Even before opening my eyes, I could sense that I wasn’t in the physical realm anymore. I was lying down, half of my body submerged in warm water. I was naked.

“Hello, Aliera.”

I called out as I opened my eyes. The first things my eyes met were stars and the sky. It was night but with how bright the stars were, I could easily see what was around me even without Night Vision. Well, it wasn’t like I had a lot of things to see. I was in the middle of a large body of water. I couldn’t see the land nor the bottom but I was able to float without even trying. The lack of waves and the pleasant temperature of the water made me think this was Aliera’s way of treating me.

I didn’t dislike it but I would rather prefer if she gave me more power.

“Hello, My Chosen.”

She appeared in front of me, walking on the water. She wore a simple white dress with a tiara on her forehead. She looked at me with her emerald-like eyes. This time I could take a better look at her without feeling overwhelmed. Was it related to my growth or my becoming her champion?

I waited for her to say something but she looked hesitant.

“Is this related to what Asmoneal has said? Are you afraid that I will go renegade?”

I closed my eyes and let my body float freely.

"No, My Chosen,"

She finally spoke, her voice gentle and soothing.

"I have no fear that you will turn renegade. My faith in you remains steadfast. You provided yourself as a brave and selfless warrior, none of the Stars can doubt that.”

I opened my eyes and looked at Aliera. She looked sincere in what she said. I expected her to deny what Asmoneal said but she didn’t. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or sad about it.

“Do you know how important freedom and sense of self is to humans- or rather to the mortals, Aliera?”

"Yes, Hero,"

She replied, her voice carrying a deep understanding.

"I am aware of the profound value that mortals place on their freedom and sense of self. It is a defining aspect of your existence, one that I respect and hold in high regard."

I continued to float in the serene waters, his gaze fixed on the starlit sky above. The ambiance of this ethereal realm seemed to foster introspection and conversation.

“Well, not that high since you put something inside me to make me listen to you.”

That sounded wrong. I looked directly into Aliera’s eyes, waiting for her to deny my accusations. A part of me wanted her to deny and tell me that Asmoneal was simply lying to sow doubt in me. Despite her pulling me here without my consent, limiting how much power she gave me, and the pain I went through because of her, I could accept her as my boss. Despite my question to Aliera, I wasn’t that high on freedom. I was a soldier under rules for most of my life anyway.

To me, freedom was just the size of the box I lived in. I wasn’t like Lily. I didn’t want to escape from my box or get a new, bigger one. I was happy with a medium-sized one. But this was different. If she had an on\off button for me that put me inside a small box. Even I would refuse that.

My words hung in the air for a moment, carrying the weight of unspoken questions.

“I am sorry. Your doubt and anger are justified.”

I narrowed my eyes. So it was true. She really did put something inside me to control me. I didn’t get angry but an unpleasant feeling filled my throat. This wasn’t the first time I had something inside me to make me listen to someone. Super soldier program also had several failsafes but at least I had the knowledge to disable them. With this magic jumbo mumbo, I had no idea how.

“If it was my own choice, I would never do something that low. However, the road for me to reach you and build you a suitable body for your strong soul doesn’t belong to me.”

I looked at the sky.

“Explain further.”

I said casually. I expected her to get angry or warn me to be respectful but she calmly explained:

“As you already know, I am a Goddess of War. While my Authority encompasses a lot of things, reaching another realm, pulling a soul from it, and building a new body is not one of them. For that, I had to use my Mother’s Authority. Unfortunately, the system created by Mother was already set and since she is inactive, I couldn’t change anything about it.”

Once again, a lot of things to unpack.

“Even if that’s your excuse, that doesn’t paint Archons of Antion in a great light you know. The fact that your mother originally created a system that automatically binds people is really damaging my impression of you and the Stars.”

As Aliera contemplated how she should answer me, I also had my own things to contemplate. Firstly, inactive. Not dead, inactive. Secondly, why I haven’t heard of her before? I mean I still didn’t know a lot of things about Stars but I traveled together with Agatha, a priestess following Stars. Aliera’s mother should be Anshar’s wife and Queen of the Stars so it was weird I never heard anything about her.

“What my mother did was not right. However, it was done with loss and pain. Two things you know and understand well. That’s why I hope you don’t see Mother as a cruel goddess.”

I opened my eyes and looked at her.

“Why? What can make a Goddess feel loss and pain?”

For a split second, she looked away. I chuckled.

“I see. Even with a leash on my neck, you don’t trust me that much.”

Aliera returned her focus to me, her eyes carrying a mixture of vulnerability and understanding.

“It is not a matter of trust, My Chosen. It is the nature of some truths. Some truths are not easily spoken. Even if they did, sometimes it is better to not speak to them. It is better to bury them and move forward, just like you are trying to do.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

I sighed.

“Very well then. I will let it go for now. Is there a way to remove that control thingy?”

I already knew that the answer was “no.” But I had to try it anyway.

“It is etched in every cell of your body. It is impossible without destroying your current body.”

Every cell? Damn, her mother was through. Just what happened to make her that strict?

“Can’t you give me another body then? Preferably an older body with a beard.”

She shook her head.

“Even if I did, it would be through Mother’s system so we would be in the same situation.”

Fuck.

“I thought Gods were much more powerful. Creating a body shouldn’t be that hard. Even we cloned things in my world.”

Aliera sighed a hint of regret in her eyes. She felt his frustration and wished she could offer a more satisfying solution.

"We are powerful, but the divine realm is bound by certain rules and systems,"

She explained.

"Even for us, there are boundaries we cannot cross. My mother's system is one such boundary, and I am bound by it."

Yeah, another poorly defined rule for the divine. Being a God came with a lot of limitations it seems.

“Still, I tried to give you the best possible body I could. I am sure you felt it. Even without mana, skills, or divine force, your body will grow to the limits of humanity.”

She was right. Even though my body wasn’t mature and I had very little time to train, I could easily overpower a grown man. Who knew how strong I would be with proper training and becoming an adult.

“But why me? I saw what Valiera is capable of. Bolverk and Rodrick must also be on her level. Why not resurrect them? They probably destroy everything in their path.”

“They deserved their rest.”

“And I didn’t?”

I snapped, spitting everywhere.

“If they deserve rest after fighting for their world, then I also did that! Don’t I deserve to rest?”

I splashed around with anger, creating waves. Despite that Aliera stood still.

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?!”

Aliera slowly blinked.

“All of you had dignity and selflessness I wanted with immense skill and will. However, I had two reasons to choose you over them: The first one was your regrets. Bolverk, Valiera and Rodrick. It is true that they carried great regrets in their lives. However, they died content. But when I gazed upon your soul I was surprised with how many regrets you had. The will to change things, the desire to right your wrongs. I never saw something like that before in my thousands of years. Looking at you filled my heart with pain. I wanted to give you a second chance.”

I curled my lips.

“There were probably billions of souls with regrets similar to mine. Why they didn’t get a second chance?”

Aliera inspected me from head to toe. Despite my sneer, she was still calm.

“Why it is so hard for you to accept you are special?”

What? I felt like I was struck in the head.

“Why do you refuse to accept that you are skilled? Why do you run from your own greatness? ”

Every muscle in my body, even those in my face tightened. Shivers ran all across my body and I couldn’t help but twitch.

“Because there is nothing as special as humans. No greatness. Want me to tell you a story, Aliera? A story you probably already peeked into?”

Her face not changing irritated me. It wasn’t normal. It was like someone gave an AI prompt for “perfection” and it was able to fully create it.

“Do you know how many great and special people I have met? How many people did I show my adoration and respect? Do you want to know what happened to them? They died! All of them! Without exception! No matter how skilled, talented, hardworking they were, they all fucking died! Is this the greatness you speak of? Is being special equal to this?”

Aliera looked down upon me. I haven’t realized it before. With me being half submerged and she walking on water I had to look upon her.

“Your argument is flawed.”

For the first time, I heard her voice get cold.

“You talk about death as if it defines greatness. The circle of life and death is unavoidable for mortal beings. In fact, one can even see greatness in that. The fact that you burn so bright, leaves marks so impressive that your brethren speak of it even after your bones return back to the ground. None of my kind can do that.”

“It is just a consolation, a distraction. Make up a meaning so you wouldn’t feel sorry about yourself.”

I parried her argument. Despite that, the energy in my voice was low, compared to before.

“Do you think lowly about your family and friends because they died?”

…

I didn’t answer. Answering yes would be lying and I knew where answering no would take me. I turned my head away from her in silence. I felt the water shift as she moved closer to me. She kneeled before me before a pair of hands grabbed my head and turned me to her.

Being this close to her was overwhelming. Her beauty and her presence caused my head to spin.

“I know that you are scarred. I know you are tired. You also know those, aren’t you?”

Of course, I knew it! But I couldn’t muster the strength to speak when she was this close!

She moved strands of hair from my face with her finger.

“You would have shown patience and compassion if you saw a tired and scarred person. I know you would because I saw you do that countless times in the short amount of time you have been here. Then why can’t you show the same patience and compassion to yourself?”

She pulled herself away and

I gasped for air. I forgot to breathe with how close she was. I looked at her between breaths and saw a small smile on her face.

“Goodbye, Hero. I will always wish you good luck. Rest well.”