Sora

My eyes shot open, and I pushed the djinn off me as I rushed to the bathroom. I tripped over something going through the door, but thankfully, landed on my knees in front of the toilet. Ithnaa teleported behind me just in time to pull my hair out of the way as I started emptying my stomach.

“Oh, fuck me.” I panted in between dry heaves. “I don’t remember feeling like this before we went to bed.”

“You’re definitely not drunk. This is mana sickness,” Ithnaa explained.

I looked up at her, and was about to ask how that was possible, when I noticed a particular goddess standing in the doorway with a guilty expression. “Right. Hello, Kai. I take it that this is your doing?”

“Sorry, I kind of forgot that not everyone can handle that much mana. I can turn it down if you want.”

“No, it’s fine. Just give me a second.” I still felt like complete garbage, but Thea had complained about mana sickness enough times that I knew how to handle it, at least temporarily. I activated my invisibility spell, which normally used a significant portion of my reserves, but I still felt like shit. Summoning my daggers didn’t help, and even a few of my other illusions didn’t seem to touch the mana flowing through me.

I ended the invisibility spell before looking up at Kai and shaking my head. “I literally can’t spend mana fast enough.”

“What?” The goddess gave me a confused look before shaking her head. “You didn’t even try any of your new spells. Come on, you got this!”

“New spells? What are you talking about?” Normally, I would have liked to be at least a little more respectful to the goddess I followed, but the mana sickness was making it hard to focus.

“Oh, right, I haven’t told you about those yet…” she admitted while looking around the space. “This isn’t exactly the best place to test out new stuff. Let’s go somewhere else.” The next thing I knew, all three of us were standing in the middle of a nearly empty temple. The only furniture in the large stone room was a marble altar on top of a dais, and the only decor, a purple cloth draped over it with a golden spiderweb design.

“Where are we?” Ithnaa asked as she conjured a pair of silk robes and handed me one, which I quickly put on. “Wait, is this Zesh’s temple? Should we be here?”

It took me a moment to recognize the goddess of order’s name, and I might have panicked just the barest amount once I did. Gods didn’t tend to have rivalries, but this definitely felt like we were intruding.

“Don’t worry about it. She's cool.” Kai waved off Ithnaa’s concern, and I was almost relieved until she kept speaking. “Although you’re going to want to learn your new spells fast before she sends her own paladin to fight you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Okay, so, new spells, right?” She completely ignored me, instead launching into an explanation. “Every paladin gets smite, plus a few abilities specific to their goddess. Because you’re mine, you get… uh, I have no idea. It’s different for all of my paladins, and because you’re a double paladin, you probably get twice as many?” She said it like it was a question, and Ithnaa went from looking annoyed at her, to looking concerned for me.

“Sora, are you sure about this? You can disavow her at any time.”

“Oh, right, your vow!” Kai interrupted before I could respond. “Most paladins need to say an oath before they get any powers, but obviously you didn’t do that, and you still got a ton of power. So, what gives, right? Well, I’m glad you asked! I just used your promise not to join Chorus’s followers as your oath. Don’t do that and we’re all good.”

“Does that mean I can follow other gods that aren’t Chorus?” Kai froze, and I laughed. “Don’t worry, I was just curious. I’m not going anywhere.”

She visibly relaxed. “Whew, good. Okay, let’s start with smite and then—”

“Zesh’Kai Fluffytail, just what do you think you’re doing?” I flinched as a voice shouted the goddess’s name and two people appeared near the altar. The first, and loudest, was a dark elven woman with nearly pitch black skin and long white hair wearing a beautiful purple and gold gown. The second was a man in heavy plate armor. Like honest-to-the-gods, knight’s armor.

“Hey, Zeshie! You look cute, love the dress. Is it new?” Kai waved at the dark elf with the widest, stupidest grin on her face, but that grin faded as she took in the armored man. “Wait, did you seriously bring Talis? Isn’t that a bit much for Sora? I mean, they’re brand new to being a paladin.”

“Kai, what’s going on?” Zesh stomped up to the goddess and pointed an accusing finger at her. “I haven’t seen you in days and then you just show up in one of my temples with a brand new paladin? Where have you been?”

“Mistress, maybe this is something best discussed in private.” Talis, the apparent paladin of Zesh, glanced towards me and Ithnaa. I couldn’t see his face through the helmet, but he didn’t seem impressed.

“Okay, we can talk about this.” Kai stepped towards Zesh and took both of her hands. “But while we do, do you think maybe you could leave Talis behind to teach Sora? Like I said, they’re super new and really need someone to go over the basics with them. Plus, all of my other paladins are busy.”

“Are they busy, or just ignoring you?” Zesh asked, and Kai shrugged.

“Tomato, potato. Either way, they can’t help right now. Which means I either need to teach them myself, or…”

“Or use one of my paladins to do it for you.”

“Exactly! I knew you’d understand.”

“I don’t understand anything you do. Why didn’t you just ask?”

“But I just did? Didn’t I?”

Zesh shook her head with a sigh. “We’ll talk about it, okay?” Kai nodded, so the order goddess turned back towards Talis. “Would you mind? This isn’t a command. You can refuse if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“I don’t mind, mistress. After all, training the next generation is the responsibility of us all.” He straightened up while letting off an obnoxiously smug aura. I nearly puked, and not just because of the mana sickness.

“Thank you, Talis. We'll be back soon,” Zesh said before disappearing with Kai. The paladin didn’t waste any time before turning towards us. I could feel him judging me through the damn helmet.

“Let me guess, Kai loaded you up with more mana than you can handle, and now you feel like death?”

“Yeah, that about sums it up.” I tried to imitate his posture, but didn’t even get close. He definitely noticed.

“Alright, attack me and put as much mana into it as you can.”

“Are you sure?” Ithnaa asked with a raised eyebrow. “They’re more dangerous than they look.”

“I doubt they’ll be able to hurt me in this state.” Talis looked down on me, literally, and I nodded as I pushed through the dizziness to drop into a fighting stance. “Come on. I won’t fight back. Just hit me.”

If you kill him without damaging his soul, then he’ll just show up in Zesh’s afterlife and she’ll bring him back within minutes.

I grinned as Ithnaa’s message came in over my implants and mentally changed tactics. I activated my invisibility spell, then I darted forward, low and to the right. The first dagger was conjured behind his knee, the second in his kidney, and finally a pair of them into his skull from underneath his helmet. He fell forward into a pool of his own blood. I released the invisibility spell and started collecting the daggers.

“You think the armor is worth anything?” Ithnaa asked, and I shrugged.

“Probably, but I think he’s going to want it back.”

“Serves him right for underestimating you.”

I was about to propose a compromise when a very angry Zesh appeared next to a laughing Kai. “What happened?” The angry one asked.

“He told a highly trained assassin to attack him, then made it a challenge,” Ithnaa explained. “This was the predictable result.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Zesh stomped over to her fallen paladin. Meanwhile, Kai actually managed to stop laughing long enough to give her a surprised look.

“Z, did you just curse? I’m starting to think I’m a bad influence on you.”

“You’re a terrible influence on me, but that’s nothing new.” She knelt down near Talis, and he let out a groan as he rolled himself over. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, thank you, mistress.” He rubbed at his helmet until he found the hole at the base of it. “Although, I think I may owe Bri’mer for a repair job, and it’s not going to be cheap.”

“Eh, I’ll cover it.” Kai waved off his concern. “Although he’s still kind of pissed about the last job I tried hiring him for, so you’ll have to cover the costs up front. If he knows I’m the one paying, then he’ll charge you double.”

Talis dropped his head back with a defeated sigh. “I’ll accept your offer, but I won’t lie for you. If he charges double, then it will cost double.”

“Whatever, fine.” Kai rolled her eyes before turning towards me. “How are you feeling, Sora? You still look like shit.”

“I still feel like shit. Honestly, I spent more mana in the bathroom before coming here.”

“That's certainly the strangest way I’ve ever been insulted.” Talis pushed himself off the ground and started stretching.

“Wait, you’re not seriously planning on fighting them for real, are you?” Kai asked. “They still have mana sickness.”

“Don’t worry about me.” I waved her off before summoning a pair of daggers. “I’ve killed better with worse hangovers.”

“Absolutely not.” Zesh stepped in between us to glare at Talis. “Resurrecting my paladin once today was more than enough.”

“Mistress, if you still wish for me to teach them, then sparring will be a part of it.”

“Fine, but no killing, understand?” She was looking at me now, and I reluctantly nodded.

“I’ll try, but I’m not great with half-measures.”

“You needn’t worry,” he responded before Zesh could complain. “This time I’ll do more than just stand there and let you stab me.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, and he nodded.

“Wait!” Kai interrupted. “If you’re seriously planning on doing this, then lose the armor.”

I chuckled as I realized what Kai’s actual concern was, but Talis didn’t seem to get it. “If you’d like your paladin to have a handicap, then I don’t mind, but I’m not certain that’s necessary.”

“Handicap? No, I just don’t want to pay for your armor after Sora shreds it. It’s going to be expensive enough as it is.”

“Right, we’ll stick to our fists then.” He carefully removed his armor, starting with the helmet.

“Dammit,” Ithnaa cursed under her breath. “He’s hot.”

I mentally agreed with her. Talis was a dark elf with deep purple skin, silver hair, and eyes that glowed with a faint crimson light. He was gorgeous, and the light leather armor he had on under his plate only accentuated his lithe body. It was nearly enough to make me forget that I still felt like death.

“Are we supposed to, like, tip him, or something?” Kai asked, and Zesh glared at her. “What? Watching him take all that off for free just feels wrong.”

“We’re going to go visit Bri’mer while Kai finishes explaining where she’s been the last few days.” Zesh waved a hand towards the armor lying on the ground, causing it to disappear. “Please, try to refrain from killing each other.”

~~~~~

It came as no surprise that I didn’t stand much of a chance against Talis in a fistfight, but I did manage to take a few rounds off him. He also taught me to use the smite spell that Kai had mentioned, but it didn’t do much to overcome the mana sickness. The problem was that it could only be used against living creatures, and I had to actively restrain the amount of mana I put into it otherwise I’d kill Talis again.

Apparently, being the paladin of a goddess that was as powerful as Kai had its benefits. Well, that or whatever she did to make me a ‘double paladin’ was pushing me past what was normal, because Ithnaa estimated that I had at least as much mana available to me as Talis, and he was Zesh’s first paladin. First in rank, not age. Something that he tried to make very clear. Personally, I felt he was a little too insistent on that point.

We ended the sparring session after a few hours, and by that point, the only residual effect of the sickness was a mild headache. I didn’t think I had spent enough mana to overcome it, which hopefully meant my body was acclimating.

“You know, I could seriously watch the two of you fight all day long,” Ithnaa remarked as she approached with a pair of water bottles that she had conjured. “Although, I think it’s a little unfair that you’re still wearing leather armor while they only have a robe.”

Talis thanked her for the water, which he nearly emptied before explaining. “With Sora’s preferred method of fighting, we can assume a direct hit would be lethal, regardless of what I’m wearing. With that in mind, any armor would only serve to limit my movement. Even what little I’m in now is more of a liability than anything.”

“Oh, sure, I realized that the first time they killed you. I’m saying that it’s unfair to me.” Ithnaa grinned, and I chuckled, but Talis seemed confused. That is, until he started blushing, which only served to encourage her. “I mean, if I’m going to be stuck here watching, then don’t I deserve a show?”

“I think we need to prioritize Sora’s training, besides the physical portion is already over. Next, we’ll be going over their oath along with non-combat responsibilities.”

“Talis,” I interrupted, before pulling him aside. “Ithnaa isn’t going to admit it, but she’s embarrassed by wearing only a thin robe in front of a big, powerful man like yourself.” We both looked back towards the djinn, and she was doing her best to look bashful. She wasn’t very good at it. “It might make her more comfortable if you were wearing the same thing as her. You know, like solidarity or whatever.”

“Sora, even if I believed you, I don’t—”

Ithnaa appeared nearby holding another silk robe that at a glance looked like it would fit him, but knowing her, it was probably a size down.

Talis glared at the two of us. “If I put that on, then both of you are going to stop trying to get me to remove my clothing, understand?” We both readily agreed, but he still didn’t make a move to take the robe. “One other thing, Sora. Kai doesn’t have a paladin that she can rely on right now, and she desperately needs one. I want you to take this seriously, because I know she won’t.”

I actually stopped to consider what he was asking. Ever since Es tricked Kai into making me a paladin, I hadn’t really processed what that meant or if I even wanted it. Admittedly, it sounded like I could just take the power boost, and none of the responsibility.

But that was exactly what Talis was asking me not to do, and while I never really considered myself overly devout, Kai was still my goddess. Then there was one other major factor. My instincts were screaming at me to accept his offer, even if all I technically got out of it was a hot paladin in a robe.

“I promise I’ll take it seriously, but I can’t control whether or not Kai calls on me, and if she’s not used to having reliable paladins, then I don’t think that’s going to be her first impulse.”

“I’ll make sure she calls on you.” Talis took the robe and walked a few steps away before shouting over his shoulder. “Both of you turn around, and you better not look while I’m changing.”