Jade looked strangely disappointed for a moment, but then it was gone, and she tapped a finger on her lips thoughtfully.

“Tell you what,” she said finally, ushering Lucy over to a colorful circle of concentric mushrooms in the ground.

“If you don’t find out yourself, I’ll start giving you hints, okay? As an apology for this whole ordeal you’ve been through. If you still don’t come up with an answer of your own…well, I think it’s likely you and I will see each other again one day.”

Lucy was in the circle of glowing mushrooms now, and the Goddess was asking her if she was ready to go.

She felt panic rising again. Not only had the Goddess dodged her question like a pro attorney, but now Lucy was being shuttled out of paradise, and every moment that passed felt more and more wrong.

She knew it shouldn’t. She was going home, after all. No more fighting for her life in some messed-up kind of microscopic gladiator arena. She would be going back to her regular life. Her family. The lab.

As small green and rainbow particles began to envelop her body, Lucy made her decision, and stepped back out of the circle.

When she spoke, it was in a small voice.

“I think—I think I might be able to find that out better back in my…other body.”

The Goddess stared at her.

“About the meaning of life, I mean.”

For all the terror and adrenaline surging through her right now, and all the awkwardness of her words, Lucy had to admit it was somewhat satisfying to see a God looking straight up gobsmacked.

“Your other…Lucy, that Vision was never meant to become reality like it did. What are you saying?”

Something became clear to her then, that nagging feeling inside her that had been saying something was wrong, that she was making a mistake.

She’d ignored the feeling at first, because from the only perspective she’d known her whole life, it couldn’t possibly have been true. Why would someone give up their nice, comfortable life that they had been working hard to build for twenty-eight years? For what, the chance to fight?

Not to fight. It was more than that. Lucy did want to fight, to struggle and live and experience the thrill of battle that she’d felt before, but it was more than that. Her human life was stagnant, and she could all too easily see how it stretched out into the future before her, one long straight path leading to someplace straight ahead.

Lucy was tired of being on the straight and narrow. Tired of doing what she was supposed to do. She wanted surprises, change, some excitement, damnit!

That was the other perspective, she realized. One she’d always assumed meant pure chaos.

She’d ignored it her whole life.

But now she realized that change didn’t always mean chaos. Organisms had to change to evolve, after all, didn’t they? In real life it took millions of years and countless individuals, but if Jade could put her in the Vision by accident...

“I want to grow!” She blurted out.

Maybe I can change too.

Jade paused at that. Before she could tell Lucy it was impossible or that she shouldn’t do it, Lucy continued.

“To survive. To have to survive, I mean. I know it’ll be difficult, but…”

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How could she explain that she wanted to do something difficult? That, if she was going to be working hard at something anyways, she wanted it to be something she had chosen to do, not something chosen for her by circumstance and chance.

The Goddess looked thoughtful, tapping her fingers once again. Lucy felt sweat begin to prickle her brow. Soon her white robe was sticking to the small of her back, and Jade still stared at her, thinking. In the face of that stare and her own rational thought, it took all of Lucy’s willpower not to take back her request.

But she didn’t. She waited, and after what felt like an eternity, the Goddess nodded. A flood of relief flooded Lucy’s body, followed quickly by adrenaline. Shit, guess I better get ready to fight again. Surely she’ll put me somewhere easier this time though, right? Just to start off.

"Very well," the Goddess said finally.

“But,” the Goddess raised a finger. “You must make it all the way, Lucy. You understand? Not just out of the ocean, though that will be a great task in itself and may take some time. You must make it back to your self. Your true self.”

Lucy wasn’t sure what that meant, but she nodded. In that moment, her determination returned, and she knew she would do whatever it took. She understood that she would be starting at the very basics of life, and working her way back up to human.

As she thought about what lay ahead of her, Lucy realized suddenly that her parents would assume she had died. They would--

"Provisions will be made," Jade said simply, reading either Lucy's thoughts or the look on her face. She wasn't quite sure what 'provisions' meant, but right now she accepted it as good enough.

Lucy took in the paradise around her.

Guess I might not see trees for a while, huh?

The grass swished around her, the birds flew and chirped, and the worms wriggled in the warm dirt. All around her, things moved in harmony and accord. But Lucy knew that even here, a thousand wars were taking place in every inch of soil, as microbes by the millions lived out their own lives, far from the prying eyes of humans.

Sieges laid on grains of sand…

Heroes made who fall or stand…

Aside from the drive she felt to succeed, this was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Lucy. She had spent years studying microorganisms, but to actually be among them was something out of her wildest dreams. Even in the garden in which she stood it would take years to go over every surface with a microscope and catalogue all the different beings and ways of life. She couldn’t pass this up, even if it would be dangerous.

The Goddess looked at her.

“If you fail, you will die. Your human form will cease to exist as soon as you are turned back into a cell. The only way back is through advancement. Do you understand?”

Lucy nodded, but Jade kept waiting, apparently wanting a verbal response.

“I understand,” Lucy said in a quiet voice.

Then the Goddess swept her hand lightly to the side. A warm breeze ruffled the grass and leaves, and a pale green mist briefly enveloped Lucy’s body before disappearing, seeming to sink into her skin.

“Umm…thank you?” Lucy had no idea what had just happened, but the Goddess had agreed to let her try, so surely it wasn’t an evil mist…

“You are welcome, Lucy Gladstone. Go now with my favor and let my Blessing disperse through your body and form the System that will guide you. Find your purpose, and prove yourself against this world.”

Lucy frowned in confusion as the Goddess paused, apparently deciding whether or not she wanted to add something more.

“It has been a long time since I’ve had a true champion on the earth, Lucy. Prove yourself with this, and you will receive my second blessing. For now…”

Did Jade not know Lucy already had a System her first time as a cell? She wasn’t sure how it had gotten there, but she was sure it was the same thing Jade was talking about now. And the mist that had entered her body felt much more like it was condensing rather than dispersing, gathering somewhere around her core.

What would happen now that the Goddesss had given her another blessing? It had clearly been an accident and would probably be taken back. Before she could ask, Jade was talking again.

“It is traditional at the start of a journey to wish luck to the hero, so I will. But know this, Lucy: luck is a secondary force.”

The Goddess continued. Lucy decided not to say anything about the mysterious Blessing. Jade was a God after all. She knew what she was doing. Lucy was probably just mistaken.

“It will come into play often in your journey, and serendipity should not be discounted. But in order to take full advantage of it, you must be prepared. As for depending on luck to save you in a bad situation…well, I think you already experienced how that usually ends.”

She had. There hadn’t exactly been much choice at the time, but depending on her prediction of the spike monster’s attack the first time had left her with such a slim margin of error that it had only taken a point of difference to mean her death. Life was too complicated and unreliable for that. She knew that now. Could feel it.

As the world swirled around her and her body began to change its shape once more, Lucy made a promise to herself. An intention spread, setting its roots deep in her mind. Whatever she needed to do, she would do it, with or without luck or anyone else to help her.

This time, she would be prepared.

This time, she would win.