As the Adventurers watched a strange glowing figure faded into existence in front of Kyle who had fallen to his knees and was currently weeping in front of the burnt corpses of his family.

This figure soon revealed itself to be a beautiful woman but stern looking with long blue hair that had a chain braided into it. She wore a simple grey dress that came down to just past her knees and had what looked like a larger version of Fi. However, unlike Fi this Quetzalcoatl appeared to be male and looked around the battlefield that surrounded Farholt with a look of anger written over its face.

The woman slowly knelt in front of the still crying Kyle who had yet to even notice her appearance and slowly lifted his chin until he was looking her in the eye.

“Do you wish for the power to make sure that the ones who did this can’t hurt anyone ever again,” the woman asked. Despite the fact that she seemed to be speaking quietly everyone present could hear her words like she was standing right next to them.

Hearing her words Galdon frowned, he wasn’t sure which goddess had decided to take Kyle on as her Divine Champion and her words did absolutely nothing to clear this up. She didn’t resemble the recorded appearance of any goddess that he was familiar with and he didn’t know what that could mean.

“Yes,” Kyle replied in a dead sounding voice. “I want to make them pay.”

A wide smile covered the face of the mysterious goddess at his words making a chill run down the backs of those who were watching.

“Very good,” she nodded. “But want you to prove it to me.”

As she said this she raised a hand and pointed in the direction of what Galdon had presumed was the dead body of one of the Imperial soldiers that had been left behind after the battle but he quickly realised that this assumption was incorrect when the body twitched at the goddess’ words.

“I want you to finish that man off,” the goddess told Kyle who slowly got to his feet and started walking jerkily over to the imperial soldier. The soldier was already missing a leg and had a massive gash in his chest but Galdon knew that the man would still be too tough for Kyle to do any real damage to him. This was because most imperial soldiers had a Tier 3 Class which meant they were over Level 50 and from the markings on the man’s armour he was a member of the Inquisition which meant that he was even stronger than the average soldier. In fact, it was because of this strength that the man was even alive at all as most people would definitely have died from their injuries so the fact that this soldier was still alive meant that he was multiple times stronger than Kyle was.

“Do not worry Kyle if you decide to go through with punishing him then I will make sure you are strong enough to do so,” the goddess told the boy as he came to a halt over the soldier who looked up at the blank-faced young man with bright, fanatical eyes.

However instead of answering the goddess who was now standing beside him Kyle instead asked the dying man a simple question. A question that made the hairs on the backs of the necks of all of the Adventurers stand on end.

“Where is my sister?” Kyle asked in a dead tone of voice that stood in stark contrast two the two blue suns that were his eyes. “Where is Kelly?”

“The heretic’s brat?” the soldier cackled spraying Kyle in the face with blood. “The others took her, it’s actually quite funny. I’ve never heard of an Aethereal human outside of the Empire’s control and now I’ve seen three of them. Luckily for her your little sister is young enough that we can educate her properly so that she follows the orders of our Emperor and the one true god!”

“And where did you take her?” Kyle asked undeterred by the blood that was now mixing with the tears that he had been crying.

“Why should I tell you heretic?” the soldier snarled.

“Because if you do, I’ll kill you quickly,” Kyle replied matter-of-factly. “And if you don’t make sure you stay alive as long as possible while I torture you to death.”

“Torture?” the man chuckled causing more blood to dribble out of his mouth as he gestured weakly at his ruined body. “Do you really think that’ll make a difference to me now?”

“Well I suppose I should give you a taste then” Kyle replied as knowledge filled his brain courtesy of the goddess who was intently watching the conversation. “Flames of Retribution.”

When Kyle spoke, these words flames that were a mix of pitch black and purest white erupted up from the ground and covered the soldier’s body making his eyes bug out of his head as he unleashed a bone chilling screech. However, this only lasted a few seconds before sputtering out when Kyle waved his hand dismissing the flames that he had just summoned.

“Painful, aren’t it?” he asked the now shuddering soldier. “Believe it or not those flames revisit upon you all of the pain that you ever inflicted on an innocent. So, the only person you have to blame for the pain that you feel is yourself.”

“I-I don’t know where your sister has been taken, not for certain,” the soldier stared babbling as he looked up at Kyle’s impassive face as he looked down at his body only to see that despite the incredible pain that he had just felt he wasn’t any more harmed than he had been before which told him that those flames had been some form of illusion which meant that Kyle would be able to use them on him without having to worry about accidentally finishing him off before he received the information that he wanted. Being a member of the Inquisition the soldier had killed a lot of people over the years, often simply because he wanted to so when the flames had burnt him he felt such incredible pain that he was amazed that he hadn’t died of a heart attack but when he looked up at the face of the young man who had cast such a terrifying spell on him he could see that Kyle had absolutely no sympathy for him and he was terrified of what would happen if he didn’t tell him what he knew.

“Then give me your best guess,” Kyle snarled. “Or I’ll just leave you to burn in the fires of a hell that you created until you finally bleed out.”

Those watching on were amazed by the sudden change in the soldier’s attitude. It was obvious from the way he was acting now that whatever that spell that Kyle had used was it had been far more painful than the soldier could bear. Kyle’s short description of what the spell did only served to drive this idea home although it was hard to say how it worked exactly since they didn’t know how the spell decided who was an ‘innocent’ or for that matter what it considered to be ‘pain.’

“Okay, I’ll tell you, just don’t use that spell on me again I’m begging you!” the soldier sobbed but Kyle just watched him silently until he spoke again. “Well there are a couple of places that they could be taking her, either the Inquisition’s Temple where we train new members which is south of the capital in an isolated mountain range. I’m afraid I can’t be more specific than that without a map to point it out on. The other place that she could be being taken is to the Emperor’s palace itself.”

“I see, I suppose that will have to be good enough,” Kyle sighed as he raised his hand once more. However instead of casting a spell a strange chain appeared and started wrapping itself around his arm, the spikes covering it digging deeply into his flesh as it did so before rearing back like a snake about to strike. “Do you have any last words?”

“What the hell are you, what is she?” the soldier gasped as he looked up at the two figures standing over him.

“That is a good question,” the goddess admitted. “Sadly, a goddess’ name must be given by those who follow them and as of yet, Kyle is my only true follower. Will you give me a name Kyle?”

“Very well,” Kyle replied with a nod before closing his eyes to think.

Galdon’s eyes widened as he finally figured out why he didn’t know who this goddess was. She was a new goddess that had neither an official priesthood nor a name of her own. There was also something else that he was still uncertain of and that was what sort of goddess she was. In the beginning he had a feeling that she could be a goddess of justice but the way that she had been acting and the spell that Kyle had used on the soldier told a different, darker story.

“Your name is Nemesis,” Kyle said eventually as he came to a decision. “The goddess of vengeance Nemesis.”

“Yes!” the goddess, no Nemesis laughed the beautiful sound seemingly out of place considering the circumstances. “I accept the name that you have given me my most beloved worshipper. Now begin the first step on your path of vengeance and finish that man off.”

Kyle nodded wordlessly as he turned back towards the cowering wreck that had once been an imperial soldier and the chain struck once, spearing the man through one of his wide, terrified eyes killing him instantly.

“As promised, a quick death,” Kyle told the fresh corpse as the strange chain faded out of existence once more. “A better death than you deserved.”

“Very good Kyle,” the goddess laughed as the Adventurers watched on in horror from the gagging sounds some of them were making many of them were struggling not to puke at the sight of the man that Kyle had just killed in cold blood which would have been quite messy considering they were still unable to move. “You have proven yourself worthy of the gift of power that I am offering you. The only question now is; will you accept it bearing in mind the responsibilities that will come along with it?”

As she said this a blue screen appeared in front of Kyle and Fi who had been so horrified by what she had seen that she had been completely silent up until now. She didn’t disagree with what Kyle had done exactly; the soldier had definitely deserved at least some of what Kyle had done to him. In fact, when Kyle had cast the Flames of Retribution spell on the man something inside of her had somehow been able to see all of the horrible things that he had done to others and seeing him burning like that had filled her with a sort of exhilaration that had quickly faded to a dirty feeling when he had cancelled the spell. But when she saw the new notification appear in front of her Fi couldn’t hold back a gasp.

Tier 2 Class Unlocked!

Chain Manipulator- Unusual ranked Class

A Class that combines martial prowess and psychic powers to overwhelm its opponents with an unstoppable barrage of attacks from any range.

Class Skills: Chain Manipulation, Light Armour, Medium Armour, Acrobatics, Psychic Prowess, Unarmed Combat, Dual Wielding and Skill Customisation.

Stats per Level: +6 Agi. +4 Dex. +2 Str. +2 End. +2 Wisdom. +3 Willpower +5 Unassigned Stat Points

“Holy shit,” the companion muttered under her breath as she looked at the notification. Normally it was impossible for someone to obtain a new Class without going to a Class Stone, but it was different when a deity offered a Class to a new Divine Champion as these Classes were often something that had been created by the deity for the Champion personally and it was clear that this was the case for this Class which not only had more Skills than most of the Tier 2 Classes that she was familiar with but gave more Stats when you Levelled Up. It wasn’t too overpowered because of how spread out the different Stats were but the overall quantity was quite high. In all honesty she had been expecting that Nemesis would give him a Class with more Priest-like Skills and Stats, but she had to admit that this suited Kyle better.

“I accept,” Kyle told the goddess before she could say anything and to her surprise this actually worked, and she felt the changes begin to take place in his body thanks to their connection and soon a new screen popped up in front of them detailing the changes that had just taken place.

Class Selected!

Assigning Class Chain Manipulator.

Updating Skill Sheet…

Chain Fighting had been changed to Chain Manipulation.

Psychic Prowess, Unarmed Combat and Dual Wielding have become Class Skills.

Skill Customisation Unlocked!

Skill Slots increased.

Remaining Skill Slots- 9/15(+1)

Skill Changed

Chain Manipulation-Mastery

Proficiency Level 10-9% to next Proficiency Level

Mastery Skill that allows you to manipulate chains with both your mind and body. Related Sub-Skills can also be unlocked.

Current Bonuses- 1 Bonus available for purchase

Increases damage dealt with Chain Weapons by 15%

Increases accuracy with Chain Weapons by 10%

Allows you to control up to 1 chain telekinetically (+1 at 50 Willpower) This Bonus cannot be changed.

Sub-Skills

· Lash- Increases damage dealt by 10%. Costs 10 SP

· Entangling Coils- Slows entangled enemies by 10% for 5-10 seconds. 5% chance for entangled enemy to be knocked down for 10 seconds. (The chain used for this Skill will be unusable for the duration of this Skill) Costs 15 SP. Cooldown 30 seconds.

· Whirlwind Stance- This stance increases attack speed and weapon damage by 2% with each consecutive attack up to a maximum of 20%. If an attack misses the bonuses reset. Cost 5 SP per second. Duration: Variable. Cooldown: 2 minutes (Not applicable with manipulated chains)

· Smash- An Overhead Swing that deals 20% extra Damage and has a 10% chance to stun the target. Cost 20 SP. Cooldown 10 seconds.

· Flurry- A swift series of attacks that deal 80% of normal damage at 125% of normal attack speed. Cost 30 SP. Duration 20 seconds. Cooldown: 45 seconds.

· Viper Strike- A swift strike using a manipulated chain that deals 20% extra damage and ignores 25% of the target’s Physical Defence. Costs 15 SP. Cooldown 5 seconds

New Skill Unlocked!

Skill Customisation- General

Level 1 (Can only Level Up when you unlock your Tier 3 Class)

This Skill allows you to spend Skill Points to increase the Proficiency Level of your Skills.

Once Kyle had finished reading through the changes to his Skill he nodded in understanding. This new Skill was a combination of his old Chain Fighting Skill and his Telekinesis Sub-skill but without any additional cost from ‘manipulating’ a chain with his telekinetic abilities. Skill Customisation was just the Skill that everyone got when they unlocked their Tier 2 Class that allowed them to quickly Level their Skills so it wasn’t that important to him but it was still good to have.

“Well then if you’ll excuse me I’d like to bury my parents,” Kyle stated in a somewhat abrupt manner which Fi put up to… well that he’d just killed a man as well as the fact that the burnt corpses of his parents were only a few meters away.

“Actually, before you do that, I have another gift for you,” Nemesis interrupted as he turned to walk away. It was pretty clear from the slightly disgruntled look on her face that she wasn’t used to being treated in this way, but she quickly replaced it with a smile. “Come here Kyle.”

Giving the beautiful goddess a strange look Kyle stepped closer and then closer again when she rolled her eyes at him. When he was close enough, she leaned towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek making him blink in surprise.

“You now have my blessing and have officially become my Divine Champion Kyle,” she explained to Kyle who was now blushing slightly. “This will unlock the school of magic that my Priests can use, among other things. Your companion can tell you more.”

“Um yes I’ll just bring up the notification for you Kyle,” Fi muttered as she stared at the goddess wide-eyed and shortly another new screen appeared in front of Kyle making him blink in surprise once more as he read its contents.

Blessing of Nemesis the goddess of Vengeance Detected!

Blessing Rank Divine Champion!

Class line adjusted to suit your new Divine Champion Status!

+5 Unassigned Stat Points!

+ 2 Unassigned Stat Points/ Lvl

+10 Skill Points!

Magic School of Divine Vengeance Unlocked!

“Alright thanks,” Kyle said to Nemesis shortly making her blink in surprise at how disrespectful he was being, especially considering the fact that he was now officially her Divine Champion. “I’ll take a look at the Magic School you have unlocked for me later but for now I want to bury my parents. I would also appreciate it if you released my friends.”

“Uh, sure,” the goddess replied in an uncertain tone of voice as she waved her hand releasing the Adventurers who were still watching them from their invisible bonds. “I would appreciate it if you treated me with a bit more respect in the future though.”

Kyle nodded at her words before silently turning around and walking over towards the Adventurers who were still watching them with dazed expressions on their faces.

“Can someone give me a shovel please?” Kyle asked as he approached making most of the Adventurers frown. There were several Adventurers who could use Earth magic among them so they were at a bit of a loss as to why Kyle would need a shovel to bury his parents. In fact, the only one who understood what was going on was Galdon who nodded silently and cast a spell that created a simple shovel out of stone before passing it over to Kyle who silently took the implement from the old man’s outstretched hand with a nod.

Hal and Sonia also dismounted from their respective mounts and walked over to Galdon who conjured similar shovels for them as well. “What do you think that’s about?” Alistair asked Galdon as they watched the three friends start digging graves for the corpses that were even now still hanging from the stakes that they had been burned on.

“Call it their way of taking responsibility and coming to terms with the fact that everyone that lived here is either dead or has been enslaved,” Galdon sighed sadly.

“But they couldn’t have known that this would happen, none of us could’ve,” the elvish woman whom Sonia had been riding behind said. “So why are they blaming themselves?”

“Because they have to Emilia,” Galdon replied. “If they don’t do something, anything to help them get over this tragedy it’ll destroy them. Besides, if they don’t do this then what will they say to Damian who was left behind?”

“That’s too heavy a burden for them to bear,” Emilia muttered. “They’re just children. It’s not fair.”

“You’re right,” replied Nemesis making the three Adventurers jump, they hadn’t even realised that she had heard them. “Nothing about this is fair. But then when has anything in this world been fair?”

“That’s why you exist isn’t it?” Galdon asked suddenly as he finally understood what had been bothering him about her sudden appearance.

“Indeed,” Nemesis nodded. “Despite the best efforts of most of the people in power crime and injustice are still rife in this world and there are many who still believe that they have the right to do whatever they want simply because they are stronger than everyone else.”

“Like the Empire?” Galdon asked. “That’s why you resemble an Aethereal human isn’t it?”

“You are a smart one!” Nemesis laughed before her expression turned solemn. “Yes, the acts that led to the creation of Aethereal humans are some of the worst in recent history and it was the desire of those who died in the process that ended up being the final piece that led to my creation. As such I decided to take on the appearance of an Aethereal human.”

“May I ask one more question?” Galdon asked the goddess bowing his head towards her humbly.

“Of course, you are responsible for the training of both Kyle and his mother,” Nemesis nodded. “So, I owe you some answers at the very least.”

“Thank you, my question is this; were you originally meant to be a goddess of vengeance or something else?”

“Another excellent question,” Nemesis sighed. “Very well, I actually started to form before the old worlds were combined to form this one and as far as I can tell I was originally supposed to be a goddess of justice. And before you ask there is indeed a possibility that I could become a goddess of justice like I was supposed to be but sadly that’s not up to me.”

“You mean Kyle?” Galdon asked his eyes widening in understanding.

“Indeed, well done,” Nemesis nodded. “I can see why you are so respected by those who know you. It is indeed up to Kyle whether or not I change but you can’t tell him this as it could affect the outcome. He has to decide for himself who he wants to be.”

“I wasn’t aware that people, even Divine Champions had so much power over the gods that they worshipped,” Galdon admitted.

“That’s because they don’t, not usually anyway but Kyle is my first Divine Champion,” Nemesis replied as her hand slowly rose up to pet the head of the Quetzalcoatl who was watching Kyle and the others as they dug the graves for the villagers that had been burned alive by the imperials.

It was hard to tell who the corpses had been, even Kyle only knew that two of the corpses were his parents because their gear had been strewn around them but all three of the kids knew that if Kyle’s parents had suffered this fate then so had Thomas and Al. There were however two very large corpses that could have been Al, but Hal knew that one of them was his father as he was the only man in the village who came close to Al’s massive build. And if his father’s corpse was here then it was unlikely that his mother had survived. In other words, all three of them were now orphans. The other corpses were likely those of guards who hadn’t been killed outright in the fighting and as soon as they had dug the graves for the people that had raised them the three kids moved silently on to digging graves for these brave men who had done their best to protect the people that they were responsible for.

“Normally even that wouldn’t be enough to change me in any way, except for the fact that I remember what I was supposed to be originally, and I would actually prefer to be a goddess of justice,” Nemesis continued as they watched the three teens continue their grisly work. “As I’m sure you are aware vengeance usually destroys those who pursue it and I’d rather not see that happen to my followers.”

“Indeed,” Galdon agreed. “I am familiar with what vengeance can do to people and I would very much rather that didn’t happen to Kyle.”

“Then we are in agreement,” Nemesis replied giving the old man a smile which he cautiously returned. “I will likely lose some followers if I become a goddess of justice rather than vengeance but if that does happen then I believe those that remain will be happier in the long run.”

“I see,” Galdon replied thoughtfully. Well if that’s the case I do have faith in Kyle. He’s understandably angry right now and I shudder to think what he might do for the sake of finding his sister but he’s a good kid at heart.”

“Yes,” Nemesis replied sadly. “That’s why I chose him. I will also admit that I got a bit carried away earlier as well, it was just exciting to finally get my own Divine Champion. I’ve been waiting a long time for a suitable candidate.”

“There is one thing that bothers me though,” Galdon mentioned and for the first time in her existence the goddess felt the chill of fear as killing intent washed off of him making her blink in surprise. “For some reason I get the feeling that you knew that this would happen.”

“Not this exactly,” Nemesis replied somewhat nervously before shaking her head slightly and narrowing her eyes at the old man whom she was beginning to suspect was even more dangerous than she had been led to believe. As a goddess a mortal like Galdon shouldn’t have been able to make her fell fear and yet she did. “But I knew that something like this was going to happen to him. I could sense it. I just wasn’t exactly sure what it was.”

“But you knew that it was something that would drive him towards you correct?” Galdon asked as the world around him turned red as though responding to his rage. Nemesis even swore that the grass underneath his feet started to smoulder even though she was certain that he wasn’t using any magic or even a Skill that she was familiar with. Some of the other Adventurers who were too close also noticed this strange phenomenon and started slowly creeping away from the obviously furious Galdon.

“Well yes,” Nemesis admitted as she shifted uncomfortably under Galdon’s gaze. “But it was a prophecy from the System itself that brought him to my attention, and you know as well as I do that you can’t avoid a prophecy from the System.”

“I see,” Galdon sighed as the strange phenomenon that he had somehow summoned faded slowly away. “If that’s the case then there’s nothing more that, I can say. Hmm, looks like they’re done digging the graves, I should head over and say something.”

Once he finished saying this Galdon walked away from the goddess leaving her glaring after him angrily. This was the second time that she had been ignored today and she was really getting tired of it. She was a goddess for goodness’ sake!

Still she knew that Galdon had been right about one thing; she had known that something terrible was going to happen to Kyle and she had done nothing to prevent it. Yes, there had been a prophecy that had been given to her by the System and those always seemed to come true no matter what. Still that didn’t change the fact that she felt guilty that the young man had to suffer like this, and she could only hope that he would find his sister before the last spark of the cheerful boy that he had once been was gone for good.