Chapter 2: Isaiah
"Nufufufu. Aren't you the smart one. Yes and no, is the answer to that question. As for what that means, it will be for you to find out in the future."
A playful god huh? Well, it's not like I hate those kind of people. In fact, no matter how many times I am asked, I prefer them over stupid, ignorant and trashy people. And in the future, huh? Don't tell me you are going to summon me to another world for your own entertainment, like in those cliché novels that I like to read?
"Oh my! You're always one step ahead of me huh? Nufufufu. Yes, it is as you predict, but not exactly, you'll be reincarnated not summoned."
Reincarnated, huh? Interesting, I do prefer it to be like that instead of being summoned. And I guess I was right about something.
"Oh? And what's that?"
That you killed me.
"…"
Are you wondering how I knew? It is simple! The way you talk, it is like you have been watching me all the time. Secondly, the way you nonchalantly agreed that this is for your own entertainment. And lastly, how the hell is a truck without a driver honking?
"Nufufufufufu. You got me there. I was just having fun my own way, by killing you. But that's not the end of it. I killed you to have my favorite toy have a change of field. Don't tell me you'll hate me because of that?"
Not really. Rather, I'm glad that you got me out of that hell. I'm really thankful for that. Well, let's change the topic. I'm guessing that the world you're gonna send me is different from Earth and you're gonna give me an ability to excel in that world, am I right?
"Nufufu. You are welcome. You are right again in your assumption. The world I am going to reincarnate you into is called Isaiah. It is a world with underdeveloped technology, but with magic! There are other races too, besides Humans, like the Elves, Avians, Beastmans, Demons and many more varieties. And about the power I'm going to give, you will decide 3 kinds of power that you want, and I will put limitations,restrictions and a little bit of modifications on them."
… Alright then. The first power I would like to have is, access to all the books on Earth and Isaiah. The second is to have the power to change into other races. The last one will be, immunity to all the magic that mess with the mind.
"Nufufufu. I expected the first one, but not the other two. Whydidn't you say immunity to all magic, hmmm ?"
It's not like you're gonna approve of that. And where is the fun in that?
"Very well. You will know what kind of limitations I placed on your powers when you try them yourself. Are you sure you don't want any offensive type of powers"
Yeah, I'm sure. I'll be weak if I depend on those kind of powers, which I didn't earn myself. Besides, whatever powers you give, will be too showy anyway.
"Nufufufu. Alright then. Are you ready for your departure to the world of Isaiah?"
Not like I have a choice. But one more thing.
"???"
We are playing a game, correct? If so, allow me to state the endgame. It will be either me dead or with you dead by my hands, that kind of game. Are the terms agreeable?
"…Nufufufufu. You really are interesting. Do you think a God could be killed? But fine my toy, I accept your terms. I wish you an entertaining life. I hope you find your way back here again, before your death. Now entertain me, my favorite toy."
Like an exploding star, a sudden burst of light encompassed my whole consciousness.………
....
"Interesting..."
A voice that wasn't heard by anyone came out of nowhere, clearly, the word he muttered was because of the earlier spectacle between a God and a human that was witnessed.
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(3rd person POV)
"Nnnhhn."
For a second time in 2 hours, the girl who has fainted earlier had once again lightly groaned a sign that she was about to awaken once again. Unlike earlier, she didn't find it too difficult to open her eyes. She opened her eyes with a bit of effort, like a person who sleeps at 11 PM only to wake up at 5 AM because of school. (A/N: Totally not me complaining here~)
Unlike the earlier scenery, which was a place fully painted white, she was now in a bed in a garden full of different variety of flowers most kinds are what you won't see on Earth as they don't exist there. If you look up you would see birds of different kinds flying in the blue sky and the yellow sun.
While she was admiring the paradise like scenery, she stopped her gaze on the left side of her bed. There was an extremely beautiful woman with a white dress sitting there on a chair that was completely made up of vines and flowers making it a very elegant chair for her. She was sitting there while looking at her with a really friendly smile on her face.
'...Creepy.'
Was the first thought that the girl had in her mind. The woman who was sitting in the flower chair and was still smiling suddenly twitched for some reason. This small detail didn't escape the eyes of the deeply contemplating girl.
'She looks familiar...'
She was thinking. Although she thought that the woman was very creepy, for some reason she thought that she had already seen this woman before. She has completely forgotten what happened earlier before she fainted.
The currently occurring scene is a very beautiful woman sitting in a flower chair smiling and staring at the eyes of the sitting in the bed black haired girl who is beautiful in her own rights but pale in comparison with the beautiful blonde haired woman. The girl was staring at the woman too, though, with a blank look like she was contemplating on something. Along with the beautiful scenery in a flowery garden. In a 3rd persons perspective... Yup, it definitely has that Yuri vibe.
"*Cough* *Cough* Hello there my dear child, are you feeling alright now?
Seeing that the girl was staring at her blankly for 5 minutes, the woman who was smiling for more than 5 minutes and was now having a cramp on her cheeks, decided that she will initiate the start of a conversation.
"..."
The girl didn't reply to the kind and simple question that the woman asked. She still looked at the woman with a blank look.
'Was my summoning to her soul here caused some kind of damage to her mental state? Oh no, then did I possibly do something bad to this child's soul?'
Sweat was starting to form in her forehead after seeing that her attempt to start the conversation has miserably failed, she started to think if the girl's soul has been mentally damaged. But if that was the case, then the only fault can only be hers alone because she was the one who summoned the girl.
The sweat that formed in her forehead turned cold. Her countenance turn miserable by the thought that she has done something bad to this child. But a sudden thought occurred to her, the earlier remark when she read her mind for the first time, on the girl's first sighting of her.
'If she really has mental damage, then wouldn't that kind of witty remark be impossible for her?'
Looking at the girl who was gazing at her, she tried to read her mind again. When she peeked into her mind once again, what the woman has gotten was random words that has nothing to do with the current situation, there were some gibberish in her thinking as well. She strangely look at the girl in front of her, did she really had mental damage on her soul?
"You read my mind, haven't you?"
The girl asked curiously. The woman was shocked by the question of the girl she thought to be mentally damaged. The woman tried to read the girl's mind again and was flabbergasted by the image she got. The girl was imagining of a certain person who was close to her heart, it was a man with black hair with black glasses, the guy's appearance was handsome though it was being ignored by the goddess because of him being naked, she immediately stopped reading her mind.
Because the woman was surprised by the sudden picture of an unknown guy naked, her face started to turn red. The girl wasn't in better condition, she too was beet red because of the realistic image she imagined of the guy she liked, even though she haven't seen him naked yet.
"As I thought, you can really read my mind and see through my thoughts... I would be grateful if you forget about the image you just saw... no, please completely ERASE it from you mind."
The girl smugly proclaim, though, not long after that she turn beet red again because of the thought on how she confirmed it. She feebly requested for the woman to forget what she saw but quickly change it to a cold and commanding tone that doesn't take no for an answer.
'Does this girl really really have mental damage?'
The woman asked to herself, because of how the girl quickly changes her personality from shy and quiet to noisy and cold.
After the girl stopped talking, the scene reverts again to both the contemplating girl and the awkwardly smiling woman quietly staring at each other, although with the difference of an awkward atmosphere. The scene proceeds like this for another 5 minutes with the woman once again the one breaking the silence. She explains to the girl, her current circumstance and about the woman being a Goddess of this world.
"... So I died... And I won't get to see him anymore..."
The girl look down on her bed sheets, with her hair hanging over because of the girl facing down the Goddess can't see the girl's face. Moments later a faintly audible sounds of sobbing and the trickling of tears in the bed sheets, indicates that the girl was crying.
The Goddess finds it hard to see the girl like this, hardly anyone would, but the Goddess still chose to look and stay by the side of this girl who has her heart broken by the thought the she will never see her beloved. All girls are like this, unlike a man who chooses to be alone when they cry for they don't want their vulnerable state to be seen, girls seeks a persons company when they cry because they want to know that they aren't alone and there will be a person that'll stay by their side in their vulnerable times. That's why some people say that the easiest way to win a girls heart is to be there when they are crying and vulnerable to lend an ear to their problems and a shoulder to cry on.
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She cried for about an hour, though, the only reason that she stopped crying was because she can't cry anymore as her tear sacs are already dry for crying excessively. The bed sheets was completely soaked by her tears.
The Goddess who looks at this girl can only feel pity in her heart. Especially knowing the circumstances of her death. She concluded that a part of her tears are filled with the girl blaming herself on why she died, but from the viewpoint of the Goddess, she shouldn't blame herself for that because she was just acting on her own emotions, a trait that she was human.
"Thank you for being there while I was crying, just feeling that there was someone here with me makes me feel better... I promised him that I will never cry again as long as I live, but this shouldn't count right? Still, I'm gonna renew that promise again, I will never cry as long as I live."
"It's okay to cry dear child, it only means that you have emotions and your love for him is true. It would have been more devastating if you found yourself unable to cry to the thought of never seeing your beloved..."
By that part, the Goddess cursed herself for unintentionally rubbing salt into her wounds. Sure enough, when the Goddess spoke the words that she is trying to lock away in her memories, her eyes reddened but no tears came out as they already have been dried up.
"... So what do you need me for? You summoning my soul here when I died means that you have a purpose for me being here. By the way you explained to me this world called 'Isaiah' means that my purpose here is somehow connected to this world, I assume?"
The girl forcefully changed the subject, as she would've cry again if not for her tears being dried up.
"I understand. I'll summarize all the details and get to the point on why I summoned you here. Currently in this era, the Elves and the Dwarves are currently on war with the intent of fully exterminating the opposing race, although Elves and Dwarves are normally on disagreement with each other which could lead to battles and small scale wars, but this time is different. The Dwarf God has done something to ignite this current large scale war and not only that, the Dwarf God killed the soul of the strongest warrior of the Elves to tip the scale of the war towards the Dwarves. With the strongest warrior of the Elves gone the Dwarves is slowly having advantage and in no time will lead to the Elves extinction.
The only reason that the Elves are holding is because of the High Elf Empress fighting in the front lines, though it's only a matter of time till she is overwhelmed by numbers or when the Dwarf King makes his move against her. The mission that I have for you is to replace the soul of the strongest warrior of the Elves, Nasche, and fight for my beloved race that I, the Goddess of the Elves Mari-Ne, preside."
"... This is a heavy responsibility that you're giving me, a teenager who hasn't even finished high school, do you think that I can even accomplish it? Assuming that I can, why would I even do it? Except for having a new life, I don't see any merits for me on this mission you gave me."
" I do not know if you can accomplish this or not, but I'm willing to put my trust on the person I summoned from another world, along with 3 gifts I will bestow to help you. As for the lack of merits, for the next time we meet, I will grant you any wish that you want to the best of my abilities as a Goddess."
The Goddess said this with a serious look on her different from the always smiling face she has earlier, while the girl looks at her eyes too see whether she was lying or not.
"Then, if I finish the task, can you take me back to my world?"
This was the question that was always on her mind after she finished crying and cleared her mind earlier.
'If she can summon me here, then she can transfer me back on Earth, right?'
The Goddess who can read the girl's mind and thoughts shook her head in such a thought.
"If you were summoned normally, with body, mind and soul intact, then as long as you stay alive then I can transfer you back in the same state. But for you, who I only summoned the soul, even if I transfer you back in Earth, you would only perish instantly for not having any body to reside in. Even if you posses the body of Nasche, with the rules of the Gods that say 'You cannot transfer an inhabitant of your own world to other worlds, without the permission of that world's God' even I cannot do anything. The God of your world is eccentric, he doesn't meet other Gods to the point you'll even doubt his existence. I'm sorry my child, but with your current state, I can't take you back to your own world."
The Goddess spoke fluently with a serious tone, though there was a hint of pity in her voice. Though, unlike what people will think that the girl will be dismayed with such words it was the opposite of what she was currently feeling right now. She was currently filled with hope.
'By the way the Goddess said it, it seems that there is no hope, but there's a loophole on the words that she had said. She can't send me back to my own world without a body or with a body that came from Isaiah... Then doesn't that mean if I take the body of another person who came from my world, I can go back to Earth?'
"..."
The Goddess who can read the girl's mind just stayed quiet, neither confirming nor denying it. Because of her personality as being the Merciful Goddess she can't deny such request that is filled with her hope, if she does, it might truly break this black haired girl, also another reason that she can't deny it is because with the power of the Goddess, she can completely do it without a problem.
But she cannot recommend such thing as well, as this would require for the girl to kill and steal the body of a human who came from the same world as her. Although the Goddess doesn't disdain killing, she would naturally not be pleased with the thought of this girl doing such an ugly thing to fulfill her desire to see her beloved. But the Goddess knows that she doesn't have the right to have any say in her decision, as the Goddess was the one who forcefully summon the girl's soul here without any consent from her.
"You've read my mind didn't you? Yet you aren't denying it, that means it's possible... I can return to my world... And see him again..."
The girl was filled with hope and was only thinking of the future... The future when she meets him again. The Goddess was only silent with both of her eyes closed.
"Are sure about your decision Misono Asuka? The war that you will participate is no joking matter, you might see people dying not just in the hundreds or the thousands it would be in millions. You might also feel betrayals and many things. Of course death is possible too, though with the strong body you will get, you'll be tortured by an unimaginable pain before you even die. I'm asking again, will you help me save my race, that is the Elves, from this war that will likely exterminate the race in Isaiah?"
Faced with such question. The girl paused for a moment, then she took a deep breath. Then with resolution in her eyes, she looked straight at the Goddess.
"I am not doing this because you requested this from me, nor is it because I want to save the Elves from their extinction. I'm only doing this because... I want to go back to my world... To go back to him..."
"I understand, the preparations for the soul transference is complete, just step in the magic circle and you'll be sent into the body of Nasche with the complete memory of her 667 years of living, so it should be easy for you to live there normally and without suspicion."
"...Alright, I would like to ask a question before I go. When I finish the task of saving the race of Elves from extinction, will you summon a person from my world for me to take that person's body?"
"Do you know the reason why I summoned you? Although you saving my race is mostly the reason, but with a little thinking if I want to solely save my race then shouldn't I kill a person with similar importance as Nasche in the Dwarves race to even out the war? That was what the other Gods recommended when they found out that the Dwarf God meddled in the war. But I rejected such thoughts, as I knew killing would be the wrong choice for my morals and also for the sake of the future. You ask if I will summon a person, who I know will be killed because you need that person's body to fulfill your desire?"
"...I see. Then I would have to find one myself."
As the girl muttered those words, she stepped in the magic circle. Light envelopes her body until it naturally fades away.
"The world you came from, the one that is called Earth, a place were bodies of human can't absorb mana. A human who can't absorb mana means that their bodies doesn't have mana veins, a human whose body can't take mana cannot live in Isaiah. Although few, there are humans there that have mana veins when they are born which means they can absorb mana, with this it is possible with a human like that to live in Isaiah.
Of course Gods can naturally bestow a magical vein to a normal summoned human, but that human won't be able to go back to their own world because the God would naturally change the bodies structure, making it not the same as the body that came from Earth. With this the only chances for you to go back to Earth would be for a natural born human with mana veins to be summoned here. But the chances of a human like that to be born in your Earth is a 1 in a 100 million chance, there is also the condition to be picked by a God or be randomly be picked by a summoning spell, the chances drop drastically, there's also the condition that you find a summoned person in a place where it is 20 times the size of your Earth. With this odds, will you be able to go back to Earth, while your beloved is still alive? Fortunately time is on your side, the ratio of time on Earth and Isaiah is 1:20, 1 year on Earth means 20 years in Isaiah. You have a long journey my dear child, I don't know if I should cheer you on your goal or not, I just wish that you find happiness in Isaiah with this second life of yours, although you have never wanted to begin with."
The Goddess let out all this words that she kept in her heart because of fear of breaking her hopes, although it won't ever be received by the intended recipient.
Chapter two