บท 18: Eden Meets The Goddess
--Eden POV--
'What just happened? I was performing the ritual, and then my head became dizzy?'
Gradually my consciousness returns, I find myself on a cold black surface. I look around to take in my surroundings.
'I appear to be in the middle of some kind of pentagram.'
Lifting my head, I see an incredible sight. In front of me, a vast bright blood moon fills my vision, and behind me are countless stars and galaxies. Standing from the cold black surface, I look toward a high platform atop which sits a high backed throne.
From the void, an ethereal and feminine voice rings out from all around me.
[All must kneel in the presence of the Goddess.]
Suddenly, it feels as if a mountain was placed on my shoulders. My legs buckle, and I drop to my knees, I force myself into a kneeling position as the voice instructed. For a moment, I thought I might be squashed like a bug under the enormous pressure. However, before my body reached its limit, a beautiful voice rang out.
"That's enough. I don't want to harm her."
The immense pressure finally subsides, and I can breathe again. I look toward the source of the noise finding two blood-red eyes shining; however, no matter how hard I try, I am unable to make out more than that. It's as if my brain is incapable of understanding what sits before me.
With her stare, it felt as if the universe itself was glimpsing at me. Merely being in her presence made my blood feel as if it was boiling. Intuitively I knew I might as well be a single-celled organism in comparison to this being.
Turning my gaze upwards, carved into the throne, I find the symbol of the Goddess of Blood.
'Is...is that the Goddess? A real God?!'
I can feel my body begin to tremble.
'What else could it be? I was literally just doing the Goddess of Bloods ritual!'
"Eden Groth, there's no need to be afraid. I wouldn't bring you here just to kill you."
"Yes ma'am...no...I mean uhm...y...yes, your highness?" I stutter out a response.
Who I assume is the Goddess begins laughing elegantly.
"You can just refer to me as Goddess, that's fine."
'She really is the Goddess! How is this situation actually happening?!'
"Eden, I heard your prayer, and I called you here. You are a remarkable girl, but I feel great grief within you. Tell me, what has your spirit so heavy?"
"I...I..." Unsure what to say, I start to draw a blank; I've never told anyone about that day.
"It's okay, Eden. To carry the burdens of mortals is part of the responsibility of the God's. I am willing to take all of your suffering and grief upon myself."
After hearing the Goddess's words, my vision begins to become blurry. Normally words like this wouldn't phase me, but coming from a being of such great power, it feels different.
"...Yes, Goddess."
My body shakes as I try to hold back the tears, but it's futile. The tears begin falling uncontrollably as I recount that day to someone else for the first time. To the Goddess, this must seem so trivial how small can my problems be to a God? But I can't help it.
'I must look like such a weak little girl right now.'
"I see. Eden, none of that is your fault. The God of Heaven has forgotten you."
"He forgot about me?"
"Hmm, let me ask you something; do you know what you are?"
"What I am?"
"Yes, you are not fully human."
"Goddess, I don't understand what you mean."
"What do you know about your parents?"
"I grew up with my mother and never met my father. According to mother, my father was away doing something important, and one day he'd come to take us both away."
"Then, you don't know that you're only half-human, I assume."
In confusion, I tilt my head, 'Huh? What is the Goddess saying?'
Seeing my confused expression, the Goddess continues.
"Yes, that's right. You are half-human and half-angel. A race usually confined to Heaven along with the God of Heaven."
I sense the Goddess vaguely make a movement. Suddenly, red sparks start to accumulate on my skin. In a panic, I start trying to wipe the sparks away.
"Don't be scared I'm just stimulating your blood so that you can see."
The Goddess's voice rings out, and the sound of tearing fabric fills my ears. At the same time, I feel an odd sense of weight coming from my back. Turning my head, I see two large feathery wings. The feathers along the outside of the wings are black while the inside feathers are dark red.
'Wh..what?'
I bend my arm backward, feeling where the wings are attached to my back.
"They're attached to me?"
"Of course, those are your wings. Well, the color and such depends on which god the angel has devoted themselves to."
Reaching out to touch the wings, I feel the smooth texture of the feathers. An immense sense of intimacy overwhelms me for a moment. But abruptly, the wings vanish, and my hand slips through where they once were.
"I was merely stimulating your angel blood to make your wings appear. To be able to call and dismiss them at will, you'd need to both purify your blood and devote yourself to a god."
"Devote myself to a god?"
"That's right. But backtracking a bit, the point I'm trying to make here, Eden is the God of Heaven claims anyone with angel blood as his followers, but it would seem he forgot about you."
My body shivers at the Goddess's words, but luckily the Goddess continues to speak.
"But I'm willing to take you in, Eden, and I'll never abandon you, unlike the God of Heaven."
'The Goddess will never abandon me...that's also what Eira told me.'
Like a fish without water, I open and close my mouth, trying to sort through my thoughts.
"You should know if you devote yourself to me, there will be times when you will have to do things that some will consider wrong. However, everything you do will not be without reason."
"What kind of things?" my voice trembles slightly.
"There will be many things, and it will ultimately include the taking of lives."
My eyes grow big, and I move my gaze to the floor.
"Ta...take a life? But I..."
"Everything you do will be in my name, and the burden will be for me to bear. Anyways taking a life will not be so uncommon soon enough."
'What does the Goddess mean by that?'
Ignoring my confusion, the Goddess continues.
"I know I have overwhelmed you, Eden, but these are all important things you need to know to come to a decision. Now, what do you say, Eden?"
"Goddess, I don't know what to say."
"Are you unwilling to have faith in me?"
Hearing the Goddess, I inadvertently yell, "No, that's not it!"
"Then what is it then?"
"It's just...why me?"
"Because like the blood race, you were also abandoned by the world lost and forgotten."
"Is that so..."
I do my best to look the Goddess in the eyes, "Then I am willing to devote myself to the Goddess."
I feel a burning sensation on the back of my left hand. Grabbing and staring at my hand, I see a black mark burn itself into my flesh. The mark burns itself into the symbol of the Goddess.
"Excellent Eden."
Suddenly, a goblet appears in front of me. The goblet seems to be extremely old and gives off a holy aura. Inside I see a dark red liquid.
"Now drink from the goblet."
I hesitate for a moment as I'm pretty sure I know what the red liquid is, however, I've already gone past the point of backing out now. Tilting the goblet back, I feel the dense liquid go from my throat to my stomach. Some accidentally spills from the corner of my mouth, but I continue to drink what I can stomach.
It feels as if lava is slowly burning its way from my abdomen to every part of my body. I collapse to the ground and cough, spraying blood across the black floor. Remembering I am in front of the Goddess, I force myself through the pain and back into the kneeling position.
"I'm sorry, Goddess."
The Goddess ignore my apology and begins to speak.
"Although your blood is currently impure, from this day forward, you're an angel of the Goddess of Blood. In the future, the world shall know you as the Blood Angel Eden. Many will fear you, and others will worship you."
"Yes, Goddess."
"Seek out, Eira, and stay close to her. See you again soon, child."
The scenery fades, and everything turns black. When my vision returns, I find myself back in my room on the cruise ship. Glancing at the clock, it reads 12:01 AM.
'It's only been a minute, but I felt like I was talking to the Goddess for a while. Was it all just a hallucination?'
I touch the back of my hand, where the Goddess's symbol has been burned.
'It seems that's it was not a hallucination.'
Feeling my ripped uniform, I stand and begin to change clothes. Looking into the mirror, I find someone who doesn't look quite so familiar.
_________________
Name: Eden Groth
Gender: Female
Race: Dhampir {Blood Angel}
Level: 1
Health: 160/160
Mana: 80/80
Strength: 8
Endurance: 9
Agility: 9
Intellect: 8
Constitution: 16
Talents: Banshee's Wail
Skills: -
Titles: -
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