Arcana: the downfall

Saras awoke and picked up his minimal stuff he’d had on him, walking over to everyone else.

“Sleep well friend?”
Edward asked Saras.

Saras nods. “Pretty well, yeah. You?”

Tortwig’s eyes widened. “Wow. That’s- Wow.”
She didn’t seemed cheered up exactly, but she was no longer sad.

Duo flew over to Saras and chirped cheerfully, clearly greeting him.

Frostvin waited for the group to leave.

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Oliver continued packing up the tents

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“I slept pretty well actually. Best sleep I’ve had since I started on this trip. Oh! Here’s something I think you’ll really like. I am officially a dad now.”
Edward said, picking up Melissa.

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Quadro began to assist Oliver.

Saras chuckles. “Good. Now don’t screw it up.” He says in a playful manner.

“Trust me, I won’t. I’d do anything for her. Isn’t that right?”
Edward gave Melissa a little tickle, and she giggled in response.

“Greetings.”
Delta said, flying up to Saras.

“I’m new here. Who are you?”
He asked.

“Saras.” He answers. “And you?”

“My name is Delta. I am an automaton created and sent here by the goddess of intelligence Pian Ya. It is my purpose to assist in the care of Melissa in any way I can.”
Delta said cheerfully, happily waving his tentacles from side to side.

“We found him when we woke up. He was just sorta there, in the tent.”
Edward explained.

“Interesting.” Saras comments.

“But why would would Pian Ya give me something like this?”
Melissa asked. Now that the initial excitement was past, she began to realize how strange it was.

“Pian Ya was a very… Very close friend. Family even. So she probably sent Delta here to help me take care of you.”

“But why would you be friends with her? She was one of the gods who did that horrible thing a super long time ago.”

“That’s right. She did…”
Edward said. There was a sorrow tinge to his voice. But he thought. He thought about Delta, about what she said the previous night, and everything he had known about the goddess.

“But… Sometimes good people, will do bad things. Sometimes they do it because they’re scared, or because they have to. It might not be easy, or what they want to do, but in their mind it’s the only option. And sometimes… Sometimes you can’t let a single mistake define a person. Sometimes, even if they did something really bad, you need to forgive them.”
Edward spoke in a soft and slow tone. Nearly tearing up a little bit. As he spoke he realized he needed to hear these words just as much as Melissa did.

“So Pian Ya isn’t a bad person then?”
Melissa asked, confused.

“No… I guess she isn’t…”

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Tortwig looked around for Duo, who was listening to Edward. She called sternly in Kitmaj, and Duo floated over with a beep. She scolded him in Kitmaj, and Duo whistled in understanding.
Tortwig added a few words and Duo gave an affirmative beep, before floating over to Quadro to assist with packing up.

“I have made a horrible mistake.”
Edward said under his breath. He stood up and said

“I’ll be right back. I have to fix something. If everyone is ready to go before I get back, just go ahead and leave. I’ll catch up.”

Edward walked back to the temple with the Pian Ya shrine. He got on his knees and pleaded for her to appear.

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At first Nothing happened

Duo and Quadro continued helping pack up the tents and cart.

Edward continued, not willing to give up.
“Please. Goddess of knowledge, wisdom, and intellect, I beg of you please appear before me so that I may speak with you.”

“…yes?” She asked, from behind him, her tone cautious

Edward quickly rose to his feet and turned to face her. Without saying a word he embraced the goddess.

“I’m sorry.”
He said. His voice was almost sobbing.

“I’m so sorry. I was angry and scared and I didn’t know what to think. I just feel so awful pushing you away like I did. After everything you’ve done for me, after all the time we’ve been together, I tried to throw it all away like it meant nothing. I just hope you can forgive me.”

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