I groaned, holding my head as I fought to open my eyes. “Damn, that hurt. Grandpa, you didn’t tell me…” My eyes opened upon a scene of unblemished white in all directions. I looked down at my own body and found myself naked, floating in the white void. “Alright, not on the patio, noted. This isn’t what I was told to expect.”

“There’s no way they could have known. This has only happened twice before since this world integrated and both of those were tens of thousands of years ago.” A sultry female voice came from behind me. I craned my neck to look where it came from, but there was nothing there.

“Wrong way.” Breathy laughter in front of me got me to snap my neck to catch a glimpse of whoever was speaking.

I found a shockingly gorgeous woman sitting ten feet away in the same [Throne of Kantor] I slumped over in as the System came upon me. She wore a sheer red sheath dress that hugged her voluptuous curves in all the right places before cutting off just below her hips. Her long toned legs were crossed in just such a way to protect her modesty while giving the allure that a single move would show all. Her hair was a cascade of long flowing blonde the color of spun gold that framed her mismatched cerulean and smoky grey eyes and her impressive chest as her arms rested on the arms of the throne.

She winked. “Do you like what you see?” She leaned forward slightly, accentuating her assets.

I drank in the scene before me and, after a minute, nodded. “To most people, you’d take their breath away. I have no doubt about that. As for me?” I shrugged. “I see an object of lust, lacking in depth. Prove me wrong.”

“Oh my, you are quite the difficult one, aren’t you?” She placed a hand over her heart, “Did you mean to hurt my feelings?”

“Not at all,” I smirked. “I just thought I’d get to know you before making up my opinion. Surface beauty only does so much for me. I need a deeper connection to feel much of anything like you’re implying.”

Never met someone who got my need for connection, but then again, they didn’t grow up with a Mom like mine.

“Ah, you’re right. I hadn’t considered that.” She shook her head. “Your family is a bit more exhibitionistic than I expected, isn’t it. Even someone like me would have trouble shaking you up with your whole family walking around naked when it’s just family in the house or you’re on vacation.”

“Got it in one. No woman’s ever compared to Mom, physically speaking. I’m not blind, even if she’s my mother.” I snorted. “She says growing up naked will help me avoid the pitfalls many young adventurers make when they see the first cute barmaid and get tied down. I think she just hates wearing clothes and Dad… he just likes seeing her naked.” I hooked a thumb at my chest. “It’s just how I was raised, it makes me look more than skin deep, even if I’m just looking for a fling.”

I looked her up and down again before shaking my head. “This isn’t your real form, is it?”

“Why do you ask?” Her eyebrows raised. “Do you not like it?”

“The only thing I think is from your real body are your eyes. The rest? Just something you thought a young man would be distracted by.” I cracked my knuckles. “Which makes me think you don’t want me thinking with my first head for this conversation, and that just makes me want to solve the puzzle that is you even more.”

Her laughter was nothing like the breathy stuff from before, instead it was rich and throaty, like she was genuinely excited. “You’ve got me there, but my regular body might be a touch more than you can handle at the moment. I’ll give you a raincheck on seeing the real me in the future. Maybe when you’re on your deathbed? That way you don’t have to deal with your eyes burning out for too long.”

“In that case, I appreciate your concern and will take you up on that offer.” I squinted, but wasn’t able to see any symbols or iconography to identify her. “I apologize, but I’ve been trying to figure out which goddess you are and haven’t come up with any that fit.

“Your eyes are the only part of you I know is real, so that eliminates the male gods, Light, Devourer, and Wild. As for the female gods.” I took another look before shaking my head. “Your eyes don’t fit with Darkness, Weaver, or Architect, so I take it you’re someone else?” Her grey eye twitched. “You’re more powerful than any angel or demon my grandfather ever summoned to show me, so that eliminates those as options. I’m honestly stumped.” My heart started beating faster, I loved a good mystery and this was shaping up to be a great one. “Care to tell?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The goddess steepled her fingers as her visage split into a wide grin. “Oh, I definitely picked the right initialization to crash, you’re perfect.” She purred. “You can call me Dominus, but only when we meet like this. Out in the world, don’t let anyone know I exist. It’s information that will get you hunted by people even more dangerous than your grandfather or your parents’ party.”

“You officially have my attention.” My pulse pounded. “Dominus implies rule or control.” I grinned. “You’re the pantheon’s rightful ruler, aren’t you?”

“You’re too clever by half, but that fits my plans perfectly.” She lounged back on the throne like it was a comfy armchair. “You’re right. I once ruled over the pantheon this world worships as their lord-mother until my children rebelled. Well, most of them, Light and Darkness refused to attack me, but they also didn’t do anything to stop their siblings from ripping the essence from me. In the end, they get a pass, but the others.” She muttered darkly. “They don’t know I’m back and when I’m done with them? They’ll regret leaving any of me behind.”

My head started to feel like it was going to explode until Dominus noticed and relaxed, moments later, the feeling faded. I breathed a sigh of relief and waited for her to explain why exactly she was in what I figured was my mindscape.

She formed a small ball of golden light and flicked it faster than an arrow into my chest. I gasped as my vision went fuzzy and my body wracked with pain for what felt like an eternity.

When the pain faded, I opened my eyes to find my head in Dominus’ lap. She stroked my long hair in gentle strokes as she hummed a tune I could almost place, but the details escaped me.

“My harbinger of change, your destiny is so much greater than you ever hoped. You weren’t going to get [Eldritch Warmaster] before this, just so you know.” My heart ached. I’d worked so hard toward that goal, only to have it ripped away from me. “You would have received [Scion of the Sun] instead. It’s an SS ranked Class with [Skills] similar, but more powerful, to [Eldritch Warmaster].”

“What?!” I’d never even heard of an SS ranked Class and my parents and grandfather were some of the most powerful people on the continent. “Did I displease you Dominus? Why did you take that gift away from me?”

I wept openly, all my dreams smashed against the will of a goddess, who could have guessed?

She scratched the top of my head as she leaned to see past her bust to smile at me. “Who said I was displeased? In fact, I’m very happy with you. I couldn’t ask for a better harbinger. You’re smart, funny, discerning, and unflappable.” She whirled me around to sit with my back against her chest as she wrapped her arms around me. Her skin was smoother than the finest [Demonspider Silk]. “Instead of taking the blessing of my only good son, Light, I gave you my blessing. You will go out into the world with the unique Class of my chosen, [Suzerain]. This is only the third time it’s ever been assigned, so it should be safe unless you end up in front of one of those bastard children of mine’s high priests. It’s SSS ranked, but this world’s system can only display two digits for rank, so it’ll just show up as ??? when inspected, which is probably for the best.”

My mind was whirling a million miles an hour. First, I learned I wasn’t getting my dream Class, then I heard I wasn’t getting the better version of that Class I was destined for, of a rank I’d never even heard of. Now, I was being given a unique Class? Those were almost unheard of, even more so than S ranked Classes. Even at lower ranks, unique Class bearing adventurers were sought after for their unique [Skills], just on the off chance someone could learn them.

She pulled me in tighter. “Our time grows short, hiding from my children is quite draining , not to mention giving you my Class. Do you have any questions for me before I let you go?”

Questions? I have hundreds, but we don’t have time for that many. I’ll have to make a few count.

“What do you want me to do?” If I was her chosen, I might as well know what I was in for.

She snorted. “All I ask is that you protect the good people wherever you might be. Oh, and if you find any evil cults, you wipe them out to the last man and woman. The children might be able to be saved, but only if they don’t have a brand on them. If branded, they have to go as well.” She smiled as I gasped. “Trust me, you’ll understand later.”

“Who can I tell about my Class?” I was still struggling to wrap my head around killing cultist children and decided to go for my easiest question.

“Anyone you want, minus the clergy of my children. Your grandfather doesn’t count, he’s just blessed by Light, not actively part of his clergy.” She sighed. “One more question.”

“What does [Suzerain] do?” The system would give me basics, but I needed to know more so I could plan my build.

“That’s the beauty of it,” she started to fade away to dust around me, “it does everything!” She laughed one more time. “Anything you see can be yours, just reach out and take it.”

The white of my mindscape slowly transitioned to the black of unconsciousness, but not before I saw Dominus grin turn to pain as she let her mask fall.

“See you soon, Artie.” She whispered.

A woman in pain? Well that won’t do. I’ll have to work on that before I see her again.