Chapter 37 Sassafras Tea,

  “Ah, the chaos of clashing countries.” A man’s voice came from behind Isaac and Lenna. Edward’s eyes had opened wide in surprise and he shot to his feet. Isaac and Lenna sprang out of their own chairs to see who had appeared behind them without either of them feeling him arrive. “It never gets any more perspicuous.” The newcomer was a man in traveling clothes, worn and tattered from at least a decade of wear and thousands of miles. He had slightly unkempt brown hair that had been pushed out of his face and held back by a mixture of road dust, sweat, and natural hair grease. His brown eyes were permanently squinted from far too much time walking under a noon-bright sun or a pitch black night. His skin was tanned, but looked like it had been pale before decades of time in the sun had darkened it to the color of dry dirt, or maybe it was just dirt that had fused with his skin over time. His facial hair looked like it had been cut a week or two ago, it came in thin enough that most men would just keep it shaved but thick enough that it was clear that he was well into his adult life. If Isaac and Lenna had to guess, based on just his looks, they would say that he looked to be in his late thirties, maybe early forties depending on how much age damage the sun had done to him.

  Isaac and Lenna witnessed a man who looked so unreasonably normal that if they had seen a picture of the man, they never would have guessed how unfathomably powerful he was. They felt nothing from the man at first but then both felt everything from him a second later, both feeling things from different directions.

  To Lenna, it was the lack of his presence that caused her instincts to go crazy. It only took a moment for her to feel like fighting him would mean certain death in nothing more than a blink. She knew that he would not even have to flex his power or muscles and she would simply be gone. Lenna had no idea that there even existed a being on the mortal plane who could have as much power as the man in front of her. He made everything that she had ever fought, everything that she had ever seen, just feel like bugs hiding in the grass. To her, he felt like a part of his focus was always somewhere else, holding something unimaginable together with one hand while he went about his daily life with the other.

  For Isaac, it was different. Instead of his instincts suddenly becoming aware of the unfathomable power the man possessed, Isaac felt the man’s power in its entirety and it made his knees weak. The reason it had taken Isaac a moment to even feel the man’s presence was because he had always been inside of it. The man in front of them could only be one person, the Demigod of Space, Klein Fehnok, for there was only one being who walked the mortal plane who had the entirety of it under his control. Klein was the one who kept the angels and demons at bay. He was the one who limited the gods’ intervention. He was the one who could split reality like a window pane because he was also the one who had wrapped a veil around it to seal in the demigods and seal out everything else. He was the reason why demigods could reach power capable of shattering Primatia, because he simply did not let them ascend and leave it. He was the self proclaimed ‘first among equals’. He was the leader of the ‘big three’ demigods. He was the most powerful human to have ever existed and he was just casually dropping in to say hi.

  Edward instantly bowed at the waist. “Edward Sasston greets the Demigod of Space.” He introduced himself.

  Before Isaac or Lenna could snap out of their petrified states, as one was in shock and the other’s instincts had gone so crazy they simply stopped, Klein waved off Edward. “If I wanted formalities, I would have walked through the main gate.” He informed the Guild Master. “I wasn’t here for you, but upon seeing you with my own eyes… when you reach level twenty, seek out Blade. He has a sword much like the one you use. If it takes a liking to you… No, it is best if you see for yourself.” Klein added with a smile. There was no maliciousness in his smile but it did look like a million calculations were being done behind his eyes during those few seconds.

  “A-Alright.” Edward stammered and straightened. “Well, thank you for coming.”

  Isaac shook his head to clear it but it did little to help. He then took a deep breath and mastered himself as Lenna did the same. Both of them had the time as Klein was talking to Edward but their conversation finished at exactly the same time that Isaac and Lenna had regained their composure.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “You see now why I did not come to see you personally?” Klein asked the duo. “It was much better for Ori to meet with you.”

  Isaac nodded. “Yes.” He agreed. “I did not expect someone so high profile to come to pick us up, it actually brings up a few questions.”

  “Why don’t I deal with it myself?” Klein practically read his mind.

  “Yes.” Isaac confirmed.

  “Because Lua did not ask me to. She asked Jane and the two of you to handle it.” Klein easily explained. “And even if she hadn’t, I would have advised Jane and Jeremy to handle it anyway. Jeremy lost to the two of you, so handily in fact that it brought his power into question across the entirety of the human kingdoms. He could use a good showing, but if Lua wishes for the two of you to fulfill his role, then I will defer to her judgment.” He said the last word with a twinkle in his eye, even if the pun was not intended, he appreciated his own pun nonetheless.

  “I see.” Isaac replied with a frown. “I feel like a lot of things are happening around us that we do not understand or, at the very least, are not privy to.”

  “You would be correct.” Klein said with the same smile that a professor would give his best student who had just answered something correctly that he had not expected him to. “If it makes you feel any better, few are privy to most, and many have their own machinations which have never been spoken. These facts are only exaggerated by lifespans that we expect to last at least until the next dragon surge, or in our lovely violet and silver lady’s case, an infinite life span.”

  “Everyone seems to know Lua.” Isaac commented. “What about human or dwarven gods of the moon?”

  “They were all slain.” Klein explained. “By Lua and Dri’El, as you know him. Some still pray to them but the dead are dead. The gods and goddesses who tried to move into the domain of the moon got caught in the crossfire and were always entirely annihilated. They are both simply too powerful.”

  “What about the sun?” Isaac wondered. “It isn’t just El’Gra is it?”

  “Oh no, all of those are still alive. They are all under El’Gra but they do still exist and share the domain.” Klein helpfully explained. He almost seemed like a teacher caught after teaching hours. He was not there to give a lecture but if the topic was one that he was well versed in, he couldn’t help himself if asked. “Even you, if you become a fully realized demigod, could become a god of the sun, though you would die very quickly. Immediately after the sun turns black in fact. As soon as you were removed from all of every level of existence by El’Gra on a warpath, the sun would return to normal. It has happened before.”

  “I see.” Isaac nodded. “Thank you for answering my questions.”

  “Of course.” Klein replied. “Thank you for asking them. It is the duty of the elders to enlighten the young. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a few questions of my own, but first, Guild Master, is there a seating room we can use? There is no point in standing if we are not planning on walking in short order.”

  “I, uh, yes.” Edward stammered. He had been caught off guard again. Klein had been entirely focused on Isaac that it almost felt like the demigod had forgotten about the lowly Guild Master. “Just out the door and on the left, I’ll have tea brought over.”

  “Oh that won’t be necessary.” Klein replied and nodded in thanks for the room. He casually turned around and let himself, Isaac, and Lenna out into the hallway. Isaac and Lenna didn’t really have any objections so they just went along with the ancient being of unfathomable power.

  Well, Isaac did have other things on his mind, but he was trying not to let his own personal feelings of imagined urgency cloud his judgment. He knew that the ones who had killed Aria and Claus were still out there and he knew that they were not likely to be slain in the short term. Contantis was likely to be very careful for the next little while and as long as Isaac, Lenna, and Catastrophe finished up their mission before then, then no one would have the opportunity to kill Isaac’s targets before he got to them. There was also the topic of Jennie but that would have to wait for a ton of bureaucracy. The crown would not abandon the outpost unless absolutely necessary as it would make the nation look weak to their neighbors.

  Isaac sorted his thoughts into bins labeled ‘later’ and ‘no point in worrying at the moment’ and then took his seat across from Klein. Lenna joined him and then Klein reached his hand through space itself. He pulled out a clear bottle of a brown liquid and a trio of glass cups out of a tiny portal that shifted too quickly for Isaac to see what was on the other side.

  “This is sassafras tea, the chilled variety, and one of my favorites for thoughtful conversations.” Klein explained and poured the bottle’s contents out into each of the three glasses manually. Isaac took his glass with only slight hesitation and Lenna followed a moment later. “Now, onto my first question: What do you know about becoming a demigod?”