Chapter 125: The Gift

An incredulous chuckle shook Rachel’s chest, drawing Eostre and Conner’s sober gaze; she’d never been one for teamwork.

"What is on your mind?" Eostre asked, somberly turning her sight to the ocean. "Is it the uncertainty we have stepped into?"

Grabbing her fingers behind her back, Rachel shook her head and breathed out a long sigh. "It’s everything."

Scarlet had somewhat changed her displeasure at working as a team, and in such a short time. The vampiresque girl had shown her what it was like to have someone who relied on her, which had sparked something new within Rachel she hadn’t expected.

"I’m guessing Izanami is using this opportunity to bait deities in by giving them an intermediate stage to talk to their followers below the 6th dimension."

The corner of Eostre’s mouth lifted a little. "It’s chaos, which is why I’m here with you. In the guise of a banquet, Izanami is allowing them to bicker and point fingers..."

"What is it?" Conner softly asked as Eostre’s fingers lifted to play with a small silver necklace she wore. "You seem nervous or scared, but don’t you have all the power of my Seed now?"

"Haha. Power... Temporarily, indeed. But I am nothing more than a proxy for Izanami, and all the better for it, with how potent and phenomenal she is at wielding it. However, it is...very confounding since I can sense Izanami’s goals and intentions...and they are not what I envisioned. It is strange to have so much insight into someone so powerful...and to feel their tormented misery.

Eostre cleared her throat and wiped at the corner of her eyes before growling in annoyance. "And despite all of this, Cerridwen is absent... Gone. It’s infuriating. I cannot reach her—even with this Seed’s power—and that does scare me."

Rachel held a hand against her breast, looking inward at the revelation. "If she were gone—or dead, I should say—then wouldn’t my blessing from her be, as well?"

"Yes," Eostre confirmed. "It is that which makes it even more frightening... How is she escaping my call when I should be far stronger than her with this Seed? And even Izanami cannot reach her. I don’t know her intentions or plots, unlike my assistant in this clown show. In any case, Izanami believes she has entered the Blood Sea again, whatever that means, but I’m even more frightened than I was before obtaining this insight and power."

Ears tilting forward as they stopped at a railing, Rachel leaned against it to stare at the waves rushing against the dock. "That doesn’t bode well... Hmm. Hey, Conner, you didn’t communicate with Dionysus directly, did you?"

The man shook his head, his back against the bars, as he looked up at the swirling cyclone his dolphin and Nia had created, pulling the mist into the sky with a flurry of snowflakes.

"No. As a Priestess of Hecate, Relica gets visions and can communicate with higher powers. I honestly didn’t know much about Dionysus until I met him in person..."

He forced a laugh, his typically strong voice fractured with a hollow doubt. "I know we haven’t known each other long, Rachel, but after these battles...all the things you’ve exposed, I’m questioning my whole life now... It takes a special kind of girl to do that, huh?"

Rachel shot him an incredulous smirk. "Sure. Hmm... It’s interesting that you pointed out Relica as a Priestess to communicate with the divine. Eostre... Izanami pointed me in this direction. Why did she do that? How can I talk to you in visions?"

Eostre hugged herself, looking toward the road. "It’s in your soul; I don’t know how else to say it. It’s like trying to explain to an animal how humans communicate, and I’m the animal," she clarified as Rachel pushed her lips to the side, not amused at the analogy. "There are those very few with the gift to link to the divine and those who cannot."

Arms tightening against the railing, she swallowed before asking her next question. "And...my mother?"

"Yes, she also has the gift, and quite strongly," the tulpa said without reserve. "I was forbidden to speak to her by Cerridwen, though, and I felt her frustration at being, umm, ignored. Apologize for me, won’t you?" Eostre asked with a strained smile.

"I will..." The atmosphere stilled as Rachel reordered everything she’d thought about her life yet again. After a few painful seconds, a hand gripping her heart, she asked a question that fought to stay inside her throat. "Eostre... Does my mother...have a Seed in her?"

Conner looked at the tulpa with her, seemingly going through his own internal emotional struggle after everything they’d gone through. The flowery woman’s brow furrowed while meeting Rachel’s uncomfortable gaze.

"I...believe she does. Has she not told you? It is quite dense and bizarre, making me believe it is one of the Greater Seeds."

"No...she hasn’t told me," Rachel whispered, fingers bending the metal of the railing as she breathed and looked away. "Thank you for telling me, Eostre. Can Conner and I have some time to talk before leveling and starting the final battle?"

The woman’s sad eyes rested on the damage done to the railing. "Of course. Izanami wants to show Nia off since some of the Chinese deities are asking about her. Is that alright? Izanami seems to believe it will benefit you."

Rachel searched her soul, parsing through the strings of misfortune; the pull and weight of each thread were far more solidified after her Grade increase. It was somewhat vague as to how beneficial it would be, and some of them had barbs that could prick her. Yet, for the first time, something new jumped out: a golden line that could come from this direction; dark threads spun around it, threatening and opening up grave misfortune, but the payoff could be massive.

"I think that...would be good. I’ll let her know."

Pushing away from the twisted rails, she looked up at the playing bunny and dolphin. Nia, Izanami wants to show off how amazing you are. Want to get showered with praise?

"Oh, my goodness, yes!" the girl chirped. "Wait, only if I can get a new set of super cute clothes! I can make deals with devils, too; I’m no kid that will do stuff for free!"

Attagirl, Rachel snickered.

"What are you grinning about?" Eostre questioned.

"Nia’s got a contract she wants the Hell Lady to sign if her services are going to be rendered. Good luck negotiating with a stubborn child." Pushing away from the rails, she tilted her head to Conner. "Let’s talk a bit before I kill you."

I’m expecting a killer deal, Captain Bun.

"You got it, Major Hops!" Nia internally saluted.

The legend laughed as Nia sauntered off, joining her down the boulevard. They listened to the waves in silence for a time, the sparse snow falling around them, leaving the tulpa to negotiate with the five-year-old, fashion-obsessed little girl.