A/N: Wele everybody to my Free Write project! Much like Breaking Providend The Soul Engine before it, this one will be an inal novel!

  Please read and be sure to let me know what you think, your feedback is incredibly crucial to me, especially inal Stories like this one.

  -x-X-x-

  It’s a brisk m, enough that he see his owh, but Ore really feel it. The cold barely affects him these days. Sitting there on a stump o a crag campfire, he spoons some breakfast stew into his mouth. Not fresh, unfortunately, but still only a day old. In fact, the only reason it’s ‘breakfast stew’ is because of the time of day… after all, it’s the exact same thie for di night.

  The stump he’s sitting on is one of many and the clearing he’s sitting in is man-made, with a whole bunch of freshly cut down trees off to the side, ready to be processed. The tentative pn for the day is to start by getting rid of all the stumps in the clearing. Then, he begin turning the trees into logs and start w on making those logs into an actual livable . Back breaking work, but Oren feels well equipped for hard bor at the very least.

  … Admittedly, he’s far less fident in the rest. He has zero skill in stru after all, and barely any idea what he’s doing. But at this point, Oren has all the time in the world to make something work, doesn’t he? Even if his first attempt fails, he’ll just take whatever he learns from it and apply it to the . And he’ll keep doing that until he succeeds.

  As, the best id pns of mid men… just as Oren is slurping the rest of the stew out of his bowl, he pauses and tips his head to the side as he hears something… or rather multiple somethings, crashing through the underbrush. Eyes narrowing, he sets aside the bowl and rises to his feet, hand ing down to rest on the pommel of the sword sheathed at his waist.

  Tensing up, he listens closely, hoping that their trajectory will take them past him without Oren ever having to y eyes on any of them … but it’s not to be. The sounds get louder until they’re practically right on top of him. Finally, ing out of the trees like she’s being chased by a dozen baying hounds is a woman. A very beautiful, eoo woman.

  One might be fooled into mistaking her as nobility at first. Maybe even a Princess. She was, after all, wearing a tiara atop her pristine brow. On top of that, she had danglione earrings, and a matg gemstone neckce, each of them set with a beautiful blue sapphire that almost seems to glow in the m light.

  The neckce dips towards the valley of her bust, which is in turn a geous white dress that’s frankly out of this world… aainly ill-suited for traipsing through the woods. But then, the heeled sandals she’s wearing don’t seem like they should have served her much better.

  It robably enough to make most wonder how the hell she had stayed ahead of her pursuers for ah of time, dressed like she is. But Oren knew better. One look at her and he knew her for what she really was. Not a noblewoman. Not a Princess either. But rather… a Goddess. She was too beautiful to be mortal. Too to be human. Too… pristio be anything but divine. And that wasn’t Oren waxing poetic or being hyperbolic with his prose either. She was literally too perfect to be anything else but a deity.

  Upon seeing him, her geous blue eyes, the same color as her sapphire jewelry, go wide in hope and relief.

  “Please! Sir, p-please! I’m being chased! You have to help me!”

  She rushes forward, causing Oren to tense up in anticipation of a trick… but no. He senses no aggression or hostility iance. Deceptioainly. But she’s not going to attack him. She doesly give off the impression of a fighter in the first por that of an assassin.

  Unfortunately, the sound of multiple people crashing through the woods in his dire has not ceased with the goddess’ arrival. In fact, it’s only gotten louder. Jaw g, Oren stands tall, shoulders squared as the goddess takes his silence as permission to get behind him and cower at his back.

  Her pursuers arrive a moment ter iacur fashion. They e out of the woods much more fitting attire for the wilderness, moving forward rather cautiously. a mixture of leather armor reinforced with metal ptes, wielding swords and crossboikes, they pause at the sight of him, but their eyes light up when they see their quarry just over his shoulder. The most equipped of the lot barely hesitates to step forward, spreading his arms wide and smiling smarmily.

  “We have no quarrel with you stranger! All we want is the goddess at your back! Been chasing her for weeks now! Killed half of my men in that time, she did. She’s all out of power at this point though. Easy pigs… might eve you share some of the reward if you py nice!”

  Silence falls over the clearing, one of anticipation aement. The band of men wait for him to step aside and hand her over. The goddess at his back is clearly anticipating him doing the same given he all but feel her preparing to turn and flee once more.

  The leader of the ragtag group in front of Oren is lying though, at least partially. She didn’t kill anyone… Oren tell she’s not capable of it. But he’s not lying about all of it. She likely did lead them on quite the merry chase… and yes, she is out of power, her divinity feeling faint at best by now. They’d dogged her heels long enough to drain her a at it frequently enough that she couldn’t rest to recharge.

  God Hunters. That’s what they are, one and all. Not just simple bandits. Not just brigands or even adventurers. Oh, they’ll turn towards banditry or the plundering of a ruins at the drop of a hat if the opportunity presents itself, of course. But their primary purpose, their foremost drive… is hunting down gods and goddesses like the oanding behind him.

  Oren should just let them have her. He shouldn’t interfere, even if they don’t share the reward with him. A… a…

  “No.”

  His response, hotly anticipated by everyone else in the clearing, takes them all by surprise. The smile drops off of the leader’s fad is quickly repced by a dark sneer.

  “No? Don’t tell me you’re still ging to some mispced faith in the Gods after all this time. The Age of Gods is over, friend! Now is the Age of Man! And old relics like that pretty thing c behind you have no p this Age. None whatsoever.”

  Oren snorts derisively. Age of Man… not yet. No, while the Age of Gods was indeed over, things didn’t just turn over quite that fast. They were still very mu a transitionary periht now. Perhaps they would reach the Age of Man one day, but givehing Oren had witnessed so far, all the destru ah and mayhem… it was far more accurate to call this the Age of Chaos than anything else.

  He wasn’t going to bother saying all of that to these idiots though. Wasn’t worth the breath. Even delivering a warning was barely worth the breath, though he’d do so anyways. His hand on the pommel of his sword tightens, and with a sharp tug he pulls it an inch out of the sheath, revealing the part of the bde as it glints in the early m sunlight.

  “I’m not a believer, no. Just an irritated man who’s had his breakfast ruined by some mists. sider this your one and only warning. Turn around and leave empty-handed… or I’ll kill you all.”

  There’s a pause at that, even as his threatening words hang in the air. As, his warning falls on deaf ears. After a moment, the God Hunters break into ughter, starting with their leader and traveling through the entire group.

  “Bahahaha! Good one! We’ll be sure to tell the others how fident you were when we regale them with this story at the taveronight! Kill him!”

  Oren’s jaw ches aenses up, drawing his sword the rest of the way out of its sheathe even as the God Hunters all begin moving forward as one. He isn’t surprised. Getting involved… this was only ever going to end one way.

  Nor is he all that surprised when he hears the shifti of the Goddess behind him, the telltale sign that she’s turning to run and use his impending demise to give herself a bit more of a head start on her would-be hunters. Not surprised… but maybe just a little disappointed.

  No matter. It is what it is.

  -x-X-x-

  Sophia isn’t sure what makes her stop. Every thought in her mind screams that she should be running. The man she’d e upon while fleeing her hunters with nothing but the dregs of her divinity left to her was… not much to look at. Handsome, certainly, with the scruffy look of a woodsman to him. And judging by the stumps and the trees stacked high on one side of the man-made clearing, he was a hard worker as well.

  But the hides c his body, while clearly gaihrough skill and talent, did not make for exceptionally good armor. And the sword, even once he drew it, was nothing special either.

  Ultimately, the God Hunters who aimed to take her head and sell it for were going to hew right through him. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Sophia should have used the handful of seds his grisly death would buy her to start running again, for as long as she still could run. She even half-turns to start fleeing again, but winds up taking not a siep.

  Instead… instead something makes her freeze up and watch as the first of the God Hunters reaches her would-be protector. Something makes her stop iracks and bear wito what is sure to be a one-sided massacre.

  …

  Well, it’s certainly a one-sided massacre… just not in the way she’s expeg.

  “What?! He killed Edvard in a single blow!”

  “Idiots! Take him down together, you think that sword of his is just for show! Clearly he has training!”

  “Righ-urk!”

  “Gack!”

  “Hulghk-!”

  Dug, dodging, and sidestepping attack after attack, the scruffy stranger moves with exay precision and a capacity for extreme violehe likes of which Sophia has never seen in a mortal man. His sword might not be anything special, but it’s more thae enough for this purpose given how it always seems to find another exploitable oint in his enemies’ defenses.

  Heads fly, bodies crumple, and soon the clearing is filled with corpses and blood… until finally, there’s just the one God Hunter left. The leader, who it seemed was more ined to lead from the back given he was still hale and whole.

  “W-Wait! You don’t have to-urk!”

  The sword, covered in red already by this point, ght through the front of the st standing God Hunter’s throat and out the back. Hissing, the scruffy stranger shakes his head as he yanks it back a moment after delivering the lethal blow.

  “Gave you a ce. Warned you.”

  No one among her hunters is left to answer him. He’s slew them all. Sophia stands frozen, staring in disbelief, as he looks around himself for a moment before sighing. Theurns in the dire of his supplies only to pause when he sees her still standing there. His surprise is evident from the hit his step and the slight widening of his eyes, but he doesn’t stop moving.

  Walking over to his things, he pulls out a piece of cloth and begins wiping down his bloodied bde. Only then does he finally aowledge her again.

  “Thought you’d run. You probably should have while you still had the ce.”

  Sophia blushes a little bit at his blunt way of speaking. And she also blushes a little bit because… well, he was right wasn’t he? Still, she wasn’t about to just admit as much. Instead, the Goddess straightens her bad squares her shoulders, letting her gloved hands e together beh her bust as she tells a little white lie.

  “I saw no reason to flee. I knoable warrior when I see one, and I knew you would have the situation well in hand.”

  He gives her a look at that, ohat makes Sophia flush all the harder. It’s obvious he sees right through her… a, he doesn’t call her out on it. She’s not sure whether that’s a relief or a frustration truth be told. Still, her head is swimming with questions. Most importantly of all…

  “You said before you weren’t a believer. If you do not hold faith with the Gods, why did you defend me?”

  The man pauses in his ing at that question, looking up at her for a long moment assessingly. When he finally responds, however, his words are no a all. In fact, he answers her question with another question.

  “I’m sid tired of calling you ‘that goddess’ in my head so let’s get introdus out of the way now. The name’s Oren. You are?”

  Sophia blinks and then tries not to wilt a little at the mortal failing tnize her. But then to be fair… she was only a minoddess, so it wasn’t that surprising. Still…

  “O-Of course. Introdus… I am Lady Sophia, Minoddess of Wisdom ay. Daughter of Law, King of the Gods and God of Justid Righteousness.”

  And then, because she feels a desperate o impress this man at least a little bit, Sophia draws herself up even further.

  “I withe God Killer rampage through the Heavens firsthand. I spat in his eye to escape his thirsty bde as he made his way to fight my father. I and I alone survive where all others have fallen. You stand before the st Goddess of Heaven, mortal. And you have done me a great boon this day, one worthy of signifit reward.”

  There, that should add some gravitas to the situatiht? And the emphasis she’d put on ‘signifit reward’ would surely catch his attention. Ihe mortal was already looking appropriately gobsmacked and in awe of her! Finally, progress!

  -x-X-x-

  Oren stares at Sophia bnkly, uo muster a response in the face of what she’s just said. Not because he’s in awe of her or anything like that… but rather because he doesn’t quite remember events happening the way she cimed. And he should be able to. He really, really should. After all, he was there that day, in the Heavens, when the God Killer stormed the pce.

  He was there when Law died, the King of the Gods sin at the hands of the God Killer. He watched it happen… no, truth be told, he MADE it happen.

  Oren should know whether Sophia’s version of events was accurate or not. Whether she actually faced down the God Killer and spat in his eye before esg his ‘thirsty’ bde.

  After all… Oren WAS the God Killer.

  -x-X-x-

  A/N: How's that for a hook, huh? No but seriously, like I said above, value all feedbabsp;Even something as simple as leaving me a Like each chapter to let me know you're reading helps a lot because it lets me know I'm doing something right!

  Also Patreon Plug: The EN chapters of this story be found over on my Patreon for early access under The Age of Chaos Colle if you want to read ahead!