Gabe was late.
He had been drowning in work since dawn, his hands raw from scrubbing palace floors and his legs aching from running errands across the vast palace grounds. The morning had slipped through his fingers like sand, leaving him scrambling to make it to his lessons with the King. He could have asked the overseer for leniency, could have mentioned his private lessons with Deroki, but he knew better than to draw attention to himself.
The other palace help already regarded him with wary eyes, muttering about his time in the enclave. A commoner granted the honor of getting private lessons from the King? It was unheard of. If they found out, their quiet resentment might turn into outright hostility, and Gabe had enough burdens on his shoulders without inviting more.
At least he was spared from cleaning the King's chambers at the ungodly hours of the morning. The head caretaker had, at last, adjusted the schedule, moving the task to the evenings. It was a small mercy, though an imperfect one, Gabe despised getting himself filthy so late in the day. By then, he longed only for rest, not the stink of old cleaning reagents and sweat clinging to his skin.
Still panting from his sprint across the palace grounds, Gabe navigated the stone-paved pathways leading to the sunroom. Guards stationed along the corridors cast him curious glances as he passed. He kept his gaze forward, gripping the heavy history book against his chest, the weight of it pressing into his ribs.
When he finally reached the sunroom, the bright glow of the afternoon light bathed the chamber. Under the imposing statue of Goddess Deroraki, Deroki lounged carelessly, a book in hand, his posture utterly at ease. The King's long fingers idly toyed with the pages as he read, his expression unreadable.
Gabe hesitated, gulping down air to steady himself. The moment Deroki's sharp gaze landed on him, a knowing smile curved his lips. His piercing golden eyes gleamed with amusement as he took in Gabe's flushed face and disheveled appearance.
"You're late," he remarked, his voice laced with teasing.
Gabe ducked his head, his pulse still hammering from the run. "I apologize, Your Majesty," he said, bowing quickly, gripping his book so tightly his knuckles turned white.
The King hummed, setting his own book aside. "It's fine. I can wait a few minutes for my favorite pupil."
Deroki patted the empty space beside him, the invitation clear.
Gabe hesitated only for a moment before stepping forward, carefully lowering himself onto the marble seat where the King had gestured. Even as he sat, he could feel Deroki's gaze lingering on him.
Gabe clutched the heavy book to his chest, its worn cover cool against his trembling fingers. He dared not meet the King's gaze as he spoke, afraid that his excitement would betray him.
"I brought a history book today," Gabe announced, his voice quieter than intended.
Deroki, lounging back, tilting his head in mild amusement. "Did you now?" he mused, his golden eyes gleaming with curiosity.
Gabe saw the King shift slightly, leaning just enough to glimpse the title embossed on the cover. "Hmm..." Deroki hummed, a slow, knowing smirk curling on his lips. "History of Hestros."
"Yes!" he blurted, his eagerness impossible to contain.
Deroki simply observed him, his smirk deepening as the silence stretched between them. Then, with a casual shrug, he spoke. "Hestros' history isn't all that exciting. Everything you need to know is in that book, you don't need me for that."
Gabe's face fell for a moment before he shook his head. "But books lie." His grip on the book tightened. "They glorify and alter real incidents. You have been alive for centuries, Your Majesty. Who could be a better person to tell me the real history than you?"
The King chuckled, the sound low and smooth. "And how can you be so sure that I will tell you the truth?"
Gabe hesitated. "I... I..."
Laughter erupted from the King, sharp and full of amusement. "You are cute," he remarked with a playful glint in his eye. "Alright then, tell me what you've learned from that book." He gestured lazily toward the thick tome still clutched in Gabe's hands. "You've already read it, haven't you?"
Gabe nodded.
"Of course, you have." Deroki leaned forward, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "You should find a more interesting hobby." His smirk widened as he added, "Next time you visit the library... ask for books written by Varisel Sowoski. You'd enjoy them far more than this."
Gabe's face burned.
He knew exactly who Varisel Sowoski was and what kind of books he wrote. He had once glimpsed at it in an enclave vaisa's room, its cover alone had been enough to reveal its scandalous content. Steamy, explicit, and utterly sinful. Gabe cleared his throat, trying to banish the thought before it could settle too deeply.
Shaking off his embarrassment, he straightened and opened the book. "The book says... thousands of years ago, Hestros was just like any other kingdom," he began, falling into the well-rehearsed rhythm of memorized text.
"A small land tucked in the far north, existing but not truly thriving. The people were poor, uncivilized, struggling just to meet their basic needs. Then, King Orlan dedicated his life in building the tallest tower of the time. He climbed it in hopes of reaching closer to the gods, praying day and night."
Gabe paused to take a breath before continuing.
"He spent years in that tower, his servants bringing him food only once a day. The gods, moved by his dedication and devotion, took mercy upon him. They descended from the heavens and spoke to him. Impressed, they agreed to embrace the Kingdom of Hestros, walking its lands in their physical forms. They blessed its people, its soil, and after that day, Hestros became the second home of the gods on earth."
When Gabe finally looked up, Deroki's expression had changed. The King was no longer merely listening, he was amused, almost mocking. A slow, condescending smile curled on his lips.
Gabe's brows furrowed. "What is it? You seem... amused."
Deroki let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. "To be honest, I never bothered to read that particular history book." He leaned back against the statue, tilting his head toward the heavens. "But oh, I cannot believe how much they altered it."
Gabe frowned. "Altered it?"
"Oh, yes." Deroki's golden eyes glowed with something unreadable, something ancient, something knowing. "But to be fair... they had to. For their own survival. If humans knew the real history of Hestros, it could destroy them."
Gabe's breath caught in his throat. "Will you tell me?"
There was a pause.
Gabe swallowed before hastily adding, "Your Majesty."
Deroki chuckled at his slip up. He reached out, taking the book from Gabe's hands with effortless grace.
"Oh, my sweet mortal," he murmured, flipping through the pages as if they were meaningless scraps of paper. "Are you sure you want to know the truth?"
Gabe nodded.
Deroki's golden eyes gleamed with something unreadable. His voice dropped, smooth and laced with an eerie amusement as he spoke.
"You see, gods are not as holy as you think them to be."
Gabe barely breathed. His fingers twitched against the fabric of his robes, the weight of the history book now forgotten in his lap.
Deroki continued, his tone deceptively casual. "King Orlan did build a tower, yes. But it was nowhere close to being the tallest of its time. There was a temple, far taller, far older. Built by early forest dwellers with only the most basic knowledge of math and architecture. And yet, it was an engineering marvel, a structure of sheer brilliance compared to the pathetic scrap King Orlan erected."
Deroki's smirk faded slightly, his gaze distant as if watching ghosts of a long-lost era.
"At the top of that temple sat a devotee, far more dedicated than Orlan ever was. He prayed. He bled. He starved. He cried out for the gods with every fiber of his being. But no god ever answered him. No god even bothered to turn in his direction."
Gabe frowned. "Why?"
Deroki's jaw tightened. A darkness flickered across his face, passing through his features like a storm cloud. But just as quickly as it came, he exhaled and shook it off, his smirk returning, this time more sinister.
"Because he was not a king," Deroki said softly. "And certainly, he was not useful to them."
Gabe felt a chill creep up his spine.
The King leaned forward, his golden gaze locking onto Gabe's own, as if daring him to refute his next words.
"King Orlan's prayers were not answered because of his piety. No. His voice reached the gods because the very foundation of Hestros is built upon something far greater than human devotion. Beneath the palace, beneath the streets, beneath the land itself... lies a divine rift, an open wound between realms. A place where gods could exist in their truest, most terrible forms, free from limitation."
Gabe's throat felt dry. He struggled to find his voice. "A... a rift?"
Deroki hummed in approval. "Yes. A rupture in the very fabric of existence. But the idea of building the tower? That wasn't Orlan's."
He smirked. "It was whispered into his ear. Placed into his mind by his most trusted advisor... on the command of the gods."
Gabe swallowed hard.
"King Orlan was a fool," Deroki went on, his tone now dripping with quiet contempt. "A man who hardly cared for his people. He saw them as tools, as bodies to build his legacy. And the gods? Oh, they saw him the same way. A vessel. A pawn."
Gabe flinched. "But why?"
Deroki chuckled darkly. "Because gods had grown bored."
His words sent an icy shiver through Gabe's bones.
"They had spent eons trapped in their celestial domains, bound by laws they themselves had written. Laws that demanded righteousness, demanded balance, demanded control." Deroki's voice dropped to a near whisper, his gaze boring into Gabe's soul. "They didn't want to be righteous anymore."
Gabe felt his heart hammer against his ribs.
"They wanted to act on their desires. Their hunger. Their sins. They longed for a place where they could be, not just distant figures in temples, not just whispered names in prayers, but physical entities. Beings that could touch, taste, take. A place where they could indulge in pleasures, in chaos, in bloodlust."
Gabe clenched his fists by his side. He had spent his entire life believing that the gods were divine beings of wisdom and justice. That they were above mortal desires. Above corruption. But this...
"Orlan Hestros became their willing gatekeeper," Deroki finished, a slow, wicked smile playing on his lips. "And so the gods descended."
Gabe's breath was shallow. "They...they came to Hestros... not to bless it, but to use it for their selfish pleasures?"
Deroki's smile widened. "Exactly."
Silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. Gabe wanted to protest. Wanted to say that Deroki was wrong, that the gods were holy, righteous, merciful. But the weight of the King's words sat heavy in his chest.
He couldn't breathe.
He must have parted his lips in horror because the next thing he knew, Deroki was reaching out. A cool finger slid under Gabe's jaw, pressing just lightly enough to close his mouth.
"Close your mouth, my little mortal," Deroki murmured, tilting Gabe's chin upward so their eyes met.
Gabe trembled.
"Maybe there is no god," the King whispered, golden eyes aglow with something ancient. "Have you ever thought of that?"
The world tilted. Gabe felt dizzy.
"Maybe the gods are nothing more than beings like you." Deroki's lips curled, his touch feather-light but unyielding. "More powerful, yes. But also... more vulnerable."
Gabe didn't know what terrified him more.
The idea that gods were not divine at all.
Or the idea that they were, just in a way no one had ever dared to write in history books.
Gabe's chest tightened as he sat there, staring at Deroki. His words felt too heavy, too forbidden, too dangerous to even think about, let alone speak aloud.
He wasn't supposed to know this. No mortal was supposed to know this.
For a brief second, a terrible thought crossed his mind. Would he be allowed to live now that he knew truth?
His throat bobbed. He knew his place. He was nothing more than a servant, one of the many faceless souls that drifted through the grand halls of the palace. He shouldn't have been in the presence of such knowledge, let alone questioning a god who had seen the world before mortals had even learned to carve their names in stone.
And yet, his voice betrayed him.
"But... you are a god too."
Deroki's golden eyes flickered. Then, with a quiet exhale, he leaned back on his hands, fingers lazily tapping against the marbel.
"Not anymore," he murmured, almost as if the truth no longer pained him. "I am human now. I only carry shadows of the abilities I once had."
Gabe frowned. "Why did you tell me all this?"
A smirk tugged at the god-king's lips. "You wanted the truth."
"I did, but..." Gabe hesitated. "There are truths no one should know."
Deroki chuckled, the sound rich and deep. "Then you should always be careful about what you ask for, my little mortal." His gaze turned sharp. "Now that you know the truth, you should stop worshipping the gods."
The words struck something deep within Gabe. He clenched his fists, unsure how to respond, how to reconcile what he had always believed with what he had just learned.
His lips parted before he could stop himself. "But you are the only one I worship... worshipped."
Deroki stilled. Then, slowly, he smirked. "Only me, huh?" He tilted his head, studying Gabe with an unreadable expression. "I might be the only righteous god left. So, you can worship me, if you wish." His voice dropped, something dark flashing across his face. "You might be the only reason I am still a god. Or else my siblings and my parents would have stripped me of my godhood centuries ago."
Gabe frowned, not fully understanding. "I would keep worshipping you not because you are righteous, but because it gives me peace." His voice was quiet, but firm. "Praying gives me peace. It gives me hope in my aimless life."
Gabe's words came spilling out before he could think better of them.
"You know as well as I do, being a vaisa or a palace maid isn't exactly the most ideal life. I wouldn't have anything to look forward to if I didn't have something to believe in. Worshiping gives me something, someone, to hold onto."
For a moment, Deroki didn't answer. His gaze was unreadable, his smirk long gone.
Then, softly, almost mockingly, he said, "Thinking like that is forbidden for a vaisa... my sweet mortal."
The air in the room thickened.
"Being an enclave member is an honor... isn't it?" The words dripped with condescension, the King's smile nothing more than a thin veil over the bitterness in his voice.
Gabe stiffened. "I am not a vaisa anymore."
"That, you are not." Deroki's golden eyes gleamed with mischief. "But I could make it so they take you back. Do you want me to?"
Gabe narrowed his eyes. He knew Deroki was toying with him, but he refused to take the bait. Instead, he inhaled deeply and straightened his posture.
"I thought you liked me cleaning your bedchamber, Your Majesty," Gabe bit out before he could stop himself.
The moment the words left his lips, regret struck him like a blade.
But Deroki only chuckled. The sound, unexpectedly warm and amused, eased some of Gabe's tension.
"I was only joking," the King said, shaking his head. "Your delicate hands are not meant for cleaning the floors. I hate how much work they make you do." His smirk softened, something far too close to sincerity slipping into his voice. "I will make sure they appoint you to a less strenuous position."
Gabe hesitated. Then, shaking his head, he muttered, "Thank you, Your Majesty, but that won't be necessary."
Deroki studied him. "You seem... irritated."
Gabe didn't respond.
Deroki's gaze flickered with realization. "Did you have lunch?"
Gabe exhaled through his nose. "Not yet."
Deroki grinned, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "Ah hah... now I get it. You're just hungry." He waved a hand dismissively. "Go. Eat. We will continue tomorrow."
Gabe blinked. "Continue...?"
Deroki's smirk widened. "I will tell you how Hestros conquered the entire northern side of the world in a matter of years."
Gabe hesitated. He should have been relieved to leave this conversation behind, to leave the room, to pretend he never heard any of this.
But as he stood up something inside him itched.
Because despite everything he had just learned, he knew one thing for certain.
He would be back.