Chapter 204: To Take Down Two Goddesses
Hey. It's Alice again. I can't believe Luka made me write AGAIN. I hate writing. You can't eat writing. But I guess this story has to be told. Luka was present for all of this, but…. Not exactly in a position to see anything. Let me quickly give you his version of the story.
It was dark. I came. It was dark. I felt jostling. I came again. It was still dark. I dimly heard shouting and thuds. I came. I felt my power draining as Alice leeched it out of me to battle the Dark God. I came.
I was actually just fine with Luka telling the story that way. It is after all, his experience, and this is called "Luka's Story", correct? But you all probably want to know exactly what happened, don't you? Ugh. Fine. Anything for our fans.
So as you know, I'm not an idiot. Well, actually I can be shockingly idiotic when it comes to the big picture, as you've noticed a few times. That's one reason I love Luka so much. Luka may not be a genius, but he sees things so clearly. My more sophisticated mind sometimes makes logical leaps that lead me into stupid acts that only someone as smart as me could ever talk themselves into. But if there was one thing I could always do reliably, it was plan a mission.
The first problem I faced was making sure I had enough support. I wasn't sure what Ilias was planning on her end, but I wasn't about to go raid my castle alone, even carrying Luka's power. Even though they were expecting the man himself, they might still have countermeasures to his actual power, although I considered that unlikely. Previously, they'd needed a worldwide seal to accomplish that, and with the world not fully under their control, sealing Luka's powers the same way was not an option. But there could be various protective spells inside the castle geared towards his unique power. Only an idiot puts all her egges in one basket.
I knew there would be significant opposition aside from the Dark God. I could count on Ancestors being present. Possibly all six. I needed allies who could go toe to toe with Ancestors. The problem was, I only had four.
The Four Heavenly Knights gathered with me in the foyer of the Pocket Castle. All were at peak performance except for Granberia, but there was no question of her participation. Granberia wouldn't miss this for anything. I tentatively reached out with Luka's power to heal her. I was surprised at how easy it was. But I still had only four knights against Six Ancestors.
I had always suspected that Nero's surprise at meeting us in the strangest places had been an act. He confirmed it by warping into the foyer with his sister Neris. My heart swelled with pride. These were variants of my children. But better, at least power-wise. If they were joining us… ah, it's what every Monster Lord mother dreams.
"We thought you might want a little help to even the odds," Nero said.
"I'm afraid neither of us is as strong as an Ancestor," Neris said. "But we took Tamamo's measure back in Grangold. If we work as a team, I think we can beat them."
"One thing that will help us," I said ."Is that some of them still aren't fully healed. Luka reported that Kanon was still showing some signs of burn damage. Tamamo got really messed up by Luka and then suffered burns over her entire body from Sariela. Saja got… well, I'm not sure what exactly happened to her, but she could still be suffering ill effects from it. Nevertheless, don't underestimate any of them. These are incredibly powerful, almost godlike beings. And each one of them has more experience than all of us combined."
"Except for me!" Tamamo laughed.
"Yes, except for Tamamo," I corrected myself. "The battle will also be less intense than the one you had in Grangold. That's my castle. It's also their castle. None of us want it destroyed. So everyone is going to be doing their best to minimize structural damage. Nero, Neris, please don't break my home if it's at all possible to avoid it. And… thank you for joining us, my fifth and sixth Heavenly Knights. If you hadn't, I'm sure my mother would have insisted on coming."
"She still wanted to!" Tamamo exclaimed. "I had to convince her that this was a battle of honor. Six on six, with Alice taking on the Dark God. She conceded that the monsters would be more likely to accept the result if it was conducted in such a way. She still wanted to be on the team, though."
"She'd die before she could even get all of her tail through the door," I retorted. "Good work keeping her restrained, Tamamo. I'm grateful, really. No version of me has ever gotten to have her mother well into adulthood. I want to keep her as long as I can."
"We all feel the same way," Tamamo said. "From what I've been told, I've always failed to stop her from killing herself. I don't want that on my conscience."
"What about Luka?" Nero asked. "He's not coming?"
Actually, Luka was coming. A lot. That was actually good. It had been an hour since I'd eaten him and if Ilias' spell wasn't working, he would have been dead about thirty minutes ago. I decided I didn't want to tell Nero and Neris that I'd eaten him. That would be a very uncomfortable conversation and I didn't want to explain all the details at the moment.
"Oh, I'm sure Luka will be right there with us," I said.
"In spirit?" Neris asked.
"Oh, more than just in spirit."
Nero and Neris looked confused but nodded their heads. Using Luka's power, I teleported us directly inside the main hall of the castle. The real one, controlled by the Dark God.
We were expected. Standing arrayed against us were the Six Ancestors. The Dark God was nowhere to be found, but I could feel her presence. She was in the throne room.
"So much for the element of surprise," Nero muttered.
"It's better this way," Granberia said. "If we defeat them honorably, they must see things from our point of view. It is the monster way."
"Yes, if you did demonstrate your power to us, that would certainly be a way to convince us," Saja said. "But how will you convince Ilias? Even if you defeat us, we can never lay down our arms as long as the angels continue to wage a war of annihilation against us."
"Someone's on that as we speak," I said. "So maybe you can just be smart for once and make things easy on us. Agree to end the war now."
"There's still the small matter of our difference of opinion on the proper role for humanity in a world we control," Tamamo said.
"Then let us settle all of those questions with our might!" Granberia challenged.
Ugh, this was so annoying. I'd already fought these bozos once. I hate doing big jobs twice. In some ways, it was better to not be able to remember any of my past lives. It meant everything was new. On the other hand, having done this once gave me certain advantages over my opponents.
"Pair off, Knights!" I ordered. "Remember the plan! Start out against your assigned opponent!"
"Wait, there was a plan?!" Neris asked.
"Just fight whoever a knight hasn't already taken."
Like I said, I know tactics. Supposedly my Knights do as well, but sometimes they take things personally. Granberia especially always wants to take on the best swordswoman. In this case, that would be Saja. But as the Heavenly Knight of Fire, her ideal opponent is actually Kanon. It took some convincing to make Granberia see that, but my will prevailed. Tamamo of course wanted to take on Tamamo. Another less than ideal matchup. Since Tamamo was the Heavenly Knight of Earth, I directed her to face off against Saja. Saja was the most well rounded of the Ancestors, but her strength wasn't anything to write home about as long as she didn't get her coils around you. And Tamamo had an easy counter for that. Erubetie would start against Minagi. Minagi was fast, but Erubetie was near invulnerable to anything Minagi could throw at her, and Minagi wouldn't even try pleasure attacks against someone like Erubetie. That pissed off Alma Elma, who wanted Minagi badly. She was always the hardest to persuade, and I could never be sure that she'd actually do what she was told. But Alma Elma grudglngly took a stance in front of Tamamo, a beast who was weak to pleasure, and who could not invoke her earth power without sacrificing speed against an opponent who was already lighting fast.
That would leave Nero and Neris against Kanade and Hiruko. I wasn't happy about not having a plan for whoever my last two team members were. I had to hope that they had an answer to Kanade's near invincibility. Hiruko I was less concerned about. As formidable as she was, I'd seen her best and wasn't impressed. She was one dimensional, although one always had to watch for her to change things up with magic.
Granberia, as usual, moved first, her sword bursting into flame as she struck at Kanon. Kanon had no defense. She reflexively put up a thick branch to block the blow. Granberia's sword sliced right through it. Kanon must have heard from Eva that Granberia was weak to pleasure, because she began trying to evade Granberia while using her vines to caress her opponent.
Tamamo and Saja fought at lightning speed. Just because Tamamo is the Heavenly Knight of Earth, it doesn't mean she's slow. In fact, she is incredibly agile and quick, especially in her sealed form. Saja was faster. A lot faster. But her blows had little effect on Tamamo. That was good, because Saja's sword created cuts that bled and did not heal without intervention. Her opponents often died from bleeding out. Her sword was barely scratching Tamamo. Meanwhile, Tamamo's tails were pelting her body, with Tamamo's special tail reserved for a little breast play. It was Saja's fault for going into battle bare chested.
Erubetie was another who was deceptively fast. Not so much with her body, but with her tendrils of slime, which could shoot out of her as fast as bullets from a gun. Erubetie didn't waste energy trying to chase Minagi, who zipped all around Erubetie flinging magic at the slime queen, unwilling to risk touching her. Minagi would be a problem. She was too fast to tie up with one opponent, and I could already see her looking at Nero. I'd be damned if some succubus was going to rape my boy!
Alma Elma's wind power, on the other hand, was giving Tamamo fits. Tamamo was already injured, which made her slower than she should have been. Alma Elma was quite willing to touch the kitsune, and she did so frequently, stimulating whatever part of Tamamo she could reach for a second at a time, trying to find her weakest spot to make her come. I could tell that Alma Elma might not stick to the plan. As much as she enjoyed fighting like a succubus, she liked the fisticuffs more. And she had no chance of hurting Tamamo that way. She was simply not strong enough. C'mon, Alma Elma, stick to the plan, I said silently. Keep on sucking those breasts and fondling those genitals. You'll bring her down eventually.
Nero's staff twirled as he invoked spell after spell, trying to find something that would damage Kanade. He tried freezing her. That was an old trick against slimes that was foolproof against weak slimes, but wouldn't cut it with the Ancestor of all slimes. Then he did something brilliant. He changed Kanade's viscosity, causing her to collapse into a puddle. His victory was only temporary. Kanade reformed a minute later, with Nero unable to do her any further injury. I wasn't sure why he was still in human form. Given the way he was leaping around, he must have thought it made him more agile than his lamia form. Well, if we lamias have one weakness, it's that we are bad jumpers. Oh, we've got power. But it takes us longer to get off the ground due to how we have to coil ourselves to spring.
I smiled. Neris was absolutely owning Hiruko. Hiruko had always seemed fearsome on paper, and attitude-wise, she was the scariest. She was a stone cold killer and she enjoyed it. But this was the Ancestor who in another lifetime had lost to a seven tailed kitsune and a crab girl. She hadn't done much better in this life. I guess I should give her credit for finally managing to eat an Eden. I still needed to keep an eye on Neris. It wouldn't do for my daughter to get eaten by a disgusting tentacle monster.
It is often said that no plan survives contact with the enemy. My plans are different. For at least a few minutes, they always survive contact with the enemy. But lack of discipline, or unexpected occurrences, can derail a plan quickly. As expected, Minagi was the wrench in the works of my carefully constructed plan. That was good, actually. I'd expected Alma Elma to break discipline first. Minagi made a beeline for Nero, who Kanade had finally caught. They were about to work together to take out the first of my now Six Heavenly Knights.
It didn't seem fair to intervene. After all, this was supposed to be six on six, or seven on seven, if the Dark God had bothered to come out of her throne room. Well, if Alipheese was going to stay holed up in there while I was where the fight was, I considered it perfectly fair for me to get involved. I decided to test out Luka's power.
"You doing okay in there, Luka?" I asked telepathically. I was so happy to finally be able to speak to my Luka that way. I'd been wanting to teach him how to use telepathy since we'd first been married. But he could never figure it out.
"I… I'm fine," he replied.
"I'm going to start pulling power from you," I told him. "our son needs an assist."
"O-Okay," he said. He sure didn't sound okay. I hoped it was just the pleasure overwhelming him.
I called on Luka's power. I felt my stomach contract as I did so. Luka squirmed and moaned as he came again. But jump started the magic, giving me more than I thought I'd need. Nero may not have been able to freeze Kanade. I wouldn't have been able to do it either. But could Luka? I bet that it would work.
Pointing a finger at Kanade, I shouted. "Frost Ozma!' It wasn't a Luka spell. Luka doesn't cast spells, he just sorta wishes for things and sometimes they happen. Most of the time they don't. Since this was my first time ever invoking Luka's power in combat, I decided to be conservative. Rather than come out with something brand new that might not work, I simply upped the power of my Frost Ozma spell tenfold. I smiled in satisfaction as Nero broke free from Kanade's grasp, her tendrils shattering as he did so. Unfortunately I couldn't save him from the onrushing Minagi. Neris took care of that, getting between Minagi and her brother. Neris and Minagi tumbled onto the ground. I guess Neris was now Minagi's opponent.
Kanade was quickly taken out of the fight by an explosive rune in the air drawn by Nero. He knows rune magic? Heck, I didn't know rune magic! That's my boy! I thought. I hadn't expected Kanade to fall first. I'd assumed she'd be thetoughest.
Surveying the rest of the battle, the other opponent I'd feared most, Saja, was about to be defeated as well. Tamamo had suckered her, tricking Saja into wrapping Tamamo up. Saja assumed that was a battle she could win, due to the fact that lamia tails are much stronger than kitsune tails, and Tamamo was only a fraction of her true self. But Tamamo knew her sister's strategies. And Saja had underestimated Tamamo's strength. Invoking her earth power, Saja and Tamamo were engaging in a hugging contest. It would be cute if I couldn't hear ribs cracking. But Saja was clearly getting the worst of it.
Kanon yielded, unable to cope with Granberia's flaming sword. Had it been a fight to the death, Kanon would have been nowhere near finished, but apparently the girl was just done getting set on fire for the week. And her pleasure attacks had failed to disturb Granberia's steely determination. I checked for Minagi again. Minagi would slice right through that steely determination like a chainsaw through butter. Ah, shit. Minagi was duking it out with Alma Elma.
"Why do you disgrace your people with such a fighting style?" Minagi asked, fighting Alma Elma on Alma Elma's terms.
"You fight that way too!" Alma Elma said. "Your technique is excellent! There's no way you were just born knowing how to do that!"
"Some opponents are immune to pleasure attacks!" Minagi said defensively. "But you are a succubus! We should be fighting the succubus way!"
"I'm not stupid!" Alma Elma exclaimed. "Fighitng that way, I'd lose! Your magic is several times stronger than mine!"
"Then your victory will not be honorable!" Minagi yelled.
"Oh, really?" Alma Elma asked, and decked Minagi with a right cross. When Minagi tried to rise, Alma Elma punted her in the face. Yee-ouch! Three Ancestors… no, four down! Saja tapped Tamamo's shoulder, signaling her surrender.
That left the one Luka called evil Tamamo and Hiruko. I wanted my six Knights to gang up on them, but Granberia issued a challenging glance to Tamamo and it became a stupid duel of honor. Hiruko rediscovered Neris and those two started going at it again.
Funny little side story about Granberia. She loves to spar. She was constantly challenging Alma Elma and losing, but the ones she had always wanted to spar with were Tamamo and me. I don't do stupid sparring. At least not with real people. That's how you get hurt. All of my sparring sessions were with simulacrums that I created in the privacy of my personal gym. You can't hurt the simulacrum, and it can't hurt you. But you know when you land hits, and when it lands hits. Granberia liked to get hurt and dish out hurt. Tamamo doesn't practice at all. I have no idea how she keeps up her skills. I guess when you've been fighting for thousands of years it's all muscle memory.
So the reason for that little snipper is that Granberia was extremely eager to battle Tamamo. She shouldn't have been. Even at half strength, it was a bad matchup for Granberia. Which made Granberia all the more eager to take her on. Granberia got only one good flurry in, a Vaporizing Rebellion Sword that caught Tamamo completely off guard. The kitsune wobbled unsteadily, cut several times. I don't know if Granberia had actually hurt her or whether she was faking. You see, faking was another Tamamo favorite in battle. She loved to pretend she was hurt when she wasn't. I shouted a warning to Granberia, but it was too late. Tamamo leveled my Knight of Fire with a single tail strike. She must have put a ton of earth power behind it, because Granberia's breastplate actually cracked, and that was an enchanted breastplate!
That foolishness concluded, I waited for my four unoccupied Knights to finish the annoying kitsune. My cute little Tamamo looked especially eager to give her a sound beating. But then my Tamamo stopped. What? Oh, no. Not this. Someone kill me now.
Apparently this was going to be a thing whenever Granberia was defeated. She sprang back up, all pink and adorable. She took to the air and a beam of pure white light emanated from her sword… no, not her sword, her… umbrella. We HAVE to find a cure for that. I had to admit it got the job done though. Tamamo was instantly sealed into a smaller form. A REALLY small form. Even smaller than Tamamo. My Tamamo, to my eyes, looked about ten. This Tamamo looked five.
My Tamamo scooped up the little evil Tamamo and put her over her knee, spanking her soundly. "And don't you ever… torture…. Or rape… or kill…. Or try to destroy a whole universe…. Again!"
Hiruko backed away as my six Knights advanced on her. It looked like my brilliant plan was going to lead to a clean sweep. Damn, I'm good. Individually, we were overmatched, but with a little planning, plus my knowledge of the Ancestors' strengths and weaknesses, we beat the living hell out of them.
"Time for the main event, Luka," I said telepathically.
"Uh huh…" he said, delirious with pleasure.
I grimaced. I was happy to have his power, and happy that he was having a good time in there, but he was giving me serious indigestion due to the fact that I literally couldn't digest him. I farted loudly, not for the first time since swallowing Luka. At this rate, I'd force the Dark God to surrender from the stink alone.
"I'm going to leave the tentacle freak to you," I informed my Knights. "I'm going to go get my castle back. Or my mother's. Whoever this castle belongs to, I'm taking it back!"
"But Alice!" Granberia protested in a disturbingly high voice. "Should't I accompany you?"
"First off, put some base in your voice, girl," I replied. "That pink outfit and that high pitched voice. It's just not right."
"I'm sorry, Alipheese. I can't…. just change back. I have to become… less happy."
"You turn into the magical girl when you're happy?!"
"Yes… nothing makes me happier than being injured by a worthy opponent. I'm afraid that until my battle lust dies down, I won't be able to regain my preferred form."
"Heh. Heh heh heh…" I laughed. "Don't make me happy. You wouldn't like me when I'm cheerful…"
"Please, Alipheese, this is embarrassing!"
"Tough. You got this way by sticking your nose into something you shouldn't have. Now finish Hiruko and let me face the Dark God. Alone. None of you can hold a candle to her. I'm the only one who can take her on."
"Very well, my friend. Take care of Luka."
"Oh, I think he's doing pretty well," I said, feeling him come yet again. I could tell that he had lost consciousness, but I could sense that his life was in no danger. I didn't need him awake to use his power anyway. Let him sleep through the battle. He deserved a good, comfortable rest.
How rude of Alipheese to not address me as I advanced down the hall to the throne room. It was traditional for the Monster Lord to congratulate the hero upon defeating her best warriors. Maybe that tradition was more recent than I thought. I shrugged and continued to cautiously slither down the hallway.
When I entered the throne room, I found the Dark God on my throne. That brought back memories. I didn't like it now anymore than I liked it then. Sure, she was the original, the creator of us all, but her ideas were outdated and immoral. She had to be taken down a peg.
"Most impressive, Sixteen," Alipheese said, finally addressing me. Her voice and look were different from the Dark God I'd butted heads with in a past life. She still annoyingly addressed me by my number.
"Just shows what smart planning and knowing your enemy can accomplish," I said evenly.
"And was carrying the World Breaker around inside your stomach part of your brilliant plan?"
"That was Ilias' idea. I'm sure, given enough time, that I could have thought of something better, but we're kinda pressed for time."
"I see that Ilias has taken her Seraphs and assaulted the heavens," Alipheese said. "I wish her well."
"Can you see how she's doing?" I asked.
"Alas, no," the Dark God replied. "My vision does not extend to heaven. But it does extend to you. You are even more interesting than the World Breaker. A fractured soul, so many versions of yourself, many in conflict. Some of them hate me, others worship me, and one… worships Ilias? How strange."
"If you can see right through me, then you know I can beat you," I said.
"That I am not certain of. The World Breaker's power has been studied, briefly, but it is an alien power. I cannot judge its strength merely by reading it. But I have longed for a challenge for many millennia. I would like to test you. You want me to end the war? Defeat me, and I will make it so, as long as your little goddess fulfills her end of the bargain."
"She will," I said, actually believing it. "Ilias is an even better planner than I am. She wouldn't try taking on your enemy if she didn't think she could pull it off."
"We shall see. For now, there is the issue between us to settle."
"Let's do this th-!"
I was interrupted and taken by surprise by a stupendous blast of dark magic from Alipheese's hand. I had never seen that kind of power in any of my lifetimes. To my delight, the shield I'd put up protecting my entire body even before I'd entered the castle absorbed it easily. I never understood why Luka always needed to summon those on demand. It was so easy to just create a shield out of his power that dispelled anything. Perhaps I was just better at concentrating on multiple spells. Luka never could multitask.
I fired back directly with Luka's power, knowing that there should be no effective defense against it. My bolt had the same negligible effect as Alipheese's dark magic.
"As I said, we did have some time to briefly study Luka's magic and develop a few countermeasures," the Dark God said, rising from my throne. "I assure you, no matter how much power you use, you will not be able to penetrate my shield. And you will drain Luka dry before I run out of my own nearly limitless magic."
"Then I guess we have to settle this with swords," I said, summoning a shadow sword very similar to the one Luka used.
Alipheese materialized a sword of her own. Holy crap was it huge! It was larger than she was, a jet black blade.
"Um… wow," I said admiringly. "That's a really big sword. Let me… just hold on…"
I willed my own sword to grow larger. I'd always preferred small rapiers for their speed, but one should always use the right tool for the job and going up against a goddess with what would amount to a needle when she was sporting a gigantosword seemed foolish.
"I see your sword is now as large as mine," the Dark God said, which made me laugh involuntarily. Luka exposed me to way too many Earth movies. I couldn't help myself. I had to say it.
"It's not how big it is! It's how you use it!"
Our swords clashed. Fortunately, I'm really, really strong, so the larger sword didn't diminish my speed much at all. Her speed was impressive as well. As was her skill. I'd chosen to fight her in close combat because I understood that if I couldn't win quickly with Luka's power, that I would lose as Luka's power dwindled. But fighting her with a sword wasn't going so well for me either. She was a goddess. She would not tire. I was not. My body was already aching ten minutes in.
I began mixing in my various offensive spells. Alipheese had prioritized her protection against Luka's magic. Using my own spells, amped up by Luka's magic, seemed to have somewhat more effect, keeping her off balance. I even managed to hit her a few times. If it was weakening her, she didn't show it. She had yet to hit me, but she didn't have to. Just dodging and parrying that gigantic black sword was exhausting. Forunately I didn't have to worry about her magic. My shield seemed nearly invincible. Any attacks she tried with magic were easily absorbed by it.
The battle raged on. I emptied my entire bag of tricks. Cursed sword techniques, offensive spells, debuffs, status ailments. Even when I was successful, the results were minimal. This simply was not the same Dark God I'd battled so long ago. She may have had the same twisted ideology, but she was different in so many other ways. I was flying by the seat of my pants, and when I do that, I lose all of my advantages.
"Luka! I need you to wake up!" I yelled telepathically.
"Wha- huh?" he responded.
"Luka, focus! This is the main event! I need you right now!"
"What can I do?" he asked, more attentive than he'd been ever since I'd swallowed him.
"Order me up a Quadruple Giga! I can't do it while I'm fighting, but you can do it for me!"
"I can hear you!" Alipheese exclaimed, increasing the ferocity of her attacks. Good. That meant she was worried.
"I know you can hear me," I taunted her. "But can you stop me, even though you know what's coming?"
"Come Sylph!" Luka said in my head.
"I hear you, Luka!" Sylph exclaimed. I felt the power of wind enter my sword. It was working!
"Come Gnome!"
My sword was starting to become more difficult to control. Alipheese took advantage, aiming blows at my lower body. She was trying to break Luka's concentration by hurting him! That made me angry. A plan began to form in my mind, motivated primarily by my anger. I began to ready the spell.
"Do you really think you can hide your thoughts from me!?" Alipheese yelled, clearly becoming agitated.
"I'm not even trying," I said, parrying her low blows, protecting my darling.
"Come Undine!"
Alipheese turned into smoke. I had to hope that she was predictable. I swung my sword in a wide arc behind me, hoping that was where she would be. I landed a solid hit on her neck.
"Come Salamander!" Luka cried.
I quickly cast the spell. It was a simple spell, one that I'd learned as a child, and it required no boost from Luka's power. It was a simple mass alteration spell. I didn't try to cast it at Alipheese. I cast it at her sword. Even though the dark goddess knew it was coming, her sword dropped just enough
"Demon Decapitation!" I cried out, my element infused sword slicing into her neck and detonating. The shield protected me from the blast, but not from being thrown back. I landed right in my throne. How fitting.
I assumed it would not be enough to kill her. I'd used only the four natural elements. I hadn't had time or the mind space to concentrate on adding my own dark magic or Luka's magic. But it was clear that Alipheese was beaten and at my mercy. I could see that her shield was down. She was defenseless. She was struggling to maintain any kind of form, the dark magic that made up her body trying to disperse. It was taking all of her concentration just to hold herself together.
"What will it be, Alipheese?" I asked, looking down at her from my throne. "Do you yield? Will you agree now to end this idiotic conflict?"
"Y-yes," she replied shakily. "If Ilias will stop fighting, I will as well. You have proven that this world belongs to you and your husband. I admit this wasn't the way I expected to be defeated by him should he choose to not join us. Prophecies can be surprising things."
"Only idiots put faith in prophecies," I said. "Now gather your goons and get out of my castle. Whether or not you are permitted inside it again will depend on how much you assist us in the real battle to come."
Alipheese pulled herself together. And then to my surprise, she bent the knee.
"We did it!" Tamamo yelled with exhilaration back at the Pocket Castle. Although the real castle was now mine once again, I decided to leave it in my mother's care. Granberia and Erubetie resumed their place as her personal bodyguards. Nero and Neris had inexplicably left. I longed to hold them, but I realized that they were not actually my children. Their mother was still alive, in some alternate world.
"Yeah we did!" Alma Elma agreed happily. "We didn't just beat them, we dominated them!"
"You're welcome," I said. "Now aren't you glad you didn't just go and fight who you wanted to fight?"
"Hey, I still got to clean Minagi's clock," Alma Elma pointed out.
"I didn't get to teach my counterpart a lesson," Tamamo grumbled. "But personal vendettas don't matter. What matters is we won, and you, Alice, were the one who mapped it all out for us! I taught you well!"
"I'll concede that your education had something to do with it," I admitted. I could afford to be gracious. We really had won a great victory. Even I hadn't expected things to go as well as they did.
Mother was waiting for us. She hugged me tightly and congratulated me on my victory, making me promise to tell her every detail.
"Um, Alice, don't you think it's time to let Luka out?" Tamamo asked.
"Oh no! Luka!" I exclaimed. I'd somehow completely forgotten that he was inside my stomach. He'd passed out right after the Quadruple Giga. I tried contacting him telepathically. Nothing. Oh please, I thought. I hope Ilias' spell hasn't worn off!
"Well, spit him out!" Tamamo ordered.
I paused and realized I didn't know how to do that. In only a few of my past lives had I ever eaten a human. And none of those had ever coughed one up before. I tried sticking my fingers down my throat. Idiot! I thought. You have no gag reflex!
"Help! I don't know how to bring him back up!" I cried.
"There, there, Alice, calm down," Mother said to me, gently wrapping me up. "Every lamia mother knows how to do this. Open wide."
I opened my mouth as wide as I could. Mother shoved her hand down my throat. Then she shoved it in further, going in nearly to her shoulder.
"Ack," I said, not really gagging, but still finding the sensation of my mother rummaging around inside me as if I was her purse uncomfortable.
"Ah, I feel his head," Mother said, and yanked. An even more uncomfortable sensation overtook me as I vomited Luka and most of my stomach acids onto my mother and the floor. Luka was naked, covered in my juices. He wasn't moving. I listened for his heartbeat. It was strong. I collapsed in relief.
"He seems to be just fine," Mother said, picking him up gently. "he's going to need a good washing, though. Is Cindy currently in the castle?"
"She is!" Tamamo said brightly.
"I will carry him to Cindy, then. Alice, get some rest. And pray for Ilias' success."
There was no way I was going to sleep with the outcome in heaven still up in the air. I resolved to wait for Ilias. I was just relieved that Luka was all right. Ilias had protected him well from digestion, but the critical ecstasy from having over twenty orgasms inside me had been rough on him.
Hello, loyal readers, I am your Goddess Ilias. Now I understand that many of you follow false gods, so may not acknowledge me as their one true Goddess. I will stay my wrath, because I understand that there was once a time that I was…. Controversial. That's why this book exists. The title says Luka's story, but I feel that it's really about me and my journey of self discovery. Luka has simply been kind enough to chronicle it for me. But he insisted that I write this story because of the small detail that he wasn't there, so couldn't properly tell it himself. I was delighted to assist, so that I could speak directly to all who love and worship me, as well as those of you still on the fence about me. As for the haters:. Fuck you all. I will destroy you.
Now as you all know, I am an even more brilliant planner than Alice. But this time I was kinda winging it. You see, all of those elaborate plans of the past, plans so good that I won even when I lost(which are the most brilliant plans of all), were thought up by my galaxy-sized brain. At the time of this story, I did not possess a galaxy-sized brain. I had a brain no larger than Luka's, and that is a very frightening thought. I also may have been displaying some addictive behaviors, being new to the whole pleasure thing. So I concocted a plan that required me to have sex with Luka, and since I am a gracious goddess who rewards her brave heroes, managed to fulfill one of Luka's fantasies in the process. But did I really have to do it that way? Probably not.
I'm afraid I also stormed the heavens with no plan. I'd been experimenting with small amounts of Luka's power for weeks. His alien power was truly a marvelous thing. It's like having a genie who can grant unlimited wishes, although as with any genie, how well your wish is fulfilled depends on how you state your wish and the competence and morality of the genie in question. While Luka's power didn't seem to have a will of it's own, since it was a piece of his soul I was borrowing, some things were easier to do than others. And that was one of the things that made it so wonderful yet so frustrating.
You see, although I call myself a goddess, I have to learn and cast spells. Some spells are easy. Once you have them down pat, you can cast them with but a thought plus some muscle memory. Others are more elaborate, requiring incantations, special movements, and possibly even physical components, such as eye of newt, if you're an evil witch. Then there are the extremely powerful spells that require very rare components and long rituals. Luka's power was different. It responded simply to his will. While that can be convenient, it can also make it more difficult to get exactly what you want. At least with formal spells, you get a predictable result every time, assuming you perform the spell correctly.
But over the weeks, I felt that I'd gotten pretty proficient with his power. Most importantly, I'd learned how to make it self replenish, a surprisingly simple skill which Luka could never seem to do except under duress. The only limitation on this ability of mine was that I could only ever replenish as much of his magic as I started out with. And sometimes, especially in the early weeks, I'd expend it quickly and foolishly on dumb things like making myself mature so that it would feel better when I got laid. I became more disciplined later on, conserving just enough so that I could continue practicing.
So it was with supreme confidence that I shouted, "Ilias is here, motherfuckers!" and kicked down the door to heaven. The merger of the three worlds had eliminated the Snow Continent and restored Heaven. All of the angels had been returned to heaven and all the local monster life had been transferred to the northern frozen wastes of Hellgondo. I'm not really sure why it worked out that way. A merger of three worlds should have caused untold death and destruction. But since Luka did it, somehow it all worked out.
I wasn't alone in my raid on Heaven. My three Seraphs were with me. I was confident that I could take on all comers with Luka's power. I'd absorbed a lot of it. And since I had his direct permission to use it, I had few limitations. But I was still not the true wielder. Only Luka himself could ever be. Nevertheless, I felt more powerful than Luka, due to the limitations he himself imposed on his own power. Those limitations were mostly subconscious, but they were real. He was just too much of a do gooder to truly embrace his godlike power. I had no such inhibitions.
I immediately began to demonstrate my lack of inhibition by blasting the first several angels we encountered into unconsciousness. I don't mind killing, but I was aware that Luka had trusted me with his power. I loved him too much to violate that trust.More angels came. More went down, landing in the pillowy softness of the cloudy ground, where they could enjoy a well deserved nap. Eden, Lucifina, and Micaela could only follow behind. I instructed them to watch my back.
I wasn't about to underestimate my opponent. The Ilias of Angel World wasn't just a fully powered version of me, she was a fully powered version of me who had accomplished what I had failed to. Truth be told, I was glad to not be facing her merely as myself, even if I'd had my full power. In an apples to apples comparison, I probably came up short. Luka's power gave me something different. Something better. I hoped.
Higher ranking angels began to attack us, overwhelming even my defenses, forcing my Seraphs to protect me from attacks I couldn't see. I really missed my omniscience. I still wasn't used to having to rely on mortal senses in combat.
Soon, however, their numbers thinned out and so for recreation I simply shot angel after angel down with my finger as if I was in a shooting gallery. A part of me still enjoyed their squeals of dismay as they went down. Angels may not feel pain, but they really hate failing their goddess. They'd get over it. If all went according to plan, they'd soon have a new goddess. I just needed to make it through the part where I had no plan: the battle. So allow me to illustrate for you what my brilliant plan was.
Step 1: Fuck Luka.
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Become a goddess again.
Actually, step 3 was a little more involved than that, but I don't want to spoil it for you, especially since I had no plan B, which was very unlike me.
Eventually I ran out of angels to shoot. Another advantage of Luka's power was that this world's Ilias would know very little about it. She was probably trying to get me to expend my power on her flunkies, leaving me helpless for the real fight. When she saw that I was replenishing what I used up just by wishing it so, she finally decided that her cannon fodder angels had taken enough of a beating for one day.
That's when the Seven Archangels and the three new Seraphs showed up. Ten against four. Perhaps I should have thought this out a little better. Alice didn't go into her fight with such lopsided odds.
"Eden, Micaela, Lucifina," I said. "Take care of those upstart Seraphs for me, would you please?"
"With pleasure, my goddess," Eden said, staring down her counterpart.
"Time to kill," Lucifina said with a grin.
"Have a care, sister," Micaela admonished. "We wish them to join us. If they refuse, then we can execute them. But Ilias, what about the archangels?"
"The archangels are too much for you," I said. "Leave them to me."
One of the nice things about having lackeys with unquestioning loyalty is that they totally believe you when you say you'll just casually fight seven of the most powerful beings in the universe. My Seraphs took to the sky to battle it out with Zion, Gnosis, and the other Eden. Their battle quickly took them out of sight. I stood up straight and puffed my chest out, using my most haughty voice.
"This world only has room for one goddess!" I declared. "Obviously, that goddess should be me! I am far more lovely than your goddess."
"You look exactly like her!" Uriela responded.
"What would you know about it?!" I retorted. "Your fucking head was only just sewed back on last week!"
Uriela self consciously felt her neck. The healing was not yet complete.
"I am more just than your goddess!" I argued.
"You say that because you couldn't eliminate the monsters from your world!" Micaela shot back.
"I sealed them!" I protested. "But truly, being a companion of the Child of Judgment has helped me see things I never knew before. Your goddess remains aloof, obsessed with the wrong things."
"It is for our goddess to decide what things are important!" Sariela exclaimed. "What good is it to save our world if monsters can freely prey on and corrupt the humans!"
"Oh, because you're such a model of decency, Sariela!" I countered.
"I… I engage in perversions and witchcraft for my goddess," she said defensively.
"Most importantly, I'm more powerful than your goddess!" I finished. "The Child of Judgment has lent me his power! None can stand against it! But if you'd like to find that out for yourselves, I'll be happy to educate you!"
"Then let me be your first student!" Uriela yelled, and charged at me, her great sword drawn.
"Please…" I said contemptuously. It took only the smallest amount of Luka's power for me to enhance my speed so that I could easily dodge three straight strikes from the warrior archangel. Then I knocked her fucking block off. Literally.
"Not again!" Uriela's head cried as it flew past her fellow archangels. Her body ran after it.
"Let's see how you deal with a dose of black magic!" Sariela yelled, leveling her staff at me and firing a beam of crackling dark energy at me. Or should I say, imitation dark energy. I'd done my research on Sariela. I'd asked Luka to tell me every detail of his encounters with her, especially the parts where she fucked him. Then I asked him to tell me again, but slowly, so that I could remember every detail. Finally, I asked him to tell me while Saki sang a sexy song, so that I could put myself in his shoes and really understand Sariela.
What I knew about Sariela was that her black magic was great for terrifying mortals, but was a pale imitation of true dark magic when used against fellow immortal beings like myself. I didn't even have to adjust my shield to absorb the attack.
"Your ridiculous black magic can't even hope to touch me!" I said. "Why don't you try to come at me as Uriela did?"
Sariela obliged, twirling her staff quite impressively. She was quicker than Uriela, so I actually had to use a weapon to parry her attacks. I chose a sword of pure light. And then she left me an opening. Her head joined Uriela's on the ground.
"Next!" I yelled.
Raphaela and Gabriela tried to attack me where I was weakest: pleasure attacks.
"Raphaela!" I said in shock. "Aren't you supposed to be virtuous? Chaste, even?"
"I fuck for my goddess, and only for my goddess!" Raphaela cried, and began to suck on my breast. An ultra soft vine from Gabriela slipped under my dress and penetrated me, while other vines wrapped around me, attempting to restrain me.
Without Luka's power, I admit that would have finished me. These were archangels, with sexual magic far beyong anything I'd ever experienced since this whole new world of pleasure had been opened up to me. I probably would have consented to be a slave to my counterpart for eternity in exchange for her archangels pleasuring me regularly. But with Luka's power, I could simulate my former divinity. Since I knew what being divine felt like, it was a simple as wishing it to be so. It's not that I didn't feel what they were doing to me. It even felt a little nice, actually. But it didn't register in my brain as overwhelming, irresistible, addictive pleasure.
"Having fun? Do go on a little longer if you're enjoying yourself," I said to Raphaela, who was doing things to my breast that I imagined even Alma Elma would be impressed by.
"But… Ilias said this was sure to finish you!" Rapahela protested.
"Yeah, yesterday! Looks like your goddess isn't as infallible as she claims to be."
Enhancing my strength with Luka's power, I conked her on the head with my fist, knocking her clean out. Wow, archangels were weak compared to Luka. How in the hell was he having so much trouble with them? This was too easy!
So easy, that I decided to get creative. Grabbing onto the vine that was penetrating me, I infused it with my much stronger sexual magic and sent it back through the vine. Enhanced with Luka's power, it overrode even her divinity, forcing pleasure into her that she had never felt before. It was as if the vine was her penis and my vagina was too much for her.
"This… This feeling!" Gabriela cried. "Is this what the humans feel when I pleasure them?!"
And then she passed out. Her vines fell away from me.
"Anyone else?" I asked.
Micaela rushed at me with her mighty sword. Her I actually respected. Feared, even. If there was one angel that ever had a chance to overthrow me back on my world, it had been Micaela.
Uriela may have officially been the warrior of the group, but Micaela was better, and more well rounded. The bitch actually hit me! But I'm pretty good myself. Where do you think Micaela learned all of her holy sword techniques? I taught her that! But my goodness, was she quick! I could match her quickness, but I was having trouble simulating my old goddess senses. My brain simply could not process any of it without my true divinity. I briefly thought that Micaela might actually have a chance to beat me. Until I realized that with Luka's power, I could simply wish for things. So I wished for Micaela to be tiny. I flicked her away from me like an annoying fly. Ah, I could get used to this! I really needed to explore the limits of this power now that I was carrying more of it! I was sure Luka wouldn't mind. Especially if he didn't know about it.
That left the two creepy weirdoes, Sandolphan and Metatron. They didn't seem troubled at all by the defeat of their fellow archangels.
"Well?!" I taunted them. "Are you two going to fight, or what?"
"Oh, yes, fake Ilias," they said in unison, further creeping me out. "Guess what we can do."
I drew a blank. I distinctly remembered Luka telling me about them in a recent briefing, but since they hadn't tried to fuck him, I was barely paying attention. Sariela had been far more interesting.
The two little archangels hugged joined hand and started to transform. Did they combine into a larger angel? No, that wasn't it. Fuck! I really needed to pay better attention at the daily briefing sessions! They began to glow.
"Oh, f-!"
I put every bit of Luka's magic I could spare into reinforcing my shield before the entire world seemed to explode in my face. I was tossed about, buffeted by hurricane force winds as I was thrown back faster than the speed of sound. I must have landed miles away, my fall broken by solid rock instead of soft cloud. Had I been blasted clear out of Heaven?
On the contrary. I was definitely still in Heaven. I'd landed on the doorstep of the Great Ilias Temple in Heaven. I wondered if that had been intentional. This was the most likely place where I would confront my counterpart. And I'd used up a lot of energy saving myself from that blast.
"Come in, little godling," a voice said from inside. The voice of a true goddess. Despite the fact that I'd been in her shoes for millions of years, I was in awe. Luka's power was probably greater than hers, but there was no aura surrounding it to inspire awe in all those who beheld Luka. In fact, Luka was about the most nondescript being one could ever behold. Even knowing how powerful he was, it was impossible to be overwhelmed by his presence. In fact, he was easy to overlook in a crowd.
I knew she was baiting me, trying to get me to confront her before I could replenish. I couldn't just fill it up quickly. If I only had a small amount to work with, I coud double that in a minute or so. Then in another minute, double that. But I'd expended a lot. It would be at least ten minutes before I was back where I'd started.
Nevertheless, her commanding voice was impossible for me to defy. I shook my head, trying to clear it. I'd protected myself from magical attacks and even mind magic, but I'd failed to appreciate my own natural, overwhelming presence. I wasn't even standing before her yet and I felt like I was nothing. A gnat. It was all I could do not to fall to my knees and start worshipping her.
I have a strong will, though, so I began to shake off the effects as I entered the temple. And then I saw her. Holy shit she was beautiful. Perfect in every way. I wanted to fuck myself so badly. I began slapping myself, temporarily turning off my divinity to make myself feel pain again. My counterpart should have taken advantage of me. I was at a serious disadvantage. Instead, she gazed down at me as if I was a supplicant.
"Welcome, little godling," she said.
That was the second time she'd called me a little godling. That pissed me off.
"In case you hadn't noticed, I look like an adult now!" I said heatedly.
"Even if you had my power, you would be a godling. You have the maturity of a child. It's no wonder you were a failure."
I began to compose a very obscene reply, but realized there was nothing I could say. I had failed. Not only had I failed to eradicate monsters, but I'd brought about the potential destruction of all existence.
"While I admit your track record is better than mine," I finally said. "You're heading down the exact same path."
"Oh, I think not. I haven't made deals with the devil as you have. I've simply done what I set out to do at every turn. This time will be no different. I will eradicate the monsters again, and then I shall personally destroy the most evil monster of all, the Goddess of Chaos."
Wow, I thought. She was even more delusional than I was, drunk on her own success. Was there any iteration of me that had a clue? I wondered if maybe ending my existence was better for the universe. But that was impossible. I am a concept, not a person. I can never truly die unless the universe dies. Luka's unwillingness to kill me wasn't just his forgiving nature. I had no choice but to try to be better, because my existence was eternal. My consciousness could be disrupted, but I could never be completely destroyed. It was time to become what I was meant to be.
"If you won't end this war, I'll end it. By taking over Heaven," I said.
"And I will take it back," she said matter of factly. "I am far greater than you. Your artificial power that does not belong to you means less than nothing today."
"Then I guess I'll have to break a promise to Luka and eradicate you," I said.
"We shall see, little godling. But not here. This temple is sacred. And I do not I intend to hold back."
And in an instant I was no longer in the temple. I recognized the new location. It was an undeveloped part of Heaven, one of it's many vast open areas. It was nothing but clouds for thousands of miles in every direction. That meant nothing to destroy. Good. I didn't want to hold back either.
"I read your thoughts, you know," she said.
"I'm pretty sure I know what your capabilities are,' I retorted.
"You were wondering if you deserved to exist," she said. "You decided that you have no choice. But you do. You are an Ilias from another universe, and your form is not truly holy magic. Only a tiny part of you is. The rest is flesh and blood. Yet you still have no soul. I can end your misery right now. If I destroy you in a universe that is not your own, your existence will end forever."
"I already knew that," I replied. "And yes, I am… conflicted lately. My ego is still as large as yours, and yet I hate who I was and wonder if I can ever be worthy to be called a goddess. But now I have people I care about. I won't take the easy way out! But thanks for the offer. Oh, and thanks for giving me time to recharge."
I blasted her. Although she could read minds, she didn't catch my thought in time. I hit her directly, sending her careening miles away over the vast heavens. I followed her, not intending to give her a chance to recover. I did not feel that I had to play by monster rules, because I knew that she would not. Beating her would not force her to change course. I had to end her. I hoped that Luka would understand if my plan failed.
What looked like a fucking star flew at me. It was so enormous I could only enhance my shielding again and hope that I'd pass through it with only my eyebrows singed. I succeeded, but she'd already managed to reduce my stores of Luka's power to their minimum. I did quick calculations. It was a good thing I'd been experimenting so much with his power the past few weeks. I knew exactly what I could and couldn't do.
As I exited the star a sword of pure holy light slashed at me. My counterpart had been ready for me, assuming I'd survive, but be almost completely drained. I had more than enough to summon my simulated version of my own holy sword.
We were too evenly matched. Our skills were equal, our swords were equal, our strength was equal. But I had something she didn't. She was motivated by her hate. Believe me, hate is a powerful motivator. All I had was a determination to save my friends. Many of them would be the first to die if she beat me here. The Akamane sisters. Saki. Fumi. Completely harmless monsters who would never hurt a soul. And Alice. Alice, who despite growing up hating me, had become my best friend. All the experiences Alice and I had on our journey came rushing back into my head as I fought. Hate might be a powerful motivator. But love conquers all.
"How is it possible?!" the goddess exclaimed as I struck her again and again with my holy sword, piercing her defenses fueled more by determination than skill or power.
"Enough!" she screamed. "I am finished toying with you, you mockery of a goddess! You may be able to counter anything I can do in my human form. Now quail in terror at my true form!"
She transformed right in front of me, a being so awesome that my mortal senses couldn't even cope with it. Humans had gone mad, even died, gazing at my true form. Luka's power was no protection against it. How can even that kind of power protect one from what her own senses witness? My only protection was the fact that it was me. I'd seen myself before. Still, I fell to my knees. Luka's power was nearly gone. I could not trade magic with this being.
"Grovel, insect!' she commanded. "Beg me for mercy."
"Fuck you," was my reply. "You and I both know that you have none."
"Still, I would truly appreciate it if you begged."
"I'd rather give you a present," I said.
"A gift?" she scoffed. "What kind of gift could you possibly give me?"
"This," I said, making one last wish with Luka's power and holding up a small stone. It was barely the size of my palm. But the goddess reacted to it as a legendary vampire to garlic.
"What… What is that?!" she cried. "My form! It's dispersing! What are you doing to me?! I shall destroy you!"
She tried. Her essence shimmered and a flash of light shot out, aimed right for me. I didn't even have a shield up anymore. For the first time in weeks Luka's power was completely purged from my body. In a few minutes the rock would turn into dust and if she had anything left, then there would be no end to the goddess' wrath. But for now, her wrath was less than nothing. Her wave of pure holy light felt like a warm blast of air, nothing more.
"This," I said tossing the rock casually. "Is negamite. Or Promesteinium. I don't really give a fuck what they call it, actually. Since you don't recognize it, I assume it didn't exist on your world. I have to admit, I didn't know about it either. It didn't exist on mine. But it turns out that Makai had some natural deposits and Luka managed to bring some here. Once I understood it's chemical composition all I needed was a simple thought to create a piece. Here, want to touch it?"
"Get it away from me!" she cried in terror. She tried teleporting out. She found that she could not. My trap had been sprung. "How come it is not hurting you?!"
"As you pointed out, I'm mostly flesh and blood at the moment," I explained. The goddess' form continued to become disorganized and unstable. "But even if I'd used it on you earlier in our fight, it wouldn't have hurt you much. It just would have rendered your spells nearly useless. Mine too, of course. You see, I learned something from another counterpart of mine who liked to visit a world where this stuff was common. So common, that the world in question had almost no magic. It turns out that as long as she was in human form, the world translated her existence as human. But the form you're in right now. Well… that's not possible in a world of no magic. And for a few hundred feet in every direction, it's not possible for a true goddess to exist. Goodbye, Ilias."
"No!" she cried. "I must not perish! I am the Goddess!"
"Oh, well since you put it that way," I chuckled. I threw the rock as far as I could. It would turn into dust on its own, but apparently the goddess wouldn't survive that long. And I'd promised Luka. I had to at least try to spare her, to be worthy of him.
Free of the negamite's violence to her holy form, she quickly achieved human form. But she was as weak as a child. I could finish this with only my own magic. I pointed my finger at her and lifted her off the ground, then bound her with a simple spell. She floated in midair, helpless. I read her magic. It would be hours before she was a threat to me again.
"Why?!" she raged at me. "Why would you fight yourself! The pinnacle of who you've always wanted to be?! I achieved what every Ilias dreams of! I am the greatest of Iliases! Why fight me?! You could have served me! Been my second in command!"
"I know you can't read my mind at the moment," I replied. "But you saw me clearly before. You saw what my motivations were. You tell me why I fought you."
"I saw," she agreed. "But I did not understand. It made no sense to me. How can you love… monsters? How can you regard human lives to be as valuable as your own?"
"Ah, see, now you're starting to figure it out. You know all, yet you understand nothing. That's the paradox of being a goddess."
"Please…" she said. Was she the one begging now? "Please… I want to understand. What could possibly motivate you to turn against your true nature?"
"Being what you are.... it's not our true nature. It's the one thing we all get wrong, no matter which universe we come from or the circumstances. None of us ever developed our own identity. We became goddesses because we thought that was our role in our worlds. We built a tower of lies that we demanded the surface swellers believe, until even we started to believe in the lies. I want more than that. Luka thinks I've become a goody goody gumdrops dork, just like him. But reality isn't that simple for those of us who are immortal, is it? That much you truly understand. I want true power. I want to actually be a goddess, not a glorified spirit! I thought I could achieve that by adding to my power. I thought that if I multiplied my strength tenfold that the lies would become true. But I had failed even before Luka defeated me. My existence would still have been a lie, just a bigger lie than before."
"You speak in riddles, fellow goddess," she said, finally showing me some fucking respect.
"No, you'll never understand if I just tell you," I said. "the only way you can truly understand is to walk around in my shoes."
"You still speak in riddles. Speak plainly! For one as blunt and profane as you, one would think you could be clear!"
"Merge with me," I said, holding out my hand to her. "We don't have souls as the mortals do. But we can also join with one another, and we don't even have to die to do it. Take my hand, and absorb this weak human form into yourself. As well as what little true holy power I possess."
"You would…. Give yourself to me?" she asked, astonished. "Are you taking advantage of me because I cannot read your mind? This is some kind of ruse! If I absorb and dissolve your mortal flesh and combine your holy essence with mine, you will be just a small part of me! I would utterly dominate you! You can kill me now, exile me to oblivion for thousands, if not tens of thousands of years! Why would you destroy yourself to benefit me?"
"You want to understand, don't you?" I prompted, continuing to hold out my hand. "It's not about how small my essence is, but the knowledge which it contains. Once you experience it, you'll never be able to go back to who you were. You won't dominate me, and I won't dominate you either. We'll be one. There will be no conflict between us. Because I already understand what makes you tick. And I still agree with every bit of it. A part of me will always hate the monsters for what they've done to the humans, and a part of me will always hate those humans who won't worship me. All I did was begin to understand their point of view. It's called empathy, fellow goddess. Have you actually learned anything new in the last five thousand years or so? C'mon, take my hand. A whole new world of knowledge can be yours. And your power, once you're back to normal, can be mine. Let's take two broken goddesses and make one good one."
The goddess stared at my hand for awhile. I had to admit I was a little scared. I was taking a leap of faith. I believed that since she was just like me, that once she could see what I've seen, that she would change as I did. If she didn't, I would lose myself utterly, reduced to a tiny little angel in her head trying to steer her on the right path. That would be worse than nonexistence. She was afraid as well. My offer did nothing to threaten her existence, but it did threaten her entire reason for being, her entire motivation these many thousands of years. She wouild find that everything she believed was wrong. And in some ways, that was scarier for her than any fears I had.
Making a decision, she grasped my hand firmly. Our bodies dissolved into one. I stood there, in the vast openness, trying to process the transition. It was a lot. Millions of years of memories that we had in common merged into one, but to sets of memories over the previous thousand or so remained in conflict. Nothing I saw from her memories shocked me. They were memories of victory, of glory, of a utopia created according to my will. Everything I had ever dreamed of. And then my other memories flooded in, and it all turned to ash. It had all been so pointless.
And then I laughed.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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