GodWithWings
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Ch 45 - Bound by His Law
🕑 Added 2025-06-14 17:22:36 +0000 UTCA/N -
I'll post one more chapter today.
But here’s a question for this chapter: Do you like Elisabeth’s character?
I don’t mean liking as in “she’s kind and lovable”, I know she isn’t xD but do you like her as whoever/whatever she is? I used a bit of a different approach when writing her, so I’d really appreciate any feedback
Enjoy the chapter, and stay tuned for the next one! <3
**
I was still observing the Ent-like creature when I remembered what happened when I tried using divine power on the goddess’ incomplete vessel. The system had stopped me, warning that it already belonged to another god.
‘Maybe it’ll work the same way here.’
If this creature was under another god’s protection, Guidance might pick it up and either give me some information about it or at least throw out a warning before I risked using divine power.
[Warning: Guidance consumed 1 Divinity Points]
[The Velthwyn]
The Velthwyn are a plant-blooded race born from the deep roots of the world’s oldest forests. Intelligent beasts, fanatically devoted to alchemy, they reject all gods and worship nature itself. Their way of life forbids harming any creature that dwells within the forest.
Using divine power against creatures maintaining neutrality is forbidden.
So these are the ones supplying the Blue Tribe with potions…
I’d heard the name before, but I never knew what they actually looked like. What confused me most was how they had stayed hidden for so long. I had scoured the entire forest more times than I could count, but this was the first Velthwyn I’d ever laid eyes on.
The creature left the yellow flowers behind and moved to a young sapling with purple leaves. It carefully peeled a thin layer of bark with a small knife that cut surprisingly clean. After storing it in its satchel, the Velthwyn once again let its yellow blood drip onto the wounded tree. The bark didn’t mend, but instead the tree gave off a low creaking sound, like old wood stretching under weight, and subtly swelled in size.
Its blood truly accelerates growth... exactly what I need.
The problem was that I couldn’t brand it like the Tharuun. Even luring it toward the tribe and sending Tekla to negotiate or capture it was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. Anything maintaining neutrality was far more complicated. To even be considered neutral implied there were at least two opposing sides it had chosen not to serve. Harming or capturing such a creature might cause problems I wasn’t prepared to deal with yet.
The more I thought about it, the more questions surfaced. The system could have simply warned me that harming Velthwyn was forbidden. But instead, it made a point to reveal the neutrality. That detail wasn’t random. I was starting to suspect that the system was feeding me information piece by piece, hinting at something larger beneath the surface. I had my guesses, but nothing I could be certain of yet.
Speculating on it changes nothing. Even if there’s some great war playing out beyond this forest, I have no way to influence it. My only focus should be where my hand can reach: converting the Velmoryn tribes and forging one unified Velmoryn nation.
I decided to follow the Velthwyn, hoping it might eventually lead me back to wherever its kind lived. At the same time, I planned to check the other tribes as well, like I originally intended - if I wanted a proper solution to the food problem, I needed to see how they sustained themselves. While securing a stable source of food was one of the most important things to do, the tribe still had enough provisions to last through winter. Besides, the hunting party I specifically created would go out, and with some luck, they’d find food along the way.
…
“I almost forgot… what was the skill you just used on me?”
Elisabeth’s whisper brushed right against my ear, close and unexpected enough to make me flinch. I almost broke the Crimson Rite right then and there, risking backlash.
When did she get behind me? And more importantly - how?
“It allows me to inspect my target’s skills. I was curious what kind of skill you'd be using…” I said, trying to sound convincing. For a moment I considered telling her the actual truth, but no matter how I looked at it, copying someone’s abilities was far too dangerous a talent to reveal. No one would take kindly to having their skills stolen. Besides, I already knew how she verified lies - without that strange spell of hers, she couldn’t be sure. So I twisted the truth into something harmless, something closer to a scouting ability.
“Hmm…” She tapped her index finger against her lips, still far too close for comfort. Her breath warmed the side of my neck. But now that I understood what kind of monster she really was, I forced myself to endure it. “It did feel like you tried to peer into my magic… but that wasn’t a skill, you know. It’s a spell only Father’s Daughters can use.”
Finally, she moved away, walking toward the lone hill that sat in the middle of the massive meadow-like chamber.
I exhaled. Not because the conversation ended, but because she hadn’t pressed further. My focus returned to the Crimson Rite. The skill was nearly finished. A gelatinous mass now pulsed in my palm, larger than any I’d extracted before. Actually, it was the same size as the essence Elisabeth had handed me earlier, when she asked me to cut it in half.
But this one was different.
It was translucent, almost like liquid glass, filled with swirling lights that danced inside like tiny stars drifting through an endless sky. Without realizing it, I brought it closer, studying the shifting lights as if staring would somehow tell me what essence this was. It was beautiful, but unfamiliar. I had no idea which attribute it belonged to, and I wasn’t about to risk testing it here. It would have to wait until I left the dungeon and could use Guidance on it.
As I lowered it from my face, Elisabeth was suddenly right there in front of me again.
She smiled, head tilted slightly, sniffing at the essence like a curious hound even though it gave off no scent.
“Avenor, I need that essence,” she said softly, biting her index finger as her brows knitted together.
“But we had a deal…” I answered, almost instinctively.
Deep down, I couldn’t blame her. She had killed the dragon alone, while I had done nothing. Still, the way she changed her mind irritated me. And the fact that I was even surprised by it made it worse - I had trusted her word, which was foolish. That annoyance sat heavier than the situation itself.
She paused a little and then spoke again.
“You’re right. I did promise you’d keep the essence, and I don’t want Father to punish me…” She tapped her lips again, thinking. Then her expression shifted, brightening like she had found the perfect loophole. “How about this? I’ll trade you any two essences you want, and both will be a tier higher than the one you have. Deal? How big is it anyway?”
She leaned in again, sniffing hard, while I lifted the essence once more.
“It’s the same size as the one you gave me earlier,” I answered, bringing it to my face and inhaling, curious whether there was any scent after all. There wasn’t.
Losing sight improves the other senses, I suppose…
“That’s a problem,” she muttered, her brows pulling together as she thought. “I expected it to be a lesser essence or below. I can’t give you refined tier essences - that wouldn’t be an equal exchange. Father forbids that.”
“What you gave me those as a gift and I…” I tried, sounding half jokingly, but Elisabeth’s brows drew even closer, making me realize she did not find me funny.
“Father’s rules are absolute!” She declared, more serious than ever.
“Why do you need this essence so much? You said you didn’t care what the dragon yielded, but now you even hoped for a lesser one?” I asked, trying to probe a bit more and also change the subject.
“That’s not for you to know,” she responded quickly, with a soft, cheeky voice which did not match the tone of the words.
Still, it was becoming more and more obvious that her god had placed restrictions on her. I doubted Elisabeth was some kind soul who simply did not enjoy killing those who had not harmed her. Or that she avoided exploiting others. It was far more likely that she was bound by rules that prevented her from breaking promises or even harming those who had helped her.
I need her to swear she won’t harm me.
“Elisabeth,” I said, deciding to give it a shot, “how about this - you give me two essences of the same tier in exchange, and you also promise not to harm me. After seeing what you can do, it’s clear you’re far stronger than me.”
I leaned into the vulnerability, hoping it would sound like fear. Which, to be fair, wasn’t entirely false.
“I can’t do that. What if I make a promise and then you attack me? I might need to protect myself by killing you.” She said it with such ease that it sent a chill down my back. My entire body tensed before I even realized it.
“How about this instead…” she smiled, visibly pleased with herself, “we both swear not to harm each other in any way until we leave the dungeon. And I’ll give you two essences of your choosing.”
“Deal!” I agreed immediately, relieved to finally secure some level of safety. For the first time since she had used that black, shadowy magic to probe my mind, I actually relaxed. “Give me two Strength Essences, please.”
She beamed as if she had already won, her grin making it painfully clear that she believed she’d taken the better end of the deal.
Why does it feel like I’m the one losing, even though logically I should’ve come out ahead?
I couldn’t shake it. Something about the way she kept twisting things made me feel like I was getting outplayed, even if I couldn’t quite see how. The essence was obviously worth more than she was letting on.
Is it a Soul Essence?
She was already pulling out two deep crimson essences, both the size of a thumb, from that same purple portal. I extended my hand, offering her the essence that might’ve been my missed opportunity to earn who knows how many Divinity Points. But before I handed it over, I quietly activated Guidance. Even if I couldn’t see the window myself, my true self would, and the information wouldn’t be lost.
She snatched the essence from my hand, practically drooling over it as she immediately handed me four bottles of the same type of vial she had used earlier.
“Take these as a gift… and please don’t use that crude method you did today and shove the essence into your flesh. What are you, a demon? No human does that anymore…” she scolded, snatching the transparent essence with sparkles from my hand like she was worried I’d change my mind at the last second.
That method is what demons use? And she thinks I’m a human?
I was still half-stunned by what she’d said as I stored the essence and the vials inside my Veilspace, barely paying attention to anything else. Was she using demon as a metaphor for being unrefined? Or was there something more to it?
I wanted to think and analyze it, but Elisabeth wasn’t done stressing me out.
“Now that we’re on friendly terms and can’t harm each other without Father killing us both,” she said, dropping another bomb like it was nothing, “why don’t we start being a little more upfront…?”
“What do you mean killing us? If either of us breaks the promise, we both die?” I asked, interrupting her. One of us dying for breaking a vow seemed harsh but understandable. Both? That made no sense.
“Yes. That’s how Father’s ruling works. If one breaks the pact, He takes both souls and judges us in His kingdom,” she answered with a tone far too cheerful for the topic. So cheerful, in fact, that I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d break the promise herself just to see whatever kingdom her god had built for her after death.
“But that’s not what I wanted to discuss,” she continued, snapping out of her pleasant little daydream as her expression turned serious again.
She stepped closer, leaning in as her mouth curled into that same unsettling, lecherous smile she wore far too often.
“You bear the Goddess’ mark, don’t you?”
