As Sora found a nice tree to sleep in he thought back to everything he had done since cutting down Amatsu. He had decided almost right away that he would go to Orario, it may be possible to keep getting stronger in the east but it wouldn't be nearly as efficient as the dungeon.
After settling on his destination he gathered up all the resources he could reasonably carry, his gear, all of the valis Amatsu had in her palace which came to nearly forty million. There was much more in the vaults but he didn't feel right leaving the civilians dirt poor. Other than that all he took was some travel rations.
He noticed what looked to be a god and a few people his age on the road, all wearing purple and blue like him. However he chose to stay away, that deity could easily be just as bad as Amatsu.
Sora then traveled through the forest alongside the highway heading west. It's been six months of travel so far and he was about halfway to Orario, if he had his status unsealed he could have made it Orario by now.
"Eeeeeeeeek!" Just as he was about to doze off a feminine scream pierced the quiet forest. Sora was no hero but he liked to help where he could, so he decided to investigate the scream.
After walking through the forest for a few minutes he came across a sight that made his blood boil. Three shady looking guys were standing around a woman who was shivering on the ground. Sora had seen things like this during his time as a soldier and it truly infuriated him.
Without a second thought Sora drew Hikarikiri and charged the three men before they could notice him. Without his status he was physically just a boy, but years of experience with fighting people meant common thugs were no challenge for him. While their backs were still turned Sora swung his blade in a wide horizontal arc, straight through the necks of two of the thugs. The third turned around at the sound of his friend's heads hitting the ground, but before he could react Sora's blade pierced his throat.
As Sora looked around to make sure there weren't any more, the woman slowly stood up. She had Long pale blonde hair down to her knees and bright blue eyes. Eyes that were currently as wide as they could get. "T-thank you, you saved me. My name is Nike, the goddess of victory."
As soon as Sora heard that he jumped back and pointed his sword at the goddess, cursing his oversight. The sight of what the men were about to do to her made him miss the aura deities give off.
Nike was clearly shocked at the change in behavior and just looked at the fox boy with her mouth hanging open. "U-umm, I won't hurt you or anything. I doubt I could even if I wanted to, so there's no need for the sword, ok?" she said, trying to calm the boy down.
Sora hesitated for a moment, but slowly sheathed his sword "...I don't like… goddesses." This further shocked Nike, what young boy doesn't like goddesses? especially one as beautiful as her?
"Oh boy, well I'm sure you have reasons for that but I truly don't mean you any harm. I just descended from Tenkai earlier today. That trash you cut down found me and started chasing me. Are you in a familia? The way you moved before was impressive." Nike asked, trying to get her savior to open up a little.
"...No… I used to be though… My falna is sealed right now." Sora replied, he didn't want to be rude to her. But what if she's another Amatsu.
Nike was shocked yet again, she didn't think mortals could move like that without a blessing. "Can you tell me your name? You still haven't introduced yourself." Sora hesitated for a moment but eventually replied "...Sora."
Nike gave the Renard a gentle smile and started walking towards him "Sora-kun, I want to repay you for saving me but as I said I only descended a few hours ago. All I have to offer is my blessing, what do you say? Will you be the first member of my familia?"
Nike really hoped he would agree, she actually couldn't believe her luck. She assumed the worst of gekai after being chased by those thugs, but then a cute fox boy comes to her rescue. Long navy blue hair down to the middle of his back, matching fox ears, and a big fluffy tail that would go a bit past his head if he straightened it. Nike was no pervert but no one could deny the boy was cute. He was thin as well, but if his earlier movements were anything to go by he must be quite lean.
Sora was visibly uncomfortable and started backing away, but the goddess took his hand in her own, gave him a gentle smile and said "I don't know what you've been through Sora-kun, but if can give me a chance I promise I'll do my best to be a goddess you can be proud of. Please?"
Sora still wasn't completely convinced but he knew he couldn't just turn everyone away. He would always be alone if he did that, and after being alone for most of his life he didn't want that. He wanted people to rely on… he wanted a family.
"...Two conditions. First I want to be free… second, I want you to swear on your name that I will be allowed to leave you at any time… if I decide you're like her." Sora said.
Without any hesitation Nike replied "Of course! I swear on my name, Nike, that I will never force you to do anything you don't want to!" Nike didn't know who this "her" was, but she was determined to do her best for her cute savior. The boy clearly had trust issues, and the goddess was determined to become someone he could truly rely on.
"Now that it's decided I'll give you my blessing okay! Please take your shirt off." Nike said, not missing how the boy flinched at the request. "R-right." he replied.
As soon as he undressed Nike gasped, she saw three things that no boy his age should have. The first thing she noticed was the big scar running from his right shoulder to his left hip, it looked rather old. But isn't that strange? Scars are supposed to go away in time if he had a falna. The second thing Nike noticed was that she was spot on when she assumed Sora was lean, actually lean didn't do his body justice. There wasn't an ounce of fat on his body, what does a boy have to go through to get a body like this? Third was perhaps the most concerning, the skin around the base of his neck was pure white. Like hasn't seen the sun in years white, then it clicked. Sora must have worn a collar, which could only mean one thing. And Nike did not like it one bit, with this the boy's clear trust issues were explained. Add to that his earlier comment about not liking goddesses and Nike was suddenly furious. How could one of her kin do something so cruel to such a young boy? Nike resolved herself to do everything she could for the boy, not just because he saved her, but it was her duty as a goddess to show him they weren't all evil.
Nike chose to not comment as Sora turned his back to her, she would get answers when he was ready. One thing she did notice was that there weren't any scars on his back.
She silently pricked her finger with one of the cheap swords the thugs were using and let a drop of her ichor fall onto the boy's back. As the boy's status was revealed a faceless, winged female figure appeared on his back. Her symbol.
She was shocked for what felt like the thousandth time that day. She had never given anyone her blessing before so she couldn't be sure, but from what she had observed from tenkai this was far from normal. The magic could be explained by his race, Renards are one of only two races in the world that have a very high affinity with the mystic arts. His skills however were something else, any one of them would be rather powerful. And that's without considering three of them grant a development ability as well. And let's not forget his level! Aren't first class people supposed to be really rare outside of Orario?
"Sora, this is incredible. No, you're incredible!" She exclaimed. "Hmm? Am I? I've never seen anyone else's status before." He replied.
"You're super incredible! How'd you even get this strong outside of the dungeon?" Nike inquired. "I used to be… something like a soldier. Speaking of Orario, that's where I'm heading. I still want to get stronger." Sora said.
"Great! I have some friends there I wanted to catch up with, I was planning to head there anyway." Nike said with a big smile, one Sora didn't return. Not a very expressive boy it seems. "We'll camp here for the night and head out in the morning." Sora decided, getting a nod in response.
—-
The next six months passed rather uneventfully, a few monsters and bandits, all easily dispatched by Sora. Nike didn't seem to have a problem with Sora killing the bandits.
Nike did however talk a lot, she always seemed to be talking actually. Sora didn't mind though, it was pleasant to have someone to speak with that didn't want to use or kill him. At Nike's insistence, Sora told her his story. Though not everything, he would need much more time before he was willing to talk about that.
Nike cried for hours after hearing Sora's tale, which made Sora decide to trust her. If she could feel such emotion for him the least he could do is trust her. Part of the reason she was so talkative was to help Sora get used to talking, after nine years of near silence he wasn't the best conversation partner. But their efforts had paid off, mostly. Sora was now capable of holding a full conversation, so long as whoever he was talking to initiated.
Nike had grown rather overprotective of Sora after hearing what he had been through, or at least what he was willing to share. Nike had also learned several other things about Sora, like he didn't have a favorite food, or color… or anything. He had spent his life focussing only on his obsession, never sparing a moment for anything else. This made Nike swear to herself that she would try her hardest to show Sora all the good things life had to offer.
Thanks to Nike being no different than an unblessed human, physically, the remainder of their journey had taken a whole six months. Nike did her best to cook something special for Sora's birthday just the day prior with whatever the two could hunt and gather from the forest.
Sora had grown fond of the goddess, true to her word she never asked him to do anything he didn't want to. She also always tried her best to make Sora smile, which had mild success. As far as Sora was concerned this proved that Nike was not another Amatsu. He hadn't smiled in nearly a decade, but the goddess got at least a grin out of him everyday.
Sora had grown comfortable enough with her to even tell her that he personally cut down Amatsu. Nike had been shocked by this, but understood why he did it. Normally if a mortal struck down a deity they would suffer eternal torment when they died, however Nike promised him she would do everything in her power to make sure that didn't happen.
—-
Nike was chattering away as usual as they finally approached the gates of Orario. It was still morning when they arrived, but the line had been so long that it was almost noon by the time they reached the front. Sora noticed that everyone was giving the two looks, he assumed it was because his goddess never stopped talking and the fact that Renards were rather rare.
A bored looking guard wearing a strange mask perked up at the sight of the strange pair and asked "What's your business in Orario?". The chatty goddess replied with "My cute little fox and I are going to settle here! My name is Nike, goddess of victory, and this one is Sora!"
The guard smiled at Nike's attitude and said "Understood Kami-sama, please head to the guild first. It's a large building right across from Babel, you can't miss it. They will provide any more information you need, also I am from Ganesha familia. We take care of peacekeeping and day to day operations of the city, ask anyone with a mask like mine and they'll help you out. Enjoy your time in Orario!"
Nike beamed and nodded in reply making the guard blush. Sora thought maybe the reason people were staring at her wasn't just because she was loud. Sora didn't really understand beauty or even women, but in his eyes his goddess was rather pretty.
The two made for the guild and observed the city life, Nike was still smiling and pointing at anything that caught her interest. Though Sora couldn't blame her, the city was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The thing that fascinated him most were the people, he had heard there were many races in the world but he had never seen them before. Humans obviously, but also elves, dwarves, other beast-kin, what he assumed were amazons and prums.
Of course the two were receiving just as many stares as they gave, most had never seen a Renard before. The mutual stares continued all the way to the guild. When they opened the doors a few people turned to them, then others, next thing they knew the entire lobby was staring at them. Nike was smiling as usual while Sora was tilting his head in confusion.
"Well come on up, I guess." A red haired werewolf called out to them in a bored tone. "What can the guild do for you today?" She continued in an equally disinterested tone.
"Hello there! My name is Nike! Goddess of victory, and this cute boy is my only familia member, Sora! We just arrived in the city and were told to come here!" Nike said in a tone exactly opposite to the receptionists. The werewolf visibly flinched at Nike's excitement. "Gods, one of those…" She whispered, Nike didn't seem to notice but Sora did and raised an eyebrow in response.
"*ahem* My name is Rose, I will help you with registering your familia, as well as answer any questions you have." Rose replied. "Please fill out this paperwork."
Nike and Sora did as instructed, but when they handed the papers back Rose's jaw dropped. "Level five…" she whispered, thankfully not loud enough for anyone to hear. "Right, well please take this packet. It has all the technical stuff about how familias operate in the city. Did you have any questions?"
Nike gave another big smile and said "Yeah! I have a few friends who should be in the city, can you tell me where they might be?" Rose nodded and replied "Of course, Kami-sama. Who might they be?"
"Well there's Loki-chan, Frey-chan,Phae-Phae, and Astrea-chan." Nike said. Rose looked shocked for a moment but quickly replied "Loki familia is based out of Twilight manor in the north of the city, Freya familia is based out of Folkvangr in the south, though the goddess herself often resides in the top floor of Babel. By Phae-Phae I assume you mean Hephaestus-sama, she is usually in the middle floors of Babel where her familia's shops are. And I'm sorry but Astrea-sama left the city several years ago."
Nike frowned at hearing Astrea was gone but quickly recovered and said "Hmmmm seems I'll need an appointment with Frey-chan and Phae-Phae, So I guess we'll visit Loki-chan first! Let's go Sora-kun!" The obscenely energetic goddess grabbed the Renard boy by the arm and dragged him back to the street.
Rose couldn't help but think things would get interesting.
—-
Loki was currently in a meeting with her cute executives to plan their next expedition. It was a day like any other, she perved on the girls and teased the boys. Always a good time.
She was not expecting Raul, the leader of the second string to interrupt the meeting. Raul may have been a bit of a coward but he was a responsible coward. He should have known better than to interrupt the meeting. He would only do so if there was an emergency or something truly unexpected happened. "Enter Raul." Finn, her level six prum captain, called out.
Raul looked more confused than anything else so Loki got her hopes up a bit, maybe something interesting was going to happen.
"I apologize for interrupting, but there is a strange goddess here with one of her familia members requesting a meeting with you Loki-sama." Raul reported.
"Strange how?" Loki inquired. "We-" Raul was cut off by a scream.
"LOOOOOOKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-CCCCCHHHHHAAAAANNNNNNN" a feminine voice yelled from the hallway.
The next second something incredible happened, incredible to Loki at least. A stunning woman with knee length pale blonde hair and bright blue eyes burst into the room and pulled Loki into a hug. But that wasn't the incredible part, no the incredible part was that the woman in question had an absolutely massive chest. Like Demeter massive, as if that weren't enough the woman was wearing a thin white dress, and as if that weren't enough Loki's face was currently planted right into her massive chest! Loki could die happy in that moment.
"It's so good to see you Loki-chan! It's been too long! I just descended a few months ago and I finally got to Orario! Oh! Are these your children? They're all adorable!" The woman exclaimed.
Before anyone could get over their shock The goddess released Loki and said "Hi everyone! I'm Nike, the goddess of victory!" Nike then proceeded to go around the room and give each of Loki's executives a hug, shoving their heads into her chest. Loki was rolling on the floor laughing at her children's reactions. First was Finn who was, for the first time in a long time, shocked into silence. This obviously made Tione, the older sibling of a pair of level five amazon twins, furious. She was head over heels for Finn, but before she could say a word Nike got to her and smothered her with her chest. By the time she was free all the rage had left her expression, she just looked dazed now. Next was Tiona, the younger amazon twin, who gladly returned the hug. Tiona was an idiot, hugs were good so she hugged back. Next was Gareth, a dwarf and one of Loki's three level sixes, by the time the old man was free he was blushing and chuckling like an idiot. Nike's next victim was the perpetually pissed off level five werewolf, Bete. He tried to push her off but after a moment went completely slack in Nike's arms. Next came Riveria, Loki's jade haired level six elf vice captain, now elves usually despise being touched by non-elves, but even the elf princess couldn't resist Nike's warmth. Finally was Ais, the level five sword princess. Ais was almost always expressionless but by the time Nike let her go she was sporting a small grin.
Loki was still rolling around laughing and her seven executives were still recovering, but eventually they noticed someone standing at the door. A race almost never seen in Orario, a Renard. He couldn't have been older than fourteen, same as Ais, and he was pretty in an androgynous way, thin too. The boy had navy blue hair down to the middle of his back and purple eyes, his tail was huge too. It looked so fluffy… As Loki ripped her eyes off the boy's tail she noticed how he was dressed, dark gray and dark blue eastern clothes. But what really caught her eye, as well as her children's eyes, was the pure white hilt peeking over his shoulder.
After a moment of everyone staring at him he finally spoke up "U-um… I apologize for my goddess's behavior. I'm Sora."
Short and to the point, Loki thought. Just as she was about to introduce herself, Nike cut in. "Sora-kun! Don't apologize for me! I haven't done anything bad!" Nike said, almost sounding desperate.
Sora just shook his head and sighed "Nike… you can't just barge into someone's home and start… sexually assaulting them." Nike looked shocked at the accusation and said "I did no such thing! Hugs are good for everyone, ok!"
Sora just sighed and shook his head again, making Nike pout. "Not that this isn't interesting, but what the hell is going on?" Loki asked
Nike looked back to her fellow goddess and brightened immediately "Just what it looks like Loki-chan! I descended about six months ago and some thugs started chasing me but Sora saved me! While his falna was sealed no less! He joined my familia and then we came to Orario and now we're here!"
Loki processed that and replied "Well it is good to see you Nike, but we're kinda in the middle of something here." Nike's smile didn't falter for a second and she immediately asked "Oh! Is it about the dungeon? Cuz if so I need to ask a little favor, can your children teach my little Sora about the dungeon?"
Normally something like that is way off limits between different familia, but Loki considered it. She owed Nike quite a lot.
Before Loki could respond a certain tsundere werewolf opened his mouth "Huh? Why the hell should we have to look out for some weak ass rookie?"
Nike, however, was not fazed in the slightest "Oh my Sora-kun isn't weak at all! He's a level five magic swordsman! I just want someone I trust to show him the ropes of the dungeon, not how to fight."
This comment immediately made everyone pay attention. Loki asked "Hold up a sec, Sora-kun didn't Nike say you two met outside of Orario? How the hell did you reach level five without the dungeon?" This was serious, if first class kids were popping up outside Orario Loki needed to know.
Before Sora could answer Nike spoke up "Don't worry Sora, Loki can be a bit questionable sometimes but I trust her." Nike's cheer was replaced with a gentle smile that caught everyone off guard, even Loki. Loki had never seen that smile before, even in tenkai.
Sora nodded to his goddess and said "I used to be… something like a soldier in the east. The east has been at war with itself for hundreds of years."
This caught everyone off guard again, they had heard rumors things were rough out east, but not that bad. "Sora are there many other first class warriors out east? This is important." Finn spoke up suddenly all business.
Sora nodded again, seeming to understand the situation and said "When I left there a year ago there were… two level sixes and three level fives."
This truly shocked everyone, it was common sense that you couldn't level up that high without the dungeon.
"Sora, is the fighting truly so fierce out there? Enough to let people reach that level?" Finn asked, likely fishing to see if there was some other cause for the growth.
Sora got an empty look in his eyes which unsettled everyone, those were eyes that had seen the evil mortals are capable of. A fourteen year old brat shouldn't have eyes like that. "...Yes… the wars are that bad…" Was all Sora said. Nike walked up to him and took his hand, which snapped him out of that thousand yard stare. "But I wouldn't worry too much, All five of them are in their own factions. They will kill each other long before they become a threat to Orario, or anywhere else." Sora continued "Whenever one faction starts to get a lead the others work together to take them out, the east has been in that cycle for as long as anyone can remember."
While deeply unsettling, it was also a bit reassuring to know that there wouldn't be any genuine sieges on Orario. At least not from the east.
"W-why? Why would they kill each other over and over?" Tiona asked, surprising everyone. Usually she would just stay quiet in meetings, or say something dumb.
Sora looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and replied "That's just how people are. At least out there. One of the things people are best at is getting in other people's way. The wars started so long ago I doubt anyone knows why, at this point it's just a mix of pride, jealousy, and self preservation."
Sora's answer deeply unsettled the younger members. The older ones however thought back to Orario's dark age and understood what Sora was saying. Though they did feel bad for the boy, one so young shouldn't have to live in a situation like that.
Loki clapped to get everyone's attention and said "Alrighty, enough of the doom and gloom. Raul, take these two to guest rooms. Nike, Sora-kun, you're welcome to stay here for a while. Once we finish up we'll figure out who will show Sora-kun the ropes."