Etuna

Cold conditions. A structure that appeared to be another palace was surrounded by nothing but snow, a brisk wind, and compacted ice. It felt strange, and no one on this island seemed to be aware of it.

Who would choose to live on a mountain where the fiercest windstorms and ongoing danger are present?

"A palace? It looks like one at the very least." Kyora helped unconscious Tim in finding a place to be treated, but standing there, alone and with no friend that moved, she thought if this was a safe idea.

She stood in front of the frozen palace's entrance, created from purely packed ice.

"Well... it looks sturdy," she thought, but the wind crescents kept speeding about, "but it doesn't seem like a cozy place to live in."

Although the wind crescents continued to rush by, she reflected, "Well... It seems solid but doesn't look like a cozy place to live in." It was odd to see something so uncomfortable serving as a form of the house, yet one would also wonder who lived there.

When she knocked on the door, it sounded almost like a bell ringing. Although it was clear that not much had been built inside, or that it felt at least slightly vacant, nobody even opened the door after that unpleasant knock.

If knocking didn't work, surely her voice would. "Hello! Is anybody in there? Please, I'd like some help!" but even then nobody answered.

She briefly experienced an odd sensation and shuddered. "I suppose nobody lives here." Despite pulling open the door, she could not. Who would have anticipated that she would push the door? It shifted and unlocked, revealing a length of stairs that wound up in a loop. "Please excuse me. I'm just making an effort to tend to someone's wounds. You'll understand, right?" she chuckled awkwardly while whispering.

She didn't know how to proceed, but something needed to be done or it could harm Tim more than it did. "The wounds he suffered from that cleave... really caused millennia of problems for this health." But her thoughts were overheard by someone. A soft but intimidating voice of a woman.

"I was to expect no visitors. You dare to interfere with a god's privacy?" Kyora froze for a moment, learning that the person speaking to her was the one least expected.

Kyora, who'd be overwhelmed with realization, couldn't speak. "G-Goddess... Goddess Etuna?!" Kyora claimed, speechless afterward.

Etuna appeared tough and serious on the outside, and her face never even changed to friendlier. "You have entered the domain to which you were not permitted. For that I shall~!" she became locked on the spot, gazing at Kyora's arms.

Something mysterious happened, and Etuna held back her judgment. "Who are you, and what is with that boy you hold in your hands?" Etuna questioned to which Kyora looked at Tim's unconscious body. "I-I'm afraid... he's in trouble and lost a lot of blood after climbing up the mountain. Please, let him rest here. If he doesn't rest, he'll die and bleed. There isn't anyone who can help him, so all I ask is to help him. If you can't provide assistance, at least allow me to attend to his wounds while he rests."

Etuna's mouth shivered upon hearing what Kyora had to say. "You are asking me to share this structure with you so that you could treat his wounds? That would be a childish mistake, and an odd one too. I may not know the purpose of you two climbing to the top of this mount, but even so, you should not have come." Kyora tried to think of an appropriate response, but she knew that explaining the true purpose could decrease Etuna's trust and cause an uproar. She needed to figure out a solution while Etuna still had control over her powers and the corruption didn't take over Etuna's control.

"What am I supposed to do? The Goddess is standing right in front of me and sees me as horrible company, and even if she desires to protect, I can't ignore my fear of her turning evil at some point due to the corrupted soul." She thought to herself and made sure to stay silent and think about how to proceed with more care before speaking.

"Please, Goddess Etuna. Let us stay so that I may attend to his wounds, and then when done, we'll leave. I promise." She begged while telling the truth.

Etuna remained silent but then cocked her head aside. "I am afraid I cannot allow you to be here. Leave before-!" She didn't finish the warning as a sudden flash of corruption flicked around her like black volts. She grasped her forehead from the pain and sweated. "Please, Etuna. I beg your pardon, but please, help him." Etuna turned her left pupil to face Kyora, holding her head while looking at Tim's hurt body.

"I gave you a warning, so why must you be stubborn and disobey? I need not harm you if you only listened to my orders." Kyora observed the situation, trying not to appear as someone who couldn't obey god's orders. "I know, Etuna, but your protection has granted us this opportunity; to ask you a favor. You're the only one who could help this boy out and the only one who's close enough before he perishes."

Etuna raised her chin, looking down the stairwell. "I cannot believe you'd ignore my orders. If you wish to save that boy's life, speak to a different person. If that child dies, it is not my problem. I am not the one who would cause his demise. His life is in your hands and not mine." Etuna planned to return to a different place in the palace, but Kyora's voice reverberated throughout the empty space.

"I can't!" Etuna's eyes opened wide as she stopped in place. "Your role as a goddess is to provide protection to people like us, and that is why you're the head of Winterpeak Island! How could you deny the truth or call yourself a "defender" if you wouldn't help somebody in need that can only be saved if his wounds are treated early? You want to protect the lives on this island, then protect his life as well!" She shouted, gazing at Etuna with a serious expression.

Etuna didn't respond in for a while but closed her eyes. "You do not understand the reasons, even though you are all aware of the illness I possess. I would help that boy, but if something goes wrong, who could protect both lives?"

Kyora continued being confident. "I know, but you're the only one who I can trust at this moment. There's nobody to help us, but you. I am not a doctor and without the material, I cannot treat him. You are the best option for this boy to continue living."

Etuna kept one eye on Kyora but finally understood as she shut her eyes. "Bring the boy upstairs..." she called, making Kyora comfortable.

To be continued...