A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

Side Story 5: The Bickering of Gods

Aurena, the Goddess of Light.

Marsven, the God of Darkness.

Danterno, the God of Fire.

Plesia, the Goddess of Water.

Crustacia, the Goddess of Earth

Zephira, the Goddess of Winds.

These are the six Origin Gods of Peolynca. Beings that rule over the world as the supervisors of the System and the phenomenon that is called magic.

Each god controls one of the six natural elements of this world, helping their followers conjure it by granting them the ability through the System. With each spell cast, the ruling god of that element receives energy to sustain their divine form.

Besides using magic, followers of a god may also pray to them in the many churches or alters that are spread around in this world.

As mighty as these gods seem to be, their divine forms are bound to the mortal beings that walk, breath and live in Peolynca. Their maximum power depends entirely on their follower count and how often their element is being used.

Zephira! Zephira! Image! We need an image! a loud, powerful voice spewing smoke and ashes with every word suddenly appeared in the divine realm of the Goddess of Winds, Zephira.

Oi, slow down ya muscle brain! Whatcha tryin to do with entering her divine realm uninvited?! a stern, rough female voice followed the energetic one from behind.

It can only be called hysteria when the two gods entered the realm. Zephiras Faefolk angels and aides were screaming and running for their lives, afraid of the pressuring aura of these gods.

Clutching her head, the goddess with four butterfly wings dismissed all her angels and aides, to spare them of any further harm.

Shut up, midget! shouted the God of Fire in fiery defiance. Im doing exactly what we both want. Zephira, we need your System window now!

Midget?! Ya want to call me that again, ya dum fool?! despite not being a Goddess of Fire; the Goddess of Earth, had enough of a hot temper to speak back against the insult. Or ya wantin to fight? I can beat ya down if ya aren't in the mood to cry in ya sad excuse of a divine realm.

Your puny piece of dirt cant defend yourselves from my inferno! his blazing hair burst into action, transforming the divine realm they were into a small sauna.

If their believers were to see this, most likely, they would have lost all respect for these two divine beings. Or it would lead to war between the two beliefs.

Luckily for these two gods, they were quarreling in private, outside of the eyes of zealous mortals.

CAN YOU TWO SHUT UP! having enough of their usual disputes, Zephira, the Goddess of Winds, shouted. Why are you both in my realm?! Can you at least have the decency to not fight in my home?

Her serene voice, similar to a calm breeze, would switch to that of a storm if she shouted. The tornado extinguished the corruption of her divine realm by the god of fire.

Noticing her good friends temper, the Goddess of Earth, Crustacia, cooled herself down and apologized, Sorry Zephira, but this rude loudmouth forced me to enter without a warnin.

The God of Fire, Danterno, simply scoffed, Yeah, put all the blame on me. Your pride cant even accept the fact that youre happy that I was the one to pull the trigger.

Well, my pride is the one thin that keeps me in check, compared to whatcha doin, Crustacia looked at Danterno with great annoyance, so much so that her brown twin-tails hardened into metal.

"See that, Zephira? The so-called "honorable" goddess is already readying herself to fight. I'm holding myself back because it's your home, otherwise, I would melt this little rock into a liquid."

Oi, and what

"These two really can't get along. Guess I can't help it," thought Zephira.

Using her powers, she creates a wall of wind to obstruct the voices of the two gods. Although technically gods do not require air to speak, they were still in the presence of the ruler of this divine realm.

These powerful gods have agreed among themselves to respect a visiting divine realm's rules. The peaceful relationship among gods was important to maintain the status quo.

I like my surroundings to be active, but this is too loud even for me, Zephira let out a sigh and began speaking, demanding why the two have come to visit.

Can you two calm down and tell me why you are here? noticing that they couldnt speak, the gods attention was drawn to her question. With the two gods finally dropping their dispute, the wall of winds dispersed, and their voices returned.

The God of Fire spoke first, We need you to allow us access to your System window.

Zephiras eyes widened in surprise, My window? Dont you remember that we agreed on not allowing each other to mess with each others authority?

Danterno nodded his head, remembering the pact he made with the other origin gods, I know, but I am in dire need to see something through your window.

Crustacia looked up to her divine friend's eyes, urging her to grant their wish, We arent one of those minor gods. Ya know ya can trust us, Zephira.

Minor gods were once mortals of Peolynca who have ascended to divinity after the appearance of the origin gods. While gods like Kagryxmor, the God of Dragons, and Edna, the Goddess of Monsters and Fertility, arent fully trusted by every origin god, they were still granted apotheosis to help them in the managing of this world.

At the end of the day, the six gods could only fully trust each other.

Its not like I dont, but it still makes me feel uneasy to allow others to look at it. Zephira nervously looked down at her tiny friend, unsure if she should consider her request. Having a stronger being mess with your source of power is not comfortable. You should know this, Crustacia!

Yeah, of course, I do. Ya know I wont betray ya, the Goddess of Earth puffed up her generous chest and continued speaking with the charisma of an ancient goddess. Ya dont have to worry, Zephira. My pride wont allow it and I swear on all my followers that I wont abuse ya trust.

Among the six origin gods, Crustacias influence and follower count was ranked as the third-highest, while Zephira was ranked fifth.

The power gap between those two isnt anything impressive but it was noticeable enough for Zephira to feel nervous.

If you dont trust the dwarf, then give it to me, from the side, the ruler of fire suggested. You should know how my situation is. Cant do much, even if I wanted to.

Danterno, the God of Fire, was placed last in the power ranking between these gods.

Compared to the two goddesses, the difference in power between the last and fifth place was massive. Despite looking the most imposing, he was ironically the weakest.

"I guess that's acceptable, despite feeling worried, Zephira also knew that Danterno couldnt escape her divine realm and the consequences that will follow his deception. So, what are you searching for?"

The race that youre the patron goddess of, a fairy, smiling, Danterno spoke quickly and bluntly.

Specifically, somebody far away from their little village. South, and in one of those, whatcha call it, places Ednas descendants are living in, Crustacia supported Danternos answer with more details.

Zephira materializes her System control window from thin air and began inspecting it, stating, Hmm, let me check.

Zephira opened the Administrator window and diligently checked through the hundreds and hundreds of log files, data, and messages the System had to work through; making sure to hide her displeasure of working through this from her two acquaintances.

Her angels and aides would usually be the ones to take care of this sort of work, but she wasnt shy of this strenuous bureaucratic work.

Hmm, Ive found one fairy," not releasing her eye from the white screen, she listed off more information. Tasianna Marina Silverpond. Wind and watercouldnt you have asked your sister for help?

Danterno groaned in pain when he heard Zephira speak the obvious, Dont joke around. As if she

However, Crustacia wasnt interested in the God of Fires complaints, Bah, forget this sorry excuse of a god. We needcha to show us the mortals footage.

If thats all, then so be it, Zephira opened a video and enlarged it to the size of a cinema's screen.

What was shown in the footage, was the whole encounter between Hestias group and their fight against the trolls.

All three gods were watching the fight from the start to the end, through Tasiannas eyes. None of them talked, silently smiling while they experience the fights event.

Nooo, you should use more wind spells, little girl! the Goddess of Wind pouted when she noticed that Hestia barely used any wind spells in this fight.

Bah, this mortal barely used any wind elemental magic. The footage is fuzzy as an unkempt dwarfs beard, as Tasianna barely used any magic in this fight, her connection with Zephira wasnt strong enough to show a crystal-clear image.

While the two goddesses were expressing their own opinions on the video, the God of Fire was cheering and merrymaking at the scene he is looking at, Yes! Use my fire, little girl. Burn anything that dares to stand in your path, oh my fiery lass!

Watching Hestia rain down fire from the sky into the canyon made Danterno yell in passion. The delight of watching a person using his element so freely gave him ideas of turning her onto his side.

What could be better for a magician but to earn the blessing and attention of one of their gods? What could be better than to reward a magician's efforts and training with a reward that matches their magical fury?

Hmph, look at him, while Danternos eyes were filled with sparkles, Crustacias eyes were filled with disgust from watching this sight. His desperation is literally oozing out. We cant leave this promising dragon in his hands now, dontcha agree, Zephira?

Well, I personally wouldnt mind having her as a champion. Her [Wind Magic] is growing steadily, Zephira was flying happily around, smiling softly and gently like a young girl.

What?! No, no! like a volcano, Danternos personality exploded from hearing his. You two cannot have her! I literally need her to champion my cause, so she can spread the popularity of fire magic.

Danterno was desperate. His power was the weakest, so he couldnt understand how his fellow origin gods were greedy enough to snatch away his only saving grace.

Besides, did you not see how often she used [Inferno Magic]?! She barely used [Terra Magic] nor was she inclined towards [Lava Magic]. Shes mine! the God of Fires possessive need was showing.

Oi, ya seem to forget how young she is. She got to taste how powerful ya spells are, but ya seem to forget how impactful mine are. She gonna forget all about you in no time, Crustacia smirked, confident in her chance to win over a new follower.

Guck, you

The two gods, once again, resumed their quarrel, while Zephira ignored them, And there they go again. Oh, the video stopped

"I think this is as far as I can play it. If we want more then we need to ask this fairys primary magi elements goddess, Zephira said while closing her window.

Hearing Zephiras suggestion, Danterno couldnt help but stiffen, You dont mean to say that

Not wanting to wait for him to say it, Zephira nonchalantly answered for him, Yes, we will need help from your sister. The Goddess of Water, Plesia.

Among the six origin gods, only two were related by blood.

Contrary to how fire and water are the complete opposite to each other, Plesia and Danterno share a bond between siblings.

However, fitting for how different the two elements are, the personalities of these two siblings were not very compatible.

Danterno is a boisterous and rowdy god that would prefer to break through obstacles, then to avoid them.

Plesia, on the other hand, is a calm and gentle goddess. As a goddess, she values the worth of formality and expects her believers to respect and abide by them. Due to this reason, the trio of god and goddesses made sure to send a notice to Plesias divine realm, instead of visiting unannounced.

Surprisingly, Plesia agreed to their request immediately. Although they were baffled by it, they didnt complain and simply accepted her generosity.

So, my lovely brother and dear Goddesses. What is it that you wish to ask of me? a calm, motherly voice came from the fish scaled woman, sitting on her coral bed.

Danterno looked into his sisters octopus eyes and bluntly said, Sis, you can drop the formality. You know exactly why we are here.

Both the Goddess of Winds and Earth frowned at how blunt he was towards his elder sister. Plesia, however, kept her gentle smile as she was pleased to meet her younger brother in a very long while.

She tapped her watery bed, inviting her brother to sit on her bed with a giggle, Oh my, how blunt as always. Well, to be honest, it was hard not to detect the chaos you two have caused for dear Zephira, so I couldnt help but investigate.

Danterno and Crustacia stiffened upon hearing that the Goddess of Water knew what transpired a while ago. Neither of these energetic gods was able to respond to this statement.

They knew that Plesia wasnt very fond of rude behavior, but it seems her mood was well enough to overlook it.

Seeing them like this, Plesia sigh in resignation, I have already found what you needed. I invited all of you to watch how the battle ended.

Zephira's footage of the fight ended when they entered the cave, as Tasianna did not use any wind spells throughout the whole battle. The amount of prayer she gave was also too little to keep a perfect connection with her patron goddess.

This was not the case for water magic, though. Her high level made the bond between Tasianna and Plesia much stronger, strong enough that the footage lasted until the battle was over.

The trios eyes were immediately glued to the screen, paying very close attention to every bit of detail, just like a bunch of little children intensively watching their favorite show.

Shes only six months or so, right? If shes able to do this much in this short amount of time, then that makes her very desirable, Zephiras interest was reignited, understanding that her potential was high.

Ha ha, step back Zephira, Danternos loud voice drowned the Goddess of Winds softer one. This girl is mine and mine alone. I will drag myself out from this hole and into a golden age of fire with this girls powers, ha ha!

Ya mean a golden age for me and my believers? Crustacia arrogantly swayed her hair around, once again challenging Danterno. Whotcha think she will choose once she learns how much she has to help you, huh? Plus, my patron race can accommodate her. Can yours?

Anger fueled Danternos flames from this taunt, You always seem to look for a fight, you midget! Accept the fact that your magic is nothing compared to mine and allow me to triumph!

The Goddess of Earth chuckled, tapping her temple after she was done, The girl has something on her shoulder. The last thing she needs is an incompetent, hot-headed god to guide her.

There they go again, Zephira scoffed and Plesia watched the scene happily with a smile.

Well, while they have their fight, I guess I could just get to work. [Storm Magic] should be strong enough to impress her, Zephira bid Plesia goodbye and began turning into wind, intending to leave the two gods to their squabbles.

Zephira, you cannot have her! with shout roars, Crustacia and Danterno each grabbed one of Zephiras arms, anchoring her to them with their divine aura.

Oh, come on, I could really use a golden age, too, pouting at this clear show of disapproval, Zephira stayed put.

At that very moment, Plesia burst out in laughter, Oh my, unfortunately, none of you may have her.

Huh?!

Leaking a small sound of confusion at this blunt statement of Plesia, the trio couldnt help but be dumbfounded, Have none of you checked the rest of her profile?

This prompted both Danterno and Crustacia to open the profile of Hestia. While Crustacia was dutifully inspecting all skills and spells, as a respectful goddess would do, Danterno was skimming most information, while making ahh and uhh sounds if something piqued his interest.

That is until he reached one specific part, Huh? Let me check thatha ha! Its a new custom spell! I knew it! Shes good enough to construct a whole new fire spell! This girl is mine!

It seems Danterno was more impressed with the fact that a new custom spell appeared on his list of fire spells.

Crustacia face palmed herself, Stop saying that shes yours, ya creep. Besides, thats not the point ya sister was makin.

Now also looking through Hestias status board, Zephira reported what Plesia actually meant, Danterno, your sister was talking about the titles. [Otherworldly Reincarnator], [The Light] and [Bearer of Kargryxmors Blood].

Plesia confirmed the answer with a nod, That is correct. It seems those two have done the same thing you did, Crustacia.

Yeah, Ill hand them this one, Crustacia sighed in exasperation and waved her hand in defeat, now that she knew Hestia was blessed by another origin god. If theyre willin enough to do this, then let them.

What?! How can you give up?! Danternos impulsive personality made him speak his mind. Aurena. Sheshe has enough power already. It doesnt matter that her power is waning a bit. She can recover this is in a century or two. Even a millennium is nothing for us!

Ive been the weakest for so long. I will not let this chance slip by! were his true thoughts, driven by a small glimmer of hope.

As if his life was dependent on this, Danterno continued arguing, "Aurena can still do her duty perfectly even if she becomes weaker, but I have to work harder for"

Danterno.

The angels and aides have disappeared. The divine realm resounded with the intensity of the pressure emitted by its master.

A pressure that is enough to shut down the dissatisfied God of Fire's complaints.

Great work, numbskull. Ya made her mad. Crustacia thought with a shiver.

I guess our angels will be having a lot to digest today. I should probably treat them to something later, like a fairy, Zephira could only think of less tedious subjects when shes not involved.

Sis, I really Danternos fire completely died, overwhelmed by his sisters aura.

End of the discussion, tentacles began growing from Plesias body, slowly creeping up to Danterno. Do not forget your duty as a god, little brother. You and your followers are still able to perform, so you dont require any pity.

Or are you, the God of Fire, requesting for help because you arent strong enough? even without saying it, Danterno knew his sister enough to understand what she was implying.

Plesia loves doting on her little brother but she knew where to draw the line between business and family.

Aurena and Kargryxmor have marked Hestia as theirs, or at least they are intending for her to become their champion. This is the meaning behind giving her those titles, those divine blessings.

Intending to usurp a champion from another god can be interpreted as a sign of conflict, not between mortals but between gods.

Us gods must not fight between us. That is the rule and we have all agreed to this, for the sake of keeping our home safe and in peace. Plesia redrew the encroaching tentacles, now that her brother was disciplined.

Knowing that his elder sister was correct, Danterno gave up in his selfish wish, although reluctantly. A god-like him can always await the coming of a new champion.

However, this child is still quite young. Plesias smile returned, not wanting to see her brother sad. She hasnt prayed to any of us yet, despite being marked by two gods. Who knows what she will do in the future, my dear fellow god and goddesses.

A lifeboat. A chance for their ambitions to come true. However, they did not speak about this. They knew that it would be a rude gesture towards Aurena and Kargryxmor, and Plesia would not excuse it.

The trio thanked the Goddess of Water for her help and then left her divine realm.

Back in her home, the Goddess of Winds let out a deep sigh, What an eventful day.

Two gods, one weaker and one stronger than her waltzed into her home and disturbed her attendants and angels.

After that, she learned there was a mortal worthy of her blessing. A golden age for the Goddess of Winds was possible.

In the end, she had to endure the powerful divine aura of her fellow goddess.

Still, Crustacias own golden age was still not enough to dethrone Aurena and Plesia. What chances would I have? Well, I guess my current situation is quite comfortable and fun.

Getting in contact with her aura was enough to remind me why she is the strongest and undisputed number one.

My friend and colleague. The Ruler of the Oceans. The strongest God of Peolynca.

Plesia, the Goddess of Water.