Chapter 1013: Nigh Godhood

As he awoke inside the smoldering crater left behind by the battle against Hamelth, Raven was greeted by the worried expressions of mortals and gods alike. Before him was Athenia, the goddess of life and death; right beside her was Elenaria, and to their sides, Helga, Moeria, and Mono were all staring at him as well.

"Did we all die together?" With a dry laugh, he slowly picked himself up and sat upright. "Is this heaven or hell? Feels like a hot spring made of lava. And my hand...why does it feel so heavy all of a sudden?"

As he looked at the arm of ash and gold, the hero blinked, confused. Uncertain about what he was looking at. Golden veins throbbed from within this new flesh of living ash, and though he could feel every inch of the divine hand, it felt strangely different.

"You were about to lose your arm; Hamleth’s soul had burned most of it. The light upon his death waved over the whole of Atlaris; it’s a miracle that you’re alive, and that too without losing your arm entirely." Athenia’s words were little solace to Raven. He’d been changed before numerous times, but seeing a physical reminder of that change attached to him made it feel more surreal.

But the surprises were not yet over, for the waking demigod had much to hear from his ascension-aiding goddess. Her blood now coursed through Raven’s body alongside his own, and with the silver of divinity from both her and Hamelth’s soul instilled within him, the cracks formed inside of Raven’s incorporeal self were glued together by his own divinity.

The burden of hosting the fae mothers was no more; the need to require mana to cast spells wasn’t there either. However, beyond that, a new window had opened, as well as a title added to his numerous titles already.

’The Demigod Of Law?’ Raven’s eyes blinked at the title staring at him from the back of his closed eyelids.

"The reward I promise at the end of this journey..." Opening his eyes, Raven watched as Athenia offered him a hand. "I gave it to you now, for who knows if either of us will live to see the end? And having only one arm would’ve surely made it more likely for you to be the one left behind."

Taking her hand, Raven picked himself up before slapping the back of her hand.

"You should be careful; only gods have died in this journey so far." He smirked, slowly shifting his attention to the others gathered around him.

"I didn’t think the goddess would reward you after all." With her hands folded tight under her chest, she glanced at Athenia and then back at Raven–her eyes lingering on that darkened hand. "In any case, everyone’s been screaming through that ring of yours. Amedith and Liliyana especially; the whole empire is spun with chaos. Erika mentioned something about her handling that golden city, but everywhere else, they’re either gonna need a new god or some assurance from their god killer that this death won’t affect their lives personally."

"And they’re just going to listen?" He asked.

"Everyone listens to me as long as I act the part of a queen, for better or worse." Mono shrugged, still covered in soot and dust from being buried deep in the rubble.

"Hmm..." Looking at Mono and her past hysteric history as well as her chaotic playfulness, Raven’s doubts subsided just a touch. But to act like a god, what would that even mean? Before he could come up with his own interpretation of it, however, Athenia placed a hand on his shoulder and, with her eyes staring deep into him, she explained just what he needed to be–at least to the people of Hamleth.

"These people fear the law and its authority. Hamleth has kept them bowing under their feet. You may not make them bow, but that doesn’t mean you can’t push to be that radiant and stern light that has guided them so far. Imagine if I abandoned the path of life and greenery for Athenia in pursuit of wars or something else? The people will not abide by it, and so you need to be the stern law–the very same that has given their lives purpose."

"Law and I, huh?" Shaking his head, Raven just scoffed while looking at his darkened hand. "I would be the last person to abide by the law, and yet somehow of all prospects I ended up inheriting the title of a law’s demigod."

A dry laugh left his lips, amused by the absurdity of it all. As his laughter died, however, he lifted his head and looked around at everyone once again. Still struggling to believe that they’d killed Hamleth and he’d become a god of his authority.

"Fine, let’s get this done."

"Alright, I’ll be heading home then. Goddess, are you coming with me?"

"I can make my own way home, Mono..." Elenaria scoffed.

"I will be waiting for you at Charammer then." With Athenia taking her leave, everyone else followed suit. Leaving Raven with Helga and Moeria, the duo he’d come to the capital with.

Dropping his shoulder, Raven wound his new dark arm. His veins crackled with the powers of Hamleth. The arms of gold, the inhuman strength, and most importantly, the ability to demand of people to do as he decrees.

"A divine bard, of sorts, huh?" He said to himself.

"I doubt bards can fuck a woman good; most of them just sit down and watch, recording everything or painting a picture." With a hefty sigh, Helga moved beside Raven, her hand resting on his shoulder with the faintest of smiles. "Let’s get this done. I wanna fuck and forget about what happened today once this is over."

Laughing together, the two held each other’s hands and turned to Moeria. Ready to leave with the teleporting ring, they wanted her to get close, but after hearing what she’d heard, the woman was blushing red, and despite having no body at the moment, her whole being was turned red with a flush.

"Stop wasting time!" Helga complained, thus finally snapping out of it; the last member of their expedition finally got closer.

There were many stops to be made along their way, but first came Kevlon–the city burning itself after having lost its only god.