Julian’s eyebrows raised of their own accord. “Nothing?”

  “She never answered. And I haven’t—Wait,” Gerda scrunched up her nose, “does the Sanctuary count as a temple?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ah, then I’ve only been to Fate and Light’s temples.”

  “Just that?” He asked.

  Gerda shrugged, “Yes?”

  “You found yourself in another world and didn’t immediately go to every god and ask for guidance?” It was incredulous. He would be storming every temple in the kingdom if something like that had happened to him.

  His own family had long followed Light, so much so they’d built the Sanctuary in her honour, but different gods held different domains. If one didn’t answer it could be because there was another god more apt for the task.

  Still, he was surprised that Gerda’s prayers were left entirely unanswered… the gods didn’t speak to everyone who prayed on their sacred grounds, but they did offer guidance on important matters or exceptional circumstances.

  And a wayward world-jumping soul seemed exceptional to him.

  “Why bother? I had [System] and [Quest] notifications that told me where I was and what I needed to do.” She shrugged. “And it wasn’t like I was in a position to just go on an adventure to hunt down every temple— I was thrown into things pretty quickly.”

  “Did Gerda’s village not have a temple for every god?” He said, tripping a bit as he referred to the previous Gerda, but his Gerda knew and didn’t seem to mind.

  There were only ten gods; it was rare for a town not to have a small shrine for each, even if they had only one temple.

  She shook her head, “It wouldn’t matter if there was. When I woke up, I was trying to process Gerda’s memories and figure out what happened. It wasn’t pretty, and I ended up throwing Gerda’s ex-husband off the mountain…

  “Unfortunately, he was the mayor of Yoka Village, and pretty well liked for an abusive piece of garbage… So I didn’t stick around long.”

  Julian recalled her previous retelling, and the twisted knot of anger that grew in the pit of his stomach was just as strong hearing this story the second time.

  “That’s when I ran away to the Dark Enchanted Forest.” She looked off in the distance, reminiscing.

  “That’s where I met Larry, this ancient bridge troll who took me in while I was still figuring things out; He was looking for an apprentice and I needed a place to stay... I ended up living in the spare cot under his sewing table for a month. I wasn’t okay.” She reached out an unsteady hand to grip her mug, though she didn’t drink from it. “It took a while to get used to having a troll body.”

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  “What were you before?” He asked.

  “Human.” She replied.

  “Hm.” Julian tried to see her as a human, like his mother. Darker skin, finer hair, with the same bright brown eyes but no tusks.

  He would miss the tusks.

  “There are ways…” He started. She shook her head.

  “I know what you are going to say, but I like who I’ve become. I’m built like a brick house and I feel amazing.” Gerda smiled; the first sincere smile he’d seen since yesterday. “It just took some getting used to – and I already found a treasure that lets me pretend to be human for a while, if I want to.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “Me too.” She said, and then sighed. “So it took a while before I went to Saren Sanctum in the Black Fortress. I tried to speak to Fate, but she didn’t answer.”

  Fate was Keith’s patron deity, and the largest temple in Nilheim. Fate was also the driving force behind Gerda’s [Oracle] abilities.

  Again, he couldn’t understand why.

  “It wasn’t until months later, when I levelled up to 40 and got [Oracle] powers and started getting actual direct messages from Fate that I thought I should go visit her again… But I’ve never been in the habit of going to church - and why start when Fate was literally up in my notifications telling me things.”

  “Still…" Julian considered, and then stood, holding out his hand. “Want to try going now?”

  Gerda choked, “Now?!”

  “You wanted to find a way back… we can ask now” The words came out normal but inside he felt like he was trying to swim up a raging waterfall just to hold a half-smile. “The other gods might have a way. Life and Death might know, or Dreams.”

  “Why Dreams?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “They are in charge of the soul.” He added, “Memories are the embroidery that is the fabric of the soul, and if you’d merely taken Gerda’s body, I don’t think you should have her memories as well. It’s something to ask about.”

  “I don’t want to.” Gerda stated, rejecting his offer.

  Julian withdrew his hand and stared down at his troll. For all that she was different, this was the first time that he’d thought he couldn’t understand her.

  Everyone knew that the gods were there. They were in the system messages; their power flowed through each person who wielded an ability, and their voice came readily in times of need.

  It was just the natural thing to do.

  “But–” He started to argue but she cut him off.

  “What if I’m really not supposed to be here? What if the gods shunt me back to my world without a by-your-leave? Or worse, Carter shows up to put me to rest?”

  Her reasoning was a cold reality he hadn’t considered. “Who’s Carter?”

  “The Chosen of Death. I hate that guy– he’s impossible to reason with.” Gerda’s brows knit and her jaw clenched. “So why draw attention to myself? I’d rather have the chance to make my own decisions – and I don’t regret any of the ones I’ve made so far… except maybe one.”

  Gerda’s eyes met his. “I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with you.”