Blossom's heart raced. The warped panther that had led her into the fight had already lept into the fray and started attacking the Eldritch. Blossom had one job. She wasn't here to fight the small creatures. That's what all the warriors and primordial spawned beasts were for. She took a deep breath, remembering her lessons. Remembering the new friends she had made. She threw herself into the Aether.

As her eyes opened, terror gripped her heart. She had seen one shard from far away. Now, twelve of them stood before her. Their focus seemed fully fixed on the physical realm. They hadn't noticed yet that she had slipped into the Aether.

As she slowly drifted toward them, Blossom realized what a truly beautiful place the Aether was. Everything seemed so much more vibrant. The flows of mana swirled in and out of the physical world, bursts of mana appearing in the Aether and getting sucked back into the world where they belonged.

As Blossom looked down, she saw a woman sitting near a tree, her hands clasped together as if in prayer. She realized that was her realm core. Doing its best to help its occupants fight off this invader. She saw the thousands of golden strands of divinity running to and from the core of the various local deities.

Blossom floated slowly along. She knew every second of delay was more deaths that their people had to recover from. But rushing it meant total failure and loss. As she neared the first shard, she raised a hand. Zymeth had told her to start with a tiny trickle of divine power. A single point at most. Once the creature nibbled on it, she'd need to dump a few thousand mana into it before immediately throwing herself back into the physical world. The Professor had warned it was an extremely reckless approach that offered the highest chance of getting killed.

But both the Profesor and Zymeth had agreed it was also her best shot at killing the creatures.

Blossom set the bait, a single tiny point of mana that would appear divine to them in the Aetherian realm. The attention of all twelve shards snapped to the mana. They clammored and shoved one another to get at it.

The one closest snapped a thousand angry mouths down on it at once. It felt as if something had just taken a bite out of her soul. As soon as the pain began to flare up, Blossom dumped it all back into the intent of her mana. One clear defining goal.

Destruction. Ten thousand mana flowed out of her in a brilliant flash of what seemed like divine fury.

[Warning! Hostile matter detected in the Aether, purge incoming!]

Before Blossom could see the result of her handiwork, she ripped herself back into the physical world and slammed into the ground. Suddenly, she was grateful for the torture that Zymeth had made them endure. Despite the dozens of notifications upon her return about endurance and immunities, the poor girl still felt like she had been hit with a mountain of exhaustion.

However, that exhaustion faded as she saw that not one but two of the shards had folded in on themselves. Thousands of the swarmlings attached to them lay dead. The other ten shards seemed distracted as if fighting a battle on two fronts.

Zymeth had told her to wait a full two minutes before attempting to dive into the Aether again. Told her to use her mana to just under her maximum so that the Aether found it more difficult to track. She didn't understand how using her mana would confuse it, but she wasn't going to argue with the creature who so vehemently hated the Eldritch.

Things weren't looking good on the battlefield. The wounds from the swarmlings seemed like they could be healed, but anytime a shard actually connected, the soldier exploded in a wave of mana, like its body had been stuffed with a hundred times the amount of mana it should have held.

"Oh great, Mother Gaia, grant this foolish daughter your mercy and heal our wounds [Rejuvanation]!" As the incantation finished, Blossom was startled to see not just a half dozen or so people's wounds heal. But nearly the entire battlefield.

Title Unlocked!

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Gaia's Hero:

You are one of the chosen heros of the realm 'Gaia'. Any skill you cast in defense of the realm, is multiplied by a hundred fold.

All damage taken while standing on your home realm is reduced by 50%.

The duration of efficacy of all debuffs against you is reduced by 50%.

The realm itself supports you, all regeneration values are doubled.

Blossom blinked in surprise but immediately switched over from her old title of [Blossom]. That title had mostly just buffed her plant-based magic. She chuckled faintly, musing to herself that the next time she saw Trillia, she'd have to tell her friend to either call her Meridia or Hero.

Her mirth turned into determination as the two minutes had passed. Once more, she flung herself into the Aether. This time, the terror was a hundredfold. Something far larger loomed some distance from the realm, staring directly at her. She saw the brilliant silver and golden hue of the deities fighting it. That must have been the core of the hive.

She took a deep breath to steady herself and repeated her attack. This time, instead of taking out just one of the shards, the other ten were ripped apart in the Aether. To her surprise, she didn't get a warning. Nor did she feel the need to rip herself out of the Aetherian realm. Instead, as she looked back at the realm, she saw a thin golden cord extending from her own back and leading to it. Hope swelled in her chest.

-=====-

Trillia's breath caught in her chest as she saw Blossom bathed in golden light. Zymeth let out a breath he had been holding in, and he seemed to relax a little. A dozen other golden lights emerged, and relief flooded both him and the Professor. "What does it mean?"

The Professor rubbed her eyes. "It's a title. We can't talk about it. But the chances of the realm surviving, and of Meridia surviving, have gone up astronomically."

Trillia had no idea what the word astronomically meant, but she assumed it was a good thing, seeing the relief on the faces of all the deities. She dared to hope.

-=====-

The fighting went on for hours. Blossom was starting to feel the effects of constantly fighting in the Aether before pulling herself back to the realm to maneuver to the next battle field. The tide seemed to be turning for them.

As she slipped into the Aether again, a sharp pain hit her chest.

Blinking in surprise, she looked down to see an inky black claw poking through her chest. A creature slowly formed in front of her, looming above her. A thousand mouths screaming out in silent glee.

She grit her teeth, shoved her hands forward, and blasted the thing with half of her mana.

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It vanished. Blossom floated in the endless expanse of mana, staring down at her chest as a faint blue shimmer leaked out of her.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to pull herself back to her body but couldn't, tried to heal herself but couldn't.

Every attempt to reach out to her patron failed. Despite the battle happening around her, both in the Aetherian realm and the physical realm. She drifted in total silence. After a few minutes, her mind started to feel foggy. Like she was drifting off to sleep.

Sleep sounded good. A bright flash of light caused her to look over at the massive entity she had seen before. Another brilliant flash of light as another local deity was snuffed from existence. She wanted to curl up in a ball and let the others handle it. She was so tired now.

"I wouldn't take a nap right now." The voice snapped her fully awake and alert. As she twisted and turned herself in the Aether, she saw a young elven man standing before her. His form wavered and shifted as it positively burst with mana.

"Looks like something snapped the connection between your soul and your body. Not a bad way to go, all things considered. You still have an hour or two before you fully die." The man had floated close to her and was inspecting the wound in her chest.

"Umm....who are you?" Blossom looked down at her chest and back to where her body should have been. It was a heap on the ground.

"I don't remember my name. I've been wandering the Aether for some time now. I used to live here if you can believe it. So when I saw the void approaching, I knew I should come and lend my skills."

An echo.

That was the only possibility that Blossom could think of, but how could it see the Eldritch? Whose echo was it? "Is there anything I can do? In this form?"

A hand reached out and touched her head, a million ideas for spells flooded through her soul, and eons of research and spell casting threatened to burst her very soul open. As the echo pulled his hand back, he looked down at the realm core. "Sorry, M'Lady, but I don't think this one can be saved. She wants to keep helping, and I have every intention of letting her."

Blossom blinked a few more times as she looked around the Aether with a newfound respect. No notifications hit her. She was dying, she was certain. Part of her wanted to study her body, study the severed connection. Perhaps with this newfound knowledge, she could fix herself, but a deeper part of her pulled her towards the entity that was shooting the shards into her realm.

"Thank you...whoever you are." Orienting herself towards the looming threat, she willed herself towards it.

That did work. In fact, it worked a little too well as she found herself hurtling toward the creature. A familiar voice spoke to her mind. It was her patron goddess. "Don't! We can still heal you." Blossom paused briefly, looking back at her realm. Something in her chest pulled at her. Whispered to go to the core of the invader.

Something in her had clicked. Something in her told her that she had a purpose before death took her. Her eyes shimmered with golden light as she shot past the deities fighting toward the core of the swarm. Words sprung from her lips on instinct. "For during eternal night, shall I become a light to guide you. In the dark eternal void shall I become a beacon of hope. In the eternal fields of the hereafter, shall my warmth comfort you. [Providence]."

Meridia felt a pulse come from her.

Everything went still.

She couldn't move.

The fighting had stopped.

It was just that same eerie silence.

A gentle hand took hers. "What a silly thing to do."

The voice was unfamiliar to her. But it was comforting. It promised eternal warmth and peace. It promised an end to suffering. "I... It just felt right."

The entity squeezed her hand gently. "A hefty cost to deal a grievous wound to an enemy. You shouldn't have been able to access Providence. I suppose your love for your realm outweighed the safety of the system. Or it was his meddling again, perhaps. Either way, I'm afraid you have to come with me now, little one."

So she was dead. Somehow, that didn't bother her. "Did we win?"

The entity slowly turned the two of them to see the battlefield frozen what seemed like far below them. The core of the creature she had been fighting had been blown in half. Two other figures clad in gold like she had been were paused halfway in their journey to it. Grim determination on their face, their mouths opened in an incantation. "Why is everything so still? Are they also going to die?"

"Because I've stopped time to have a little chat with you. You can call me Dawn. Yes, the others have also tapped into [Providence]."

Dawn. It was a pretty name. The voice calmed all the panic that she might have been feeling. Seeing the other heroes of Gaia rushing out, somehow, deep down, Meridia knew that the fight was over. She might be gone, but the realm would live on. "Can I ask a favor, Dawn?"

A feeling of positive energy flowed through some unseen link. "Will you tell everyone I'm leaving behind that I love them? That I'm glad they get to live? Maybe let my friends at the Professor's know that we won."

Another gentle hand squeezed her shoulder, and she felt as if she was being pulled into a hug. "Do you have any other last requests?"

Meridia wasn't one to be greedy. She had saved her realm. Nothing else really mattered. "No. Maybe... maybe just let me look in on my friends from time to time."

She felt so very tired.

As the other heroes resumed their rush to the enemy, her eyes slowed closed, and she knew peace.

-=====-

Trillia's heart broke. "No!" She screamed at the image of Blossom's body simply vanishing in an explosion of brilliant light. Two others slammed into the core instantly, and the primary hive was destroyed. The eldritch screeched in pain and began turning on each other.

"No!" Tears streamed down her face. "All that training?! Just for her to die like that?!" She turned her angry yelling at Zymeth. "You're a god! Do something, damn you! Why are you all so fucking useless?! Why do we have to suffer for your failings?! The eldritch are dead gods, right?! Why did Blossom have to die because you can't keep us safe!"

Her throat hurt from screaming, her vision blurry as she swung her fists at the deity before her. "Why do we always have to die?! Why can't all of you die for once?! Wh...why... " Tears started to come more freely. Her words choked her. "Why did it have to be my friend?" The last words came out as a whimper as she sunk to the ground and wrapped her arms around herself in tears.

Three of the deities around her said nothing. Only looked at her with a mixture of pity and sorrow.

Zymeth kneeled in front of her and grabbed her chin. "Open your eyes."

As she resisted, she felt pressure building on his hand. The pain wasn't worth it.

Her eyes shot open with all the hate and anger she could muster. Only to see a sympathetic look on the god's face. Slowly, he lifted his free hand to show her the scene again. "Look very, very carefully. What do you see?"

Trillia didn't want to look. She didn't want to see her friend's death, but at this point, she knew better than to argue with the stubborn god. "I don't see anything."

"Look more closely. At the stars."

Trillia tried to focus, blinking away the tears still left in her eyes. There were no stars. It was just the inky darkness of the void and space. But Zymeth wouldn't tell her for no reason. Her eyes kept scanning the image before realization struck. It wasn't that there were no stars... it was that something many times the size of the realm was blocking them all. "What is that?"

"The eldritch host that the swarm core came from. It's currently fighting guardian deities on all fronts. [Providence] is an ability that sacrifices a mortal soul to purify....everything. Self-sacrifice has few equals in terms of divine power. The eldritch is going to reach out to feel for its swarm and realize it's dead soon. It will flee after that, thinking that something is strong enough to kill it on the realm it thought was a treat. Once it has fled, the rift that pulled it towards Gaia can be closed."

Trillia sniffled and turned her eyes back to him. "Why are you telling me? Why should I care?"

His eyes turned hard, and he let go of her chin finally. "Because Meridia Everflow just sacrificed her mortal life and soul so that billions of other mortals have a chance to live long and happy lives. Because you need to know that the things you do have purpose. You need to understand that we can only give you the tools to save yourself. Lady Everflow chose her realm over herself. Grieve, I know it hurts. But at least understand what her sacrifice meant and honor it."

Trillia's eyes drifted to the floor as he laid into her. After a moment of silence, she managed to squeak out. "It still hurts. I still don't want her to be dead."

"It sucks. A lot. It never gets easier. Millions of years later, and every time I lose a good friend to those fucking things, it feels like someone punched a hole in my chest. For me, knowing that some of those bastards died and that my friend bought the rest of us peace and happiness..."

The god shrugged and patted her gently on the head. "It helps me cope. You got a rough go of it, kid. You're as young as Mathias and I were when fate started to screw us over. Pretty sure Kain was born into a bad situation. You'll make it through. Just...try to remember the good times."

Trillia didn't have much else to say. She just sat there on the floor and tried not to cry.