CHAPTER 3: Cause and Effect
Yato and Freya never broke eye contact as they sat in front of each others, both their pairs of arms on the table, Freyas lazily laying against the wooden furniture while Yatos had their fingers locked with each others. Despite both of them having a look of calm confidence, there was a clear, high tension in the air. And both of them knew it, and weren't about to avoid the cause for it.
"A friendship with a mortal, now why would I want that? Sure, your honesty has me curious, but why not elaborate why you would want that with me of all people?" Freya began, her voice deceptively sultry at first hearing, but anyone who were to be there would know that it was a farce, that she was as serious as she could be without breaking her smile. "It does not take a genius to know there is an ulterior motive behind it, and if you are honest, maybe I won't be so harsh with showing you the door."
'Of course it wasn't going to be that easy' Yato thought to himself, inwardly sighing to himself. "Obviously, there is something I am to gain from it, but gods can tell if a mortal lies, so tell me if I am lying when I say that my benefit is indirect through the ways this will influence your interactions with others."
And true it was, a simple nod from the silver-haired goddess confirmed that he spoke the truth. "How so, though? What would you intend to change within me with this... platonic companionship?"
The purple-haired man leaned in a bit towards the table and dropped his smile completely. "Consider it a long-term winning" he started out and turned his head to look towards the right side of the room, where Allen and Ottarl were standing. "Like it or not, but the majority of the population only loves you when under the influence of your charm and your divine beauty. Your familia has a rather unhealthy way when dealing with disagreements, and as such a lot of people don't revere you, but are actively afraid of you. I dare go so far and say you are one bad accident away from being full on labeled as a tyrant. This in turn means that your structure and position within the city's frame is solely maintained by your power as a familia and not by your social aptitude. If you were to ever suffer even a minor setback, it could escalate into a massive chain reaction that will spell your expulsion from Orario much the same way it did for Zeus and Hera."
Hearing those two names, even when ignoring everything else in context with their mention, was more than enough to sour her mood visibly, her smile dropping, which was something that rarely happens and was usually an indicator for her familia, and Ottarl in particular, that she was in a foul mood. Yato's words had the desired effect he wanted, and a moment later, she understood as much and leaned back against her seat a bit further to try and find some physical comfort as a distraction to her mood.
"And considering your history with abusing your charm to steal members from other familias, the sheer number of gods and goddesses who would love to rip from you your position is quite high" The swordsman continued, his tone maintaining its perfect, serious neutrality and lack of emotion. "And yet, knowing just how many enemies you have, you cannot deal with them all because you would have to effectively destroy this entire city, which means ending Ouranos' efforts in surpressing the dungeon and bringing back the dark ages of old from before the gods descended." With that said, his hands unbound from each others and he crossed them over his chest. "With your public standing as it, you are at a lose-lose. For safety, if nothing else, you would want to improve that, and what better way than with seeing things from the other side of things, understand a thing or two about the nature of humanity and maybe even discover your own?"
The goddess closed her eyes and let a smile grow back on her face, one that was unusually genuine. She then moved her hands together and gave a very slow clap. "A fine argument, I will admit. Certainly, I could gain with an improved public reception..." she started, however the way she trailed off, it was all but a guarantee that a counter-argument was coming. "however, aren't you forgetting something? I may not be able to deal with all of my enemies, but neither can they deal with me as things are. Both sides are at an impasse, which functions as a good enough balance for everyone to not complain about it."
"Just because you don't hear the complaints does not mean they do not exist" Yato fired back without a moment's hesitation. "I should ask you back whether or not you are forgetting a vital difference between you and everyone else. However strong you are, at the end of the day, you are only one single familia. You are replacable and you are not mandatory for upholding the stability and order of this society as a whole. Maybe right now both sides are at an impasse, but that can change, and it can ONLY change to your detriment, not to theirs. There are many ways to deal with one superior familia without heavy losses on one's own end, but there is no victory in tearing down the entire construct. So should this impasse ever come to an end, and we both know one day it will, there will be absolutely no victory for you."
A lengthy silence followed, with both individuals just staring at each others intently, having returned to smiling at each others while assessing and weighting out the tension that was in the air. It was an oppressive feeling, one that very few could withstand without sweating bullets. Were it anyone other than Allen and Ottarl present, there was little doubt that a visible nervosity were to be found on their faces, and every one of those 4 knew that perfectly well. That was just how serious of an argument this had become, how much weight was being put in by Yato for the sake of her agreement.
Freya then broke the silence with a small chuckle, covering her mouth with her left hand and averting her gaze downwards. "It appears that I have indeed found someone with whom such a purely platonic companionship would become interesting. It has been many centuries since I have been so thoroughly beaten in a civil debate. I did not expect to miss this feeling as much as I do, and I express my gratitude to you for that."
"She is in, good..." Yato thought before he made a slow nod. "My methods may vary, but all that I do I do for the greater good. I sincerely believe that influencing you with a healthy exposure to humanity will serve for the overall betterment of the world in the future, and as such, I was ready to lay in some considerable benefits on your end. Matter of fact... I believe, as a gesture of goodwill, I should extend the offer even now."
The silver-haired goddess of beauty brightened her smile in a cunning, almost devious way. "oh? And do tell, what benefits are we talking about?"
Yato smirked for the first time in this entire conversation and leaned in quite a bit towards the table. "I know there is that one specific thing you have been trying to achieve ever since you first came to Orario many, many years ago. To convince a certain someone to come here and start their own familia, someone who's alliance with you would have unmatched weight in all socio-political relationships across the continent." Hearing this, Freya's expression became exalted, her eyes widened and her mouth even opened slightly. "I can convince your brother, Lord Freyr, to come to Orario and work with you."
In that instance, one of the rarest, most unheard of things happened, something that was considered to be a myth, an impossibility.
Freya.
Lost.
Her.
Shit.
She shot up from her seat, hands slammed on the table, an expression of excitement and impatience beaming over her visage, like a child being told it will be given that really expensive gift it always wanted. It was a never-before seen incident, to see the composed, scheming goddess of beauty give in to an impulse to such degree.
But it was for a uniquely good reason, as it turns out.
Freyr was a special case in both Tenkai and Gekai.
A god who is considered a vagabond with no roots, no solid home, a wanderer with no destination and no end to his road. Friendships, relationships, rivalries, hostilities, everything seemed to just come and go at a whim. It was impossible to have the god be rooted to anything, literal, metaphysical or figuretive. As such, for many other deities, he had become something akin to the guy who just shows up at interesting things and nobody knows since when and how, but everyone just deals with it. But, because of his vagabond nature and his lack of a proper connection to anyone or anything, this also means that Freyr is uniquely disconnected with Tenkai, to the point where its influences and its rules apply much more loosely to him than any other deity. Meaning: He can use fragments of his Arcanum at full liberty and discretion and neither Ouranos nor the powers of Tenkai can do a damn thing about it.
As for Mortals, however, things were a little more... hilarious. Before the creation of Orario, and its solidification of a localized descend of the divine, gods and goddesses that descended from Tenkai had the ability to appear just anywhere they wanted, given they didn't somehow screw it up. Freyr did just that, and when he descended from Tenkai, he descended inside the most sacred grounds across all of Gekai. He descended and emerged from within Yggdrasil, the Divine Tree deep within the Alf forest of the elves. This in turn caused the elves to believe he was a deity born from the tree and not from the heavens, and he became their most important figure in history and faith. As such, Freyr has THE supreme authority, even above the royal families, when it came to all things elven affairs, and that meant anyone who earns his respect or even his blessing, his Falna, was considered a revered friend to the elves, so much so that it even broke their usually very uptight bigotry towards non-elves. It was because of Freyr's Falna that elves have had a history of non-elven court mages serving the Alfs, and it was the only way as a non-elf to enter the Alf forest without having to lay a few bodies to the casket or be brought in as a prisoner.
As such, if a familia were to successfully ratify an alliance with Freyr, they would automatically have the full support of every single elf across the entirety of Gekai. And that was one of two reasons why Freya had been pursueing her brother to join her in Orario since the two of them descended.
The other reason was that Freyr was the one being, mortal or divine, whom she really could say she enjoys to have around. Despite their natures and their rather large distance between each others, both in the literal sense and that they haven't been in contact a lot, back in Tenkai, they had developed as most siblings do, in an almost non-divinely normal way. They truly love each others as siblings and the loyalty they hold for one another is uncharacteristically strong for either one. So Freya's other reason for trying to bring Freyr to Orario was because she misses her silly brother. Something she would absolutely never say out loud to anyone.
And now, here was a person who claims to be able to bring her perhabs most sought-after individual to her, as simply a gesture of goodwill no less. It was uniquely ecstatic for Freya to have this offered, and words were not needed to know that she would absolutely accept this 'gift'.
"Then I believe matters are settled for tonight" Yato commented and got up from his seat, reaching his hand out for Freyas. "To a blooming, lasting friendship, yes?"
Freya collected herself enough to return the handshake, nodding her head and repeating his words, except not as a question but as a statement.
As their hands parted, Yato stopped and looked curious. "I do want to know, though, I thought getting your attention would be way more difficult. Why did you decide to welcome me right away?"
Having the topic shifted allowed the goddess of beauty to collect her bearings, clearing her throat for a moment before returning to her usual, small smiling face that hid all emotion from her. "Your soul, I found it mildly interesting. I have never seen anything like it. I have encountered my fair share of people who have lost a lot but... I have never beheld a soul that was broken so completely before, and yet here you are, behaving quite normally, able to act with purpose, able to express emotion without a negative feedback based on depression. I consider it a bit perplexing, like a new puzzle that I wish to solve."
Yato exhaled rather strongly as she spoke about his soul, nodding his head slightly and turning towards the exit. "Well, you will get plenty chances to do that since we have agreed on a, as you call it, platonic companionship. Be seeing you, Freya." With that said, he left the room, and later, the suite, descending Babel through the elevator.
Freya meanwhile was returning to the prospect of having Freyr come to Orario and was visibly excited, chuckling to herself. Ottarl rejoined her side, now that all was clear, glancing at her and smiling slightly himself. "This is a good night... Allen, Ottarl, you have done well to bring him to me. I shall reward you accordingly..."
Next Morning
THWACK!
Yato had started the training with Astraea Familia just after the sun had risen, and resumed on trying to have them ascend their senses to a new level so they could sense another's intent. This of course meant he had them blindfolded and ears plugged, ordering them to dodge his attacks purely by sensing his intentions and thus reading his patterns, and as anyone can guess, the start of any such lesson meant lots of damage taken without much progress. All of Astraea's members had beet red lines across their foreheads as a result from being struck by a wooden sparring sword wielded by Yato. And as for his latest victim in question, that honor went to Ryuu, who got up after being whacked across the forehead for the 3rd time now, steeling her stance and readying herself for more without complaining.
The swordsman had to admire her persistance. "Very well..." he whispered to himself before beginning to calmly walk around, changing his position, not allowing her to use the memory of the previous 3 strikes to get a feel of the direction he'd come from. No, she had to do this solely through sensing his mortal intent. Once he decided this would be it, Yato took his stance, fixed his gaze upon his target, steadied his breath, then went for the attack.
THWACK!
To no surprise of the other ten female onlookers, Ryuu kissed the ground for the fourth time.
"Urgh..." Ryuu grunted from the stinging sensation before moving to unplug her ears and take off the blindfold, frustration clear on her face. "This is way harder than you made it look..."
"But of course" Yato responded, throwing the wooden sword towards her, as it was her own. "We aren't simply talking about a new technique or skill, this is its own realm of perception, a trandescendence of the mind, of one's conceptual understanding of awareness and reality" he explained before turning his attention evenly towards the entire familia, eyeing each one of the female warriors briefly. "You are trying too hard to feel it via your conventional 5 senses without imploring your own understanding of your enemy."
Iska furrowed her brows in a mixture of confusion and further frustration. "The hell's that mean? You want us to get to know our opponent? You do understand the kinda people we fight are not very chatty!"
In response to her words, the swordsman shook his head slowly. "You don't have to become friends or sympathise with them, no. Understanding the goal of the moment, their drive, their resolve and their readyness to sacrifice. All these things can be learned with as little as the very first clash if a warrior is skilled enough. You need only understand what drives your opponent to fight you. Simplified, you need only ask 'why do you fight?'. Get the answer to that question, and you will have a grasp on your opponent, and with it, fulfill the key condition to understanding their intentions."
It did not take long for his words to sink in, and as they did, new questions arose, questions he knew too well, questions he was going to answer even without having them ask. "There is a reason why I am telling you this. Not every enemy you face is evil for the sake of being evil. Even amongst Evilus, you will find that the reason for their actions vary, and sometimes the motive they wield might even be a noble one."
As the familia captain, Alise felt that she has to be the one to voice the disagreement, which almost immediately manifested itself. "As if Evilus could have any good reasons-"
"Are you that sure about it?" Yato fired back, shutting her up mid-speech. "Have you ever wondered why Evilus manages to be so present, why they seemingly never lose out on recruits? Mark the words I am about to tell you, because I am speaking from experience. Orario is a very big city, and many familias and deities are solely concerned with their own well being. So much so that they are willing to commit a few misdemeanors here and there or even go into heavier criminal territory. Ganesha and Astraea Familia don't exist purely because of Evilus, law enforcement exists because people with will tend to have lackluster restraint. Combine that with the majority of the stronger familias being scoundrels who get off unpunished due to the guild's priority of stability over order, and you have a massive gathering of people boiling over with negative experiences that breeds vows of vengeance on the daily. Loss and despair can do things to people... change them in ways we often tell ourselves are just exaggerations or not possible. Many people know that Orario is not a haven of innocence and purity, but they tend to underestimate just how bad it can really get. Evilus thrives on that negativity, it absorbs people who have a reason to be angry at everyone and twists that anger into a wildfire with no clear target." As he was done with his explanation, he decided to make a closing statement of a single sentence. "Being part of Evilus does not excempt you from being another victim of circumstances."
Alise averted her gaze downwards, unable to meet the purple haired male's eyes. He was right, as badly as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't. As a child of Astraea and an agent of justice, she could not allow herself the hubris of writing off every single opponent of hers as simply a villain, and this served as a reminder.
"Now then, enough talking, should we-"
Suddenly, the gates to the property of the familia home's front lawn were aggressively pushed open and Astraea practically ran towards her children, short on breath which indicated that she's been running for a while now. "My children!" She all but shouted, alerting the familia to a severe seriosity of a situation. "I just got word from the Guild. Rudra Familia has been completely exterminated overnight!"
The women had various reactions, but all of them were a form of shock to the news.
"Rudra...?" Ryuu questioned.
"Destroyed overnight?" Alise followed.
"How bad is it?" Ryuu continued.
Astraea caught her breath for a few seconds before she went on. "He's been sent back to tenkai, and every single member of his familia was found dead. Many of the bodies were severely damaged, and preliminary investigation indicates it was the work of a single assassin. Rudra Familia was targeted for elimination by someone!"
Yato, secretly the culprit of the assassination of the entire familia, kept himself perfectly calm and merely crossed his arms. "It seems you will have your hands full. If an entire familia was eliminated overnight like that, expect for it to happen again." His words, very carefully chosen to exclude any personal involvement, were completely the truth. The Evilus familia members that would have been destroyed by Ryuu in the proper course of history still needed to fall, only that now it would be Yato who will execute them all, so they had to expect at least a handful more entire familias being eradicated out of nowhere.
Astraea nodded her head slowly. "The Guild has discovered a hidden safe within Rudras personal chambers which contained various documents about underhanded deals and personalized notes. It links Rudra familia to a long-suspected human trafficking ring within Orario that has never been properly uncovered. Currently, the primary suspicion seems to be that the hit was out of revenge. The Guild has issued a quest for us to investigate the leads and figure out both who or what killed the Rudra familia as well as put an end to this trafficking ring."
Yato narrowed his eyes lightly as he heard that. "That... is a complication. Haruhime is currently being smuggled out of the Far East by that very ring... if it is busted too prematurely, she might end up back in the Far East instead of Orario, which cannot happen. That only leaves me with one choice..." he thought, then stepped forward a bit. "I will accompany whoever you choose to send out on this quest."
"Good" Astraea answered and reached into her left pocket, taking out a sheet of paper, which were the written details of the quest. "The Guild has given us a starting location to investigate based on Rudra's written records."
Alise was the first to read the sheet, and once she was done, it was passed over to Kaguya, then to Ryuu and so on until Yato received it as the very last one. When he laid his eyes on the name of the location, he felt frustration well up within him and it summarized itself with one simple word. "...fuck..."
The location was a small, unnamed village within the rural regions of the northern mountains, accompanied with a small printed drawing of its location on the world map. And as for Yato's reaction...
It was Bell Cranel's home village.