Lust

It's been about a week since Cain has arrived in Gaia. The news broke within a few days that Cain is actually the Saint of Darkness, though he is still begrudgingly being cared for by The Temple (of Light) as he is still a saint.

During this time, Cain learned some truths about the world, being that the God of Darkness is the oldest existence in the universe, and is the God worshipped by the Demons.

After learning this, Cain understood — though wasn't happy about — why he was being discriminated against.

"I need to get out of here as soon as possible.." Cain thought to himself.

Eventually, Cain and Melody were brought to an open field. Melody was provided a summoning circle to summon a beast to stay by her side, and Cain was provided the corpse of a Magician to reanimate into a lesser lich.

Compared to Melody's glamorous, praise-filled summoning ceremony, and the fantastical Wyvern that she summoned, Cain was brushed aside.

Hardly anyone was watching as the spirit of the magician rose from the corpse.

Cain couldn't help but brood over the aftermath. Those who were watching were vocal about their disgust over his power over the dead, remarking that they "wouldn't want to breath near him, let alone trust my life to him."

It was defeating for the young man, though at least the Lich he summoned was cooperative.

He had his own separate room now. With the blinds shut, Cain's Smart-Clothes change from the ceremonial robes, to nostalgic earthly casual wear.

"Is something the matter, milord?" A feminine voice speaks to Cain, more mature than Melody, but not quite old. She sounded motherly, her sultry tones holding a calming effect upon Cain's soul.

The image of the woman in his mind is always broken whenever he looked at the source of the voice. A skeleton, charred black in color, with glowing purple eye sockets. He wasn't disturbed by his subordinate's appearance, merely disappointed that she didn't look remotely human.

"Kind of.. I feel empty. Any sense of purpose I could've had has been robbed from me." Cain lamented, his legs curling up into his chest.

"It is to.. my understanding that milord has not had a good past. I apologize, am I making it worse?" The lich spoke, which caused Cain's brow to twitch.

Throughout his life, Cain had never been the superior to anyone, and nobody submitted to him the way this lich was. It made him uncomfortable, since he grew up in a very casual environment, and became an adult isolated from his peers.

"That's- no.. that's not it." He shook his head. Habitually, he brought up her information.

<Reanimated Soul

Name: Freia

Type: Lesser Lich

Strength: 3

Stamina: 6

Mana: 30

Remaining stats: irrelevant.>

He sighed. The system claimed to be open about everything and would tell him anything he wanted to know, yet strangely limited the amount of stats he could see, citing them as irrelevant. He supposed it was true, since he didn't need to know some stats for the moment, but it still made the boy feel like information was being kept from him.

"I don't quite understand. If Milord wishes to evade the mistreatment of The Temple, perhaps running away is an option." Freia suggested. The thought made Cain shiver. It was like running away from home, though he couldn't deny that his "parents" didn't love him at all.

"I- I'm not sure about that.. I don't think I can fight monsters to grow a-and-" Cain's worries were cut short by Freia. "If that is the issue, I can always train you. My body is weakened for now, however I'm rather experienced. Like most mages, I had to grow on my own, so I can give you some advice on what to do! You have the perfect body to nurture, so your growth should happen quick!" Freia happily monologued to Cain excitedly.

Her skeletal face didn't emote, but he thought he could almost see her grinning with glee as she spoke.

Cain sighed. "Alright- I- I guess we can train.. but I'd like to grow a bit before we leave the temple… if that's possible." Cain nervously darts his eyes between Freia and the floor.

"Of course, Milord." Freia gradually calmed down, and answered him. "We can begin with physical training. Your stamina is very low so we will start there, then move on to strength, and your mana! With your frame… I'd estimate this will take about 4 weeks- very fast!"

Cain grimaced a bit. 4 weeks- a whole month. He may get banished from the temple for being the Saint of Darkness in that time, or get executed for being 'the same as the demons!'

His thoughts were full of worry and anxiety, not allowing him to sleep. It was only when he felt the reassuring touch of Freia that he calmed down.

He needed strength, training, and experience to grow- but in order to overcome his biggest flaws- he will need affection, the attention of those he would've once been unable to talk to.

It's not an easy job.

Sometimes it will feel like an impossible job.

But it can be done.

At least- that's what Freia told him. Cain remembered these words as he began to drift into his first good rest in a long while.