The next day the group headed back to the Gate. Along the way, Max took out a second ant nest and a few other noteworthy experience gains. Among those were 3 Vampire Owls, 7 Bone Butterflies, a troop of Steelfur Gorillas, and lastly, a grove of Death Saps.

Vampire Owls, as the name suggests, are owls that drink blood. They reminded Max of giant mosquitoes that could drain a cow of its blood. They were hard to spot, their feathers acting as camouflage. Vel marked them with water for Max to sense.

Bone Butterflies take the bones of decomposing animals or insects and wear them like armor. Max thought that butterflies were a stretch, and that they were similar to wasps, if wasps were half a meter long. They had large stingers at the base of their abdomen and could pierce through hard metal.

Steelfur Gorillas were silver looking huge angry gorillas. During the battle with Max, one of them ripped out a small tree and used it as a club. Max ended up having to use the Center Of Water to prevent the gorillas from harming him while he slowly cut them down. Domic was impressed by the spell, calling it “An amazing first domain spell!”.

A Death Sap is another Eldritch being. In this case, the Eldritch’s blood soaked into the ground turning a small grove of trees evil. The land around the trees looked like something out of an apocalypse movie, grey and barren. The ant nest was also a part of the grove. The tunnels weaved around the tree roots, creating an Eldritch haven. Vel and Domic, both helped this time. There was no underground water source and Max had no way of dealing with the trees. If Max uprooted them, they would re-root themselves.

Domic burned the grove to dust, while Max and Vel worked on a collective Rain spell. It was Max’s first cooperative spell, but Max figured out the trick pretty quickly. Vel had explained that when he felt her mana, to allow it to do what it wants, supplementing the action with his own. She would do the same for him, and the resulting spell would be stronger. Max was tasked with pulling water from the atmosphere, and Vel’s mana would bulwark him. It took a few hours but eventually there was enough water for Max to drown the nest.

Max was now level 8. Vel assured him that he would get to level 10 on the trip to Esmel. Apparently Vel had already planned for the Humble Titans to take quests on the road to Esmel.

Once the group pushed through the opened Gate, they were met with swords and spears. After a few moments of tense staring, Captain of the Guards, Olivia Shatterwind spoke her orders.

“Stand down!” After the swords were sheathed and the spears lowered, she moved to speak to the group. “Has the book been destroyed? Were any of you affected?”

“The book has been purified.” Domic spook with certainty, “Max had a mind control affliction, but it was dismantled.”

“Max will have to submit to a full Scan by Head Priestess Burk.”

Max looked at Vel and received a subtle nod.

“That’s fine.” Max spoke.

Captain Shatterwind’s hard expression softened at Max’s declaration. By now most of the guards had returned to other duties, only 5 including Shatterwind remained. The captain explained to Max that he would have to accompany her to Lesterwood’s main Church. This would be the first time Max had even been to the spiritual section of Lesterwood.

Max had wanted to learn about the Gods of this world but was afraid of the warning Goddess Ofes had given him. Now, Max had an excuse to go, but the result of this visit was worrying him. Max saw two outcomes: 1. Nothing happens, and he is cleared of suspicions. 2. Something bad. Max in all honesty didn’t know what could happen, but he knew he didn't want it to happen.

“Is it alright if I head back to the Guild? I got some paperwork to fill and I’ll find some quests that would suit you, Max.”

“Only Max has to attend.” Shatterwind confirmed.

“I will see you tomorrow then?”

“For sure. Thank you for your help, Domic. Truly.” Max said, bowing.

Max wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn that Domic’s already red skin became redder. Max removed Domic’s battle axe from his inventory, before saying his last goodbyes. Max, Vel, Shatterwind, and the rest of the guards began to move out a few minutes later.

“Do you know where the others are?” Max asked the captain.

“Your team? They were here, but we turned them away. It’s simpler that way.”

“I see.”

The travel to the spiritual district was uneventful. Turns out, when a full guard detail moves, people get out of the way. Max had somewhat already known what to expect, when it came to Churches on Nava. Most churches, at least in towns, allowed prayer to all Gods and Goddess, a few withstanding.

As the convoy approached the Church, Max was finally able to see it and it was nothing like Max expected. The Church was a hugely wide and large tower. Max had seen the tower before, since it was one of the biggest structures within Lesterwood, but he never would have guessed it was a Church. Max’s idea of Churches were rectangular buildings with a spike and a cross. Max was dumbfounded.

“Each floor is dedicated to a different God or Goddess.” Vel said, seeing Max’s neck arched upwards. “Forty-seven floors, last time I counted. That was a few decades ago, however.”

“What? Does the tower grow as more Gods are born?” Max asked.

“Yes, actually.” Vel gave him an appraising look, not sure whether his question was sarcasm or not. “And no. Gods are not born. They slowly raise to power, as their few followers become many. Hells, you could become a God if enough people prayed to you.”

Max’s face suddenly dropped.

What? I become a God. I- I.

“Kid, relax. I’m just joking. Mostly.” Seeing Max’s unsure expression, Vel added. “People looked up to Lester, they believed in him. Thousands. He did not become a God. You have to strive for it, you have to want to become a God. It doesn’t just happen if you are popular.”

Max didn’t know why he was so relieved to hear that. Maybe it was the idea of being immortal or watching over lives like a person does ants. It scared him, and he wasn’t sure why.

The group entered the main door of the tower. A great statue of three people took up most of the lobby. A plaque read “The Great Three”. Max recognized the title; it represented the 3 major Gods. Sswop, God of Rebirth and Change, Peneil, God of Death, and Ofes, Goddess of Light. The female statue looked nothing like the Giant of Light Max had met when he first arrived on Nava. But then again, who knows what her true form looks like.

The statue was the centerpiece and primary decoration of the first floor. Sporadic tables and chairs along with a waiting area covered the rest. The decorum reminded Max of his old office building, large and open with places to sit and mingle.

A Moon Elf greeted them. He wore traditional Elven robes, but what made him stand out from all other Elves Max had seen, was that he was bald. The Elf had a thick silver beard, but the top of his head was shiny. He was also much more muscular than the average Elf. While most were tall and slender, this man looked to be a bodybuilder.

“Greetings all.” The Moon Elf spoke. “I am Priest Woppy Moonsinger. Please call me Wop.” He gave a curt nod to Max.

Max returned the gesture. “Max Fowler. I take it, you know the rest of our group?”

“Indeed, I have had the pleasure of meeting everyone present a few times at least.” He turned his attention to Vel. “Veline, it has been a while.”

“Save it Wop. We both know I don’t want to be here.” Vel spit.

“Of course. If you do change your mind, Our Goddess-”

“I said save it Wop. I’m not here for that.”

“Ah, yes. Forgive me.” He turned back to Max. “Head Priestess Burk has been expecting your presence for a while now. Who would have thought that a Book of Pestilence would have been the deciding factor of your visit?”

“Burk. That’s who.” Vel cursed. Seeing his confusion, Vel explained to Max. “Burk is Angelic. A race known for Divination Magic.”

“Angelic?” Max asked.

“Angelic’s are born of Divine sacrifice. Oftentimes they are referred to as Demigods, but that is not the case. Angelic are not the Divine’s children. They are, instead, born of their power, not of their...seed.” Wop explained.

“In other words, they are Blessed by the Divine. Their race gets forcibly changed, along with their class.” Vel added.

“I see. And who would Head Priestess Burk’s benefactor be?”

“Ofes, Goddess of Light.”

Max felt almost all of his anxiety drop. Maybe I won’t be screwed.

Wop lead the group to a back room on the first floor. He gestured for Max to enter, and when Vel tried to follow, Wop stopped her. He explained that it was to be a private screening. Max gave Vel a reassuring nod, before he and Emi entered.

The room was a long halfway, with a set of stairs at the end. Max followed the path, up the stairs and through a second door. This time he was greeted with a small room with a desk and a few chairs. The most notable thing about the room was a small shrine.

You have entered a place of the Divine.

Max sat with Emi coiled across his lap. He began to wait. And wait. Sure, is taking her time... Max thought, slightly annoyed. Instead of sitting idle, Max entered his meditative inner world.

Max sat on the infinite beach, watching the waves. The harmonious calm feeling began to circulate through him, like always. Some time passed before Emi must have woken in the real world and joined him in the imaginary one. She urged him to practice his manipulation skills. Emi had a grand new idea that SHE would teach him to better control water.

The instruction began with constantly orbiting globs of water around himself, while shifting their appearance. From glob into star into cube, Max was beginning to become faster and more efficient. Emi suddenly started to pull on his orbiting water, breaking his concentration. The lesson moved onto orbiting under pressure.

Suddenly the door to the room rushed open, causing Max and Emi to drop out of his inner world. A small old woman was standing there squinting at him. She looked human to Max, but there was an eerie feeling coming off her. She wore sloppy white and gold robes, opting for comfort rather than practicality. The bottom of the robes was dragging across the floor, picking up dust and dirt. Her grey splitting hairs suggested she was very old. Even Vel, for her centuries of life, had hair that was still a majority black.

“Interesting...” She spoke. She moved to the chair behind the desk. “I take it you are Max.”

“I am. This is Emi.” He replied while waving her paw flipper thingy.

“Charming. Anyhoo, I need to do a scan, then we are going to have a talk.”

Max nodded. Burk closed her eyes and power started to flow into her. The room started feeling sticky, like a hot day after rain. Power from Burk started flowing towards Max. He could feel the power enter him, and abruptly exit. Burk opened her eyes and frowned. Her eyes were solid black. The same solid black as that man from Sythia’s shop.

“Very interesting.” She began drawing a different power. A Divine power. The power flowed through Max, scanning his every cell. Blood started to drip from Burk’s nose, causing Max to sit up in alarm.

“Head Priestess, your nose...”

“Quiet boy!” Her voice echoed with power, similar to how Ofes and Tiodepth spoke.

Max hugged Emi tight. He felt uneasy about Burk, and he found comfort in Emi. The power continuously poured from Burk, but now Max could feel it searching his infinite beach. Max dropped his consciousness to see what was being done.

The beach was in anarchy. Sand and water was being thrown into the air, causing a raining sandstorm. Whatever power Burk was using to scan him, was leaving no place unsearched. Max watched and felt his inner being, he was also searching, but for something else. He was looking for his Divine Aura.

Max moved to an area that Burk’s spell seemed to be favoring. The sand and water was being kept at bay by a force. The sand surrounding the area was calm, creating a sphere of stillness. Max walked into the protected area and felt around. It was small, but something was definitely there.

All of a sudden, far from the shore, water started to rise. Max remembers the sensation from last time. The feeling of tranquility in the face of something beyond his understanding, Tiodepth. Max preemptively averted his eyes. Max vividly remembered the headaches from looking at him for too long.

Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water poured off the behemoth-sized head. The sandstorm around the protected dome began to slow. Max couldn’t help himself and took a peek. Tiodepth’s head was hundreds of meters of across. Even though just his eyes were above water, he blocked out the horizon. Tiodepth was by far the largest being Max had ever seen.

Max moved his eyes back to the sand, a headache already started to form. Max burned Tiodepth’s image into his head. His blue-black smooth leathery skin, that formed an elongated but flat snout. His bright orange slitted eyes, with multiple layers of protective skin. Everything.

Max couldn’t see it, but Tiodepth narrowed his vision on the protected area and Max. The storm abruptly ended, causing all water and sand to fall. From his peripherals, Max could see large mounds form at the barrier edge. Max was now inside a crater.

As quickly as he came, Tiodepth returned to the deep. He came to calm down the storm? Max didn’t know his reasoning or the importance of the beach, but Max felt like Tiodepth did him a great service. Max stared out at the horizon for a few moments longer. He wondered about Tiodepth, his origins, why he chose to help Max, and why no one knew of him.

Max opened his eyes, ending his stay in his inner sanctuary. Surprising him, Burk was unconscious. Blood trickled out of her nose and was swept up by a stream of water. Max found the source. Vel. She and Wop were now in the room. Vel was healing Burk, while simultaneously creating a shield to guard off Wop. Small, engraved stones were floating around him, and he was in a combat stance.

“What’s going on?” Max asked, not understanding the situation.

“We don’t know, and now that you are awake, you can tell us.” Vel replied, her voice strained.

“Vel! Move your shield, it is obvious what happened.” Wop yelled.

“And what is that?”

“Where's Emi?”

“That boy is still under the influence of Ikzag. He attacked the Head Priestess during her scan!”

“Where’s Emi!” Max said a little louder, calling the others to his attention.

Wop stared ahead at Max, trying to find an opening in Vel’s shield. Vel looked downcast. Max looked for his connection with Emi. He followed it to a corner of the room, where a small blob of water was resting. Max could tell that the water had healing properties, and that there was a very injured Emi laying inside.

“She guarded you when Wop first arrived. I am sorry I didn’t get here before him.”

Max reached out to Emi and looked over her condition. She had a massive, for her size, hole in her lower torso. Vel’s healing waters were patching it up, and Max could tell she would be fine, but she was incredibly weak.

“Wop did this?” Max asked, his eyes not moving from Emi. “Wop attacked my bond? He attacked a level one?”

Max’s mind quickly started to count the days since his last use of his Demigod Racial, Divine Powered. The cooldown was still a few days away. Max stood, causing both Vel and Wop to tense. Without Emi’s calming effects, Max’s rage was unbound.

Divine power started to pour out of Max. It circled around Emi, picking her and the surrounding water up. She started to float over to Max. Max left Vel and Burk untouched. Vel could still feel the effects of Max’s Divine Aura, but she was not the focal point. Wop was.

Max’s Divine Aura began to press into Wop. At first, he was able to resist with sheer willpower. Standing in the face of the Divine was after all, his job. But as the crushing weight of Max’s anger only grew stronger, Wop had to improvise. Stone started breaking off the ground, walls, and ceiling. The crumbled stone began to form armor around Wop, and small engravings started to appear within the armor.

Wop was sweating, and his mana was becoming strained. Wop is a [Runic Stone Priest], a combination class of [Runic Stone Mage] and [Priest]. In practice Wop served as a fortification expert. He would often create structures to house troops, or he would affect an entire battlefield. His class bonuses were aimed at large scale spells, thus causing his personal armor to be mana intensive.

Wop knew he was on the clock at this point. Either he would run out of mana and crumble, or Max’s power would dwindle. Either way, Wop lost. He had already used too much mana, even if Max was out of the fight, he still had to deal with Vel. Wop only saw one choice. Concede. When he and Vel first felt Burk’s disturbance, he had tried to wall off Vel. It worked, allowing him to arrive first, but it also walled off the rest of the Church. Meaning he had no back up coming.

Wop dropped his spell, allowing his armor to turn to dust. Wop abruptly crashed to the floor, unable to stand with Max’s crushing aura. Max stepped forward, drawing water from Vel’s shield, completely bypassing her manipulation. Max was unintentionally using Emi’s Water Manipulation level. The combination between his and Emi’s was enough to forcefully take Vel’s water.

A dagger materialized in Max’s hand, and water crystallized into ice spikes above Wop. At this point, Vel interfered. The water she still had under her control turned solid black. A dome manifested around Wop, protecting him from Max’s fury. Max reached for the dome but found himself unable to affect the black water. A crushing feeling began to fall upon Vel.

“Max! Please! Calm down!” Vel yelled.

Something in Max flipped. He dropped out of his rage, ending his crushing aura. Max felt a power inside him, something foreign. Max remembered the feeling very well. The feeling of total bliss, the same feeling he had in the presence of Goddess Ofes. Max turned his attention to the small shrine in the center of the room. It was completely pristine. There was no dust, no water, nothing. There were small mounds of dust around the perimeter of the shrine. It was the same as the section of stillness within Max’s infinite beach.

Power surged from the shrine, enveloping the room in bliss. A second wave of power shot out and found its way to Emi. Her wounds finished closing, and the internal damage began to mend. A third and final beacon of power erupted from the shrine. This time the target was Burk. Max looked around, Vel had an unreadable, but astonished expression. Wop was breathing heavily, but otherwise unharmed.

Burk opened her eyes, this time they were solid white. She looked past Max, to the shrine. She nodded and spoke.

“I understand. By your will My Lady Ofes.” Her eyes returned to their normal brown, while she bowed at the shrine.

Wop had recovered to a sitting position. He was staring dumbfoundedly at Burk. When Burk ended her bow, she turned to regard Wop. Her stare alone caused Wop to shake. Some sort of untold message was being relayed between the two clerics. Max giggled internally at the sight of such a huge bulky man shaking due to a small old woman.

“I can see now that I have made a great error.” Wop started, “I am deeply ashamed of my action, Lord Max. Please accept my greatest apologies.” He somehow mustered the energy to change his position to a bow.

“No.” Max replied. “You do not get to apologize to me. When she wakes up, you apologize to Emi, and hope she is forgiving. If not, I will make sure you pay.”

Max’s brisk and cold response caused a shive through Wop’s spine. He nodded silently. Max felt for his connection with Emi. It was stronger, much stronger. Emi would be alright.

“Thank you.” Max said bowing to the shrine. He turned, “And thank you too, Vel.”

“Do-don’t worry about it boy.” Vel said, embarrassed. She quickly turned to Burk. “Is he clear?”

“Yes…” Her eyes turned somber. “I must apologize, Max. In my old age, I often got cocky. So, when I couldn’t Scan you using my normal spell… I used something stronger. I violated you, I used a Divine Scan without asking. I should have noticed what happened when my first spell failed, that should have been enough evidence for me to clear you.” She bowed.

“Divine scan? Huh...” Max said. Does that mean Tiodepth stopped a Divine spell? Just how powerful is he?

“You used a Divine spell without permission?” Vel hissed.

“I did and I will atone for it. My Lady Ofes has already told me my penance. I will see it through.”

Vel walked over and slapped her. The slap was enough to drop the small old lady from her sitting position.

“That was part one of my penance.” Burk said. “My Lady foresaw you striking me, and told me to ‘Take it like an Angelic’. Whatever that means…”

Vel scoffed. “Does Max get any say in your penance?”

“Sort of? I have been informed to instruct Max on the proper uses of his Aura.” She quickly added, “He can choose not to if he wishes.”

“Sounds fine to me.” Max thought for a moment. “It will have to be after we return from Esmel.”

“Ah yes, the Unicorn Queen’s quest. My Lady has also brought that to my attention. I will have a few prerequisite books for you to read during your travels.”

“Oh... Okay...” Max didn’t know how to tell her, and in proxy, Goddess Ofes, that he didn’t like reading. Well, whatever. How bad could a few books be?

Vel rolled her eyes. “I think it is time for us to leave.”

Bruk nodded, Wop was still staring at the floor, and Max agreed. He took Emi in his arms and began for the door. Before he was fully out the door, Burk spoke.

“Max. That th- What I saw in the scan… What was it?”

“I was going to ask you a similar question if we actually had that conversation. But I guess that will be next time.” Max replied and stepped out.

Max, Vel, and Emi walked through the hallways and staircase, back to the lobby. A stone wall, full of engravings, blocked the last doorway. Max watched in fascination as Vel created a wide drill out of water. The water cut right through the runic reinforced stone, creating an opening fit for humans.

Swords and spears were once again pointed at Vel and Max upon entry. The guard patrol, Captain Shatterwind, and more than a few priests and priestesses stood blocking their exit.

“He has been cleared. Get the fuck out of the way.” Vel spat.

Vel’s harsh tone caused some of the blockade members to recoil. Shatterwind and the guards stood firm. Vel scoffed. Mana and power started to be drawn to her. Everyone tensed.

“Ask Burk yourselves.” Vel said, before wrapping Max, Emi, and herself in shadowy water.

Suddenly the three detainees were replaced with Water Clones, their real bodies hundreds of meters away. Vel had cast the spell Shadow Swap. Granted her version was evolved, but the concepted still worked the same. Vel was able to swap objects with bodies of water the same size as long as the original body of water was in a shadow. In this case, she swapped herself and the other two with tanks of water she had hidden throughout Lesterwood.

Now they were headed home. It was late, and everyone was tired.