Goddess Astoria’s magic was not absolute. Since she had cast it on someone who was much more powerful than her, the magic lasted a few seconds before it shattered apart.

Shuu took a deep breath to gather himself before he looked at the familiar stranger in front of him. A name appeared at the forefront of his brain and he spoke without hesitation.

"Kaide..."

It was barely a whisper but it still made the man in question let out the biggest smile. The stranger’s grip on his weapon loosened a bit as well. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Shuu decided to take advantage of this situation and press forward, taking Kaiden by surprise.

"Hey, this is not fair. You need to wait for me to gather myself—"

"This is a fight. What kind of idiot waits for their opponents to get ready?"

Shuu asked as he kept his assault heavy. Kaiden was finally pushed back, but it was only because he was not using any magic.

Finally, the demon king got driven into a corner and Shuu held him at the tip of his staff.

"Are you going to concede this match to me?"

Shuu asked as he held the other in a compromised position. But instead of fighting back, Kaiden raised his hands to show that he was giving up.

"Yeah, I give up. I cannot go on anymore. You won, kid."

Shuu frowned as he pulled his weapon back.

"Will you please stop calling me a kid? Gods mature the moment they are born. It makes you sound bad when you keep calling me a kid."

Shuu sighed as he replied and Kaiden looked taken aback before he nodded and replied.

"You are right. I should have considered your feelings more. I won’t call you a kid from now on. Can I call you by your name?"

There was no hesitation in Shuu’s eyes as he gave Kaiden a small nod. Silence fell around them once more as the pair did not say anything.

Finally, Kaiden looked at Shuu and his expression turned serious.

"Hey, how long are you going to be bound by Astoria? I know you consider her generals precious, but you will have to take a stand for yourself one of these days."

Kaiden asked and Shuu felt like he had been stabbed by those words. He knew that Kaiden meant well and he was right in this regard.

But it was not easy for Shuu to think about all this.

"I...don’t know—"

"Shuu, take a deep breath. You have begun to panic. Let me help you out."

Kaiden’s hand rubbed Shuu’s back and he was much more aware of that hand than his nervousness. He immediately calmed down and felt flushed due to the contact.

"I...thank you for calming me down. I did not know what came over me."

Shuu whispered as he sat back down. Kaiden joined him, but they both felt like they were in uncharted territory.

Their hearts were beating too fast and Kaiden spoke to break this awkward atmosphere.

"So, have you decided what you want to do next? Will you become independent? If so, then do you want to be allies with me?"

Shuu felt shocked at this offer.

He had just had a small panic attack at the thought of being alone and Kaiden was already asking this question?

But then again, Shuu felt like it did not matter much. He already had an answer sorted out.

"I...will likely stay out of the fight once I become independent. Fighting is just not for me. Instead, I would like to settle down and look after humans. What about you?"

Shuu asked as he turned to Kaiden. He wanted to divert his attention away, but Kaiden just sighed and looked at the sky.

"I will likely fight until the day I die. But maybe, I will find something worth abandoning it all for."

Kaiden confessed as well and Shuu leaned toward him to comfort him. He had placed a hand on Kaiden’s shoulder when a loud yell stopped him.

"Lord Shuu, are you there? It’s time for the ceremony—"

The priest called out to him and Shuu felt obligated to stand and head back. He gave Kaiden a sorrowful look, not wanting to separate.

But he had to head back now since it was time.

"I...will see you around. You are welcome to visit me...as long as you do not cause the people here any trouble."

Shuu gave his permission and Kaiden nodded.

That was their first encounter, but not their last. They continued to meet a lot after that and Kaiden often appeared beside Shuu in crowded places as well.

They even spent their first festival together, having fun and experiencing new things. So it did not take long for their feelings to bloom into something more.

But it did not take long for Goddess Astoria to notice that something was wrong. Shuu was not sending the updates as often as he should and the overall flow of blessings was also stagnating slowly.

She was beginning to get paranoid but she knew that her security was air-tight. Still, it was not worth risking her paradise over, so she wanted to check on it.

That’s when she noticed the layer of demonic energy around her follower’s place. The whole world was filled with that presence, overshadowing her own powers.

That made Astoria angry. She had made this place for herself. How dare an outsider come and tarnish it.

How dare Shuu allow something like this to happen? She was going to head down by herself and make sure she had a talk with him.

But things did not go as she planned. The world rejected her presence, nor recognized her as the one who made it.

Instead, the power it was gathering flowed to Shuu. This should not have happened; caretakers had no way to gather a world’s power for themselves....

But Shuu was another god, so it was possible for her world to get confused and start feeding him power.

She knew that Shuu wouldn’t betray her, but the fear lingered in the back of her mind. That’s why she decided to do something she knew was foolish.

She was going to trap Shuu in her realm and extract magic from him. She was going to make sure he remained in a suspended state so that she could strip him of authority and power to use on her own.

Goddess Astoria raised her hand to use her powers when she was suddenly overtaken by a headache. Her head spun and she closed her eyes.

When she opened them, something in her had changed.

Her eyes, which were usually wild and ready to devour anything, had a certainty to them and she looked around with a calm look on her face.

"So, there are the memories Shuu had been suppressing? It does not surprise me. But I cannot allow him to regain his power and resist me. These memories shall become his grave."

__________

Loki watched Shuu’s body being suspended in the air. The magic was working right now, allowing Shuu to see his past and recall his memories.

The magic was not complicated but it was tiring and had a lot of nuances. Even the smallest interference could change the outcome of these memories.

That’s why Loki decided to keep it a secret. But it was taking too long and he was getting worried. He decided to wake Shuu up and continue from here later.

Unfortunately, the second he decided this, Kaiden decided to break down his door and entered his room.

Loki immediately went on the defensive and even raised his hand to show that he was not involved with anything bad.

"B-Before you get angry at me, let me remind you that this was Shuu’s decision. He agreed to retrieve his memories. You cannot just blame me here."

Loki immediately went on the defensive but Kaiden did not seem to care. He kept walking toward Loki and cornered him.

"Hey, I am telling you...keep your distance from me. Are you even listening to me? Hello?"

Loki kept speaking but Kaiden did not listen. He finally cornered Loki properly and pulled his hand before launching a punch at Loki’s stomach.

It winded Loki and he grabbed his stomach.

"Ugh, it hurts. Have you gotten your anger out of the way? Can you be more rational now?"

Loki asked, only to flinch as he saw Kaiden raising his fist again. He immediately bowed his head in fear, but luckily for him, Kaiden did not attack him again.

Instead, he walked toward Shuu and looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Don’t touch him. He’s in a suspended state of rest and his memories are swirling inside his mind. Even the smallest external disturbance could make him lose control."

Loki warned and Kaiden pulled his hand back. But the displeased look on his face did not go away.

Still, the fact that he was willing to listen in the first place made Loki feel victorious.