A/N: Oren out here about to check Sophia's forehead for a temperature with the crazy things she's saying!

  He definitely doesn't deserve her forgiveness… right?

  -x-X-x-

  Sophia's words hang in the air between them as Oren just stares at her for a long moment before finally shaking his head.

  "I don't understand, Goddess. I'm the one who wronged you. You don't owe me anything."

  But Sophia shakes her head right back.

  "No. You're the only one who has helped me. You saved my life and escorted me to safety. And for what? I lied about having some great reward for you at my refuge in the first pce. Sure, I could have given you some minor divine artifacts, a piece of magical jewelry or two, but we know now that would have just put a target on your back."

  Oren stares, more than a little caught off guard by Sophia's sudden contrition. He still didn't get it. Seeing this, Sophia sighs.

  "I've treated you terrible, Oren. You, the man who spared my life in the Heavens even while under the thrall of these Void Gods. You, the man who when confronted with the option of leaving me to the nonexistent mercies of the God Hunters, chose to defend me instead. You, the man that my father trusted implicitly to follow his final orders."

  Oren isn't so sure about that. In fact, he's long thought about what Law had said at the end there. He'd told Oren to hide the weapon and armor, but then he'd had something else he intended to say to Oren as well. For a moment after realizing who Sophia was, Oren had wondered if Law had been trying to ask him to protect her.

  … But that couldn't be it, now could it? By all accounts, Law should have believed Oren had already killed Sophia just like he killed everyone else in the Heavens. Just like he'd sin Law himself.

  Truthfully, thinking about it some more and learning everything he'd learned about Otherworlders and Law's less than stelr opinion of them, he'd began to wonder if the King of the Gods didn't want him to end it all once he'd completed his final task.

  "I willfully blinded myself, because all I wanted was to hate you for the blood you were tricked into spilling. But I see the good in you, Oren."

  Blinking, Oren looks at Sophia, more than a little perplexed. He'd all but forced her to help him kill a god just an hour ago. Smiling softly, almost as though she can read his thoughts just from the look on his face, Sophia sighs.

  "You saved this city today, Oren. Countless mortals owe their lives to you. You're not the monster I painted you as in my head. You're not simply the God Killer, you're not some insane Otherworlder… you're just Oren."

  Sophia looks to the side for a moment, biting her lower lip. Oren is too stunned at this point to really respond, so she has plenty of time to gather her thoughts before continuing on.

  "I'm sorry for how I treated you. I'm sorry for refusing to accept that you were as much a victim in all of this as I was. I hope you can forgive me."

  This was the st thing Oren was expecting from the Minor Goddess. He can hear the sincerity in her words all the same however. This was no base attempt at manipution, she really meant it. In the end, even if he didn't know where this was all coming from… Oren shakes his head.

  "I said it before. There's nothing to forgive. My crimes-!"

  "Your so-called crimes were made under significant duress! You-!"

  But Oren holds up a hand and shakes his head.

  "They tricked me, yes. Their illusion convinced me that everything I saw was real, and that I was the final hope of a doomed world. But I still could have questioned things more. I let myself become their weapon because… because I didn't have anything else. My entire future was gone in the blink of an eye and I wanted something to tch onto. I wanted it to be real. Just my luck that I happened to grab on tight to something so damn fake and refused to let go."

  Sophia bites her lower lip, staring at him as Oren lets out a heavy sigh.

  "All my life, I knew I wasn't special. Just another orphan in a sea of orphans. No particurly special talents, no amazing skills. All I had going for me was my work ethic and my will to succeed, so I leaned into that at the expense of everything else. And yet… even knowing I wasn't special or one of a kind in any way, I guess part of me still yearned for it all the same. That's what let Raythe sink his cws into me so easily."

  Looking Sophia in the eye, Oren's next words are as solemn as they are blunt.

  "For all that I was used, for all that I was tricked… I still carry a share of the bme, Sophia. I still wielded the bde that murdered your kin and slew your father. You can't forget that, not ever."

  Sophia hesitates for a moment before slowly nodding.

  "Then I won't. But I will forgive you."

  Even as he opens his mouth to object, Sophia cuts him off by spping her hand on the table and a snarl on her face.

  "If not me, who can?! I am the st living goddess of the Heavens, Oren! And you don't get to decide who I can and cannot forgive. I forgive you completely and fully… because if I don't forgive you now, I fear my hatred will consume me just like Aureo's hatred consumed him."

  Oren's eyes widen as he finally realizes where this is all coming from. Meanwhile, Sophia's feature soften as she sits back with a sigh.

  "Aureo was like looking into a dark mirror. All he wanted was to punish those he felt had wronged him. The God Hunters stripped everything else away when they tortured him all those months. All they left him with was his hatred… his vengeance. I can't be like that. I don't want to involve innocents in my crusade against these Gods of the Void."

  This conversation and the conversation Sophia just had with her uncle have Oren more confused than ever, truth be told. Furrowing his brow, he looks to the door that Tyranos exited through.

  "Then… do you wish to take your Uncle up on his offer of safety and security after all? To give up on taking the fight to the Void Gods?"

  But Sophia shakes her head.

  "No. No, I… it's not about vengeance anymore, Oren. It can't be. This is bigger than just you and me and how they wronged us. This is the entire world at stake and as much as I want to trust Tyranos is on the up and up… I can't bring myself to believe he's right about being able to just 'ride everything out'."

  That was… fair. Oren wasn't sure about that particur pn either. He didn't doubt that Tyranos could protect him and Sophia for a time… but forever? And turning the tide on the God Hunters and the Void Gods? It seemed like the longer they waited, the stronger the Void Gods and their mortal pets would get. Sophia, of course, agrees.

  "The Ancient Gods down here on the Mortal Pnes aren't as untouchable as they think they are. Just look at what happened to my father and the rest of the Heavens. And even without you and your armaments, they're making short work of the lesser divinities all the same. Not to mention, Raythe is the only God of the Void we've even encountered so far. Where are the others? What are they doing? When they strike, will the Ancient Gods still standing here in the Mortal Pnes really be alright?"

  She raised several salient points. Oren finds himself nodding along with Sophia, even as she gets this fire in her eyes that burns bright with determination and resolve.

  "It's not about vengeance anymore. It's not even about dispensing justice. This is about the duty we have to all of Creation to do what we can for as long as we can. If not us, then who? The Ancient Gods hide away. Those like Aureo are being captured, tortured, and killed as we speak. We're the only ones besides Tyranos who know what's going on. And you… you're the only one who knows of a way of beating them."

  The God Killer's weapon and armor. Oren lets out a shuddering breath, even as Sophia slowly nods at the look that crosses his face.

  "We need the bde and armor you used to storm the Heavens if we're going to have any chance of stopping the Void Gods before they make things even worse. It's the best pn we have at this point. Retrieve your armaments, find out where the Void Gods are, whether it's the Void, the Heavens, or here on the Mortal Pnes… and take the fight to them. We end this together, once and for all. What… what do you say?"

  She offers him his hand and Oren just stares at it for a long moment before chuckling softly and taking it in his own. Her fingers and palm are soft of course when compared to the thick callouses on his own hand.

  "You know you could have just ordered me to take you there and I would have done so, Goddess. You didn't have to say all of that to convince this lowly servant to obey."

  Sophia's eyes widen and she immediately begins to sputter and stutter in response.

  "N-No! Oren, I didn't say all of that j-just to convince you, I truly meant every word! Please don't think I was trying to mani-mmph!"

  Putting his finger against her lips, Oren grins.

  "I know, Sophia. I'm teasing you."

  She freezes for a moment before pulling her hand from his and smacking him on the shoulder.

  "You… y-you jerk!"

  And yet, after a moment her lips twitch upwards and before she knows it, she's not just smiling but honest-to-god giggling. And once she starts giggling, Oren can't hold back more chuckles, until they're both gasping for air from how hard they're ughing. It wasn't even that funny. But then, nothing is these days. And maybe, just maybe… it was what they both needed.

  Finally though, catching their breath, the two sober up from the momentary emotional high. Oren solemnly nods to Sophia, even as he rises to his feet.

  "I'll lead us to where I stashed the armor and bde, Sophia. It's months of travel by foot East of here though. Maybe your Uncle can speed things up a bit, being the God of Travelers and Roads and all."

  Sophia hums while rising to her feet as well. The two make their way to the door of the tavern and step out onto the empty street. Everyone is still at the pilr, even now.

  "Well, he did say he would know when we decided we were ready to travel so-!"

  "That I did."

  Sophia and Oren both jump as Tyranos manages to sneak up on them yet again. This time, Oren had definitely been on the look out for the Ancient God, his enhanced Otherworlder senses straining to their absolute limits as he tried to listen for any sign of him. And yet, there was nothing until Tyranos wanted to be seen. It was unnerving to say the least.

  As they turn to face him, the Ancient God raises an eyebrow.

  "Well? Have you two decided exactly where we will be traveling?"

  Straightening up and squaring her shoulders, Sophia nods sharply.

  "Yes. Oren has agreed to take us to where he hid the armor and bde he used on the Heavens. We'll retrieve them, rearm him, and then hunt down the Gods of the Void to stop this madness once and for all."

  Tyranos nods approvingly at this course of action, though he does pause briefly.

  "… You do know that my other brother, your other uncle, is no doubt leading them, yes? I must confess, some part of me wishes he could be reasoned with even now…"

  The Ancient God looks all the more like an old man for a moment, weighed down and weary from regrets and a long immortal life. Sophia bites her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth for a brief second before shaking her head.

  "But he can't be, can he? He's not going to stop, no matter how nicely we ask him."

  Letting out a sigh, Tyranos shakes his head.

  "No, you're right. He was past the point of negotiating when Law imprisoned him and the others in the Void all those millennia ago. I shudder to think what has become of him by now."

  Both deities look a little despondent at that, so Oren clears his throat and changes the subject.

  "Shall we get going? I can't give verbal directions to the armor and bde, but I know where I put them. Perhaps if you have a way of telling when someone is ready to travel, you also have a way of telling where I want to travel? We might be able to cut down on the time with that…"

  Tyranos hums thoughtfully for a moment before shaking his head.

  "I'm afraid not. While Travelers are one of my domains, I cannot simply peer into their heads and read their minds. I merely get a sense of… intention, one might say. Still, so long as we stick to roads, I can most certainly cut down travel time significantly. And so long as you are with me, we need not fear even a thousand God Hunters."

  Based on that power Oren had felt before, back when the Ancient God had first revealed himself to them, he believed it. Slowly nodding, Oren looks to Sophia who looks back. After a moment, they share a smile before turning once more to Tyranos.

  "Let's get some supplies and head out then, shall we?"

  Tyranos smiles back and chuckles.

  "Indeed, let's."

  -x-X-x-

  A/N: Next time… we're back on the road once more! Just Sophia, Oren, and Tyranos! The three best friends that ever were!

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