Chapter 30: A Goddess's Farewell

The victory celebration in the capital's grand ballroom was in full swing. Nobles and knights alike wanted to talk to the "Heroes of the Volcano." Rina was arm-wrestling a duke. Chloe was explaining the chemical properties of glitter to a horrified princess. Luna was hiding in a corner with a plate of cakes, while her Grimoire insulted the court magician's spell-casting technique. Kenta was awkwardly trying to recount our battle to the king, leaving out the parts about the snail and the Bouncy Juice.

I was standing on a balcony, looking up at the stars, when I felt it. A familiar, clean, sterile hum in the back of my mind. It was the system. The Divine Reincarnation System. It had finally rebooted after my unscheduled departure. It had found me.

A pillar of soft, golden light enveloped me. The music and chatter of the party faded away into a gentle silence. It wasn't a violent summons; it was a recall. An automatic process. My time was up.

My friends saw the light and rushed out onto the balcony, their faces filled with panic.

"Akane! What's happening?" Kenta yelled, reaching for me, but his hand passed through the light as if it were smoke.

"It's taking me back," I said, my voice feeling strangely distant. Tears started to well up in my eyes, much to my own surprise. "My job… I have to go back."

"No!" Rina shouted, her tough exterior cracking. "You can't! You're part of the team!"

"We need you!" Chloe cried, dropping her half-dissected canapé.

Luna was frantically writing on her chalkboard, her hands shaking. Don't go. Please.

I looked at their desperate faces, the faces of my family. I had spent my entire existence as a goddess sending souls off to new lives, but I had never understood the pain of being the one left behind.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, the tears now flowing freely down my cheeks. "It was the best adventure of my life. My eighteenth life."

The light grew brighter, the world of Mundania fading from my view. The last thing I saw was Kenta's heartbroken face.

The transition was instantaneous. One moment I was on a castle balcony; the next, I was standing in my celestial office.

It was exactly as I had left it, but also completely different. The teetering stacks of paperwork were gone, neatly filed. My oversized goddess dress was clean and pristine. My terminal glowed with a soft, welcoming light. The air smelled of static and ozone, the familiar, comforting scent of my home.

A notification popped up on my screen.

[WELCOME BACK, AKANE, HEAD OF CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING. PERFORMANCE REVIEW: EXEMPLARY. A NEW BATCH OF SOULS AWAITS YOUR GUIDANCE.]

I stood there for a long moment, the silence of the cosmos replacing the memory of my friends' frantic cries. I thought of the mud, the snails, the explosions, the glitter. I thought of Isao's teasing smile and the impossible flower. I thought of the family I had found and lost.

A single, final tear rolled down my cheek and evaporated into the celestial air.

Then, I took a deep breath. I walked over to my desk, sat down in my comfortable, familiar chair, and pulled up the first soul file.

A huge, genuine, and utterly joyful smile spread across my face.

The adventure had been wonderful. The pain of leaving was real. But this… this was home. And I had work to do.