Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 822: The Goddess Of The End

A woman born before the birth of the elder gods, and even before her own mother. The goddess of the end was the first, and she shall be the last. Nexa Nuva Nerva, the nexus that connects it all. Like a bundle of synapses connecting to form the senses and the sensations, she was the catalyst that would connect everything together, one event after the next, until everyone and everything was gone.

She bore life into the world of Atlaris, a plateau of a world drifting amidst the many stars. From the very beginning, she nourished her children, knowing full well that one day their lives shall end. And in her countless sacrifices, she gave another. Setting her soul in the capable womb of an elder god, she was meant to be born as a mortal child and experience life as did the rest of her creations.

Alas, the greed of her own blood she couldn’t have foreseen. As the moment her soul took form in the shape of mortal flesh, her own mother began to plot. Feeding poison into her holy womb, the worst of women, Aphrodite poisoned yet another of her daughters. The flesh of the budding goddess, weak as a petal, perished to the foul woman’s scheme. However, as the soul of the gods couldn’t truly be defeated, the stillborn child’s body was tied around the world as a spine that held it together.

As for her head? It became the very centre from where everything on Atlaris could be controlled in an instant. The gods warred for that seat, that throne of omnipotence, and in the haze of war, another goddess came to be. Athenia, the daughter of Murdok and Aphrodite. Seeded from the very poison that had killed Nerva and the holy essence of the goddess of life. A true successor to them both, and yet the envy of her mother led the father to lock her up in the only place where he knew nobody could hurt her.

The throne of Nerva, to this day, over which his daughter resides. Judging matters of life and death, but more importantly, seeking to unite the gods under one benevolent banner.

’So it was my father who gave mother the poison that killed my sister. What residual poison was left became his essence in me, death itself...’ Staring at the tear-wet parchment, Athenia’s eyes lingered on the book. Finally, her clone had managed to pry the one book in the infinite library that held the secrets of this world’s origin.

"Our world...it’s rotting because Nerva is rotting?" Having heard it all from her goddess’s own lips, Erika squeezed her hand by her chest and stepped forward. "Why is she punishing us?! Why, if the elder gods were the problem, then why is she still dead set on killing all of us? The people who had nothing to do with what happened to her!"

"I..." Lifting her head, Athenia closed the book shut. "I doubt it’s as simple."

Glancing over at the others, she made note of their anxious expressions. The spine of the world, the betrayal of the gods that created their world, and worst of all, being watched by a goddess that wished them the worst, needless to say, it was all a little too much to digest all at once.

"I’ve only come to learn of this right now myself," putting the book on the armrest, Athenia peered up into the beaming light cast onto her throne. "She’s probably still watching us, but why reveal yourself now? Why not before, why not later? What changed that made you come out of hiding, I wonder?"

Feeling a chill run up her spine, Athenia squeezed her arms and lowered her head. Looking at her followers once more, she tried to seem more confident than she was.

"Either way, your journey continues. For if the rules remain the same, then Razor will interfere if she tries to meddle with mortal affairs directly."

"What about you?" Erika asked, her worry for her goddess written all over her face.

With a smile, Athenia conjured the ledger of the dead.

"I still hold command of life and death, and though she could most likely put me through a different hell, for as long as I live, I will never sway from my sworn path."

"What if..." Getting out of his chair, Raven’s eyes remained on the empty floor in front of him. His mind had been wandering, and being a man who’d experienced too many surprises, from within and the outside, he had a different perspective to share. "What if that’s what she wants?"

Looking up at Athenia, he loosened his arms and let them fall to his side.

"What if she wants us to continue? Why else would she allow us to continue? If she’s so powerful, then why–"

"We have no clue about her intentions. I think it’s best we keep speculations as such and nothing more. It won’t serve to solve our confusion." With a brush of her hand, Athenia conjured a portal for the party to return their consciousness to their bodies. "As for the condition that you spoke of, I do not sense anything of the sort inside you. Your soul is host only to your own and a speck of nightsilver’s, so why did that outburst happen...I can only suspect that the mysterious benefactor of yours had something to do with it."

"Umbra?" Raven

"Maybe, but then again, the timing with Nerva’s reappearance makes it harder to pinpoint between the two." Taking a deep breath, Athenia gestured for the party to walk through the portal. "Now be off before she tries something on you. I do not want her to affect your minds; perhaps it’s the last thing she cannot peer into."

Although there were questions and doubts, nobody truly knew what Nerva’s intentions were. For all they knew, she would’ve gone by playing dead had they not done something specific to rouse her, or maybe she’d always been there, watching from a distance and keeping an eye on their adventure. Either way, that mystery could not be solved by simply lying about. Thus, with a quick return to their bodies, it was time for the heroes to get themselves back on track. And that started with a checkup on absolutely everyone.