Now, mind you, I am lonely, but I am not an idiot. I knew that Dianite's kindness to me was just an attempt at making me trust him. I decided that the god probably wanted me to fight on his side once the war came around. I pretended like he was my friend, and it sounded like he was buying it. Perhaps both of us are trying to fool the other.

So, you may be thinking, why would I pretend to be on his side at all? The answer is quite simple, and probably something the god has already figured out: I am incredibly lonely. I am forced to act serious and proper by the others, and forced into a war I don't want to fight. It's been forever since I've had a true friend to relax with. Although the devil himself is far from a true friend, he at least acts like he is supportive of me, and is willing to help me prank people without getting caught. It's more of a way to let loose after six long years of constant stress. It would drive anyone insane, wouldn't you think?

The only problem was that I assumed that we were going to be on friendly terms until the war came around, at which point I would backstab him and we would win the war easily. Unfortunately, Dianite wanted to slowly persuade me into joining his side for the war.

"So, Jeriah," he said to me one day. " Your training is coming along very well, is it not?"

I shrugged. "Well enough. Why do you ask?"

"I was watching, and I must say, I'm rather impressed by your new fighting skills," he said. He sounded genuine, but I wasn't dumb enough to fall for his soothing voice.

"I'd like to think that I'm doing well after four years of hard training," I attempted to avoid the inevitable end of this discussion, but I should have known that it wouldn't work.

"You know what your fighting reminds me of?" he continued thoughtfully. "In my old army of zombie pigmen, there was one special one who could fight with amazing talent. He looked like he was dancing while he swung his sword. It was a beautiful sight." His voice grew sadder towards the end.

"Oh..." I said awkwardly, not liking that I was being compared to a pigman, of all creatures. "What happened to him?"

"Pigmen aren't known for their intelligence," Dianite laughed without humor. "In the heat of battle, they were so overcome by their wish to spill blood that they all marched in a straight line, right off a cliff. Idiots." I could sense the god shaking his head. "I've chosen to use smarter creatures in my armies now. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Your fighting ability is spectacular!"

"Well, thank you," I said, my face turning slightly red. "Although comparing me to a creature like... that... isn't the kindest."

"What do you mean?" he asked disapprovingly. "Nether creatures are perfectly respectable!"

I was beginning to feel incredibly uncomfortable. "I don't really have the best experiences with them. They keep trying to blow me up, set me on fire, and so on. Not nice stuff."

He laughed. "Don't be weak. They're not so bad once you get used to them. Want to jump through the portal now? I'll show you what nether mobs are really like."

I froze, paralyzed with terror. "No... no thanks, Dianite. Give me some time first. Diving headfirst into a place filled with my worst nightmares isn't all fun and games to me." I desperately tried to cover up the fact that I was aware that, if I did go to the nether, Dianite would immediately kill me.

He snorted. "And I called you strong? I thought you wanted to prove yourself, Jeriah."

"Oh, I do." I racked my brain for more excuses. "But this isn't the way to prove myself. The others would never forgive me if I went into the nether without their permission."

Dianite sighed. "Very well, Jeriah. I suppose I'll have to find another way to boost your confidence." He sounded as if he really was upset, although I knew it had to be fake.

"Why do you care about my confidence level so much?" I asked. "Aren't you supposed to want to lower it? Isn't that your job as... well, the devil?"

"I... I..." he stammered. "I don't know. I like you a lot, Jeriah, and I don't feel like you are my enemy. Perhaps not my ally, but I couldn't bear the thought of fighting against you."

This sounded very, very far from believable. What was he trying for here? "It's unlike you to actually care about someone," I pointed out. "And I'm not even your follower."

"Just because I'm an immortal god who lives in the land of fire doesn't mean I can't have feelings. I have the ability to care about others, you know!" He sounded annoyed, but (could it be?) hurt as well.

"You didn't care about anyone else in your life," I protested. "You were willing to turn against Tom, who had devoted his entire life to you. Why should I be any different?"

He hesitated. "You are different, Jeriah. I... I don't know why I feel differently about you than the others, but..." He took a deep breath, and I could almost see the fear on his face. "Love isn't something you can control."

That's bs, my instincts told me. "What do you mean, you 'love' me? As in you love me as a devout follower? That doesn't make any sense, I'm not even..." I stopped mid-sentence as the air shimmered and Dianite, the mighty lord himself, appeared in front of me.

"Jeriah." His voice was low and serious, and the look in his eyes was convincing me that this wasn't an act. "I assumed you were like the others said you were. I thought you were a grumpy man with no sense of humor, and no sense of fun. Dull and mean. But... I started to see other things in you, that I didn't realize were that. When you dropped Mianite as your god, I realized that some of your beliefs were very similar to mine. I was wondering if your gods had reverse personalities to us gods here. Since that moment, I realized that... you must belong with me."

I didn't like where this was going. "Belong with you?" I didn't want to believe him, but something about his words were drawing me closer to him. I should have started hitting him with my normal sword right away, and weakened him at least. That's what the others would have done, and that's what a hero would have done. But that's not what I did.

"Yes. I was wondering if there was a way for me to get you as my follower, something that I desperately wanted. I sensed an intelligence in you that I saw in nobody else. They're all blind fools, following their leader Mianite, because they think they're doing 'the right thing'. But you, Jeriah, weren't so easy to trick. The day I was following you, I suggested that you prank someone, something that followers of Dianite did on a regular basis. You seemed very reluctant, but there was no need for me to worry. When you did the prank against Mot, you... you changed. I could see it on your face, when you saw his reaction. Your eyes lit up, and you were laughing. Immensely enjoying yourself. That's something that I had never seen you do before, and it was beautiful."

My mouth was dry. "I... I didn't realize I was capable of being beautiful." The words sounded stupid the second they left my mouth, but Dianite's gaze softened once I had said it.

"To be honest, I didn't either until that day. I kept convincing you to prank people. At first it was to bring my spirit back into the overworld, but then I realized that what I really liked about it was the look on your face every time you saw someone's reaction. And, slowly... I was falling in love with you."

My eyes widened, and my mouth began to fall open. In love? With me?

The words were clearly difficult for Dianite to say. "The point of this was that I really, really care about you. I want to see the others recognize you for your true potential. I believe that even I don't know what you are truly capable of, and I'm not even sure you do. I think that you are much, much greater than what you think you are. I love you, Jeriah."

I was about to reply when the god, his glowing eyes gazing right into mine, put his hands on either side of my face and drew my closer to him. His mouth met mine, and I felt like I was unable to move. Dianite was kissing me. I didn't have time to react before the god pulled away. He was waiting for me to do something. I wasn't sure if I wanted to say it or not, but I did anyway.

"I love you too, Dianite."