Getting to her feet, she waves the stone wall aside as she wobbles toward the main hall.

Ze and I follow closely. Skepticism is written all over Ze's features, and I can tell he's ready for attack at any point. The only reason he's going along with this is to please me and earn his designation as nice. As odd as that might seem, it appears to be the only thing he truly cares about. He doesn't mind when he's called names, not even when he is referred to as the God Killer. But being called nice seems to work wonders for his ego.

The priestess stops in front of the giant statue in the hallway. Going closer to it, she climbs the podium, placing herself at its feet. She reaches out with her good hand, touching the precious stones in some kind of secret combination. Her movements are fast—so much so I can barely follow. But as she uses her power to make herself levitate, she places herself in front of the statue and touches the lips of the goddess—her Ladyship as she'd called her.

A loud noise permeates the air as a fissure appears in the middle of the statue, the two halves separating to reveal the vial in the center. It is a small container—no bigger than my palm. The outside material is made of gold and encrusted with the same type of precious stones as the statue. Only at the top there's a translucent material that reveals the red of the blood within.

Ze uses his powers to bring the vial to him, the object infinitely smaller in his big hand. He closes his fist over it, and when he opens it next, the vial is gone.

"Your help is appreciated, Priestess. Rest assured that the vial will be safe in my keep." Ze inclines his head. "For your cooperation, I will give you back your hand."

The severed hand makes an appearance, floating toward us and fitting itself at the priestess's wrist. Her eyes widen for a moment, but as the hand is locked in place, her flesh begins to mend until it's as good as new.

"How did you do that?" I whisper in awe since he didn't use his healing saliva.

"I merely nullified the spell keeping her from healing." He shrugs. "It is not by chance that I am called the God Killer. My sword is the only weapon from which a god cannot heal."

"Oh." I blink.

I guess that explains why everyone's so scared of him.

"But I should mention one other thing, Priestess." He turns his attention to her, his voice cold and unyielding. "You will utter no word of what you have seen of my female. Not about her markings, nor about the sphere. If anyone asks, you shall say it was just a mishap. Understood?"

The priestess nods slowly, barely daring to meet his gaze.

"Good. That concludes our business here," he tells me.