Natsu and Hestia’s footsteps finally came to a halt at the end of a quiet, dead-end street.
Before them, bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun, stood an old building—a relic of the past long forgotten by the glitz and glamour of Orario.
Natsu crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head up to inspect the structure from the ground all the way to its roof.
The evening breeze ruffled his pink hair as he gave a slow nod.
“Yeah, not bad,” Natsu commented casually, his voice completely sincere without a hint of sarcasm.
Beside him, Hestia’s face instantly flushed red.
The petite goddess bowed her head, hiding her embarrassment behind her long, straight hair.
She assumed Natsu was just being polite to spare her feelings.
After all, calling this place “not bad” was far too high a compliment for what was essentially a ruin.
From the outside, the church’s condition was absolutely deplorable.
Its main structure looked fragile, as if a strong gust of wind could bring it tumbling down.
The gray stone walls were riddled with long cracks and covered in thick, wild moss.
The roof had caved in and collapsed in several spots, allowing the afternoon sunlight and the remnants of yesterday’s rain to seep in and soak the interior.
Not to mention the front yard, which was entirely swallowed by thorny brambles and waist-high weeds, a clear sign that the place had been neglected for years.
“I’m sorry, Natsu-kun…
This place is definitely far from decent,” Hestia squeaked, nervously twiddling her index fingers.
Natsu simply let out an amused snort and patted the top of the goddess’s head.
“I told you, I’ve slept on the bare dirt with the sky as my roof in the middle of a monster-infested forest.
Just having walls to block the wind is a luxury to me.
Let’s go inside.”
Encouraged by his words, Hestia’s smile bloomed once more.
She led the way, pushing open the double wooden doors that let out a loud, ear-piercing creak from their rusted hinges.
The moment they stepped into the main hall, the scent of old dust and rotting wood immediately assaulted their senses.
The floor was coated in a remarkably thick layer of dust, littered with stone debris from the collapsed roof and the remains of wooden support beams rotting from the rain.
At the very front of the room lay the remnants of a sacred altar—dull, cracked, and completely stripped of its religious function.
The upper level of this church was truly desolate, dead, and clearly only served as a passageway.
Hestia walked past the weathered altar toward a corner of the room.
She crouched down and pulled an iron ring hidden in the stone floor.
A creaking sound echoed as a secret trapdoor opened, revealing a dark passageway leading underground.
“Our real home is down here,” Hestia said as she descended the spiral stone staircase, with Natsu following closely behind.
The church’s basement offered a stark contrast to the hall above.
It was a single, cramped room, free from the outside dust but extremely cluttered, as it doubled as a bedroom, a dining room, and a kitchen all at once.
The furniture was minimal and looked cheap.
There was only a long sofa made of worn-out fabric pushed against one wall, a small bed in the corner that clearly belonged to Hestia, a round wooden table in the center, and a small shelf holding a few basic cooking utensils and plates.
The dim light from the magic stone lamp on the ceiling cast a warm, cozy glow over the tight space.
Natsu swept his gaze across the room, etching every detail of their first base into his memory.
A thought then crossed his mind.
“Hey, Hestia,” Natsu called out, walking over to the round wooden table.
“I’m curious.
If our Familia ever grows and we actually have enough money…
do you plan on renting a grander headquarters, or do you want to renovate this old church?”
Hestia, who was placing her supply bag onto the small bed, paused.
She turned around, looking at the cramped room with a gaze full of profound tenderness.
“I…
want to stay here,” Hestia replied with a faint, genuine smile.
“Even though this place is tiny and rundown, this church is what took me in when I was kicked out with nowhere to go.
Besides, no matter what condition it’s in, this is the very first place where our Familia started everything.
I want it to bear witness to our journey.”
Hearing such an emotional reason that valued history so deeply, a satisfied smile etched itself onto Natsu’s face.
His goddess’s mindset aligned perfectly with his own principles regarding the true meaning of home.
“By the way,” Hestia tilted her head, looking at Natsu with a furrowed brow.
“Why did you suddenly ask something like that, Natsu-kun?
We haven’t even registered you at the Guild yet, nor have we earned our first Valis coin.”
Natsu smiled mysteriously.
He stepped forward and sat on the edge of the long sofa, then began unbuttoning his shirt one by one.
“You’ll know the answer during the Falna bestowment, Hestia.”
Hestia blinked in confusion, but her curiosity was quickly overshadowed by the anticipation fluttering in her chest.
This was the moment she had been waiting for ever since she descended to Gekai.
The moment she would officially bind her very first mortal child into her Familia.
Natsu took off his shirt, revealing a broad back with dense, perfectly sculpted muscles forged through five years of hellish training.
The young man sat cross-legged with his back facing the goddess, ready to receive the divine blessing.
Hestia climbed onto the sofa, kneeling directly behind Natsu.
Her hands trembled slightly as she pulled a small silver needle from the pocket of her dress.
“Natsu-kun…” Hestia took a deep breath, calming her wildly racing heart.
“To be honest, this is my first time giving someone a Falna.
I don’t know exactly what it feels like for the one receiving it.
So…
if anything feels weird, or if it hurts during the process, let me know right away, okay?”
“Don’t worry about it.
Just do it,” Natsu replied easily.
Hestia nodded firmly.
She pricked the tip of her right index finger with the silver needle.
A single drop of sacred blood—the Ichor of a divine entity—welled up from her fingertip, radiating a warm, mystical blue glow.
Moving slowly, Hestia leaned in and let the drop of divine blood fall right in the center of Natsu’s back.
However, the very second that drop of sacred blood touched the young man’s skin, the ritual that was supposed to be peaceful morphed into a terrifying anomaly.
Instead of spreading out to form sacred hieroglyphs or carving the crest of a blazing hearth fire onto Natsu’s back, the blood reacted like a drop of water hitting a red-hot iron plate.
The blue light instantly dimmed, swallowed whole by a shockwave of ancient energy erupting from within Natsu’s body.
In the blink of an eye, Hestia’s consciousness was forcefully pulled away.
The cramped basement, the old sofa, and the scent of dust vanished instantly.
Hestia was sucked into a void-like tunnel before her spiritual body was violently thrown, landing hard on a blisteringly hot rocky surface.
The goddess gasped, coughing violently as the scorching air invaded her lungs.
She forced her stinging eyes open, only to be greeted by a sight that looked like it had been ripped straight from the depths of hell.
The sky above was choked with thick ash clouds glowing a fiery red.
All around her stretched an expanse of boiling, churning lava, with volcanic flames erupting from fissures in the earth and giant magma rocks jutting out sharply like monster fangs.
This was not Gekai.
This was not her basement.
This was a realm of consciousness—the deepest soul space belonging to the mortal child she had just given her Falna to.
Before Hestia could even process where she was, a massive tremor shook the entire magma landscape.
A low rumble, deeper than thunder and more menacing than an earthquake, echoed through the air.
Hestia looked up, her body trembling violently.
From behind the curtain of volcanic smoke, a colossal figure slowly rose.
It was a western dragon of a size impossible to comprehend with common sense.
Its scales were a deep crimson red that burned like molten lava, with a thick, cream-colored underbelly.
Two massive horns curved arrogantly atop its head.
However, the most striking feature of this terrifying existence was an iconic cross-shaped scar resembling an “X”.
An aura of absolute intimidation swept across the magma wasteland, forcing Hestia to fall to her knees.
The goddess clutched her chest, her heart pounding so fiercely it physically hurt.
Pure, primal fear gripped her sanity.
In Gekai, gods and goddesses possessed mortal bodies because their Arcanum was sealed.
If she died here, whether in a mental or physical dimension, Hestia genuinely felt that her very soul could be pulverized into nothingness.
The giant red dragon slowly lowered its head, parting the sea of lava with its scorching breath.
Its golden-yellow reptilian eyes opened, staring straight at the petite goddess trembling beneath it.
Amidst the sea of fire, one divine entity and the soul form of the Dragon King locked eyes in a suffocating silence.