Chapter 498: Goddess?

The morning light filtered softly through the canvas of the small travel tent, casting a gentle glow inside.

Inside the tent, Brandon and Rheanne lay together on the shared bedroll.

Rheanne’s long white lashes fluttered open slowly, and she blinked a few times.

For a moment, she simply lay still, savoring the warmth of Brandon’s body beneath her cheek.

Brandon was sleeping deeply on his back with one arm loosely draped behind his head as his bare chest rose and fell with slow, even breaths.

Rheanne’s head rested comfortably on his shoulder.

Her fingers moved ever so slightly on his waist, tracing a small, absentminded circle against his skin.

He stirred a little in his sleep, and a soft sigh escaped his lips as he shifted closer to her.

His free arm unconsciously moved over her back and pulled her a bit tighter against him.

Rheanne’s lips curved into a small smile.

She stayed like that for a while, simply watching him with a teasing glint in her eyes.

Eventually, Brandon began to wake.

His eyelids fluttered, then opened slowly.

He blinked a few times, adjusting to the soft morning light filtering through the tent.

Turning to Rheanne, a small, sleepy smile formed on his lips.

"...Morning,"

"Good morning."

Brandon’s arm tightened slightly around her back, holding her close for a moment longer.

"Sleep well?" he asked softly.

Rheanne nodded, her fingers tracing another small, lazy circle on his waist "Yes. You make a very comfortable pillow."

Brandon let out a low chuckle, "Let’s sleep a little more."

---

THOOM-

The thunderous sound echoed through the dungeon corridor as Brandon completely blasted through a group of humanoid aberrants.

The creatures were grotesque with elongated limbs, pale, cracked skin stretched over bulging muscles, and jagged crystalline growths protruding from their shoulders and spines.

Brandon exploded forward, and the first aberrant lunged at him with clawed hands.

Brandon ducked low, slipping beneath the swipe, then drove his elbow upward into the creature’s jaw with devastating power.

The impact shattered bone and crystal with a sickening CRACK, snapping the aberrant’s head backward.

Before it could recover, Brandon spun and delivered a brutal spinning kick to its midsection, sending the monster flying through the air and crashing into two of its comrades.

THOOM!

The three aberrants tumbled across the dungeon walls before exploding outward.

Another group of four charged from the left.

He leaped into the air, twisting his body mid-jump, and came down with a crushing knee strike to the lead aberrant’s face.

The creature’s skull caved in with a wet crunch as it was driven straight into the ground.

Before the others could react, Brandon landed lightly and immediately dashed forward.

He grabbed one aberrant by the arm, yanked it forward, and slammed his elbow into its throat.

Spinning on his heel, he delivered a powerful back kick to another, blasting it backward into another wall.

CRACK- BOOM!

The wall was blasted away as the aberrant slid down it, leaving a trail of dark blood and shattered crystal.

The remaining two tried to flank him.

He drove an uppercut into the first one’s chin, lifting it clear off the ground.

Before it could fall, he followed up with a spinning roundhouse kick that smashed it sideways into its companion.

Both aberrants crashed to the ground in a heap.

Brandon didn’t give them a chance to recover.

As another lunged toward him, he grabbed its head and smashed his knee into its face, destroying it completely.

The entire group was down in less than thirty seconds.

Brandon stood in the middle of the devastation and cleared the dust off himself.

As Rheanne walked toward him from the opposite side of the clearing, he turned to her, wiping a streak of dirt from his cheek.

"Clear on your end?"

Rheanne shrugged lightly, "Mhm. They were easy."

Brandon stretched his arms above his head and tilted his head slightly "You still haven’t replied to the question I asked you yesterday."

Rheanne let out a soft sigh and crossed her arms, looking at him with a mix of exasperation and fondness.

"Don’t be ridiculous, Kael... I don’t have those kinds of ideas."

She shook her head, "Building a church for me? That would be embarrassing..."

"The people are already calling me ’Goddess’ because I can wield ether,,, I don’t want them to worship me like a real Goddess. The current churches for the Sun and the land are great already."

Brandon sighed inwardly, ’From my two years of experience with her, I realized... she doesn’t have a single intention of becoming a "Goddess." ’

Rheanne fights because she believes it is her duty to protect people, and that’s why she is bestowed with the power of wielding ether.

She accepted the title "Goddess" with reluctant grace because it was already spreading, but she never encouraged it.

She never sought temples, never asked for prayers and never wanted to be elevated beyond what she saw as her duty.

’But I can’t let it go easily... she needs to become a Goddess.’

’After seeing that she has no intentions of becoming a God, I already realized that in this time paradox... I am the one who insists on her becoming a God.’

’Haa... really, fuck my life.’

Walking to her, he uttered "I get it. You don’t want the worship. You just want to protect people. But... sometimes the world needs a symbol and someone ’real’ to look up to for prayers."

As he walked to her, she pushed his chest lightly "... I understand what you mean, but still... I don’t want that kind of attention."

Gently grabbing her hand, he pulled her closer "Listen to me. You are already receiving that kind of attention; you just have to accept it. The people already call you ’Goddess’ because of what you can do."

"They pray for your protection even if you never asked for it. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. It will only leave them without a real symbol to hold onto when everything falls apart."

Rheanne’s gaze flickered, "Kael... I fight because someone has to. Because the monsters don’t stop coming. As I said, the churches for the Sun and the land have existed for centuries. They’re enough."

Brandon’s thumb brushed lightly over her knuckles as he muttered, "The rifts are getting worse. The dungeons and towers are appearing more often. People are scared. They need someone they can believe in."

"Not just a distant fireball in the sky, but someone real."

Rheanne was silent for a long moment.

Looking at her, a soft sigh escaped his lips "It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’m sorry I am forcing you like this. Forget that..."

"Let’s finish this dungeon quickly and leave."