Link Between Man and Goddess

Bane was not educated on how to receive the goddess's blessing. Currently, he stood with his head downturned, waiting for his goddess to instruct him.

"Well?! Are you going to come here!?"

An annoyed Eir spoke. She expected him to know these things. Bane lifted his head and fell deep into thought.

'Is this the best decision?'

Looking at the goddess across the room, a chill ran down his spine. She sat with a mean glare on her face.

'She hates me.' Gods and goddesses were usually described as kind and caring toward their subordinates, but Eir seemed to be the opposite. Never once had she looked at Bane with care.

"Well?!"

Eir shouted once more. Bane flinched, his legs moving on their own. He shuffled over to Eir, ready to accept her blessing. Since she was the only option, Bane had no other choice.

Eir stood and carefully maneuvered around the rubble on the floor. She stopped in front of the lanky boy, gazing up at him slightly with her obsidian eyes.

"Do you know how this works?" Eir asked.

Bane shook his head. "I do not."

Eir nodded. "So, what's going to happen is we'll touch foreheads, allowing me to become one with your mind. Don't be afraid. After a moment, the whole process will be over. Got it?"

Bane nodded again. "Yes."

"Just making sure—you want to become a part of my faction, right?"

Bane hesitated, thinking for a moment. "Yes, I do, Ms. Eir. I will be the strongest."

Bane said this earnestly, and to his surprise, Eir didn't laugh. So far, everyone he had shared this dream with had laughed uncontrollably. Eir simply nodded, lifting her hands and caressing Bane's thin neck.

She gently leaned his head forward and did the same with her own. It was as if they were about to kiss. Eir closed her eyes, her black hair falling over part of her face. Bane gulped, preparing for the moment their foreheads touched.

As their foreheads met, Bane was no longer in the dilapidated building. He stood in nothingness, surrounded by white in every direction.

"Eir?" Bane called out, at a loss for words. She had told him not to be afraid, but his mind ran wild. It was like the tales he had heard as a child: "Once you die, you'll see a blinding white light. Follow it." But here, the light was all around him.

Eir faded into existence in front of him, wearing the same attire she had in the dilapidated building. The two of them stood in the nothingness for a moment until Eir spoke.

"Bane. Eighteen years old, a young man who grew up in the slums of Gren, hopeful that he would make it big one day as an adventurer. Six foot four inches tall, one hundred eighty pounds."

Bane visibly flinched. It was as if she had read off a script.

"How do you know that about me?" Bane clutched his dirty tunic in his left hand, as if holding his heart from jumping out of his chest.

"That's an ability of mine. I call it a goddess's vision. You could call this my domain—a place where I have full access to my powers and abilities as a god. As you know, we lesser gods cannot use our powers on Earth, but in here, we can let loose."

Eir smiled viciously, causing Bane to panic.

'Is this a trap?' he thought.

Eir raised her hand, and Bane readied himself. Above her, a few icicles appeared and shot forward with icy speed.

Bane barely reacted in time, rolling out of the way. "What the hell was that?" he shouted, staying crouched and preparing for another barrage.

"Don't worry, Bane. I never intended to hurt you. I knew you could dodge that." Her voice was a mix of insanity and praise.

'This girl is fucking crazy,' Bane thought, his eyes wide as he awaited another attack.

"Also, I haven't used any powers since coming down to Earth. If I let an attack like that loose out there, the One on High would drag me back up and administer a severe punishment."

The One on High—Bane had heard myths about a god above all gods. It seemed to be true.

"Alright, let's get this underway," Eir said, smiling as she walked toward Bane. In the darkness of the building, he hadn't noticed her beautiful figure. Now, as she approached, her perfect proportions were undeniable—though, of course, that was expected. She was a goddess.

Bane stayed on the ground, understandably untrusting of Eir. However, she abruptly stopped a few paces away and looked down at him.

"Are you ready to receive my blessing and become a member of the Eir faction?"

Bane was second-guessing himself now. She had just tried to kill him.

He swallowed and spoke. "Could I think this arrangement over?"

Eir's mouth dropped. "What?"

"It's just... These things shouldn't be rushed. I should exhaust all of my options first, you know?"

Bane spoke confidently, ready to endure the goddess's wrath. However, Eir's response surprised him.

"W-Why? Don't you want to be the first to join the Eir faction?" A nervous Eir stood before him, stroking the ends of her hair.

"Well, yeah, it's just..." Bane didn't want to say he was afraid of joining the faction of someone who had tried to kill him.

"If it was about the icicles, I-I'm sorry." Her personality seemed to do a complete one-eighty. The girl before Bane was now timid and nervous.

'Could she just be manipulating me to say yes?' Bane thought. It was a genuine concern, but he decided to hear her out.

"I-I really thought you could dodge it! That wasn't my strongest attack either! Please, I wasn't trying to hurt you. See?" Eir turned to the right and held out her arm.

What unleashed from her was incomparable to the minuscule attack Bane had dodged. A range of elemental attacks shot out in quick succession, varying in size and speed. Bane stared at the display like a deer in headlights.

'What a strong being. And she's a no-name god. I can't even imagine what it would look like if Hades unleashed his true strength,' Bane thought as he watched the spectacle unfold.

"See? I really wasn't trying to hurt you. Please, join my faction!" Eir said, bowing deeply.

'This girl is insane,' Bane concluded. Her emotions flip-flopped faster than a fish out of water.

Eir stayed bowing, waiting for Bane's answer. He heaved a quiet sigh and nodded.

"I will join your faction."

Bane admitted to himself that it probably wasn't the best decision. Having a mentally unstable goddess as a boss was a recipe for disaster. But he had no other choices.

"Yes! My first member!" Eir shouted uncharacteristically, jumping and pumping her fist. An ecstatic expression and wide smile spread across her face.

Noticing Bane's dumbfounded look, Eir coughed and composed herself.

"I bestow this blessing upon Bane of the slums." Bane didn't have a last name—many kids in the slums didn't. As Eir continued her speech, a dark aura grew around her and extended toward Bane.

"In exchange for loyalty and wealth, Bane of the slums is now a member of the Eir faction." The black aura continued to grow in size.

"And with that, I bestow upon you this blessing."

The blackness charged toward Bane, enveloping and constricting him. Initially, Bane was scared and stopped breathing, resisting the gift.

"Don't fight it!" Eir shouted through the thick blackness surrounding Bane.

After her words, he allowed the blackness to flow inside him. Through his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, Bane felt his body fighting and transforming as the blackness made its way through him. As Eir had said, it only lasted a moment. When the blackness dissipated, Bane looked down at his body.

His whole body pulsed. He was still the same lanky and scrawny kid from the slums, but it felt as though there was a newfound power within him.

"Are you okay?" Eir rushed over, concern written on her face—another thing that seemed out of character for the beautiful goddess.

"Y-Yeah, that was just... horrifying," Bane said, struggling to find the right word. Being consumed by a void of blackness that attacked and forced its way into his body was not what he had expected.

"And why is it so cold?" He had noticed the chill when he first entered Eir's domain, but now his whole body felt practically frozen solid.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the goddess shouted, phasing out of reality. Soon, the whiteness faded, and Bane was back in the room, his forehead still touching Eir's.

Eir stood, sending the encasement around them flying in multiple directions.

"I put a block of impenetrable ice around us to keep us safe while we were in my domain. Our minds were out of our bodies, but our bodies were still vulnerable. Protective powers like that are favored by the One on High."

Bane nodded, partially listening and partially focusing on not freezing to death. He rubbed his hands over his arms for warmth.

Eir flicked her finger, and a small flame ignited in a crumbling fireplace. The two of them made their way to the fireplace and sat down.

"Well? How do you feel?" Eir asked.

"The same. In the domain, I felt something, but I think because I'm half-frozen, I can't focus." Warmth was Bane's first priority now.

[Hello! Bane of the Slums]

A blue holographic square appeared above the fire.

'Huh?'