Divinity: Against the Godly System

It was all done based on Janus' suggestions, who had won the trust of the other gods by helping them against his own brothers, and no one knew how far-sighted he had been.

The goddess of life and death believed that Janus wouldn't go down to meet his brother since that would place him in danger. Did he really not contact his brother?

"So Asteria is alive, and you had no role in it. You only knew about it. That explains why I felt your protection around him," Janus answered, ignoring the question of the green-haired woman.

"You even sensed my protection from so far away? This should be impossible even if you are keeping an eye on that place. Unless... You are connected to your brother through consciousness. Is that it?" The Goddess of Life and Death inquired.

"Yeah. He doesn't remember anything. I help him stay alive to make sure he doesn't die," Janus answered casually.

"So you can talk to him from here?" The green-haired woman asked Janus. 

Janus nodded his head. 

"Can I talk to him as well? I wish to... Have a conversation with him. I wouldn't take long. Please give me this chance?" The Goddess of Life and Death asked.

Janus drew his breath, and let it back out with a loud sigh, almost resembling the great winds of the north.

He pointed out, "Eliena... He doesn't remember anything. Talking to him right now would be no different than talking to a stranger."

"I know it wouldn't be the same, but still..." Goddess of Life and Death Eliena answer, not backing off.

"Fine. I'll let you talk to him for a minute," Janus answered softly. "But you'll have to do something I'm interested in."

"Do what in exchange?" Eliena asked with curiosity.

"You can't revive Immortals, but you can revive mortals. I want your help with that. You must create a pill that contains your power. It must be able to revive and completely heal a mortal who had died," Janus replied.

"This... I can do that, but why do you want it?" Eliena inquired.

"You'll know soon enough," Janus answered as a smile sneaked out the corner of his mouth.

"I can give you the pull, but it won't be free of limitations. Since it'll be in the form of a pill, it would only work if the pill is placed inside the mouth of the dead person. It'll work as long as the person hasn't been dead for over five minutes. Also, it won't work on gods," the Goddess of Life and Death informed Janus.

"Don't worry about it. That should be enough. Just give me the pill, and I'll let you talk to him," Janus answered as he nodded his head.

"Alright." Eliena closed her eyes as he reached out her empty hand and bawled her fingers to make a fist. 

Her body started glowing slowly with a green light. It lasted for a few seconds before it retracted back. The woman opened her fist to reveal a green pill.

"This is the life pill. Here," she let out as she threw the pill towards Janus.

"Good. This should be able to help in the future." Janus muttered as he gazed at the pill in his hand.

He gazed back at Eliena before he answered, "Wait a minute."

******

Ryder was looking at the tree which was lying on the ground, wondering how it fell down. It didn't seem like anyone was near them.

"Your Highness, I'll take a look around. I had a feeling that someone was watching us. This event doesn't seem natural either. Please don't move for now," Rale told Ryder before he moves out in search of something odd. 

Ryder and the Diamond Tiger Beast were left behind, watching Rale disappear from their sight.

"Is a spirit watching us? This reminds me of the ghost valley in Divinity, where invisible spirits are the enemies. Could it be the same?" Ryder wondered as he sat on the trunk of the fallen tree. 

He started waiting for Rale to return as he rested. As his All-Seer wasn't showing anyone, he couldn't do anything but wait.

The Diamond Tiger Beast sat in front of Ryder.

[A new mission has been Issued]

When Ryder was about to reach out his hand to pat the head of Diamond Tiger Beast, Janus's voice echoed in his ears.

"Finally... Another mission. Now I can get stronger." Ryder grinned as he heard the voice of Janus. He had been waiting for a long time for Janus to give another mission.

[Mission: Talk to Goddess Eliena on the Deity Phone]

[Mission Reward: One Life Pill]

[Punishment for Failure: Lost opportunity]

[Time Limit: 5 minutes]

"Hmm? Isn't that a simple mission? I just have to talk on the Deity Phone? Not bad," Ryder muttered as he finished hearing the mission.

He opened his inventory and brought out the Deity Phone, which he had received as a reward from the system previously. It was said to be an item that allowed him to talk to mythical creatures over the phone.

He had previously used this phone to talk to Dracula.

"Let's see if there is a goddess Eliena in the contact list. I don't remember seeing that name last time I checked," he muttered as he opened the list of names.

"There it is. Hmm? Only five origin points for a minute call? Not bad," he let out as he saw the cost of the call.

There was an 'I' icon in front of the name. He tapped on the icon to see what it was about, only to have a warning open on the phone screen.

[Warning: Maximum call duration is only one minute]

"Hmm? It's fine. I only need to talk to her. It's better if I keep the call short to save my Origin Points," Ryder let out as he saw the notification.

He tapped on the call icon and dialed the number.

Janus watched Ryder call. A phone appeared in his hand, which he threw towards Eliena.

"You only have one minute of talks. Here," he said.

The Goddess of Life and Death caught the phone.

"Isn't this a human device that they use? You use this to stay in contact with him?" She asked Janus.

"Yeah," Janus lied without any change on his face. 

Eliena placed the phone on her ears as she picked up the call.

"Hello? Is this goddess Eliena?" Ryder asked as the call was picked.

Eliena's mouth opened slightly as she heard the voice of Ryder. She opened her mouth to say something, but no voice came out of her mouth. She was so stunned that she couldn't speak anything for a moment.

Her eyes turned red as wetness filled her eyes. 

"Fifty seconds left."

Janus pointed out after ten seconds of silence. He didn't wish to have her waste all her time without speaking anything since she had paid him for this opportunity.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?" Ryder asked after not hearing any response over the call.

He gazed at his phone, wondering if something was wrong. "Is this thing still working? Hey Janus, I called. I want my reward even if I don't get any response. I want no excuse later on!"

"H-hello."

Goddess of Life and Death finally spoke a word after fifteen seconds had passed.

"Finally. Someone answered..." Ryder muttered.

"So, which mythical person are you. I don't remember reading about you as I did of Dracula. Are you an actual goddess?" Ryder asked excitedly.

Even though he hadn't heard her name before, there was a goddess in her name. He believed that she probably was a goddess. 

"Yes... I am a goddess," Eliena said as she laughed. Tears trickled down her cheeks even as she laughed, which created a big contract of emotions.

"You must be really pretty. I've never seen a goddess, but I heard they are heavenly beauties. You must be one too, right?" Ryder asked softly. 

"Is this really the truth, though? Are goddesses prettier than humans? J can't imagine anyone being prettier than some of the girls I know. I highly doubt that" he continued without even waiting for an answer.

"You didn't see a goddess?" Eliena asked softly.

"How would I? I'm not a god. Aren't only gods supposed to see other gods since they live in heaven? What could someone like me see?" Ryder answered as he sighed.

"I'm just a man who kept being annoyed by Janus," he continued.

Eliena gazed at Janus at the response to Ryder's words. She could only see a wry smile on his face.

"I am sure you've been the prettiest woman in your life. No one can be prettier than the ones you have seen," Eliena answered as she remembered how Ryder was in his previous life.

"It's so strange..." Ryder suddenly muttered.

"What is strange?" Eliena inquired.

"I feel like I have heard your voice before. Are you really a goddess? Or am I being pranked again?" Ryder asked curiously.