Arriving before the altar, the bishop, who presided over it, let out a soft gasp upon seeing the object in Isis’s hand. He didn’t quite understand, yet he clearly recognized Isis’s identity, maintaining an exceptionally respectful demeanor towards her.
“Please place your offering upon it.”
With utmost care, Isis placed the jewelry box within the sacrificial magic array at the altar’s center. Immediately, a beam of crimson light shot straight into the heavens.
Divine blessings and protections spread outwards with this red light, reaching even the vagrants huddled in the forgotten corners of Prary, who felt the warm embrace of the God of Blood’s divine power.
The Pope and the bishop, who oversaw the altar, had clearly never witnessed such a profound blessing before. They stood frozen in place, utterly bewildered.
Fortunately, the bishop quickly recovered. Noticing the jewelry box had vanished from the altar, he extended a hand, respectfully gesturing that the esteemed guest could now leave the altar and rejoin the congregation.
Witnessing the immense blessing a mere jewelry box could bring, those who had clutched vials of beast blood began to question its efficacy. Some even put away their beast blood on the spot, instead placing their rings upon the altar.
The blessings that followed, while far less potent than the one from the jewelry box, were still more perfect than they had imagined. It seemed the God of Blood favored jewelry far more than mere blood.
****
Returning to Beacai’s side, Isis looked at the jewelry box in her daughter’s hand and offered a gentle smile.
“Mama…”
“This is my gift to you. I hope that your emotions and temperament will become as gentle as water from now on.”
Hearing this, Beacai carefully opened the jewelry box. A teardrop necklace lay nestled quietly within the velvet, its transparent form reflecting the dazzling starlit sky, utterly breathtaking.
She took it from the box; it was cool to the touch, and the teardrop felt so real it seemed capable of extinguishing flames. She couldn’t wait to put it on her neck.
“Does it look good, Mama?”
She placed one hand over her chest and slightly drew back her left foot, appearing a little shy. Isis nodded, taking her hand and saying, “It looks beautiful.”
How could the pendant she had chosen, paired with Beacai’s inherently adorable face, possibly not look beautiful?
“Thank you, Mama!”
Beacai spun around once, like a dancing butterfly. When she stopped, she placed her index finger to her lips and whispered to Isis, “Mama, lean closer. I have a gift for you too.”
‘A gift? What gift?’
‘Beacai prepared a gift for me too?’
With a touch of curiosity, Isis leaned her face closer. To her surprise, Beacai suddenly closed the distance and secretly kissed her cheek. Then, she hopped back a step and asked, “That’s my gift! Mama, do you like it?”
Touching her own cheek, it took Isis a long moment to recover. She glared at Beacai with feigned annoyance, before finally laughing and scolding, “You little rascal!”
“Hehehe! Mama, if you won’t kiss me, then I’ll kiss you. It’s practically the same thing anyway!” Like a cat that had stolen a fish, Beacai giggled, hugging her cat plushie, her face beaming with happiness.
Isis wanted to say more, but seeing the pure joy on Beacai’s face, all words caught in her throat, ultimately dissolving into a doting smile.
As long as Beacai wasn’t pathologically twisted, Isis found herself naturally drawn to her.
And the way to keep Beacai from becoming pathologically twisted was simple: just give her a little bit of simple love.
****
The God’s Day Festival officially concluded after the sacrificial rituals. The stalls lining the fragrant streets were slowly packed away, and many pedestrians, yawning, returned to their homes, ready for a good night’s sleep.
However, Isis and Beacai did not return directly to their inn. They found a hot spring establishment that was still open. After shedding their clothes and bathing, they wrapped themselves in towels and sank into the warm waters.
The moment the warm water touched her skin, a full day’s fatigue seemed to vanish instantly. Isis sat in the hot spring with her eyes closed, her exquisite face flushed red by the steam.
Beacai, meanwhile, stretched without reservation, her bath towel slipping from her chest with the movement, revealing a large expanse of pale skin.
However, Isis paid no mind to such things.
“So, soaking in a hot spring is this comfortable?” With only her head above the water, Beacai slowly closed her eyes, reveling in the warmth and tranquility the hot spring offered.
After the bustling God’s Day Festival, only the chirping of nocturnal birds remained. The brilliant starry sky was illuminated by Prary’s lights; while the starlight persisted, it lost some of its profound depth, gaining a touch more familiarity.
‘To soak in a hot spring indefinitely, with someone you love, might be a wonderful choice,’ Beacai thought.
“Indeed, I haven’t really experienced it much before either.”
It was true; Isis herself rarely experienced the sensation of soaking in a hot spring.
In her past as Yggdrasil, no one had ever dared to invite her to bathe with them; not even to share a meal. She was always alone. When tired, she would bathe; when craving, she would eat fruit. She would never participate in festivals, only observing her worshippers’ revelry from her divine perch.
Perhaps, as Beacai had said, she loved the beings she created, but this love was shallow, never truly touching her heart.
Even with elven children, in her eyes, they were merely cuter than ordinary elves. Beyond that, there was no difference.
After all, in her countless years, which elf wasn’t but an infant before her?
After a long silence, with only the rustling of wind through the leaves filling the air, Beacai suddenly emerged from the hot spring. The splashing water broke the surrounding stillness.
She moved closer to Isis, then rested her head on her shoulder and quietly thanked her, “Thank you, Mama. This God’s Day Festival was the happiest I’ve ever had. Those offerings… they probably won’t give me blood anymore, right?”
“For them to stop, you have to show them. Just this once isn’t enough.”
“Understood, Mama.”
Isis understood this perfectly. For her worshippers to stop offering blood as sacrifices, Beacai would have to withhold her blessings or feign anger. Otherwise, no matter what she did, there would always be worshippers who offered blood as a sacrifice to her.
The relationship between a deity and their worshippers was complex. In the eyes of worshippers, a deity was a lofty existence, the being they revered. To maintain this faith, a deity needed to keep a certain distance from them.
Even Yggdrasil, known for her benevolence, would naturally exude an aura of superiority when facing her worshippers, preventing them from irreverently blaspheming her existence.