Lost For Words

The group's weapons didn't seem so reassuring anymore.

This wasn't just any figure. This was Ur, the god of life and death, standing before them. His glowing eyes blazed brighter as he took a step forward. The sense of impending doom filled the air, as if the very walls of the temple were closing in. No one spoke, the shock of facing a god in his own domain weighing heavily on each of them.

"Shit – he's Ur," Hyun-Ki said, his voice shaking as he gulped. "We are so dead. Thank gods I've gone to Golden Pussies…"

Nia's eyes widened. "Thefuckareyousayingidiot!" she hissed, her words rushing out in a rapid whisper. "Shut up! Shut up!" She elbowed him sharply, trying to keep him from saying something else that might make things worse.

"Ouch…"

"Ur, my god…" Ji-Hye dropped to one knee, bowing her head in submission. "My lord, please tell me, this isn't what you wanted, right? Torturing people, making them forcefully pray to you in your name..."

"What I want –" He took another step. "Is beyond your comprehension."

"You –" A sudden blaze of flame swept over Lilith, igniting from her feet and spreading upward. When the flames receded, she stood in her true form. "Remember me, old man?"

Ur paused, his focus shifting to Lilith. "Lilith, the Demon Queen. You've escaped Take's artifact, huh?" His voice carried a touch of surprise, but his posture suggested he was unimpressed.

The walls surrounding them began to dissolve, their solid forms breaking into fragments. As the shards fell away, the fragments of stone and metal floated, spinning and warping in the air before vanishing into a sudden mist.

The sky above had dark clouds. In the distance, skeletal trees rose from the cracked ground, their branches stretching out like bony fingers grasping at the air. Shadows flickered across the ground, yet nothing seemed to cast them.

Above them, upside-down houses and pieces of road spun slowly, as if caught in a vortex. The buildings were dilapidated, with shattered windows and roofs caved in. Some had the marks of fire, while others had walls splattered with dried blood. These fragments drifted aimlessly, occasionally colliding with a crunching sound that echoed like distant thunder.

They weren't in that temple anymore.

"Sister, what's the plan?" Hyun-Ki asked, his voice rising with panic. "We need to do something."

"She wasn't lying…" Ji-Hye stared at the ground, her hand clenching into a tight fist. "He is mad. The god that blessed me is a monster."

Lilith touched Ji-Hye's shoulder with a smile, her earlier anger seeming to fade. "Yep he is. And this is the part where I say, 'Told you.'"

Ji-Hye sighed heavily. "Yeah, yeah... but I just – I don't understand… damn it all."

Nia grabbed Soul by the arms, shaking him. "We need to get out of here. Teleport or do something!" Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Hmm," Soul replied, his tone as dull as always. "I'll try."

"A god is about to mess us up, and this guy only says 'hmm.' Fuck me!" Hyun-Ki shouted, pacing back and forth. "We are so dead. So, so dead." He seemed unable to stand still, the tension getting the best of him.

Ur raised his hand, and a bolt of lightning crackled across the sky. It burst through the dark clouds, blindingly bright as it shot toward the group. The air sizzled with energy, a thunderous roar following the lightning's path.

"Move!" Ji-Hye shouted, diving to one side. The others scattered, throwing themselves out of the way just in time. The lightning struck the ground where they had been standing, leaving a massive, charred crater. The force of the impact sent debris flying.

Soul rolled to his feet, while Lilith crouched behind a floating fragment of road. Nia pressed herself against a nearby rock, her eyes going back and forth to assess the damage. Hyun-Ki clutched his weapon, breathing heavily as he regained his balance. Ōkora was the last to get up, her usual confidence shaken by the sheer power of Ur's attack.

"Okay he is serious," said Ōkora. "But so am I."

"Nah," Hyun-Ki replied, stepping in front of her, his expression unflinching. "We'd lose."

Ōkora's right hand began to glow with an intense pink light, casting an otherworldly hue across the chamber. As the glow grew stronger, her eyes turned to the same pink shade. A strange laugh bubbled from her lips, almost playful yet with a dark undertone.

"Oh, what a mess," When Ōkora spoke, her voice was overlaid with another, a deeper and more resonant tone. It was the voice of Nierman, the goddess of lust, slipping through Ōkora's tongue to speak through her.

"Nierman..." Ur's voice dripped with disdain. "What are you doing in my realm?"

"Realm?" Ōkora's lips curled into a lazy smile, but Nierman's voice came through her. "You mean your little playground? Boring."

"Lilith is back," Ur yelled "And she has a blood magic user on her side. We need to kill them now!"

"I don't think so," Ōkora replied, yawning with exaggerated indifference. "You torturing bastard. I knew you were up to something like this."

"Ah, as if you don't do the same thing!" Ur retorted.

"You torture people to make them pray to you – I give them pleasure," Ōkora said, her hand running slowly over her chest. "I give them everything. And, well, they pray for me."

"Disgusting, whore," Ur spat.

"Whore? I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you, dirt," Ōkora replied with a teasing tone, her eyes glowing pink.

Ur clasped his hands together, summoning a bolt of lightning, and hurled it at her. Ōkora caught it mid-air, but the force of the impact was so intense that Soul and the others were thrown several feet across the chamber. Ōkora held the lightning in her grip, then ran her tongue over it before bringing it down to her groin, her voice rising in a sultry moan.

"Electrifying," she said with a wicked smile. "But I don't know if I have time to play games right now, little doggy. I'm sorry."

Ur gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, his anger barely contained. He turned away, and as he did, the chaotic landscape around them began to shift. Within seconds, the illusions melted away. The walls returned to their solid stone form, and the floating houses vanished, revealing the cold, grim interior of the underground chamber. The unsettling distortions were gone, replaced by the harsh reality of the temple's shadowy depths.

"So..." Ōkora stuck out her tongue with a playful smile. "Awkwaaard. How have you been, Lilith?"

"Nierman –" Lilith said, her voice cracking with anger and disbelief. "You... you –"

"For the record," Ōkora replied with a forced cheer. "I helped you. All those things Hero-God Take did – I tried to help you."

"By charming me every night that bastard put his dirty hands on me? By giving me unwanted pleasure? You sick fuck!" Lilith shouted with anger.

"What could I have done more?" Ōkora shrugged, her smile fading to a more somber expression. "He was 'the' god. I couldn't help you, I'm sorry... I wasn't strong enough."

"Right..." she said, her tone cold and dismissive.

"How did you escape that artefact?"

"Where was Minra?" Lilith demanded, ignoring Nierman's explanation. "In that damned 'heaven,' I saw you, Ur, Dierman, Sirenar, fucking Take – but not Minra. Not even once."

"Goddess of wisdom? She didn't know you were captured," Ōkora answered, her voice losing its playful tone. "Take ordered us to keep it a secret from her that you – uh, well, didn't die on the battlefield. Because he knew she'd go against capturing you. He knew she'd rather give you a peaceful death or imprisonment."

Lilith frowned, her frustration growing. "And why would he care what she thought?"

"Her mother was Uinerva, mother of all gods. I guess that's why he was afraid of her," Ōkora said. "Take had plans about you, and Minra might have ruined them."

She shook her head. "So you just played along. Let him have his 'fun', huh?"

"I'm sorry. I know you're angry with me, and I deserve your rage," Ōkora said, eyes lowered to the ground. "Know that I wouldn't mind dying by your hands. Because it'd be justice. But also know that I'd defend myself to the end."

"Bravo." Lilith clapped with a slow applause. "So honorable."

Ōkora turned her attention to Soul, who blended into the background like a chameleon.

"Is that the blood mage who set you free?" she asked.

Neither Soul nor Lilith responded.

"I'll take that as a yes… So -- you're going to have your revenge on all of us?" Ōkora asked.

"No," Lilith said. "I'm going to fix Take's mess."

"Fix his mess, huh?" Ōkora cocked an eyebrow. "Tell me one thing, Demon Queen. Will you go after me? Eh, stupid question -- I know you will. But at least leave Minra alone. She doesn't deserve it."

"Are you --" Nia began, hesitantly. "Are you as ruthless as other gods? Like Ur? You blessed me -- I don't know why, but you did."

"I'm not torturing anyone, Nia," Ōkora replied. "I'm not ruthless."

"H-how do you know my name?" Nia asked, a mix of curiosity and wariness.

"Of course I'd know your name. You're my child. Maybe my next champion."

"Ma'am, with all respect..." Hyun-Ki bowed slightly. "Is -- was Hero-God Take different from what we read in the books?"

"He was the worst, two-faced son of a bitch. I'm glad he's dead," Ōkora replied, with pure hate.

"How did he die, if you don't mind me asking, Goddess Nierman?" Hyun-Ki asked.

"Lilith killed him. While he was having his way with her, she --"

"That's enough," Lilith cut in, her voice sharp and final.

Soul's dagger-holding hand began to glow with a vivid green light, a brightness that drew the eye. The instant Ōkora -or rather, Nierman- noticed Soul's glowing hand, she took a step back, her expression turning cautious.

"Impossible, but you died…" Ōkora fixed her hair and coughed. "Uh… Well, time for me to leave. Take care, Lilith."

"Wait, where are you –"

Ōkora's eyes blinked rapidly as Nierman relinquished control. The pink hue in her gaze faded, replaced by her usual look. As she regained her senses, the presence of Nierman was gone, leaving Ōkora momentarily disoriented, as though she was recovering from a very bad dream. She was sweating and panting heavily.

"What was that? Why did you start to glow all of a sudden?" asked Hyun-Ki.

"I don't know," He said. "We should focus on getting out of here."

"He's right," Ji-Hye agreed. "I'll try to teleport us out of here, but don't expect much. Teleportation is a level five spell, and only a few people can manage it."

"We're trusting you, sister," Hyun-Ki said, his tone subdued. "But we'll stay on our guard just in case anyone..."

"I'm sorry," Ji-Hye interjected, her voice quieter. Hyun-Ki's eyes widened at the unexpected apology. "I was harsh on you because of the Family Match."

"Yeah, as if now's the time for apologies," Ōkora said, rolling her eyes as she stood and dusted herself off.

"It's... uh..." Hyun-Ki was lost for words. "Yeah, it's cool. Thank you for trusting me on the match, sister."

"Oh, sure, let's have a heart-to-heart," Ōkora quipped. "We're not in a hurry or anything…"