The sun slowly dipped behind the mountains on the horizon. Night slowly crept upon the world as a lone girl cursed and cried in the middle of a forest. Her dress was torn in places, with brambles and leaves clinging onto the fine silk. The girl stumbled in her steps, as if she was not used to her body. She grasped at low-hanging branches, at thorny brambles, and the very dirt as she marched relentlessly.

She did not choose to be here. A town or a village would have been preferable, but this was her punishment. She would suffer. Suffer alone and toil on the very world she once judged from the heavens. And her first challenge was to get out of the dark forest she found herself in.

“Fuck! Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!”

She yelled as loud as she could as she threw her shoe into the depths of the forest. She had lost the other one earlier, and now the other one’s sole had ripped off after getting caught by some exposed root of a tree. The girl felt miserable.

“I’m going south, right? Fuck! They could’ve at least let me keep my skills.”

She muttered to herself, a way to comfort her panicking mind. She looked up, and she saw the magic currents up in the sky flowing westwards. Which would mean she was currently facing south, to her relief.

“Okay, I am in the right direction.”

She nodded to herself as she continued walking.

From her knowledge of the area, she would finally reach the southern edge of the forest after… well, an hour of walking at her pace. She had been walking for the entire day, and she hoped she could take a break in the plains and under the stars. That was the plan. She repeated it in her mind once more as she walked.

Walk south, get out of forest. Sleep in field. Go to nearby town. ??? Profit.

It was… It was a plan. Was it a great plan? Not really. But she knew it was her best shot at the moment. She had no money, she was an anomaly in the System’s eyes, and she had no idea what to do. She was also lost in a dark forest known for its beasts and monsters.

She looked around as she walked. Thankfully, nothing troublesome was yet to notice her. Of course, that didn’t mean the local fauna and flora were harmless. It would’ve been embarrassing for her to die to some bear, but she almost did when she stumbled into the den of one. She let out a sigh at the horrid memory. Once more, she began to mutter the words that reminded her of who and what she was.

“I am Caladi, Goddess of… A minor goddess of calamity. I am one of the sisters of calamity. I am Caladi…”

Over and over, she repeated the words. A cold comfort, yet one she desperately clung to. After a while, she stopped to rest her jaw. In fact, she decided to rest for a moment.

She sat on one of the logs in silent contemplation. For a moment, one could mistake her as a Forest Nymph or an Elf due to her serene expression. But as soon as the tears started flowing, the facade melted away and all that was left was a heartbroken girl. Alone in some dark forest. Her wails silenced the creatures around her as she desperately tried to regain her composure.

Yet not even a former goddess could halt the familiar human emotion of sadness and betrayal. With each anguished cry, she poured forth her emotions into the world. Her cries carried with them her grief, yet she knew that none would hear her.

But she was wrong.

A shriek pieced the still night air and caught her attention. The sound of leathery wings taking off made her stand and look to the sky frantically. Her body quaked as she heard something fly over her. Trees and branches broke in the distance, and red eyes pierced the darkness of the night. It met her gaze, and a hiss that sounded like steam escaping violently from a kettle made her hair stand on end. The creature stood as high as some of the trees, and it walked—no, it hobbled on two legs and a pair of black wings. For a moment, both of them stared at one another.

Then she ran.

----------------------------------------

Branches smacked her face as she dashed blindly in the dark. Something chased her from up above yet her body ignored her commands to stay still. Instead, she found herself running face first into trees and tripping and stumbling in the dark of night. She yelped as her foot was caught in something and she fell down, hard.

“Ow, ow… Aaaargh…” She slipped for a moment, but she caught herself and forced herself to run once more. A hand clutching the wet spot on her forehead.

Her feet dragged her forwards, and she glimpsed the edge of the forest just ahead of her. Her panicked cries rang out in the forest as the sound of branches and trees being trampled behind her grew ever closer. Thorns and brambles scratched her face and arms, but she threw herself forward despite the pain. She did not dare to glimpse how close the creature was behind her. She cried desperately for her deafening heart to calm.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Please! Please! Please! I don't want to die! I don't want to die like this!"

She jumped out of the forest, not noticing the slope that led down into the open fields. For a single moment, she was floating on air. The next, she was rolling down the muddy slope and landed at the bottom with an audible thud and a pained groan. Yet despite the immense pain in her ribs and the strain on the muscles of her legs, she picked herself up and ran once more.

The stars glimmered up above in a moonless night. Only her eyes guided her through the vast field and they were locked onto the distant lights of a town. All she had to do was reach it! All towns have adventurers, right? Those thoughts rang in her mind, through her haggard pants and the deafening heartbeats ringing in her mind. All she had to do was run. Run and run until she reaches safety.

A shrill roar made her look back. Black wings unfurled and the creature reared its long neck. There was no mistaking it. Standing on its two, powerful hind legs, the Wyvern readied itself for flight. She quickly looked away and quickened her pace. Her lungs burned and she cursed her body, especially her weak legs! If only she could cast [Fly], everything would've been fine! Yet here she was, running desperately while her body ached and threatened her with giving up on her. Blood ran down her face and obscured her vision. She desperately wiped away at the blood and tears in her eye, yet it only made everything even more blurry. Behind her, the sound of leathery wings beating powerfully alerted her to the Wyvern's flight.

Her foot stumbled, and it grazed a large rock in the ground. She let out a short yelp as she fell forward and landed on her side. Pain. She looked down to see her sprained ankle. Her legs burned and stung, and she knew she could run no longer. But the pain was a fleeting thought to her. Up above, the Wyvern circled her, slowly descending as it saw its prey on the ground. She was alone, helpless, and afraid. Desperately, she tried to pull herself and crawl, but even her arms gave way to fatigue. Dread gripped her heart as she clutched at the rich soil.

"I don't want to die... Not like this..."

She whimpered out as she grabbed the rock she tripped on and held it tightly near her chest.

The Wyvern landed a good distance away from her. Its eyes locked onto her as it slowly circled her, warily seeing if she could do anything against it. Desperately, she threw the rock at its face. It bounced off of it, mildly annoying the creature. But that was it. She tried to crawl backwards, but the Wyvern warily closed the distance between them. She tried to stand, but the strength in her legs had disappeared. She grasped for sticks, rocks, anything she could use to throw at the Wyvern but she could feel herself growing weaker with each moment.

In that moment, memories of her life flashed through her eyes. She remembered standing before the Heavenly Court, found guilty of tampering with the destiny of people. She couldn't really remember. The memory was both vivid and hazy in her mind, but she remembered the exact moment they gave her the punishment she will endure. They "blessed" her with mortality, and she literally fell from heaven after that.

And now that mortality doomed her to die in the jaws of some failed Dragon.

The Wyvern's head loomed over her, it unhinged its jaw and she watched the poison drip from its fangs. This was it, she guessed. She couldn't even last a single day on this world before she was killed. She looked up at the heavens and wondered if they were looking down at her. Perhaps they could see her from up there, laughing at her misery. She wanted to ask them why saving the life of a single child was a crime. Was it wrong for her to pity the life of a human slave? She remembered how that child clasped her hand in the darkness, asking the Gods for strength, yet none answered her. Well, she did, at least.

Perhaps it was an attempt to talk to them one last time. Maybe it was the final embers of hope in her heart. Perhaps it was nothing. But the Goddess clasped her hands together with a loud clap, and bowed her head in a solemn prayer. Once, she listened to the prayers of others. Now, she prayed desperately not to the Gods, but to whoever or whatever her voice reached. She uttered the words the Gods used to summon and in her heart, she wished.

She wished for someone to save not the world, but a lonely girl.

The hiss of the Wyvern stopped, and she felt her shoulders get sprayed with a few drops of venom. It hurt, but she also felt something else. Something clicked in her mind, and she felt the unmistakable surge of magic in her body once more. She opened her eyes and saw light. A pillar of light that reached up into the heavens and lit up the night sky. And from the corner of her eyes, she saw the System her brothers made finally recognize her.

~Fallen Goddess Title: Reclaimed!~

Level 3?! She was max level before she was banished! But levels are levels, and there was something else that needed her attention. She looked up at pillar of light and saw the mana in area gathering within it. It began to tear reality asunder, the mana reaching into the cracks for someone. What did they do at this point? Oh right! She quickly stood up, despite the pain, and extended her hand. She took a deep breath and focused the magic into her hand. Her vermillion eyes shone brightly as she chanted the words.

“[Weapon Creation{Divine Artifact, Sword}]!” She cried out as she felt the magic in her body pour into the construct.

The spell took some of the mana from the pillar of light as well, and she watched the magic stitch itself together into the shape of a sword. It materialized into the world, a brilliant blade of silver with a faint golden glow to it. The next step was to bestow blessings and buffs into the summoned and the final step after that would be to send the out into the world. She coughed and cleared her throat.

"What was— Oh right! To you who answered the cries of Gods, I bestow upon you the title ! May you bring peace into—"

Something slammed into her midway through her sentence.

She fell backwards, and she immediately felt the ritual coming to an end. She watched the pillar of light fade, the mana once more returning to the world while some of it were absorbed by the weapon in the 's hand. The Wyvern let out a hiss as the last glimmer of light faded back into the night. The ritual was over, and she looked at the young man that stood in front of her. He was young. And he didn't look like a but she knew that this was how it was. She had brought forth a ! And she looked at the young man with unkempt brown hair as he stood silently in front of her, his brown eyes locked onto the Wyvern in front of them.

She held her breath. The stories of the powerful Skills given to these when they first arrive are well known and are the stuff of legends. She waited for him to do something to the Wyvern. The young man scoffed, and turned towards her.

"Err... I think I'm in a dream?" His confused tone made both her and the Wyvern blink. Immediately, she looked at his stats.

Items:

{Sword of the Fallen Goddess}

Skills:

{}

"I am so dead." She uttered in a hopeless voice as she closed the window. "Just give me a quick death with the sword."

"Huh?!"

Just as she bowed her head, the Wyvern let out a roar and immediately charged them. With each heavy step, the ground shook. And the Goddess waited for the to give her a quick and merciful dea—

She felt herself being lifted up from the ground. She opened her eyes and saw the young man carrying her over his shoulder. He had a panicked look on his face as he ran from the Wyvern behind them. She looked at the young man carrying her, the that was supposed to save her.

"A–Aren't you gonna fight the Wyvern?"

"Fight?! That thing? Nope. No way."

He laughed nervously as he ran.

"I don't think I'm strong enough to fight that thing."