Chapter 2: Reason to be an Atheist
"I respectfully decline!"
"E..why, may I know the reason child?"~
Edward's answer was instantaneous, such that the Goddess was dumbfounded.
"I know that my words don't matter in front of a being such as you, But even so, I had seen enough misery for one life, hundreds of innocent people dying out of hunger and starvation, people eating their children just to survive for another day, women selling themselves just to bring back a loaf of bread for their children to eat, and humans becoming more hideous and twisted monsters... I do not want to relive those dark ages again."
"Instead, I would like to ask you a question, almighty Goddess? Where were you when humanity need a God's intervention the most? Were the prayers done by the devoted people, not for your liking? Or does it takes a blood sacrifice to appease you! like the old days?"
Edward's words were filled with mockery, sarcasm, and anger which he did not show on his face but expressed through his words, but everything he said was true.
After the war, Edward was assigned a mission by the newly established Grand Council to gather data around the world, mainly accurate statistics for number of deaths broadly classified through various means such as; War Casualties, Murders, and Suicides.
This was done to have an accurate records of what had happened with the people in the mids of war for study purpose, but the death's were more than the combined casualties of World War 1 and World War 2.
Since he had personally visited every part of the world seeing such horrific scenes that might traumatize anyone left a scar on his already num mind. People in their desperation prayed to Gods to give them salvation, only to be killed by a missile dropped on their heads by an aircraft passing by.
Well in some way it could also be considered as a type of salvation as those who lived in some of the lawless regions were tortured, raped, and murdered. Children's and elders alike, there was no such concepts as human rights in that era and thus, the Grand Council took the role of "Humanities Guardian". They merged all the existing nations to restore peace and stability. The Council was not like an Empires governing body, but more like UN only having enormous power and authority as compared to its counterpart, their members were also not nations, but selected elite Individuals by the nations not by their wealthy pockets but on the basis of their knowledge and skills.
The Goddess for the first time showed a grief-stricken emotion as she answered.
"I'm truly sorry for the losses that your world had to suffer, since ancient times gods do not have the authority to meddle with another god's domain to any greater extent and even if it was their own they were forbidden to do so and let the destiny decide its way"~
"Do you mean"...
"Yes. it's exactly what you are thinking. It was the god of your world, he got bored and played a prank by instigated you humans to fight among one another. Through our reports he had done this countless times but because of the sudden inflow of souls coming to heaven we came to know about his deeds"~
"MOTHER FUCKER, YOU PIECE OF SHIT, BASTERD!!! And you almighty gods came to know about his actions now!!? Is this some kind of joke!!?
Edward was so angry that he was becoming red, and profanities came out of his mouth like water, which he would not do in any given circumstance.
The goddess looked at him with sorrow-filled eyes, she had read the record of misdeeds that the God had done. She knew she was in no condition to ask his help to save another world after what one of their own had done to these humans.
The universe and cosmos were vast and the creator cannot place more high-level gods to oversee each and every world, but this problem was different and a difficult one at that, as it involved Demons from the Abyss, if not solved properly it might lead to some horrible disaster that might endanger many lives, not only of that world but others as well.
Edward calmed down after his sudden outburst. He knew that he could do nothing, the power to question Gods was not in the hands of mere mortals. Even in his world, some administrators were scumbags who would not do their work properly, and it was not in his behavior to get angered over spilled milk.
"Surely being an atheist was the right choice"
muttered Edward, but then another question plagued his mind
"Lady Goddess why do you need my help? can't you just ask the God of that world to get what you want?"
"The God of that world died around a million years ago"~
"Can gods really die"?
"No, since we are an immortal race we can not die but due to the war between Demons and Gods, he died"~
"Can't you just replace his domain with another god? What about our world?"
"Your case was a different one as a God stepped outside his boundaries for his amusement, his powers would be taken away from him and would be given to an Angel ascending her to Godhood, and then She would oversee your world. But in a world where a God had died, after millions and billions of years, the god will resurrect again but during that time the powers of Darkness lurking in that world would get stronger resulting in a massive number of deaths. So I beg of you! please save the world!... Otherwise it will become feeding grounds for Demonic entities that will devour all its inhabitants"~
Edward sighed as he looked at the goddess figure who was pleading to him earnestly, their were no hidden or interior motives behind those eyes. Never in his life would have he imagined a god pleading to him.
"Alright! said Edward, I'll go to that world but tell me exactly what I have to do?"
The goddess's face visibly lit up into a happy smile as she answered
"It's the same as what you have done in your old world. Stop the conflicts between nations, create peace among different races, and most importantly find the Demonic entities hidden in the shadows and exterminator them"~
"Hm... "What's the power gap?"
"Ee...what?"
Edward was a realistic person the first two requests were easy to accomplish as they involved fields related to his expertise but to exterminate being of higher order was going too far, Edward wanted to ensure his safety, hence he asked this question.
"You said you want me to kill the Demons but I do not have any power."
"O that, haven't I told you that Heaven will give you its full support and as such I have been delegated to give you all the powers and abilities that you want"~
The cute goddess gave a thumbs-up
"Hmm... You said it was a world of swords and Magic right? Then give me a magical affinity to all attributes and martial arts."
"What, do you truly want only such powers? I thought you would ask for more overpowered magical abilities"~
"Yes, I had thought of such a possibility but what I will ask could be a request you might decline."
The Goddess gulped her saliva, she had been told by the Gods of the divine realm to fulfill all the requests he had but those which are impossible and goes against the laws of the universe must not be fulfilled and be given another request.
"I would like to be reborn in the most influential family of that world and also be the heir to it having no competition or what so ever, it must have great power, authority, and money to back me up in whatever endeavors I wish to make without even a second thought."
Edward in his previous life was not born with a golden spoon, he had to face many humiliation and losses because of his poor background but with his talent and persistent efforts, he became the person he is now. He had to sacrifice 50 years of his life to gain the power and wealth he currently had and thus failed to enjoy his life to the fullest.
But he saw the goddess was fidgeting in front of him.
Does my request was hard to achieve that the Goddess is so angry that she is fidgeting? But I will not back down that easily I would have to gain everything I could from this transaction
On the other hand, the goddess was trembling not because of rage but because she was about to laugh.
Such an easy wish to grant hahaha... And here I was thinking what to give him to counter offer his request, O no! the time is running low...
The goddess was not a human being hence she did not know the world were the rich lived was completely different from the world the poor live, but the time given for the conversation was ending.
"Alright... I shall accept your request and also grant you some additional rewards as well since you have only asked for a few requests."
Have a safe Journey child~
"W..what!?? "
Edward suddenly vanished from the void.
before his last consciousness faded he muttered, "Shit she tricked me... if I would have known this was an easy request I would I asked for more".
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