Page 158 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
I raised an eyebrow.
“What have the gods said?” Julian asked. “About you coming to this world or going home? What did Fate say?”
One of my ears twitched. “Well … Fate often sends me helpful tips and prophecies that I can use to change the future.”
“But when you went to her temple and asked for guidance, what did Fate actuallysay?”
I shook my head. “She said nothing.”
CHAPTER 86
A Wayward World-Jumping Soul
Julian
Julian’s eyebrows rose of their own accord. “Nothing?”
“She never answered. And I haven’t—Wait.” Gerda scrunched up her nose. “Does the sanctuary count as a temple?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, then I’ve only been to Fate and Light’s temples.”
“Just that?” he asked.
Gerda shrugged. “Yes?”
“You found yourself in another world anddidn’timmediately go toeverygod and ask for guidance?” He asked, incredulous. He would be storming every temple in the kingdom if something like that had happened to him. His own family had long followed Light, so much so they’d built the sanctuary in her honor, but different gods held different domains. If one didn’t answer, it could be because there was another god more apt for the task.
Still, he was surprised that Gerda’s prayers had been left entirely unanswered. The gods didn’t speak toeveryonewho prayed on their sacred grounds, but they did offer guidance on important matters or exceptional circumstances.
And a wayward, world-jumping soul seemed exceptional tohim.
“Why bother? I had system and quest notifications that told me where I was and what I needed to do.” She shrugged. “And it wasn’t like I was in a position to just go on an adventure to hunt down every temple—I was thrown into things pretty quickly.”
“Did Gerda’s village not have a temple for every god?” he asked, tripping a bit as he referred to the previous Gerda, buthisGerda knew and didn’t seem to mind.
There were only ten gods; it was rare for a townnotto have a small shrine for each, even if they had only one temple.
She shook her head. “It wouldn’t matter if there was. When I woke up, I was trying to process Gerda’s memories and figure out what happened. It wasn’t pretty, and I ended up throwing Gerda’s ex-husband off the mountain … Unfortunately, he was the mayor of Yoka Village, and pretty well liked for an abusive piece of garbage … So I didn’t stick around for long.”
Julian recalled her previous retelling, and the twisted knot of anger that grew in the pit of his stomach was just as strong hearing this story the second time.
“That’s when I ran away to the Dark Enchanted Forest.” She looked off in the distance, reminiscing.
“I met Larry, this ancient bridge troll who took me in while I was still figuring things out. He was looking for an apprentice, and I needed a place to stay … I ended up living in the spare cot under his sewing table for a month. I wasn’t okay.” She reached out an unsteady hand to grip her mug, though she didn’t drink from it. “It took a while to get used to having a troll body.”
“What were you before?” he asked.
“Human,” she replied.
“Hm.” Julian tried to see her as a human, like his mother. Softer, with the same bright brown eyes but no tusks.
He would miss the tusks.
“There are ways—” he started. She shook her head.
“I know what you’re going to say, but Ilikewho I’ve become. I’m built like a brick house, and I feel amazing.” Gerda smiled; the first sincere smile he’d seen since yesterday. “It just took some getting used to. Besides, I’ve already found a treasure that lets me pretend to be human for a while, if I want to.”
