Aran huffed. She knew that proving one's worth was crucial in the life of an honorable warrior, but…
Liuva came back angry, Tear had very obviously been crying, and even Xenon had been showing some emotion. None, however, were exhausted. To gain a power like the Erdas, one had to be strong both physically and mentally. Since the first four people weren't being tested physically, the test had to be a test of the heart and mind.
Beside her, Hayato had his eyes closed and was breathing slowly. Meditating, no doubt; calming himself for the test about to come. Truthfully, Aran was doing the same, just with her eyes open. Physical tests were only difficult to those lacking in spirit, but emotional tests almost always took a toll.
Aran half-wondered why Yuuki came back smiling.
The legendary hero and the samurai both made a noise of determination, and the two entered the portal.
The two spent far less time than the other four admiring the scenery of the Event Horizon, and instead walked straight ahead to the stone arch. Aran noticed specifically that the arch was wrapped in the pulsing purple branches of the corrupted World Tree. Of course; the largest focus of demonic energy had been (however briefly) in the hands of a psychotic warrior hellbent on the total annihilation of the human race. A psychotic warrior that Aran had helped take down. And now Aran was going to meet with the goddess that blessed the demon race. Woo-freaking-hoo.
The warrior and the samurai stopped a few paces short of the arch. In the center floated a girl with scarlet hair tied into a loose ponytail. Embedded in her back were two large, black, semi-transparent wings; the wings of a pureblood demon. The goddess had her back turned to them.
Aran stood steady. Hayato placed his hand on his blade and breathed calmly. The two waited patiently.
"If Maple World is a world of rules and order…" The goddess finally said. "…Tynerum is a world of chaos and uncertainty. We played as shadows do in the candlelight for too long."
The goddess turned to face them.
"You are here to seek my power." She said.
Aran nodded in confirmation.
The goddess sighed. "In truth, I have no interest in the affairs of Maple World. But the balance between their world and ours must be preserved. The Black Mage must be stopped."
"Such is the truth." Said Hayato. "You must test us to prove our worth, correct?"
The goddess chuckled. "I can already sense you are both trained warriors; you radiate power and carry yourselves with honor. Tynerum values power. But, I must test you all the same, making my job a lot harder. The only good thing is I get to pick what test you go on."
A purple magic circle formed beneath Hayato, intricate lines flowing from the center spelling words in a language neither warrior could identify.
"I have not yet seen your power, swordsman." The goddess said. "Defeat your opponent, and I shall grant you my approval."
The samurai gripped the hilt of his sword, and disappeared in a flash of purple light.
Aran cracked her knuckles. "And me?"
"I have seen your power, 'hero'. Notably when you clashed against the Wolf." The goddess's eyes narrowed. "There is something I must ask you…"
Hayato lifted his head to find himself in a large cavern. In the dead center of the cavern was a large, blue heart-shaped crystal embedded in the rock and attached to numerous vines that connected it to the ceiling. The heart-rock seemed to pulse rhythmically.
In front of him was a bubbling cloud of purple energy. The energy swirled together and began to take the form of a large spider with glowing red eyes. Encrusted upon its back was a stone, covered in moss, that was spewing out a black smoke. The creature didn't screech, but instead made a chittering noise as it landed on the ground. As soon as the creature landed, the heart-rock turned a pale shade of red.
Hayato grinned and partially unsheathed his sword. This fight looked interesting.
Without a second thought, the samurai charged at the beast.
Aran sighed.
'Here it comes...' She thought. 'Sappy emotional speeches and "oh how was Damien in the fight?", "oh not bad, just a murderous mortal-turned-god ready to leech the life force out of everything but other than that…"'
"What is your favorite color?"
"Well his parries could have used some work but…" Aran blinked. "Wait, what?"
"I asked what your favorite color is."
"T-that's it?" Aran asked, surprised. "Nothing about the fact that I fought against Damien? One of the most powerful-"
"Damien" The goddess said with a hint of annoyance, "was an ambitious demon. He was neither the most powerful, nor the most ambitious, nor evil, nor justified. He was a person. He fought, he died. I know, I saw."
Aran opened her mouth, but the goddess continued.
"Further, I know everything about your fight. I know you beat Damien, I know you're strong. And, like I said before, the Black Mage must be stopped." The goddess huffed. "Which is why you don't need to prove yourself. The only reason I sent that swordsman off was because I had never seen his ability before. Tynerum values strength; I know you have strength, which is why my test for you is a simple question. Now, answer."
Aran felt like protesting; arguing that she should be sent to kill some giant dragon or climb up the world tree in under a minute to prove her worth, but at the same time…
"…green." She finally said.
The goddess snorted.
"What's so funny?!" Aran exclaimed.
"Heh…nothing…just so simple…'green'." The goddess chortled.
Aran puffed and angrily tapped her foot. At the same time, she felt a twinge of relief that this wouldn't take an emotional toll. Hell, maybe she could even be friends with this goddess…
"Huhu…'green'…ehehe…" The goddess continued to snicker.
Or, maybe not.
There was a flash of purple light, and Hayato was back to his original location beside Aran. The samurai sheathed his sword, turned to the goddess, and bowed.
"It is done." He said.
Aran gave him a swift kick in the shins.
"Ow!" Hayato exclaimed, and began hopping around in an undignified manner. "What in the world was that for?"
"Shut up!" Aran exclaimed. "I need to hit something!"
"Then hit something else!" The samurai shouted as he dodged another kick.
The goddess chuckled. "You are most certainly worthy of my power."
Aran stopped fooling around and held out her hand. Just above her open palm, a purple stone materialized out of thin air. The warrior gripped the stone tightly.
As the two warriors faded from the space, Aran could hear the goddess speaking once again.
"Good luck…you're going to need it."
