Goddess Cult

“The rituals never work anyway,” he muttered to himself.

Three years of continuous failures at summoning a supernatural being, a goddess. All he had to do was follow their instructions and help them ever so often, and his childhood friend Ayuri would bake him multiple craving foods that he would never get rid of.

His eyes shifted to the left, as he saw a girl approaching as planned.

Another one of their meetings? Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to get a bit of food and indulge in their insanity.

Her wide orange eyes beamed with a sense of joy just as her lengthy white hair swayed with purpose within the parks wind, bouncing around her shoulders down her back.

Her dark grey uniform hugged her slender appearance; it was composed of a simple dark grey jumper with a white shirt underneath and a dark grey skirt that shook towards her approach.

“Toki, I know this is sudden, but I wanted to ask you…” The girl with a high-pitched voice felt embarrassment or perhaps shame for asking this question every time.

Toki looked towards her, a slight flush on her cheeks contrasting with her pale complexion. He replies, sounding indifferent, “Is it a ritual again?”

“Yes, a ritual. It’s actually necessary for a non-believer to be involved… So if it’s fine with—” He noticed the soft sigh that escaped her mouth, trying to stay composed.

“I will come; it’s not like anyone else would anyway. But you did say that I'm immune to her, like she despises my existence or something. We also have our final exams, and after school, I usually study.”

“What is it you want…?” Her orange eyes focused down upon his sitting form; they seemed to be willing to do anything just for his presence.

His smile lifted a bit. “Living alone is a pain sometimes, especially with my lack of cooking and baking skills. If you make me some of your delicious cake, then I will come.”

I need to stand firm; I have been eating all this convenience store food that I just can't handle any more.

She started to feign thought. For her to make food and also get him on board was a double-win situation.

“Sure, but Toki, why do you always ask for food? Do you even eat anything if I don't make you stuff…?”

This was rather simple… but I knew she would ask that. I have prepared around ten replies covering all possible angles to distract her.

“I eat well, but something about having your childhood friends personally make cake just hits a spot nothing else could.” He was confident that this approach would definitely work.

Toki’s head lifted higher, taking a look at her face. He noticed her eyes watered up like she was in a funeral scene.

Her eyes looked and shook uncontrollably in excitement. “I will make you the best cake.”

Toki lets out a soft smile, satisfied with his reply. “Then let’s go.”

Moving up from his seat. They both get on their way towards the ritual spot. Their school shoes hit the stone path in the park.

…

They entered an old-looking building, which was modest in size, hidden in an alleyway. “Willow Orphanage”, a sign read above.

“Good afternoon,” they said in unison towards the receptionist.

The creaky flooring made wild sounds every step they took until they got to a staircase. They made their way to the third floor, standing upon the door of room 305. It looks well-kept from the outside.

As Toki reaches to knock on the door. The same uniform instantly flashed in front of him, the light grey pants and the dark grey jacket half flinging around from being unbuttoned, and the white shirt dangling from side to side. Rough blonde spiky hair, taking up the upper half of the door.

“Oh, you two made it rather early. Shina is still making the preparations." With a hint of laziness within his words, he didn’t seem happy or sad, but just always tired. He also had bags under his emerald eyes.

Thank you, Hiwo. Dealing with Shina is the last thing I wish to do right now.

“So Ayuri, did you tell him about the ritual and his task…?”

She instantly jolts at a sudden reminder, her face flushing slightly and her orange eyes darting around. “I forgot as well, to be honest…”

Hiwo lets out a sigh. “Toki, come in; this ritual isn’t something that can be done without your approval.”

He steps into the apartment, the dark atmosphere almost comical to him. He takes off his black school shoes and his backpack, planting them on the side of the doorstep against the cream-coloured wall.

They say this stuff every time I come, and when it doesn’t work, they think of themselves as unworthy of the goddess's love.

He looks forward, and the tight hallway hangs dark. The flickering light reveals a pair of red eyes staring at him from the living room.

The shadowy figure doesn’t move, just glares, and his heartbeats increase. His breaths quicken.

Toki clenches his fists slightly while his eyes zone in front.

Why is that thing staring at me? It looks human, but there is hatred beaming towards my soul in those dark red eyes.

The air stiffens slightly, his breath shallow, gasping for any amount of extra air. He turns left and right, looking at Hiwo still wearing his relaxed expression, while Ayuri seems to be lost in thought, trying to remember the ritual sequence.

Did they manage to figure out how to summon a humanoid creature? That’s impossible.

Suddenly, the lights in the living room turn on; the once frightening image of red eyes turns into a relieved sigh. In front of him stood Shina, also wearing the same uniform as Ayuri, which makes her seem more human to him for once. Her short red and ash hair is most unnatural for any human to wear, describing her perfectly.

Toki hears a slight whisper, “Stop wasting my time, non-believer, and come already.” Those red eyes poured towards his inner depths like they saw every thought and secret from the darkest regions.

Hiwo chimes in, “Well, I have to go explain what we're doing first; you can’t just force him into this.”

“Unnecessary, non-believer come,” she waves her hand, expecting Toki to follow. Without another word, her footsteps tap upon the floor without making a sound and vanish off towards the living room.

Toki let out a soft sigh before patting Hiwo on the shoulder to just let it slide.

This really is bothersome. I’m only here for Ayuri’s cake.

Entering the living room, the light was actually fully functional compared to the one in the hallway, the same creamy walls surrounded the room, and all the leather furniture had been pushed aside to the edges of the room. The floor was covered in symbols he’s commonly seen from other rituals in a circular shape, with items scattered from their teachings.

A person crying, a mouth talking, and it seems they added a new one this time. What do I even call this?

Taking a closer look at the symbol. It had a pillar shape with twirls all around it, but on top, there was a star; none of it made sense.

Toki takes a step closer, kneeling in front of the floor symbol. He reaches out, trying to touch the symbol to measure what it's made of, but before he can, a sharp slap connects with his hands.

Looking up, he notices Shina glaring down at him. “Don't touch anything,” her tone sharp and condescending.

Both Ayuri and Hiwo enter the living room, standing in their positions labelled by the items on the ring of the circle. Shina joins them by standing by her item. In total, three items form a triangle within the circle, with only an empty spot left in the middle for him.