Darkness, floating through space and time, seeming like everything around him was flying past as though he was travelling somewhere, someplace, until finally, he opened his eyes. White, bright white light assaulted his eyes, but yet it didn't feel annoying or burn his eyes; rather, it was relaxing, comforting even.

"Welcome to the realm of the gods, Wolfram." Greeted a voice that seemed to echo in Vance's head, prompting him to sit upright, holding his head as though he had a concussion.

Strangely, he had no pain, nothing, which made it weird to hold his head, he thought. "Who said that?!" Vance called out.

Nothing but silence filled the white space before him until finally, the sound of bare feet on marble came ringing out as clearly as the voice which had called out to him earlier. Scrambling to his feet as a figure soon emerged from a cloud of light, stopping a mere ten feet away from the anxious blonde whose mind was flooding with questions.

"That'd be me, dear child." Answered the woman who stood the same height as Vance at six feet, two inches.

Her long cascading blue hair seemed to sparkle with the luminosity of stars, much like her gown that matched her hair in colour with a slight gold trim outlining the folds of the fabric. To Vance, the clothes this individual wore seemed more like the type of thing you'd see in ancient Greece or Rome.

"Wait... Greece? Rome?" Confusion now filled Vance's mind as he looked around for answers as though he might find them in the clouds.

Raising her dainty finger was all she needed to do to capture the man's attention, "The reason you have such names in your head is that you're not from the world I plucked you from."

Perplexed, Vance opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off, "Sorry, I should clarify. Your soul isn't from the world. Rather you, my dear child, are from Earth. Try to remember."

At her insistence, Vance stood in thought, and sure enough, he began to recall memories of his past life on Earth. "I... I'm Vance Wolfram, a professor at the University of Toronto... I... Shit..."

"Don't fight it. What else can you remember?"

"I... I was from Canada, I... I died in a car accident, and then..." It was then he looked up as the sudden realization sunk in. "I was summoned here! By you... no, not just you. There were ten of you... gods, you're gods of this world!" Vance exclaimed.

The goddess began to clap, smiling warmly, "Well done, Vance, though, I must say you're more shocked now than you were then." She noted with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, well, hard to keep my cool now that I remember I've been living a whole different life for seventeen years, only to have the memories of my past life come flooding in now after I died there," Vance replied.

Shaking her head, the goddess summoned up a metal table that looked like something one might see at a noblewoman's garden. Taking a seat at the table, she crossed her legs and motioned for Vance to take the chair opposite her.

"Sit, please."

Vance obliged; taking a seat would likely help him relax and sort out his thoughts. "So... I'm dead... again?" Vance asked.

Shaking her head, "Not quite. Rather you've broken through the seal that held your memories back."

Vance squinted, "Oh? But... why would you seal my memories? If I recall, you summoned me because of my knowledge?"

"Mhm, we did summon you, but I should clarify, it wasn't me or anyone within my pantheon that sealed your memories." She replied calmly, taking a sip from a porcelain teacup she conjured up.

"I... I still don't understand; if it wasn't you, then who was it? And why? I thought the whole purpose of me getting summoned was so I could help?"

"You were and still are needed. Seventy-five years that civil war has been raging, and it's claimed more lives than any conflict before and would continue to do so unless stopped." She started, "Which is why we chose you. You're someone who is an expert in all things related to your eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which made you the most viable candidate."

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Raising a brow, Vance quickly replied, "Don't you normally summon someone from Japan or China to do this type of thing?"

Tilting her head, the goddess looked confused, "Why is that?"

"Nothing, it's something from my past life. A fairly popular trope..." Waving the topic aside, Vance continued, "But getting back to my previous line of thought, if you didn't seal my memories, who did?" Vance asked.

The goddess shrugged as they moved on to his second inquiry, "A rival pantheon."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'rival pantheon'? Shouldn't you be the only one in this world?" Vance asked.

Nodding, "We should be, yes, but... much like the ancient deities of your past world, we had kids of our own. Mortal and immortal."

"And? That doesn't explain why there's a second pantheon, though?"

Letting out a small sigh, "Well, as with your world, the pantheons of each nation and people had a singular pantheon from which all other gods originated before eventually evolving to match the culture and vision their followers view them as. In our case, our children have decided to try and do what the gods of yours did." She answered, a tiny hint of sadness woven in her tone.

"Ah... well, that leaves more questions for me, but at least it helps paint a picture." Vance said as he began to visibly calm down, "So let me make a guess here and say your kids are trying to start their own religion... and to prevent me from becoming your champion, which would further increase your influence and power, they sealed my memories and left me to live as a normal human?" Vance suggested.

Somewhat surprised, the goddess gave a respectful clap, "I see we did well in picking you."

Waving away her praise, "No, that's the answer anyone would come up with."

Shrugging, the goddess continued, "However, now that you're memories have unlocked, you're once again able to do as we hoped you would."

"Stop the war."

"Exactly. Something I'm sure you'll do well at with the knowledge you have from your world." She added.

Vance shook his head as he began to recall another vital piece of information, "Wait... that's not all, you also gave me a boon... didn't you?"

The goddess nodded, "Indeed. Each of my brothers and sisters had imparted a boon to you to aid you in your quest, but sadly... you're unable to use them at the moment."

"So, what do I do then? Just rely on my memories to get me through the war?"

"No. Thankfully, upon breaking the first in many seals, you've awakened from being a Human to a High Human, that is to say, my boon to you."

Vance raised a brow, "High Human?"

"Yes, a being bordering on godhood. If I were to make a comparison from Earth, you'd call them Demi-gods."

"Oh shit, really?"

"I've... never heard that phrase before, is that positive?"

Shaking his, "It's nothing, sorry, but, if I'm a High Human, doesn't that make me pretty strong right out the gate, so shouldn't that be enough?"

"You have a strange habit of moving away from my questions. But, no. While you may be slightly stronger than an average human right now, the only thing my boon allows at this moment is a longer lifespan and the ability to control your emotions and recall your memories better than you would if you were a human." She replied, taking a sip from her cup before letting the cup fade into a nearby cloud.

Vance took a breath, "I see... so then... each of the gods and goddess in your pantheon gave me a boon to strengthen me further, correct? If so, does that mean they're still locked behind a seal?"

The goddess nodded with a frown, "Very astute, Vance." She started, "The only way to break each of the seals holding back each boon is to find a catalyst, much like the explosion that broke the first."

Vance grimaced at the memory, "Uh... I hope you don't mean I don't have to get hit by artillery like that every time?" Vance chuckled nervously.

"No, nothing quite as extreme. No, what you'll need to do is seek out others who have a boon or connection to my pantheon. There are nine individuals scattered across the world of Tavaria, but where they are, I cannot say... for much like the seal cast upon you, each of those children is obscured by a dark cloud that prevents me from finding each. It'll be up to you to hunt down and seek out these former champions."

Taking a breath in and out, Vance didn't know how to respond, as it seemed as though he was going to have a lot of work to do. "Right... so, no pressure then, eh?"

"No pressure. But, I shall do all I can to guide you, and upon discovering the other nine, the rest of the pantheon will be open to communication with you. But, regrettably, this is where our conversation ends, my dear."

"Wait.. you're sending me back now? I still have a lot of questions I need answered!"

Frowning, the goddess shook her head bitterly, "I'm sorry, Vance. I swear all those answers shall come to you in time, but for now, I'll answer one final question that's been plaguing you..."

"Your name..."

"Julia, the creator god of Tavaria."

Vance's eyes went wide at the sudden realization of who it was he was talking to, but before he could say anything else, he was enveloped in the same bright light.

"...ugh..." He groaned.

Slowly, Vance began to blink, the darkness fading from his eyes as he awoke. The calm feeling that had once been there was replaced with a dull throbbing pain in his head made worse by the ringing in his eyes.

"Ow..." Pushing himself upright, Vance began to scan his immediate surroundings and found himself lying in the ruined trench, alone, with the bloodied remains of his former comrades.

Oddly, Vance wasn't panicked, nor was he afraid; instead, a weird calmness washed over him as he rested his dirtied and bloodied face on his hand.

"Mmm... well... what now?"