This Ascent to Divinity is Lewder than Expected (A Futa LitRPG)

4.32 - Overdue Talks

Zoey started from the beginning. There wasn't much to go over. The difficulty of the conversation came from the sheer outlandishness, not the quantity of content.

She laid it out in quick, practical terms. Her first meeting with Ephy, her transportation to the shard, then today, the new discoveries: more about the 'threat', Mel, and briefly how Zoey had been purposefully arranged to meet Rosalie.

That last part made Rosalie go quiet. It danced around her past, whatever it was, and made it clear Zoey knew something was going on. Though Ephy's intervention had hardly been what gave that away. Rather, Rosalie's behavior itself had. Even Delta had picked it up—though what 'it' meant specifically eluded them.

Zoey didn't expect any explanation—not today, at least—and Rosalie didn't provide one, though she seemed hesitant, as if warring briefly with herself over whether she should. But they had more pressings topics to go over, so they silently put it to the side.

When Zoey was done, she sat back and waited, concerned, for how Rosalie would respond.

For a few moments, she chewed over the topic. Finally, she said, "It does explain a lot."

"You believe me, then?"

Piercing blue eyes scrutinized her, a frown tugging the edges of her lips. "Of course I believe you. There's too much supporting evidence. Your runes alone might have sold it."

Zoey relaxed. That this wouldn't end up with her girlfriend thinking she was crazy came as a surprisingly large relief. She'd been prepared to navigate that result, but that she didn't have to was obviously preferable.

"Okay. Good. I'm glad."

"Another world, though," Rosalie said. "Not just a splinter, but separated entirely from the rest. It's hard to take in."

"At least I remember most of it," Zoey said. "The memory scrambling was mostly personal stuff, not general knowledge."

Rosalie frowned. "And I'm not pleased about that, either. Or your involvement with a goddess. That's troubling. Dangerous."

"The world's apparently ending, so compared to that ..." Zoey shrugged. "Plus, we should be happy we have an ally."

"But why her?"

"The goddess of sex? Good question."

Why not any of the others? For that matter, did they all exist? Ephy apparently had a place in this world's pantheon, but did that mean the entire pantheon was real? Zoey hesitated. Religion was, obviously, a touchy subject, and while Rosalie didn't come off as a pious person, questioning her on whether her gods were real could be a thorny conversation.

"Is there one named Ezariel?" Zoey asked. "In your pantheon?" That was the safe place to start.

"No. There isn't. I wanted to bring that up, too."

During Zoey's explanation, she'd simply gotten through all the reveals, rather than fielding questions. Now that the basics were in the open, they both had plenty of clarifications they wanted.

"But Ephy called this world his," Zoey said. "More than hers. And she's an actual goddess of yours, but he isn't?"

Rosalie's frown deepened. "You're asking me if the others are real, since Ephythithys," she pursed her lips, "Ephy, is apparently the only one looking to help."

"I guess."

"There are instances of members of the pantheon descending and intervening in mortal affairs," Rosalie said, "but, admittedly, I don't know the validity of such stories. And not many are recent. My father, at least—"