That did surprise him, actually.
"You ascended?" he confirmed. "I've heard of that happening in other worlds, but it's not really a thing that happens in my home world. You either spawn from the Aether a fully-formed god, you're born as the child or descendant of a god, or you have a god's blessing and permission to use a small fraction of their power--those are the only ways to acquire the divine back home, and that last one is rare. Sometimes, Godlings--the children or descendants of gods--get stronger, or take on more responsibilities, and stand next to Aether-born gods in terms of power, but that's about it." He paused, thoughtful. "I'm not really sure if I can imagine what your apotheosis was like. Though I agree--not needing to eat, sleep, or compete with people at the market for the last orange must have been nice."
That last prompt made him pause. He wasn't sure, actually, what she meant--so he decided to just think through it aloud.
"I was born mortal," he pointed out idly, "and I don't expect to ever be anything but mortal, so I don't really think about mundane motions--except when things get bad. Mundane motions are simply facts of life. The worlds will always turn. So, no matter how bad things get, if I can't do anything else, I can still eat, I can still have tea, and I can still sleep. Doing the things I have to do in order to stay alive is grounding, when everything else is broken."
That was part of the reason why he was here, right now, in the market.
"But if you're talking about being here on the island, if you're talking about the Stars--I honestly couldn't tell you. I keep thinking it through, keep wondering why we're here, what purpose all of this serves for them, and I just can't put my finger on it. I used to think they were governors of a place that's just naturally a dimensional nexus, but." But then he went home, only to be kidnapped again by these very same beings. "I think they're more like gods. And gods can be cold and cruel, unfeeling and uncaring...but gods can also be full of so much love and empathy that it's their very nature to be helpful and loving. ...I've started to think the crux of the matter is that there isn't just one Star. There's many. We don't even know how many. And back home, even gods within the same pantheon can't agree, or get along, to say nothing of their vastly differing natures. I'm starting to honestly think that the reason why everything here feels either chaotic or on the brink of disaster is because the Stars have their own subtle, internal push-and-pull. Just like anybody."
Not that this realization meant Lorene would forgive them for kidnapping him a second time, pulling him away from the family who loved him. No. There was no forgiveness, regardless of their motivations.
