"What kind of help? What could I possibly do for a goddess?"
"Do not worry, you won't be asked to do anything beyond your limits. You will find out what it is when the time comes," the worm said.
This was like signing a blank paper. He had no idea what would be asked of him. But he didn't have another choice.
"…I accept," Arsh said.
After saying this, the room began to brighten. The worms released both him and the boy, starting to crawl toward the other side of the cathedral. As they moved forward, the torches along the walls caught fire one by one.
As the surroundings grew a bit brighter, Arsh was able to see the worms more clearly. Old Milor had told him that the worms looked beautiful. But now, Arsh realized that this was merely a past memory polished by time in the old man's mind.
Because these creatures had absolutely nothing to do with beauty.
The worms stopped in front of statues of two women that Arsh hadn't noticed before. One woman appeared unconscious, while the other held her by the waist, as if preventing her from falling. This time, one of the women had wings, but the other didn't have a fish tail.
There was a hollow beneath the statue. Inside it, Arsh could see golden dust swirling from side to side, looking just like a desert storm. It looked exactly like what he had imagined.
When the hollow opened, some of the dust drifting in the air floated toward Arsh.
"Open your hand," one of the worms said.
When Arsh did as he was told, the dust gathered together and fell into his palm like a piece of stone.
"Place this over your friend's wound. While it takes thousands of years to heal the body of a goddess, it will only take a few days to heal a human."
It looked like an ordinary pebble. It wasn't even bigger than the tip of his thumb. The only unusual thing about it was the way the dust inside shimmered with the light.
"Now let's complete the agreement," one of the worms said.
While Arsh was looking at the stone in his hand, the worm suddenly wrapped itself around his body again.
"Hey, what's going on?" Arsh said, startled. "I thought we had a deal."
"The most untrustworthy race in this world is the human race."
"To make sure that you will keep your word..."
"...we must bind the agreement," all three of them said, completing each other's sentences.
They forced Arsh's mouth open with strange tentacles extending from around them. No matter how much Arsh struggled, he couldn't escape their grip. He had no idea what they were trying to do. A moment later, a foul-tasting liquid flowed down his throat. When he saw that the liquid was coming from the tail of one of the worms, he gagged, but this time the tentacles held his mouth tightly shut.
"If you fail to keep your word when the time comes, the penalty will be death. This poison will only activate when we wish it to. Until then, do not worry or be afraid," the worms said.
"Should I say I'm relieved? Couldn't you have told me this from the very beginning?" Arsh muttered to himself, but of course, the worms heard him, though they chose to ignore it again.
"The agreement is complete. Now it is time for you to leave, human."
That was the last thing he heard before being thrown out. They quickly dragged him back to where the door had appeared.
...
Darkness and silence once again took over the cathedral. Soon after, a series of strange sounds, reminiscent of tearing flesh echoed inside.
When the noise faded, the strange reptilian creatures were gone. In their place stood two men and a woman. Each of them possessed an otherworldly beauty. But now, there was no one left to witness it.
"Do you think he was that person mentioned in the prophecy?" one of the men asked.
"We can't be sure. Someone finds their way here every few centuries. But this is the first time the door has been forced open. Still, there's nothing we can do except wait." the other replied.
"If a door is closed, it will open sooner or later. If a human is born, they will die sooner or later. The destiny between the beginning and the end has been written and is being written. If this child is the one we have been waiting for, the end of this waiting is soon"
The one who gave this response was the woman. She had pitch-black hair and pitch-black eyes. She was the one to catch Arsh. Her name was Kora.
"Don't give those kinds of answers, please. Everything is already boring to death... Anyway, even if that's the case, he was also given a choice. We will wait and see... That Dorit child was of our goddess's people. Even though we asked him to stay with us, he said he wanted to go with the human. If only he had stayed here with us it could be fun... this thousand-year wait has started to become boring." he said while whining.
"Dorit said that guy's energy was beautiful, that he felt like home. Dorits love beautiful energies. We have no energy left."
"That's true."
"But maybe it was for the best… Our duty is to wait until the goddess awakens. Yet as you can see, even this weak human managed to force the door open. I only hope that, in the name of our goddess, we can continue protecting Goddess Isla until the seas become one again," Kora said.
"Ah! It was fun to see new faces. I am bored to see your faces for centuries. we should keep them here a little longer" one of the men shouted.
The visitors, the first they had received in a long time, had left them feeling a bit excited. They retreated toward a dark corner of the cathedral, continuing to talk about what had happened.
...
Juan was still in a deep sleep. When he opened his eyes at sunrise, he saw Arsh sitting upright beside him, staring ahead with empty eyes. The green-haired child sat on Arsh's other side, tilting his head as he quietly watched him.
"When did you wake up?"
After a few seconds of silence, Arsh answered.
"I didn't sleep."
"...Did something happen while I was asleep?"
"Hmm... Let's see. I just entered a cathedral left behind by the Goddess of the Distant Seas, got squeezed by three massive worms until my guts almost spilled out, and then obtained the antidote needed for Ezra in exchange for a promise to repay the Goddess later in whatever way she pleases. Of course, since the human race is 'unreliable,' they also forced me to drink a poison in case I don't keep my word when the time comes... But don't worry, it will only kill me if I break my promise."
"Did all of this happen while I was asleep? Did you have a nightmare?" Juan asked.
But he stopped when Arsh held up a stone shimmering with golden dust.
"What is that?"
"They said if I put this on Ezra's wound, he will heal in a few days."
Juan stared at Arsh's blank face for a moment, trying to figure out whether the things he spoke of were real or a dream. But Arsh's reaction felt too real.
"You know... I don't believe in gods. I didn't think they existed. I used to think either they never existed at all, or they abandoned us. But I guess I was wrong... look at this," he said, showing the the stone in his hand. "I didn't even believe in gods, and now I'm indebted to them..."
He was frustrated, but Juan ignored his minor existential crisis.
"So, what is the plan? You found what you were looking for. Honestly, it was easier than I expected."
"There's nothing left for us to do here. We can go back now. The sooner we return, the better."
"And the child… We need to deal with that first. Maybe not in Valdor, but in Elyrion? There are a few people connected to FFSD there. We could leave him with them."
"There's no need. We're taking him with us," Arsh said.
Juan looked surprised.
"Even if we tried to find his family, we won't be able to. The worms said he isn't human. He's one of Seyra's people, from distant seas"
"What do you mean, he's not human?" he said, pulling the boy by the ear. "He looks plenty human to me. Just a bit too small."
"The only thing big here is you. He looks perfectly human except for his hair... but he isn't, turns out. Would there be any problem if he came with us?"
"I don't think so... We are already looking after special kids like him. They'll find a place for him in the orphanage too," Juan said.
But even though the boy didn't understand what was being said, he seemed to grasp the intent behind Juan's words once again. As he jumped onto Arsh and hugged him tightly, he began throwing threatening glares at Juan.
"Look at him glaring at me," Juan said, reaching out to pull his ear again.
"Please... leave the boy alone," Arsh said, stopping Juan's hand. "Let's head back."
"You said he didn't need to, but what if Old Milor come here to pick us up, should we wait?" Juan asked.
"It doesn't matter. We'll cross paths with him on his route along the way," Arsh said.
Then he focused on finding Old Milor's location. He thought that the old man must have already left his house. However, when he opened his eyes, not a single golden thread appeared.
"Juan... old Milor... I guess he's dead," Arsh said.