Where am I? Why do I look like I’m 6 years old again? This place is dark, like an eternal black fog. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice.
(Mom) “Stella, how could you do this to us?”
(Stella) “Mom?”
(Dad) “Stella, how could you let this happen?!”
(Stella) “Dad?” *Sniffle*
(manager lady) “It’s all your fault I got killed. It’s all your fault we died!”
(Stella) “But I didn’t-”
(Cain) “My mom is suffering because of you, and all you did was run away.”
They suddenly appeared and surrounded me.
(Mom, Dad, Manager, Cain) “It’s all your fault. It's all your fault.”
(Stella) “I-I didn’t mean-” I crouched down and cried out, and they circled around me.
(Mom, Dad, Manager, Cain) “It’s all your fault. It's all your fault.”
I wanted to cry out when a light cleared the fog and I heard another familiar voice.
(Nox) “Stella, wake up. It’s not real, it's just a nightmare, wake up.”
I shot up, shivering and gasping for breath, a cold sweat on my back.
(Nox) “Stella, wake up. Today’s the day.”
I woke up to Nox... in my bed… again…
(Stella) (WHY?!)
And I shoved him as hard as I could.
(Nox) “OUCH! Why do you do that every time?!”
He says that but am I supposed to just say ‘good morning’ when I wake up with some guy in my bed… of course I would freak, I’m still a girl.
And, yes, EVERY TIME. For the past week, he has been sneaking into my bed without waking me up, somehow. Before that, he only did that every few days… Why???
I asked once, and he said I grabbed his hand and wouldn’t let go… I do not believe him but it scared me to think of what other excuses he might come up with… so I gave up on that, but he just won't stop.
I glare at him as if I could pour all my grievances into my gaze.
(Nox) “Well, let’s go.”
(Stella) (DON'T JUST BRUSH THIS OFF!!!)
While I was still fuming, I chase after him and we set off towards that big castle in the sky.
(???) “She’s here!!!” *BANG*
The first thing that got my attention as we entered this huge castle… were the giant boobs that were suffocating me…
(Stella) (Can’t… breath…)
(Nox) “MOTHER!”
(???) “Oops, sorry dear.”
Nox spoke up and I could suddenly breathe again.
Wait… ‘MOTHER’???
The woman in front of me was the most gorgeous beauty I’ve ever seen. Her eyes kept changing color, from green to purple to yellow to blue, and other colors of all kinds, but none of them looked bad on her. She has crimson red hair tied into a high ponytail and a matching beautiful low-cut red dress… and it highlighted her extra large chest… that nearly killed me a second ago…
(???) “It’s so nice to finally meet you, dear. My name is Fortuna, goddess of fate and fortune. I’m so sorry about how my daughter acted, it's all my fault.”
She told me with tears in her eyes… I am totally speechless here… this is not how I expected my meeting with this goddess was going to go…
(Nox) “Where’s father?”
(Fortuna) “He’s waiting inside for us. Dear, let’s go, I want to introduce you to my husband.”
Then, she takes my hand and pulls me into the castle without waiting for my reply… so, it runs in the family…
As we walk through the corridors to a central room, Fortuna starts to explain the details of why she blessed me and why Forma cursed me.
(Fortuna) “So, you know that my daughter cursed you, but I didn’t let Nox explain why I blessed you, at least not properly. You see, dear, your soul is special. Most souls are created by my husband's or Al’s domain over the soul. Your soul was created naturally, like mine and my husbands. We call it a complete soul. One is created every few hundred millennia or so. Basically, you will live as long as your soul doesn’t dissipate, and reincarnate with all your memories whether we interfere or not.”
So… I’m doomed to live forever? Great, what a girl always wanted, eternal youth with a side of insanity...
(Fortuna) “I created my children so I could spend eternity with a large eternal family. It was better than going insane and destroying everything or dissipating my own soul. You can make that choice one day as well, however, please keep in mind that you can make this choice in a few billion years after you’ve had a chance to try out eternity. It's not for everyone after all.”
That’s not making me feel any better about all this.
(Fortuna) “I wanted to bless you so that you could live a first life full of beautiful memories… I’m sorry I couldn’t stop my daughter… if I’d been able to react faster, perhaps you would have lived the full life I had hoped for.”
How do I even react to that… Do I say thank you for trying? Do I get mad for the ridiculousness of the situation? I don’t even know what to… *Sigh* What now?
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(Stella) (What now?)
(Fortuna) “Well, first, we get you that new body. After that, it's up to you to decide. Oh, we’re here. If you need to know anything about your new body, just ask my husband, he made it after all.”
At the end of that long corridor was a 10-meter tall door. As we neared, they started opening… on their own…
When I finally saw the inside of the room, I was stunned. In the center of the room is a glowing light with the shadow of a person inside.
As I was looking around the room, a person with… interesting hair, like Fortuna's eyes... appeared beside us.
(???) “You must be Stella. It's nice to finally see a new soul around these parts. My name is Genesis, I am called the god of creation.”
The man in front of me looks no older than 25. Unlike his strange hair, his eyes are the same as Nox’s, pitch black.
(Stella) (What’s that?)
I pointed to the glow in front of us.
(Genesis) “That, child, is you.”
It feels strange to be called a child by someone who only looks 10 years older than you, but he should be at least as old as the Earth… I think?
(Stella) (Me???)
(Genesis) “Well, it will be. Just think of it as a suit of armor for your soul if you are uncomfortable with the concept of a new body.”
Now, I’m even more confused.
(Stella) (Armor?)
(Genesis) “Yes, there are actually quite a lot of soul-eating beasts in existence. This is simply armor to protect you from those things. Well, that, and to add a bit of color to you.”
He has a point… my current skin, eyes, clothes, and hair are pure white. I think I was told it had something to do with how young and magicless I was… am.
(Stella) (How add color?) I mean, doesn’t it already have color?
(Genesis) “This body is a mold. As long as you can gain more control over your soul, like using telepathy, you can learn to control this body's shape. For example, reshaping your ears to be like a beastman's.”
Stella the bunny girl… I kinda want to try it, but I also kinda want to forget that thought…
(Genesis) “It will also be easy for you to gather mana, considering that mana is what this body is made of. Mana can be a substitute for stamina because of that, but you will need to use mana to heal even the smallest scratches. Well, it will be like second nature at some point.”
Is that convenient or inconvenient… seriously, I’ve never used magic before. How am I even supposed to find mana?!
(Genesis) “If you get mortally wounded, there’s an auto-heal function that will use any stored mana you have to save your life… anything else… Right, this body won't age so try not to stay in a human town for more than a few years. Not all humans discriminate but some may take you to be immortal… and try to eat you to gain that immortality.”
Gross… but I can think of worse things on Earth that people have done to gain immortality… like those creeps that use newborns as sacrifices… this is making me more depressed… no, think positive, chances of dying is low and I can trick some people into helping me for being young even 100 years from now… is this really a good thing?
(Genesis) “Well, if you're done thinking, all you need to do is touch it and your soul will be sucked into this new body. It may feel weird at first, but you will take a week to learn and get used to moving. Nox will teach you how to use your mana as well.”
So I walk over to the light… are you sure I’m not passing on? I stood in front and hesitated. I mean, if I do this, I’ll leave soon. I like it here. I can play every day with my only worries being how to avoid the people that don’t like me.
Maybe I will be forced to leave either way but… so, I turned back and look at Nox.
(Nox) “What’s wrong Stella?”
He looked back at me with a confused look.
(Stella) (Scared.)
(Nox) “Of what?”
(Stella) (Being alone.)
Call me a scaredy cat if you want, but I was alone for years. Now, I have 2 people who are willing to talk to me… 2 people who get mad for me… 2 people who laugh with me…
I don’t want to lose them.
Tears start to escape from my eyes as I ask,
(Stella) (Can I not leave?)
(Nox) “Stella…”
(Genesis) “I already set up a system so you can talk to anyone of my children you want for an hour each day. All you need is to call out their name in your mind.”
… I already knew that, but it’s not the same.
(Fortuna) “Now, now. Stella, you are going on a journey. We want you to make friends, say goodbyes, meet again, and some people will leave forever. Sweety, eternity is full of meetings and partings.”
That is not making me feel better
(Nox) “Stella, we have all week to say goodbye. I know you can't bear to leave me-”
I immediately step into the light.
What is he smiling about?! Why is he breaking this serious moment with another stupid joke?! To think I was sad over leaving that guy!!! I can’t wait to go back and complain to Silva! So stop laughing at my serious emotions!!!
I seriously hear laughter behind me… jerk…
I took a deep breath and touched… my body… that sounds strange…
Like Genesis said, I got sucked in. I slowly started to feel my skin. I didn’t notice before that I couldn't feel it but now it’s too obvious to not notice.
This is probably why I need time to get used to it…
I feel even the smallest breeze on my skin, hear the smallest sounds, smell every scent. My head started hurting badly so I didn’t even try to open my eyes. I think this is called ‘sensory overload.’
Nox said I wasn’t really hearing him before but… this proves it.
I kneel on the floor and cover my ears, trying to get something in control.
After a while, my skin feels normal again, then my nose. Before uncovering my ears I try to use telepathy.
(Stella) (Please, don't speak.)
I don't know if it worked but when I uncovered my ears I didn’t hear voices. I slowly got used to each of the sounds in the room. Some wind here, clothes moving over there.
After getting used to that I slowly opened my eyes. Af first, it was too bright to see, then it got better. As my eyes adjusted, I started looking around the room. My head hurt worse when I first opened my eyes, but now the pain was starting to go away.
After a while, I heard a voice.
(Genesis) “*$^%@%^&%$#” (Feel better now?)
All I heard was gibberish but I could somehow understand him.
(Stella) (No, but I will be.)
(Nox) “*#&^^@*#^$&%^” (You can still use telepathy!)
I had to cover my ears again.
(Stella) (Don't shout!)
(Nox) “*#%^...” (Sorry...)
(Genesis) “*%^$&&*%#^&*$&$%&*#&@@%&^%#@^” (Why don't you go back now and rest. Start practicing control tomorrow.
(Stella) (Ok)
So I get up to leave.
(???) “*$^&&%$#%*&$@#$” (How about a twist.)
Suddenly, a white light that flashed around me.
(Nox) “Stella!”
(Fortuna) “Iter!!!”
2 people called out at the same time and I felt someone hug me tightly.
Then, it was like the air started to break around me, I kept hearing noises like glass shattering. Soon, it felt like I was being stretched and pulled in all different directions. After a bit, I couldn't tell up from down and got sick and dizzy. Then, I started feeling like I was getting cuts all over my body. It was like this torture would never stop.
At some point, I couldn't take it anymore and fainted.