“Goddess?” I asked. “Not the goddess?”

Maybe I shouldn’t have been as shocked as I was. I knew it was someone strong that created the System and attached it to me. I just didn’t think it would be a goddess. Still, the truth in her words was like a hammer to the head. I knew, like I knew, down to my very cells, that she was telling the truth.

She shook her head, sending her long hair dancing about her again. “No. There is no pantheon here. Just me. I alone created this world. Its mornings and evenings. Its plants and people. Life and death. Once upon a time, it was all under my control.”

“Until you were absorbed by the parasite,” I finished.

She nodded. A touch of ruthlessness creased the smooth skin between her brows. Her eyes flashed bright silver before she controlled her expression. “Yes. Before that giant parasite appeared, we were happy. Now there’s just me.”

I tapped my fist on my thigh, thinking. “I didn’t know that gods and stuff actually existed. I thought that was just made up stuff to make people feel better.”

“Every planet with life on it has a soul that created it,” Goddess said. “Even Earth. Some of those souls chose to have a separate body like me. And some are like the parasitic planet, where the planet is their body.”

“And Earth?” I asked.

She pursed her lips. “I can’t say for sure. I didn’t even know the planet existed until the parasite attached to it. What little I know about it is from the time I was attached to you while you were on Earth. Since my body is stuck in this Portal, I wasn’t able to actually communicate with Earth. Just impressions here and there. Either way, right now it’s too weak to hold a separate form. Actually, when the Las Vegas Portal opened up, the sudden flood of parasitic magic forced Earth’s soul into sleep. With its current state of health, it might be thousands of years before Earth’s soul wakes again.”

My eyes widened. “When the Las Vegas Portal opened? You mean, this isn’t the Las Vegas Portal?”

She shook her head. “No. When the parasite opened the Las Vegas Portal, I used the unstable connection between the two planets to force open a Portal to here. It was the only way I could open a path to you. We were lucky enough to get it on the same continent as you.”

So there was another Portal out there that had to be taken care of. I shelved that information for later and focused on the immediate situation. “What happens when the soul of a planet sleeps?”

“Well, the soul of the planet is what keeps life going,” she said simply. “Just like when a human stops working and goes to sleep, their productivity stops. The soul of a planet is the same. If there’s nothing to keep the life going, it dies off.”

“Dies off,” I whispered in shock. My knees weakened and I had to lock them to stay upright. “Earth is like, really dying?”

She nodded. “Some things are auto-progammed, such as the weather, gravity, tides, and such. But even those will slow to a stop. Of course, that’s if the planet isn’t being assaulted. Putting the planet to sleep is the first step of the last phase before the parasite eats a planet.”

I pressed my palm to my forehead, taking it all in. I knew from Kesstel that the planet was dying, but he was so vague on the details that it didn’t seem to be impending until now. “Is that what happened to you?” I looked up at her. “You’re still in your human form.”

She reached out and casually touched my arm. “My case was different. I’m much younger than Earth. I didn’t take time to play with dinosaurs and experiment with the weather. I didn’t like being alone, so I created my people as soon as I could. And my people were still considered ‘young’ when I was attacked, barely five thousand years old. I was naive and didn’t even know another planet could attack me, so I didn’t have much defence against it. The parasite didn’t have to wait till I was unconscious before it tore my world apart.”

She didn’t like to be alone, yet I could tell just by her needy hug that she’d been alone for a long, long time. She obviously hadn’t gotten over her need to touch, judging from the way she stayed by me. But I didn’t find her touch revolting so I just let her.

“And the Red Orcs?” I asked, motioning to side walls in the direction of the city. “Is that what happened to your people?” Kesstel talked about the Blood Mists, but maybe not all of them turned into ghosts.

Just like when she mentioned the parasitic planet, fury flashed over her face. “Those disgusting monsters appeared here after I was absorbed and my people were taken away. Those monsters defiled the last remains I have of my beloved children, but I was too powerless to destroy them. And yet because they live near me, they are blessed by my aura and able to keep some semblance of a civilization — regardless of how unwilling I am.” She gripped my arm and stared into my eyes. “I will not allow them any longer.”

I tilted my head to the side. “What do you want from me?” I finally asked the question that’d been haunting me for so long.

“Revenge.” Goddess said it so simply, as if it was easy to do. “That parasite took everything from me. I can’t get my people back, but I want to make that vile creature feel the pain of being ripped apart, just like I felt.”

My eyes widened. I already knew I was a tool for the System, I just didn’t think that the System and I were working toward the same goal so closely.

Kesstel and I planned on finding the way to the parasitic planet, but we’d never developed a plan on what to do when we got there. Kesstel wanted to go all kamikaze, but I didn’t want him to die. I didn’t plan on dying either, even though I didn’t actually oppose the idea. If that was what it took to keep my family safe, then that was the price I had to pay. But if I had my choice, I’d choose to live together with Kesstel and my family, happy and free.

Goddess lifted her hand. I felt my kindjal disappear from my Items Bag. The short sword appeared in her hands, floating inches above her skin. Slowly, the crystal in the blade started to glow like a faint star.

Goddess smiled affectionately as she stared down at the sword. “Her Will. The name of this sword is lost a little in translation from my language to yours. Its true name is ‘Her Holiness’s Guidance.’” She said the actual name in a language that I didn’t know, but instinctively I understood her words.

I gasped. “I understood that.”

She laughed at me. “Of course you did. You are my person now. From the time you accepted the System, you ceased being an Earthling and became mine. My last beloved child.”

Her words blew me away yet again, but it also made sense. I wasn’t human anymore, I was a Warrior of Mist. They belonged to this world. I just didn’t think I was going to get my own goddess along with it.

She moved her hand to the side. The blade lifted into the air and shifted until it hovered vertically above her palm, the tip inches from her fair skin. “When my people were made, I didn’t understand that I needed to create order. I was saddened when I found out my children were fighting and killing each other for my attention. Couldn’t they see that I loved all of them the same?” she asked sadly. “I created this sword and gave it to the most appropriate person. He then used it to unite my people and together we created a peaceful kingdom that lasted until the collapse of my world.”

She paused. “I created a sword as a show of power, but it was never intended for bloodshed.” She looked me in the eyes, a sad smile on her face. “But now we are all covered in it. And this sword will be the symbol of my revenge, my will to destroy the parasitic planet that destroyed my happy home. I’m sorry that I forced this burden on you. And yet, a part of me is not.”

I shook my head. “I’m just grateful that you gave me the power to protect my family.”

Her hair rippled in big waves as she nodded. “Yes.” A nostalgic air touched her perfect features. “You are so much like my last king. When a prince, he hated being in the spotlight. But he took his duties seriously and fulfilled them to his best ability. He was willing to pay any price to protect his family. Since he lost his parents as a child, I raised him. His family were my people. He was very dear to me. I’d never had a favorite before, but he was mine.” She stopped with a sad smile.

I frowned, thinking. “Is that why you picked me?” I paused. “I mean, I wasn’t the only Hunter that came through the Portal. There were much stronger people there, even if they aren’t the best people. Although, Emma is a really good person. Much kinder than me.”

Goddess laughed and softly touched my cheek. “I’m afraid I have to disappoint you.”

“Huh?”

She shook her head and gently touched my cheek. “I didn’t pick you for your admirable personality. Or because I saw the glimmer of greatness in your soul.” She paused. “I chose you because you were the only person in my world who was weak enough that I could influence. I’m just glad that you are a good person. Then I didn’t have to use too much effort to control you.”

I gaped at her. “What?”

She stepped back. “Before you came, I was nearly dead. I’d even lost my separate appearance. I was nothing but a stretch of land, on the verge of accepting that I was going to die. Then a random Portal opened up and a group of Earthlings were brought into my world. Since you didn’t have energy crystals in you, I could influence and use you like tools. But after I gathered all the remaining power I had left, I found that I was too weak to bestow it on anyone. It wasn’t until you, Jyn, were dying that I was able to overpower your body enough to change it.”

She rested her hand over my arm. “It was the last desperate move I could make. If you hadn’t accepted me, then the effort of doing all that would have killed me. But you did, and I was able to expel you from my world and back onto Earth safely. Then your man found you on the ground inside the Gate Vale and brought you to the hospital. It took me several days to set up the System, and that’s why it took you so long to wake up.”

My hand thumped on my thigh, digesting what she just said. “My man?” Who was that? “Wait, do you mean Kesstel?”

She nodded. “Although you didn’t know each other at the time. Knowing him now, I’m surprised at his show of mercy. After all, he didn’t know what you were yet. Or have feelings yet.”

I blushed so hard, my face hurt. “He’s not, really, my man. I mean ...” I only kissed him on the cheek once. And I was starting to turn possessive of him. And I was totally fine with him being possessive over me. God, I was good at living a double standard. Or should I say Goddess now? This just got complicated.

I huffed a breath and changed the subject. It was nearly impossible to lie to myself when Goddess was staring at me with her stead silver eyes. “Why the System? Why couldn’t I just get stronger all in one go?”

She laughed, clearly enjoying my obvious evasion. But she let it slide. “I didn’t have the power to make you strong ‘all in one go.’ I was just as powerless, a flame on a candle ready to be snuffed out. But every time you destroyed an energy crystal, I could refine that energy and use it to power both of us.” She smiled bright as the sun. “After so much effort, I think we have enough.” She lifted her right hand. A bright ball of light like a mini star appeared floating in her palm.

I squinted from the light, but it didn’t actually hurt my eyes. The gentle power washed over me, like her warm hug from earlier. As soon as the light touched the flowers in the garden beside me, they grew and bloomed at a visible rate. More flowers broke out of the soil and bloomed. The still mist suddenly started to ripple and curl, moving lovingly around us.

Goddess lifted the light up. “This is the remaining portion of all of the energy that you have collected.” She paused. “This is me. My soul. The heart of Vapria.”

Her silvery gaze bore into mine, a marble-sized star floating above her right palm and the kindjal hovering vertically over her left. “I will be the virus that will poison the parasite.”

*****