Raven flew high for them to see the land near the Kingdom of Knaves.

At first, she thought a battle was ongoing. But as they reached a spot where Raven could land unnoticed, men from the Kingdom of Knaves lay still on the ground. Dead.

When they landed, Raven changed into his human form.

Aia knew people would suspect where they came from if they maintained the same appearance. So, the goddess uses simple magic for her and Raven. Raven wears a commoner’s clothes, while Aia wears a working dress. Though the goddess of truth could create clothes out of thin air, it was not as glamorous as what other deities could produce. And she could only make her sword disappear, for it was her weapon.

They also settle for wearing simpler clothes so they would not attract thieves. Or anyone from the Kingdom of Knaves if some were still alive.

Most of the time, Hroc and Raven will lead their god or goddess to where death occurs. It was inevitable that Klaus, as the god of death, visited people who died to take their souls. Meanwhile, Aia, as the goddess of truth, must uncover what made a human die. And if it was a timely death and not caused by other deities. Back then, Aia and Klaus worked together for death to occur naturally and evenly. Now, there was no balance. Someone was even defying death himself.

Aia was unsure if she was up for the task presented. It has been a long time since she entrusted Klaus to do his job. Alone. But Aia realized Klaus would not let her borrow Hroc in the first place if he did not know it could lead her to this moment.

Klaus wanted to know why the war began. He did not lie to her. But he also did not tell her the entire truth.

Aia smiled.

“Why did I forget that he only takes the good and leaves out those he cannot handle to me?”

Aia realized Klaus did not want to take her pet to the underworld. Yet. So he lured her into saving Raven. It was to make her see what the other humans were doing lately.

Although Aia had heard of the wars through the news in their small village, she never reacted until that day.

The men lying on the ground have deep wounds, while some are beheaded. But something was missing aside from some limbs. There were no soldiers dressed differently than those who were no longer living. There was no trace of whoever their enemy was. Aia is estimating that at least a thousand men lay on the ground.

Is it an invisible army or a deity in disguise? Aia asked herself.

Aia and Raven tried to stay away from the dead bodies. But they needed to cross the river where most of the bodies lay.

Everything was quiet aside from the sound of running water. Aia suspects something is about to happen. The machine or monster that killed the men might still lurk somewhere. Yet Aia could not sense that something or someone was watching them.

“Hey… help…”

Aia and Raven both froze.

They both heard a man groan behind them.

And they both stood there while not knowing what to do.

“Help…”

Aia and Raven looked at each other while having the same thought.

Someone has seen them.

She was about to move her hand to signal Raven that they should keep moving when the man spoke again.

“I’ll pay you. Just…” the man said while struggling. “Let me get up.”

Aia looked at Raven again. But he only shrugged at her. If the human calling out to them is a dangerous man, it would not be a problem. It is an impossible task for mere mortals to harm their kind. They abide by the old rule no injury means no reason to kill or to fight back. That was frustrating for those gods or goddesses who wished to kill some humans. However, there is an exception. If humans offend a god or a goddess, deities will gain the right to punish them despite the rule. And wipe out the people who dare insult them.

Aia and Raven walked towards the struggling voice. Only his head and a part of his shoulder were visible when they found the human who spoke. He was wearing steel armor, except his helmet was missing.

They stop a few steps from him. He struggled to remove himself from the pile of dead bodies that covered him. It was odd to see eight men on top of each other. As if they all attacked the knight, yet he remained alive.

But then, what else can she expect from war? Men, women, old or young, could end up dead at any time. It reminded her of what had happened to her village. Finding a safe place in that world will be more difficult now.

“Help me,” he said again while lifting his head to look at the pile he was trying to push. And then his head lay on the hard ground again. He knew he could not lift the dead bodies by himself.

Aia wanted to know what had transpired in that land before they came. She signaled Raven to help the man. She wanted all the answers to her questions.

Raven lifted the dead men, one by one, while Aia stared at the remaining knight on the battlefield. His eyes were closed as if his energy was draining. Raven took it as an opportunity to toss the dead bodies aside. Like her, Raven is curious about how the knight survived.

There are bloodstains on his pinkish skin and armor, too. But no open wound was visible. And his red hair, though tainted with mud and blood, seemed to glow at the touch of the sunlight. He seemed familiar. But Aia could not recall where she had seen him before.