[Adria.] A voice that seemed to break every natural law called out.
Adria peeled her eyes open. An endless white void greeted her.
The ground beneath her back was freezing cold, a temperature different from that of Cilia. Her eyes drifted upwards. The same endless white stretched above her. 'Am I in heaven? When did I die?'
[You haven't died. Not yet, at least.] The voice was closer this time.
"And who are you?" Adria asked, her back still flat on the void.
[Who am I?] The voice began to take shape. A long white dress with gold accents draped her body. A black pixie cut sat on a tanned face, eyes shut tight. The woman towered several heads above Adria. The axe on her back was just as imposing—its blade covered in stars that seemed to move ever so slightly.
"Who do you think I am?"
"…The goddess of war."
The being raised a brow. "And what makes you so certain?"
"My body began burning up as soon as the last sacrifice was thrown," Adria said. "And right after that, I was brought into this weird place. Just had to put two and two together, really."
"What do you suppose I brought you here for?" the goddess smirked.
"That…" Adria sat up straight. "I'm not sure."
"But you know my actual name, so I guess you're the one to blame for my current predicament," she added, her eyes fixated on the goddess.
"That is correct."
"Well, that's good to know." Adria stood up and dusted off her dress. "So do I get to go home now?"
"…I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"And why is that?" her voice echoed throughout the void.
"I've depleted my powers."
"What?" Adria said, the calm she had before slowly vanishing. "And how did that happen?"
"..."
As if in sync with her emotions, the floor beneath Adria shook. "Why did you bring me here?"
"What?"
"Why did you bring me into this world?"
"Adria…"
"You haven't answered my question," she said, her eyes not letting the goddess have a moment's rest.
In front of such a being, Adria should've felt fear, yes. But she didn't.
"For decades now, I've had no avatar." The goddess snapped her fingers. Multiple scenes of war came to life across the void. "And at first, this wasn't a problem."
The goddess flicked her hand. Scenes changed. Buildings grew, populations boomed, and …magic came into existence.
Families had bright smiles in these modern scenes, kids had full stomachs, and people with hair as grey as ash worked and plowed the fields. "The god of magic was born out of human frustration. He was the solution to every major problem they faced."
Tall churches then sprouted all over the void, and devotees filled them to capacity. Everyone inside of them had glistening blue capes hanging from their backs.
"What were they for?" Adria asked.
"The blue cape was his church's religious object."
"All of those people were his devotees?" Adria said. "Is that why you've got no power?"
The goddess didn't respond. The silence of the void did it for her.
"So you brought me here to, what, get rid of him?" Adria said in a mocking tone.
"Oh, no," the goddess quickly corrected her. "The existence of Lehdros might have led to a decrease in my influence, but that's fine by me."
"…What?"
"You see, I'm prepared to disappear, Adria." The goddess looked down. A large-scale image of what looked like a bird's-eye view of this world appeared beneath her. "If my people are kept safe, I'm willing to go back to nothingness."
"So what do you need me for then?" she said. "The god of magic seems to be doing a spectacular job at keeping them safe."
"had been doing."
Agonising human screams resounded throughout the void. The churches that stood proud and tall had been burnt to ashes. Horsemen galloped across town, slicing up any devotees in their path. The devotees ran for their lives, praying for protection from their god, but none came. Their blue capes fluttered to the ground, feeding the flames and spreading them further.
"In two days, every devotee in Calry was killed," the goddess said, her tone covered in sorrow. "One week later, the rest of the world suffered the same fate."
The bright smiles that everyone carried had been permanently ripped away. Mothers cried endlessly at the dead bodies of their children. The elderly lay in eternal rest beside their crops. Families hid themselves in holes hugging each other in tears and praying; praying to every god to let this nightmare end.
Adria was repulsed by such a sight, eyes clenching at the tears and screams of the people. She wanted to close her ears at that moment. To keep those screams away from her. But she couldn't appear weak. No, not in front of the goddess of war.
"Men, women, and children. Nobles and commoners," the goddess added. "Every human who possessed a once of magic affinity was forcibly taken to their grave."
"…Who did that?" Adria said, her breath shaky.
"A lot of gods weren't happy with losing their influence, so they came together to stop him."
"So they decided to kill people? Why not deal with the god of magic personally?" The ground shook once more.
"He was too powerful for them to do anything," the goddess said. "And to them, only useful people should keep on living."
Adria exhaled. "So why did you bring me here then?"
"A massive war is brewing on the horizon …and I need a vessel for it." The goddess opened her eyes. A vastness as deep as the galaxy stared at Adria. "I searched the whole universe for someone compatible with me, and while I found people who matched physically, none did so spiritually. That was until I found you, Adria."
Adria wasn't flattered by the goddess's words. In fact, at that moment, she felt disrespected.
"First, if that war is 'on the horizon', why do you need me here now?" Adria said, walking towards the goddess. "Second, what gives you the fucking right to bring my soul into some celestial war? And third, what did you do with Katherine's soul?"
"…I'm sorry, Adria," the goddess bowed her head. "I understand you're angry, but please, can you just help me with this? I'll send you back home soon after."
"Fuck that, I want to go back right now."
"That won't be possible, I'll need to accumulate more essence," she closed her eyes again. "I'm sorry."
"How long will it take you to do that?" Adria asked.
"It's …hard to say. Maybe a couple of months at most."
Adria sat down. Her soul and spirit were fully exhausted.
"You didn't answer my other question," she said, eyes staring down at the void
"Which question?"
"What did you do to Kath's soul?"
"I did nothing to her, Adria," the goddess replied. "She was murdered."