A figure of a woman with long hair tied into a bun wearing a laurel wreath around her head alongside a white toga with gold trims entered a clearing within a dense forest with an orange circle in middle of said clearing. She approached the circle knelt in front it. "Third attempt, I hope this works." The woman said, as she clasped her hands together and began chanting as the circle begins emitting a bright orange glow, however just as soon as the circle began emitting light it quickly died down.
Disappointed the woman stood up and let out a heavy sigh, "A failure, oh well, guess I'll have to find another way to-" Suddenly the room exploded in a bright orange light as the woman recoiled back in shock, shielding her eyes from the bright light alongside this light a flock of white doves could be seen in the distance frantically flying away. The blinding light continued for twelve more seconds before finally dying down. She uncovered her eyes and to her great surprise a man and a woman no more than their late twenties and early thirties appeared standing in the middle of said circle.
The woman has shoulder length hair tied into a ponytail, she wore a black shirt and a type of blue pants and green apron with what appeared to look a mermaid wearing a crown. While the man has short black hair, he wore a black dress pants alongside a white collared shirt with a black necktie. The two newcomers scanned their new environments with confused looks on their faces. Finally their gazes locked onto the woman wearing a toga who shook herself out of her stupor.
"Achem, I am Kristina goddess of nature the first and only deity within the revived Aethulian pantheon. Welcome to my domain otherworlders." Kristina greeted the otherworlders with a huge smile.
Suddenly almost out of nowhere the Goddess of Nature fell the ground. "Help me please! There's this group of insane cultists using my name for their dirty deeds! Committing horrific crimes and sullying my good name!" Kristina cried out, tears falling from her eyes. "I've tried EVERYTHING! From smiting them, t-t-to enacting all forms of divine punishments I can come up with. NOTHING worked, instead they have doubled down used my punishments to 'do better' or 'appease me' it's SO frustrating, I wish I could descend down and entangle EVERY LAST ONE of them in thorny vines, but alas I'm not powerful enough to even descend. So I've sought advice from my fellow deities and they've all told me that once in a while extremely fundamentalist cults will appear from time to time especially when a new deity has been birthed and that best one could is wait them out."
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The goddess stood up facing the two otherworlders, "But I don't want to wait them out, not while they are tarnishing my name. Fortunately they referred to me as the 'True Goddess' but it's only a matter of time before they learn my real name. As of now my name is being indirectly tarnished, this is my LAST chance, so please from the bottom of my heart hear my pleas. I'll grant you powerful boon of your choosing if it's within my power."
The man stepped forward "I'll do it. In fact I'll go as far as worshiping and spreading your name!" The man eagerly proclaimed, "As for my boon, I want an infinite supply of cheesecake and nothing else."
"Eh?" Kristina said, dumbfounded at the man's choice for a boon, "Are you sure? You know I can grant you power over nature?
"Yes," The man replied resolutely.
The woman next to him gawked at him with wide eyes, "Why are you accepting this?! Don't you have people waiting for you back home?"
He stared at the woman next to him with a pained expression, "Look man, the only people in my life that mattered were my parents and grandparents, and they've all peacefully passed away." He said fighting back tears, "I've got nothing left, my wife left me with our kids, and I'm stuck doing a dead end desk job with a shitty boss and no future. The only thing that kept me going is a slice of cheesecake."
The woman looked horrified at his revelation, "I-I'm sorry."
"Don't be," The man stated, raising a hand.
To which the woman nodded and moved on to face Kristina"Um, Ms Kristina will I be able to go back after I help you out?"
The goddess nods, "Yes, once the cult has been eliminated it it's entirety you'll be immediately sent back to your last location with time resuming. almost like you never disappeared."
"Uh, Okay then!" The woman said with a bright and cheery smile, "I'll help ya out! And I don't care what my boon is, as long as it'll help."
Kristina smiled widely, "Great, oh wait almost forgot to ask for your names."
"Roger Winkleton, yes my shitty boss never let my last name go."
"Evelyn Dorset Baxter, but my friends just call me Dorset!"
Kristina nods, "Nice to meet you Mr Winkleton and Ms Baxter. Now I'll drop both of you off at a camp operated by the 13th Legion, they'll be able to explain more than me. Plus they've been trying to summon their own otherworlders for some time now. With that out of the way, I wish the two you luck and I'll be watching over you" She snapped her fingers and the two otherworlders disappeared in a flash of light.
"Here's hopping..."