A New Life In The Beast World-Chapter 153: The Festival (2)

"Let me take you to the back so we have a quiet place to talk." Merinda stated.

Serena nodded her head in understanding. "Sounds good."

With that Merinda led Serena to the back of the wooden stage where a small tent had been built. Elder Samuel followed behind them, keeping some distance away, and stopping outside the tent.

Serena glanced over at him and he smiled as he said, "Just here to make sure no one interrupts you two."

"Ah..." Serena murmured in understanding.

She then headed inside the small tent, finding herself stepping on piles of furs. The whole place was covered in them with only one corner holding a bunch of different things.

Merinda took a seat in the middle of the tent before patting on a spot next to her. "Come sit over here. Once you’re comfortable we can talk."

Serena did as she was told, quickly taking a seat next to the rabbit beastwoman. The tent fell silent for some time until Serena first broke it.

"So... you’re a priestess of Asdea... Does that mean you’ve gone through the training and everything?" Serena finally asked.

It felt a bit like a dumb question to ask, but Serena needed to confirm what the Beast God had told her. Besides, she wasn’t really sure where to even bring or even how much Merinda knew herself.

Better to gauge where the older beastwoman stood before she went any deeper. Because she didn’t want to accidentally give away information that not even a priestess knew.

"I did go through training as is my granddaughter, Becky, right now. It’s one of the reasons I can keep her away from the other cubs. Though it doesn’t seem like she’s interested in it." Merinda sighed. "Of course, you’re more interested in what my ability is thanks to my divine power."

"I won’t deny that or the fact that I’m curious about what you gave up." Serena confirmed. "Also are you the only bloodline left with divine power from Asdea?"

"Well my divine power allows me to catch small glimpses into the future." Merinda explained. "It’s better during certain times like today because of the moons, but I’m mostly only able to see weather and natural disasters. Once in a while though the goddess blesses me with an important future... But then I’m unable to use my power for some time after that."

Serena narrowed her eyes at that. "Is that why you’re talking so freely about this to me?"

It had been bugging her a little about how open Merinda was being about this. Especially with someone that had just arrived in the village. Of course, if she saw something, then it made sense.

"Perhaps... But it’s best not to delve into it." Merinda stated. "Relying too much on the future... or even trying to change things may lead to the predicted events happening."

Serena pursed her lips at that. The answer felt like an easy way to not answer the question directly. Then again, Merinda was right in her own way.

Self-fullfilling prophecies were a thing.

"Alright... I’ll leave it be then." Serena finally sighed. She was quiet for a moment before she asked once more, "So then... what did you give up?"

"Time." Merinda answered with a bittersweet smile.

"Time?" Serena furrowed her eyebrows. "As in years?"

She knew beastmen could live quite long, anywhere from two hundred years to thousands of years depending on the species and amount of crystals they consumed. But two hundred years was the standard for most.

So did that mean Merinda could die soon? Is that partly why she was trying to get Becky to become a priestess? So that the village could continue worshipping Asdea.

Merinda nodded her head. "Yes. I gave up my lifespan for this power. My future to see the future. Of course, I was quite lucky too. My mates gave up some of their lifespan too, so we could live together for longer... Granted that time is quickly fading now. We likely have a couple more years left..."

Serena sucked in a breath at those words. She guessed the price for being able to see the future was high, but to think it was this high. And the fact that her mates had given up their lifespan too.

She knew it was probably so they could live and die together. After all, if a beastwoman died, a part of a male’s soul connected to her would break. Sometimes it would kill the beastman.

But other times, the beastman survived and was left with a gaping hole in his soul. Literally.

Still, that last part hit hard because it meant they had given up a lot of their lifespan. Likely half of it from the looks of it. Not to mention Elder Samuel would die soon.

She didn’t want to think of the gaping hole that would leave within the village. Would anyone even be able to fill those big shoes he would leave behind?

Perhaps it was why he’s so keen about developing the village. Serena mused to herself. He wants to leave it in a good place before he goes...

Not that that made things any better. If anything it made her heart ache. But it wasn’t like she could do anything. No one could escape death. Not really.

Her case was an outlier.

"I see..." Serena finally said, not sure what else to say.

"You don’t have to look so glum." Merinda murmured, patting her hand in comfort. "We’ve already accepted our fate a long time ago. Besides, death comes for all of us... Ours is just sooner."

Silence filled the air once more before Serena decided to change the topic a little and asked, "What about the bloodlines carrying the divine power from Asdea then?"

"My bloodline is the only one within the village, but I do believe there are a few more around the continent." Merinda mused. "Many went into hiding, so it’s quite hard to tell if they died out or not."

Serena nodded her head in understanding. She then pursed her lips, wondering if she should bite the bullet and see if Merinda knew anything. The Beast God did say she could talk to her about Asdea, however, to what limitation.

She wasn’t sure of that.

Liz was silently wrapped around her arm, the blue snake watching the whole ordeal. It hadn’t said anything yet, so she supposed she was fine to speak as she wanted to.

Thus she finally asked, "Do you know why Asdea... did what she did?"

"Are you referring to the sealment?" Merinda questioned, getting a nod from Serena. The older beastwoman then shook her head and answered, "No... I don’t believe anyone but Asdea and the other two gods knew why they did what they did... But I suppose it was for good reason. Asdea is a kind-hearted goddess."

The Beast God said the same thing. Which was why he was so confused about her actions. Likely everyone was. Still something about what Merinda said caught Serena’s attention.

"Have you met the goddess before?" Serena questioned.

Because the rabbit beastwoman said is. As if she had met the goddess herself. And that wasn’t possible until Merinda was there before the sealment. Which Serena thought was unlikely.

Merinda smiled faintly at her question and murmured, "You caught me there... I did meet her once when I awakened my power... But it was more of a fragment within my power than the goddess herself."

"She must’ve added it to the bloodline similar to the Beast God." Liz finally spoke up. "That’s why they need a whole ceremony and stuff..."

"I see..." Serena murmured. "Well... I think that’s all the questions I have for today. I don’t want to keep you away for too long. Kiro and Theo are probably waiting for me."

"That’s alright." Merinda smiled softly. "We can head out then."

The snow leopard beastwoman nodded her head and the two quickly stepped out of the tent. The moment they did, Elder Samuel glanced over at them and asked, "You done?"

"Yes." Serena nodded her head. "Thank you for your time."

The elderly beastman nodded his head and soon Serena left the couple, heading to where Theo and Kiro were waiting. Liz gazed at her for a moment.

It then said, "Something’s bothering you isn’t it?"

"It’s nothing... Just sad to hear about Merinda’s lifespan." Serena half lied.

However, she couldn’t tell Liz the truth as much as she wanted to either. The Beast God would hear everything said between them and Serena wasn’t sure if she wanted him to hear what she was thinking.

Because something was amiss.

Merinda had definitely hinted at that fragment part on purpose. She didn’t seem like the kind to spill up, especially with that she said earlier.

The only problem was Serena wasn’t sure what exactly Merinda was hinting at. She had a few guesses, but she also couldn’t be too sure. She’d just have to figure it out soon though.

Her gut feeling was telling her that much.