A Journey Unwanted-Chapter 423 - 412: To defy or not to defy?

[Location: Realm of Iofiel]

("This is far more exhausting than I initially anticipated.") For what felt like the hundredth time since this conversation began, Iofiel had to resist the urge to sigh aloud. A Goddess should not sigh in exasperation. A Goddess should not allow irritation to crease her expression. A Goddess, especially one of her stature, should remain composed and radiant.

Maintaining that composure was becoming increasingly difficult with this man standing before her.

("Even so, he is necessary.") Her thoughts remained orderly despite the tension tightening her jaw. ("With the power he holds, and his exemption from fate itself... he is too valuable to mishandle.") Now that she had formalized an ’alliance’ with him, she would have to tread carefully. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"I suppose," Iofiel began, her tone returning to that warm one, "that I cannot fault you for pursuing only what you find interesting. Curiosity and personal conviction are, in their own way, admirable qualities."

Her smile held, refined and warm.

("Though internally, I will simply conclude that you are profoundly strange.")

"That is the only sensible way to proceed through life," Grimm replied vaguely. His voice carried no arrogance, only the certainty that suggested he saw no alternative. "To chase what holds meaning to oneself. Anything else is stagnation."

Iofiel blinked once, momentarily caught by the unexpected clarity of his answer—but he did not give her time to explore it.

"No matter," Grimm continued, shifting the weight of his sabatons slightly against the ground. "Tell me where I can find the dragons."

"Could you at least say please..." Iofiel muttered under her breath, so softly it was nearly swallowed by the air. She quickly cleared her throat, straightening her posture. "You are already moving in the correct direction. Continue southward. Pass through Quadling Country, and in time you will reach the Heart Kingdom. Albion currently lingers there."

Her expression grew more serious as she spoke the name.

"As for Ddraig," she continued, "he has been residing within the Abyss for some time. That absence is temporary. It is only a matter of time before he resurfaces." She folded her hands lightly before her. "His disappearance has made Albion... calmer. More restrained than usual."

"I see," Grimm said simply.

"Do not mistake that restraint for weakness," Iofiel added, her voice sharpening slightly with warning. "Albion is not to be underestimated, Untainted. He once struck down a God who descended into Álfheimr."

Grimm’s helmet tilted slightly.

"Yes. The fairy mentioned something similar," he recalled, thinking of Puck’s explanation. "The Keepers of Order dispatched a God after the fairy queen and her attendants crossed into this realm." He paused. "How strong was this God?"

Iofiel’s gaze darkened.

"She was a Primordial Goddess of the sea," Iofiel replied, her voice lowering. "She presided over aspects such as freedom and the boundless will of the tides." There was no embellishment in her words. "To confront a Primordial deity and emerge victorious," she continued, "is not a feat one dismisses lightly. Albion did not merely repel her. He defeated her and this is precisely why these dragons are not to be trifled with."

"I see," Grimm murmured again, committing the term ’Primordial’ to memory. It joined the catalog of concepts he was assembling—New Gods, Keepers of Order, Divine Principals, Untainted.

"And you are unable to intervene," he added calmly, "because of the Divine Principals."

"Indeed," Iofiel confirmed. There was a faint tightening in her cupped hands as she spoke. "After the sea Goddess failed, the Keepers withdrew their aggression. Even when I stood prepared to assist, they forbade further involvement."

Her jaw tightened subtly.

"I was ready to act," she said more quietly. "But the Principals bind us all. Even me." For a moment, the warmth in her expression dimmed, with constraint. "They chose restraint over resolution," she finished. "And so the dragons remain."

Grimm said nothing immediately.

The information settled.

A Primordial Goddess defeated. Divine entities bound by laws they did not fully command. Dragons powerful enough to destabilize realms. And now this Goddess unable to move directly because even she was subject to something higher.

"The Keepers of Order opposed your intervention?" Grimm asked, he did not seem surprised—only curious. "You mean to tell me that you—who speak so confidently of your power, your awareness and your authority over this realm—were restrained by them?"

Iofiel inclined her head in confirmation, looking slightly annoyed at his wording. "They did. The Keepers are unyielding when it comes to maintaining balance across the realms. An all-powerful and all-knowing Goddess such as myself entering the conflict directly would have tipped that balance beyond what they consider acceptable."

She said it without hesitation, though the phrasing carried pride.

"Even though they dispatched a Goddess themselves to carry out their will?" Grimm’s helmet tilted slightly. "To handle what you so politely refer to as a threat."

There was a faint sound from him, not quite a laugh and not quite a snort.

"Interesting. They enforce law with devotion, yet reserve exemption for themselves. That pattern is not unfamiliar."

The observation lingered. It was familiar. Hypocrisy they would call authority. Grimm had seen it before.

But his focus shifted back to Iofiel.

Iofiel’s lips thinned. "The circumstances were different."

"Were they?" Grimm countered. "Or were they convenient?"

Her posture remained elegant despite his words. It was not difficult to understand her surface traits—she was proud, assured of her stature and accustomed to reverence. Yet beneath that, her concern for her realm did not appear false.

And still—something was missing.

"And you accepted that," he continued. "You stood by while they dictated the terms of your own realm." Her eyes sharpened. "You are content to play the part of their dog?" Grimm asked bluntly.

Iofiel blinked, genuinely taken aback.

"Excuse me?" Her brows furrowed, not delicately this time.

"You speak of saving this realm with urgency," Grimm continued evenly. "Yet I do not sense true fire within you. I cannot determine whether your desire to preserve this place stems from genuine care... or simply from ownership. Either way, if their interference endangers your realm, why not defy them?"

"Have you not been listening to what I have been saying you big fo—" Iofiel stopped herself sharply, breath catching before the insult fully formed. Her jaw tightened. She forced a smile that did not reach her eyes. "As I have stated, Untainted, the Keepers of Order are not to be defied. The very thought should not cross any being’s mind. Their punishments never fit the crime. They are always excessive."

"Words of a loser," Grimm replied without hesitation.

Her eyes twitched.

"I am not advocating reckless rebellion," he continued. "But blindly accepting hierarchy because it exists and climbing beneath someone else’s boot and convincing yourself it is shelter? That is pathetic."

"This situation is far more delicate than whatever crude hierarchy you are accustomed to navigating," Iofiel replied through clenched teeth disguised as a smile.

"It does not matter," Grimm said, turning slightly away from her. "In a sense, I am a slave as well."

That caught her attention.

"Not like you," he added calmly. "Everything I have done—conquering nations, eliminating rebellions, expanding territories—was done in the name of my empire. But I chose those actions. I acted of my own volition." His helmet turned back toward her. "You, however, seem guided by fear."

("He dares—he dares call me fearful? He is insufferable! How dare he—an all-powerful deity—") Her thoughts flared hot, nearly breaking through her composure. For a moment, a scowl threatened to form before she smoothed it away.

"It is not fear," she pressed firmly. "It is responsibility. Defying the Keepers would not result in punishment for me alone. My realm would suffer. My people would suffer, they would be extinguished. Entire civilizations could vanish because I wished to test my pride." Her voice dropped, becoming more earnest. "You speak of defiance as though it affects only the one who commits it. It does not."

"I believe one should strive for defiance," Grimm said calmly, almost thoughtfully. "Even if it risks annihilation."

He did not say it to provoke.

He meant it.

"Is it truly living," he continued, "if your existence depends entirely on the tolerance of something above you? If your survival is granted, not owned?"

The unseen gaze behind his helmet settled on her fully.

Iofiel pursed her lips. ("Is he naive... or is he simply incapable of valuing what can be lost?") she wondered. A man who spoke so casually of annihilation could not truly comprehend it—or perhaps he did, and did not care.

To sacrifice everything simply to prove a point?

What purpose would that serve if nothing remained?

"Well," Grimm said at last, shrugging slightly beneath his armor, "it does not matter at present. if you are content with your arrangement, it is not my concern. I am not here to reform you. It is about time I wake."

Iofiel frowned faintly as her irritation cooled into something more practical.. "Yes... the sooner you deal with the dragons, the better."

"Before that," Grimm added, "the power you used to bring certain memories to the forefront of my mind—will that persist?"

"Ordinarily, no," Iofiel answered. "But your body composition is... unusual. Your lineage complicates matters. I cannot say with certainty." She tilted her head slightly. "Are you uncomfortable with your memories?"

"It would not matter either way," Grimm replied. "Memories belong to the past. They have no place dictating the present."

"I am not sure I agree," Iofiel said thoughtfully. "Memories remind us why we walk the path we do. They anchor us."

"Perhaps."

("Should I...?") Iofiel hesitated internally, then made a decision.

"There is something else," she said more seriously. "A warning. I can sense her taint on you—the presence of the avatar of The Abhorrent. You should be wary of the smallest one."

"Little Alice, right?" Grimm responded easily. "She seems interesting. We shall see."

"Interesting is one word for it," Iofiel replied. "But heed me when I say this—avoid her and her aspects. An avatar of a Keeper is not something to entangle yourself with. Their abilities are abstract. Incomprehensible. Comparable to the Ơ̴̡̝̗̱͙̖͙̖̮̮̟̠̱̿͊̿̏̔͘͠u̴̼̺̙̱̻͑͒͂̎̾͠͝t̷̎͜ę̶̬̪͚̟̮̙͗͂̿̃͐̓̓̏͒͌̒̓̑̄̓ͅr̶̨̼̘͖͕̍̈͋͌̀͂̽ ̴̰͚̈́͂̒͊̎̈́̅̽͛͘͘̕G̴̛̣̘͚̝͍̩̮̉̐̃̚̕ͅͅo̷̪͈͐́̊̊̓́͘̚d̷̢̢͉̰̹̘̥͈̪̱̳̫͖̎̽̋̄͜͠s̵͚̋̿̍̂̔́̍͆͠͝͝ themselves." Her gaze hardened. "You may find yourself in a fate worse than death."

"It would at least be interesting," Grimm answered idly.

This time, Iofiel did sigh.

It was subtle but there.

"I see..." she murmured, accepting that reasoning with him on that front was futile. Then her expression shifted slightly as a thought occurred to her. "I have been speaking to you at length and yet I have not asked your name."

There was a pause.

"Right," Grimm began. "It’s—"