The otherwise pleasant visit to the High Priestess ended on a very sombre note and silence hung in the air as we exited the refuge of the High Priestess. As soon as we had closed the door behind us the typical smell of the town assaulted my nose. I was a bit startled by how badly it smelled even inside the spotless temple and I couldn’t help but frown in displeasure. “I think I understand Kiyara better now…” I thought as I reluctantly breathed through my nose.

“Excuse me.” Spoke a tired voice. I turned to see an exhausted looking acolyte, he had bags under his eyes and was pale from lack of sleep.

“Yes?” I asked with uncertainty while looking around to see if the acolyte was really talking to me and not someone else. However, his bloodshot eyes that glared at me told me he was indeed talking to me.

“Here.” He said curtly and shoved a large bundle into my arms before staggering off.

I just stood there looking at the receding back of the boy in absolute confusion for a moment before I looked inside the bundle of cloth and found my leather armour, and I smiled. The armour looked pristine and I honestly couldn’t wait to get changed. With this, we could finally leave Yallow and continue onto Umpari. I shoved the armour into my Storage and heard a weary sigh from next to me.

“Victor, did you not just say that you would be more careful about revealing your identity?” Liz said admonishingly.

“Uh… I did, but I mean… extra dimensional storage can’t be that rare right?”

“Even lesser items of that kind, are considered great treasures.” Liz gave me a hard look and I laughed nervously. “You are… special.” She looked at me with eyes that were filled with meaning, that look made me rather uncomfortable. “But as you are right now even I would be able to beat you in a fight.”

I did a double take. “Is Liz stronger than me?” I looked at the Priestess wide eyed and she scowled at me. She then crossed her arms in front of her and looked around to see if anyone was close by. When she didn’t spot anyone she spoke.

“I’m a level 56 Chosen Priestess.” I might have gaped at her, and she looked like she was about to make a rather angry remark when her eyes widened and she spoke hurriedly. “Victor, what did you say your level was?”

“Um, well… I’m level 16…” I cringed as I admitted it.

“And what class?”

“I-I… I don’t have one…” I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. Liz sighed.

“Figures.” She shook her head and turned on her heels. “Follow me.” She gestured for me to follow.

“Um…” I didn’t know why we were heading deeper into the Temple instead of levelling but didn’t know how to ask so I just looked at the tiny Priestess questioningly and followed.

“You have passed the tenth level and can now receive your first class.” Liz answered and visibly grew more excited as she spoke. “I wonder what the Goddess has chosen for you…” Liz almost hummed as she almost skipped forward. “I might even be graced with ‘her’ presence…”

The sense of excitement and worship almost rolled off Liz in waves and to be honest it put quite the damper on my own excitement. “Still, getting a class sounds exciting. I wonder what it will do?” I wondered and almost asked, but I restrained myself.

When we reached the innermost part of the temple Liz stopped by a statue that was oddly familiar to me and bowed deeply. The statue depicted a dignified and gentle looking young woman with flowing hair and a light summer dress seemingly woven out of flowers. The statue had no colour, but I could easily picture the beautiful golden eyes and hair of the Goddess despite the lack of colour on the statue. “Amoria…” I thought and bowed.

To the best of my knowledge I had never seen the Goddess or a depiction of her before. I still knew who this statue depicted and would be able to pick it out with ease, even surrounded as it was by the near endless rows of similar statues. I raised my head and was startled by the wide smile on Liz’s face. She said nothing and I felt cold sweat running down my back.

“Liz?” I asked nervously. “What’s going on?”

“Thank you.” Liz said and sent me an ecstatic smile. “The Goddess praised me!” She said her hands clasped in front of her in prayer.

“Eh… okey?” I was growing more uncomfortable by the moment. Luckily Liz shook herself and seemingly returned to her senses.

“Right your class.” She turned and gave the statue of Amoria a regretful look as she moved away to the centre of the large hallway.

Along the way we passed countless statues in various shapes, sizes, qualities and states of repair. I was surprised to find both races I heard of back home, along with races that I couldn’t really wrap my head around being represented.

My thoughts were interrupted when we reached a small altar at the absolute centre of the hallway. On a slightly raised platform stood two pedestals that looked like Christian baptismal fonts. The fonts were very ornate and unlike most of the statues in the hallway, they looked completely new, as if they had been carved yesterday.

Liz walked up to the font that was on the far side from us and gestured for me to do the same. So I took a calming breath and approached the black marble font. When I stepped up on the raised dais on which the fonts stood I gasped. Both of the fonts looked to be filled with liquid gold.

“I will guide you through your first commune.” Liz said with thinly veiled anticipation. “Do not be alarmed by what you see and feel. It is not real, but merely a tiny reflection of the minds of the beings watching over our actions.”

“What?” I suddenly felt a sense of being watched and I looked around involuntarily.

“Don’t worry, the gods always watch over and guide us.” Liz said with a smile. “That doesn’t reassure me at all!” I retorted in my mind but with great effort of will, I kept my mouth shut. “Now place your hands on the sides like this.” Liz demonstrated and I very reluctantly mimicked her. “Fuck… I hope she is not offering my soul to the gods or anything.” I groaned in my mind. “Now, speak after me.”

“Oh watchers and protectors of all things” I echoed Liz and felt my own voice echo inside the hallway. “I beseech thee, see me true and grant me your guidance and protection.” As I repeated Liz’s words, the sound of my own voice seemed to grow in volume. Then as if I was being guided, the next words easily flowed out of my mouth and were echoed by Liz who had looked to be in some sort of trance. “Judge me kindly and grant me the power to strive forward on the twisting path of life.” A part of me was starting to panic and I felt like screaming as I lowered my head into the golden liquid without any prompting or hesitation.

However I didn’t manage to scream, much less defy whatever was compelling my body to move and as my face sunk into the oddly cool and thick liquid my vision turned to a pure golden then everything changed.

I heard countless voices speaking to one another in just as many languages, then something shifted and I suddenly found myself seated on a small hill. All around me I could see flowers and seedlings sprouting out of the endless, verdant fields. The sound of chirping from tiny birds and the sight of tiny animals frolicking about almost overwhelmed me.

“Welcome, oh Champion of mine.” Spoke a young and dignified voice and all the animals went still. I turned around to see the statue from before come to life. No, that was selling the beauty and magnificence of the woman that stood behind me short.

“Amoria.” I spoke breathlessly and Amoria nodded gracefully.

“Indeed young Champion.” She smiled a bit mischievously and walked over to sit down next to me. Her dress, woven of flowers that danced in the slightest breeze and her near ankle length hair cascaded out around her as she sat down. Our shoulders were almost touched as she sat down and I felt short of breath while my mind became utterly blank.

The presence that surrounded the Goddess was both overwhelming in the extreme and yet, it was also oddly nostalgic. She reached out her hand and a tiny blue bird landed on her outstretched finger and chirped once before eyeing me with oddly intelligent eyes. I felt something stir deep within me and the bird ruffled its feathers and flew away.

“Oh?” The Goddess turned to face me and it felt like every fibre of my being froze in place. “What an interesting pet.” She smiled at me and I drew a shuddering breath. She laughed and looked back out over the fields. She looked young. “Or maybe ageless?” I thought as I glanced over at her nervously.

We just sat there in silence for quite some time and slowly but surely her presence became less overbearing. As it did, my breathing stabilized and it felt like my brain regained its functionality.

“Have you calmed yourself?” Amoria asked with a half-smile on her face as she looked out over the fields.

“Huh?” I looked over and realized that I was indeed calmer now. “Y-yeah… what… what’s going on?” I asked, looking out over the magical landscape.

“You asked for judgement and power, so I called you here.” She looked at me with a smile and my breath caught in my throat. She giggled and looked away. “It is quite the privilege, not even my own Archbishop can come here without dying.” I swallowed hard and she laughed merrily. “Don’t worry you are fine, this is simply a privilege of Champions.”

She stopped speaking again and I could once more hear the sounds of the many animals that lived here. “Are they really animals? Or are they something else?” I wondered as I looked around the space that somehow felt artificial to me.

“Oh they are real.” Amoria said smiling and I froze. “She can read my mind?” She giggled. “Only when you project your thoughts like that.” She glanced over at me and laughed at my pale face. “Can you imagine how hard it would be to listen to our followers' prayers if we could not do at least this much?” She sounded amused. “After all, do you know how few give voice to their prayers?”

“…I-I can’t say I do…” I answered after a beat.

“Very few do.” She shook her head a bit wryly. “But that is neither here nor there.” She then turned to me with a rather serious expression. “The reason I called you here, was to give you a warning.”

“Warn me?” I was very alarmed by those words. “Is it because of the witch? Or the potential of demons that the High Priestess hinted at? Or, maybe it is because…” Amoria interrupted my thought with her laughter. Her laughter reminded me of my childhood, and the many laughs I had shared with my family.

“Oh, nothing like that. Those ‘things’ and mistakes are both yours to make, and to figure out. After all, your life is your own and you may live your life however you like it.” She shook her head in amusement.

“Then why?” I almost managed to keep my distress out of my voice. “Why did you choose me?” I asked almost desperately.

“Oh dear, I didn’t ‘choose’ you.” Her tone was gentle and she patted me on my head like a child. My near panic at her words was quickly soothed, yet I still felt confused. However, before I could sort out my feelings the Goddess spoke. “You were selected by another and simply deemed a good fit for me.” She spoke kindly.

“Then who? Who selected me and why was I selected? I’m not anyone special…” I was just another person back on earth.

“That, I cannot answer. But you will learn more when you another Champion.” She ruffled my hair and was silent once more as she withdrew her hand. I was not sure what to think. But I felt a great sense of loss as her hand left my head. “What am I, some five year old child that has been separated from his mother?” I chided myself in my head.

“You are not far from that in my eyes.” Amoria said merrily and I couldn’t help but blushed furiously. She looked out over the fields and laughed merrily for a few moments before turning back to me. “Now, back to the reason I called you.” There was seriousness to her voice that made me snap to attention. “When anyone comes to the altar of reflection, us Gods and our servants will judge them and grant them a choice of three classes based on the person’s life until that point.” Her golden eyes seemed to see all of me and were filled with concern. “The three choices you would have been offered would have been, ‘Champion’, ‘Hero’ and ‘Path Forger’.” She sounded regretful and I looked at her confused.

“That sounds a bit over the top but… is that not something you would want? I mean I’m your Champion…”

“As I said, your life is yours. I will not tell you to become a ‘hero’ or even a warrior. In fact you could be a teacher, a doctor, a chef or simply a good husband and I would be perfectly content.” She winked at me as she added the last part and I felt even more confused.

“Then… Why summon me, or any ‘Champion’ for that matter?” This all just felt wrong. Amoria gave me a sad smile.

“I would like to tell you that there is a good reason behind it, and leave it at that. But…” She sighed. She must be able to sense that such an answer would not be enough for me. So she took a deep breath as if to brace herself and with a wave of her hand the world around us shifted. Then we were suddenly in front of a boiling black void at the edge of a perfect field.

It looked as if someone or something had simply decided that this was the boundary between this field and whatever that darkness was. Even from where we sat, several meters away I could clearly see the hard line that the darkness was pushing against. My entire body locked up and a feeling of inevitable doom washed over me as I watched the all-consuming blackness.

The black void did not appear to move yet it still gave off a sense of encroachment and I had to fight not to crawl backward as dread and a familiar sensation of wrongness rolled off the black void.

“Due to certain circumstances our world is in danger of this.” Amoria said sadly as she gestured at the blackness. “The Champions are a potential way to counter this.”

“You want us to fight ‘this’?” I asked incredulously.

“No, of course not.” Amoria shook her head and with a gesture we were back to where we had started. “I told you, I don’t need you to be a warrior at all. You may choose whatever path in life you would like.”

“Then… Do the other Champions need to fight that in my stead?” I didn’t want to force such a task on anyone.

“Oh no, that’s not it at all, how do I explain this…” Amoria tapped her finger on her chin as she thought. “What a very human expression…” I thought despite myself. Amoria flashed me a smile having probably ‘heard’ my thoughts. “First of all, this is not a problem that will threaten the world or the people within it in your lifetime. Or in the lifetime of your children, or in their children.” She shook her head ruefully. “Also you can’t simply fight pure chaos in any conventional way.”

“That’s chaos?” Amoria nodded at my query and a chilling follow up question escaped my lips. “Is that where the ‘Abominations’ come from?”

“Yes.” Amoria answered simply and I shivered. “But you don’t have to worry too much, there are very few places where ‘abominations’ can appear at all.” She patted my head again and for a moment I wondered how she could do so with such ease. “She looks shorter than me…” I shook off that thought and spoke.

“If we cannot fight it, what do you want us to do?” I couldn’t imagine bringing me, or anyone else, to a different world would be a simple matter.

“Well, bringing souls from other, more advanced worlds, will help develop our world faster. Hopefully that will bring our world closer to a solution.” She gave me a half-smile and I felt like she was not telling me everything.

“Is that all?” I asked.

“…” She just smiled sadly and shook her head.

“You can’t tell me?” The nod I got was expected and I let out a tired breath. “So, besides a vague possible solution to ‘chaos’ and something you can’t tell me. You don’t want anything from me? You are telling me that you just gave me a chance at another life and all these ‘skills’ without expecting anything concrete in return?”

“First of all, I have given you almost nothing. The ‘gifts’ you were given were earned and thus traded to you fairly. Secondly I guess there is one thing I would like from you.” She smiled mischievously and I felt like asking would be a bad idea but I couldn’t help myself.

“What would that be?” I asked suspiciously.

“Have plenty of happy and healthy children, and raise them well!” She said and burst out laughing at the expression of surprise, embarrassment and indignation that clad my face.

“…That’s not funny I said unhappily.”

“It wasn’t a joke.” She said wiping at her eyes. “But your expression was actually very funny. Even you would have agreed were you in my position.” She was still laughing and I really wanted to get a jab in so I opened my stupid, stupid mouth.

“Then are you going to have my babies?” By the time what I had just said registered, I was already bright red and there was short silence between me and the Goddess. That however, proved short lived as peals of laughter erupted from the goddess.

I buried my head in my hands and felt myself blushing to my ears as the Goddess was almost rolling around laughing. “Fuck, fuck, fuck… fuck my stupid mouth!” I just wanted to find a hole to hide in but I doubted even that would help.

It was at least another minute before the Goddess began calming down. I glared over at the Goddess reproachfully. She took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears out of her eyes. Only then did she look over at me fondly and I felt my slowly receding blush spring back up like some jack in the box.

“Oh, thank you.” She sighed happily. “It has been long since I laughed so hard.” She chuckled. Then she turned serious. “Now, I have already kept you too long, so I will be swift. I wanted to warn you about the ‘Hero’ and ‘Champion’ class.” She gave me a very serious look. “These classes are amazing and you would grow exponentially stronger by simply selecting either, yet even with that. I would strongly recommend that you choose either.” She gave me a stern look and I felt her overbearing presence once more. “Those classes are very powerful and at time necessary, yet they do not ever bring their wielders happiness.” She looked at me sternly for a while then the pressure dropped and she smiled. “As I am you patron, I will thus ask, what do you wish to be?”

There was a weight to her question that I had not expected. “What do I want?” I thought and tried to really think about it. “I did buy all the books on medicine, so maybe a doctor? But I bought all those books to keep myself safe, not necessary because I wanted to be a doctor…. Not that I am opposed to the idea…” I groaned. “What about a swordsman? Franz has been training me for a bit now and he seems to think that I have at least some potential. But then again…” I sighed. “But that is just something he has taught me as a form of self-defence, if anything maybe I should focus on my psychic powers? Or even my dimensional magic?” I was starting to feel a bit faint and I could suddenly sense that my time here was running out. “Shit.”

“Can it be anything?” I wondered aloud.

“Just about, yes. But you will need to choose soon, I cannot keep you here for much longer, and once you leave here. I will no longer be able to grant you whatever class you would like.” Amoria answered calmly.

“What would you recommend?” I asked, looking up at the Goddess.

“I won’t recommend anything. I just hope that you will not choose either ‘hero’ or ‘champion’.” She then gave me a final smile and ruffled my hair roughly. “Well, why not go with ‘Path Forger’? It is a special and extremely rare class, and one that lets you stride where none has gone before. Besides, any class offered by the observers is generally very suitable.” She pulled her hand back and the world around me started to grow indistinct. “Anyway, time is up. I hope that you will heed my advice.” She waved and the world started to fade rapidly.

“Wait, doesn't that leave me without choice?!” I half shouted but the Goddess didn’t respond, instead she just smiled at me and golden light swallowed me once more. As the golden light eventually faded three lines of text appeared in front of me.

Hero.

Heroes are the hope of the people. They are the beings that stand between peace and destruction.

Bonuses:

Increased Essence capacity, absorption rate and strengthening.

Increased Combat Skill acquisition rate and proficiency.

Increased Attribute gain and bonuses.

Increased Vitality, Endurance, Charisma and Luck.

Skills: Vanquisher, Guardian, Leadership

Requirement: Limit break, divine providence.

Champion.

Champions are the protectors of the faith and keepers of the divine law.

Bonuses:

Increased Essence strengthening.

Increased Combat skill acquisition rate and proficiency.

Increased Divine skill acquisition rate and proficiency.

Increased Stat gain.

Increased Divine power, Vitality and Stamina and Wisdom.

Skills: Protector of the faith, Healer, Bastion

Requirement: Champions of the pantheon.

Path Forger.

Those who find and follow paths untrodden are offered this class as a reward for their efforts.

Bonuses:

Variable.

Skills: N/A

Requirement: Acknowledgement by the observers as a trail blazer.

“Well fuck…”