Although Jenkins was indeed delectable, comparing him to a "little loaf of bread" was certainly strange.
Hathaway didn't know what she was supposed to think. She had never imagined that the person beside her could be a "god." Even the most unhinged person would never entertain such a notion.
The world spun, everything seeming to lose its reality. A vortex of thoughts swept Hathaway away, making it impossible for her to focus on what truly mattered:
"If he's a god, and I've embraced him..."
She could feel herself trembling.
"If he's a god, and I've promised to marry him..."
Panic surged from the depths of her soul, sending her very spirit into turmoil.
"If he's a god, and I've slept with him..."
A sense of unreality washed over her, making her doubt if any of this was real. The truth of her mories, everything since she was a child, suddenly felt like a lie, sparking a deep-seated panic. But the warmth of Jenkins's hand and the undeniably real, hostile glare from the cat beside them managed to pull her back from the brink. She looked up at Jenkins:
"How can you prove it?"
It was indeed difficult to prove one was a god without divinity, but if he couldn't even manage this, then the God of Lies would be a joke.
He nodded.
"Look at , Hathaway."
he said. Hathaway looked up at him. Jenkins let go of her hand, his physical body falling backward naturally while his soul remained, eting her gaze.
And then she saw. She saw an existence more terrifying than what she had witnessed behind the brass doors just hours before. She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to process what she'd seen. Instead, she forced herself to imagine that she was looking at a loaf of bread she'd just taken a bite out of—a very delectable loaf of bread.
The thought, tinged with a forbidden thrill, dispelled the terror that gripped her. It was a long mont before she opened her eyes again. When she did, she no longer saw *It*, but Jenkins. The presence had been terrifying, yet there had been a sense of familiarity to it. It was him. It was *Him*.
"Did you see? I am the God of Lies, not rely his vessel. Every ti the God of Lies has appeared, it was actually . Yes, every single ti, whether you knew of it or not... Of course, the new God of Lies is a real entity. I don't just use lies to make others think I'm powerful... I can only return to my divine form under special circumstances; I'm not a god every mont of every day."
He explained his situation, then saw a hint of emptiness in Hathaway's eyes.
Jenkins felt a flicker of panic, worried the truth had shattered her mind, but he never expected her to suddenly wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.
"This is the only way I can feel that you're real."
Hathaway whispered as they parted. She wasn't herself. Even after the kiss ended, she continued to trace the lines of his face with her fingertips, a gesture that sent a chill down Jenkins's spine.
"Am I not real?"
he asked, his voice a nervous whisper.
"How am I supposed to believe that I'm going to marry a god?"
Their faces were so close that Jenkins could count Hathaway's eyelashes. He could see her confusion, her fear, her panic. He could also see that she seed to be looking at him as if he were a little loaf of bread. Jenkins chalked it up to his complete inability to understand the hearts of won.
"Does it matter if I'm a god? What matters is that I fell for you when I was still a mortal. Yes, when I was still a mortal. When I looked at you from the mortal realm, you were the woman I loved. And now, when I look down from the heavens as a god, you are still my fiancée."
She started gasping for air again, but quickly steadied herself. The thought "The man before is a god" echoed in her mind, and the panic resurfaced, goosebumps prickling her skin. But she had already experienced the peak of that terror when she first accepted it. Now, her mind was moving on to other things.
The people of this world grew up in a theistic environnt—one where theism was proven to be correct. Respect and awe for the divine were rooted deep within them, established as their minds matured and their core beliefs ford. With the exception of a few rare individuals like Alexia, who appeared perhaps once in a generation, most people's feelings toward the gods were sothing Jenkins could never truly comprehend.
Seeing Hathaway gradually calm down, Jenkins spoke again.
"Actually, things like this have happened before. I've heard that in ancient tis, churches would select beautiful or handso young mortals to be offered to a god as servants."
"But that only happened in a few fringe cults that worshipped pseudo-gods. Besides, do you really think deities would personally co down to the material world and marry the mortals who serve them?"
Hathaway asked, her fingertips still tracing his face.
"Are you really a god?"
she asked again, as if she could never be sure.
"Yes. At least, when I possess divinity, I truly am a god."
Hathaway closed her eyes again, cupping Jenkins's face in her hands. She accepted it. It was difficult, but she truly accepted it.
It didn't matter if this was the bread she had wanted; she had, after all, tasted its sweetness. It didn't matter what she was holding...
Her hands tightened slightly as she felt the details of his face, the texture of his skin.
As long as the bread in her hands was still hers, as long as she could hold it tight and feel the sweetness that nourished her trembling soul, then she would never let go of this loaf, the one guarded by the cat.
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