Loving the Darkness

As she slowly walks the empty halls of the palace, she suddenly felt like the place has been abandoned as it was deserted. The only deity present at the moment were her, and a few minor deities who were busy doing their job.

Where could be the other Gods?

Her question was answered when she heard the noisy group of deities coming towards her as they make a fuss about some human object. Of course, where could they be but the human world.

She sighed, shaking her head as she walks away. But before she could leave, her eyes caught a fancy box held by one of the noisy Gods. It's color was in black, with the intricate designs in the shade of gold. It was a peculiar item, though she has seen many kinds of box before, she haven't seen anything like it.

Still hiding her presence, she watched as the deities awed in amazement. The box was opened to reveal a dancing statue, with the soft melody of a harp, playing along with it.

The Goddess' face distorted. What a stupid item.

She turned away as she attempts to walk away, but failed as one of the noisy deities noticed her and decided to announce it.

"It's the beautiful Goddess of Death!" One shrieks cheerfully, "What brings you here, Freyja?"

'What brought me here? A junk.' Was what she thought as her eyes darted on the box the Goddess of Playfulness and Fun is holding.

"I just happened to pass by."

The deities shared glances. Freyja, the Goddess of Death, is someone who is elusive and is someone who doesn't show her face often. Most of the Gods that live inside the Palace has only seen her once or twice. She was that hard to catch.

She isn't one for idle chats too. When she sees a group of deities like these, she would usually reprimand them and tell them to go do their jobs. She doesn't care whether or not you are a minor or a major God, as long as you are in her domain, she will do whatever she wants. Which is why it is unusual for her to even answer their question. Why didn't she tell them to get back to work like she usually does?

"Would you like to see this music box we got from the human world, Freyja?" The Goddess of Playfulness and Fun suggested, offering her hand that is holding the music box.

'So it was called a music box.'

The Goddess of Death only stared at the box for a few seconds before looking away, "No, I'm fine. I still got work to do." Her eyes then went to the deities who flinched when her emotionless eyes bore onto them, "And if you're done, I suggest you go do your duties too."

The group backed away, it was as if there was some invisible force pushing them away from the Goddess. Her presence suddenly felt heavy, they don't know if it is just because she is a major God, or it's because her voice is authoritative and cold. Either way, they don't like it.

Freyja turned her back, finally leaving and walking away, not wanting to spare any more time with them.

---

Alma, is the God of Souls. He works and resides inside the palace, also working under the Goddess of Death, Freyja. He is one of the lucky people who get to see the Goddess almost every day, as he is her secretary and the one who accompanies her all the time. Well, their jobs are connected after all.

Speaking of souls, Alma's soul almost left his body when Freyja suddenly barged into the office, slamming the door shut as loud as she could. Her face was still expressionless, but based on the aura and energy she was emitting, Alma could tell that she was somewhat... embarrassed.

The Goddess of Death made her way to the table, she sat down and started picking up the papers piled neatly, courtesy of her secretary. Alma watched as the Goddess he serves started working without uttering a word.

"Freyja," he called, making the Goddess turn. "What happened?"

Freyja bit her lip. Alma has been working for her for a long time, he's been with her for how many years now. Her face may show no emotion, but Alma will still know if something happened, or something is bothering her.

"It's..." Freyja hesitated, "nothing."

Alma decided to let the topic go, as it looked like Freyja doesn't want to talk about it. Just as he was about to return to work, he caught her looking at the pile of gifts she received. They were all souvenirs given to her by the minor deities who descended the human world.

That was when it clicked.

"Goddess..." Alma trailed, "Do you perhaps, want to descend?"

The sudden question made Freyja freeze. She? Descend? Why would she want to descend? Their world is very much similar to the humans'. From objects, to artifacts, and even to foods. The only difference is that Gods reside there, and humans in theirs. What makes their world so special?

Alma smiled, feeling amazed at how the Goddess went silent. It looked like he hit the bulls eye.

Freyja turned to her secretary, squinting her eyes and frowning upon Alma's expression. She doesn't like how he looks at her, it's as if Alma felt relieved.

"What's with that face, Alma?"

"Nothing." He laughed, "You're just so cute, Freyja."

The Goddess' face suddenly felt hot. She got flustered upon the sudden compliment. She didn't expect to receive and be said such words.

"Shut up, Alma." Freyja uttered as she looked away to hide her face from the God.

Alma chuckled and chose not to tell the Goddess about her blushing cheeks. She might just not go out of her office for a whole month if he told her about it.

"Anyway, why don't you try visiting the humans?" Was Alma's suggestion.

Freyja stopped. "What do you mean? I always visit the humans."

Being the Goddess of Death meant a lot of interaction with humans. She had to do her part in bringing them eternal peace, or in short, death.

The God of Soul observed Freyja as her expression became sullen. He knows that she always felt guilty whenever she does her job. She may not look like it, but Freyja is someone with a good soul. It's just that she had responsibilities and duties to fulfill.

"No, I meant as a vacation, Freyja." He spoke in a tender voice.

"Vacation?"

"Yes, vacation... I think it's time for you to take a break, don't you think?"

Freyja tilted her head as she checks her appearance in front of a mirror. Her outfit consisted of a simple white dress with sleeves that are off the shoulder, and as for her accessories, she only wore a pair of gold earrings that Alma forced her to wear.

Well she looks decent enough.

She sighed, clearly still not over the fact that she is now in the world where humans live. She took a good look at around her, she's currently out in the streets, in front of a store that sells mirrors. There were people every where and she felt overwhelmed with the amount of humans walking back and forth.

She suddenly felt dizzy. 'The human world really isn't for me.'

Despite wanting to go back home, Freyja still continued to wander around the market. She watched every little thing the humans would do that she found interesting. Curiosity got the best of her homesickness and in just seconds, she found herself immersed in her own little tour of the town.

While munching on a sweet cloud the humans called cotton candy, the Goddess came across a crowd of people watching a fight. She can spot a few Gods blending in the group of people, she even recognized a major God that is known to spark Chaos. That God is probably the reason why the fight started.

After a minute of just standing there and debating on whether or not she should go check, Freyja decided to give in. She finished eating the cotton candy first before she started walking to get close to the crowd.

The Goddess frowned upon the violence that was happening in front of her. The punches the two humans threw at each other were all rough and brutal.

Freyja turned to look at the God of Chaos just a few inches away from her, and she internally smiled when she saw how invested he was in the fight. The blood that came from both humans made the God go feral as his cheers became louder.

She was getting disturbed by how much these people hurt each other, and she was about to step in to somehow help, when a new group came to stop the fight.

"What is going on here?"

A stern voice echoed. It came from a man on a white princely suit, a sword tucked on his waist, and behind him were men that Freyja could recognize as knights.

"General." The crowd of people bowed, even the Gods that were on the scene lowered their heads in front of him, this also includes the major God of Chaos.

Because of this, the Goddess of Death, Freyja, had no choice but to follow in order to not raise suspicion.

The General then observed the humans in front of him, his eyes stopping at a certain lady. She is a beauty, and he can't help but think that she looks like a royalty. And if not, maybe of nobility.

"General, you're finally here."

That is when he snaps out of his thoughts. Just what was he doing? He was supposed to investigate the fight that gathered this crowd, not to stare at some woman he found attractive.

He turned to look at the knight that called for his attention, "Right. What happened here?"

Once the General reverted his attention to the knight, Freyja lifted her head as the people around her started walking away and going back to what they were previously doing. Surprisingly, the God of Chaos was not able to recognize her. It was probably because they only met once, and only once.

Just as she was about to walk away, she felt someone's gaze. She turned to check if what she felt was correct, and to her surprise, her eyes met the General's.

Freyja tilted her head, wondering as to why he was staring at her. Does he perhaps want to talk to her? But why? They don't know each other. The General is weird.

Not knowing what to do, Freyja decided to just give the General a small smile and wave as a good bye before she turned around to leave, oblivious of what she just did to the General.

"General? Are you listening?" The knight waved his hand in front of the man who was left in awe.

With wide eyes, the General slowly turned to the knight who obviously looks lost. Then, the poor knight got shook like a pepper shaker by the General who got captivated by the Goddess' beauty.

"D-did you see that?"

"Saw what, General?" The knight answered despite feeling like his world is spinning.

"Her smile! She smiled at me!"

The knight could do nothing but scratch his head in confusion.

---

Deities don't feel sleepy nor hungry. Therefore they could roam around the human world for as long as they want without needing to sleep or eat. They can eat and sleep if they want to, but since it isn't necessary, most of them just don't.

"I'm bored." Freyja mumbled.

The Goddess of Death is currently wandering the streets, much like what she did earlier. She had run out of things to do as she already did every thing she could possibly do in a market.

Holding two sticks of barbecue in both hands, Freyja looked around to try and find somewhere she can sit on. Her feet are now sore from walking around all day and she feels tired.

After biting on a meat from her food, she finally found a bench not that far from her. She noticed how there weren't any lights in that particular place. It looked dark and eerie but, that didn't bother her at all. Instead, it was actually a perfect place for a Goddess like her.

She made her way to the bench and immediately sat down. The minute she finished her food, she noticed someone who was coming towards her direction. She found the stranger's figure familiar as she used her powers to help her see in the dark.

"General?"

Xavier Vaughn Howell is the one and only Grand Duke of the Etraniel Empire. He's the cousin of the Emperor and is the only blood-related relative the Emperor left to live. He holds half the military power next to the said Emperor, because of this, he is now known as 'General' despite being a duke.

"What brings you here, General?" The Goddess asked, curious as to what brought the General in a dark place like this and at this late at night.

Xavier stared at the lady in front of him. She is beautiful indeed. He had admired her from afar, and even from then she looks breathtaking. Up close, she looks ethereal... like she doesn't belong in the world he lives in.

"I'm on a night patrol my lady." He answers, "How about you? What are you doing, sitting in a shady place like this?"

The Goddess stared, "I'm just, taking a little rest."

One of his eyebrow arched, what kind of noble would want to rest in an unlit spot such as this? It's unsafe and there could be bad guys lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack. But thoughts like that doesn't seem to cross the lady's mind.

"My lady, it is dangerous to stay in this area. How about I escort you home? Can you tell me which house you belong to?" Xavier suggested.

Freyja froze as she realized she had nowhere to go to. Alma didn't exactly tell her anything about a house, that guy just shoved her into the boundary between their worlds after getting her dressed then called it a day.

The Goddess bit her lip, what is she going to do now? She can't really say that she's homeless when it looked like the General thinks she was someone of status.

After thinking about it for a long time, Freyja suddenly stood up, startling the General in the process. "Thank you for the offer, but I think I can go home by myself." She said, bowing, as she turns around to leave.

But, Xavier managed to grab her wrist, stopping her.

"I insist, my lady." With wide eyes, the Goddess looked at the hand that grabbed her. She then raised her head to meet the General's eyes.

Xavier looks so serious, and Freyja knows that he sincerely just wants to help. But she doesn't want to risk spilling any information that might give him a hint about her identity. A lady like her that dresses, acts, and speaks like a noble but doesn't even have a house? That's ridiculous.

Freyja hesitated, she's slowly getting frustrated and the growing feeling of regret is now starting to take over her. She suddenly wished she never agreed to descending the human world, then she wouldn't have to think about things like these.

"I..." she sighed, here goes nothing, "I got kicked out by my family so-" She turned her gaze away, silently hoping that the General won't be able to see through her lies, "I was hoping I could find a place to spend the night but as you can see, I haven't found anything yet."

Xavier stared at the embarrassed lady in front of him, he suddenly wondered what could be the reason she got disowned by her own family like that. And was it really that bad that they had to leave her out in the cold streets without giving her a single penny?

The Goddess let out a sigh of relief when the General finally decides let go of her wrist. "T-that, is why it's fine." She gave Xavier a small smile, "I know you are worried about my well-being but, this is something I wish to do alone. I'll be able to find a place to stay soon so please be at ease." She lowered her head once again, "Good night, General."

'Is she... serious?' Was Xavier's though as his mouth hanged open. He can't just leave her be it's dangerous, but she, herself, wanted to do things independently, and he knows that if he pushed her a little more further she might just get mad at him for being meddling so much.

The General ruffled his hair as a sign of frustration. What if he just offered the lady to stay with him in his house? 'No, that would be inappropriate.' But she can just stay there for tonight and he can help her find her own house later. 'A good idea but still sounds inappropriate.'

'C'mon Xavier it's not like you're actually going to try anything right?' He went quiet with the sudden thought that came. Yeah.. it's not like he'll have the guts to do anything to the lady.

And that is when he decided to make a run for it. He's sure that the Goddess hasn't gotten that far yet since it still hasn't been 20 minutes since she left.

It turns out the General was right. He immediately found Freyja talking to a store owner, though he doesn't want to interrupt their conversation, Xavier went and excused the lady before dragging her somewhere with lesser people.

Surprised by the sudden events, the Goddess was not able to react and had just let the General drag her to who knows where.

"My lady, you can sleep at my place tonight."

Freyja blinked... then blinked again, and again, and again, and again. She only stopped when she realized what the guy just said.

"D-did I hear you right?" She looked at Xavier with disbelief, "You want me to stay where?" She asked, trying to confirm if she had gone deaf or it was what he really said.

The General sighed, he just know that the lady will think that he is 'that' kind of guy because of his outrageous suggestion, but it's better than nothing right? His guilty conscience will eat him up if he doesn't do anything to help the Goddess.

"I... I am offering you to let the night pass at my house." Xavier then met Freyja's eyes, "I know you said you don't need my help but my lady, that would hurt my pride as a Knight. I had pledged to protect this Empire and its people, and if I can't even do a simple task such as to help you find some place to stay, I would feel guilty. So please, my lady... let me."