Technomagica 52. Goddess of the Hunt (Patreon)

As we departed from the rocky island, the Basq legionnaires turned into wisps of mist refusing to talk with me further.

Klav had remained. The hunter sat on the edge of the hovercraft, looking in curiosity at the strange machine that simply floated over water and sand with ease.

The further we moved away from the island he died on, the less defined his figure became.

“I’m coming apart, I think,” he said as he lifted the now mostly transparent hand made from swirling fog.

“Not enough [Resonance] here,” I nodded. “I’ll have to breed Silent Moths in Skysle or create a mana to Resonance converter for a battery to bring you back to life. Your soul should remain bound to this skull.”

He nodded.

I cast [Conjugo-anima] onto the skulls one by one to further bind the five souls in my possession to their ‘nature-made’ phylacteries. It was interesting to see how the local environment created a natural phylactery.

I supposed that it was similar to how natural nuclear fission reactors formed on Earth in Haut-Ogooué province of the Central African country of Gabon in 1972. It was terrifying and fascinating that these nature-formed reactors could have reached criticality with water acting as a neutron moderator due to the special geometry of the uranium deposits within the mine.

I spun the Amulet to Goddess Amari in my fingers, admiring the etching of a girl within the agate gem. Amari looked off into the distance. Her outfit reminded me slightly of a Native American wardrobe, feathers entwined into her hair.  A pyramidal constellation was depicted on her left cheek and necklaces made from teeth sat on her chest. Her posture seemed relaxed yet poised, a bit bored or maybe... disappointed?

“The Goddess of the Hunt seems kind of… benign? Unless you’ve been deceived, she’s not taking anything you can't recover, right? No manipulation like Equality and no permanent skill theft like Ishira,” I said as I examined the small, nearly dead, brown-green Astral fungus that was shimmering atop of the amulet in the Astral Ocean.

“That’s right,” Klav nodded.

“What’s the downside here?” I asked.

“The downside with weaker gods like that is that their afterlife promises aren’t an absolute guarantee,” Kliss said. “If a hunter loses their amulet or dies in a way that has nothing to do with the hunt, their soul will perish. This idiot likely got stuck between life and death because his Angel couldn’t grab him.”

I looked at Klav for affirmation.

“Her excellency is correct,” the ghost nodded. “My Angel failed to pull me to Thronewild because I died due to my own stupidity, not by the claws of a beast.”

“And what about the Basq?” I asked.

“Those fools worship their own Goddess,” Kliss said.

“They called her Saint Eunisii Ei,” the hunter added. “A caring, loving mother. The four prayed to her daily, but she did not come to collect their trapped souls.”

"Do they…"

“The Basq make Vows too,” Kliss said.

“Yet their Goddess failed to retrieve them,” I pointed out.

“A clear sign of divine weakness,” the Overseer shrugged. "Perhaps it was because her primary world is too far. The orbits of Andross and Novazem drift and converge over the decades. One cannot always cross easily between them via magic. Maybe the same factor applies to retrieving souls, when the words are too far apart, Eunisii fails to grab her followers from Novazem.”

“That’s a curious limitation,” I mulled. “I do wonder what would have happened if you died in the Silent Glade and Equality failed to retrieve you.”

Kliss simply squinted at me with irate-looking emerald eyes, choosing not to respond to my speculation.

I turned to Klav. “How does one make an experience-sharing pact with the Goddess of the Hunt? Is it possible to speak with her?”

“Oh yes,” the hunter nodded. “Look through the amulet at the last ray of setting sun, then kill an animal and spin the amulet. If you are a worthy hunter, Amari will converse with you through her Angel. Here in the Silent Glade, there is not enough sunlight, but you can try contacting her, ask her about my soul when you leave this place!"

“I see,” I said.

“Are you seriously considering worshiping the Goddess of Hunters?” The Overseer demanded.

“Worshiping? No,” I said. “Conversing, yes. It would be nice to get some answers about the nature of gods. Knowledge is power.”

“She could lie to you, mislead you,” Kliss pointed out.

“Perhaps,” I shrugged. “Or she could give me another essential piece of information that would help me disassemble Vows. It’s not like Equality talks to everyone who wants a conversation with her, right?”

“Equality has a lot of followers,” Kliss said. “She only speaks to her chosen few. She provides order to humanity, the kind of order that was necessary to rebuild cities after the age of darkness and survive against aberrations.”

“At the price of sacrificing feelings?” I asked.

“All Gods require belief and sacrifice from their followers to sustain themselves!” Kliss replied. “A God that’s insufficiently anchored into existence by their followers will be washed away by the Astral Ocean.”

“What’s the difference between an Astral Phantom and a God?” I arched an eyebrow.

“Astral Phantoms only desire power for themselves,” Kliss said. “A God provides aid!”

“What aid did Equality provide you?” I demanded.

Kliss hesitated, her eyes darting away from me. "I already told you the answer! She... she promised me Elysium!"

Klav flickered one last time and vanished. The Silent Glade mist released us onto the Cascadia river delta.

“Did Equality talk to you?” I pressed Kliss after a few more minutes of silence. “Did she promise you Elysium herself or was this merely something promoted by the Church Inquisitor, a flawed human?"

Kliss seemed to grapple with the question for a bit.

"The Inquisitor and my parents told me about it, but… Elysium is real, damn it!” She finally declared.

“Why don’t we find out?” I asked, stopping the hovercraft on a sandy island. Skyisle was within sight and it was late evening.

The sun was setting behind the glacier-capped mountains, casting a warm, golden glow over the landscape. I held the hunter's amulet up to the last ray of sunlight. The light passed through the intricate etching, creating a mesmerizing play of dancing colors on my clothing.

With a flick of my wrist, I spun the amulet. Then I reached into the nearest basket and pulled out a knocked out LV 1 Silent Moth.

"I offer this… prey to you, Goddess of the Hunt," I said, crushing the little moth between my fingers.

A rainbow manifested from the reflections of light being cast by the medallion. The etching of a girl within the amulet moved, blinked as if it had been animated by the action of spinning the gemstone. She turned to face me.

“Amari?” I asked.

A soft breeze rustled through the air, carrying with it a faint whisper. Then, a voice, gentle yet strong, danced in the air, emanating from the spinning agate.

"Phantom Hunter… Do you seek my presence?" It whisper-sang.

"I seek knowledge," I said. "I wish to understand the nature of the divine."

“Why?” The portrait tilted her head.

“Because I wish to hunt down the greatest prey of all,” I said simply.

“And what would that be?” Amari’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

“The Gods of Novazem,” I replied.

Kliss looked at me like I was mad.

The Goddess in the amulet started to laugh. Her voice twinkled like an echo of distant silver bells across the river.

“That would make you the greatest hunter of all,” Amari said with a sly smile. “Do you intend to hunt me down too then, little hunter?”

“Only if you cross the line,” I replied. “And begin to control or manipulate your followers into sacrifices of their humanity.”

“I do not seek to control or manipulate. My domain is that of the Hunt, the pursuit of prey and experience. I offer guidance and blessings to those who seek the thrill of the chase,” she replied, eyeing the baskets at my feet. “Offer me another kill and I shall aid your… hunt.”

I reached into the basket and pulled out a LV20 Silent Moth this time, its delicate, crystalline wings fluttering in the evening breeze. "Will this suffice?" I asked.

“It is asleep,” Amari frowned slightly.

“I hunted it down,” I said, pointing at the hovercraft. “I planned for a month and built this craft to make it to the Silent Glade. I recruited this follower of Equality to be my sword and bow,” I waved my hand at Kliss, getting into my 'hunter' role. “I purposefully captured these Silent Moths that are themselves excellent hunters of men and beasts!”

“Fair enough,” Amari said. “I can feel that you did indeed capture it, with the aid of your wisdom. Kill it and feed my Angel power so that we can converse for a bit longer.”

I crushed the moth with my thumb and forefinger, watching through my Infoscopes as to what the amulet did exactly. The Astral fungus atop it stirred. Suddenly, green-brown shimmering threads extended from the mushroom and pulled the soul of the moth from its body, dragging it into the amulet with a ripple of magical radiance. The rainbow around the amulet brightened, stayed in place like an unnatural phenomenon just as the sun vanished behind the mountains.

Kliss gulped.

"Your offering is accepted," Amari sang. "Ask your questions, my little hunter.”

“Any questions? No limits?”

“Do keep them Hunt-related,” she smiled. “I’m not an all-seeing Goddess.”

"Alright," I began, clearing my throat. "First, does the Hunt include the pursuit of knowledge?"

Amari blinked. Then she giggled once again. “I suppose it does, although not many hunters seek it,” she said finally. "Knowledge is the prey that evades many but rewards those who persist."

“I can feed you with knowledge?”

“You can kill a magic book and feed my Angel its soul,” Amari smirked.

“What about a mundane book? A mundane rock?”

“A mundane item won’t have a soul attached to it,” Amari shook her head. “It is rather bland prey. Besides, you would need some kind of a divine knife to really kill a mundane rock's soul.”

“Does everything have a soul? What is a soul?” I asked.

“A soul is simply magic that’s firmly attached to an idea,” Amari explained. “Any idea or a living thing or a weapon can possess magic. Your little spell-blades can kill spells, do they not?” She eyed the Infoscopes armed with [Sectus-Anima] that were floating around the spinning medallion. “If you kill a spell close enough to my medallion, you will feed me its blood spilling in the Astral.”

“I see,” I mulled. “Is your heaven, Thronewild real?”

“Yes,” Amari nodded.

“Will Klav make it to Thronewild now?” I pointed at the hunter's skull.

“He will not,” Amari shook her head. “He is but a remnant of a soul, a mere shadow. He will decay to nothing before he makes it even a fraction of the way to the Land of the Gods.”

“The Land of the Gods?” I blinked. “Is Equality’s Elysium real?”

“Yes,” she nodded again.

“Where is it?” I demanded.

“Arxtruria,” Amari replied. “The Symphony of the Damned. All souls are pulled there by one deity or another.”

Kliss made a noise of disbelief.

“And you’re there too?”

“I am,” Amari nodded.

“Is everyone… equal there? Even the Gods?” I asked.

“Everyone is equally… mortal on Arxtruria. It is a place of war and death where you can grow strong, kill as many as you desire, my hunter,” Amari replied. "You can even kill a God there!"

“Elysium is real!” Kliss said, sounding a bit desperate.

“Your... Elysium is but a small fraction of Arxtruria, Equalizer,” Amari said. “The gods each have their own domains there, and Equality's Elysium is one among many warring heavens. You can perish, be hunted there just as easily as here on Novazem.”

"But it is a paradise, right?" Kliss asked, her hands trembling. Her eyes were wide and filled with a mix of hope and panic. "It's a place of peace and happiness where I can find love?"

“You will find nothing there, because you won’t make it there,” Amari evaluated Kliss with a snide glance. “Your soul is weak, you are mere bound prey!”

Kliss looked like she wanted to object, but couldn’t find the words for it.

"Then my next question is about the Vows and Pacts,” I said. “Are they traps set by gods or are they a tool offered to the humans for survival?" I asked, pointing at Kliss. “What does Goddess Equality get out of consuming her follower’s feelings?”

"The Pacts are but a mouse trap," Amari said. "Equality binds her prey with golden chains which they themselves enforce with the sacrifice of feelings and mana. She feeds on the souls of her followers!"

Amari's words moved through the air like a glacial breeze, making the Overseer shudder.

"What?" Kliss stammered. “That… that’s a lie!”

"Your Angels feed on your soul, do they not?” Amari raised an eyebrow. “Any time you try to feel love or anger, they consume you more and more from within.”

“You’re lying,” Kliss said. “You’re…”

Her emerald eyes became filled with tears.

“Believe what you will, little mouse,” Amari said. "But the truth remains the same. You cannot lie to yourself. Do you not feel it? You’re going to die soon. Your soul barely gained strength since you were but a child. It cannot sustain two chains that pull it into two opposite directions. It will soon tear asunder and then Equality will feast on the remnants just as I have feasted on the Silent Moths offered to me by my new hunter.”

“H-how soon?” The Overseer choked.

“Perhaps you’ll last another month, I am no future-seer,” the Goddess of the Hunt shrugged, offering no compassion for the suffering of an Equality follower.

“If I kill this girl’s Vows, will she live?” I asked, eyeing the two Vows flickering above Kliss.

“You would have to destroy one of her Vows, at the very least,” Amari pursed her lips. “But doing so won’t be easy. The Vows seek their own survival above that of their host. Your astral blades are far too small. You will not be able to cut down a Vow fast enough, my hunter.”

“Right,” I mulled. “They can dive past twenty layers into the Astral, further than I can reach and suck on her soul from there to heal themselves.”

“A goodly observation,” Amari nodded.

“Then how can I kill a Vow without losing the host it binds?” I mulled.

“Even the most clever prey can fall into a trap,” Amari's eyes glinted with amusement. "When strength is insufficient, use wisdom.”

I rubbed my chin, processing her words.

"You are a clever hunter, are you not?” the Goddess of the Hunt said. “It is up to you to figure out the nature of your trap.”

The agate medallion slowed its spin, the rainbow fading away.

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. "Fine," I said, "I'll figure something out." I looked at my companion, noting her emerald eyes filled with uncertainty and fear. "Kliss," I said softly, "we will find a way, okay?"

Kliss nodded, swallowing hard. "Okay," she uttered, her voice barely audible.

“If you wish my aid in your future hunts, summon me with the last light of the sun and an offer of prey,” the Goddess whisper-sung, her voice fading away.

"Thanks, Amari," I said.

Her image stilled as the agate amulet stopped spinning. The silence of the night fell over us, broken only by the sound of the river gently lapping against the sandy island we were parked on.

[Amari seems like a chill Goddess,] Delta commented. [I like her. Maybe we should make our own soul-eating medallions, collect excess magical blood or soul-essence or whatever. Wait a minute… did Alanians do that? I think they did! The Alanian Astral Engines are basically eating magics spilling through the Astral! Holy shit. I’m so smart. Give me praises.]

She twirled through the air.

[Right, that’s a really good hypothesis, sis. Well done,] I nodded and then glanced at Kliss.

The Overseer of Skyisle seemed completely broken by Amari's revelations, looking like a hospital patient who was just told a grim diagnosis.

"Shit," Kliss whispered, sinking into her seat as she wrapped her own body with her armored hands.