"Nom nom nom."

The god, the boy, and the flame were all now seated in the living room of the Hearth Mansion. Hestia had her arms crossed over her breasts, her usual boisterous smile twisted into a frown. Bell sat perpendicular to his goddess; his hands were curled up and placed neatly on his lap. He stared at Hestia in trepidation silence. Meanwhile, Shadrach was seated on the table between the two—stuffing his face with a chocolate chip cookie. Any meal was always toasty whenever it touched him, which he absolutely loved. Of course, though, he didn't have lips, but that never bothered him. Like a typical fire, he consumed and was happy.

Aside from the adorable, quiet munches from Shadrach, it was eerily quiet. Bell had finished explaining to Hestia what had happened that morning; and how he had come across Shadrach. That was ten minutes ago, and neither had said a word after.

"Ahh," Shadrach sighed. "Can I have another cookie, please?"

Hestia looked at Shadrach with curiosity and amusement. Like an infant, he seemed so childish, naive. It felt daunting in a sense. This humanoid flame was the antithesis of an enigma, a mystery that pervaded even a god. And yet, here it was, patting its tiny tummy in culinary content, asking for another snack.

"Sure thing. Bell, could you go into the pantry and get the cookie jar?"

"Yes, Kami-sama."

Immediately, Bell stood up and walked out of the room towards the kitchen. There, still in the room, sat the goddess of hearth and the flame. Shadrach placed his hands in front of him and rubbed them together anxiously; all the while, Hestia, continued to stare at him. Tenkai was indeed a place for endless entertainment. It was unpredictable, and the gods liked it that way. One day they could be simply perfecting their crafts that were so entwined with their very beings, and another day they could be cradling and comforting the last dying child in their familia. This haphazard nature of the lower world—it wrought forth something deep within what could only be presumed as their souls—humanity.

But this Shadrach did not belong to Tenkai, nor Genkai. And deep down, that frightened Hestia. What had her Bell stumbled upon this time?

"Umm, goddess Hestia? You're staring at me a little too much..." Shadrach's voice became quieter as he meekly fidgeted in his spot. "I've never really been in—in—the presence of a god, haha."

Just how he spoke and his overall mannerisms reminded Hestia of Bell so much, too much even. How he nervously rubbed his hands, hated being stared upon, stuttering, and that adorable nervous chuckle at the end. Shadrach's likeness to the boy was startling. Especially the glimmer in his eyes(?) when he first introduced himself. It was one of child-like joy and cheer.

And yet, something was missing—something that set the two apart. Naivety.

There was a lack of innocence within his being. And like a soggy, wet bandage—childish mannerisms would cover it.

"Shadrach, where exactly did you come from?"

Hestia would need to be blunt. Beating around the bush would do her no good. Poking and prodding around the unknown wouldn't suffice. She would have to pry deep if she were to get any sort of answers.

"From the ashened Eden."

"Um, where would that be exactly?"

"It's not on Tenkai or Genkai, that's for sure. It's someplace too special for that. It can't be categorized as either the 'Upper World', or the 'Lower World'. It's simply just the world, I guess."

What? To say that there existed something so profound, so abstruse, and daresay more empyrean than Tenkai, heaven, was tittering on blasphemy. Especially to a goddess whose existence was the antithesis of divinity. And yet this flame so casually dared to say that there existed a place beyond the reaches of heaven and encapsulated both Tenkai and Genkai with its supremacy.

"What was in this 'Eden'?"

"There isn't too-too much I remember of it, honestly. My brain is just a haze of smoke, haha. I was born when it turned to ash... It wasn't always like that. I first came into existence after the great raze was over," he paused, his tilted his fiery head in different directions as if to slosh around the thoughts various thoughts swirling about in his head into a coherent mess.

"I was a little ember back then, just going about wherever the wind took me. But then, I met him. The Mythic. He was taller back then, much taller!" Shadrach rose to his feet, then to his tiptoes, stretching his arm out as high as he could. It was a mimic of what he had shown Bell earlier. This time though, he didn't fall over.

"But even still, Bell is still Bell!"

"Wha—"

"Kami-sama! I'm back!" Bell burst into the room abruptly, causing Hestia to spiral into the air in shock. She fell on her chest, her butt raised as her legs tucked themselves into the fetal position. Her soul left her body through her mouth and dissipated into the wisps of the stiffened air.

"Kami-sama?!"

"Ah, Bell, you're back! Can I have that cookie, please?" Shadrach said as he plopped himself back onto his butt.

Bell stood frozen in place, torn between either tending to his goddess or tending to the flame. However, it didn't take too long to decide between the two, as Hestia unfurled herself and picked herself back up.

"I'm okay, Bell. Could you give that cookie to Shadrach? Also, you and I are going to step out for a bit. Will you be okay on your own for a bit Shadrach?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Cwookie now, please." Shadrach's tone shifted from polite asking to a neutral commanding voice. Though, his voice was still adorable, not being helped by his misspeaking of the snack he so feverishly desired. His hands were filled outstretched as his fingers grasped the air in a gesture of neediness. Bell chuckled to himself as he handed Shadrach the cookie.

"Thank you!" he acclaimed, right before stuffing his face with doughy goodness.

Hestia grabbed Bell's hand and yoinked him out of the room. Despite his falna granting him increased strength, he still was powerless against his goddess. He felt like an ember at the mercy of a mighty gust of wind. He could only concede any shred of willpower within him and allow himself to be taken along for the ride.

Confident that the two of them were well out of ear-shot of Shadrach, Hestia halted and turned her heels around to face her first child.

"Bell, I'm going to be blunt."

Bell stiffened his body as he mentally steeled himself. There were an infinite amount of possibilities for what Hestia was going to say next. He had to be ready for her response.

"I don't know what to do..."

Her voice was faint as it trailed off into the oblivion of stilled air. Her head was lowered as her pride refused to let her look him in the eye. She was shaking ever so slightly as she uttered those words. Bell could only stare. He gave no sign that he actually heard her words. He did not blink, nor did he breathe. A goddess, a being that precedes in the heavens above that watches over all things, does not know what to do.

"That thing, Shadrach, I don't know what he is." Hestia continued. "He..." she paused, choosing her words very carefully. "He said things that I can't repeat again. It—it goes against everything..."

Bell's eyes widened as he stared at his goddess. His mortal curiosity was piqued, stopped only by his rationale. If what Shadrach said could leave a goddess in this state, what would it do to his corporeal, fragile mind? He clenched his jaw shut to prohibit any words that may have slipped his mind to slip onto his tongue. His goddess, his pillar of heavenly light, the cornerstone of all that made him an adventurer, the very connection that bound him to the heavens, was lost.

"What to do now..." That was all Bell could think as the two stood deadened in utter silence.

.

.

.

"Burp. Oop. Excuse me." Shadrach belched as he patted his stomach.

So full of cwookie. A delicious treat, to be sure. Never before had he had such a marvelous snack. Truly a wondrous thing that humans of Genkai had made. Normally, one would brush off the crumbs from their person, but in Shadrach's case, his body just consumed them. Sighing to himself, he began to survey the room around him. Nothing to pass the time now. He recklessly scoffed down the whole cookie a few seconds after Hestia and Bell had left the room.

What to do, what to do.

Figuring that nothing could be achieved whilst he sat down, he decided to wander around the room. There was no harm in doing so, after all. Plopping himself off the table, he landed on the vast carpet that sprawled out across the whole room.

Such a big world.

With nothing better to do, Shadrach began hopping, skipping, and jumping around the room. The room more than easily accommodated such childish acrobatics for his minuscule stature.

Hop, skip, jump. Hop, skip, jump. Hop, skip, oop.

Mistepping, Shadrach suddenly flipped mid-air, landing on his back. "Ow ow ow." He sat there for a few moments; before hoisting himself back onto his feet, rubbing his side as he did so. However, he abruptly stopped, leaving his body half upward and the other half on the ground.

A window. He honestly hadn't seen it earlier. He stared through the glass and out into the world. Such a beautiful blue sky. "I wonder how she painted all of that..."

.

.

.

"I wonder what shade of red I should paint the dawn later..."

Red.. no, wait. Blue would be better. Hmm. Decisions, decisions. Both were quite tempting.