Chapter 146: A Chef


    Emily, Zoey, and Arielina walked towards the temple. They could swim, but Emily and Zoey felt morefortable with walking.


    "How many gods do you worship?" Emily asked. Her eyes shifted around the ce they were at.


    The entrance was wide with no doors. Two green-colored siyokoys stood guard outside. They looked like statues. The two guards stood still not even ncing at the guests that were close to them.


    "At least they are not ring at us or looking weirdly at us." Zoey chuckled. On the way here, almost all of the inhabitants of the city were staring at them. Some even had anger in their eyes.


    Arielina their guardian, of course, assured them that the people in this city wouldn''t dare do anything, as the leaders already treated them as guests.


    "Come," Arielina walked forward. No humans have ever seen the inside of their ce of worship, well, not that she knows of that is. So for her, this was a pretty big thing.


    Zoey and Emily followed.


    On the outside, the temple had a golden dome-like roof. The building was oval shaped and the materials that were used to build it was white in color. The gold and whitebination made it look majestic.


    The three arrived inside. Just like the ce where they had a talk with the three leaders and the library, there was no seawater. It was dry.


    Their bare feet walked on the dark green floor with stars drawn on them. The walls had pictures ced on them, drawings of nagas, kappas, and siyokoys.


    There were three rectangr pools on the left and three rectangr pools on the right. Both had clear blue water in them.


    In each pool, there were a fewdies bathing. They looked to be women in their twenties. Emily and Zoey noticed that these were creatures in their human forms.


    "You must be wondering why they are bathing in the pools and in the temple at that." Arielina saw the puzzlement in the face of Emily and Zoey. She has heard that religions are sacred to humans and the ce of worship is too.


    Zoey nodded and Emily just slightly.


    Arielina then exined. "These are all pure women. Women who have not yet felt the touch of a man. They bathe in here to receive the blessing of the water goddess to strengthen their magic power and their capabilities to break through. It is hard to further exin to you humans as you don''t have the connection to water like we do."


    Zoey slightly turned red while Emily nodded as she understood.


    In the realm above the heavens, there were also people who prayed to her, The Lady of the Moon. The people who practiced the arts of the moon and moon magic would prostrate themselves and pray. She would hear their cries and she would sometimes give guidance to the ones she found worthy.


    "Do the water goddess actually give these women her blessing?" Zoey asked. Her cheeks were still slightly red.


    Arielina nodded."Actually, yes. It has happened a few times before. The female leader that you saw was one of those who received the blessing."


    "How about the male poption? Do they also receive the water goddess'' blessing?" Zoey asked.


    "No," Arielina walked forward. "Only the females can receive the water goddess'' blessing."


    The twodies followed Arielina.


    ----


    "Can we really trust them?" Dokoy asked. He and the other two leaders sat at a round table with food on top of it.


    "What he said was enticing, and he doesn''t seem to be lying." Synthei lifted the cup in her hand and slowly drank the drink inside.


    "Synthei is right, the ''Asura'' doesn''t seem to be lying. However, what can he get after all of this? No one will work without pay, and no one will go this far without getting something in return." Peroy grabbed a few dishes on the table and began munching.


    He believed that it was their chance to act against the humans and that this was the chance for them to destroy the problems that they have been worried about for years. Blood after blood, bodies after bodies, all of which were wasted on meaningless war and skirmishes.


    Now that they had a chance to end it, how can they not take it?


    "If we do agree, it wouldn''t be an easy road ahead." Dokoy sighed. He understood that there will be reinforcementsing and that those people will side with the humans, and from how the vermilion-haired teen said it, the reinforcements of the humans were strong. Powerful enough to take ons.


    "I don''t think it''ll be too hard. Remember what that ''Asura'' said. Only one of the human faction is against the peace of our races." Synthei ced the cup back down.


    "Yes, one. But the strongest one." Dokoy let out another sigh.


    "What are you so worried about? Aren''t you the one who always wanted to go up on the surface whenever you can?" Synthei giggled trying to lighten up the room.


    Peroy stopped eating. He wiped his mouth with his right arm and spoke. "Yeah, didn''t you say you wanted to roam thend and sea freely without restraint?"


    Dokoy wryly smiled. "That was before I grew up. Now I have to think about the people, my people."


    Peroy shook his head. "Then think of the children right now who have the same dream as you back them. Think of all the siyokoys, nagas, and kappas who want to explore the world but are kept here inside the city walls, hiding in fear of the terror."


    When they were kids, they too dreamt of exploring the surface. They wanted to pick fruits from trees, try running on fields, and othernd activities.


    "There will be blood that will be shed, there is no denying that, but if the future can live a better life, the sacrifices that we''ll be making today are worth it." Synthei stood up.


    Peroy took onest bite of the food on his te, wiped his mouth, and looked at Dokoy. "The blood that will be shed will be the foundation of everyone''s future. Think about it, our people will no longer be hiding in fear inside this cramped ce."


    Dokoy closed his eyes and nodded. "Alright, let''s call our guests back in and tell them of our decision."


    He prayed that he was making the right decision, as this will forever change the future of not only the siyokoys but of the other three races as well.


    "Should we call him in?" Synthei asked as she walked towards the doorway with no door.


    Dokoy shook his head. "I''m sure he knows what is going on right now. He might have been listening to all this time ever since we talked with the Asura."


    Peroy nodded. "He''ll appear when he wants to appear. For now, let''s talk with the human to find out more about the situation."


    ----


    Marcus ced another book back on the shelf. He has learned quite a few about the inhabitants here already and the so-called leviathan that guards them.


    "You finished?" Ergetse asked. They have been standing in front of a shelf for quite some time already. Not once did the vermilion-haired teen in front of him ask to sit.


    Marcus nodded. "I''d like to try your food here."


    "Well, if you like raw kinds of seafood then you are surely going to fit in." Ergetse chuckled.


    "You eat everything raw?" Marcus asked. He thought that they would cook in ces where water seawater couldn''t go in.


    "Not really, no. But we could if we wanted to. To get cooked meals, you just have to get the fish or whatever food you like and send it to a chef. As long as you give him or her part of your food then he''ll cook the fish or whatever it is you gave him and send it back to you. The way he cooks it is of course depends on you, the customer."


    "That''s a really good style of living." To Marcus, it sounded like this was a peaceful society.


    Ergetse smugly smiled. "It is since we don''t really have to worry about money. The sea provides everything we need. We also keep our own fish hunting grounds to help fish breed safely, and once the breeding season is over, we just hunt a few at a time."


    "I see," Marcus inwardly chuckled as he thought of adapting this kind of system in his Asura Emire in the heavenly realm. However, he knew that it just wouldn''t work.


    "Chefs should be the most sought out jobs here then?" Marcus asked Ergetse as the two started walking out of the library.


    "Uhmm, actually no" Ergetse shook his head. "The majority still wants to be warriors. Sure they learn the very basics of cooking, but that''s it. After learning the basics they go back to focusing on being warriors."


    "How about the females?" Marcus didn''t find it weird for the men to be like this, especially in a ce where they don''t need money.


    "I was referring to both males and females actually." Ergetse chuckled.