Bab 76: Tala of the Sovereign Nation
Tala continued to be wrapped by the roots until it looked as if she was in an actual cocoon.
Meanwhile, during Luna's absence, the troops to the North focused on exploration and consolidate their current hold on Panay Island.
24 hours later, the roots finally settled down. If before they looked as if they were throbbing, now they were completely still, save for the pair of roots holding them up.
Slowly, they settled down the "cocoon" and released the person inside. After that, they returned to their original positions.
Luna took out some a soldier's outfit from his inventory and walked towards Tala. She had lost the ethereal aura that she gave off earlier. What was in front of him now felt more real. Like a regular human being, but of course, her beauty stayed the same. One particular detail that he noticed was that the tattoos she had on before were still there.
While she was still unconscious, Luna put the clothes on her. There was no malice in this, despite that fact that he was a bit moved by how perfect her body was, he didn't attempt or think about doing anything.
This showed that Luna was, at least, still a man. He could and would acknowledge if someone was a beauty, but that didn't mean he would go after every single attractive woman. His affection was only towards Sura. A woman that had his back even when he was at his weakest.
Tala soon regained consciousness. She was sleeping inside the same bamboo cabin Boni was in but in a different room.
The first thing that came to her mind was the undeniable joy of being alive. Although she felt weaker, the fact that she had a second chance far surpassed that feeling of loss.
"I'M ALIVE! YES! IT WORKED! IT ACTUALLY WORKED!" She jumped for joy and started hollering her emotions out, tears of joy ran down her face. She opened the door to her room and ran outside.
On her way out, the smell of food being cooked that she smelled earlier grew stronger. Sure enough, as soon as she got out, Luna was in the middle of cooking a meal. It was one of the weaker Mutant Beasts that got injured and had little chances of survival.
Instead of letting it suffer, he opted to give it a merciful death instead. This was a much better option than having to head to Mount Kanlaon to hunt.
"Luna!" She shouted. Her good mood evident in her tone. The fact that she called Luna by his name alone, showed that her rebirth had humbled her indeed. She was no longer the Goddess that she was before. Right now, her body was just like any other human. Although, her knowledge and potential in the Anito of the Stars alone was anything but normal.
"Come, get some food. Your body will need the nourishment." There was no surprise in his voice. He already heard her the moment she started celebrating.
"Mn! Thank you!" She sat down and started chowing down, eating happily as if she was having the best meal of her life.
"Haaaa! That was the best meal I've ever had in my life! Even better than the feast we had when those Nobles were forced to accept me and my siblings in Kaluwalhatian!" She said as she rubbed her full belly.
"I'm glad it worked out." Luna smiled. Regardless of the fact that she needed to relinquish her the inheritance to Boni before she could even attempt rebirth, the fact of the matter is, she still helped them out greatly by doing so.
"Mn! Now, this is the part where we get down to business, right? You want me to join the Sovereign Nation, no?"
"Only if you count yourself as one of us and work towards the same goal, yes. If you're worried about your current level, you don't have to worry. I'll have Boni and some of his men personally power-level you. You can treat it as his way of thanking you. Once you reach a high enough level to survive on your own, you can either choose to join us or go off on your own. Being a former Goddess, I can understand if serving under a human feels a little off-putting for you." Luna understood this well. If he as a human had his pride, what more someone who was a Goddess before?
"Oh? You're too kind for your own good."
"I'm reasonable." Luna quickly replied. He wasn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He was doing it because it was what he deemed as the right thing to do. It was also out of his gratitude towards Tala, not just for the inheritance, but for the talk they had last night.
"Goddess this, Goddess that, just a Goddess of the past. Do I feel a sense of loss? Sure I do. But what I am now, has the potential to become far greater than before. In my perspective, this is a gift more precious than the inheritance I gave to Bonifacio." Tala stood up and walked towards Luna, then bowed her head slightly. "What I'm trying to say is that it would be an honor for me to join the Sovereign Nation."
"This.." Luna was actually taken aback. He had anticipated the possibility of Tala deciding to join them. In fact, he knew that the chances were higher than 90%. Even if she refused, he would try to talk to her about the dangers of venturing out alone. But he would never have imagined that she would be humbled to this point.
"I can understand your confusion. What did you expect? That I would have the overflowing pride of a Goddess and not ask if I could follow you?"
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't." Luna honestly replied. It was one thing for Tala to talk to him and share what she knew before, but to humble herself and submit to him when she had a choice? Even if Luna doubled the strength he had now, he wouldn't be so shameless as to expect something like that.
"Luna, don't forget that I've been through this journey before. The people that were with you during your weakest are incomparable to the people you'll meet and befriend when you're strong. If I relied on the fact that I was Bathala's daughter and flaunted my status among the humans, did you think that I would have been strong enough to stun the people of Kaluwalhatian? I was strong before, but am I strong now? Will the pride of being a former Goddess help me when I fight the creatures of the void?" Tala explained how things were from her perspective.
"I understand," Luna nodded.
Of course, now he did. He was just surprised at how Tala adapted psychologically to her new state, that it stunned even him.
It was just like how the politicians and high-ranking people from the previous world were in this new world. Sure, they relied on their lingering clout to gather people to work for them. Sure, they could even gather like-minded people to their side who also relied on who they were prior to the new world.
But what good could that do for them in the long run?
Tala, despite living a long life as a Goddess before, never lived a pampered life. She experienced life and her struggle for personal strength.
That was the key: Personal strength.
Not the fact that she was Bathala's daughter. Not the fact that she was more exalted than regular humans like Juan did. It was the same thing as what Luna was doing, albeit, Luna was doing so at a grander, more ambitious scale.
"So? Do I have the privilege of serving under the most promising ONE candidate?" Tala smiled sweetly as she extended her hand for a handshake.
Luna smiled as well and replied, "Do your part like everyone else. I'll give you a high enough position that is worthy of your expertise once you prove yourself. For now, I'll put you under Boni's care. Teach him the ways of the Star Anito in return, yeah?" Luna was quite aware that despite being low level now and being reborn, she would be able to retrain her mastery of the Star Anito at a pace much faster than she previously did.
"With pleasure!"
Luna reached out and shook her hand. "Welcome, Tala, Star Goddess of the Sovereign Nation."
"Future Star Goddess." She corrected him.
"Right." Luna agreed as he looked behind him, towards the bamboo cabin. "It seems your student finally woke up."
After recalling Boni's little 'stunt' that caused him to writhe in excruciating pain earlier, Tala decided to throw in a little extra besides the lessons she promised for Boni, "I'll impart some wisdom into him as well, so he won't do such stupid things next time."
"Please do so." Luna nodded. After all, he had Elder Aran constantly sharing his wisdom with him. Tala was much more ahead than the Elder, which would prove useful to Boni who was loyal to a fault.
Tala looked towards Luna's back as he went towards the cabin to get Boni. As soon as Luna went inside, Tala revealed an entrancing smile on her face as she gently caressed the tattoos on her arms. If anyone saw it, they would immediately have been captivated.
"Star Goddess of the Sovereign Nation, huh? Why does it feel as if that title holds more weight than the moment the Nobles of Kaluwalhatian were forced to acknowledge me."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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