Benjamine has big smile on his face after seeing the earth mother Bhumi. He struggles to understand how she came to possess a human before he speaks up.
"I must say, I didn't take you for the type to use human vessels."
She starts giggling.
"After two millennia, that's the first thing you say. You haven't changed, even after all this time. I guess that's part of who you are though."
"What's that supposed to mean? It's a valid remark."
The two begin laughing like maniacs, causing the soldiers to freeze in place. She ⁷ )using⁷
The soldiers continue with their training as usual. Benjamine waits patiently for her to answer but nothing comes. She turns back to him and sighs before speaking in her soothing but firm voice.
"To answer your uncertainty, I only chose this vessel to watch over the young princess. I have no intension of interfering with the workings of this world. That's why I'm only revealing myself to you now, because neither Bireth or Anthra know that I am watching them."
Benjamine grab's his chin and starts thinking about something, until Bhumi breaks his serious expression.
"By the way Benjamine. How's that other thing inside coping? Surely, he's getting bored not being able to do anything?"
"I think it best we take this somewhere more private. I don't want the others to know about Shadow yet."
She nods and casts a dense mist over the area before it slowly dissipates taking the two of them with it. Benjamine finds himself in a beautiful garden surrounded by fruit trees and running streams. As he looks around, he sees Bhumi sitting on soft grass under a tree. Her long silky black hair flows in rhythm with the trees, her brown skin is so smooth it reflects the sunlight. Her long red saree covers her entire body, leaving only her forearms and hands exposed. Her eyes are a light shade of brown that sparkle like the rays of sunlight shining through the trees, her features are defined with a face that is flawless, it even fills gods with jealousy.
All Benjamine can do is take in her divine beauty as he approaches. She speaks to him with a voice sides within you.
Shadow starts speaking to Benjamine, clearly annoyed.
"How dare that woman speak of me that way? Does she not know her place in the presence of a primordial?"
Benjamine chuckles to himself before responding.
"What are you so upset about? She just described you perfectly."
"Both of you find a hole and die."
Shadow remains silent, clearly upset. Benjamine begins telling Bhumi about everything that has happened since he's imprisonment, and how he came to be set free by Wilter and the others. Even his encounter with Tartarus in the dungeon.
"Hold on! Did you just say Tartarus?"
"Yes, I did. Is there something wrong?"
"What happened when you encountered him? What did you do?"
"To put it simply, I killed his soul making sure he can never be reincarnated by those bastards."
Bhumi let's out a long sigh.
"He's the worst one you could've run into after being set free. With his death, you have started a chain reaction of events."
"What do you mean?"
"You killed the one god who was keeping the most dangerous prisoner's captive in the prison realm, and with his death the seal surrounding the prison realm has weakened. It's only a matter of time before it breaks, releasing the most dangerous people to have walked the face of the world."
Benjamine sits there composed without showing emotion.
"What has happened cannot be undone. I knew my actions would have consequences; therefore, I will deal with those consequences accordingly. Even if it means more killing."
Bhumi closes her eyes as a tear runs down her cheek.
"I can see the scars from your past have not healed. It saddens me to see you haven't changed after all this time. But it is not my place to get involved, after all, you vowed to kill all the gods and I will continue to support you as I did millennia ago."
"Thank you, Bhumi. Things would've been better if I never learned a disturbing truth from that girl Freyja."
Intrigue fills Bhumi's face.
"What might that be?"
"A thousand years after my imprisonment, those bastards went and purged those who supported me in my fight against them."
A malicious aura surrounds Benjamine, as Bhumi is shocked by his word.
"Even after I warned them what would happen if they did. That is why I started with Tartarus; he was the first one I encountered. So, I killed him, I was so excited from feeling his blood run down my arm when I thrust it right through his body and grabbed his soul."
Bhumi remains composed as she senses the malicious aura dissipate. Benjamine exhales a heavy sigh before continuing with his story like nothing ever happened. After listening to his whole story, Bhumi smiles at him full of compassion.
"Thank you, Benjamine. You have revealed something to me I knew nothing about. For this, I thank you. Please continue to grow on your journey and become someone the gods can truly fear."
"Oh. One more thing before I let you have a talk with Shadow. The one pulling the strings behind the scenes at Eribis is someone you're very familiar with. The goddess Ginin."
Bhumi pauses for a moment before her face becomes serious and her eyes light up.
"What does that harlot think she's doing interfering with matters of the world?"
"This is just speculation from myself and Shadow. We think she's trying to take over the city first and then try to take over the kingdom."
Bhumi is silent in deep thought. She sighs before making eye contact with Benjamine.
"Then I don't think I have to tell you how important it is to stop her plans as soon as possible. Will you be able to control your bloodlust until then?"
"Of course. After all, she doesn't know I've been freed from the prison realm, so I currently have the element of surprise for anything she throws at us. But the minute she exposes herself, I will kill her."
"I see. Then I wish you the best of luck with the road ahead. Remember, once you've killed her, the other's will be on to you. So, you'll have to move swiftly and not draw out the fight."
Benjamine bows his head towards her then stands up and Bhumi follows suite.
"Walk with me, Benjamine."
He reluctantly agrees and walks with her through the beautiful Eden she resides in. While walking, Bhumi begins speaking.
"This brings back memories of when you had just received your paladin powers and accidently stumbled upon this Eden. I had been watching you for a long time before then, observing everything you did and all the bonds and allies you made along the way. Then when I met you in person, I couldn't help but feel uneasy around you, now the uneasiness is much stronger. It's as if some force inside you awakened."
Benjamine remains silent thinking of whether he should tell her the reason for it. He composes himself before responding.
"It was during my training with Shadow in the depths of my soul. On the verge of losing, both my parents appeared before me and reminded me of the blood that flows through my veins. The blood of a Divine Mage, and the other one which is the reason for the uneasiness you feel, the blood of the Soul Killer's."
Bhumi suddenly stops, a drop of sweat running down her face.
"Did you just say Soul Killer's?"
"Yes. Didn't you know who my parents were?"
"I only observe people, I don't investigate their bloodlines. I was under the impression that the Soul Killer's resided within an entirely different realm and that they never leave it."
"That wasn't the case for my dad. He was allowed to leave because he decided to live in the human realm with my mother. From what I can remember, the Bloodgrave family name comes from one of the first founders of their realm. They encountered a lot of resistance on their journey to unite their kin. At that time, the founder of my bloodline killed all who stood in their way and would always bury his enemies then leave the grave stained in a pool of blood, and so the family name that was given to him was Bloodgrave. Since then, the Bloodgraves have been considered the sword of the Soul Killer realm. So, you could say he was also a spy for them."
Bhumi can't help but show surprise after hearing him speak. She stops at a fruit tree, picks two pieces of fruit and offers one to Benjamine who takes it. While eating, Bhumi asks a question.
"Do you intend on helping the princess with her endeavour?"
"I wasn't going to at first, but after seeing that harlot, I changed my mind. So yes, I will help her but only because I get a chance to kill another one of them."
An evil expression covers his face as he imagines it happening, leaving Bhumi uncomfortable.
"I thank you for your willingness to help her. If there is anything I can do to help you in your fight against them, please let me know."
"I don't want you to involve yourself with this conflict. But I would like you to do something for me. Find the staff of Raito so that I can take it back."
"The staff of Raito has not been seen since you were imprisoned. Only Raito himself knows of its whereabouts and to find him, you'll need to head to the capitol of this kingdom, The City of Ubertas. It is there where you will find his followers, they hide in the shadows to avoid prying eyes, especially from the other gods. If you start with them, I'm sure you'll find your staff."
"Thank you, Bhumi. I will remember your words."
"Thank you, Benjamine. Now I would like to speak to that bombastic primordial. Can you go get him for me please."
Benjamine gives a nervous laugh as he calls upon Shadow.
"Shutsugen, Kage."
Powerful, dark matter envelopes Benjamine and disappears, revealing Shadow's tall, muscular figure, with his black hair flowing in the wind and piercing green eyes. He looks at Bhumi, rage fills his face.
"How dare you call me bombastic you despicable woman? Don't you know if it wasn't for this human, I'd have killed you long ago."
Shadow suddenly starts choaking, finding it hard to breath. Then Benjamine speaks up.
"I would watch what you say, Shadow. Do I have to remind you of that one time I let you take over to prove a point and then you lost your temper?"
Shadow scowls and remains quiet, waiting for Bhumi to speak. She can't help but laugh at his outburst of rage which just makes him more irritated.
"Relax, primordial. I only want to speak to you regarding what's happening with the others."
Shadow gives her an attentive ear as she continues speaking.
"Things aren't looking good for the others. The gods have sent special weapons to take out the primordials and as a result, Chikyū and Mizu have fallen in battle. The others have gone into hiding."
Shadow balls his hands into fists at the news of two primordial's being killed. His sinister aura starts enveloping the forest as he tries to control his anger. Bhumi conjures up a giant rock and sends it flying towards Shadow, hitting him hard. He snaps out of his daze and immediately commands the aura to return to him. After an intense moment, the forest returns to normal, and Bhumi relaxes.
"I am truly sorry Shadow. I didn't know how else to tell you."
"That's alright Bhumi. I now share more of Benjamine's hatred towards those bastards. I will make all of them pay."
He swaps with Benjamine and returns inside Benjamine's soul. Benjamine has a morbid expression on his face after hearing and feeling Shadow's emotions.
"Will he be alright?"
"He'll be fine. Just be careful you don't get consumed by his rage when you fight Ginin. If you do, you will be lost forever."
"I have heeded your warning Bhumi, and I promise to not let it happen."
"Good. Our time is up now. Please return to your realm and assist Anthra in taking back the city. I will continue watching over her."
With a short nod from Benjamine, she sends him back to the living realm. When he opens his eyes, he is still standing on the balcony with Bireth, her eyes are covered by a haze before she returns to her senses.
"What just happened? I feel like I was in a different place."
"It's nothing to concern yourself over Bireth. What matters most is preparing to take back Erib from its corrupted king and protecting the princess. I have decided to help you with your rebellion, but I will not promise the safety of the city if the fighting gets out of hand."
"Very well, Benjamine. Let us return to the princess and your friends to discuss our plan of action."
He nod's before turning around and heading back down the tunnel, Bireth following him.
"Tell me, Benjamine. Who are you really? No beating around the bush this time. I need to know I can trust you to look after the princess."
He stops, grabs her shoulders and pushes her against the wall. His voice betrays no emotion as he speaks.
"Listen here, woman. I am not going to tell you anything about me. All you need to know is that you can count on me to guarantee your victory. I am not going to babysit a young princess so you can feel better. Remember one thing, I only care about killing the bastards who imprisoned me. Everything else has no value."
She stands there unable to withstand his bloodlust and starts shaking. When he releases her, she falls to the ground unable to stand up again for a while. Her eyes are full of terror after what she just experienced as she watches Benjamine disappear deeper into the tunnel.
"What kind of a monster is he? I can't trust him around the princess. I must protect her at all costs. I don't even want to imagine what he's capable of if he decided to turn on us."
Benjamine continues as he hears what she has said and closes his eyes before speaking to himself.
"You can be as wary of me as you want to. But the less you know, the better and safer for both of you."
He returns to the others and sits down with them as they enjoy a feast with good drinks. Princess Anthra looks around before asking Benjamine.
"Where is Bireth, sir Benjamine?"
"Don't worry, I passed her on my way back. I'm sure she's just resting after what happened earlier."
She thinks over his words but continues talking to the others as Bireth struggles to keep her balance when she appears before them. The princess is shocked at her state before rushing over.
"What has happened to you Bireth?"
"Forgive me, princess Anthra. I'm just exhausted after training to blow off some steam. Nothing for you to worry about."
She looks over at Benjamine who sits there in thought ignoring her glare, before she takes a seat next to the princess. Princess Anthra silences everyone before speaking.
"Now, let us discuss our plan to take back Erib."