The air was too still to be real.
Dreams usually had sound—whispers, echoes, something—but here there was only quiet. The kind that made his own breathing sound too loud.
Adam frowned, glancing down at the rippling grey beneath his feet. It wasn't water. It wasn't cloud either. Just… something in between.
Then came the feeling. That quiet, unmistakable sense of someone else.
Not watching—waiting.
He turned, and there she was.
Not Dea. Not even close.
No glow, no warmth, no waves of affection radiating through the air. Just calm—composed in a way that almost felt deliberate. Her silver hair fell neatly to her shoulders, her expression serene but unreadable. Teal eyes studied him with the patience of someone dissecting a riddle they already half-solved.
She spoke first.
"Identification. I am Thea."
Adam blinked. "…That's a new way to introduce yourself."
"Clarification," she said mildly. "I prefer to categorize my statements. It keeps my thoughts orderly."
He raised a brow. "You could just say 'hello,' you know."
"Acknowledgment. I could." Her tone carried a faint hint of amusement. "But then I might forget what kind of sentence I meant it to be."
That earned a quiet laugh from him. "So… Thea, huh? You're not exactly the same as Dea."
"Observation. Correct. I am her reasoning, her judgment, her structure. The fraction she relinquished so that she could feel freely."
He exhaled slowly. "And you're here because…?"
"Explanation. You act in kindness, and your power responds. I am the one who defines what qualifies as kind."
Adam tilted his head. "So you're judging me."
"Correction." She met his gaze evenly. "You are the constant. I am the measure. Judgment implies superiority; measurement implies respect. I do not consider you to be below me in status or stature. I am ten percent of Dea's soul. The greater part of mine—the ninety percent—regards you as her equal. Thus, by extension, you also have my highest respect."
She paused, eyes softening almost imperceptibly.
"For a ninth awes at what the whole reveres."
"If you really are the one who decides what's kind and what isn't," Adam said, half-grinning, "then why didn't I get any buffs after beating that orc and saving Luna? I mean, that's got to earn me something, right?"
"Denial." Thea's tone was calm, almost clinical. "You did not achieve that victory independently. You required the assistance of the Dea Core implanted within you. While your intent was noble, your survival instinct aligned with your action. Thus, the result cannot be classified as purely altruistic."
Adam blinked. "So… no reward because I didn't almost die selflessly enough?"
"Clarification." Her gaze stayed steady. "You were commendable, but not unassisted. The Core amplified you. It was your will that activated it, yes—but the strength was not your own. Therefore, I cannot categorize the event as an act warranting what you refer to as 'a buff.'"
He exhaled sharply, somewhere between frustration and amusement. "You really don't pull your punches, do you?"
"Observation. Honesty minimizes confusion."
Adam ran a hand through his hair, muttering under his breath, "Yeah, but it kills the vibe."
"Rebuttal." The faintest trace of a smile touched her lips. "Truth often does."
"Revelation." Her voice didn't waver, but something in her eyes softened. "I am the one responsible for activating the Dea Core. If I had not intervened, you would not have survived that encounter. Therefore, any rewards that would have been granted from that act of kindness have been nullified."
At this, he faltered a little bit at his persistence but then chose to move onwards anyways
Adam's hands went up in mock frustration. "Give me something at the very least. Bail me out here! I've told them that I'm Dea's paladin but it's not gonna be very believable if I don't have any magic abilities! Isn't she the goddess of miracles? Give me like… luck-boosting power or something, please!"
Thea regarded him with her usual composure, eyes reflecting the muted light of the dreamscape. "Denial. Miracles are not distributed upon request. You were unable to earn any increase in divine favor through your previous acts."
He groaned. "So you're saying saving Luna doesn't count?"
"Correction." She folded her arms neatly. "You did not save her. You merely ensured mutual survival through external aid. Your decision lacked full self-sufficiency, and thus, it did not qualify as an act of pure kindness."
Adam rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. "Well, that's depressing."
There was a pause. Thea tilted her head slightly, as though running a calculation. When she spoke again, her tone was faintly softer, almost thoughtful.
"Addendum. However… you were not required to return the elf child all the way home from the forest."
Adam blinked. "Huh?"
"Clarification. Escorting her to safety was sufficient. Remaining to ensure her family's peace of mind was unnecessary. By logical analysis, that constitutes an inefficient expenditure of effort motivated solely by goodwill."
He raised an eyebrow. "You're… rewarding me for being inefficient?"
"Reinterpretation." Thea's lips curved ever so slightly. "I am acknowledging your inefficiency as evidence of genuine altruism."
He laughed quietly. "That's one way to put it."
Her teal eyes glimmered faintly, and the air between them shimmered like ripples on still water. "Recompense. A minor adjustment to your probability field. An ability that shall activate on command with the phrase 'Aurea Fortuna' Statistically, your next several endeavors will experience a… favorable skew."
Adam blinked, surprised. "Wait—you're giving me luck?"
"Correction." Her expression didn't change, though her voice held the faintest trace of warmth. "I am rebalancing an observed discrepancy between effort and reward."
Adam grinned. "You're totally just finding excuses to help me, aren't you?"
"Denial," she said, far too quickly. "This action is purely procedural."
"Uh-huh," he said, crossing his arms, that amused little smirk tugging at his lips. "Procedural."
For a brief instant, the faintest light danced in her eyes—almost like mirth, though she'd never admit it. "Observation. Your suspicion-to-gratitude ratio remains… unusually high."