The 5000 Year Old Goddess's Resolve

Asa sighed stoically. She didn't appear keen on being interrupted. 

“Back on Earth, your spiritual energy was accumulating day after day until it was awakened by blossoming to an impossible level for a normal human. That caused your spiritual body to escape its unsuitable form of matter. Your spirit flowed down through the forgotten remanence and was consumed by the transient god’s pet, the carnal keeper, in your sleep. Its never-ending insides are the true divine realm.” Asa stated.

So I was right about being in a beast’s stomach. I pump my fist in the air.

Asa stared slightly, then continued. “Spiritual energy is what flows through the divine, for without it, we would die. Using magic and taking damage forces us to expend this energy, following the law of equivalent exchange, give and take. Although… a god could also die if their will to live were to falter past the point of no return.”

“Can I go back to my physical body?” I asked.

“There is no way, as it is erased from existence. Additionally, reincarnation or reinstation to the physical realm is a fantasy.”

I adopt a face of shock. “That can’t be! If people like me went missing, it would be studied and known by scientists and would be an accepted piece of general knowledge.” 

“Ponder it. Many people disappear without a trace from their lives and families since the start of time for reasons unrelated to divinity. A few more because of spirit awakenings would not be conspicuous. I can’t be certain, but the humans who arise here may have been likely to have gone missing in other circumstances.”

I couldn’t say anything against that yet; my insides churned savagely. I’m sealed in a plane where the sun can’t reach. This isn’t a reincarnation. This fraudulence is nothing like a game. There is no promise of quests or a beneficial system for me. Worst, there is no fantasy world like Earth I am going to.

My family, life, and conventional world I knew dissolved from my view without a single goodbye, and I may not rediscover these treasures again.

I…I’m encased in emptiness. However, making full sense of my mental condition is something I know to be foolish when my head is escalating in confusion, and the full implications are unknown.

I need to wait and ask questions.

Gods are real. Cults, worship centers, and secret societies were a sensational subject of mystery, which I occasionally saw on the news and internet. In recent times, many of these groups have had routine controversies around the world as they unraveled with bizarre and illicit practices.

“Asa, does any of the worship on Earth match the gods you know of?” I asked.

“As I understand it, each god was worshipped at the start of history, when living was vulnerable and dangerous. Across the world, the many concepts and beings praised are aligned into a single deity here based on the god’s core essence, like fire or water. Nowadays, there is broad ineffective worship on Earth and archaic ritualistic worship in secret societies that give gods spiritual energy and, in extreme cases, mediums. I only accept scarce general worship to no benefit in this realm,” She stated.

"Hold on, what exactly are mediums?“ I interrupted.

"Humans who have passed into the divine realm, like you. They are capable of assuming divine power." She confirmed.

"If you can’t get mediums in that flawed and inhumane way, that’s why you need me?” I asked.

Nodding her head, she stated, “Having more mediums is superior. I don’t have any currently. At a glance, my powers seem…regrettable to prospective humans. When it comes to humans, the transient gods enable your kind to bypass the encompassing law of conservation. You can accomplish feats of magic disproportionate to the magic I can give to you. I assume part of it is because we have different bodily reactions to spirit energy. Importantly, a god's magic can create food and water for you for negligible costs. Even new clothes, books, and even some weapons with restrictions, although I am unable.”

“What exactly is special about your power compared to others?”

“All gods have seven ranks of emblems they can give. In all the magic I have myself and can give, I only have a basic offensive attack, and it is of the seventh and last rank. Although I have experimented and am proficient with its capabilities.” Asa explained.

I stare blankly. “That means you and I can’t fight to win this battle, doesn’t it?”

“That doesn’t have to be the assumption. I’ve relinquished my years meditating for minuscule energy in order to recover from a devastating defeat from the war god. I am in a better state now, and I’ve bided my time hiding from the other gods to formulate a secret attack.” She said.

“Great news! How can we use it?”

She brought two fingers to her lips. A sign of silence. “The effectiveness is foregone even if my allies know. I’ll say that it requires trust, dear Astrid.”

Damn. What could it be? Magic or a weapon? Her expression grew serious once more.

“Astrid, in the end, years were insignificant, and I needed millennia of meditation to accumulate spirit energy, a downside of not accepting extreme worship.”

Millennia. Millenia! How old was she? Her apparent age looks to be early twenties to my eye. It is bewildering. I’m curious about her age, yet I could be pushing an unseemly matter.

As if sensing my expression, Asa put a finger on her cheek. “Hmmm–she starts pouting her tanned cheeks–hmmmm. The number of millennia I’ve lived here is at least five, and each millennium only translates to a year passed on Earth. Forgive me, there isn’t much reason to count. I never expected to be held to the number.”

“No, no, thanks, that was something I wanted to know about you.”

Didn’t that come off a tad embarrassing? Ehh. Ehh.

Math was boring, yes, I failed the subject and many others. Still, five thousand is greater than eighteen. She truly is of a caliber I can’t compare or comprehend as a mortal.

She brought her hand over the table, and the green orbiting transcript and golden exterior drifted above it as if it were light as a feather.

“This is my emblem, I've been speaking of. It prevents me from speaking untruthfully. For evidence, I’ll say a bold-faced lie.” Asa said. “I hate you.”

The emblem shattered and dissolved into the air, and her body flickered as if it were going dark. It was frightening, yet I still blushed to no end. Aww. She doesn’t despise me! I’m happy. And bubbly. And. Let me calm myself.   

She regained her composure and the emblem reappeared. “That was a seeping of my energy. Now, I’ll say a truth. My name is Asa.” The emblem suffered no irregularities. “I’m sure you’ve seen me keep this emblem active for this whole conversation. It is another difficulty of being the goddess of goodwill.”

I verify my memory. Yes, the emblem was always in the corner of my vision since we spoke.

“Now, I’ll say my final truth. If you don’t hurry up and consummate with me, I guarantee in one way or another you will die. Most gods choose to kill humans they think might be associated with other gods.” She expressed.

“That’s ridiculously evil and irrational.”

“Irrational? Hardly. Most gods retain their logic from when they were still humans or have immense instincts replicating the correct move a logician would make. In this ritual, gods can’t openly attack; it is costly. If you win, you may well die soon to a waiting god when they join the fight or ambush. This is accepted knowledge. A similar implementation of game theory is assumed when a god meets a new human. 95% of humans will be a hostile medium or a lying medium. 5% of the time, it’ll be a suitable human to use. The correct move is to kill or plot to end any unknown human for a god. There are seven false gods total; it should be assumed that any human is allied with someone else.” Asa answered.

What. This is a lot to think about. Gods were once human, and the emblem stayed green? Why is this happening? 

“Why didn’t you kill me then?” I ask.

“A god can do otherwise if they so please. I had three reasons. Many mediums have physical changes from their emblem–I noticed none on you. I was desperate, and lastly, you weren’t aggressive or blood thirsty on sight. It was a risk I had to take.”