Chapter 27: Second Encounter

Aurora walked through the corridors of the ‘Temple of Knowledge.’

From far away, it looked small, but from up close... It was enormous.

Several small temples of different gods, in corridors with gardens and statues on their sides.

Elemental Gods, God of Commerce, God of Angels, God of Sword, God of Technology.

There were many gods, but the reason for that was that Terra nova was connected to many worlds.

It was common to pray to a ‘fire god’ from a different world and receive his blessing.

At the time of Terra nova, the ‘Enemy of humanity’ killed several gods.

An ancient Celestial God, the Goddess of War, a Vampire God, the Demon God, and the God of Werewolves.

Each God was powerful and had empires that praised him, but they still died, allowing other gods to spread their faith in Terra nova by filling the vacant slots.

It was hard for Aurora to imagine that something like this happened only over twenty years ago.

“I’m surprised they fixed the whole hotel in one night.” Andrés commented, remembering what happened last night.

In the night, the dining room and some windows were broken, but when morning came, the hotel was fixed with no trace that a battle had happened.

If it wasn’t for Director Vincent’s message, some students would have thought it was all a dream.

“I guess it was a consideration for us not to give up our trip,” Alice commented as she ate her chips.

Andrés nodded half-heartedly.

They had to leave today, but they would waste some of their time if they moved hotels in the morning.

“Where are you guys going?” Andrés asked curiously, and looking at the different temples, he murmured. “I’d like to go to the Goddess of Knowledge or the God of Technology from another world...”

The Goddess of Knowledge was known for her magical knowledge and belonged to Terra nova, the God of Technology was her counterpart and was from a distant world, but both were gods who supported the humanity of Earth by blessing people to create ‘Sages’ who shared their knowledge with the world.

Certainly their faith had spread to Earth, although people worshipped the ‘knowledge’ that both gods represented more than the Gods themselves.

“I want to go to the Celestial God Zabathza to see if I pray to him. He can give me some delicious food,” Alice said in a serious tone.

Aurora’s lips quivered for her eccentric friend, but it was Andrés who asked. “Why don’t you go to the Kitchen God?”

As his name said that God had a jurisdiction in the kitchen, and it was he who created ‘Sages’ of artisan knowledge.

It was normal for any gourmet to praise him, but...

“I don’t like him. He always talks about enjoying and eating wisely, savoring the food... Do you think I don’t enjoy it?” Alice asked in disagreement; she ate some chips and stated, “I enjoy them. That’s why I ended up eating several dishes.”

Andrés didn’t know what to say.

Believers of that God cooked as an art form and urged people to take their time eating and just as they recommended temperance.

Overeating was a problem with health consequences; that problem became more serious when the food had a large amount of magical energy that could harm the average human body, so the believers extended that information.

Alice left while eating her chips.

“Don’t mind her,” Aurora said as she saw Andrés still staring in disbelief, and with a half-smile, she muttered. “She likes the food too much.”

“I think the god she should worship is Gluttony...” Andrés joked before walking away.

Aurora held back her laughter.

As someone who attended theology classes, she found it funny that the god Andrés recommended to worship was a Hell God known for its infinite hunger.

Aurora looked around.

Priests of all kinds, guiding people as tour guides and others performing their own tasks of maintenance or care of their temples.

As she was bored, Aurora went to the Temple of the Goddess of Knowledge.

It was an ancient temple with large Ionic columns at the entrance; it seemed to replicate the Temple of Athena Nike of the ‘Acropolis of Athens.’

Seeing the white temple and climbing the stairs looking up at the ceiling was a fantastic scene.

For Aurora, it was interesting that the same Temple of Athena, the ‘Goddess of Wisdom,’ was replicated for the Goddess of Knowledge from another world.

Surely her believers thought it was a form of appreciation for Greek culture.

As she entered the temple, she could feel a soothing aura calming her mind, allowing her to think effectively.

The problem of the exams that would come after she finished the practice stages seemed to be easy to solve.

Aurora noticed that she wasn’t the only one who thought that way.

Around a statue of an open book were hundreds of people sitting cross-legged reading books or studying on their holographic clocks.

She noticed some students among the group who were reading seriously taking advantage of this effect.

That natural effect of relaxation that opened their mind to knowledge was a major effect of this temple.

The Temple was for the Goddess of Knowledge, knowledge that was mainly focused on magic, but in Terra nova, she was the goddess of all kinds of knowledge, highlighting magic as her primary source of knowledge, so this relaxation effect was normal.

This was the Main Goddess that the Falion Empire, known as a Magic Empire, worshipped.

Aurora, after looking at some murals in the surroundings, walked away from the place.

Leaving the temple, Aurora was thinking what to do when she noticed a figure she recognized heading towards the Temple of the God of Time and Space.

Aurora followed him unconsciously.

She could see his back and also noticed that when he entered the temple, he seemed to pass through an almost imperceptible barrier and disappeared into it.

Not frightened by that effect which was something normal in the official temples of that God, Aurora hesitated for a moment, but in the end, entered.

Stepping through the thin barrier that seemed to separate the two spaces, Aurora’s eyes steadied, and then...

“¡!”

She was startled to see a young man with delicate and refined features looking at her with a big smile on his face.

His two sapphire-like eyes watched her as they sparkled.

“You are beautiful...” said the young man with a flirtatious smile.

Aurora couldn’t help but cough as she heard those words... Which she herself had said the first time they met.

She hid her embarrassment and coughed a few times to calm herself down, but then commented. “Sorry for abandoning you that day.”

No matter how much she would make excuses in her mind that other people might come along... Aurora basically abandoned an innocent she had just saved with a monster she had just beaten.

That was something she would never have done... If she acted normal.

The young man touched his chin and muttered. “It’s hard to forgive you... I went through a hard time.”

Aurora felt slightly bad, but...

“Being saved by a beautiful heroine... It has marked my life,” the young man said with an amused but honest smile.

It was hard to tell if he was joking or it was a truth hidden as a joke.

That honesty made Aurora’s cheeks start to heat up, but she coughed and looked at the young man.

Was he teasing her about what she told him the first time?

Aurora could now be sure it was that way.

Looking at the young man who was smiling at her, amused at seeing her embarrassed, something rose inside her.

Aurora was someone who had faced many monsters, and though she would lose her composure over some flattery from a young man whose eyes fascinated her, she would not let them tease her so easily!

Walking slowly as she surveyed the interior of Aión’s temple that seemed disconnected from the world and where time was conflating, Aurora looked at the surroundings with a distant expression.

“I’m not a heroine.” Aurora said with a humble expression, and seeing that the young man was following her like a puppy, she turned around and declared. “I was only saving a delicate young man whose loss would make the world bleed because of the lack of his beauty.”

Cheeky words and said with a tone full of pity, as if it was painful to imagine such a situation.

“It’s an exaggeration...” said the young man, indifferent to that exaggerated praise, but Aurora noticed that he averted his gaze with embarrassment.

Her smile grew as if she had found his weakness, and this time she put on an indifferent expression.

“It’s not an exaggeration.” Aurora interrupted with a serious tone, hesitated for a moment, but unable to resist the temptation, declared solemnly. “It would be a pity not to see your beautiful eyes again.”

Her statement was sincere and made her feel ashamed for saying it, but the effect...

“...” The young man blushed at Aurora’s words.

It was devastating.

Aurora gave a victorious smile at the sight of him blushing.

He had been flattering her from the beginning with the intention of making her embarrassed as he had when he first met her, but now she had her revenge...

Revenge was sweet!

Aurora no doubt enjoyed watching the young man blush.

It was a pleasant and appealing sight, the attractiveness of which increased with the realization that she was the cause of this.

A strange feeling, but...

—I think I’ll get addicted... —Aurora muttered in her mind.

—...

Her system’s response was three dots in a row, and the young man, as if he had seen her expression of delight, averted his gaze to another direction, as if observing the temple, trying to regain his composure.

The young man had said some flirtatious compliments to her from the beginning, maybe feeling embarrassed, because the first time they met, he blushed, it could be a male pride thing, but... Aurora also had her own pride, and she wasn’t willing to lose in this game.

She was about to continue her attack, testing how far she could go, when she noticed that from the entrance, someone was talking at the edge of the barrier.

“Aurora... It’s time to go,” Andrés said with a touch of embarrassment at what he was doing.

Some people looked at him strangely and entered the temple but did not appear from this side where they were both standing.

“I don’t know if this works, but Alice told me not to go inside the temple and just call from outside... If you hear me, we’ll be waiting outside,” Andrés informed before running.

The temple had different spaces in which its visitors were directed, so entering didn’t mean one would arrive with the person one was looking for.

That’s why the priests recommended speaking from the entrance, and the words would be heard on the other side.

It was a feature of the temple that was liked by many people and at one time by Aurora, but now no longer...

“I must go.” Aurora said with a sigh and with a pitiful expression; she asked. “What is your name?”

The young man hesitated for a moment, but in the end, answered. “Kairos...”

Aurora nodded and headed for the barrier, but stopped before she fully exited.

“My name is Aurora,” she introduced herself with a smile, and after a bit of hesitation, she commented. “I like your name. It’s as cute as your eyes.”

Then, seeing the young man blush at her blatant flirting, Aurora stepped through the barrier with a triumphant smile.

Feeling the other side different, she first laughed at that new addition she had unlocked and then was stunned because of what she did.

Temples had different effects depending on the God they were created with; this particular temple was related to the God of Time.

That brazen attitude to flatter and flirt in a bold and shameless way was not something common in her attitude... On the other side, she seemed more mature and full of confidence.

Could it be a glimpse of her future confidence?

Aurora hesitated at her own question and quickened her steps.

She had heard that people were affected differently by the effects of the temple.

Elders who regained their memories lost in time, women who regained their confidence from their youth, cautious adventurers who acted recklessly as they did in the past, young people who gained a unique confidence and had become engaged to their partners when they visited the temple... Now she had tasted it first hand.

Whatever had happened inside, it made her discover a new ‘hobby’ that she couldn’t deny she enjoyed, only... That it seemed too embarrassing to perform it elsewhere.

Realizing that her thoughts were coming to light, Aurora hid them in the back of her mind.

It would be too embarrassing to flirt with the young man like that, but her personality would not allow her to embarrass herself like a damsel without fighting back... It was a complex situation.

“Are you okay?” Andrés asked as Aurora rejoined the group.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” Aurora asked, keeping calm as if nothing had happened before.

“Your cheeks are flushed, like a damsel who did something wrong.” Alice said and narrowed her eyes with a curiosity that seemed to overflow.

Aurora coughed and dodged her gaze, but realizing Alice had a donut in her hands, she pointed. “Apparently the Celestial God answered your prayers?”

The change of subject was obvious, but as a food lover, Alice fell for it easily.

“Yes,” Alice replied, to everyone’s surprise; she looked towards the Temple of the Celestial God Zabathza and declared. “He sent a priest to answer my prayer.”

They all looked at the temple, and then their expressions became strange.

At the entrance to the temple stood a priest with a box of donuts, eating breakfast along with a small group of other priests.

It was evident that Alice had said her prayer of loud and had received ‘answer’... From some priests who were having breakfast.

Aurora felt better... She liked to tease a young man by enjoying him blushing, but Alice seemed to like stealing food from priests.