Walking up the stairs, I felt a little bad for the young human I had just likely gotten in trouble.

Or well… about to get in a lot of trouble.

She had spent most the day running around having fun. I had joined along, mostly to see more of the city myself, but all I'd accomplished in doing so made me ever more eager to meet this Blue One.

This city was a utopia. Even though lacking in certain comforts, such as finer plumbing and electricity… in every other manner this place was perfect.

Thanks to Marie, I had been able to visit many of the shops all throughout the capital. I had been able to walk through whole districts, even through some of the housing ones. From the food stalls, to cloth shops and everything in-between, they had an abundance of goods and products. And not only did they have a lot of it, pretty much everything was free to take. By the end of the day I had struggled to carry all the junk Marie had gathered haphazardly, simply because every shopkeeper deigned it on themselves to bless her with far more than she needed.

There was nothing wrong, or too strange, with a capital city being flushed with goods and products. Nor even was there anything too strange about a society that didn't use any form of currency or credit. Especially when one considered that they utilized monarch labor to support the backbone of it.

Food was cheap when a giant monarch was capable of tilling miles of land with ease, doing the work of hundreds of stout workers without breaking a sweat.

And there was not much of a surprise to see, and learn, that this place had basically no crime at all. And such a fact was made ever more apparent by the constant lack of guards or soldiers.

There were no guards, except at the entrances to the city. And even then they hadn't been outright guards or border patrol; they had simply been there to guide and direct the traffic. It wasn't as if Marie and I had needed to check-in, explain who we were, or pay any kind of entry tax or something.

And to top it off the city was littered with community driven projects.

Massive theaters for entertainment. Water parks for children to cool off in the summer heat. An abundance of fancy and unique foodstuffs to give the citizens a myriad of options as to not get bored…

Pausing half-way up the stairs I turned to look out at the capital around me.

I was climbing up to the so called Keep. The castle where the Blue One, the Goddess of this land, resided.

It was quite a climb. It felt like I was ascending a huge mountain. The castle was still a distance away, and was huge… and by the looks of the city below, the whole city had been kept at a single level on purpose. So that those at the castle could overlook and oversee the whole area.

From up here the massive city looked empty, a little. Thanks to not having electricity, they relied on candles and lamplight. Oils and waxes. The dull glow of such fires lit up the city, but only in pockets here and there. Large swaths of the capital looked dark and empty… and likely were so because they weren't homes but businesses and industry. Warehouses and shops, where now that it was night-time had no one in them and thus needed not to be lit up.

But, thanks to that darkness from a lack of consisting lighting… there was another tall tell that this place was unique.

A faint blue glow could be seen all throughout the city. In most cases it was a small blue line, but occasionally it curved or pooled. Such as in the fountains. The glow was obvious, since I'd seen it since entering the city. It was the water that flowed all throughout the city, glowing as if from an algae or something.

The whole city seemed to be inundated with the stuff. It flowed through cisterns, aqueducts, and every pond or pool of water was connected to it. Even the water park that Marie had enjoyed had used that water… which had concerned me, but I wasn't sure what to think about it yet.

I felt divinity from the water, but no more than I felt in everything else here at least. If it was doing something unique beyond just being created by a god I couldn't tell.

For all I knew it was just a decorative thing.

Turning back ahead, I sighed as I went back to climbing the stairs.

I'd left Marie behind. At the inn.

She had spent so much time running around, enjoying the sights and pleasures of the city, she had misjudged the time of day. And once she noticed the sun going down, it had been too late to take me to the castle. So she had, with honest regret and embarrassment, found an inn with me and promised to take me to the castle first thing in the morning.

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I didn't mind it though. I played along, and once she had laid down and passed out thanks to how much fun she had all day, I had slipped away on my own.

Honestly I was glad for it.

I was to confront a god. Fight her, and kill her.

It was better that Marie had nothing to do with it.

The inn I had found with her had been far to the north of the city. Almost near the same gate we had entered from. She had questioned why we'd found one so far away from the castle, but I had gotten her to ignore that by focusing on the diner we had ate instead.

Hopefully that was far enough. I expected, and knew, there would be collateral damage from my upcoming battle with the god… but…

Glancing again behind me, at the quiet city… I felt a little bad for them all.

It was obvious the god had built this with their comfort in mind. The people were simple, and odd, but not unhappy. They had jobs, which were mundane but filling. They had all the food and water they wanted. They had… well… as far as I could tell, freedom even.

I could see now why so many of my people had been lulled by this Blue One, if this was what they had been promised.

Yes, my nations had technology. Certain things that were far better, in terms of quality of life…

But the kind of simplicity this place offered was very attractive. Especially for non-humans.

A lot of them liked living under a higher power. It gave them comfort. Surety in their lives.

Especially when that higher power seemed so willing and able to help them.

This place suffered no storms. No famines. No war. It was warm during the day, and cool at night. Everyone born here was healthy, and everyone was friendly with one another. Here you were treated as a neighbor, even if you'd never met that individual before in your life.

Whereas in my nations…

I thought of the wars. The famines, thanks to the trains being stolen. The wars with other nations around us, who were envious of our wealth and lives. I thought of the crime that required patrols and the lives lost to construction as we built wonders such as giant dams for power, or tunnels for the trains.

My nation had been built by blood and sweat. Because we couldn't, I couldn't, just snap my fingers and fix a problem.

So yes… I saw the attraction. I could understand the lure of this place, and all it offered.

But I also saw the shadows lurking within it.

Shadows casted by giant monarchs.

Shadows of warehouses full of goods, stolen from my people.

Shadows of a god, looming over you constantly.

Reaching the top of the stairs, I slowed as I watched someone walk out from a small building. One of stone.

She had wings. Very… familiar… ones...

"Nectar…?" I couldn't believe what I was seeing, as I watched a single-eared bat walk over to me with a smile.

"Hello, Lord Vim. I've been waiting for you," Nectar said with a greeting.

By my parents, it was her! Not only would I recognize her scars, the missing ear and side of her face that I had ripped off in anger so many years ago, I recognized that voice. It was older, deeper, but that was to be expected…

Stunned, I was at a loss for words as she gave me a soft smile as she tilted her head at me. "What took you so long…? You've been in this nation for over a week now!"

Coughing lightly, I smiled and nodded. "I got a little… sidetracked," I admitted.

"Huh… here I thought you'd be running around, killing all the monarchs. Yet you've not harmed a single one, have you? Why is that?" Nectar asked.

Because I hadn't wanted the god to notice I was here and flee, of course…

Glancing her up and down, I wondered how long she'd been here. She had disappeared not long after the train-incident… not that I ever blamed her. But I had not realized she had come here, I had simply thought she had retreated. To live away from me and those around me.

"You look well," I said, and I meant it.

Nectar's wings shifted a little… and then she slowly nodded. "I am. I even have children now, Vim. In fact I recently greeted my first grandchild," she said.

Oh my… "Congratulations," I said.

She smiled and nodded, seemingly proud. "Yes… She is the light of my life…"

Hm… "So, as glad as I am to see you again…" I started to say.

Nectar nodded, her only remaining ear fluttering a little as she did. "Yes. I'm here for a reason."

"And that would be…?"

"To take you to her. She's been waiting," she said.

I see.

"Going to take me to her?" I asked carefully.

Nectar shifted a little, and gave me a strange smile. "Do you think I'd actually try to stop you, Vim…? Even if I want to, desperately so, I know it is futile. I'd have more luck grabbing the sun," she said.

"Hm… Do you think I won't do it?" I asked.

Nectar's wings shuffled, and she nodded. "You will. I… know you will. But I have hope. I have faith," she said.

Hope? Faith? "That… what? That she'll defeat me?" I asked. Nectar has seen me kill dozens of gods with her own eyes, I couldn't imagine her actually believing such a thing was possible. Even if she had so called faith.

"That you'll be swayed by her words," Nectar answered.

Ah…

I gently nodded, understanding what she meant.

For a long moment there was silence, and then Nectar gently coughed and nodded. "Let's go, then…" she whispered.

"Lead the way."

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