“It seems we can finally have a proper conversation” the velvety voice cooed.

John’s mind left his body and he found himself standing in an empty white void. With the absence of the core’s allure, a serene feeling washed over him. The drive he felt with such intensity that he lost nearly all cognitive faculties was gone and he was himself again. He mentally relaxed, at least that was until he became aware of the women who flickered into existence in front of him!

John looked at this woman with utter awe. Her crescent shaped eyebrows raised slightly when she recognized the gleam in John’s eyes and her lilac lips curled into the faint trace of a smile. Silky hair freely fell down past her narrow shoulders and the silvery color popped against her unblemished pearly skin. She wore a flowing dress that perfectly hung onto every curve of her body yet John didn’t have to stop his eyes from wandering as he was captivated by her own. When he gazed into them, green like the most vibrant forest and accentuated by her long lashes, he sensed a beauty that went past her mere appearance and his entire being shook with reverence. There was no questioning that a true goddess stood before him. It was evident without having to be said. John was going to have a long, hard look at his previously atheistic ideology later.

“Young John, hero who finds himself in a world not of his own. I beseech you for your assistance in helping further my just cause. I am Austerice, the god of Justice. Due to powers greater than our own restricting us, we divine beings of this plane are unable to directly interfere in this world’s fate. While that may be the case, I have vested interests here and require someone who can act in those interests. I will grant you my favor and great power if you agree to become my-”

The goddess’s eyes narrowed. Her beautiful face warped into a frown and her brows creased. As she looked around frantically, her demeanor changed and she lifted her chin in contempt as a middle aged man appeared in the empty space beside her. The man had eyes that belonged to a man who had seen too much and shaggy hair, both of which were impossibly black. He was tall, maybe a full two heads taller than John, and wore a tattered black robe that made him look lanky. His skin was pale enough to make others question if he had ever been touched by sunlight. He looked down at the goddess, whose entire demeanor shifted from a perfect divine being to that of an entitled brat.

“Darkness, I see you’ve decided to meddle in my matters!” Austerice spat and stomped her foot like a petulant child.

“God of... Justice” he replied disdainfully, “All I’ve done is prevent you from poaching MY apostle before giving him a full understanding of the circumstances he's been pulled into. Even if you are married to my dear brother, he won’t defend you if you are so clearly overstepping your boundaries here. I’m not one to lecture, but are you or are you not the Goddess of Justice?”

“Hmph! You didn’t even officially claim him yet, he’s up for grabs!! You don’t even need the help of an Apostle to increase your divine power. Don’t blame me for trying to swoop in and steal the golden goose if it’s left unattended.” Austerice crossed her arms and looked at Darkness indignantly.

“Like all apostles, the branch of magic they can utilize is that of which the god who they are chosen for represents. As a user of shadow magic, he is clearly an Apostle of myself! Also, he was not left unattended. I am acting in his best interest by not overwhelming him with the burden of his future. While it’s not in my nature to interfere and it’s much too early in his growth for me to directly assist my Apostle, you have forced my hand.”

Austerice shouted, “I need strong Apostles to help my rise in power!! My own apostle has already perished, why don't you give face to the wife of Light and hand over what I desire?!”

Darkness didn’t bother arguing and merely waved his hand. The white appearance of the void drastically changed into an abyssal black of darkness. Austerice, with a vein bulging in her forehead, opened her mouth to shout but was cut off as Darkness easily removed her presence from the space he had now made his own domain. He and John stood alone facing each other.

“Sorry... Sir Darkness? But, did I just witness the Goddess of Justice throw a hissy fit?” John asked incredulously.

“Just Darkness is fine, and yes. You indeed have” he said with finality while showing an amused grin.

“Well it seemed like she was going to give me some answers before you showed up and waved her away like a bratty fly” John remarked.

Darkness chuckled lightly, “huh, bratty fly. I like that.” He continued “Since you’ve already been faced with more questions than I’d have preferred you knowing to even ask at this stage, I will fill in some of the gaps in your knowledge. You John might have the physique and absorption abilities present in spirit-beast, but you are much more than that. You are an apostle chosen by the Being Above... chosen to be my apostle I suppose.”

John looked at the god standing in front of him for a moment before saying, “You know, Darkness, that didn’t really explain much of anything.”

Darkness sighed, “Very well, I will explain more clearly. You are not just some spirit-man as your friend’s have dubbed you. You are an apostle that is aligned to darkness. Every millennia or so, each God is given an apostle of their own to act in their interest and assist them in gaining power. Divine beings are restricted in how much we influence the fate of this world by the Beings Above, but can be represented by an Apostle who wields some degree of our power. If you are wondering why you are chosen for this fate, I do not know. Utilizing darkness magic is not that rare so the factors considered when choosing an Apostle are not clear. The Beings Above pull seem to simply pull mortals into this plane from elsewhere but they’ve never been known to explain their actions to gods.” Darkness said that last line with mild annoyance.

“Well I’m assuming Apostles can become pretty strong, seeing as they represent gods or whatever, and I can understand wanting to have a strong chess piece to affect the world if you are restricted from doing so yourself... but that thing you said about having an Apostle to assist gods in gaining power, what do you mean by that? You’re not gonna suck my life-force out of me or anything right?” John raised his brow. While joking, he was actually half serious.

“A god's divine power comes from two things. When a god has an extremely large and devoted following, the people create a religion in their name. The zealots of this religion will pray from the very core of their soul. The mortal soul, while otherwise not notable, is a nearly constantly refueling source of energy. That energy is unconsciously delivered to the god they pray to and is then converted into divine power. A strong champion, often an Apostle, can drum up support and new followers for the god and effectively expand their influence and power. That is what Austerice was hoping to use you for. Her original Apostle was lacking and almost immediately died in the dungeon it was summoned to.”

John thought back to how he was nearly killed by the boar spirit beast when he first arrived. He only survived due to dumb luck and Austerice’s Apostle was clearly not as lucky. He mentally thanked the bizarre luck that let him survive that first encounter before he had even realized that he was in a new world.

Darkness continued to explain “The second way we gain divine power is what I, and the other old gods utilize. That is our divine alignment’s physical manifestation having presence in this world. For instance, Aqua, whose divine alignment is water, passively has an abundance of divine power due to the simple presence of water being in this world. Me and my brother Light are the oldest gods and unconsciously aligned ourselves to the strongest forces in this reality when we were merely infants. The divine beings that came after us also became naturally aligned to certain forces of nature and had no real choice since we do so before we are even capable of basic thought. The lack of choice didn’t really matter because our personality seems to reflect the element or force we represent. Since there can only be one embodiment for each natural force, after a millennia of gods popping up, most natural divine alignments were taken. Younger gods would not be able to align themselves to an element while in infancy, and could be considered lesser gods. These lesser gods would choose to associate their being with a concept in name alone after they reach maturity. The lesser gods often choose a concept that had enough appeal to mortals to elicit worship from them. Austerice is the perfect example of a younger god, with no innate affinity for an element or natural force, who calls herself the god of something or another that attracts the worship of mortals. In fact she’s a conniving, immature goddess who relies on the power of the political marriage between her and my brother while hiding her shortcomings behind the mantle of Justice.”

“Wait up, what exactly is a divine alignment? Is it just the type of power you wield?” John was almost overwhelmed with the sheer amount of world-view shattering information thrown at him. The more Darkness explained, the more questions he would have in turn.

“It is that which our very being is most aligned with. When spun up into creation, a god naturally develops an affinity for one aspect of creation. Whether or not we instinctively choose to align our being with the force that embodies our natural disposition when developing, or the alignment is determined randomly and shapes the being who chooses it is unclear. Me and my twin brother were the first two gods and latched onto the most prevalent forces when we were developing. In this world there is always either darkness or light, that fact is inescapable. This led us to becoming the gods with the most amount of divine power without having to rely on mortal followers to have any semblance of strength. This concept applies to gods of water, fire, and others of the sort... though to a lesser extent if the element is not in as much of an abundance

Austerice is the self proclaimed God of Justice. Newer gods like her, who did not acquire strong alignments when young, require many followers that pray to her with absolute reverence in order to draw power from their prayers. Austerice was married to my brother Light for political reasons. I won’t get into the history of political conflicts between us gods now but it's crazy and tiring. Since she married one of the more powerful old gods, she has grown audacious and haughty. She even tried to step in and steal my Apostle before we officially sealed the deal!”

John quipped, “Honestly, if I have to seal the deal with anyone, I’d prefer it to be with the drop dead gorgeous goddess you chased away”

Darkness rolled his eyes, “So my Apostle is... funny? Hmm, how entertaining. I’ll admit the only two redeeming factors about that woman are her looks and her ruthless drive for power. Anyways, as my apostle there is naturally an exchange of benefits. At the higher levels of advancement, you will be able to utilize some measure of my divine power, despite the sole true divine natural affinity belonging to myself. In exchange, you agree to be my champion.”