Chapter 199 - Fearful Existence

These words struck deep in Light. Ethan was the only one able to somehow understand Qienta's personality even if he wasn't her direct child, and that made the sadness in her heart disappear a little, and she considered this to be shameful.

'I..was assigned by my Mother the task to look after him, but now he's the one looking after me..'

The mere thought embarrassed her so much Light would've hit herself for her stupidity as she had her own pride, but from the moment they met, the situation seemed to be reversed.

She could also understand why he did so, but there was something more than just that. In the same way she could see his pain easily, he could 'feel' hers. Since Ethan didn't know how to properly see the pain, it was only a sensation from his heart, or so she believed.

Even if they had differences, both in s.e.x, powers and personality, Light and Ethan could be considered one and the same, a bond even stronger than identical twins sharing the same amniotic sac before birth.

So, it was only natural for Ethan to understand her feelings, and this made Light incredibly happy, even though she didn't plan to show it.

"I was assigned to help you with that, so you can rest assured"

These were the only things she said, but to her words Ethan smiled while nodding.

'He's happy about that...'

By spinning a strand of hair between her fingers with an embarrassed face, Light avoided looking at him while Ethan had just finished praying.

"Is everything alright?"

He was confused by her behaviour, but the moment he asked, Light seemed to flinch as she stopped moving her hair.

"Y-Yes. By the way, was there something else I need to know?"

She quickly changed the topic of the conversation as she didn't want him to find out she was really happy, and that was effective.

"..What I still have to talk you about is related to the situation in the real world. You see...."

Explaining the situation, Ethan told Light about what he needed from her, such as some guidance in Blacksmithing, as her role would be fundamental in his plans.

"..If I couldn't access my domain for long, I would have had to go to Hephaestus with only the knowledge from the book available in the shop, but my actual plan is to surprise her as well. If I want her to collaborate with me to the fullest."

He was sure even if she showed him her eye, he wouldn't be scared or disgusted. From his previous world, he could see from the Internet various people with severe injuries, some so grave to completely change a person's appearance, and he was shocked to know such things existed.

'I don't think Hephaestus needs nor my pity nor my disgusted face. She needs a blacksmith able to impress her with one of his works, and right now it's impossible for me to do so.'

That's what he believed. He wasn't really after her, but he was after her collaboration with him, as her power would be also important for him to realize his plan even faster.

"I see. Well it's assured if I learn the [Blacksmith] development ability then you'll be able to learn as well."

She, differently from Ethan, could improve her abilities really fast, but he wouldn't be able to do anything with the things she made as they can't leave the Domain, as the owner of the weapon was still considered as an Ancestor, thus Light had the same restrictions as Qienta. The only thing she could do was learn and then teach him, as it would be way more effective to have the skill from the start for him.

"...But that will take some time. I need at least some week of both studying and learning in first person before being able to teach you properly...is that a problem?"

She didn't know if he could wait for a few weeks, but to her worries Ethan replied shaking his head.

"No. I believe if Freya wanted me so eagerly, she would've taken me a few days after Loki was indebted with her, yet she waited for weeks. Isn't that proof enough she has some kind of plan as well?"

It was a fact for him. Even if Freya's plan was to watch over him, Ethan knew she couldn't easily do so since his [Qienta's Blessing] seemed to be way more useful than he expected. Not only it completely hides his soul from sightseeing, it had a special ability to stun enemies to an extent, while at the top of them all, it could protect him in a moment of danger, even if this was under special conditions.

"..And don't you think it's bad? If her plan is to take you by force, your Goddess can't oppose her, and this would inevitably lead to the war you told me about."

Light understood well his points. If an enemy would grasp Orario's two strongest familia were at a Cold War, then they wouldn't hesitate to ally with the Ares familia to try and take over Orario for good, and Orario was eyed not only by a few individuals. The casualties from such a war would be enormous...

"...I can understand why you're worried, but I still want to believe she wouldn't do so, at least not now. She's so attracted by me because I was in her eyes an empty shell without a soul, and I don't know if she understood I have something protecting my soul or not, but she without a doubt is curious about me and wants to find out the reason for that..."

Ethan couldn't know Freya's intentions for sure, but he could still guess why she wanted him so much. If he became one of his pawns, she could ask him to reveal her his soul, but to his words Light smirked.

"My soul and yours are one and the same. If she sees your soul I believe she'll quietly submit to you..."

It was her honest thought. She didn't know what a Lower Goddess would see from his soul. There were a big amount of possibilities ranging from her unable to see the 'divine' part of his soul which was her, and if that was the case Light believed she would be so frightened to never try to threaten him again, this was the extent of her powers.

But there was also the possibility of her unable to see 'her' soul, which meant she would only see Ethan's. Even if that was the case, although to a lesser extent, she believed Freya would be surprised to see what was so protected from her mother's blessing.

"...I don't want to reveal to her such a thing. Even if I manage to make Freya submit to me, what do I say to Loki and everyone else..."

That was why he didn't want to directly show her. He didn't want to be considered such a scary existence able to submit Goddesses to his will, he wanted to properly deal with the situation even if it required effort to do so, as other than protecting his own familia, Ethan would be able to repay Loki and at the same time protect the people he cared about as his fame and known powers would be enough to scare anyone who wanted to try attacking him away.

"..I believe they would accept you even if they would be able to see your soul. You see, I can't interact with the real world, but I can see it from you."

She didn't tell him many things about their shared souls, but she wanted to at least inform him of this.

"I can see your feelings changed a lot compared from last time. If before I could see a flower standing on top of others, now I can see several flowers appearing and filling your heart with warm colours. That is the privilege of sharing a single soul in two beings. Even if they are filling your heart, I can feel the effects on my own heart as well, and that makes me genuinely happy."

Hearing these words shocked Ethan. He knew their souls were fused into one by Qienta so that he could forever have a companion next to him, but her words even if by using metaphors, were incredibly clear to him.

"..Aren't you just hiding your real feelings behind these reasons, I wonder?"

While he was still trying to recollect himself, Light added this last sentence, but Ethan couldn't reply.

"The truth is you are just scared they will be frightened by your very existence, that even Loki will be frightened by you. Isn't that true?"

She sighed at her own words.

'I'm truly shameful. I was being consoled by someone who had this many problems, and I didn't even understand him before we exchanged a few words...'

She would normally be able to truly see everything, but that wasn't something she wanted to do. Ethan trusted Light because she was someone he could say everything to, not because she knew everything of him at only a glance, that's why she chose to not use any of her powers on him, but things as the vision of his heart weren't powers, it was something even she couldn't control..

Her words couldn't be denied. That's what Ethan felt. It was true he could simply tell Loki everything about him, as well as the others. He could just use his soul as he pleased to bring everyone under him, but he was also scared to do so. If someone who was believed to be a human suddenly shown a soul with divinity in it, how would the surrounding people react? Fearing the unknown was only natural, and that's what Ethan believed.

"I...I don't know."

He couldn't say Light's assumptions were the truth, but he also couldn't deny them, so he was very confused, but to his confusion Light nodded

"It's fine if you don't know, I just wanted to let you understand not everything will go as you planned. From the love they feel for you, I believe neither of the girls will mind your origins at all. You can't tell them about who I am, or who my mother is, but you still can talk about your soul. It's not like you did something wrong. If you try to open yourself to them, I believe what you'll find will be a warm and pleasant surprise."

Light used the gentlest tone she could master to tell him what she felt, and it seemed to work as Ethan fell deep in thought right after her words, but after a while, he decided to believe in Light.

"...I'll treasure your suggestion. But even if I will end up telling them, I won't stop my plan at all. I chose in my heart to follow this route to protect the people I love from harm, and I also have to repay Loki after all."

He was still in the idea it wasn't good to tell them, but what Light told him really struck in his mind...

"I see. If there's not anything else to talk about, It's time to show you around..."

Rising from the chair, Light was about to exit the room, but she was stopped by Ethan.

"I still didn't have a moment to express you my gratitude though"

His words confused Light for a moment as she turned to look at him, but the moment she did so, Ethan disappeared from the chair, and was instead in front of her.

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(Alternate Titles: "What will Ethan do!?", "Fearing the unknown is only natural, but you're not unknown to them, Ethan.", "Light can still see his feelings, so the moment he started talking about his elaborate plan she more or less understood something wasn't right, even if he himself was unconsciounsly doing so, and thus he himself didn't know before Light explained to him, that's more or less what happened")