Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 252

Chapter 252: Return to Domark

Lysette stretched and cracked her neck and shoulders as she and Aurella prepared for departure alongside the glow of the impending sunrise.  After taking off her betrothal ring and handing it to Mirae, the two took to the skies and began the hours-long flight back to the aerial city of Domark.

“Hey, Lyse,” Aurella said, “There was something I was meaning to ask last night.  Who was that guy who was sitting in the back Cultivating all last night?  His aura kinda looked like yours a bit, but also mixed with someone else’s.  My first thought was that he was your avatar, but something about that felt off.”

“He, or it, or…  Yes, that is my avatar, and I wanted to keep a presence back in Ciricu while I traveled.”

“Really?  Why do I feel someone else’s presence in that body?”

“Probably because some tiny scrap of Karchek’s will, not one formed enough to maintain consciousness anymore, still exists within it?  That, or Alan’s will hasn’t been fully absorbed along with his Spark when Mirae and I absorbed him.”

“Oh.  You used someone else’s body for your avatar.  Yeah, that makes sense.  I was kinda thinking that might’ve been the case, because if I were to construct my own avatar, I surely wouldn’t want to be some gray-haired man.”

“Oh, do you not like men at all?”

“I mean, look, I go both ways depending on my mood, but like…  Part of the reason I look like this is because my mood is usually in the direction of more innocent fun with children than… adult antics.  By the way, who is Karchek?”

“Saffron’s ex-boyfriend, another demon who was from a time about six hundred years ago.  Was sealed away some five hundred years ago.”

“Oh, yeah, that explains why I’d never heard of him before.”

“By the way, since you mentioned it a bit ago, Is there another way to make an avatar than using someone else’s body?  I ended up using Karchek’s at his insistence after he died, but you make it seem like there’s another way to do it.”

“I mean, that’s the easier way to do it for sure.  Otherwise, you basically have to crystallize a massive amount of your own Essence into a physical form.  Like a giant Essence crystal that’s been artificially made and then shaped into whatever vessel you want to go around in.  Now, obviously, most people choose shapes that look relatively human-looking, both because it’s more relatable to your followers and easier to blend in, but you can do anything.  Honestly, given you’re going for the plant goddess vibes, I’m surprised you haven’t considered finding some sort of sapient plant beast to use as the template for your avatar.”

“Such things exist?  I mean, I’ve fought wyrms and… an orephage?  I think it was?  I’ve definitely had encounters with both of those, but I’ve never come into contact with a sapient plant before.  And, while I haven’t always had the best record with it in the past, I try not to harm others who haven’t harmed or directly threatened me or mine first.  So, I’m not exactly thrilled with the possibility of having to kill one that hasn’t done anything against me or the people of Ciricu.”

“Well, they probably aren’t going to go against you any time soon, either.  Most plant beasts tend to their groves and rarely leave them.  But you know, maybe you can go see one at some point.  Even if you don’t end up making an avatar out of one, I bet they might teach you something useful.”

“Yeah, it sounds like something that would be beneficial.  I should probably do so for… other reasons as well.”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re gonna screw one!”

“I would never!  I’m not even attracted to people who aren’t Mirae!”

“Oh, no, it’s…  Something I’d rather not talk about, if it’s okay with you.”

“No worries!  Anyway, lighter subjects!  You said there was lemon custard!  I’m so excited!  And also getting to see Solanna!”

“Yep!  Mirae already let her know that we’re coming.  She said something about not having seen you since you were practically a baby.  And–”

“I was not a baby!  I was like… twelve years old!  But I guess if she was already my age at the time, then maybe I was like a baby to her.”

“You know, for a so-called baby, I feel like I act more mature than you do a lot of the time.”

“I can be serious too, Lyse!”

The two stared at each other as they continued their flight over the Spire Mountains and back into Domaria.  The two continued staring at one another in silence, neither breaking their contest of wills until Aurella finally blinked.

“Okay, I maintain that I could but I wouldn’t like any of it!  And I’m totally going to prank Saffron when we see her.”

“I will neither help you nor interfere in your antics.”

Aurella crossed her arms and pouted.  “Fine, Miss No Fun!”

“Well, if I’m already Miss No Fun, then maybe I should help Saffron instead.”

“Okay, fine, fine, you win!  Twist my arm a bit harder, why don’t you?  Also, oh my goodness, I can see Domark from here!  And it’s amazing; how do you think they keep it floating?”

“Probably Saffron’s Stability coupled with a bunch of artifice hidden within the Undercity.”

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear anything you just said so I can just marvel and stare with Whimsy and wonder.  And also, since I was asking an awkward question earlier, what’s up with your eye?”

Lysette noticed nothing wrong with her right eye, but rubbed it to be certain.  “My aura doesn’t let me perceive color; is it red or something?  It feels fine to me.”

“No, you blockhead!”  Aurella launched a playful slap toward Lysette, narrowly missing her cheek.  “I meant your other eye.  It’s like some sort of crystal.”

“Oh, that was the remnant of an artifact called a Scrying Stone.  It had powerful visual abilities so–”

“Wait, wait, wait.  A stone about this big?”  Aurella conjured an illusion that perfectly matched the stone as it appeared back when Lysette and Mirae had excavated it from the Astral Observatory months prior.

“Yep, that’s the one.  Mirae and I Deconstructed the part of it that worked as a communication device between the stones, and I implanted the sensory part into my eye socket a couple weeks later.”

“Oh!  So that’s why my mom was saying something about one of her stones going missing.”

“Your mom?”

“Well, yeah.  She made all those stones so the various proxies of the gods could communicate with one another.  If I remember the explanation, it was so Godslayers and High Priests could serve as… what was the word?  Diplomatic liaisons?  Something like that.  Yeah, when two gods get pissy with each other and neither wants to leave their Dominion for fear of being attacked, they’ll communicate via mortals.”

“Huh.”  Lysette pondered her words.  “But why put a tracking device on them?”

“Who knows?  Mom doesn’t tell me everything!”

Lysette facepalmed.  “Of course she doesn’t.  I expected it with Zarielle, being the whole Mistress of Darkness.  But Luminia seems like she should be better about… enlightening her own daughter.”

“Yeah, it’s just constant ‘you’ll understand when you’re older!’ from them both.”  Aurella spat.  “But you’re more fun so we’ll get back at them.  Just remember that you and Mirae and Serrena all promised to protect me from anything my parents try.”

“And I intend to, with everything I have at my disposal.  I’ve had quite enough of other gods lording over Aimarion and treating the rest of us like crops or pawns to fight with and then dispose of without so much a thought.  It’s the end result of Omnia’s damned system.  I can’t wait to break it and be done with this god shit once and for all.”

“But…  If you do that, we’ll all–”

“Become mortal again?  Age and eventually wither away?  Lose our power and ability to fly around like this?  Believe me, I know the consequences, and I’m prepared to bear them.  For their sake.”  Lysette pointed to a small town just below them.  “I’ve seen what this system has caused.  I’ve seen what has happened to humans on all sides of the conflict.  And if I have to throw away my immortality and my power for it to finally end once and for all, that’s a sacrifice I’ll make when the time comes.”

“Y–  Yeah.  Anyway, it looks like we’re getting pretty close!  Wanna race the rest of the way there?”

Before Lysette could answer, Aurella darted off, glowing slightly as she blitzed toward Domark.  And Lysette, channeling that tiny bit of Serrena’s divinity which lay within her, chased off after her, twisting space and time as she closed the gap with successive short-range teleports.  Unlike the last time she’d traveled in such a manner, where she was winded considerably by pushing herself and her teleportation to its limits, Lysette instead went for shorter jumps to augment her flight.

Lysette was slowly yet consistently gaining on Aurella as they continued over the forests and farmlands of northern Domaria.  Aurella pushed a bit faster as they got within twenty miles of the capital, but before Lysette could quite reach her, a contingent of twenty aerial soldiers surrounded the two demigoddesses, weapons drawn and ready to attack.  The most well-decorated of the twenty, a major based on the insigne on their uniform, spoke.

“On account of the war, this is a restricted air space.  Identify yourselves immediately— we are authorized to use deadly force if you do not comply.”

Aurella opened her mouth, but Lysette hit her with a sharp telepathic disapproval toward whatever antics she no doubt intended.

“Aurella, I promise we’ll see Solanna soon enough, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to see our stuffy overlord first.”

“Fine, but I reserve the right to tell her exactly how I feel about her.”

Lysette rolled her eyes before responding.  “My name is Lyse Barret, and I am accompanying Lady Aurella of Laquella on a diplomatic mission.  Due to the circumstances of this impromptu meeting and the circumstances we find ourselves in, we were unable to secure paperwork attesting to our identities.”

“Um–”  The major squinted.  “That may be so, but without someone to vouch for your identities, we cannot clear you to enter this airspace for fear that you are committing espionage under pretenses of diplomatic protection.  You will remain here until your identities can be verified.  Is that agreeable?”

“There’s no need for that,” a familiar called out from the south, past the soldiers.  “I will attest to their identities and accept responsibility for any misgivings that might occur while they’re here.”

“Auntie Solanna!” Aurella said.

“Huh?  Is that really you?”  Solanna shook her head.  “Soldiers, may we?”

“As you will, Lady Solanna.”

Lysette furrowed her brows.  “Lady Solanna?”

“Yep.  Even though I wanted no part of the nobility and formally abdicated back when I went into isolation, I was technically a countess back a hundred and thirty years ago.  Pretty much any deity can get that rank if they swear allegiance to the crown.  Which is to say, fealty and subordination to Saffron.”  Solanna made exactly the same face that Aurella did whenever mentioning the Shadow Queen of Domaria.

The soldiers dispersed, and Aurella rushed in to hug Solanna.  “Oh, Auntie Solanna, it’s been so long!  You were one of the nicest, most fun people I ever met and I thought you were dead!”

“Nope.  Going to take more than that to bring me down.  Though, I’m surprised I left such a big impression on you.  We only met for a couple days, and that was over a century ago.”

“Well, yeah.  Of all the people I was forced to meet and be introduced to, you were the only one who both respected me as a person and accepted that I was still a kid and allowed me to just be one.  Everyone else either wants me to act like a No Fun Adult all the time, or they treated me like nothing I said or did mattered because I was ‘just a kid’.”  Aurella held Solanna close.  “It made me feel respected and valued in a way I hadn’t before and haven’t since until yesterday when I met Lyse and her friends.”

“I didn’t do that much, but I’m glad I was able to help.”  Solanna sighed.  “Speaking of no-fun adults…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, we gotta see Miss Stick Up Her Bum.  Let’s just get it over with, okay?”

Chapter 251: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114837633

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 253: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114909042