The night hung heavy over the forest.

  Only the soft chirping of crickets broke the stifling silence that lay like a dark shroud between the ancient trees.

  In her cave, Tessa sat on a stone, her eyes fixed on the crackling campfire.

  But her thoughts were far from the glow of the flames.

  Mike had said something that stuck in her mind—

  like a spark igniting an entire blaze.

  "Forget just presenting yourself as a goddess," he had said.

  Tessa snorted softly, rolling a small pebble across the ground.

  "Oh yeah?" she murmured. "I thought you found the goddess act pretty clever."

  Mike laughed in her head, in that lazy, mocking way of his that made him impossible to ignore.

  "It was clever. But we can do better.

  What if you're not just a goddess—

  but the Goddess of Death?"

  Tessa slowly raised an eyebrow, a curious smile curling across her lips.

  "Interesting," she said, drawing out the word. "Explain."

  Mike theatrically took a deep mental breath—unnecessary, but typical for his monologues.

  "Let me tell you a story."

  His voice grew calm, almost reverent as he began.

  "Amaterasu, the sun goddess, was once the radiant ruler of the heavens."

  Tessa nodded impatiently.

  "Yeah, I know. Everyone knows that."

  "But," Mike continued, undeterred,

  "there's an ancient legend not often told."

  He let the words hang for a moment, then spun the story further.

  "One day, her son was abducted by a powerful god of death and dragged into the underworld.

  Amaterasu, filled with rage and despair, left her heavenly realm and descended into the land of the dead."

  Tessa closed her eyes, letting the images swirl through her mind.

  "She wore golden armor, forged from the very light of the sun itself.

  Her sword burned with holy flames, strong enough to banish any evil."

  Mike paused dramatically.

  "But when she entered the realm of the dead, everything changed."

  Tessa opened her eyes slowly.

  "How?" she whispered.

  "The darkness of the underworld was not merely the absence of light—it was alive.

  It devoured the light from everything it touched.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Amaterasu’s golden armor was consumed and transformed into blackest darkness.

  Her sword, once ablaze with fire, grew cold—

  colder than death itself."

  Tessa felt her heartbeat quicken.

  "And then?" she breathed.

  "Amaterasu found the god of death... and slew him," Mike said, his voice low and grave.

  "But when she brought her son back from the underworld, she herself was no longer the same.

  She was no longer just the goddess of light.

  She had become the goddess of death."

  Tessa said nothing.

  The story echoed in her mind, taking root there like a dark, majestic tree.

  Slowly, she stood.

  Her gaze wandered to the wall at the edge of the cave.

  There it stood.

  The Death Armor.

  Black as the deepest void.

  Armor that reflected no light, but swallowed it whole.

  A helmet with hollow, staring eyes.

  A sword that shimmered with icy coldness.

  Tessa lifted a hand and lightly traced the cold metal with her fingers.

  Mike kept speaking, his words a whisper on the wind.

  "Think about it, Tessa.

  This story... fits you perfectly."

  Tessa smirked, but it wasn’t a warm smile.

  "You mean this cursed armor here is that legendary armor?"

  "Maybe not the real one," Mike admitted.

  "But to the people here—it won't matter.

  They don’t see facts.

  They see symbols."

  Tessa drew Frostmore from the scabbard at her side.

  The sword, dark as obsidian glass, shimmered faintly in the flickering firelight.

  A blade not forged in flame—

  but in cold.

  The opposite of a flaming sword.

  Tessa studied the blade, then turned to the armor.

  A slow, dark smile spread across her face.

  Mike swallowed inaudibly.

  "This is no coincidence."

  Tessa slowly rotated the helmet in her hands.

  "If Amaterasu descended into the land of the dead and became death itself," she murmured,

  her voice quiet, almost reverent,

  "then when I don this armor..."

  Her green eyes glittered like cold starlight.

  Mike felt a shiver—despite having no body anymore.

  Tessa ran her fingertips along the steel.

  "The only question is," she said, a dark, promising smile on her lips,

  "will I reveal myself as a goddess..."

  She tilted her head slightly.

  "Or will I bring death itself upon this village?"

  The fire crackled softly.

  The night held its breath.

  Tessa stepped slowly back from the stone.

  Her figure merged with the darkness.

  The game had only just begun.

  End of Chapter 30

  Thanks for reading this far. It’s either a sign of loyalty, curiosity, or a tragic lack of viable escape routes—but I’ll take it.

  Unless I'm kidnapped by a rebellious muse, a grumpy bear, or the ever-distracting entity known as Reality, there’ll be more soon.

  Mike is muttering in my head again, Tessa’s brushing blood off her shoulder, and somewhere in the distance, cake is being sacrificed.

  We call that progress.

  Until the next chapter—where things will definitely happen that I didn’t plan, but the characters apparently knew about since page twelve.

  If you laughed, cringed, or shook your head: mission accomplished.

  If you're hungry—grab a snack. Goddesses need sugar, and so do readers.

  Stay chaotic.