There was an old saying which preached a basic yet absolute truth: commoners existed in a world, while gods lived in another. This common knowledge wasn’t promoting the existence of another material world, but simply stated the obvious difference between the two people. Longevity, strength, and even free control over the divine energy, it was no wonder one started to worship the other.

However, it raised one question that nobody dared to ask, for the fear of a lack of answer would lead to a catastrophe. Why would they listen to those inferiors creatures? Was there really a mutual need between the two people? All things considered, mortals didn’t really require the protection of one god to live another day, while those immortals beings were completely safe from natural disorder like famine or disease.

It truly was questionable how those two people could so easily interact with each other, and yet they does without any sparks between them. Maybe it was because they both possess what the other lack, or maybe it was simply due to one’s greediness and the other’s naivety. But just as it sounded like, it was difficult to say that a god acted like this because of its unawareness of his guest.

And just like that, more or less aware of the blind and childish kindness in Friture’s heart, Trellia guided him between the trees of the ancient forest surrounding the kingdom of Biscotti, leading to a place unbecoming for one used to the everyday pamper of a peaceful civilisation. While it was certain the path wasn’t plain and paved, Trellia did her best to locate the less arduous way. It was her way to both encourage Friture for going forward, and to give him a little bit of exercise. Because, yes, he was not used to hiking in unknown territory.

The voyage seemed endless, and when one voyage seemed endless, everyone would ask the same question.

“Are… Are we there yet?”

“Gosh! Friture! Stop complaining, you’re ruining our pleasant promenade together”

“Please don’t put it that way… You asked me to follow you so that I can understand something… But we only walked… For only you know how many hours…”

“It’s not even noon yet! Come on, I’ll carry you if you’re exhausted.”

“No-no! I’m fine. I’m fine...”

The duo walked with this atmosphere between them since they departed for a walk in the wood. Trellia seemed joyful as usual, but he couldn’t pinpoint the cause for that joy. For now, Friture could only obey this strange goddess, wondering what kind of view she wanted him to see.

“Now that I think about it, it’s true that I don’t know what gods usually do…”

They hardly needed to eat. They hardly needed to drink. They didn’t even need to sleep, however that didn’t spare the youngest of them from the mental exhaustion, plus they kind of liked those mysterious episodes they would live then forget once they woke up. So… Were they lazy bums? But Trellia didn’t look like someone who would postpone her tasks just because she felt like it. The more he pondered on it, the more Friture felt trapped in a loop that would never give him an answer no matter how many times he tried.

The easiest way was of course to directly ask her, but somehow he felt it was improper to ask an ageless lady about her daily agenda, so he just discarded the thought and carried on.

“There, we’re here.”

Feeling an outburst of happiness upon hearing those words, Friture gave a more straightforward effort to join Trellia, then looked around him to try and guess her purpose. Before them, a grand lake spread itself, its calm surface reflected the brilliant sky with an enchanting sight. Just looking at the unmoving surface gave serenity to both of them. The lake didn’t give this immenseness feeling because the forest still encircled it while not being surrounded by mountains, anyone would think that they wouldn’t need that much time to walk around it while looking at it.

Most of the local trees extended their roots directly inside the lake to drain its fresh water, sometimes gifting a leaf to their benefactor like they were exchanging their belongings to maintain a sort of balance. One green leaf slowly fell, touching the surface of the water in a manner as calm as possible, yet still sprouted small waves on its impact. And suddenly, a fish jumped out of its environment, gulping the leaf before disappearing back to its home.

Friture was happily surprised by this scene, viewing the fish more as a delicious meal than an animal rightfully living in his territory, however it still added a sort of charming air to the place.

“At first, there was only a pale pond here. Some insects lurking around, with the fishes doing their best to catch them. Not really a place where you would sit and eat your bread with your mind at peace.

So I decided to nurture this land. Seriously, it was a pain to come back here and fix all of the mistakes that kept popping out of nowhere. And worst of all, they just kept popping again, like someone was deliberately making them to piss me off.

But look at that now. Wasn’t it worth it?”

A kind breeze caressed Friture’s hair. He felt invited to admire this piece of art in which a goddess dedicated efforts and time in order to construct a stable, small and beautiful world. But it was still off from what he expected. Do gods… Had too much free time?

As a scientific, Friture was well versed in the caprices of Nature, and could only complain when an obstacle that was written in the rules of physics prevented him from reaching a goal that was only an inch away. At the same time, it was what made science both fun and challenging for him, and the reason that he stood so much time trying to solve problems that seemed unfeasible to ignore.

He couldn’t say he didn’t admire Trellia, because what she did was basically the same as an impossible feat which required years of research, experiments and a vast amount of resources to apply dubious theories. And she did it all by herself. But something still was off for him.

“Yes, it’s beautiful…”

“What’s wrong? You don’t seem convinced by my awesomeness.”

Feeling something wrong in Friture’s tone, she couldn’t help but ask in a petty way.

“Well… I don’t know how to say it…”

“Then start with what you’re thinking first.”

“It’s not that easy! I… Sorry, I mean…”

“Ah ah! It’s okay, it’s okay! But I must say I’m still surprised by your lack of reaction. Just say you find this place pleasant to the eyes, okay?”

As a casual shut-in, Friture wasn’t used to chitchat with other people, nor with people of the opposite gender, and even less with people of divine origins. What if what he said offended her? Would he suffer her wrath? She didn’t look like the kind to easily lose control over her temper, but let’s just say it was possible and… It only added stress on his shoulders.

No, he should act a little more open-mindedly, otherwise he would stay a mute person for the rest of the day. Besides, she wouldn’t let him go that easily. The least he could do with his saviour was… To be honest?

“Actually… I don’t really… Understand, why you did it. Was the land previously that bad or… Cursed?”

“What? What do you mean, ‘cursed’? Of course not, I just cleaned it over the years and it simply turned out this way.”

“Then why did you do it? Would it not have been sufficient to let time do its work until everything found its equilibrium?”

Nature always find a solution to its own problems. Mortals did not have any words to refute this truth, nor the power or the technology to argument against it. Maybe gods could with their divine energy, but then why would they? It was also common knowledge that time healed all wounds. Do gods saw it with a different point of view?

Trellia looked at him, at first because she repeated his words in her head to make sure she understood what he implied, but then she took it seriously because it touched an area she was responsible of.

“You still confound it, don’t you?”

“Eh?”

What? Did he miss something?

“Yes, it’s true that time sure help a lot. Sadly, divine energy doesn’t work that way.

Let’s make it easy to understand: what do you know about divine energy?”

Divine energy… It’s true that we don’t know a lot about it, then does she know something?

“Not a lot… It’s quite instable and next to impossible to extract on our own… It has many uses, but we still don’t know its full potential.”

“Yeah, same for me actually.”

“So we are stuck on the same case…” thought Friture with a disheartened face. If so… Then what was the point of asking? But Trellia didn’t stop here, she raised her finger like a teacher about to tell something important to its students, then proclaimed proudly what she wanted to say.

“However! I still lived long enough to learn two things!

The first thing is… And unlike what I’ve constantly been told by mortals… We gods don’t actually contain divine energy inside ourselves… It exists as a flow that circulates somewhere through the world. We are merely spoons that dig in a river which the origin and destination is unknown to us.

And the second-!”

She interrupted herself, leaving Friture with a cliff-hanger. However, even he felt it. The air vibrated once, then dissipated. It was like a shockwave that made your body tremble for a short while, then you felt nauseous due to the remaining sensation of fear and the cruel enlightenment of being so close to death.

That was right, at this point in his existence, Friture didn’t only felt he was in danger. He was the prey, and the predator made his appearance.

The wind blew again with a tremendous savagery, pulsating a threatening breath to every living beings in the proximity. The trees shook, while the lake… Changed.

Something… Emerged from the lake. A being that inspired terror in anyone’s heart, a creature born to devour and consume the fools that dared to cross his path.

Why did gods need mortals, and mortals required gods? If it wasn’t because of sympathy or mutual complementary, then the last possibility was probably what drove those two people to joint together: demons.

Those heretical entities were born by the same rules as the gods. Just as we could compare the civilisation with the fauna, demons were the equivalent to animals for the gods. But dreadful animals which could split the earth and heaven in half if they decided one day to rampage.

An enemy that could rival the gods, a nemesis that was seeking chaos and destruction. Truly a foe that both people needed to be wary of, no matter the situation, no matter the era they were living in.

On this day, Friture met a demon’s eyes. It filled his mind with sombre sights of himself being toyed under the sharp teeth of the monster.

“Tch. I knew I should have come more often…”

Trellia clicked her tongue in annoyance, not amused by how the events turned when she was having a happy time with her guest.

“Get behind me Friture. I’ll handle it.”