Chapter 10: 30th Day

Thadius was silently eating his so-called breakfast of plain, white rice. Again.

On this particular morning, however, his master had come to join him. Now was a perfect opportunity as any to file a complaint.

Thadius put down his spoon and look up with a determined look. "Master."

"What is it?" Corban asked cautiously after seeing the look on Thadius' face.

"I'm going to ask you a question, and it's imperative that you answer truthfully..."

Corban was truly curious now. Most of their mornings were spent in silence since they started the training schedule. What could prompt such an expression from Thadius? He gestured for his student to continue.

Thadius looked like he would break out into a cold sweat soon. It was the expression of a man who feared for his future livelihood. "Master, are you only able to cook white rice?"

Now it was Corban's turn to feel a cold sweat trickling down. He had had this conversation many times before. No matter how long they stayed, every pupil he had taken eventually complained about the food.

'So the time has come.' It pained him to admit his inadequacies, but his star student had asked him for the truth. He wouldn't run from it.

"Unfortunately, I didn't study the culinary arts as much as the sword." Corban admitted, shaking his head.

Thadius let a sigh of relief. "Well that's fine. If the lack of variety is a matter of skill, I'll be happy to take over from here."

"You can cook!?"

"Indeed," Thadius replied with his signature devilish grin. "Do you remember the woman I told you about? I used to cook for her quite frequently."

Corban knew about the woman he spoke of, but he hadn't expected such a turn of events. His favorite student continued to amaze. There was only one problem. "I don't have many ingredients..."

"If you manage to catch some fish in the pool, I'm sure I could whip up something. But I'd prefer to have a full range of ingredients and spices at my disposal."

"I'll go down to town immediately!" Just the thought of a proper meal had Corban rushing to secure sacks for a trip.

'He's not even worried about me running anymore.' Thadius shook his head, smiling as he rose from the table.

The first few weeks had been gruelling, but he finally managed to keep his Fighting Aura active for a full day. His days of repeatedly freezing and meditating all day had come to an end. Today he would increase his stair time and prepare for the next step with Corban.

Thadius went back to his room with his stone armor grinding as it matched his movements. Not only had he gotten used to the sound, the weight wasn't nearly as bad as before due to the numerous strength increases everyday.

His progress had him excited for the end result. The daily schedule had fallen into a simple pattern; eat, pray, train, eat, sleep, and repeat. It reminded him of what his life was like after his thirteenth birthday. If the results from his current training had similar results, he'd be quite happy.

When he had reached his bed, he dropped to his knees. He had been praying daily since he started. Today would be no different.

[+1 Faith]

---

The sun shines eternally in the Heavens. Today was yet another beautiful day. Thena, Goddess of Wealth and Beauty, sighed as her golden hair simmered in the sunlight.

She was bored. There was peace in the Heavens and the world below, but that was it. Even with the arrival of the travelers, nothing eventful happened.

"Too peaceful..." she muttered to herself, bringing her delicate finger to her full lips in thought.

Boredom was something she could handle with a trip to the mortal world, so she didn't worry about it. It was more like something was happening beneath the surface, like something was being hidden from her.

No. This boredom she felt now was more foreboding. It was as if her days of lounging around would come to an end. Thena's intuition guided her thoughts to a certain Goddess that she hadn't checked on in a while. Today she would pay her a visit.

She descended to the lower floors of the Tower of the Gods. Godsteel glittered all around, marveling all with its beauty that matched the Gods themselves.

When she had found her target, Thena felt something she hadn't felt in many years. Dread.

The Goddess before her was her only rival in beauty. A golden luster had returned to her hair and the Godly light had added a subtle glow to her eyes. Her once tattered dress and apron had mended, shimmering softly in the light like fine silk. Though what alarmed Thena the most was the rippling of her supple muscles as she swept, and the dangerous smile that greeted her.

Right under her nose, her enemy was returning to power. Tegaia, Goddess of Love, War, and Humility. The Mother of All Creation was regaining her strength.

Thena resisted a shudder as the voice filled with with overflowing divinity reached her ears.

"Thena? What brings you here on such a fine day?" Tegaia greeted her confidently. She had been expecting a visit, though she had hoped it wouldn't be this soon.

"I've merely come to check on you, dear. You've been ever so quiet lately..." The words may have sounded sincere but her eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"No need to worry. I won't be quiet for much longer..." Tegaia made no effort to mask her threat from the Goddess who had taken everything from her.

'Let her see my power return before her eyes. And let her see that there is nothing she can do about it!'

A ripple of apprehension flashed on Thena's face, but it was quickly masked with a smile. "In any case, make sure you get the corners. The filth likes to gather there in secret."

"I'm well aware of the specks of dust that have gathered in the Tower of the Gods, Thena. I'll deal with them soon enough..." Tegaia returned a smile that was three parts elegant, one part savage.

At that point, the fear was firmly seeded in Thena's heart. Her only thought now was to flee and prepare. "Well...I'll leave you to it."

"Always a pleasure, Thena." Tegaia nodded before going back to her chores.

It had been a short exchange, but intentions had been made clear. Thena had been absolutely furious by the time she returned to the top of the tower. Her children were waiting for her beside the Hallowed Throne.

They both shared her blonde hair and fair features. Two pairs of silver eyes watched her walk furiously into the room. Anyone who saw them all together would immediately recognize them as relatives.

"Mother what's wrong?" Braumas, the God of Strength and Order, called out to her first.

"Nothing is wrong now, but soon, everything will be." Thena sneered.

"Tegaia..." Arkas, Goddess of Reason and Intellect, lived up to the source of her name. Quickly pinpointing the source of her mother's sudden distress.

Thena nodded. "Her power is returning."

Her son was clearly incited by that declaration. "But we watched her followers like you asked! No one has prayed to her! If so, we'd have dealt with them like the others!"

"Peace Braumas," she whispered soothingly to her devoted child,"We still have time before she returns to full power. All we need to do is find the mortals that pray to her. However, there may be a larger problem..." Thena looked to her daughter that usually echoed her thoughts.

"There could be Travelers that pray to her as well." Arkas answered promptly.

"Precisely." Thena had always been proud of her daughter, though her beloved girl showed little emotion."Travelers are not of this world. Even if we orchestrated their deaths, they would return. Persuasion would be a better means."

"Why don't we just go to Tegaia now and end this!?" Braumas roared. Any threats to his mother obviously needed to eliminated sooner rather than later.

"You would face the Goddess of War in combat Braumas? Remember your place! Even in her weakened state, she would destroy you!" Thena scolded ruthlessly.

Braumas flinched from his mother's fury while she walked up the steps to the Hallowed Throne.

"First, we find those that worship her. Once we find them, we'll decide on how we proceed. Now go summon the Gods. This is not a task that we can do alone."

As her children set off to do her bidding, Thena smiled wryly. She had gotten more trouble than she bargained for, but her boredom was long gone.