Side Story: Tenth on a new world

The sky is so vast.

That was the thought that filled Tenth’s head more than anything else as he was led down the streets from where he’d been awakened.

More than the strange, giant buildings and unfamiliar red trees that towered around them, more than the alien people of the world he’d be making his home, and more than the knowledge that the succubi were just one group among many on that shared planet. He would need time to properly digest that and he’d get it eventually but then and there what stood out the most was a simple truth. After untold years, he was finally free.

He still didn’t even know if he believed any of it was real, afraid that he’d either wake up or realize one day that all of this was a symptom of his long overdue insanity finally winning in the end but even if either was the case it didn’t matter. If it was a dream then he’d enjoy it until he woke up and if his mind had finally broken then he could say with certainty that it was worth it. He’d long lost count of how many of his years he’d been held as a trophy for the god who’d killed his world and while every day he’d fought to keep himself from becoming like so many of the others around him who’d broken down completely, if a hallucination like that was what he could have gained then he shouldn’t have tried to be so strong for so long.

Just thinking about it brought a grip to his heart, tightening it like it was being squeezed and despite the difference in their species it seemed the woman leading the way took notice and slowed her steps.

“Here, why don’t we take a small stop,” Valaria said, nodding to an empty bench nearby. “I’ve been doing plenty of back and forth already, a little sit down could be nice before I rush back.”

“Ah, then just a moment if you don’t mind.”

He just needed a few seconds to collect himself and as they went over and took their seats, Tenth looked around as he breathed, taking in the city beyond just the sense of freedom walking through it gave and came to a single conclusion.

“It’s beautiful.”

It was the complete opposite of what the majority of his life had been forced to endure; if he’d spent centuries in hell then that was the paradise beyond it. Not just the freedom he was now experiencing, he could tell that despite the war as a whole gripping the planet, the people there at least were at peace, content in their lives despite the troubles going on and the priestess at his side smiled.

“It is but we have it better than most here. Our queen’s husband keeps the land safe to an extent that most other places don’t get to enjoy and the main goddess of the succubi values love highly and loves us in return. If you choose to make your home here you won’t be able to take off your talisman but you’ll be welcome.”

“I…”

“There’s no rush to decide right now, no need to worry about that. Just focus on figuring out what you want for yourself for the time being.”

“Thank you,” He told her, pausing for a beat before speaking again. “The goddess of this land, it’s not the one you and Ben give your faith to, correct? It’s not your Myriad.”

“It’s not, Myriad is a different god but I’d say he’s just as loving. He tries to make time for all of his believers, if you do choose to give him your faith then you’ll get the chance to see him for yourself soon enough.”

“I will be. If my friend believes he’s a good choice then he already has my trust.”

“You won’t regret that decision. He can seem different from other gods but I promise he’s worthy of receiving your faith.”

Different from other gods, is he?

While time had faded far too many of his memories, Tenth still hadn’t completely lost his past. He remembered his life as a farmer to an extent, working the fields and harvesting his crops and he had his memories of family and friends, even if their faces were long lost to him. Beyond that though, one thing he’d kept that whole time was Galwax.

A part of him had spent his entire imprisonment hoping his god had survived, just as he’d hoped some of his people had lived in the end, but it seemed his kind hadn’t been as lucky as so many who made it to the world. Still, even if his prayers for freedom had gone unanswered, thinking about the one he’d given his faith to back before his long torment had been a crutch when he’d needed it, even if it was now gone.

Galwax didn’t survive, nor did he save any of his people. All the god had seen fit to bring to this world was his trial and the archive and while Ben may have said the reason he’d been given for not having brought along any survivors was because they were all proud warrior mages who’d chosen to fight to the end, that wasn’t good enough.

His memories may have faded but Tenth at least knew that he was no warrior mage, nor were the young of his old world who’d been slaughtered the same as any combatant and all of that complicated the feelings he had inside, with none of it mattering in the end.

Who was to care about how he felt for a dead god, whether he’d forgive or condemn his actions when Galwax wasn’t even around to hear it for himself? It wasn’t like he’d ever personally met him either, nor had Galwax answered any of his small prayers. In the end, all it could do was make him question just what his faith had even been worth in the first place.

It was a train of thought that was threatening to make him spiral so he did his best to avoid thinking in general, a skill he’d had more than enough practice in given how bad some of his endless days had gotten, and he tried to reframe his thoughts to focus on the good. Whatever there was to be said for his god, none of that mattered in the end. He was free and that alone made it the greatest day of his life, regardless of what either the past or future held.

---

When he arrived at the church he joined the groups that gotten there before him, his fellow victims who’d chosen to enjoy their new world while the priests around did their best to accommodate them all.

Food was served and the ones in charge did their best to make things positive, telling them stories about the world as time wore on, with the promise of heavier conversations about what options they had now that they were free saved for tomorrow. They’d only just been released from their long torment, no need to create new stress so soon when all they really wanted was to engage in the simple things that had been held from them for so long.

Food and drink, real conversation and a general sense of peace and freedom. It had all been sorely missed and made the hours pass quickly until they were shown the rooms provided where they might get some rest.

Tenth was sure he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t instantly able to get it though. The bed he laid on was the softest thing he’d touched since he’d first been trapped but even though he was sure it was far from luxurious by that world’s standards, it was too soft and too quiet to match. 

The sleep he was used to getting was on the firm barrier that trapped him and his lullabies had been the screams of the mad and the thrashing of violent beasts killing each other below. Missing both was a luxury beyond anything he could have dreamed but it wasn’t what his body had grown used to. Even if it hadn’t aged a day since he’d been captured and even if it hadn’t been allowed to die, it had still adapted to its environment in a manner that left true peace and comfort feeling even more distracting.

It was something he told himself he’d get used to, if his body had adapted to that hell then it could adapt again, but it left him unsure about his prospects of actually being able to really enjoy it until exhaustion would steal the choice from him, leaving him alone with his thoughts in the meantime as a memory sprung forth.

“Ah, if I’ve converted then I suppose I should pray,” He muttered, even if the idea felt alien. The world he was from originally held one god, the idea of a planet of hundreds where people had so much choice over who they prayed to couldn’t help but be strange as he did his best to figure out just what he wanted to say before eventually clasping his hands together and thinking the first thing that came to his mind.

Your apostle has saved me and for that, you have my loyalty as well, oh great Myriad. If there’s anything in this world I might do for you, just let me know.

While both Ben and Valaria said he could expect to hear from the god he kept his expectations low. Since they’d both told him he was sure it might happen eventually, but he was entirely unprepared for a voice to begin speaking in his head.

<You can just call me Myriad, no need to try to inflate my ego.> The voice spoke in his mind. <And as for what you can do for me, just live a good life, you deserve that much after all you’ve been through, focus on that.>

…Ah, so it turns out I really am insane. A pity.

<Given you were told I’d get in touch with you multiple times I don’t feel like that’s a fair reaction. I am Ben’s and now you’re god and I’m just here to say hello.>

He still didn’t really believe it and Myriad could tell why, the thought plain in his mind for the divine to read.

<You can’t feel any divinity from me because, unlike the god who held you for so long, I don’t have a galaxy’s worth of faith being directed at me. Hmm, Ben should know your skill composition but he didn’t mention it to me so we won’t actually know for sure until you get your card in the next few days but I wouldn’t be surprised if you're holding a ninth-level tolerance. He certainly would have mentioned if it was awakened so it can’t be that but it would still leave you at a point where you wouldn’t feel any god of this world.>

“I don’t actually know what that means,” Tenth muttered.

<Just an adaptation with your mind, body, and soul. You’ll learn more as time goes on but for now, try to believe myself and the rest of this world are real, would you?>

“Ah, very well. Then what can I do for you, Myriad?”

<There’s nothing you need to do, it’s like I’ve said, I’m here to say hello. We’ll talk more as time goes on, you can expect to hear from me frequently these next few days but for the time being, there’s just one thing I’d like you to start giving some thought.>

“Yes?”

<Now that you have your freedom, how would you like to use it? If it’s within my power I will help but just be aware, I’m not the most influential of this world’s gods.>

What do I want to do with my freedom?

It was a question he was sure he must have asked himself at some point, early on in his imprisonment, but if he had it was so long ago he didn’t remember ever considering the thought. What was the point of wanting for something that would never come? Hope was a poison, one that had only broken those around him as the years went on. Without it he’d been freed but now that it was asked it filled his mind.

Even with the peril his new world was in, he still had options and wanted to take them. He wanted to make up for the life he missed and the chances he’d never gotten to take with only the question left being of where to start.

“I think…” He began, feeling hesitant to give voice to an idea that extended beyond the walls around him. “I think I’d like to see more of this world if I could have the chance.”

The opportunity to experience something new would be a greater blessing than he’d dared to imagine until recently and with the world open to him, how could he leave it unexplored when it seemed the one he’d called his new god was for it as well?

<In that case, after you finish getting a better orientation on the details of this planet I’ll ask Valaria to help you, at least at first. She can show you around some of Anailia for starters and from there I have a few different believers at a few different gates who would be happy to show you around their cities as well and then depending on how you feel after that, we can either keep that up or you can explore by yourself if that sounds good to you?>

“Yes, yes that sounds wonderful.”

The chance to not only see new places but to meet new people as well, it may have sounded so simple but it was more than he could have ever dreamed only a few days back and lightened his thoughts as he imagined the future.

Whatever fate awaited the world, he had entire months to enjoy himself and if he died in the end with the rest of the planet then he knew he’d be going the happiest he’d ever been and it was that feeling of contentment that finally let him drift off to sleep.