Chapter 424: Children of Gods

Beans’ padded into the Church silently thanks to his signature beans, as well as a spot of his own nature as a Shadow Demon. Even the little silver bell that hung from the adorable collar Belladonna had made him, was completely silent as it bounced from side to side. Such a thing almost made the inclusion of a bell on Beans’ as utterly redundant, and it also made sure that Figg nearly fell on his face when Beans’ decided that the optimal path was straight through the Druids legs when he was mid-step.

Figg glared at Beans’, who didn’t even look back as he continued on his weaving path through the church. Catching himeslf after a slight stumble, Figg hurried after the Avatar, who was looking around the Church like a child on a field trip. A child with severe attention issues, as he kept flitting from one interesting thing to another.

Rubbing the dust covered pews, taking a strange fascination with the melted candles hanging from the walls, and ogling the stain glass windows before finally stopping at the far end of the Church, where a ten foot tall statue loomed over the procession.

The Statue was of the Goddess this Church was built for, naturally, and had been created with an absolutely mind-blowing attention to detail and impossible level of craftsmanship. Even though it was stone, the silken toga that the Goddess wore actually looked like silk, so much so that Figg was surprised it was actually hard when he reached out to touch it.

However more care was taken for the dress than the Goddess herself. At least when it came to a certain part of her.

For example you could see the veins in her hands, and the way her delicate fingers touched against the toga, which actually had a portion pushed down as if it was real, whilst the other hand was held out in an offering motion. A black cat had graciously accepted said offer, selecting that as the bed on which it eagerly curled up on.

Her hair had every strange visible and prominent, caught in a permanent moment of flowing elegantly in the wind.

Yet her face was utterly bland. It was just the general shape of a face. A mouth with no detail to the lips, not even a smile or expression. A small nose that was pleasant to the eye but otherwise unimpressive, and three eyes that had empty, lifeless stares.

It was strange because a beam of Moonlight was shining through a circular window, and bathing the Goddess’s face in her own light, causing the diamonds in her eyes to sparkle magnificently. Although the moonlight might have made the face difficult to look at, if Figg tried he could still see the bland face.

Perhaps, it was intentional. Perhaps what he was doing, gazing upon the face of the Goddess, was something that the artist had never intended and was a greatest of sins for those who used this church previously.

Perhaps, attempting to recreate divine beauty was simply impossible even for the most skilled of mortal hands, and they would go mad even trying.

Figg turned to the Avatar, who was standing beside him with a wistful smile as he gazed upon the Goddess’ statue.

"Who was that guy? He was... unbelievably powerful. More powerful than anyone we’ve ever met before, and why does he hate Belladonna so much?" Figg asked.

"I would also like to know the answer to that." Belladonna asked from beside Figg, causing him to flinch in horror at being snuck up on again.

But when he whipped his head around, he couldn’t find her. Not even as a pile of ash on the floor, and he made sure to check.

"Over here Dummy." Belladonna’s voice said again, leading Figg’s eyes back to the statue, and the cat that was curled up on its outstretched hand.

Beans was staring at him with glowing Scarlet eyes, his tail swishing happily as the bell on his neck shook.

"Woah... Talking cat. That’s cool... I haven’t seen one of those in like a year. Although I think that might have been a dream... or a Wild-Blood." The Avatar muttered, taking a drag of the cigarette that was between his lips. One that hadn’t been there moments before, and yet was already half burned to ash.

"The cat doesn’t talk, the bell does. It’s a simple enchanted communication item, only good for short range though. It projects my voice, and I hear you through Beans. I was thinking of calling it the Adonna.

Anyways, would you please answer the question?"

"What? Oh yeah, that dude, He’s Elarian." Raev answered with a smile and a curt nod, then took another drag.

The pair waited for more, but he just kept smiling at them, as if that explained everything.

"That’s it?! What’s an Elarian? Why does that have anything to do with Belladonna? And would you stop smoking that for five seconds." Figg barked, snatching the cigarette out of the Avatar’s hand.

When it was actually in his hand, his natural affinity for plants allowed him to feel what was actually rolled up in this joint, and it left Figg completely shook.

Shaved Stardrop Lavender, rolled in a paper made from Ancient Treant strips. An incredibly high level alchemy ingredient that was cultivated by some of the most powerful individuals in the world just so that they could make Enlightenment Potions, wrapped in the skin of a plant monster that was on the level of at-least a 5th tier Source User.

And this man... was just casually smoking it?

"Not Cool Tree man, not cool." Raev muttered before sighing and brushing his hair out of his face.

"This is Elaria, the Goddess of the Moon. That makes Elarians, like the angry dude, her Children."

"Children?" Figg glanced towards the statue again, getting the strange image in his head of its stomach bulging from pregnancy. Did Gods wear sweatpants and complain about their ankles getting swollen too?

"Ha! I thought the same thing too Tree dude, but no. She didn’t make them like that, although there is plenty of material discussing tales of the Gods getting freaky if you want. I could let you borrow some."

"No thanks, I’m good." Figg said with a slight blush.

"So they are kind of like the Wild-Bloods then? They were made by the Beast God, right? So Elarians were made by the Moon Goddess. I don’t see why that makes them so special." Beans’ Bell Adonna asked.

"Heh, The Beast God didn’t make the Wild-Bloods. But even for the races that the Gods did make, Elarian’s stand out. They were literally born from the Goddess herself. They are the Tears of the Moon, literally born from the Goddess shedding her tears.

It’s also why they hate your friend."

"It is?" Belladonna asked, even more confused on how any of this had to do with her. When had she ever done anything to make a God cry?

"Well yeah," Raev shrugged, "I mean even Gods will cry when you kill them."