The Clown's Harem

"Stay... here?" Aurora questioned with a raised brow. "Would something like that really work?"

Solomon leaned back in his chair and thought.

Hypothetically, it should. Time passes naturally within the tent, and it keeps me safe. However, for those who pray to me, only their spiritual body arrives here as a manifestation of their physical body.

In reality, their physical body remains in the location it was during prayer. If I were to keep Aurora here, it would require me to somehow bring her physical body into the circus tent.

Solomon found himself growing increasingly curious. This situation would allow him to test the powers of the tent to a greater extent.

"Are you questioning my capabilities?" Solomon asked, to which Aurora swiftly shook her head.

"Of course not, Mister Clown. It’s just... Most gods that own a domain only draw people’s spiritual bodies inside."

"I am aware. However, my tent can physically manifest in the real world. All you must do is follow my steps carefully."

...

After receiving the orders from Mister Clown, Aurora returned to her physical body.

She was inside her room in a tavern she was staying at during her time in the city.

"Okay... Mister Clown said I should travel to a location near the city centre. I should get going."

...

The tanned woman headed out into the busy city streets of Redsham and travelled along the pavements.

It was a five-minute walk to reach the location. However, before she arrived, she felt something...

It was that same feeling from before. The feeling of an eye resting on her shoulder, watching her every movement.

She turned her head and looked around amongst the civilians of the city, but none of them seemed to care about her at all. All she caught were a few eyes looking at her, probably due to her darker skin complexion.

Aurora tried to ignore it, hastening her steps, but the faster she moved, the more she felt like she was being watched!

Eventually, she broke out into a sprint. She needed to be saved by the Clown!

...

As she arrived at the location, she wondered how on earth a circus tent could possibly exist there. It seemed to be an empty location where hundreds of people walked past, going about their days and heading to their destinations.

It only made her more anxious. Amongst so many people, she would never be able to find who was following her.

But then...

Thud!

A strong hand grasped her shoulder, too powerful for her to be able to fight against it.

She went to scream, but her mouth seemed to be covered too as she was dragged backwards.

"Nnnghh!" Aurora struggled, before tripping over an object and tumbling to the floor.

However, instead of landing on the stone ground of Redsham City streets, she instead landed on a soft material resembling a bed.

She looked down to find herself kneeling on pink clouds. Her eyes lifted, and she found that she was once again inside the tent of the Clown.

"What the..." Her words trailed off.

It was an unbelievable thing. One minute she was surrounded by hundreds of people, and the next minute she was in a new realm.

Aurora looked around, searching for the god who resided in the realm.

There he was, sitting in his chair as always. A pink mist floated around him, obscuring his face slightly, but Aurora could still make out his handsomeness.

"Welcome." The Clown said with a smile on his face. "You seem startled, Lady Aurora?"

Aurora slowly pushed herself to her feet, trying to gather her bearings.

"M-mister Clown. Thank you so much. That person... They were watching me again!"

Solomon was hardly focused on the woman. He was more surprised that his theory actually worked.

If I hold onto someone and enter the tent, although they can’t see it, their physical bodies will be drawn inside...

The more I discover about this mysterious tent, the more powerful I realise it is

He then turned his attention back to the woman. She had now made her way to the seat opposite him, as she believed that was the only place she was allowed to sit.

"I do not believe that it is a ’person’ watching you, Aurora, but rather an entity." He then said.

Aurora’s eyes went wide. "An entity? But what could an entity possibly want from me?"

Ah, usually I charge for my knowledge, but today I will give it to you for free.

"I believe you have angered the god of your home city. They may be a jealous god, who wishes for its people to only worship them. Your pursuit of religious knowledge, and new worship of the clown has most likely drawn its anger upon yourself."

Suddenly, everything clicked into place for Aurora. It would explain it all, such as the reason why she could never find the culprit that was watching her.

Not only had she been diligently worshipping the clown recently, but she had also been exploring the world in hopes of studying other gods.

Both were sins that could naturally anger a god, especially one who expected monotheistic devotion.

"Who was your god, Aurora?" Solomon asked in a divine manner, wishing to find the answer to the young woman’s predicament.

Aurora gulped before speaking. "In the SunGate Kingdom of the Southern Islands, we worship Ba’al, the God of Decay."

Solomon’s heart dropped into his chest.

It was the very god that he had just made himself an enemy of.