Chapter 1: A Divine Encounter

Today, I got fired.

It had been a quiet afternoon up until then.

I’d gotten to work early, and everything had been going smoothly. I had already spent two years working for this company that handled sales and business deals. I thought I’d done everything right. I always showed up well-dressed, wearing black formal suits, though never with a tie.

Right before closing time, the boss called me into his office.

Part of me already knew what was coming. For a while now, the company had been suffering budget cuts, and several of my coworkers had already lost their jobs because of it. Still, I kept my hopes up. I believed I could survive if I worked hard enough and delivered the best results.

“I’m sorry, Lucio, but I think it would be best to end our working relationship here.”

I put on a mature smile to face this new disappointment. Then I shook the boss’s hand, said goodbye to my coworkers, and left the office with my eyes fixed on the ground.

The city streets were calm. Pedestrians moved from one side to the other along the sidewalks, each of them carrying a complicated expression. Some smiled. Others preferred to remain quiet and unreadable. Trying to analyze every face in the few seconds I had to look at them was impossible.

How many of them were happy?

How many of them were winners?

I didn’t know.

How could I possibly know?

The only thing that mattered was my stupid firing.

“So this is why you gave up your family’s inheritance?” I muttered to myself. This failure was just one more entry in the gigantic list I’d been dragging on my back for years.

I came from a family of sorcerers. For over a hundred years, the Atenas clan had been a pioneer in magical research involving the elements. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been born with the talent needed to become a great sorcerer. I tried everything. I read countless books on the subject, but my abilities were utterly worthless.

Since I couldn’t carry the Atenas name with pride, I chose to study business administration and tried to live outside the supernatural world.

To my great surprise, it turned out I wasn’t any good at business either.

My confident appearance and dignified bearing meant nothing. In the end, a streak of bad luck always came crashing down and ruined my deals.

No talent for sorcery.

No talent for business.

Single, and already twenty-six...

“I’m cursed,” I whispered again.

I didn’t want to go home yet. If I did, I’d probably end up lying in bed for days.

Eventually, I reached a lonely park where no children played. In fact, the playground equipment was rusty and broken. There were no street vendors, no joggers out exercising. The place was desolate. The only things around were thick trees whose leaves had slowly started to fall.

Autumn was coming.

My least favorite season of the year.

“What else could possibly go wrong?”

I raised my right hand to my face, trying to hold back my tears. I wanted to cry, to let out this whole ocean of frustration I’d been carrying so I could start over again.

Damn it.

Little by little, I felt thin drops sliding down both cheeks until they hit the ground.

Come on, Lucio. Crying wouldn’t solve anything.

I had understood that since childhood. Crying only gave me temporary catharsis, and in the long run, that kind of relief could become addictive. I had to stop. I had to put an end to this stupid feeling right now.

But I couldn’t.

Countless tears kept pouring down like waterfalls.

And then, while I sat there lamenting my life, something astonishing happened right in front of me.

A green light illuminated the desolate park with overwhelming majesty. Fallen leaves danced around the supernatural phenomenon, as if nature itself were blessing it. I stared with my mouth hanging open. Never in my life had I imagined I would witness something so incredible. Instinctively, I turned my head in both directions to see whether anyone else was here.

But there was no one.

Only that light and me, staring at each other.

The radiance began to take the shape of a young woman. Her black hair gradually turned white, and her pale skin looked like something straight out of a fantasy film. She wore a green dress covered in strange symbols around the lace and across the chest. Her eyes remained closed, and she floated a few inches above the ground.

It was astonishing.

Even a mere pawn like me could recognize the greatness taking shape before my eyes.

“Hello?” I tried to speak to her.

The moment I did, the woman opened her eyes, revealing two beautiful blue orbs that struck the deepest part of my soul with wonder.

“Uh... hello? Why am I here?” she asked.

She didn’t sound very confident. In fact, the moment she noticed me, she stopped levitating.

“Oh no. No, this can’t be happening!” she cried.

“Don’t ask me. You’re the one who appeared out of nowhere. I just saw you.”

Despite her almost divine entrance, the young woman didn’t seem all that special once we actually started talking.

“Can’t you tell? If a woman appears out of nowhere right in front of you, you’re obviously supposed to be surprised. Or are you some kind of weirdo?”

Okay, I take it back.

This girl really had an irritating tongue. Her shrill voice reminded me of several girls I’d known back in college.

“I’m in serious trouble, and this is the part where you, as a gentleman, are supposed to ask, ‘Are you okay?’”

“Just because I’m wearing a suit doesn’t make me some kind of refined gentleman. And how am I supposed to know you’re in trouble? You only showed up a few seconds ago. I’m not a mind reader.”

“It seems you don’t understand anything that’s going on, human.”

“No, not really.”

I answered honestly and shrugged, trying to downplay her problem. She clearly didn’t appreciate the gesture, and in response, she puffed out her cheeks in an oddly cute way.

At the very least, this nonsensical conversation had made me forget the problems and depression that had been crushing me just moments ago.

“Then I’ll explain it to you. Listen carefully, human citizen. My name is Aria, and I am a goddess.”

...Huh?

A goddess?