I sat grumpily at the priest's table, eating breakfast as slowly as possible. I wanted to convince Sparklez not to resurrect Ianite, but how could I when he was so stubborn? I didn't want to see him hurt again, but he felt the need to try, even though it was impossible. Why didn't he ever listen?

Dianite wasn't showing up, as he usually did when I was feeling upset, which didn't exactly make me feel happier. After finally finishing my breakfast, I groggily got up to wash the dishes. When I was done, I stared out the window, finding myself with nothing to do. Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door, making me jump.

I jogged down the stairs and ran to the door, pulling it open to see Martha. "Oh, hello, Miss Martha. Is something wrong?" I asked, slightly surprised. She definitely wasn't the person I expected to show up.

"Kind of. May I come in?" she said, looking exhausted. I let her, and she entered quickly, letting her long violet hair fall in her face.

We sat down on the sofa. "You look tired. Have you slept lately?"

"Not really, but that's not important," she snapped, waving the question away. "I heard about you and Sparklez's, ah, disagreement yesterday."

I sighed. "He won't listen to me. I told him that it was pointless to revive Ianite while she's in this state, but he refused to hear me out. He's stubborn, and he doesn't want to lose another person he loves."

Martha sighed. "I agree with you, Mot, but you make it sound so simple. Dianite is dead, and Ianite kept the balance while Mianite was stronger. Now, she's gone too, and, well, you know how Mianite is. We're all doomed if he's the only living god."

"So what do you suggest?" I asked, frustrated. "We can't revive Ianite at all. And how are we going to revive Dianite?"

"Only Mianite is capable of reviving him," she told me, sounding bitter. "And we'll have to convince him to revive Dianite without one of his stupid contracts. In the meantime, we need a source of balance."

"Again, what do you suggest?" I didn't know where this was leading, but I had a feeling that I wasn't going to like it.

She took a deep breath. "I'm going to become a goddess."

I sat bolt upright in shock. "A goddess? Really? When?"

"Now." Martha looked down at her hands, as if they were about to start glowing with Ianite's spirit. "I began the ritual already, and there's no way of telling how the process is going. For all I know, I could be a goddess right now!"

"Is there any way to test your powers?" I was getting excited. "Like conjuring something from the air, like the gods can do?"

"I won't really be a full goddess, since I'm much weaker. Let's see how far my capabilities stretch." She narrowed her eyes and stared at the table in front of her, concentrating. For a moment, she looked without blinking, while I held my breath in suspense.

"Is it working?" I finally asked, slightly disappointed.

Her face fell, and she looked away. "No, it's not. It wasn't even something difficult. I was just trying to make a piece of food appear."

"Well, your powers are connected to Ianite, aren't they?" I pointed out. When she nodded, I continued, "Then maybe you should try conjuring something that's related to her."

She focused hard on the table once more, and a scythe appeared in only a few seconds. "It worked!" she cried, delighted. I watched in amazement as she lifted the weapon and turned it over in her hands.

"What is it?" I peered closer at the handle, and saw the word "Memorium" written in small golden print.

"It belonged to my mother. It doesn't do quite as much damage as some of the weapons these guys have, but it's pretty useful when it comes to collecting drops. I'm sure Sparklez would love it." Martha, confident now, put away the scythe and stood up. "Come with me, would you? I need to share the news with him."

"You're a goddess?" he gasped. "So you can be the one to bring back Dianite?"

She made a face. "No... sadly not. I'm not that powerful, unfortunately, and there's no way that I can be."

Sparklez was getting angry. "Then let's just sign the contract with Mianite! It's fair, and it'll bring him back very quickly!"

"Listen," Martha sighed, "there are other ways to get Mianite to revive him. We can form a temporary alliance without signing away our rights!" When he didn't respond, she glared at him. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"I believe you that we shouldn't trust Mianite. I just feel like it's the easiest way, and then we don't have to stick with it for very long. Besides, I don't even know how far your so-called-powers will stretch, or if they're even activated!" He threw his hands in the air in frustration.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "My powers are activated. I can summon objects that are connected to Ianite."

"Could you make her robes appear, then?" he asked, looking like he wasn't buying what she was saying.

Martha paused for a second, and I assumed that she was focusing on summoning them. "There. Why don't you return to your reactor?"

He rolled his eyes and flew off, with the two of us close behind him. We soared over many structures and bodies of water, and finally approached a large space surrounded by a chiseled cobblestone wall. He flew over to one of his machines and found, to his amazement, an armor stand containing the full set of Void Armor that Ianite used to wear.

"Okay," Sparklez said, his voice very quiet. "I believe you."

Martha let out a small, nervous laugh that showed that she was both relieved and scared. "Th... thanks. I promise I won't let you down."

"Well, I guess I'm siding with you then." He turned around and squinted at her from behind his red glasses. "Team Marthanite, I suppose?"

She giggled. "No, I'm just a Martha."

He nodded. "Marthanite it is." Looking upset all of a sudden, he ran his fingers through his dark hair and sighed. "I have to go and tell Mianite I turned down his offer, and put the contract somewhere safe."

"I thought you already turned down Mianite's offer," I pointed out, confused.

He shrugged uncomfortably. "I mean, not really. I was convinced after Martha talked to me, but I told Mianite I needed more time. The prospect of bringing back both Ianite and Dianite seemed to be for the greater good."

"I see." With that, Sparklez gave me a small nod, and disappeared into a tiny portal leading to his spectre dimension. Martha walked over to Ianite's robes and stared at them longingly.

"I just hope I can be at least half of the goddess that my mother was," she whispered. "I can't be as great as her, I know that, but I want to do something that she would have been proud of me for doing."

"You may not be as powerful physically," I said, "but that doesn't make you less of a goddess. Your powerful words have influenced even the most stubborn of people, and you're willing to sacrifice everything of yours to make the future of Ruxomar a brighter one. You're capable of doing amazing things, and I don't doubt for a second that you will be the goddess this land needs. You're strong, much stronger than you think."

She looked at me, and I could have sworn I saw her dark blue eyes glow purple for a second. "I can only hope that you're right."