Golden Tattoos

'I'm still hungry.' Liam rubbed his belly. He was still hungry. His appetite was huge even back on Earth.

The woman noticed this and she nodded. She then did something out of this world.

A strange golden tattoo suddenly appeared on the back of her right hand. The tattoo emitted an otherworldly vibe. The tattoo was shaped like a cube with small uncomprehensible patterns.

She did a grabbing motion and another five skewered meat appeared on her right hand. The tattoo slowly vanished leaving no mark at all. As if the tattoo didn't exist in the first place and it was just Liam seeing things.

She planted the sticks on the ground near the fire. The five skewered pieces of meat were being slowly cooked in the bonfire.

The boy was amazed. It was not an understatement to say that his eyes were literally glowing and shimmering.

"So cool! Goddess, what was that?" Liam asked, this time in English. Referring to the strange power she just exhibited.

The blindfolded lady glanced at Liam. Her head tilted in a cute manner. Even though almost half of her face was covered, Liam knew she was staring at him with a confused look.

'That magic might be more common than I thought in this world.' Liam pondered and decided to ask the woman again anyway.

"That magic thing. What is it called?"

He wasn't sure why he was asking in the first place. After all, this woman was deaf, she cannot understand him anyway. Or perhaps the language used in this world was different. He really was not sure.

He badly needed information as soon as possible. A lot of information to be exact.

The blindfolded lady, still sitting in a cute manner, rested her chin on her fingers. She was obviously thinking.

Liam patiently waited for her reply. He wasn't sure why, but he has a feeling the Goddess was going to answer him.

The Goddess nodded her head as if she has finally decided.

'Finally. Answers.' He sighed in relief.

A golden light glowed all over the Goddess' ears. It lighted up the dark, eerie cave. Just like before, a strange tattoo appeared all over her ears. This time, the tattoo took another different shape. It was a collection of different characters that formed a butterfly.

The Goddess stared at Liam and touched her ears twice and nodded.

'What does she mean?' Liam showed a questioning face.

He pondered for a while before he received enlightenment.

'Ah! She wants me to repeat myself.'

And so he opened his mouth and spoke in English again.

"What was that magic?"

This time the Goddess showed a cute expression. Her face was showing an 'I finally understand this monkey' face.

Another golden glow diminished the gloomy atmosphere of the cave. A strange tattoo appeared on the woman's mouth. The golden tattoo was shaped like a fang and a tongue. Both this tattoo and the ear tattoo created an exotic beauty that Liam couldn't help but raised an eyebrow.

"Stigma." She said while pointing at her tattoos. Her accent and pronunciation were spot-on. As if she was speaking this language all her life.

Her ethereal voice tickled Liam's ear.

'So the tattoos are called stigmas? Cool' Liam was astonished and couldn't help but wonder what other abilities those stigmas can do.

"I want one." Liam declared.

And he added, "Please."

The goddess looked at him and shook her head.

"No."

"Why?" Liam was bewildered.

'Don't tell me although I got transmigrated here, I can't use this world's magic!' He panicked inwardly.

The Goddess didn't answer. Instead, she plucked one skewered meat and handed it to Liam gently.

In which he received it with a thankful expression. And this time, he was eating it slowly.

"What is your name?" The Goddess questioned Liam.

He was about to say 'Liam'. But he remembered this body's name was 'Keir Blade'.

For a moment, silence descended on the cave. The atmosphere took a huge turn.

Liam wasn't sure what to say. He was Liam but this body was Keir's.

'Ah damn it. Fine, while in this world, I will be using your name.'

"The name is Keir. Keir Blade." He awkwardly said.

"Keir..." The lady nodded.

Liam waited for a while. He was about to ask another question when the Goddess opened her mouth again.

"What is your religion?" Her voice was really soothing to the ear.

She probably sings well, Liam commented inwardly

He was about to answer 'I don't have one' but he remembered one thing.

Keir Blade was a devout believer of the Heavenly God! In fact, he was even a deacon of the Church of the Heavenly God.

Liam glanced at his priest robe tied around his waist and his eyes couldn't help but twitch. But still...

"I believe in no God," Liam answered flatly.

Another golden glow appeared on the lady's face. This time, even though she was wearing a blindfold, the glowing light was faintly coming from her eyes. Liam even noticed some traces of the tattoo that the blindfold wasn't able to hide.

The lady nodded. As though she was sure Liam was saying the truth.

Liam noticed that the Goddess' gaze somehow soften. He can't describe this feeling but he was sure nonetheless.

"This language... What is it called?"

'Indeed, the language used here is different. In fact, English might not exist.'

"English," Liam answered with a mysterious smile.

The Goddess nodded and stayed silent.

This time, Liam was the one asking the question.

"What's your name?"

A strange reaction came from the Goddess. She struggled for a while before she softly sighed.

"Ava. Ava Addison."

The rain finally stopped. But another lightning flashed just as Ava introduced herself.

'Addison? Quite a modern name if you ask me.'

Liam was expecting some cool and strange name as this previous body had.

"Nice to meet you, Ava! Can I have another skewered meat?"

Ava nodded and handed it to Liam.

The skewered meat released warm steam. The smell was very fragrant. Liam licked his lips and took a huge bite.

'I won't ever get tired eating this' He jested.

"So this stigma... How can I have one?" He sat down in front of Ava and tilted his head forward. His expression showed that he was ready to listen to whatever Ava was about to say.

"You make one," Ava uttered. Her voice was quiet yet clear.

"What do you mean?" Liam questioned further.

"You're not from here are you?" Ava didn't continue answering but instead questioned Liam instead.

"You're right," Liam admitted.

In fact, he has no reason to lie. This woman in front of her was surely someone strong and has enough capabilities to know if he was lying or not. Another thing was that those powers the Goddess showed pressured him. He would not find it weird if this lady have some lie-detecting prowess.

Ava nodded. She only silently stared at Liam's waist.

'Is my crotch outline visible?' Liam stared at his crotch area and heave a sigh of relief.

"I found it." He answered Ava's indirect question that was asking him what was the priest's robe tied to my waist from.

In a sense, he was not lying. He did found himself wearing a priest's robe.

Ava nodded. She then stared at Liam again.

"You're not from this world then?" Ava dropped another question.

Liam's mind went blank.

'How did she know? Did I exposed myself unintentionally? Where did I go wrong?' Liam instinctively held his sword's hilt behind his waist. His body was tense, ready to move at a moment's notice.

Ava smiled.

For the first time ever, this cold lady actually smiled.

Liam's heartbeat increased.

'Her smile is breathtaking, mind-blowingly, astoundingly beautiful.'

This statement was locked on his head. His tensed body slowly relaxed. He let go of the hilt and sat loosely.

"That's right," Liam confirmed Ava's suspicion.

"How did you know?" He followed up.

Ava's smile vanished. Replaced with the cold look she had before.

"Your language... It's different..."

'I knew it! Damn it' Liam lampooned.

"You also don't know what a Stigma is..."

"Eh?"

'Don't tell me...'

Ava continued, "Every single being, even an insect knows what a Stigma is..."

'Damn it!' Liam cursed inwardly and kept throwing curse words in his mind.

He didn't find it weird for Ava to arrived at that conclusion. Perhaps this world was more magical than he thought. From the fact that even transmigration and reincarnation were normal for them.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your secret..." She softly spoke, her 'eyes' staring at him.

Liam was relieved. He choosed to trust this Goddess in front of him.

"Teach me." Liam suddenly blurted out loud.

"Teach you what?" Ava asked.

"Teach me how to doggie."

Ava was confused.

"Doggie?"

"You must have heard incorrectly. I said teach me this world's language." Liam said with a poker face.

Ava's forehead creased.

"What will you give in return?"

Liam was stunned. He stayed silent for a minute.

"I don't know..."