The Goddess' Champion

"I can see something..."

"There is light!"

Constantine saw the light and so did his companions.

Quite literally though, he saw that there was light beyond his fire far in the distance.

The gigantic pit took them several hours to walk all the way through and there weren't any unexpected encounters beyond some odd noises coming from the edge of the abyss, as if there were creatures below.

Moving onwards there was a small clearing, but there were noises coming from inside it, laughter and even music!

It was some sort of folkloric song that made Constantine lift his eyebrows, who the heck is throwing a party in this place?

The three stopped at the edge of the clearing where the tunnel turned narrow and then, he saw the source of the light as the voices inside became clearer.

...

"Hahahaha! WE ALREADY GOT A BUYER FOR THE STALACTITE BOYS!"

"Boss Samson, can we finaly get out of this disgraceful pit!?"

"WE'RE LEAVING FOR THE WOLF EMPIRE!"

"WOOOOOOOO!!!!"

...

"What's going on with them?" Constantine asked the group, not understanding the babbling happening inside.

"It seems those ogres sell those stalactites in some sort of black market outside of the cave, humans don't usually commercialize with monsters, it is against the empire's rules, we're only allowed to settle deals with the Empire's commissioners, the Elf Kingdom or the Wolf Empire, but monsters aren't hence, they must have found a buyer." Zamira explained everything and he got it straight away.

His gaze moved around the place, studying it.

Just like before it was a gigantic pit, but a vertical one, the top of it was at least several hundred metres above and there he could see something that marvelled him.

It is light!

"That must be the surface!" He said without the slightest doubt, that the light coming from there indicated that the sun was shining brightly inside this pit.

[It is not, no matter what don't get close to that!] Zebellia yelled straight, her voice frantic.

'What do you mean? that's clearly light!'

[But it is not the light of a star... try using your wind magic and see whether the air flows towards it, I might be wrong as my senses are dulled]

"..."

While the group awaited his insight, he cast a small gust of wind and threw some dust in it, the wind flowed indeed, but not to the surface as it should have.

'What...?'

[I told you, that is not the surface... that's a dimensional rift, to think there is one here...]

'Dimensional what?'

[Don't bother, such a thing is too profound for the current you, it seems a god called Sandork the Joker was indeed responsible for creating this lair, do what you must but don't get close to that, otherwise even I might not be able to save you.]

The importance she gave to this matter made him believe she wasn't uttering any of her satirical jokes.

..

"Forget what I said, that is not the surface... we need to find our way around without alerting the group."

He said to the awaiting bunch and began analysing everything around this area, the movements of those ogres, even how many steps they did for that weird dance of theirs.

"If push comes to shove, I can lure them while you escape, Constantine..." Zamira didn't think twice before suggesting that, all she wanted was for him to leave this place safely, however...

He simply flicked her forehead as she rubbed it with a pout.

"Stop suggesting nonsense, not everything needs to be done with a sacrifice, there are plenty of options available, don't be a dumb beauty, use your brain."

"..." The purple-haired warrior simply tilted her head to the side 'dumb beauty...?'

"We can assist you into fighting the group, from here I can see only seven ogres, we should be able to fight a single one of them into a stalemate, but the rest..." Andre and the other guy declared, even Anne said she could fight one of those ogres so long as it wasn't the biggest one that danced and his mere steps shook the ground slightly.

Constantine touched the walls and frowned.

'These won't be easy to dig into, I can't create a channel to the other side...' the walls were done by hardened soil, instead, it was tough stones and minerals.

His sight moved all along, the pit, the walls that formed it, he had several ideas, but not a way to execute them.

"Go back to the bigger area from before, let me think..." He said to the group, deciding to simply sit down at the edge and study the group's movements.

"Can I stay with you?" Zamira asked with hope, she wanted to see what he would do.

Constantine simply nodded, "Just don't make any noise and be on my call, if they spot us, we have to run."

"Hmn."

The three others left back to the origin of the cave where the Blood of Sandork shone high above, leaving the duo to think about their options.

'If only I had explosives...' He thought, Blood of Sandork could work, but it was too volatile.

Constantine rubbed his forehead, there was a definite plan that would grant him success, but he didn't have the means to execute it.

Zamira simply limited herself to see.

'Zebellia, what would you take from me in order to teach me about those magical arrays?'

[What do you have in mind?]

'I need explosives...' He lifted up his hand and produced a gust of small fire, having to control it as otherwise with his Nascent Magus magic, it would create something greater.

He wondered if with this magic output he'd be able to defeat those ogres on his own, the odds were against him.

[Hmm...] Zebellia thought deeply.

[You already owe me a favour...]

'Yes... I can see the scam coming, wait for it...' He rolled his eyes, expecting her to duplicate his debt for a mere favour.

[Hmph! what scam? close your eyes and relax your mind...]

'Huh? do you want me to meditate?'

[Yes, close your eyes...]

The conqueror did as requested even when he didn't understand what she intended to do.

For several seconds what enveloped his eyes was the darkness of his eyelids as the breathing turned relaxed and natural.

[Feel your connection with the trial...]

'H-How do I do that...?'

[Canalise your own divinity, in order to be subjected to the trial, you must've had the prelude of divinity already in you. The trial formed your God Spark... feel it like your heart, but the heart of a God, one overflowing with faith and desires...] The Valkyrie uttered 'sagely'.

"..." Rather than answer she only increased the fussiness of his thoughts, but, he unexpectedly felt something.

Those thoughts were canalised in the form of thrill for battle.

Thirst for destruction and desire for strife and conquer.

[Feel it, the true nature of your power, this is what you're fated to become, so long as you can feel it, you can always come here...]

As the thirst for battle increased, he felt the shadow of his eyelids switch into a bright light.

[Open your eyes, God of War... or at least, that's what you will be were you to surpass this trial...]

When his eyes opened, he found himself in a new world, a bright world filled with raging lively flames, they shone like the surface of a star, but were brighter than the original orange, yet not blinding.

'T-This is...?'

"This is your soul..." A voice said, one he could recognise but this time not so foreign.

Turning around, he came face to face with something that he would never forget.

It was a gigantic mare, gigantic... so much so that her body resembled a mountain.

Laying on her stomach with a pair of wings covering her body.

Purple skin, sky blue hairs and a majestic appearance.

Her eyes resembled galaxies and they looked at him as if expecting the same profoundness from his sky blue orbs.

"T-This can't be you..." He uttered in disbelief, his eyes shivering, as much as he wanted to taunt her, those words wouldn't come out of his mind in the first instance.

He always had a passion for horses, whenever he had a campaign, his noble steed would always accompany him, Caladbolg was his first noble steed, then... Gjallarhorn.

And now he had his gaze set on the third, it was a remarkable increase of level considering this freaking mare is the size of a mountain.

"Is my beauty too much to bear for an ugly ducking such as you, human? has my majesty finaly enlightened your pitiful self?" To say there was pride in her was an understatement, her tail made an act of appearance waving on and about.

That movement alone created shockwaves.

"Such a foul-mouthed, lazy, utterly unbearable-"

"Stop lying!"

*RUMBLE!!*

Her powers rotated inside his soul, and he felt it more personal than ever before.

She didn't raise up, her head had a single horn contorting in several shapes, her entire appearance, eccentric.

Her wings were covering an extensive part of her body, resembling that of a swan's but looking softer.

"I brought you here so that we could train... I will teach you what I know about magic arrays, but bear in mind... a divine being such as myself doesn't need to use such charades, what I am going to teach you, is quite preliminary..." Rather than start bickering, she decided to focus on what was important.

"Is this really my soul?" He regarded everywhere, the blazing world until his gaze set on top of them, there was a shining sun in there, but the flames were crimson rather than the usual orange.

"It is, and that is not a sun; it is your God Spark, still forming... it will take long before it takes a solid shape as it should" She spoke, explaining but like a curious child, his gaze set on on something else.

"What is that wound?" Perhaps due to her distraction, one of her wings moved away from her body, giving way to a gnashing wound to be visible, he pointed it right after, frowning even.

That wound was the only imperfection in her perfect self.

She shivered slightly and placed her wing back on top of it, concealing it.

"None of your business. Sit down and let's begin with the training, I'm sleepy." The Valkyrie used her bullet-proof excuse as if being sleepy was enough to resolve the world's hunger.

"We have to begin treating each other better, Zebellia."

"Now that you have seen my beauty, have I become your next target?~"

"Oh shut up, let's begin the training." He dismissed her much to the mare's irritation.

So much as desire her, obviously not... but, he had come to see Zebellia with different eyes today.