Chapter 23 - The Goddess of Life

“There is no defeating the Goddess.”

The words uttered by the Stone Goddess herself shook me to my core. “Then, what is this whole thing about? What are we aiming for then?”

The Stone Goddess did not smirk; she did not frown. She remained entirely neutral. Yet her existence and words alone were enough to raise questions. Her stone mouth seemed to freeze slightly, her expression darkened just a bit before responding.

“You cannot hope to win; you can only hope to sever the connection. At least, as you are now.” The Stone Goddess spoke. Her voice was authoritative, as if describing an absolute truth. “To a Goddess, she exists on an entirely different measure of power from a human. Unless you take divinity yourself, failure is inevitable.”

Unless I take divinity? Unless I made myself a God, I would never have stand a chance to win against such an unstoppable threat. Her stance and tone sounded more like a parent.

“How do I sever the connection? What do you mean, as I am now?” I looked up at her. I needed answers. Martin probably had these before, but he’s gone now, meaning all I had left was her to guide me.

“You must win the fight, go to the in-between, and get past my sister if you wish to find the core. The very being that holds both universes together.”

She paused.

“For as you are now, there is a drawback. If the connection is severed, both worlds and the cycle of reincarnation between them. Will be destroyed. You will likely be forced back into your old life.”

She showed me a vision. My body, still in a hospital bed but frozen entirely in time. Dying. It’s possible.

“If you go back, you will resume your old life. Death is likely, yet the cycle of destruction will be removed permanently.”

In other words, the only way out, I will die.

“What? Then, surely there has to be another way?” I asked. My tone of voice was certainly frantic. The Stone Goddess’s face seemed to twist in sympathy, dulled by many cycles of explaining the same thing to me on repeat.

“Then, you will need to claim the title of ‘God’, and that is certainly no easy feat.”

In other words, was it possible? I could become a God? Gain the power I needed to end both this, defeat the Goddess? Yet if the Goddess herself advised self-sacrifice over this, the cost likely was unbearably great.

Still, a sense of curiosity and drive took hold of me; I wanted to know. If there was another way, I would like to at least have the option. I couldn’t see Grace and Elowyn’s expressions where I stood. I wondered how they felt.

“Tell me, how do I become a God?” I asked.

“Magic is strength in this world; the more magic energy you have, the stronger you can become. To reach Godhood, you must be willing to accumulate an entire universe's worth of magic.”

The rest was unspoken. There was only one way to get magic of that much magic at once. To reach Godhood, I would have to kill everything and everyone. To sacrifice so many innocents, just to kill one Goddess.

“I see,” I felt terrible. But I couldn’t do this.

I would be killing more people than I would save. In other words, my only choice was to sever the connection.

It was then, all my hopes of getting to stay behind, abandoning my old life. They were dashed upon that horrible realization.

I looked back at Elowyn and Grace. Their expressions dimmed. Elowyn must have known; she’s lived through this several times. Yet she hid it from me, was it to lead me along? To spare my feelings?

“Why me?” I asked, partly to the Goddess, another part to myself. Why did I have to go through this? I wasn’t anyone special, just another soul out of a hundred goaded into this wretched game.

“Because you are the closest one to him.” She created another visionary projection. One of Ryu Nakamura. His expression looked far more hardened. “My sister's enforcer, he is the main obstacle; he is the reason you and Grace are in the situation that you are currently.”

In other words, I was no chosen one. I used to be friends with someone who now works with the Goddess.

But then that raised another question.

“What do you mean, enforcer? Why is he the reason I’m stuck in this game?” I asked her, less distraught now at my inevitable mortality and more so confused.

“His job is to infiltrate as a player; his reason is irrelevant, but because of his connections to the game. His connection to you, Razan, and Grace. You both will continue to flow down the river of fate and into the hands of my sister.”

No matter the place, no matter the time, no matter the universe. We always end up back here for the next game. For that is the will of fate itself. The will of reality, time, and beings unknown.

Because of Ryu Nakamura, we are stuck here. As if he hasn’t done enough already? Why?

“I’ll stop him then, and I’ll sever the cord too; souls will finally be able to pass on properly.” I looked at her, my tone that of a declaration. Even if it costs my life, even if it doesn’t stop the main problem.

I could at least ruin her fun. Make her life harder.

That would be victory enough for me.

“One more thing, before I let you go.” The Goddess requested my time for just a bit longer; who was I to decline? I stood there and looked up at her, waiting.

“Thank you, doing the right thing is something not a whole lot of people appreciate.” Her expression warmed. Even if she hit me with a truth I’d rather not admit. At the end of the day, it wasn’t easy to give your life up for a cause, even with the luxury choice taken away.

I’ve already died once, I know how hard it is to go through. I watched as the statue's eyes began to dim, and the dull, lifeless look it once had resumed. The conversation was over, and the Goddess had left.

With that, I made my way down the stairs and towards the bottom. Elowyn shifted uncomfortably on the magic carpet while Grace looked contemplative.

“Wait! Razan!” Grace grabbed my shoulder as I made it down the first couple of steps. I wanted to tell her to go away again, but I couldn’t. I remembered the all too important reminder that I will die once more.

If I had to leave Elowyn and Grace behind. I’d rather their last memories not be me sulking and lashing out.

“It’s fine, Grace. We’ll just have to enjoy the time we have left together. That’s all.” It’s not like we haven’t grown up used to thinking we would one day say goodbye.

Elowyn’s magic carpet floated towards us. “You don’t need that collar anymore.” She tapped the collar on my neck, and it snapped off and fell into the dark, dense forest below. “Why not ride the way down with us at least?” I could tell she was trying to make up for not telling me.

As much as I wanted to lash out, I didn’t. I had to stay strong, not just for my sake but for theirs.

With that, me and Grace carefully stepped onto the carpet. “Seems like I got to ride on one of these after all.” I mused a little; it felt like the tension spread between us lifted just slightly at my quip.

The ride down felt relaxing; I didn’t feel strained and worn. But relaxed and at ease.

“So what now?” Grace asked.

I thought about it for a second. “Well, I suppose we should take down Maxwell back at Astora.” However, that was easier said than done. He would be well guarded, protected, and if he took on an entire Kingdom on his own and won. He must be tough indeed.

“How about we get the help of the Dwarves and the Demi-Humans while we’re at it?” Grace commented.

“That’s not a bad idea, thanks for the idea, Grace. Let’s go to the dwarves first. I assume we already have support from the elves?” I looked at Elowyn now. She gave a definitive nod.

“But first, let’s get you a new outfit. You look like a bum.” With that, we went back towards Arclaneia for a bit of a fashion detour.

Some time later, I came out with an outfit I thought suited me well. My hair was now redone with the same comb-over I once had back in my days as a teacher. My clothes were now those of a singular jacket and pants, white as the clouds. A slight magical aura surrounded me. Elowyn said it was to protect from basic attacks and from stains.

I preferred the jacket for the most part unbuttoned, as it showed off a sleek grey vest, with black buttons lining it up. I wore brown boots, and my belt came with a sheath for my sword, with a new strap to carry my shield better.

I think I looked pretty nice, but I needed approval. “How do I look?” I asked. My pride in my appearance is not unnoticed.

“Like someone enjoying this way more than he lets on.” She joked. “You look good, like Ryu did before he became the enforcer.

I hoped she was just referring to my outfit.

“What about you, Grace?” I asked. She was inspecting my outfit in silence for a long time. “I think it looks amazing on you, Razan!” She blurted out, realizing she was in her own head.

Perhaps this will be a fun one. The Magic Carpet awaited outside as the clothes were paid for. We had a long trip ahead of us after all.

Remaining participants: 32/100.

Game status: In progress.

Razan Hamada Status: Alive.