Darius's mind snapped out of his reverie when he reached this point, because, in the milliseconds that he had been drowned in his memories, the redhead Deia look-alike had met eyes with him.
At that moment, she too froze with a look of incredulity, surprising the fellows who were walking behind her. Two gold/yellow-ish pupils met, a wealth of meaning and feelings conveyed between them.
The Deia look-alike gasped like she had been winded and whispered in a voice so low that Darius could only make out what she murmured by reading her lips.
"It's… you…"
The very next moment, the well-dressed nobleman who looked to be an inquisitor stepped forward and traced where Deia was staring. Once he locked onto Darius, his brows creased and he frowned deeply.
The pope who also stood a little ways off gazed at Darius with a raised eyebrow. He turned to the Deia look-alike and queried slowly.
"Paladin Deia, is there a problem?"
This snapped Deia out of her trance as she shook her head and then grabbed her temples. She looked like she was having a serious migraine, and her voice was strangely hoarse.
"Nothing… just slightly confused, is all."
Once she forcibly suppressed her discomfort, she continued walking across the bridge, only the corner of her eyes following Darius until he left her field of view.
Darius's eyes also traced her slowly, belatedly remembering to Analyze her and be sure that he had the right person.
[Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Displaying details accordingly.]
[Name: Deia Stone
Race: Human
Class: Paladin
Subclass: Divine Body
HP: 39,798/39,798
MP: 7,644/7,644
STA: 15,678/15,678
Level: 78
Strength: 198
Agility: 176
Endurance: 201
Intellect: 98
Charisma: 100
Luck: 100
P-Status: Healthy
M-Status: Confused
Affection: Eternal Bond (Damaged)]
Darius smiled softly. It seemed that his beloved was quite the monster here, with so much power. No wonder she was leading their group, instead of the pope or the inquisitor.
Still, Darius felt that there was more to it. From how Odin treated Valkyries, Gods usually treated their paladins or whatever they called their specific warriors as names on a list to send to fight for their honor.
If they died, they died, so be it. If anything, they could collect their souls and introduced them to their Divine Kingdom, which was something that one could construe as 'heaven'.
However for Deia to be leading… Darius observed her character sheet and identified the likely cause. This Divine Body subclass sounded very special. He was not ignorant, for he could make some guesses.
For one, it could be that Deia's Divine Body made her the perfect paladin or warrior for a deity to express their power, allowing them to groom her into an unbeatable person that championed their church.
For another, it could be that her Divine Body made her the perfect vessel to become an Avatar. So a God would groom her caringly and maintain her loyalty until she was ripe for possession.
Whatever the case, Darius didn't think it was for a good reason. What he was even more curious about was how Vena resurrected her. Deia only passed away 10 years before Darius, so was her soul brought here to start life as a baby?
Or was she spawned out of nothingness like Darius? Not to mention, she clearly seemed to have amnesia and did not remember life on earth from her reaction. No matter her station on Faust, Deia would never pass him by after meeting.
When he realized she didn't remember him, Darius smartly chose not to get up and rush to her, or make any unnecessary moves until he could discern her situation.
Darius's eyes passed down her character sheet and noticed the affection level.
'Eternal Bond, huh? That's very accurate to describe our connection. But it's damaged… how?' Darius pondered with a frown.
Was that a result of how she was revived? Darius felt that he needed to quickly investigate all he could about Deia and find ways to bring them back together. Once she existed in Faust, everything had changed.
Darius' plans, goals, and desires had shifted greatly the moment he saw her cross that bridge. This must also have been the result Vena had wanted, spicing up things by reintroducing his soulmate.
After all, while Darius was smart enough to make the 'play' interesting as the main 'actor', his heart had never really been too much into it.
And anyone who watched movies or TV shows could safely say that an actor who didn't put effort into their role but merely did due diligence was extremely lackluster.
It was likely that Vena wanted to give him an organic reason to continue working hard in this 'play', and so brought in the main female 'lead' that was the loved one of the main 'actor'.
This way, the 'actor' would feel enlivened and want to work hard in the 'play' because his beloved was here.
Darius smiled wryly and looked to the sky. "Well played, Goddess Vena, well played."
Darius wasn't even going to pretend. Vena had spectacularly achieved her goal and he felt energy course through him that was never there before. Seeing the gap in power between himself and Deia, Darius realized he himself would need to become stronger to settle whatever obstacle Vena put in place to separate them.
It wasn't that convoluted, anyone with the slightest bit of sense would be able to see through this. It was obvious as hell that the 'set-up' of this meeting would never end with Deia simply rushing into his arms, them getting married, the end.
Thinking this, Darius smiled.
As Deia passed him, he noticed the eyes and the pope and the inquisitor upon him, the duo whispering to each other while giving him not-so-friendly glances.
'Ah, so the cheap conflict Vena set up to prevent me from getting Deia easily has arrived and it comes in the form of the entire church behind her? Judging by how such a thing develops, I'll need to kill the deity in question at the end of it all.'
