75. The Hero Return to Errama and the Goddess
"This is Sofia, and this is Bianca." Aman introduced the two new members of the hero's harem to the rest of the harem. Nysta glanced at their beauty and attractive attire, and immediately concluded that this was the plan of the goddesses all along. The army from afar gathered outside in a large temporary encampment meant to house up to 2,000 soldiers.
Aman was meant to attract them, and they, the girls, were meant to fight over him! Since the goddesses gave her a chance, it meant she could win. She smiled wickedly. "Welcome!"
Kiara nodded, and as her eyes glanced at the new soldier in the group, her determination to leave the party only enhanced. There was no place here, and she was a noble, she wasn't going to whore herself to a hero that wouldn't even pick her in the end. That was a stupid gamble, and she wasn't buying it. It was like a stupid scam that once she saw through it, she couldn't unsee it anymore. In her mind, this would be her last combat with the hero.
Wynn frowned but still politely nodded at Bianca. Bianca was a mage with a focus on bombs and potions, and to some extent, she acknowledged a fellow mage.
Hannah was just blunt. "You're away for a few days and you came back with two new girls? Seriously?!"
Aman smiled, as his heroic aura spread to the rest of the team. "The goddesses sends aid."
Hannah frowned. "Really."
Raven sighed. "I'll tell you girls what happened later. We've had a long journey, let's rest."
***
Edmund watched quietly from above, while Raven then explained what happened to the rest of the team, and how the hero got a powerup after the cave. He was instantly drawn to the mention of the Dark Crystal. Those were not in the game! What's going on here?! The moment he got details of the location, he decided that would be his immediate focus.
There were a few more smaller cities sending additional forces over, and they'd arrive in another day. They'd wait until everyone was here, and they'd launch an attack in two days.
***
Edmund teleported, flew, and arrived in the swamps that very day, and after some searching, immediately found the old cave.
The dark relic called to him as he approached. Not once in the game, that he was aware of such a thing, so the mere mention of it meant something in this world clearly deviated from what he understood. The game he played so many times was definitely different.
He approached it, and wondered whether he should crush it.
"Break me."
The voice was clearly feminine.
"Take my power."
"What if I don't?"
Nothing. Silence.
"Who are you? The least you could do is introduce yourself, before asking me to take your power."
"The Goddess."
"Hah." Edmund chuckled. "You don't sound divine to me. Be honest. Which one are you?" From what he remembered in the game, the goddesses were pretty much a group of 'sisters'. There were about ten or so female goddesses, the actual number was not really explained in the game, and each of them represented a certain aspect of power, and a bunch of other random things. Each different heroine essentially received a blessing from a specific goddess, or in heroines with mixed classes, two goddesses.
The hero, naturally, received a blessing from all the goddesses, which was why he was undefeatable.
"I'm the Goddess Jenaya, the goddess of crime, guilt and atonement, light, shadows, and rainbows."
"That's not one of the goddesses." Edmund challenged. It was not a name he recognised, and he was fairly sure when he poured through known lore.
"It is not strange that you do not know of me. My sisters expelled us long ago, along with the other goddesses that they think were wrong. There was a time when the goddesses went to war with each other, many worlds were destroyed before we settled on fighting through those given our power."
"We're puppets?"
"My apologies, champion. We don't make puppets of you. But it's fairly easy to see that the winning team cheated. So many goddesses blessing a single champion hardly seems fair, when the rest of us, those far away, struggle to even reach this world."
"I've never heard of it-"
"Of course, why would they tell you the truth? My sisters created the demons many eons ago, in another world. Then they created the lords of the demons, like you. Then, to protest their expelled nature, they caused their demon world to collide with this world."
"How- how many goddesses are there?"
"More than you know. Even your presence in this world seems to be the act of one of my sisters."
Edmund chuckled, amused. He thought about what the rock said so far, and realized he didn't really need that power. Not yet. He could break it later. "I'm tempted not to take your power just yet, just so that I can keep talking to you."
The rock was silent, before it eventually spoke. "You- you wish to keep talking to me? Does my power not interest you?"
"You sound like a knowledgeable person. I need your kind of knowledge. I can find other ways to get more power. Like corrupting the goddess powers in the chosen champions."
The dark relic paused. "-find me a host or make one. Though you will need more pieces of me- "
"Ah. I can create a clone. Could you inhabit it?"
The rock vibrated slightly, and Edmund felt intruded. "No. It's not compatible."
Edmund chuckled. "Does your host need to be a living thing, or an object will do?"
"I do not know for certain. Carry me with you, I will let you know when it is compatible."
"You're pretty big to carry around like this. Can you shrink?"
"Give me some of your energy."
Edmund did, and the rock somehow shrunk into the size of a small pebble. "Great!"