Just as she was about to leap from the edge of her floating island like she did a hundred times before, a thought occurred to her—She no longer had the luxury of flight. If she was to jump off now, she would have to merely fall straight down to the street below, and if she ever wanted to go back up, she would have to seek the help of a seraphim. Figuring this to be the case, she instead sat down on the edge to plan things out first and foremost.
"I know where Migu's house is." She reasoned, "It's close, so even without flying I should be able to find my way there. Throne said to just take the path from her house to mine but invert it if I ever want to go to his place, but that's also easier said than done..."
Somehow, she had went from falling asleep in the deepest layer of the Shrine to waking up in her own abode. This was puzzling enough as is, but then there's also the new golden wound on her chest. The gash from when Energy tried stabbing through her heart and failed. Inspecting her body further for any other new gilded parts, she found nothing else. It was just this, but that means she can at least survive the fall so long as she doesn't hit her chest on anything on the way down.
"I miss them already..." She alluded to her wings, flexing her back muscles gently as if she still had them, "Well, no use mulling over them anymore! It's scarier without them, but it's not like I never lived without wings before."
As if dipping her toes in a pool, she slowly lifted her behind off the edge of the floating island with her arms before quickly bringing herself back. She was frightened, the fall was too great to willingly dive into. Before she was in the Shrine, she never felt pain as a Heavenly Being, but now things were different. She got mauled, scratched and eaten, her bones were broken countless times. She knew what it meant to feel pain again, so the reckless acts she used to do without even thinking before, she now had to think twice about.
"F-First... Mn!" She punched the stone floor next to her, "R-Right, as to be expected."
No pain, no blood. This was no longer the Shrine, so the rules of it don't come into effect anymore. She could jump safely, she would be fine. Not just fine, mind you, she would even come out of it unscathed. The more time she wasted anxiously second guessing herself, she told herself repeatedly, the higher the chances were of Throne leaving his house and thus not being there when she needed him most. Resolutely, she pushed herself off without even giving the brain time to process her decision. It was not the time for thoughts, but for action.
"Baaahh~!!!" She immediately regretted that decision in the very next moment, however, "I take it back, lemme think it over for a few more minutes~! Ahhhh~!"
And splat, she hit the cloudy ground after a mighty 2 minutes and 34 seconds of freefall. To both her surprise and astonishment, she got up without so much as a single broken bone. She knew this would happen, then again, but it was still an odd feeling to get used to—Not feeling pain, that is. Immediately reorienting herself with the direction of her house up above, she set off towards Migu's place. This was the plan, however the scornful gazes of the people around her disallowed her from continuing on immediately.
"She just fell from that island up there, right?" One person asked.
"Yeah, I remember that island from yesterday!" Another whispered back.
"Her clothes... Why is she naked?" A lady muttered.
"Let's ask." A guy from the crowd finally raised his voice, "Hey lady! The clothes store is right over there, go cover yourself up, for Auros' sake!"
"E-Eh?" She did a double take once she saw everyone around her, "Clothes? Store? Huh?"
Before the Gods were convinced to set up clothes shops in Heaven 2.0, she was already busying herself with entering the Shrine with Throne. It was only now when she first saw even a single angel with clothes on, much less everyone else. Quickly, she was shamed into getting something to wear.
"Heya, what'll you be having?" The female shopkeeper joked.
"I-"
"Just kidding, you don't get to pick!" She immediately rummaged through a bunch of random, tacky clothes before showing off a beautiful pink dress, "Ah, this looks just perfect for you!"
"Sorry, you got anything easier to move around in?" Vastoria inquired, "This seems like it'd slow me down considerably, plus I'd hate to stain it."
To stain it, that was her reason not to go for it. In the surface of Heaven 2.0, you could not stain your clothes as there was nothing to stain it with. Her mind was still stuck in the Shrine, expecting a beastly encounter behind every corner. This was also when she recalled that her shield and fork were no longer with her. They must've remained in the Shrine room.
"What you get is what you get, come back next cycle if you wanna try again." The shopkeeper crossed her arms, "Sorry, those are the rules."
"Well do you perhaps have a fork, or even a shield for that matter?" Vastoria asked with complete sincerity.
"Fork-? Are you making fun of me?!" The shopkeeper lashed out at her, "Take this dress and leave! It's already annoying that you get to take it, so go on before I change my mind!"
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"...No!" Vastoria threw it back at her, "I don't need it! If you want it so bad, keep it for yourself!"
The people around her were only distracting her from the main goal. She understood this now, after witnessing just how poorly she was treated. They know nothing of the Shrine, and yet she still asks them questions only a person who saw its inner machinations could answer. No more detours, she nodded, she needed to make a beeline for Migu's house, then for Throne's!
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"Eh?" I looked around to spot a familiarly nostalgic Yellow room, "This is... my room?"
My head hurts really bad, didn't we get caught by the Gods? If what Sheep and Throne said was true, then shouldn't I have forgotten all about that? Why do I still have my memories...?
"Mnn, still have this on my back..." I looked at my golden spine through the mirror, "I... I should go meet up with Gale and Sheep. One of them might know what's going on."
Exiting the house, I saw Gale running up to me the very moment I opened the door. He was just as confused as I was, but his elation proved he saw this situation as positive rather than negative. As I suspected, he remembered who I was from yesterday the moment he saw me.
"Maggie!" He shook me up, "What happened?! Shouldn't we have forgotten about yestercycle!?"
"Waaah~! Stop shaking meeee..." I begged before replying, "Phew, I don't know either. That's what Sheep and Throne told us, yet here we are. You think maybe they were misinformed or something?"
This was when a clumsy yet strong gust of wind from above knocked both of us on our butts. The golden trail of the unidentified flying object demystified its existence. That right there was a seraphim flying.
"Should we follow it-!?" Gale panickedly suggested.
"Wait! Let's not get distracted." I calmed him down, "Finding Sheep should be our top priority. He's more used to waking up with his memories than we are, after all."
With a solemn nod, he agreed and we began walking to his shop. It wasn't a long journey by any means, but once we made it there, what we saw kind of made us want to go back. A crazy naked lady was shouting at poor ol' Sheep, yelling something about not wanting any clothes.
"Stop giving me frilly dressed, goddammit! I want some proper pants!" She yelled so the whole street could hear.
"M-Miss, please lower your voice..." Sheep was on the brink of tears, "I-If you want something else, please come back next cycle, and we'll..."
"Just give me that one!" She had enough and hopped the counter to snatch away a pair of pants, "Gah! Let go!"
"No, you let go!" Sheep protected his wares like they were his children, "Back off, woman!"
"Hey, enough!" Gale stepped in after seeing this, grabbing the crazy lady by her hair and yanking her back, "You don't get to be picky, woman! Geez..."
"You alright, Sheep?" I asked him.
"Y-You!?" He panicked, "How come you two still remember who I am?"
"Wait, remember?" Vastoria craned her head up to look at the two people, recognizing me immediately, "M-Migu!"
Ah, there's that name again. I believe Throne called me by that name as well. I guess this lady and I met before, but then how come she remembers me when she isn't a seraphim? Let's see... No wings, but she can still keep her memories...
"Are you a shopkeeper as well, miss?" I asked her.
"What? N-No, I'm..." She looked shocked that I didn't remember her, "Sigh, I'm Vastoria. A seraphim."
"Yeah right, seraphim have wings." Gale crossed his arms smugly, "Stop lying and tell us who you really are, come on!"
"Actually, she's telling the truth." Sheep corrected us, "Seraphim can lose their wings, but they're still seraphim. She's kind of like me now, only that she doesn't have a shop to take care of."
"S-Sorry for the outburst, I just really got sick of people staring at me." Vastoria meekly apologized to him.
"Why not just put on anything then?" Gale tilted his head.
"I would, but right now I'm in a bit of a hurry." She explained, "I could run way faster in a pair of pants or even shorts than I would in a dress."
This girl, she's actually pretty down to earth. They say first impressions are everything, but she quickly erased my earlier assumption of her being a crazy, stuck up woman. Now all I see is a troubled soul in desperate need of help. When she said she was in a hurry... I kind of saw a bit of myself in her.
"H-Hey, what are you doing!?" Vastoria covered her Eyes once she saw me taking my pants off in public, "T-That's...!"
"Not like they got anything to see, come on." I handed her my comfortable outfit with a smile, "These are way easier to run in. I'll take your dress, so it's a fair trade."
"Migu..." Her Eyes glimmered with joy as she accepted my gift, "Thank you. I'm glad you're just as kind as when we last talked."
Kind... That word again, she's now the second person to describe me as such. I wouldn't call myself kind, in all honesty. I just do what I think is right, but that doesn't always mean I do the right thing. I left Sheep for dead that time... I'm not kind at all, I'm a selfish prick.
"Then, we'll be leaving now." Gale turned to Sheep, "You coming with us? You're kind of an accomplice now, y'know?"
"I am? Pheh, I guess that's true." He chuckled back, "That makes Sab and Throne accomplices too."
"You know Sab and Throne!?" Vastoria shouted in surprise, "I-I'm coming with you! I got so many questions to ask, especially about...!"
"Oi, oi, calm down." Gale had her calm down, "Do you even know where they live?"
"Yes!"
...Guess that means she's part of the investigation as well. We're lucky to have met her when we did, because we sure as hell have no idea where either one of those two's houses are. She's gonna be a great asset to the team.
"Welcome aboard." Gale shook her hand with a smile, "Sheep, Maggie, and I'm Gale. Pleased to meet you."
"Vastoria." She giggled awkwardly, "Ah, I might call you by your old name by accident though, is that alright Migu?"
"Call me whatever you'd like." I nodded, "If possible, I would really like for you to tell me more about how I was when we met before."
It was an innocent enough question, but it made her beet Red in the face for some reason. Playing with the hem of her shirt awkwardly, she looked away as if too embarrassed to even say a word about it.
"Y-You were... gentle." She muttered.
The hell's up with that? Gentle, in what sense? Ugh, whatever—If she doesn't wanna fess up, then I won't force her. Besides, she seems like the type to fold under pressure, so I'm sure with Gale's incessant interrogations she'll spill the beans eventually. For now though, we ought to find Throne and Sab.
"Then, without further delay...!" Gale pointed to where Vastoria was headed, "Let's go!"