----
As she turned around to look back towards the temple, she saw a woman standing in the entranceway. A woman that looked like a Human, at least on the outside, but was anything but. Medium-length curly brown hair, beautiful features of a mature woman, though also strangely imperfect, which caused Seraphiel to frown a little. “Mother. Interesting choice of appearance. Especially since I seem to recall you weren’t all that fond of humanity before.” Despite the guise, she could recognize her Mother anywhere.
“Well, I wasn’t.” The Goddess of all Creation said a bit hesitantly. “I recently got to experience life from the perspective of a Human, and you could say my view has…evolved a bit.”
The Goddess had always been a special existence among the celestial beings. As the co-creator of everything, she was in essence the Mother of everything, but she didn’t share Father’s fascination with Humans. In fact, the Goddess had downright despised them at one point. “What happened?” Seraphiel asked curiously, though carefully. Her relationship with her Mother had always been a complicated one, not made any easier by the exile.
The Goddess looked at their surroundings, specifically at the various people walking around them, both of them now noting that they were drawing quite a bit of attention. Even in a humanoid body, the Goddess drew attention just with her presence. She blinked her eyes, and suddenly everything around them froze, imitating Amenadiel’s ability to freeze time. “There. A little privacy. Are you sure you don’t want to come in?”
“This isn’t going to cause trouble?” Seraphiel waved around herself, gesturing towards the frozen people.
"What are they going to do about it even if it does?" The Goddess asked flippantly.
Right. That had been a thing. The Goddess had always been fearless, with strong convictions about her own worth and what she deserved. Which, fair enough, was somewhat to be expected, her being the Goddess of all Creation and all. Unlike Father though, the Goddess wasn’t above being selfish and careless about the consequences of her actions to others at times. She wasn't excessive about it, at least most of the time, but when someone who wielded endless power had a selfish streak, there were inevitable consequences, especially when that someone considered something like humanity on the same level as somewhat smarter rats. Father might have been a huge dick at times, but at least his policy on non-interference meant he didn’t abuse his powers. On the other hand, the Goddess always put family above everything, whereas Father tended to use Seraphiel and her siblings to enact His will without regard for their own opinions or will. Free will for Humans, not so much for the Celestials.
“Fair enough. We might as well go inside and let these poor people go about their day.” Seraphiel replied with a small sigh. She had butted heads with the Goddess on occasion due to her role as a protector, but they generally got along decently well.
The world returned to normal as they entered the temple and found a side alcove with some privacy. Without asking, the Goddess materialized a drink for both of them. Seraphiel noted with a small wry smile that her drink was something she’d used to like back when she’d been at the Silver City. The System, in the guise of Lucifer, provided her with her current favourite drink, while Mother did the same, except with her old favourite. Mother and Lucifer were quite similar in many ways. That’s probably why Luci had always been Her favourite.
“I’m sensing a bit of a story with your appearance, but I have to ask this first. Why are you here? Not that I mind the visit, but I do have to admit that it’s unexpected.” She asked after taking a sip. The drink was similar to hot chocolate with a silky smooth texture mixed with rather potent alcohol. Tasted a lot better than one would expect hearing the combination.
“Why would a Mother not want to see her oldest child?” The Goddess asked with real warmth in her voice.
“You haven’t until now.” She did her best to keep the bitterness from her voice. She really tried. But judging by Mother’s face, she had failed.
“I see. I suppose it would seem that way to you. You wouldn’t know.” It was the Goddess’ turn to sound a little bitter, though that bitterness was not directed at Seraphiel.
“Know what?” Seraphiel snapped a little. “I’ve been exiled for tens of thousands of years. You have not visited once. Father I can understand, as he was the one to exile me, but even Amenadiel visited me. Hell, even Michael visited once. Michael! The brother who literally self-actualized a chip on his shoulder!" At some point, she'd risen up and started pacing back and forth in front of the Goddess.
“I defended you and Lucifer after your rebellion.” The Goddess stated sadly. “For that crime, as well as my several transgressions against your Father’s favourite new toys, I was sent to Hell, to be your brother’s prisoner. So, while you were sent to exile, and Luci was forced to become the ruler of Hell, I was tortured by Mazikeen as one of their prisoners.”
“I always kind of liked Mazikeen. As far as demons go at least.” Seraphiel muttered, a little mollified.
“I do too, and it’s not like she could actually hurt me, but I couldn’t visit. Ironically, I escaped my confinement not too long ago. To make a long story short, your brother used Azrael’s blade to create a hole in reality and send me away. In a way, you could say I was exiled as well.” The Goddess didn’t seem to be too bothered by her exile though. “Anyway, I was quite happily creating a new universe, when suddenly my nascent work came into contact with this place.” The Goddess waved her hand around. “Since I was forced to come here, I thought I might as well enjoy it. After all, there’s a lot more fun that can be had with a complete universe than creating one from nothing. So, you see my daughter, I’m not here to visit. I was actually here before you.”
“Why didn’t you make contact before no- wait.” Seraphiel blinked her eyes a bit. “Wait a bloody moment. Are you the one that summoned me here? Am I supposed to be your Champion?”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“That’s not exactly what happened, but you’re not wrong either. I was part of it. The gods of this universe like to brag about their Champions. They wave them around like…sticks? Was sticks the expressions?” The Goddess asked slightly confused.
“It is now.” Seraphiel hurried to agree.
“Well, that got annoying fast. Imagine all these young runts trying to act all smug without knowing who they were talking to! Anyway, I realized that I had already created one perfect Champion together with your Father, even if you were in exile. Why settle for someone else when I could have the best? Except this stupid universe has rules. Now, I’m not as bound by them as the wannabee divinities of this universe, as even this System is our creation and nothing I helped create can truly bind me, but I do have to work within the System somewhat if I don’t want to break it entirely. So, your arrival here is a little more complicated than just me summoning you.” The Goddess explained.
“Well, do tell. I’m all ears.” She prodded, taking her seat again and taking another sip of the mug that never seemed to empty or go cold.
“I don’t want to.” The Goddess replied flippantly. Noting Seraphiel’s expression she continued. “Look, you don’t really need to know. It’s mostly about the internal workings of this System and the politics of the gods. None of that matters to you. To make things simple though, you’re not just my Champion, but the System’s as well.”
“The System’s?” She repeated. The idea had occurred to her, even if it did seem a little crazy.
“Yes.” The Goddess looked away as if remembering something. “Which reminds me, I don’t think I was supposed to reveal that. Anyway, the System isn’t all that happy at the state of things, and you’re here partially to throw a wrench into things. You don’t actually have to do anything specific, as just your existence will do that. And if I know you, as I do, you can’t help but cause chaos and change wherever you go.”
“That’s---!” She was about to protest but was interrupted.
“I know it’s not fun to hear, but it’s really true honey. You do good things and solve problems, but you do tend to cause a mess wherever you go.” The Goddess continued piling on. “You’re worse than Luci in that regard. Neither of you is exactly subtle.”
Seraphiel squawked in protest but couldn’t really deny the accusations.
"Now-now. That's not all bad. I heard Amenadiel when he visited you. He told you to just live your life, and as your official co-patron, I agree. Your mission is to have fun and enjoy your life here." The Goddess smiled a bit. "Just don't forget your old mother and visit me every now and then. Once in a while, I might have something for you to do as well if you seem amenable."
Seraphiel’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. You just said it got annoying that the beings playing at gods were waving their Champions around. You wouldn’t have summoned me if you didn’t plan to do the same.”
“Oh, that’s easy. You’re going to become the biggest stick anyway, no matter what you decide to do. It’s built into your very nature. In the end, I’ll be the one waving the biggest stick.” The Goddess frowned. “Although Luci might have called it something else when he used the metaphor. Though I don’t think it makes sense that I as a woman waved around the biggest di-“
Seraphiel cleared her throat. “You said Luci sent you here?”
“Ah, right. This body you’re seeing? It’s a copy of a human body I was inhabiting at the time. I was slowly regaining my powers after escaping from Hell, and I was trying to get your brothers to join me in storming the Silver City, as the body couldn’t really withstand my presence. Anyway, it was a bit more complicated, but essentially, I was not having a good moment and your brothers made me see the error of my ways. Instead of taking things out on your Father, Luci sent me here instead. Well, not here-here, but you know what I mean.” The Goddess wasn’t very good with stories either.
“Let’s pretend I followed all that. How is Luci? I haven’t seen him since…well, a long time ago.” She asked.
“Luci is…doing Luci things. I think he has fallen in love with a mortal. Anyway, I don’t know all the things that have happened since I was sent here, and truth be told, I wasn’t free from Hell for very long. Time also works a little weird between universes. I’ve been here for less than a hundred years, but as far as I can tell, only a year or two have passed back home.”
"You've been here that long, yet for some reason, I'm not registered as being summoned by you?" Seraphiel was a little confused.
“Well, as I said, we had to stretch the rules a bit. Also, I’m not recognized as one of the top gods of this universe, so strictly speaking I’m not supposed to be able to summon a Champion.” The Goddess ‘explained’. "But since I am, well...me…"
“Fine, fine. Let’s go with that.” This was one of the reasons Seraphiel had avoided dealing with Mother too much. She always got a headache because the Goddess was half-assing things, especially her explanations.
The Goddess wasn’t done though. “I mean imagine how annoying that is! All these pretender would be deities thinking they’re all that. They have the temerity to assign me as one of the lesser gods! Lesser! I’m the Goddess of all Creation thank you very much!”
“I can imagine that’s ver-“ Seraphiel tried to say but was interrupted.
“That’s why we’re going to show them what a real deity can do, you and I!” The Goddess seemed to find her calm again. “I mean eventually. When you’ve become strong enough. I think your Father might have interfered in some part of the process actually.” She frowned. “Makes things harder. Anyway, I can wait. You have fun in the meantime.”
“So, what do I call you if someone asks?” Seraphiel quickly changed the subject. “I can’t exactly call you Mother, and the claim Goddess of all Creation is going to be dismissed as boasting.”
The Goddess seemed stumped for just a moment. "I suppose…just call me Charlotte. Charlotte Richards. That was the name of the human whose form I'm using. I've grown rather fond of it. I had quite a bit of fun with it actually.” The Goddess grinned. “You should’ve seen Luci’s reaction when he saw me naked. Although…now that I look at you and remember how you looked, I might make a couple of changes.”
“That’s…ok. Doesn’t sound very godly, but hey, I’m not judging.” She decided not to poke that hornet nest.
“Bah! It’s going to sound godly enough once everyone learns their place. Anyway, just like you, I’m still waiting for some of my powers to come back, so we can’t really make a huge show yet. Summoning you also took a lot of effort.” The Goddess revealed.
“Calling me fat?” Seraphiel joked.
“Please.” The Goddess gave a long-suffering look. “We both know we created you unable to get fat. That said, you’re not exactly a pixie in your real form, so…”
"Well, as you said, that's how you created me, so it's your fault really." Seraphiel tossed the blame right back at the Goddess.
“I suppose I can take the credit as well.” The Goddess smiled victoriously. “We both know it wasn’t your Father that gave you your looks. Just for the record, I was quite happy with the work we did with you. It was your Father who insisted on going the less-perfect route afterwards. Now I'm not saying your siblings aren't great in their own way, but I did do my best work with you." Her tone was rather smug.
“Father did rather well when creating Eve.” Seraphiel pointed out.
“I…do have to admit that Eve came out rather well. For a Human. But I did much better with you.” The Goddess wasn’t going to give up. “Now, tell me all about what’s happened with you. It’s been too long.”
The two spent hours discussing Seraphiel’s past before she had to leave.
As she did exit the temple, she was feeling a bit mixed. It was nice to have met Mother again, and out of all the potential options, the Goddess likely was the best choice for her patron. Even with all of Her foibles, Mother certainly beat out some random god she didn’t know at all. She wouldn’t have been happy to do the bidding of the local deities.
On the other hand, she also felt kind of lost. Part of what had been driving her so far had been the idea of having been summoned by some local god and having to deal with that whole issue, mystery included. Now that the Goddess hadn't really given her any mission aside from a vague "get strong eventually" she was without real purpose. That was unusual for her. Before being exiled, she had been the protector, looking after her siblings and the mortals alike. After being exiled, she'd always had a goal of some sort whenever she was thrown from one universe to another. Usually, that goal was a rather worthy one, even if she didn't fully agree with it. Even when the goal had been more nebulous, she'd at least had a goal. Even when she refused to fulfill the goal, she'd at least had a goal to refuse. Now though? She didn’t have some overarching objective, and she wasn’t used to feeling so directionless. Even Amenadiel had told her that she had no more objectives to fulfill, aside from living her life.
For the first time in her very long life, she was lost. Completely set adrift. Not a feeling she appreciated.
She wasn’t used to coming up with her own goals. She knew mortals did it all the time, so it couldn’t be that hard. When she had some overarching goal, she was great at coming up with smaller intermediate objectives that would take her towards ultimate victory. But how did she come up with intermediate goals without having some end goal in mind?
Maybe she needed to ask someone like Ophiel or Raziel for help…