Chapter 61: Awake once again
Rhea murmured under her breath, a faint groan sounded out from between her lips which did not much suit her usual appearance of being tranquil. Not that the woman cared much for how she truly looked right now, even if there was anyone who could see her. Passing messages through the door was more than enough for her and Seteth had yet to resume his active duties.
It was unsurprising given the level of damage he had received in the brawl, she had been genuinely worried for his health when she laid eyes upon him and saw his body beaten and broken. It had been a series of emotional highs and lows which culminated in her current situation.
Her mother was back.
Except she wasn't.
Sothis…didn't even know who she was.
In fact, she didn't seem to even like being in the same room as her.
The idea that all her centuries of work and preparation had amounted to nothing, less than nothing even, was a one she had never ever wanted to even entertain.
Yet she was faced with the reality of the situation.
She had restored mother.
Except she hadn't.
Her eyes fluttered open, lifeless and dull green eyes flickered towards the bed that lay before her.
They met equally dull and lifeless red eyes.
Goetia was sitting up in the bed, staring at her with an unblinking gaze before he slowly shifted it away from her and towards the front entrance of the chamber. Content to merely stare at the wooden doors to the chamber without so much as making a word. He didn't even seem willing to start a conversation. She didn't know how long he had been awake and she didn't find it in her to care all that much.
"...You're awake." She commented after a few moments, the words coming out as nothing more than a blunt statement with no emotion behind them. A cold statement of facts, the sentence earned her a single nod from the tanned man.
"Your…new arm disintegrated." She added on, nodding to the section of his body that was once again limbless, his scarred visage on full display and revealing rather hideous burns moving along his right side from his hip all the way to his shoulder.
"Hmm." Another hum was her response, at least showing he was paying attention to her words, the grunt was soon followed by actual engagement "It was never intended for prolonged existence."
He continued to stare at the doors, still not willing to turn and meet her gaze.
"How long have I been here?"
"Three days."
"...I see." He didn't seem at all put off by the idea he had been fully unconscious for three days, neither surprised nor disappointed. Just his usual toneless voice as if he hadn't recovered from having a hole punched into his chest and having his heart crushed into a bloody pulp. Rhea would admit that she was beginning to see why the students were getting so desensitised to events that would otherwise boggle the mind with nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders.
Goetia had a habit of doing the unthinkable and then staring at you as if you were an idiot for not doing it instead of him.
The pair remained in silence for a good five minutes, Rhea just blandly staring at Goetia while he stared off into the distance. The silence could be seen as some to be awkward but the truth of the matter was that neither Rhea nor Goetia felt the need to speak and the other could tell. They both lacked the energy necessary to even start a conversation if they wanted to.
Eventually though, something had to give and Rhea broke the silence.
"You knew I was a Dragon."
That elicited a grunt of acknowledgement from Goetia.
"How long?"
"Before I even stepped foot in this Monastery." He replied without missing a beat, his tone of voice filled with such confidence that she couldn't find it in her to discredit his claim as sheer arrogance "Your shape shifting might hide away your physical traits and a majority of your magical energy, but you cannot conceal its entirety and dragons - especially those tinged with Divinity - have an exceedingly powerful aura that would be impossible for me to overlook."
There was a pause before he continued on "I would suppose that Flayn and Seteth are more skilled due to it being marginally more difficult to discern their phantasmal existence…However, I suspect the true answer is that they are simply weaker than you are making it much easier to hide their magical presence."
"They are descendants rather than direct children." Rhea explained halfheartedly "I am a first generation, they are second."
"I see."
"...You never spoke of it."
"That would be exceedingly hypocritical of me to comment of a non-human mingling with humans." He remarked in a dry tone.
Rhea released a dry wheeze that lacked any humour to it "I suppose that much would be true, wouldn't it?" her head slowly raised itself to stare directly at the side of his own. "You are not human either."
"...Am I not?" He asked himself in a low mutter, raising his left hand and staring at it as if it was alien to him "...I do not know anymore." the hand clenched "I feel human…scans of my body have confirmed I have a physical existence, I have blood, bones, organs everything that makes one human…But I am not…"
"You are of the same race as…the creature-"
"Creature?" Goetia sounded incensed for the first time, an edge entering his tone of voice "Is that…Their name was Sitri and they were…" the hand fell back to his side, slumping on the bed "...It does not matter anymore, does it?" he realised grimly before exhaling slowly "...Yes, Sitri and I were of the same race…"
"And that is?"
"Demon Gods."
Rhea made a noise "You are not a God-"
"I was more than a God." Goetia shot back with heat in his voice before it evaporated back into nothing "...I was…we all were. Each of us…A God is nothing more than the avatar of the planet worshipped by humans. We represented the pillars of reality, that which was called upon by what you call magecraft. We were the avatars of magecraft itself and all who prescribed to its study - in some way - paid homage to us. What is that if not a God? Our worship may not have been in the same vein as the type that Sothis is subject to…but it was worship nonetheless, even if humans did not know it."
The woman stared at him for a few moments then clicked her tongue and looked away "You are still no God."
"I said 'was' for a reason."
Rhea didn't reply for a few moments "I suppose you did…" her lip curled "So whose body are you currently puppeting?"
"My own." Goetia's voice was tired "I forged it with what little magical energy I could scrape together at the time…There was a limited supply and I was in the midst of dying thus it was…" his head moved for the first time, still not turning in her direction, and gazed down at his right side and the horrific burns and missing limb "...Incomplete."
Rhea closed her eyes and released a long and subtle sigh.
"...You spoke with Mother."
"Mother?" Goetia looked away from her again before he grunted in realisation "Ah, Sothis? I see…that explains the Divinity. A Divine Dragon? How novel."
"Nabatean."
Goetia released a noise that could almost be construed as a sound of amusement if it wasn't so empty "Distinguished man."
"Excuse me?"
"...That is what it means in a language I am familiar with. Distinguished man…an apt and somewhat ironic name, given the position that you and Seteth currently hold." A pause "Nabatean…there are more of you?"
"There were."
"...I see. Seteth and Flayn are all that remain?"
"To my knowledge there are still two more." Rhea informed him before shaking her head "But we have not spoken in many, many years…They might be dead for all I know."
Another hum from Goetia.
"...But as I said…you knew of Mother?"
"I did." He responded with an affirmation, Rhea made sure not to let her confusion show at just how easily she was receiving answers from Goetia as he was usually far more reserved when it came to her queries and demands. His sudden burst of cooperation was temporarily ignored in favour of what he was saying "Not that she was your progenitor, I was only recently made aware of her identity in terms of certainty. I suspected for some time but wasn't sure."
"Was she…"
"Always amnesiac? Yes." He confirmed with a nod of the head, uncaring as to the way Rhea's entire posture fell at his blunt statement. She didn't even stop to consider the prospect that Goetia was lying, she didn't actually believe he was truly capable of doing anything to Sothis mentally. "It has been a nuisance having to explain to her how her own authority works."
Rhea paused and looked back up then nodded in understanding "She manipulated time…"
"Hmmm." Goetia hummed again before he looked around "...Why am I here?"
"...Because I doubt I could explain to the Monastery how you could recover from a hole in your chest and a crushed heart without them believing you to be some manner of heretical necromancer."
"As opposed to a demon?"
"Do you wish for me to out you?"
Goetia fell into another silence, his head slowly turned away from the door and down towards his bed where he stared down at his lap. When it became clear he wasn't going to answer the question, either due to unwillingness or because he just didn't truly know, she decided to change the topic to something more pressing.
"...Will you speak of my own heritage?"
"...No." Goetia responded with after a moment "I do not care what you are."
Anyone else would have thought Goetia was being considerate when he spoke about how he didn't care what she was, Rhea wasn't quite that stupid or optimistic. When Goetia said he didn't care what she was he meant it in the most literal term possible. What she was didn't even concern him in the least, it just mattered so little to him.
"Hmmm." This time, it was Rhea's turn to hum at him "...Mother has been asking for when you would awaken." She couldn't quite keep the edge out of her voice as she spoke, failing to hide the bitterness although Goetia showed no indication that he even registered it in his mind.
There was a brief silence as Goetia shifted in his bed, inclining his head in Rhea's direction and not quite being able to hide the aura of confusion that emanated from his body "How? Did she possess Byleth once again?"
"...She never stopped."
Goetia closed his eyes, a long and weary sigh burst from between his lips and barely contained the irritation in him "Of course…She does not know how and supposes that I would be able to fix her own mess?" he growled out in annoyance "It is always the same…I am left behind to deal with the mess caused by another…" clicking his tongue, he looked away "Well, she will be disappointed. I cannot alter the possession of a Divine Spirit, it must be a conscious effort on her part."
Rhea pursed her lips "Then you cannot aid her?"
"No."
"...I see." She sighed and closed her eyes, rising from her seat "I doubt she will believe me…I will fetch her for you, I believe she is resting elsewhere."
Goetia grumbled "She has rested long enough…"
"Perhaps." Rhea agreed as she walked towards the door "The Ashen Wolves are also aware of what you are."
Another silence from Goetia.
"They have not yet spoken of it to my knowledge, but I cannot be certain." She continued on, getting nothing in response from the Demon behind her as she rested her hand on the door handle and pulled, the wooden entrance creaked as it opened up "I suspect we shall be confronted with questions if they are not silenced."
"...Do as you will." Goetia spoke after a few moments, Rhea turned around and took notice of his expression.
It was utterly vacant of emotions. He might have been looking at her but he wasn't truly seeing her, his clouded over eyes staring beyond her at something that wasn't there. She doubted that he could actually see her at all as it stood. Closing her eyes, Rhea gave a gentle sigh and opened up the door before stepping outside of the room.
The least she could do at this point was try and secure some slim measure of goodwill with mother.
Although that look in Goetia's eyes bore the same expression as one who had lost everything.
How long had it been since she saw that expression?
Goetia barely paid attention to Rhea as she departed the room, it wouldn't be a stretch to say he hadn't even registered her presence at all beyond a physical existence. Her words were acknowledged and responded to on instinct, in much the same way a human would breathe without putting any conscious effort into the task.
He was doing much the same, the only shift had come about when he had actually registered that Sothis had failed to release her hold on Byleth. Even when he expected it, it was still disappointing to hear. No, disappointing would imply that he had any expectations in the beginning. Sothis was learning her Divine Powers all over again by scratch, barely able to work her authority and managing to possess her host by accident.
It was almost unthinkable and if it had been any other time, it would have been marginally amusing in the sense that a being so far beyond the realms of human understanding was as equally pitiful as them.
He suspected Sothis would be here soon to demand some method of fixing her own blunders.
He was always cleaning up someone else's mess, even here.
There was a single thought that went through his mind, looking down to his left hand and raising it up to stare at his palm.
Closing his eyes, he clenched his hand into a fist and lowered it back down to the surface of the bed.
His thoughts were jumbled, trying to focus on one topic and discerning an answer for it was increasingly difficult.
Why did Sitri disobey him?
Why did Sitri wish to murder all of humanity? They had come to a collective decision, they didn't hate humans they just hated their way of life. They wanted to perfect it so why did Sitri take that path?
Why didn't he use his knowledge to cure Lysithea the instant he discovered her ailment? It would have been simple enough to isolate the problem and repair it. She would live a full and normal life.
Why did he care so much?
Why did he abandon a link that was three thousand years old to side with humans he had barely known for a few months?
Why did he kill Sitri?
Why did he feel empty?
Was he truly becoming Solomon?
That final question haunted him the most and he found himself increasingly unable to create an answer for himself that did not cause further distress. Without the other Pillars to occupy his mind, he was slowly defaulting back to the only personality he truly knew inside and out.
Solomon's.
The man who would behold the suffering of mankind and watch with a thin smile on his face.
He wasn't like that, he couldn't be.
He had done more in his brief tenure in Garreg Mach than Solomon had done in decades of life, he had aided the people of Fodlan-
…
No.
He had been told to help them by others, in much the same way God commanded Solomon through his Clairvoyance.
His singular act that had been proactive was to save Lysithea from death and even that hadn't been a truly free choice. He did so just to spite Solomon, as if to prove that where Solomon would have watched, he would act. Just like he had done before.
Goetia slowly opened his eyes and resumed his staring contest with the door, his gaze unblinking as he remained locked onto it.
Other questions such as 'what he would do next?' were buried under the landslide of internal concerns he was facing. This growing sense of unease was swiftly spreading across his entire mind and occupying his every thought. This unknown feeling, this lack of self-assurance.
Was this how all humans lived their lives?
Plagued with constant contradictions and endless questions that could never be answered?
Was this what Solomon had sacrificed himself for?
This state of being that could only be described as an avalanche of self-doubt and fear?
If that were so, then he truly didn't know Solomon at all.
How could anyone possibly tolerate this fear of the unknown, this self doubt.
Sitri understood it as well, they all did.
They all worked towards an end that would have freed humanity of this curse and provided them with a true clarity. The perfect sapient species.
And he killed him.
They had been one in the same.
He knew intimately how greatly his fellow Demon Gods feared death.
And he killed Sitri.
Were his final thoughts filled with fear? An inescapable horror that they would fall into the void of non-existence and be forgotten.
Or was it that the only knowledge the people of Fodlan would have of his race was of a monster that slaughtered dozens in the name of a cause that they knew nothing of.
Would they praise him for murdering one of his final brethren?
That thought was too horrifying to contemplate.
"Finally!" A loud voice echoed through the room, the doors were swung open with enough force to rattle them on their hinges. Byleth strode into the room with a frown on her face.
Sothis, he mentally corrected herself.
The glowing green eyes and fluorescent hair was enough of a give away even without the high degree of emotion that she was giving off. Although the fact he couldn't see Byleth hovering like a spirit in the same way he could normally see the Goddess was a mild surprise, it was just as likely that Byleth didn't understand how to project her body astrally.
Sothis marched towards him before coming to a stop at the foot of his bed and crossing her arms, her eyes drank in his visage with a critical aura. Staring at his chest - or the uneven crater where he had been punched - and gave a hum to herself.
"...It looks better." She responded after a few moments, clearly at a loss for what she could actually say. "Healing yourself from such an injury is rather impressive, but I suppose you shall given some boast about how it is a simple feat and that I am a fool for-"
"I cannot aid you in relinquishing control of Byleth." He cut her off in a dull tone, not actually meeting her eyes and still gazing off in the same direction he had been doing so since he awoke.
Sothis paused, her expression cycled through several emotions before landing on annoyance "What do you mean?"
"It is self-explanatory. I cannot aid you." He replied again, his tone of voice not once shifting from its bored pitch "You will have to figure this out with your own limited experience. It is a case of two minds sharing a single body, priority was always intended to be granted to the stronger of the two wills."
The Goddess had opened her mouth midway through the sentence to retort before she paused, the full weight of his words reaching her and prompting an uneasy look to settle on her face "...What do you mean?"
"Are you incapable of grasping even that simple concept?" Goetia snapped at her with a trace amount of heat in his voice, his eyes flickered up to her and his lip curled down in irritation "I mean that you are the stronger of the two minds. A Chief Deity and she is a mere human. Did you actually believe you could wrestle control from her body and return it with ease?"
Sothis opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, words failing to manifest within her throat before she uncrossed her arms and pointed at him "B-but you!" she faltered for a few moments, then recalled something that Sitri had said "You're the same as Sitri, don't you know all about possessing people!?"
Goetia actually glared at her that time "Do not compare what I do to what you do. We have no base personalities when we are summoned forth, our empathising with our hosts is the only method by which we might claim some measure of independence. Unless we are granted names, I don't just 'possess' like you do." he closed his eyes and looked away "Even if I could, they do not operate under the same principles. You are the one who took command of Byleth's body, therefore only you can relinquish it."
"But I don't know how!" Sothis pointed out with an edge of apprehension in her voice, even going so far as to stamp her foot and throw her arms wide in frustration "Don't you get that? I don't even know how I took her body in the first place so I don't know how to let it go again!" she pointed at herself "I've got her father glaring at me like I'm a monster and I've had to hide away to avoid answering all manner of uncomfortable questions."
She swung her body around and gestured to the doors "Meanwhile Rhea is calling me 'mother' and I don't even know how to respond to that. I don't care how just let her have her body back!"
"None of us ever get what we want." Goetia coldly retorted as he looked back at her and opened up his eyes "The world is a cruel place and even having all the power you can possibly grasp does not change that fact…Use your own common sense to figure out how to let her go." he closed his eyes and fell back into the bed, resting his head on the pillow.
"Wha-that's it!?" Sothis couldn't help but let anger bleed into her words "Your advice is just 'do your best?'"
"Were you expecting something more."
"This is your fault to begin with!"
"How? I didn't force you to possess Byleth-"
"We wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for your subject-" She cut herself off and snapped her jaw shut with an audible click. Sothis stared at Goetia's prone form for a few moments before she looked down "...That was not what I meant-"
"Yes it was." Goetia responded instantly "That is exactly what you meant. Yes. If Sitri was not here, then you likely wouldn't have gained control of Byleth's body. I suspect it was just as much driven by adrenaline in Byleth and desperation on your part that switched your minds." he continued on "And I have already cleaned up my mess. Sitri is dead. I killed one of the last members of my race for your followers."
"And…I am…" Sothis closed her mouth and looked down, staring at the ground. She couldn't say she was sorry if she didn't mean it in the least and Goetia would see through her false sympathy in a split second. Even if she did mean it, Goetia would have rejected it on principle. He disliked anyone feeling sorry for him. Instead, she closed her eyes and shifted her tone into a more blunt one: "It had to be done."
Goetia didn't respond to her after that, falling into a deep silence that lasted for a good minute.
Through all that time, Sothis continued to stare at him before eventually sighing and turning away and walking towards the door.
"It's like tension." She paused when Goetia spoke again, her features flattened and she shifted her attention back towards him. "Possessing a human. You would call it like tensing a muscle at first, after some time it becomes like breathing. Something that does not require a conscious effort on your part, you must become aware of the effort it takes to hold Byleth and merely release it."
"...And how do I do that?"
"Figure it out." Goetia sighed "Now go."
Sothis stared at him for a few more moments before she nodded her head and stepped out of the room, closing the doors behind her as she departed. Goetia found himself once again left alone in silence.
He recalled the time when he would have multiple assemblies ongoing in his mind at any one time, constant reports from Demon Pillars and debates between them on events of interest.
Now there was simply a deafening silence in his mind.
Sothis stalked through the halls back towards the private room that Rhea had cordoned for her to hide away in for the time being. Because that was what she was doing.
Hiding.
It wasn't like she had much of a choice, perhaps the sudden burst of power could be thrown on Goetia in terms of 'blame' and just cross it out under strange foreign magic he did but that didn't account for her sudden shift in personality or the fact her voice wasn't even the same.
While Sothis was internally grateful for having a body that she could actually use to interact with the environment with, this wasn't exactly how she had envisaged obtaining this sort of freedom. Especially not if it came with the child sitting in the back of her mind just wondering if she was a prisoner or not.
"Aren't I a prisoner though?" Byleth's voice rang through her mind as she intercepted the final part of the message "I can't do anything."
"You're not a prisoner!" Sothis snapped back at her "Don't overthink this situation, this is merely a temporary condition. Once we have found out how to switch back bodies, you will be back in control of your own limbs and I shall be taking a very long nap to rest myself from this tiring situation."
Provided she could even manage it.
"Goetia said it was like breathing." Byleth helpfully commented from the backseat of the mind as they approached their room, Sothis sighed as she pushed the door open and stepped into her small chambers "Something you're doing without realising."
"I know what his words meant." Sothis responded back as she raised a hand and nursed her forehead, already finding herself dealing with the added stress that Goetia was not going to simply snap his fingers and fix this mess for her. Whether that was because he just wasn't capable - like he claimed to be - or because he just didn't have the mental energy within himself to try was an entirely different set of circumstances she wasn't even going to make an effort to understand.
"He seems…odd."
Sothis rolled her eyes at Byleth's blunt comment, she didn't doubt that Goetia was still reeling from the circumstances. It was painfully apparent to everyone who had heard their conversation that the two of them shared history with one another and seemed to be rather close. Especially close considering the sheer look of surprise on Goetia's face when he had been attacked.
Whatever was going on, she doubted there was a quick fix for that type of problem.
"Alright." Sothis nodded to herself as she approached the bed and sat herself down upon it "Supposed to be like breathing or tensing a muscle." there was a pause. "I didn't even have a body until a few days ago but sure, speak as though this sort of thing is supposed to come naturally to me." she muttered bitterly under her breath.
Having a physical body was proving to be far more trouble than it was worth.
There were all sorts of things she needed to do in order to keep it working.
She understood that humans needed to eat but the actual act of eating itself was something simply bizarre to her. Feeling that mushed up goop sliding down her throat and then the process that came after was something that she would never truly forget. She had always faded away into the corners of Byleth's mind when the girl needed to use the lavatories so she had remained rather ignorant to the process.
The fact that Byleth had to go through that disgusting process in order to continue living was something that the Goddess couldn't comprehend. She might not have had many details of her life before turning into a disembodied spirit but she was absolutely certain that she never needed to go through that revolting ritual.
"It's not that bad." Byleth commented again from the back of her mind, Sothis narrowed her eyes slightly as she studied the voice. While Byleth lacked an actual body like she did when their roles were reversed, that didn't mean Sothis couldn't read what the girl was feeling.
And right now, she was feeling deeply amused at the Goddesses frustrations.
"Need I remind you that my mental state is likely key to getting your body back." Sothis retorted as she crossed her arms and jutted her chin upwards "So it would be in your best interests not to make me mad, understood?"
"Alright." Byleth conceded but not before adding on "But it still isn't that bad. You get used to it."
"I don't want to get used to it!" Sothis snapped, her entire body shuddered in remembrance of the event "I would rather never have to experience something like that ever again! How do you even do that? T-the feeling and-and the smell!"
Drawing her arms close, she hugged herself while shifting her expression into one of utter disgust "How can you tolerate that?"
"...I just don't think about it."
"Well, I can't help doing that!"
"Is that the problem?"
Sothis paused, blinking once "Excuse me?"
"You keep thinking about things instead of doing them." Byleth explained further "When I breathe, I just do it. When I move, I just do it. I don't think about things that don't need me to think about." she paused for a moment "Maybe it's the same with you?"
The Goddess blinked several times before her face shifted into one of incredulity "A-are you somehow implying that my overthinking is the only reason that you have not been able to get your body back?"
She could feel Byleth's shrug through the link, quite how the girl could manage that without a physical body - or any sort of body - was waylaid by the idea that Sothis had somehow managed to blow the entire conundrum far out of proportion and was somehow making things worse rather than better.
"Alright then." Sothis crossed her arms "What do you suggest I do? Just ignore the fact I'm in your body and just…what? That will somehow fix it?"
"Maybe."
"Not every problem can be solved with brute force." Sothis chided her with a roll of her eyes "As a Teacher, shouldn't you already be aware of this?"
"It's worked so far."
Sothis felt her eye twitch, a growl built up in the back of her throat before she threw her arms up and shot back to her feet, pacing around her room with an irritable scowl on her face "Fine. We'll try things your way but I am convinced that the problem cannot be as simple as me just not thinking about it anymore."
…
…
…
"You're still thinking about it."
"I know I am! It is difficult not to think about it!"
"Why don't we go to that weird room?"
"Weird room?"
"Where we met." Byleth informed her "The first time."
Sothis frowned "You refer to my Throne?" she paused and cupped her chin before a sigh escaped her, turning back towards the bed and sitting atop the mattress once again "I suppose we might as well exhaust every other option that lies before us before giving into despair." she muttered under her breath as she closed her eyes.
If nothing else, she could at least escape to the realm of her mind and take a break from everything that was ongoing.
That was the one silver lining.
She could still sleep.
Rhea once again entered Goetia's chamber, it was actually the chamber where they would hold meetings with her in private but had since been converted in order to better conceal his current physical state. She knew for a fact that Mother had gone to meet with Goetia but had since returned.
Evidently Goetia was not the help that Mother was hoping for, he had said as much to her when she informed him about the situation but it was better served - in some vindictive way - that Goetia could no more assist Mother than she could.
Perhaps it was incredibly petty of her, but it at least showed he was fallible.
Her own feelings towards Goetia were complex and difficult to discern as of this moment, while he had been willing to fight alongside them in defence of the Monastery it did not change the fact it had been one of his own race that had done the damage as well as take the body of a Church official. All on some mad quest for revenge.
It wasn't as though he had known about it though, she had seen the genuine surprise in his face when confronted with the creature for the first time.
Shaking her head, she approached the entrance and pushed the door open before stepping into the room.
Goetia was not in the bed.
A flash of panic swam through her mind at the fact he had just disappeared into thin air, her eyes darted from side to side in an effort to locate him as if expecting him to be somewhere within the confines of the room itself. Even pacing around and searching closer, pushing open the door to Seteth's office and her own private room.
Her search yielded nothing.
Rhea felt her jaw clench together, ingoring the fact there were still a great deal of answers that she needed from him in regards to what he actually was. She didn't believe him when he referred to himself as a God in any capacity. She recalled the Gods of the old lands and when she compared them with Mother, it was laughable to even consider that the two were holders of the same title.
As powerful as she had seen Goetia, as powerful as she had seen the creature holding the name Sitri, the two of them barely even contended with Mother before her slumber.
But that was secondary right now.
She just needed to find him and get him back into the bed to ensure he was properly recovered.
Flayn fell back into her chair, rubbing her forehead and disgarding the amounts of sweat from her brow as she did so. Even her tremendous reserved of magical energy were starting to feel the strain of having been active non-stop, casting healing spells and ensuring that all of the injured knights and clerics recovered properly.
She couldn't bare the thought of a single one suffering under her watch, least of all dying.
War and death disgusted her, it was such a tragic waste of life and this had come about for such bizarre reasons. Whatever this being that attacked them was, it held no interest in anything other that murdering as many people as it could get its hands on.
It was just a senseless massacre that she couldn't comprehend.
For what reason did this beast kill so many? What did it have to gain?
The answer was nothing, it had simply been killing for the sheer pleasure in the act and nothing else.
Flayn released another sigh as she turned towards the bed of Seteth and exmained him, the man was sleeping right now. He had been one of the more grimly injured and Flayn would admit some bias when it came to who was receving her priority.
It couldn't be helped though.
He was her father and she wasn't going to leave him like this.
They had managed to repair a great deal of the damage dealt to him and he had moments between conciousness and rest that were gradually shortening. He had attempted to get out of bed early in order to take charge of the reconstruction back at the Monastery. Flayn had managed to shut down that line of thought rather handily, preventing him from so much as moving his legs off the bed.
She wasn't letting him out of this tent until she was purged of all doubts that he was recovered to a satisfactory level. If there was one thing Flayn was when it came to healing, it was a perfectionist.
So lost in thought that she was, that she didn't even register the other presence behind her until a gentle voice spoke up through. Ending the comfortable silence that had been in place until this time.
"How many?"
Flayn didn't jump at the voice, instead she shifted in her chair and looked over her shoulder at the shadow. She found herself blinking in surprise as she saw Goetia behind her, bereft of a shirt and wearing only some smallcloths to hide his modesty. Her mouth opened and shut like a fish as she gaped at him.
"What in the name of the Goddess are you doing here?" Flayn blurted out in surprise, careful to mind the volume of her voice out of courtesty of the wounded trying to rest. Rising up from her chair light a bolt of lightning and whirling on him just as quickly. Goetia didn't react to her presence, instead just continued to stare down at Seteth before his gaze eventually shifted away from her and towards the dozen other wounded in the tent.
"Goetia!" She hissed to him "Are you listening to me? You shouldn't be down here?" she pointed at his chest - the slightly concaved section above his heart that still looked fresh and more like an enlarged scab "You shouldn't even be so much as awake, your wounds were fatal and-" she pointedly looked at his bare visage "You're barely wearing anything!? Did you just walk down here from the Monastery in your bare-feet? Honestly, that is exceedingly imrpudent of you, what if you were to cause harm to your feet?"
A pause.
"What of your modesty?" She demaned with a shake of the head "Unless…did you teleport here?" she realised, her expression only becoming more incensed "If so, then that is perhaps even more reckless of you, you should be conserving your magical energy, not using it in such a-"
"How many?" He asked again, his voice never dropping from its emotionless one. He merely spoke words without a hint of passion within them.
Flayn felt her annoyance melt away, instead replaced by exasperation "If I tell you, will you return to your bed and get some proper rest?"
Goetia didn't reply to her in the least, not so much as giving an indication that he acknowledged her words.
"Goetia." She spoke again in a sterner tone than before, placing her hands on her hips and levelling the most withering glare on him that she could manage. That got him to barely glance at her from the corner of his eye.
"...I shall consider it." He responded with "I only left the chambers on a whim." he responded with, then looked away from her and towards the corner of the tent, his eyes briefly narrowed as if he was glaring at something. Flayn turned her head to the direction he was staring at and found nothing there, she blinked in confusion and turned back to him but saw that he was no longer gazing in that spot.
"...One-hundred and thirty-five." Flayn responded with in a quiet and shameful tone of voice, looking down at the floor "The intial number was lower but…some of the injuries…" she bit her bottom lip and clenched her eyes shut, a shaky breath escaped her before she opened up her orbs and returned her gaze to the tanned man "...The rest should recover but those with missing limbs…" she trailed off meaningfully.
Goetia didn't make a sound, instead he moved towards the base of one of the beds and stared at the man lying down in it. Crude bandages were wrapped around his head covering his right eye, a patch of blood could be seen leaking through the fabric.
"...The students?"
Flayn allowed a faint sigh of relief "They all managed to escape relatively unharmed." she informed him before a gentle smile came upon her features "Including Lysithea, I understand that you care for her a great deal-"
"Do I?" Goetia whispered under his breath, seemingly without realising he had done so. Flayn paused and appeared dumbfounded for a few moments before her brows furrowed and her expression shifted into one of concern.
"Goetia, are you well?"
"...Seteth appears to be recovering swiftly." Goetia spoke after a few moments, turning around to face the green haired man on the bed and moving towards him "I spotted him when I first arrived…he appeared to be suffering from grevious wounds."
"He was." Flayn nodded her head and looked towards her father "He is…very strong." she spoke in a subdued tone as she reached out, resting a hand on the blanket lying atop the man to provide some warmth.
"You had a hand in his recovery."
"I did." Flayn admitted instantly.
"...Hmmm." Goetia hummed and looked down at him "He is…important to you?"
"He is my father." Flayn gave an empty chuckle as she reached out and felt his hand under the blanket, gently caressing it "We have had many years together alone…I…can't imagine life without him."
A silence followed her words, only offset by the occasional cough and groan further along the tent from the wounded. Goetia looked past Flayn and towards the injured, an odd look passing through his eyes that the girl missed due to focusing her attention on her wounded father.
"Father." Goetia commented on "Unsurprising."
Flayn chuckled at his words and shook her head "That was actually his idea." she remarked, turning her attention to Goetia with amusement painted across her features "He believed it would lower our chances of discovery." a pause "To say nothing of working in one of the most influential locations in the entire continent." she chortled "I know he meant well but it didn't truly commit to his role."
"I suspect that few were surprised." Goetia hummed to himself and looked back down at the wounded man.
"You included?"
"Your relationship was hardly a pressing concern to me and the reveal changes very little." He bluntly stated with a shrug of his shoulders "It was always apparent that you were of the same family and that he had adopted a guardian-type role. Whether the title ascribed to that role is older brother or father changes little."
Flayn hummed to herself and nodded her head "Yes, well…I suppose I was a little surprised by the lack of surprise." she chuckled quietly to herself "It really is rather obvious, is it not?" she realised aloud.
Goetia looked between Flayn and Seteth in silence for a few seconds before speaking "I would not know."
Flayn hummed in acknowledgement before a curious gaze came across her features, her eyes trailing the dull patterns that looked almost burnt into Goetia's left arm and both of his legs. The pattern itself was still clear as day but it looked wrong, it didn't look as though someone had taken the time to burn a pattern into his skin, rather the pattern had been burnt into him all at once.
"Goetia…did you always have those?" She found herself asking, raising a finger and pointing at the patterns lining his skin. Goetia responded with a hum and raised his left arm to examine them.
"...Not until recently." He admitted with a shrug "They had somewhat faded but have since resurfaced."
"What are they?"
"Patterns." Goetia responded with a "Seals…whichever else you might call it." he turned his head to face the girl "Proof of authority over the Familiars of Solomon." the arm lowered to his side "Although why they manifest upon me…" he trailed off and thinned his lips before he gazed upon them once again "Although they are burnt…spent…They no longer operate."
Flayn found herself blinking at the swell of information "They are…like magical patterns?" she stepped cloer and gazed at them before looking up at him "Do they not hurt?"
"Hurt?" Goetia stared down at her and shifted his attention back to the arm, twisting the limb to give himself a much closer look at the patterns "...They no not hurt in the least. I do not feel them at all."
Flayn let out a minute sigh of relief "That is good news then, is it not?"
Goetia didn't respond to her immediately, he just stared at them for a few seconds in silence before a quiet mutter slipped through his teeth "...No." he lowered the limb back to his side, the arm twitched slightly along with his legs. His shins and thighs twitched as if something was crawling over them.
His hand flexed, opening up and splaying his five fingers wide before he contracted it into a fist, tightening it so much that Flayn was worried his knuckles might go wide.
"Goetia?" Her voice jolted him out of whatever he was feeling, his eyes shifted to her for a few seconds before they parted from her visage and he resumed his odd habit of staring off into space. Flayn could no longer contain her concer, moving herself around to his front "Are you…well?"
"I'm alive."
Flayn wasn't sure whether she should point out that it didn't answer her question.
Goetia turned away from her, walking past the young girl and towards the exit of the tent. It wasn't until he got to within a few feet of it that the girls brain caught up with her and she realised the pressing issue.
"Wait a moment!" She called out, rushing after him with a shocked expression "You aren't going outside looking like that, are you?"
Goetia stopped walking, turning to face her and levelling a blank expression at the girl "Is there some issue?"
"Wha-" Flayn gaped at him "You have no modesty!" she all but accused him of "Not to mention the weather is rather chilly outside, you'll make yourself sick."
Goetia remained silent before he looked to the side, soon finding a blanket from one of the empty beds and flicking it over to him with a a wave of the hand. The blanket slowly wrapped itself around his shoulder, fashioning itself into a cloak and covering most of his right side, hiding away his burns as well as most of his body.
He gave Flayn a dull look before he turned around once again, walking outside without so much as another word and into the cold.
The girl would have followed after him if there weren't other concerns, namely the remaining injured. She thinned her lips and watched his form turn right and vanish from sight.
It was a few seconds later that she realised something rather important. She had failed to ask about the fact he was back to missing an arm again.
Clicking her tongue, she turned around and walked further back into the tent.
It would probably wait for later.
AN: Goetia just going "..." whenever question and glaring off into space.
The big sad.
He's now just walking around wearing underwear and a blanket.
What a cool guy.
Omake: Best of Frenemies
Ritsuka continued to wave his hands as he spoke with Mash, stepping in Chaldea's cafeteria.
As he did so, his vision suddenly lurched as his legs caught on something, the Master released a panicked gasp as he went down hard, slamming into the floor face first and bouncing his head off the tiles.
"Senpai!?" Mash cried out in alarm, rushing down to his side and seeing how injured he was.
"Step aside!" A voice cried out from behind the Shielder, looking over her shoulder she saw Nightingale rushing down the hallway towards with with an incensed glint in her eye "I must staunch the bleeding and assess for any broken bones!" she all but shouted, sliding to a halt next to Ritsuka and flipping him over onto his back.
All of which occurred within the span of a few seconds, leaving the Master rather disorientated as to what was occurring. Even amidst his baffled confusion, he was able to crane his head up and stare down towards the doorway. His eyes widened as he caught sight of a line of kitchen film stretched across the door at ankle height, the material wrapped around his leg like a trip wire.
"What the…?" The master blearily managed to call out as he looked like and right, then took notice of a certain mop of glowing golden hair at the far end of the cafeteria.
Even with the considerable distance, Ritsuka could still make out the subtle smirk upon the man's lips.
Ritsuka's eyes narrowed "Goetia…" he hissed under his breath.
"We must head to the infirmary at once!" Nightingale called out, grabbing the Masters shoulders and sweeping him off the ground and out of the room.
Goetia remained silent as he walked through the hallways, ignoring the glances that were being sent his way. Despite the situation, Chaldea had managed to get rather used to his situation relatively swiftly.
Evidently, an enemy becoming an ally was a common theme, hence his presence was barely questioned.
As he walked, he saw the Amazon berserker coming from the opposite end of the hallway. The two of them matched eyes before they turned away from one another, a simple acknowledgement and little more. As was his usual appearance with Chaldean Servants.
"Hey, Goetia!" The man paused as he heard Ritsuka's voice, he wondered what was keeping the Master of Chaldea, although it was likely Nightingale. Turning to face the young man, he watched as the Master allowed a victorious grin to come upon his features. "You got something on your back." he called out again, gesturing over his shoulder.
Goetia raised an eyebrow before he reached around with his good arm, then pausing when he grasped ahold of something with the feeling of paper. He frowned and pulled it off, feeling a trace amount of tension give way as whatever was stuck to him was pulled free. Turning it towards his face, he stared down at it.
The face of Achilles stared back, his photographed expression looking rather baffled.
It was then that Goetia became aware of a subtle growling coming from behind him, accompanied by a sudden influx of magical energy.
His head snapped up just in time to see the Master's back as he took off down the hallway.
Then he whirled around, seeing Penthesilea snarling visage glaring back at him. Her sclera burning red with her pupils a fiery golden.
"Achilles…." She growled out through her teeth, a chain dropped into her hands with spiked metal weights upon either end of it.
"...Fujimaru." Goetia growled under his breath.
Ritsuka stumbled as something wet landed on his head, the Master turned upwards to see a bowl balanced in such a way that the second he walked through the door it would tip over and spill all over him.
The Master clicked his tongue, as long as it was just water then it didn't matter too-
"Has anyone seen my super high powered laxatives?" Paracelsus asked as he walked into the room "I made them especially strong, even capable of being absorbed through the skin." he frowned as he continued to sweep his gaze across the room "Anyone? They're incredibly fast acting as well."
Ritsuka felt his stomach rumble.
"G-Goetia!" He growled out, clutching his stomach and stumbling out of the room as fast as he could go.
Goetia returned to his table, holding the bowl of tomato soup in his hand as he sat down. Watching as the other Servants moved about the cafeteria with their own lunches. He himself was partial to Tomato soup as a favourite.
He scooped some into his spoon and placed it in his mouth.
He spat it out a second later, coughing and spluttering at the foreign substance "What in the-!?" he cursed aloud, glaring at the bowl and finally taking notice of the red substance.
His eyes narrowed into slits.
This wasn't tomato soup.
This was tomato ketchup that had boiling water poured into it to give it a more liquidy texture.
He tapped into his monstrous strength, throwing the spoon into the table with enough force to puncture a hole through the metal surface. With a roar, he grabbed the hot bowl and launched it across the cafeteria.
"Fujimaru!"
Despite the aggressive display, none of the Servants paid any mind to it.
Not that it was surprising.
Those two did this regularly to one another.
"And in the blue corner, we have the Master of Chaldea, Slayer of Beasts and builder of Harems-"
"Wait, what was that last one!?" Ritsuka called out as he looked up from his gloves, fixing his boxing gloves onto his right hand.
The commentator continued on, not even registering what Ritsuka had said. Claude wasn't one to answer questions though.
"And in the red corner, we have the Beast of Pity, the master of disaster-"
"That sounds lifted from somewhere." A voice coughed from the crowd.
"The Sparkle in the night sky-"
"Are you proposing to him or something?" Lysithea asked from his side, raising an eyebrow at him.
Claude covered his mic and stared down at her with a half smirk, not answering the question as he returned to the coverage "It's Goetia!"
The crowd cheered and bets were already flying between the two of them. Despite it being a battle between Masters and Servants, the two were fairly evenly matched. Hardly difficult when Ritsuka had a great deal of Casters bolstering his strength and speed to be able to match the former King of Demon Gods.
Rather than object, Goetia had been the one to recommend it.
Citing that 'I will allow Fujiamru Ritsuka whatever crutch he needs to eek out a victory, that is how he always does battle so why should I stop now?'
Suffice to say that had sparked a row on what was considered acceptable trash talk.
"Step right up!" The Caster of Sheba grinned as she waved her hand to the board "Make your bets, red of blue. Man or Beast. Son-in-law or son?"
"What are you doing?" Romani called out in horror as he gaped at the woman "A-are you making bets about this?"
Sheba shrugged her shoulders and gestured to the pair about to have a fist fight "I'm supporting my extended family." her eyes sparkled "Nothing to say I can't profit from this physically as well as emotionally."
Romani made a strangled sound before his shoulders slumped.
"One thing does occur to me." David commented from behind the doctor with a thoughtful look on his face, Romani and Sheba turned to him with raised eyebrows "If Jacobs limbs is an art passed from generation to generation and Goetia took all your knowledge…" he trailed off meaningfully and faced Romani.
The Doctor blanched before he chuckled nervously "Y-yeah but…Goetia doesn't even have a second arm-"
"And what is this!?" Claude's voice echoed out in surprise "Sparkles as grown a second arm out of purple light! He's assuming a stance!"
"Break his legs!"
"Kick his ass!"
"Kill 'em!"
"¡Rompe sus extremidades, rompe su columna vertebral y festeja con sus tripas! ¡Entonces llévate a sus mujeres para ti!"
Silence spread across the room, the eyes of everyone fell upon Quetzalcoatl she she pumped her fist into the air before lowering it, smiling sheepishly "Perdón, I just get really excited with this sort of thing."
Ritsuka and Goetia shook their heads and turned to face one another once again.
"Try your best, Senpai, Goetia-nii-chan!" Mash called out from the sides, waving small flags that had both Ritsuka's and Goetia's faces on them. She turned to see the odd looks and offered a shrug "I just hope everyone has fun."
"Goetia!"
"Fujimaru Ritsuka!"
The pair cried at the top of their lungs as the bell was wrung, the two flung their arms towards the faces of their opponent.
Both fists met their targets.
Both fighters slumped over, unconscious.