Chương 88: Chapter 87 - Memories

After her conversation with Cory, Atzi rushed off to catch the Serpent's procession. Saving everyone from the demon wouldn't matter if they just died to the undead. She did her best impression of her own wonderful charm from previous loops, winking at the goddess. It was easy for her, by that point. As usual, she accepted the invitation from an exhausted Andrew, and joined the Serpent's three bodies on the way to her temple. Playing the hapless, wide-eyed lizard all the while.

When they finally arrived, Atzi tossed a few of her requested jewel beetles into her mouth and chewed. They weren't as special to her anymore, but they were still tasty. The Serpent smiled at her. Atzi swallowed.

"Okay, sorry, I have to drop the act now. I'm a prophet, you can't eat me. Sorry. I needed to talk to you alone and this was the only way I know how." One of the Serpents' bodies laughed.

"Interesting. Go on then, little prophet. Tell me why you've tricked me." Atzi took a deep breath.

"The Saintess died in Novae. Malus tried to bring her back, last night. It didn't exactly work. She tore open a gate to the underworld, underneath the city. She has the best necromancers in Pomaria keeping it under control right now but it won't last much longer. In six days' time, not long after the godscouncil, it bursts open and the entire empire is destroyed." She swished her tail.

"You have to reveal this at the godscouncil because if every god cooperates you can seal it and stop this. Malus would rather it blow up than reveal this."

"Interesting." Her three bodies turned towards each other, nodding between themselves.

"Interesting, interesting, interesting."

"And I can't be there to explain it this time because shortly after this, Hasen declares war on us. And I need to go there and try to stop that happening."

"My my, a lot going on," the Serpent said, playfully.

"... Yes. You don't sound- no, I'm not insane, I'm not making this up." Atzi crossed her arms.

"I come back to life when I die, on this morning, every time. That's how I know this. It took a lot of attempts. And you're the only God that actually listens to me."

"Well, I am willing to entertain weird ideas. But that you won't be there… that's a bit of a problem."

"The Ancestor is too gullible and Malus tricks him with a fake Saintess that... has the right aura, or something? He said it was her, but it definitely wasn't, and he killed me for saying that." Atzi only realized after finishing her explanation that the Serpent didn't seem to care.

"How am I supposed to punish you if you're lying and leaving?"

"... If it's any consolation, I'm probably dying up there. Last time I got torn to pieces."

"In Hasen?"

"There's- actually, you're a lot smarter than me at this stuff, maybe you have some ideas. Okay, so uh... Hasen was founded by people from Mediolanum, right?" The Serpent yawned and nodded.

"Correct."

"Well, there were people there already. Pangaea, is the name of the country. It's like... animal people."

"Oho? I had heard rumors. Are they attractive?" Atzi nodded.

"Oh, extremely. There was this cat girl with huge- uh, they're extremely secretive, though. They kill anyone who gets near. Hasen keeps cutting down the forest and killing all the animals and that's... about as big a crime to them as it gets. So they want to destroy Hasen no matter what, and they think that if they trick Hasen into invading us, we'll wipe them out." The Serpent waved a claw.

"Well that's silly, we'd obviously conquer them."

"That's what I said! But they don't... get it, I think? They're really desperate, so a bad plan is better than no plan. Hasen does keep killing them, all the time. So they can't just do nothing..." Atzi shrugged.

"I dunno how you solve that without getting everyone in Hasen to leave, or something." Two of the Serpent's bodies fed each other, while the third tapped the table thoughtfully. Then, she raised a single clawed finger.

"What if Pangaea joined Sostra?"

"Would... they be invited to join?"

"Sostra accepts any nation willing to be subject to our laws."

"I could... bring it up with the Forest? They have a weird drug that lets you talk to her."

"Weird drug, you say?" The Serpent, all three of her bodies, suddenly looked much more interested.

"Oh, yeah, they have a bunch!" Atzi nodded rapidly.

"The red one makes you feel like... you just have infinite energy, you can't stop moving or sit still. Yellow makes everything feel fine and you just lie there like an idiot thinking how great it is. Green makes you hallucinate, I never tried that one. Blue takes you to the weird... prophet-god space, whatever it's called, to talk to the Forest. Purple makes all the other ones stop working and you throw up." Atzi added, "Oh, and black makes you so horny you might kill someone.

That's not a joke, I was talking to this huge lady with claws like a lobster that said she did it." This time, all three of the Serpents laughed.

"If you bring me any of them, I'll pay you." She hummed.

"One gold per ounce."

"Really? Wow… Well, okay, if I somehow survive this and make it back and they let me keep some, sure."

"Great! I will... investigate" - the Serpent made a disgusted expression - "the matter of your claims regarding Malus."

"Oh, as for the underworld door! The location is-" Atzi explained the secret door and route below the council temple, as best she could.

"If you can find the floating door, or the Pomarian necromancers, maybe that'll be enough and you can solve it earlier? The fake Saintess will have a... whatever aura thing the real one had, I dunno how Malus fakes it but she does. But the door is real. Maybe... can you ask the Water to force them to talk? They're Pomarians, they gotta listen to her, yeah?" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Could the Water force you to talk?" Atzi recalled all the gods she'd dealt with before.

"... Pretty much any god can, you guys are... scary."

"That we are! That's the most beautiful part about being a god. The sheer fear we can instill."

"Must be nice..."

"Tell me, do you know how to become a god?" the Serpent asked, what seemed like genuine curiosity in her voice. Atzi shook her head.

"Nothing for it, then. If you know, you know. Otherwise… you don't."

"I figured you guys wouldn't wanna share it. How did you find out, if no god talks about it?" The Serpent just winked at her.

"I can't even ask mine anyway. Oh, right. This is the most awkward part... uh... I'm the prophet of the Saintess. What's left of her, anyway. She... doesn't remember anything. I don't know where she even is, I only see her in that... prophet void, when I die."

"If she doesn't remember anything, is she even the Saintess anymore?" The Serpent asked. She dug out a small bit of bug from between her sharp teeth, and flicked it away.

"... If she isn't, then who is she?"

"Perhaps a new god."

"Maybe... maybe she'd like that? I think she feels bad when she hears all the stuff about what the Saintess is 'meant' to be like." Atzi looked down.

"... Shit, I yelled at her when I died last time."

"Blasphemy! I'd eat my prophet if he did that." Atzi whispered, "Saintess, please don't eat me." The Saintess did not respond. The Serpent stuck a tongue out.

"I've actually come close to doing it a few times. He likes to say I'm 'irresponsible' just because I love getting wasted and hate working." She snorted.

"I'm a god. Why should I have to work?"

"I guess Sostra might fall apart if all the gods did nothing? I dunno. Is it... is it blasphemy to think it might be alright? Wait, no, if you don't seal the door everyone dies. Uh, you gotta do that."

"I'm going to let you in on a secret," the Serpent said.

"Blasphemy is whatever the god says it is. Because we have all the power."

"That... makes sense."

"So, try to be nice to your goddess! Raise her right."

"Y-yeah, I'll raise her right." Atzi felt uneasy. She was the worst person to be entrusted with such a task.

"Now, was there anything else? The way you keep wiggling your tail when you're nervous is making me horny… wanna fuck?" Atzi shook her head.

"I don't wanna get eaten, so I'll leave you to it."

"Oh right, you know about that part. Then ta-ta!" The Serpent waved her off. Another one of her bodies kneeled in front of the third. - Atzi grabbed the Sage's book and returned to Hemm's inn. She hid it away in her room, cleaned herself up, and then waited downstairs for Cory. In the meantime, she ate one of Hemm's meals. Bugs and rice slathered in butter.

"This is great," she said, halfway through her meal. Even though it wasn't as fancy, she liked Hemm's cooking more than what the Serpent served her. Hemm smiled.

"Thanks." She had stayed up later than usual, chatting with Atzi. It wasn't about anything of consequence, just a pleasant conversation about the city. It wasn't anything Atzi hadn't heard from her before, but it felt nice in contrast to the horrible things she'd experienced lately. A creaking noise sounded. Atzi spun around. Cory was walking through the door, moonlight behind her.

"Hi, Cory." Atzi waved a hand. Cory pointed at her.

"Atzi, you have a bug on your chin."

"Ah!" Atzi wiped it off frantically.

"Do you have it?" Cory asked.

"Yeah. It's in my room." Hemm spoke, "A friend of yours?" Atzi stood up.

"Yeah. I've been uh... helping her find something she lost, took a while! But I found it today." She quickly tipped the plate, pouring the rest of the food into her mouth.

"Let'sh go upshtairs," she said with her mouth full. Hemm watched with her one big eye as Cory followed Atzi upstairs. Once in Atzi's room, Cory crossed her arms, waiting.

"Alana's outside," she reminded Atzi. Atzi dug under the floorboard where she liked to store things, and pulled out the book.

"See?" Cory's eyes widened.

"Wow, you were really telling the truth. About the book, at least."

"You... weren't sure?" Atzi sighed.

"You know. Besides the dying part, the worst thing of all is trying to explain it to people."

"Atzi, you need to admit that what you said sounded insane. Still does, really. But, this is good enough proof for me that at least something is going on. No way you would be able to get this if you didn't have tons of secret knowledge." She smiled.

"Because I couldn't, and I'm way better than you." Atzi looked down.

"... I know you are. I only found it because I could be an idiot and... cheat. I knew roughly where it was so I just told Terra where to find it, roughly. And she went nuts and attacked V's manor and found the hiding spot, eventually. Then I knew where to find it every other time." Cory stepped forward and held out a hand. Atzi stood and gave her the book. Cory flipped through it. Apparently satisfied, she tucked it under her arm, and then dug into a pocket. She withdrew a whistle made of coral and wood.

"One whistle, as promised." Atzi took it, staring at it.

"There's no trick to it, right? You just blow into it, at the coast near Mediolanum?"

"Yep. That's how we got here, and where they dropped us off."

"How did you get past the demon?" Atzi asked.

"Demon?"

"The demon on the road to Mediolanum? It's been attacking people."

"Huh. Are you sure that isn't a future thing?" Cory asked.

"Never heard of it."

"Did you... not know about it? Is that why we got ambushed?" Atzi whined.

"I heard of it before it happened! People talk about it!"

"Maybe it wasn't there a few days ago when we got here, but it's there now?" Cory suggested.

"Well. Okay, it is there now. I need to figure out a way there..."

"Good luck!" Cory didn't bother to help her, walking towards the exit.

"Give me the book again next 'loop'!" The way she said the word sounded like she still didn't believe Atzi. Atzi reached out a claw.

"... Cory. Um..."

"What?" Cory turned her head.

"Even if this goes perfectly, all it's gonna be is... learning stuff, for the future. I'm... gonna die again, like always, eventually. And I'll be back here. How do I... how do I explain this to you? How do I get you to believe me?" Cory hummed.

"It's really tough to convince you."

"I'll make you another deal. You promise to always get me the book, and I'll tell you how to convince me with it."

"... Always?" Cory looked her in the eyes.

"Always." Atzi's tail went limp.

"I can... use that book to get the Sage of Sostra to do a lot of stuff, it's the only reason I've even made it this far..."

"Then good luck." Cory waved as she left. Atzi felt trapped. She couldn't make that promise, ever, without it being a lie. And Cory would know she was lying. But... maybe in a future loop, with a different approach, I can get her to tell me... Cory was insane and her plan was horrific and all her confidence and drive was dedicated to caging people and sacrificing them for nothing and Atzi wished she'd drop it all and date her. She went to sleep, alone and yearning.

Tomorrow, she needed to find a safe way to Mediolanum.