novelraw Chapter 176: Cats And Dogs
Chapter 176: Cats And Dogs
Ignotus sat on a soft white bed in a white room surrounded by... more white beds.
On the beds next to him lay the others, Gaia, Nora, Lykos, Ulv, Mer, and Aur, all wrapped, bandaged, breathing deeply, and looking like a group of very exhausted corpses.
They’d been healed.
He’d been healed as well.
Though his Ordination increased, he was too battered to actually heal from it.
No doubt that’d be something common from now on, as his enemies’ might would only increase and his battles would only get tougher and tougher.
He’d broken into the Academy’s averages on nearly every front.
And he did that in about two or so months. Only that.
Runebearers took years to reach this point; most never did.
No one could truly compare to his speed at ranking up. Some could perhaps mention his people in argument, but no. Because, well... he could already try to become a Class Eight, a Shepherd.
He was one Ordination away from reaching the required Soul Fragment point, and since he already obtained the perfect Rune, he was only left with stabilizing his Synaxis and learning how to fully transform, instead of partially.
That last prerequisite, much like how Priests were to Acolytes, was a roadblock.
Each Class up after Priest became just that, a massive roadblock.
Even Ignotus couldn’t resist the Acsension speed decrease.
Anyhow, this was all very convenient...
After the healers had finished panicking, Ignotus had to stand there, covered in dried blood and looking like he had lost a fistfight with Death. He kept insisting that he "was fine" and "don’t worry about me," while simultaneously refusing to explain why he and six of his classmates were in the middle of a forest fighting Demons.
It took effort to keep things vague, and, at the moment, he despised ’effort.’ But eventually the healers moved on, patched them up, and shoved him into a bed next to everyone else.
Before they left, Ignotus had, of course, ensured that they knew who those Demon’s bodies belonged to.
Though considering the conditions they left the Demons in, he doubted they would sell for much. Even for those who only needed them as some sort of ingredient for whatever crazy thing they were doing.
In any case, finally, silence returned.
A moment that let him and Eris catch up.
’Congratulations on all that you’ve gained.’
Ignotus hummed out a self-depricating chuckle.
’Thanks, but well... I didn’t exactly succeed at what I set out to do.’
Eris shook Her head.
’No... no, you didn’t. But you don’t expect Fate to be so easy to beat, do you?’
Ignotus let out another chuckle, this one sounding more appreciative.
’Hm, yeah, I don’t. You really know me well.’
Eris giggled in response.
’I better do by now.’
Both knew that Ignotus wasn’t one to respond to meaningless consolation.
His main objective had utterly failed, and there was no denying that.
Yet the two weren’t so delusional as to think that it’d been easy.
There was no world where he could’ve stopped all those Demons anyway. Maybe he was never supposed to win; maybe the quest was there just to shove him in the right direction.
Either way, they didn’t care for it any longer.
What was done was done; there was nothing they could do about it.
Now was the time to plan for the future, and what better way to start than by confirming a world truth?
He closed his eyes, ready to descend inward—
Meeeooow~...
Only to blink them back open.
A small black cat with red, glowing eyes gracefully trotted toward him.
It hopped onto his bed in one clean jump and curled up against his hip.
Meeeoooow~...
’Surprise~!’
Ignotus’ eyes widened.
’...Eris?’
The cat nodded proudly.
’It’s me. Or at least a very insignificant fraction of me.’
He stared.
’Huh...’
His gains must’ve opened some sort of path for her. She’d mentioned this before; it seemed he’d finally done what was required. Now Eris could descend into the world...
’How fitting.’
...as a cat.
"Can you speak?"
The cat scrunched Her face, Her whiskers twitching.
"C... Calamity."
Ignotus tilted his head.
"...What?"
The tiny cat inhaled bravely and tried again.
"Calamity!"
He burst into laughter.
"That’s hilarious~!"
Apparently, that was the only thing Eris could say.
’Don’t be mean.’
He pulled Her closer and scratched behind Her ear.
"There, there. I’m sorry."
Eris purred loudly, melting into his hands, obviously enjoying his touch.
This was peace, softness, and warmth, all things She never truly had.
’So what is it you wanted to confirm?’
Ignotus’s smile left him as he lowered his head.
’The couple in your dream... that wedding of theirs was a front, no?’
The cat’s eyes widened, only for a sigh of relief to leave Her tiny mouth.
’I always knew that you were perceptive, but this... No one but those at the top of the Divine Hierarchy knows this. It’s been designed that way. We Gods, no matter Higher or Lower, cannot speak of it unless it’s already known by the other party.’
’It went against the Dogma, huh?’
’Yes.’
’Hm...’
Ignotus sat up.
’Alright, enough hyping it up; please tell me.’
Eris nodded with a smile.
’There’s a never-ending cycle that began in the First Epoch, the Age of the Fool, Adam. The Higher Gods stay in power as the Lower Gods come and go... that’s why there are near countless dead Gods. They couldn’t compete and were eclipsed by others. A cruel cycle.’
Ignotus began to shake the more he listened, but Eris didn’t stop:
’This cycle mostly died out after the Second Epoch, the Age of Endless Chaos, no thanks to this information being hidden under Divine Law. No longer did the Divine Hierarchy have thirteen classes but only twelve, culminating in the Saint Class instead of the God Class.’
The Goddess sighed softly.
’And I mean it when I say "mostly." I’m sure many still compete; those who hunt you certainly do. The only difference is that mortals aren’t openly affected by it. Rather, I’m sure changes bigger than ever have come to greet our pantheon since my being away. I won’t be surprised if even a Higher God has lost ’Their’ throne in the Heavens.’
Those final words were the nail in the coffin.
Ignotus was certainly beyond stunned.
A Higher God could die still?
And what did that even mean for such a being?
This was too much. What manner of world was this?
A world so far above him, he couldn’t even begin to fathom it.
So Ignotus remained like that, lost in thought, until all of a sudden—
Woof!
He looked up at the source of the sound.
A fluffy single-horned dog stood at the foot of his bed.
"Alba...?"
The little creature’s fur puffed up.
Woof!
It charged straight at the cat in his lap.
’Get him away from me!’
Eris jumped away as Ignotus laughed so loud the sound echoed through the hall.
"Are you jealous~?!"
Alba barked furiously, and Eris hissed one single word back:
"Calamity!"
And Ignotus laughed even harder.
Cats and dogs, forever enemies.