gabe sensed the tension and tried his hardest to make the atmosphere lighter.

"So What do you plan to do today kid?" Gabe asked me

"Well I'm not sure. I'd like to do whatever I can to get stronger and find Ratar."

"Well you can stay with me and learn a few tricks on forging weapons. You could also go with Ella to the training ground. We have a few starfighters you can face. Of course if you want you can also train by yourself if you believe no one here matches your skills." Gabe informs

I took a quick Look at Ella and thought it better to leave her be. Her face doesn't match an inviting one. 

"If it's cool with you Gabe I'd love to learn a thing or two from you." I said

"Well you heard him Ella he likes me more ahahaha." Gabe said jokingly 

Ella quickly got up and basically stormed out of the room. 

Gabe's look was sad but he quickly recovered. He grabbed all the plates and bowls from the table and put them in a basket. 

"We can wash these later but for now we have some work to do." Gabe said excitedly.

We headed over to the workshop where Gabe sprung into work mode. He checked around to make sure everything looked set up and he began working on metal. His speed was exemplary and his confidence filled the room. It was as if he was born to make endless blades.

"Alright that's how it's done. Now you give it a spin." Gabe said.

"What!? You were too fast for me to even comprehend. I didn't learn a thing from that." I admitted.

"I saw you in that battle. Your moves and there's were so fast my own eyes couldn't even witness half of it. You're telling me with those eyes and senses you couldn't keep up with an old man?"

He sat me down on the seat he was in earlier and grabbed a few supplies. 

"This is a piece of metal called Reter. You should know this metal well since it is the most common of this area. It has a special property that makes it easier to enchant and channel magic through. This is why we use it for all sorts of weapons."

"So what am I supposed to do with it?" I asked

"Well as it is now, banging it with a hammer is no good. It wouldn't budge an inch. But if we go ahead and heat the thing up we have ourselves something that is just itching to become a blade."

I walk over to the furnace with the metal and stick the chunk in with my hand.

"Hey wouldn't you rather just use those tongs over there?" Gabe suggested

"Why? It's not like it's painful or anything."

"Whatever you say kid."

I pull my hand out once the metal is glowing and place it on the anvil. I go for a large swing with the hammer but I'm quickly stopped by Gabe's shout.

"Kid from what I've seen you're either breaking that hammer or cracking that anvil in half. So how about we go a bit lighter eh?" Gabe states

"Oh Sure thing. Sorry about that." I said

I pounded the metal gently and as the sparks flew it was like falling stars landing on the floor. I can see why Gabe likes to keep the lights off in the room. It's like it's just you and the metal.

"It took a bit longer but I'll say you did a fine job." Gabe states

"This thing looks horrible." I say holding the jagged blade

"Actually making a blade on your first attempt is nothing to be upset about. Soon you'll be making blades just like me hahahahaha." 

"Thanks Gabe."

"Oh yeah, and about that name of yours. I've got some ideas but I think I'll hold onto them for a bit longer. I know not having a name doesn't bother you but people will want to know the name of the hero who defeated Ratar."

I gave him a smile then he shooed me off the seat. He grabbed a chunk of Reter and started working on it. 

"How about you grab a seat in the shop, I'll let you know when I'm done."

I leave the room to go sit down and that's when I am realize that I haven't let my guard down since I got here. Even when I was sleeping I could tell I was still on alert. I let my senses take a break and went into full relaxation. 

"Hey, kid, that was some nap you had." Gabe said, waking me up.

"I didn't really get a good sleep last night." I responded still a little dazed.

"Well I got something to show you." He drops a heavy object in my lap. The pressure from the object fully woke me up.

"Holy, what is this thing?" 

"It's a new creation of mine. A massive sword capable of ripping apart steel itself." Gabe said with a smile.

As I grabbed the sword and stood up its weight was apparent. Holding it was easy enough but swinging the thing can't be easy. We moved out of the shop to a plot of land behind the building. 

"Give it a few swings and tell me how it feels." Gabe suggested 

I swing it to my left but it takes a second to bring it back to its original position. The swing to the right was slightly easier but not too different. I've swung blades before but never full swords and of course nothing like this. I don't know if anyone has before. 

"It seems you could use some practice with it. Also I would suggest you stop by Ella's school tomorrow and meet with an instructor called Alter. He's a master martial artist but he's also the best swordsman in the underground." Gabe said.

"Are you guys friends?"

"Oh yeah we go way back. Used to fight alongside the man. He could never out perform me though ahahahah."

I drop the sword on the floor for it only to create a crater and a loud thundering noise. Dust flew up from the ground making a small cloud. 

"Gabe, how did you pick this thing up?" I asked confused.

"With my legs. And a crap ton of strength enhancement magic. I was truly astonished that you could pick it up so easily."

"How much did it cost to make this?"

"Don't worry about that. I've been meaning to make this sword anyways. It's just good fortune that I found an owner. Take good care of it. Make its strength your own."

Afterwards, we went back inside but I chose to leave the sword outside for now. It's not like anyone was going to steal it. Ella soon arrived back home and told Gabe about her day. She didn't care to talk to me however. 

"Alright how about you go with Ella tomorrow morning. Alter teaching classes there so you should bring your sword."

I don't let Ella's glare scare me off and I agree with Gabe's plan. We have our dinner then we all head off to bed. In my sleep I'm met with the goddess.

"I hope you didn't forget your original goal." The goddess said to me.

"Yeah I know, but I thought if Herderal was out in search of an army it would give me time to improve my own force." I responded.

"Off of what we heard of Ratar he seems like a demon not to be trifled with. It also seems like the people down here who have met you believe you stand little chance."

"Hey, what are the other gods like?"

"Well that question certainly changed the subject."

"Well it's just I know of a few stories but I don't think I have an idea of what they're actually like."

"How about asking what I'm like before that. You and I still barely know each other. "

"Oh you want to know more about me? I'm flattered." I say teasing her.

"Oh shut it, you're far too young for me."

"Well I like to joke around with people. I guess I caught myself making fun."

"Yes I've noticed. I can't say this side of you is favorable."

"Well there's something about me." I say.

"Fine, I've been a guardian of all forests for many decades. That was until I was offered the role as a god."

"You were offered the role?"

"Yes, all gods were. I don't think most people know this but there was only one original god. Not even the demon god that sealed us could withstand his power."

"Where is he now?"

"I wish I knew. He was the only man I ever loved."

With that we stood there in silence for a bit. But eventually it was time I woke up.