It felt like my entire world was on fire. Somewhere, in the corner of my mind, I knew that Torm was dead. I could feel, more than see, the Voice of the World displaying that both torm and his dragon were dead. I knew I was gaining levels, since a god had to be worth a healthy chunk of XP, even if I had very powerful help with the fight. But this felt like something more.
Call out to your goddess, my Queen! Invoke her here, so that she can help you with this change. The sisters are already doing their part.
A voice called to me in my head. Sanvi, using her Message ability, to cut through the golden fire and all the pain. Clever girl. I took a breath that made my lungs feel as though they were boiling, and called out to the sky, “Oh, Auril Frostmaiden, Mistress of Winter’s Wrath, your servant calls to you now, in her time of need! Aid me, my goddess!”
Suddenly, I felt a cool breeze cutting through the golden flames, reducing my distress. And a laughing voice whispered in my mind. “Dutiful child, you have always been a source of amusement and pride to me, ever since you chose me as your patron in your transfer. Now, you have slain a god, as a mere mortal, and him in his full power! Oh, I cannot wait to see the reaction of his faithful!”
Then, a warm touch rolled over my skin, beneath my clothes, like a lover’s caress. A second voice, which oozed sex and seduction with every word, whispered into my mind. “Mmm. So this is the mortal my servants have been so fascinated with. Yes, I can see why they have enjoyed spending so much time with you. And now, they invoke me so that I can witness this. I must think of something to reward them.”
Gritting my teeth against the pain, I tried to be respectful in my words, though it was difficult when I felt like I was burning alive. “It is my pleasure to amuse you, my Lady. And hail and well met, Malcanthet, Queen of the Succubi. House Faydark speaks often of you, and the glories of your realm.”
“Hah!” Malcanthet’s voice laughed, amusement rippling through my mind. “Even in this state, she knows how to flatter a goddess. Yes, she deserves this.”
Auril’s voice echoed in my mind. “My child, the slaying of a god is not without consequence. The mantle of Torm’s divinity is attempting to pass on to you, and mold you into a new goddess. But there are three problems that must be addressed, before the change can be completed.”
“Let me guess,” I said, tiredly. “Two of them involve me being a mortal, rather than a divinity, and the fact that I am Twice-Born, and my soul is supposed to return to my old world when I pass on into the cycle of rebirth?”
“Yes, along with the fact that Torm’s divine mantle is attempting to mold you into a goddess of Law and Duty, patron of Paladins. Your very nature resists that, as it should.”
“I will sooner die than become like that arrogant ass!”
Malcanthet’s laughter rang in my mind. “Yes! That’s the spirit, girl! And that is why we are here, invoked by yourself and your friends. We are here to help you with your choice, and to guide it.”
“My choice?”
“Yes, my child,” Auril said. “As you did when you came to this world, it is time for you to make another choice, one that will affect your future. Or, rather, a series of choices. Unfortunately, continuing on, as you have until this point, is no longer possible. Your body will not survive the torrent of divinity unless it is changed. So, you must either choose to change, and forsake your old world forever, or let go, and take these memories with you to your old world, as was originally supposed to happen.”
I took a breath, and forced myself to think. I’d always known that, eventually, my soul would go back to my old world. That was the point of transferring souls from one world to the other, so that the experiences of another world could enrich different worlds. But did I really want to do that? Did I owe anything to my old world? And, more importantly, was I ready to give up on everyone I’d met and everything I’d built in this world?
No. No, I wasn’t going to just give up, and let go. Sure, change hurt. Change was frightening. The prospect of becoming a goddess, an actual goddess, was mind-boggling. But I wasn’t going to quit just because a task seemed like it was going to be big, and complicated.
“I choose to change.”
I could feel Auril’s smile upon me, but it was Malcanthet’s laughing voice that spoke first. “Good! I would hate to have my servants think so highly of someone who turned out to be boring enough to just give up. That is not nearly as entertaining.”
Auril’s voice was like a cool winter’s breeze in the face of the heat all around me. “Then let it be so. Since two beings beyond the limit of mere mortals are here as witness, the change can be made, without interference. You cannot take on Torm’s full power, because that comes from the faith of his followers. However, you shall still become a demigoddess, a true divinity, with all the powers, and restrictions, that holds.”
As if making the choice unlocked something inside me, the golden cascade of light no longer burned my flesh and my soul. Now, I could feel it flowing into me and through me, changing me. And I could direct the changes, both on the physical, and with what was to come. And, now, I could see what the Voice of the World was telling me.
My mind reeled with all the information that the Voice of the World gave me. Not just the screens. I suddenly knew so much more! Things that I shouldn’t know, as a ‘mere mortal’. Like how I wasn’t actually taking much time to decide things, but rather I was frozen in a moment of time, while the world’s system remade me in my new image, whatever I chose to make it. And my new form was only one of many choices I still had to make!
Frozen Soul -
Tales of the Void Traveler -
Memoirs of a Supervillain -
Volume 1 -
Omnibus 1 -
Complete 1-20 -
Book I - Game Start
Omnibus I - Books 1-4
Issue I - Origin Stories
Complete Edition - Omnibus
Book 1 - Welcome to the Apocalypse
Omnibus 1 - Books 1-4
Book 1 -
Book 1 -
Book 1 -
Book 1 -
Book 1 -
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