Chapter 23 – Begotten Gods

Rain's mind races as he tries to maintain a calm exterior. Meanwhile, Master Bright just watches him like a predator toying with its prey. Rain knows he's on the verge of looking like he's hesitating, so he decides to buy some time with a flippant retort. 

"What I know? I guess I know that you're not bothering with fake deference anymore. What happened to the honorific, Champion Rain, Master Bright?"

As Rain continues to think about their recent conversation, searching for clues about what she may think that she knows about him, Master Bright's smirk only intensifies. She responds to his quip slowly, in a pleasant tone. 

"Funny...just address me as Bright when we're alone and let's call it even. Now, quit stalling, please. It's not going to do you any good...I know that you're lying about where you heard the name Creation. So, why don't you tell me the truth?"

Not letting his frustration show, at least not completely, Rain acts like he's calmly considering her suggestion. 

'How does she know that I lied...?'

He can imagine only two possibilities. First, she knows something about Creation already, and that gives her some reason to be sure that he couldn't have learned about it as casually as he claimed. In that case, she at least lied about being ignorant about the stronger beings she mentioned. 

Alternatively, she can be completely sure that there is no known being named Creation. In that case, she at least lied about her knowledge of the other beings, and likely about their excessive numbers as well. Regardless of which of the two possibilities is true, it means that she started lying and manipulating him into divulging information after they finished discussing the origins of humanity, or maybe even sooner. It also means that she's likely surmised his Trial held runic descriptions mentioning Creation. 

'Damn it. So, I've been duped again, and I can't trust anything she's said about those additional beings. Come to think of it, the research database might not even be restricted to academics.' 

Rain has to work to suppress a wry smile. 

'Gods, the woman is absolutely diabolical...I've got to step up my game. Still, though, didn't we already do this little song and dance earlier? If she's not going to commit to any variety...well...'

Rain looks at Master Br-...just Bright...and gives her the pettiest smile he can manage. 

"No."

All the humor drains from Bright's face, and Rain swears he sees her eye twitch. She leans toward him a bit, her fierce, grey eyes only inches from his face, and her voice turns cold. Oddly enough, Rain is convinced that he feels the temperature in the PET drop as well. 

"You know, that wasn't funny the first time you did it, and it's just outright infuriating the second time."

A little flustered, but committed to getting even, Rain maintains a smile and looks back at her defiantly. 

"What a coincidence, Bright, I was going to say the same thing about your shameless manipulation. If you didn't want an encore of our earlier conversation, maybe you should have taken a different approach with this one. Isn't lying about your beloved research a betrayal of your academic principles...or something?"

This time, Rain is certain that the temperature of the air around them drops...he can feel its cold sting on his exposed skin. Meanwhile, Bright's expression doesn't physically change, but it somehow manages to become even more menacing. She remains like that for several seconds, then she lets out a long sigh as she leans back into her seat. The temperature of the air seems to return to normal. Eventually, she composes herself, and she directs a polite smile at Rain. 

"There's no need to be petty, Rain. Plus, are you really going to hold my methods against me? Don't pretend that you would have told me anything useful without me twisting your arm."

'That's...unexpectedly restrained of her. Interesting...'

Rain is slowly getting a sense for Bright as a person. She really is obsessed with this Asphodel history stuff, just like Aron said. Her clear passion early on in their discussion, her attitude change just now, they both support that fact. In that case...he plans to really twist the metaphorical knife into her. Fair is fair, after all.

Rain shrugs indifferently at Bright. 

"I'm not exactly angry with you. Just like the first time, I'm even kind of impressed...and a bit...well, never mind. You may be right about the fact that I wouldn't have answered your questions honestly. Not today anyway. But with some time, after we developed a rapport...maybe then. I was so excited about getting introduced to an expert like yourself. I have so many things I wanted to discuss with you...questions that need answers...but you've been so distrustful. I'm honestly disappointed that we won't be able to discuss those things freely."

As if to sell the point, Rain lets out an exasperated sigh and shakes his head dejectedly. He sees Bright's confidence crack a little bit, and there's a hint of...concern, maybe doubt...in her eyes. She remains silent for several moments, seemingly conflicted. Eventually, she looks back at him with an especially serious expression. 

"You're honestly telling me that, as paranoid and unpersonable as you seem to be, you would have shared what you learned with me? About Creation and whatever else you seem to be hiding? You'd have answered my questions, no dodging or lying?"

Rain directs a bewildered look at her. 

'Who is she calling unpersonable!? Has she met herself!?'

"I'm the perfect amount of paranoid, thank you. That said, my curiosity is just as severe. More importantly, you've probably guessed that I learned the name Creation during my Trial, and that means it's in my best interest to understand more about that entity. So, yes, ideally we could have discussed those things. I can't promise that I'd have been willing to share everything all at once, but I'd have just set boundaries instead of lying." 

Bright studies his face intensely for several moments, suspicion glinting in her eyes. Eventually, she clicks her tongue and sighs. Then without a word, she turns in her seat to operate the PET once again. After several minutes, when the vehicle is up to speed on the road, she speaks in an even tone without glancing at Rain. 

"As you probably guessed, I lied...some. I can count on one hand the number of beings mentioned in known runic records that aren't the gods or their children, and I know as much about those as any other academic. Creation is one of them. Actually, that's just my personal interpretation. Truthfully, only one mention of Creation has been found, in a single set of runes in Asphodel. It's referenced so ambiguously that most scholars think it reflects a reverence for the process of creation as opposed to an actual being. The interpretation is hindered further by the fact that it's an ancient dialect of runes that the Echo doesn't translate automatically. Scholars had to interpret them manually." 

Rain snaps his head towards Bright. She's back to her standard, stoic expression, but she spares him a gaze. His eyes widen in surprise. 

"Uhm...wow, thanks. Can you tell me how exactly the runes in question referenced Creation?" 

Bright spares him a longer glance this time, one filled with curiosity. She looks like she's conflicted for a moment, but then seems to make up her mind. 

"Essentially, the excerpt was discussing the origins of the gods. It referred to them as being, quote, 'born of primordial creation and destruction', end quote. There's debate about whether the words 'creation' and 'destruction' were nominally emphasized, something the Echo would translate as capitalization. Also, the archaic rune for 'primordial' doesn't have intrinsic plurality, it's contextual. So, hopefully you can see why I was more than a little intrigued when you asked about Creation, totally confident that it was a name."

Rain slowly interprets the points Bright is trying to get across, until it finally clicks, and a shiver runs down his spine. 

'No fucking way...'

He turns to Bright and speaks in a slow, careful tone. 

"So...to make sure I understand all of that academic jargon...let me clarify. One interpretation is 'born of primordial creation and destruction', as though the gods emerged amidst an ancient period of volatility...or something. Another interpretation is 'born of primordials Creation and Destruction', as in the gods were the children of two beings known as primordials, whose names were Creation and Destruction. Is that right?" 

Bright nods slowly. 

"Yes, and unlike most scholars, I've always favored the latter interpretation."

Rain feels a sobering weight beginning to press down on him. His Primordial Bloodline, the way Chaos talked to Fate and Death in that Lineage description, the way Chaos mentioned Creation and Destruction...there's no doubt in his mind. He leans back in his seat, taking a deep, steadying breath. 

'There's a race of beings called primordials, at least two of whom – Creation and Destruction – are the gods'...parents. There's at least one other primordial, Chaos, and it...it is who my Talents and Relics come from. The reason that I got a God Relic, that I had to face a Curse, that I got two Talents at once...it's because my Primordial Bloodline is way stronger than anyone even knows is possible. Stronger than a God Bloodline...'

That leaves Rain as excited as it does nervous. After a few seconds to calm down, he glances at Bright. She's driving as though it's business as usual, but she looks a little...sullen.

'I know she only told me because she's hoping it will get her what she wants, but...it still helped me immensely. Even if I had free access to that research database and plenty of time, and that research has been published, I'm not sure I'd have ever pieced together what she just told me. Manual translation of the runes, interpretation nuances...that's beyond me. Hell, even another researcher might not have mentioned that obscure finding, because they might have accepted the common interpretation.'

Despite everything, Rain feels a pang of partiality towards Bright, slowly blossoming into full-blown gratitude. Chastising himself in advance, he lets out a deep sigh and clears his throat. 

"Ehem...Bright?"

She doesn't say anything, but she glances at him with her eyebrows raised. He gives her a polite smile. 

"Your instincts are impeccable..."

A look of genuine surprise infiltrates her expression, and a small smile complements it after a few seconds. Her grey eyes grow uncharacteristically vibrant beneath loose strands of her silver hair, and she responds with hasty excitement in her voice. 

"You better not be screwing with m-"

Rain raises his hands placatingly, and shakes his head. 

"No, no...I mean it. You were right, about everything. I'm sure of it...that second interpretation of the runes mentioning Creation is the correct one."

Her expression morphs into one that's some kind of unstable hybrid between glee and disbelief. She doesn't leave him confused about its meaning for long.

"Wh-...y-...seriously, Rain? You caved, just like that?"

He chuckles and gives her a smirk. 

"Yeah...don't get used to it. I was just feeling appreciative...you can thank my Quirk."