Two pairs of broad white wings, with the left one appearing more prominent than the right, both large enough to envelop her figure and the surroundings.
Orion realized with certainty that this was the same goddess who had given him the divine blood and had fought against White Flame, ultimately being killed by him.
So, Orion wanted to understand why she suddenly appeared here and in his dream.
"After what thou hast wrought, thou still dost pose such a query. It seems thou hast no fear in the presence of this goddess," Aerielia responded, narrowing her eyes at Orion, as though she were trying to see through him and read everything about him.
However, she ultimately failed to do so, shaking her head with a sigh escaping her lips. "But since thou dost desire to know who I am, then harken well, mortal. I am Aerialia, the goddess of the hunting moon."
Orion furrowed his brows as he heard her words. Aerialia had introduced herself as the former goddess of the shining light, so he was naturally confused.
"Do not be surprised; I once bore the title of the goddess of the shining light and had only the title of the goddess of the hunting moon during the 'Great War.' 'Tis understandable that thou knowest not who I am, for not everyone who hath beheld me hath had the chance to escape death, especially mortals," Aerialia said as a cold glint appeared in her eyes.
"So now that thou knowest who I am, who art thou, and what hast thou done with my child?" She asked, and a cold, chilling atmosphere filled the air.
"This is the last time I will be posing this query, so choose thy words wisely."
Apart from having a headache deciphering her words, Orion understood that this might have been the gods' way of speaking during that time, even though he still had doubts as Aegis of the Arctic Deity had spoken much clearer than her.
But understanding that it might not be a good idea to try further and avoid her questions once more, "I am Orion, I am the child whom you gave this divine blood to as a gift, to secure my journey into the new world," Orion said with a sigh escaping his lips as he brought the greatsword forward and tilted it to the side, resting its blade on his palm.
"LIAR!!" Aerialia screamed, her voice causing the air around them to tremble. At this point, Aerialia was visibly furious. But how could she not be?
After all, she clearly remembered giving the divine sword she forged from her blood and essence to one of her children before he fled through the stellar gate into the new world.
So how could she believe that the unknown mortal in front of her was telling the truth when he did not look like her child in any way or even feel like one?
"Tell me the truth, what hath befallen my child, mortal, and how didst thou acquire that blade?" Aerialia asked, clenching her teeth in anger, her words sounding even more chilling than before.
At first, she was momentarily stunned that she couldn't activate the mark on Orion's arms and punish him with it.
However, she didn't want to appear complacent; as such, she immediately increased the weight of the greatsword, causing the divine weapon lying between Orion's grasp to collapse, driving into the earth suddenly.
Its weight and sharpness were strong enough to pierce through until half of the divine greatsword was buried under the earth.
"Huh!" Orion looked at the greatsword in confusion before he tried to grab the handle and pull it out of the earth. Sure enough, although he could still move the greatsword, compared to before, he had to utilize his full strength to draw it out of the ground before letting go of it, allowing it to fall flatly on the grass below them.
"Boom!" The earth around the greatsword sunk and collapsed a little under the weight of the greatsword before it stopped.
Aerialia, who had breathed out in relief after finding out that she couldn't control the mark on Orion but could still forcefully increase the weight of the greatsword since it was still a part of her, couldn't help but frown when she saw that Orion could still lift the greatsword, even if it were for a mere moment.
As expected, he had somehow bonded with the divine weapon through some inexplicable methods.
"If you don't believe that I am the same Orion who you personally bound this weapon with, then I can explain every bit of our conversation, what transpired during the moment when I received it from you, and how it all led to this," Orion spoke, beginning to explain the events as if they had happened yesterday.
For Orion, it felt natural, given that he had immediately become unconscious the moment he completed the trial.
As he explained everything to Aerialia, her expression became stunned, her eyes slowly widening, showcasing her clear white irises as she slowly descended to the earth, her wings folding up together.
"Impossible," Aerialia muttered as her feet touched the ground, her hand tightening into a fist.
"Then, my children... Are they all dead?" Aeritalia asked, her trembling gaze staring directly at Orion.
Orion closed his eyes and nodded, "Yes, they're all dead. None of them were able to make it past the gate."
Thud!
Aerialia collapsed and lay flatly on her knees. Her hand attempted to grasp the grass, but surprisingly, the grass merely went through her fingers as though it wasn't there in the first place before her hands finally met the soil.
Orion had immediately noticed this; however, he kept silent, seeing as Aerialia was currently wallowing in her sadness.
"Oh, what hath this goddess done to merit such? Why are my children lifeless after I have done everything to preserve them? Have I not sacrificed enough? Have I not done enough?"
