Extra Chapter 11 - Kazue's Sincere Conversation With a Goddess

  The soft echo of footsteps broke the silence of the palace’s inner sanctum. Euphemia floated slightly above the polished floor, her wings beating at a gentle rhythm as she guided Kazue through a grand hallway, one adorned with murals depicting scenes of creation, growth, and unity. Yet despite the opulence of their surroundings, the winged gatekeeper’s face was clouded with a rare seriousness.

  Before they reached the massive double doors ahead—doors so intricately carved with sigils of light that even Kazue, who wasn't particularly knowledgeable about sacred symbology, could tell they were extraordinary—Euphemia slowed and turned to face her.

  “We need to be very careful from here on.”

  The woman said in a low voice. Her usual cheerful tone was gone, replaced by a cautious, almost hesitant edge.

  “Normally, Lady Arianka welcomes everyone. In the old days, there were no rules. You could walk right up to her and speak freely.”

  She paused, her gaze falling to the floor for a moment before lifting again.

  “But things have changed. Lady Arianka has isolated herself. No one has been allowed into her room for a long time. Not even me.”

  Kazue blinked, absorbing the weight of those words. She nodded firmly, signaling she understood. Euphemia gave a small smile—grateful, but still worried. With a faint creak, she pushed the doors open. A gentle wave of floral scent, mixed with something older and harder to define, washed over them.

  Kazue stepped into the room, and her breath caught in her throat… The place was breathtaking. Soft golden light poured from unseen sources in the ceiling, illuminating a vast, almost dreamlike chamber. The walls were draped with cascading curtains of silk so fine they seemed woven from mist itself. Intricate crystal chandeliers floated in the air without chains, shimmering with every tiny movement of air. The floor was marble, but covered in lush rugs embroidered with constellations and holy emblems.

  Yet, amidst all this beauty, there was undeniable disorder. Scrolls were scattered across the floor, their sacred texts half-opened and crumpled. Books were stacked haphazardly on ornate tables. Robes of the purest white and gold were tossed carelessly over divine relics. A goblet lay overturned by a divan, staining an ancient tapestry. It was chaos, and in a room that radiated such unnatural perfection, it stood out even more starkly.

  At the center of it all, upon a gigantic bed adorned with what seemed like an ocean of silk sheets, lay a figure… Arianka herself.

  Kazue’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. Even without seeing her face, it was obvious she was impossibly beautiful. Arianka’s form was that of a human-sized woman, her body delicate yet regal, clothed in a flowing nightgown that shimmered with faint threads of starlight. Her long hair cascaded around her like a halo of gold, catching the soft light and scattering it across the room. But it was clear something was wrong. Arianka lay curled under the sheets, covering herself almost completely, only the gentle rise and fall of her breathing visible.

  Kazue hesitated at first, but then, gathering her courage, took a cautious step forward. She looked back at Euphemia, who nodded encouragingly, although her face betrayed her uncertainty.

  “Um… Lady Arianka?”

  The girl called softly, her voice unusually timid. No response. The figure remained motionless. Kazue bit her lip and tried again, louder this time.

  “Lady Arianka? It’s me, uhm… Kazue Rima! I… I came to visit!”

  She forced a bright, hopeful tone into her voice, waving a little as if that would somehow help, but nothing happened. Not even a flicker of acknowledgment.

  Kazue turned helplessly to Euphemia. The angel-like woman hovered in place, clearly at a loss herself. She shrugged with a helpless expression. Kazue huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

  “Well, fine, if she’s gonna be like that…”

  She muttered under her breath. The next hour, or at least it seemed like an hour for her, passed with Kazue trying everything she could think of to get a reaction. She tried waving both hands frantically. She tried singing a silly song. She even performed a clumsy imitation of a stage bow, declaring herself the “humble visitor of the great and mighty Lady Arianka.”

  But nothing worked.

  Finally, Kazue sighed in defeat and plopped down on the edge of the massive bed. The silken sheets beneath her were impossibly soft, as if woven from clouds. She looked up at the ceiling, feeling a profound sense of uselessness.

  “I guess… You just don’t feel like talking, huh?”

  She said quietly, more to herself than to the goddess. Her legs swung idly off the side of the bed, and for a long moment, she simply sat there in silence.

  Euphemia remained hovering nearby, watching with growing concern but not daring to interrupt. Kazue lowered her head, her bangs falling over her eyes as her hands tightened against the edge of the sheets. Her voice, when it came, was quieter than before, trembling slightly with a weight she could no longer hide.

  "I know that feeling. More than you probably think."

  She said, her voice barely louder than a whisper, as if speaking it aloud might shatter something fragile inside her. The words left her mouth without planning, raw and unfiltered, almost painful in how easily they surfaced. She clutched the fabric tighter, her knuckles whitening with the effort to hold herself steady.

  "There was a time when I didn’t leave my room for years, not because I was sick, not because I couldn’t. Just... because I didn’t see the point anymore."

  She continued, her throat tightening with the memory. Kazue then closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the sting behind them grow stronger, burning, but she forced herself to keep speaking.

  "My parents didn’t care. They barely noticed whether I was alive or dead. I lived alone for so long that even hearing my own voice felt strange. Day after day, I stayed locked inside that tiny room, just me, a second-hand computer, and a small window I almost never looked through. I scraped by doing random online jobs... just enough to pay for some food, internet, and a really small place to stay. I stopped expecting anything. I stopped hoping for anything."

  Her shoulders trembled slightly, and she had to swallow hard before she could go on. Euphemia hovered silently nearby, her hands pressed tightly together, her eyes wide and shining with unshed tears.

  "There were days..."

  Kazue whispered, her voice cracking.

  "...when I thought about ending it. Just... disappearing completely. No one would have noticed."

  A tear slipped free, sliding down her cheek. She didn’t bother wiping it away.

  "But… before I could do anything, I was taken away. One moment, I was sitting alone, thinking there was nothing left for me... and the next, I was here."

  Kazue smiled faintly through her tears, a small, fragile thing, but genuine. She knew she couldn’t talk about the system itself, but that much was allowed, it seems.

  "I met people. Real friends. People who didn’t look through me like I wasn’t there. People who fought with me, laughed with me, made me feel like maybe... maybe I was worth something after all."

  She wiped her face quickly with the sleeve of her jacket and gave a little laugh, embarrassed by her own tears but unable to stop them.

  "It’s crazy. But I'm happy now. For the first time in... I don't even know how many years."

  Kazue said, sniffling, just to look down at her hands right after, then back at Arianka, her gaze firm despite the trembling of her body.

  "I don’t know what’s happening to you, Lady Arianka."

  She said again, her voice steadier now, stronger.

  "I don’t know if you're sad, or scared, or angry. But if you are... It's okay. You don't have to hide. You don't have to carry it alone."

  There was no grand speech. Just a simple truth, shared from one broken soul to another. And as the silence stretched between them, heavy and fragile, Kazue sat there, not moving, not demanding anything, just waiting, offering whatever small warmth she could give.

  The silence that followed was thick and heavy, almost unbearable. The girl closed her eyes, expecting more emptiness, but then, there was a shift, and the sheets stirred.

  Kazue’s eyes flew open, and Euphemia gasped audibly.

  Slowly, so slowly it was almost painful to watch, Arianka’s hand emerged from beneath the cover, pushing it down. Her face came into view.

  Kazue felt her heart stop for a moment. Arianka’s features were breathtaking. Ethereal beauty shaped her every detail—the gentle arch of her eyebrows, the perfect curve of her lips, the soft glow of her skin. But what drew the eye instantly was the blindfold wrapped around her eyes, a strip of purest white fabric now stained in parts with black liquid that oozed downward like tears of darkness.

  Kazue rose slowly to her feet, Euphemia drifting closer, her expression shifting from wonder to deep concern. Arianka’s mouth moved, barely forming words. Her voice was soft, cracked, and worn, but still so beautiful it hurt to hear it.

  “You… are kind…”

  Kazue blinked rapidly, feeling a sudden sting behind her eyes.

  “You… remind me… of the ones I once loved.”

  Euphemia clasped her hands tightly together, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Kazue smiled gently, forcing down the lump rising in her throat.

  “We’re still here, you’re not alone.”

  She said quietly. For a long moment, Arianka simply breathed. In, and out. until finally, the figure under the covers stirred. Slowly, painfully, the goddess shifted and sat up, her movements deliberate but strained. Kazue and Euphemia instinctively stepped forward to help, but Arianka raised a trembling hand to halt them. It was a weak gesture, but her will behind it was clear. They stopped immediately, watching in silence as Arianka straightened herself with obvious effort. When she finally turned her covered gaze toward Kazue, there was something different about her presence — something fragile, almost human.

  "You must be wondering how everything came to be."

  Arianka said, her voice low and worn. Kazue nodded quietly, her hands gripping the fabric of her sports pants without realizing it. Euphemia floated closer, her wings fluttering nervously as she listened with an intensity she rarely displayed.

  The Goddess gave a faint, broken smile, the kind that carried more regret than warmth. She exhaled slowly and, for a long moment, seemed to gather her thoughts, as if pulling from memories she wished she could forget.

  "A long time ago, the world was whole. There were no divisions between races. Humans, vampires, giants... they were all one. One people. My people."

  Her voice carried a heavy sadness, a weight of centuries pressing down into each word. Kazue leaned forward unconsciously, her entire focus locked onto the goddess.

  "They lived in harmony for a time, they built cities together. They dreamed together. They sang songs that echoed through the mountains and the rivers. I created them to thrive, to love, to build a future beyond my sight."

  She closed her hands into fists slowly. Her nails dug into her own palms, but she did not seem to notice.

  "But then, they changed. Little by little. Fear crept into their hearts. Jealousy, resentment, greed... emotions that grew like rot inside their once-pure souls. It began with distrust. Then came the anger. Then the violence."

  Kazue’s throat tightened, her body tensing with every word. She could almost see it in her mind — a world falling apart, piece by piece, not because of any great catastrophe, but because of the slow decay of the spirit.

  "I tried to guide them back, I spoke to their priests. I sent dreams to their kings. I appeared before their wisest scholars. But every time I reached out, every time I tried to help, they twisted my words. They fought over them. They fought over me."

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  Arianka whispered. Her head bowed low. The cloth wrapped around her eyes seemed heavier now, darker where the black liquid stained it. Euphemia pressed both hands over her heart, unable to hide the tears pooling in her wide eyes.

  "I became the reason for their wars, not their salvation. They invoked my name to justify bloodshed. They crowned themselves champions and martyrs, all for glory... not for peace."

  The Goddess said, her voice splintering. Kazue bit her lip so hard it hurt. She had never imagined hearing a god sound so utterly broken.

  "So, I made a vow."

  Arianka said after a long silence. Her hands loosened, falling open against the bed.

  "Never again. I swore I would never interfere. Never again would my existence be a weapon. I withdrew. I sealed away my influence. I watched silently as they rebuilt their broken world, hoping — praying — that without my hand, they would find their way back to each other."

  Her head lowered further, as if even admitting that was too much to bear.

  "But… I was wrong."

  She said, her voice nearly inaudible. Kazue's heart twisted painfully in her chest. She managed to summon her courage and spoke, her voice hesitant but firm.

  "But what about the Paladins? The Empire? They’re still hurting people using your blessing and still using your name. How can you say you haven't interfered if all of that is still happening?"

  Arianka raised her head slightly, just enough to face Kazue more directly.

  "I never gave them those commands, I never asked them to build that empire. I never blessed their crusades. The Paladin Order... the Empire you see now... they are not born of my will."

  The silence that followed was suffocating. Kazue felt her mouth go dry, but she forced herself to ask.

  "Then... why? How?"

  Arianka took a long, slow breath, as if steeling herself to say what needed to be said.

  "Everything changed… when he came."

  She said, her tone colder now, as if recalling a wound that had never healed. Kazue frowned in confusion. Euphemia tilted her head, clearly just as puzzled. Arianka’s lips trembled before the name finally left her mouth.

  "A human boy came here some time ago… He called himself Gilgamesh."

  Kazue stood silently, her heart pounding in her chest as the name echoed through the messy sanctum. Gilgamesh. The word resonated deep inside her mind, scraping at the edges of memory.

  She knew she had heard that name somewhere before, but no matter how hard she tried to grasp the connection, it remained elusive, just out of reach. Frowning slightly, she shifted her gaze back to Arianka, who sat before her like a crumbling statue. The Goddess’ lips trembled as she continued her story, her voice thin but gaining strength with every word.

  "He was different from any mortal I had encountered."

  She said, her hands curling weakly into the fabric of her gown.

  "Polite, charismatic... His words flowed with ease, like a stream that soothed and disarmed. He convinced me that the world had not healed without me. That my absence was not a kindness, but a cruelty."

  Kazue listened intently, her hands folded tightly against her lap to keep them from trembling. Euphemia hovered nearby, her wings fluttering with anxious energy but remaining respectfully silent.

  "He told me that my hesitations in the past had only bred further division. That if I had acted more firmly, if I had guided my creations directly instead of hoping they would find the light on their own, none of the tragedies that followed would have happened."

  Arianka said, her voice filled with a bitter regret.

  "He made me believe that if I returned, if I intervened boldly and without fear, I could still fix everything. That it was not too late."

  A heavy silence settled between them. Kazue could almost see it, the lonely goddess clinging to the hope offered by a charming human, desperate for a chance to mend her broken world. Arianka lowered her head, her golden hair cascading like a veil around her.

  "I believed him. I wanted to believe him."

  Her hands trembled as she continued.

  "It was during a war. A terrible war between humans and vampires. The old alliances had long since crumbled. I thought... if I acted then, I could prevent further disaster."

  Kazue leaned forward unconsciously, her entire focus drawn into the tragedy unfolding before her.

  "I sent my influence to the leaders of each race… They were not ordinary rulers. They were the descendants of the first beings I had ever created. The ones closest to my light. I blessed Aldrameric IV, king of the humans first."

  Arianka said. At the mention of the name, Euphemia gasped softly, placing a hand over her mouth.

  "Such an honor, he was my great-great-great-grandfather."

  She said, her voice barely above a whisper. Arianka nodded weakly.

  "Yes. Him. And Lilith, Queen of the Vampires. And Groz'mar, Chief of the Giants. I poured my blessings into them, hoping to awaken the ancient bonds that once tied all races together."

  Kazue felt a lump forming in her throat. It was a noble dream, and yet she already knew it had ended in disaster.

  "I then descended to the battlefield myself, I revealed my presence openly to the world. The humans fell to their knees, overwhelmed by the vision of me. I blessed those among them who carried nobility in their hearts, who sought peace and unity. I filled them with divine power."

  Her voice faltered, and she shook her head slowly, her face a mask of grief.

  "I was preparing to do the same for the vampires and giants... but then something happened."

  The temperature in the room seemed to drop. Kazue clenched her hands tighter, her knuckles whitening even more.

  "I do not know what Gilgamesh did, but the world turned dark around me. I could no longer see clearly. I could no longer feel the threads that connected me to my creations."

  She paused, her body trembling, and for a moment Kazue thought she might collapse under the weight of her memories.

  "The last thing I remember was the human speaking casually. He said, 'This is enough. This theme will do. I hope he enjoys my gift.’ but… I don’t think he was talking to me."

  Kazue inhaled sharply, horrified by the coldness of the words.

  "I did not understand what he meant, but before I could say anything, everything went black and I lost consciousness."

  Arianka fell silent, and for a moment the only sounds were the distant groans of the palace as it continued to crumble.

  "When I awoke, I had no way of knowing how much time had passed, and the world outside had changed beyond recognition."

  Her hands clutched tightly at her gown, knuckles pale.

  "The humans... they had twisted my blessing into a weapon. They hunted the vampires and giants without mercy, using my name as justification for their atrocities."

  Tears began to leak from beneath Arianka's blindfold, the liquid staining the white fabric with black trails that oozed like poisoned ink.

  "I tried to stop them. I tried to intervene. But I... I could feel it... something inside me had changed."

  Kazue's heart broke at the sight. She had never seen such pure sorrow in anyone, mortal or divine.

  "My light had become a blade. It recognized only humans as my children. To the others, it brought only pain and ruin. The very essence meant to heal had become poison."

  Arianka said through gritted teeth, she then shook her head, the black tears falling freely now.

  "I became... a monster to the ones I loved most."

  Kazue rose slowly, instinctively reaching out a hand to comfort her. She hesitated, but the urge to help was overwhelming. However, before her hand could reach Arianka, Euphemia darted forward, her voice sharp with panic.

  "Kazue, no! Please, do not touch a goddess!"

  The girl froze, her hand inches away from the trembling figure.

  "O-okay, sorry."

  She whispered, pulling back reluctantly. She stepped away, placing her hand over her heart to steady herself. Even so, despite not being able to touch her, Kazue refused to leave her alone in her pain. She knelt before Arianka, lowering herself to the goddess's eye level.

  "You are not alone, you don’t have to carry this by yourself."

  Kazue said softly, her voice quivering but steady. The sincerity in her tone made Arianka's breath hitch. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the tension in her shoulders began to ease.

  They sat there together in silence, the connection between them growing stronger with every moment. Kazue’s earlier confession of her own loneliness, her own despair, had built a bridge that now reached into the broken heart of a goddess.

  "You are still loved, you still matter, I’ve seen it."

  Kazue whispered, blinking away her own tears. The silence that followed was not empty but full of quiet understanding. Arianka's breathing slowed, her trembling subsided, and the black tears began to dry against her cheeks. After a long moment, Kazue smiled gently and said.

  "If your problem is some kind of corruption or curse... then today might be your lucky day."

  Arianka tilted her head slightly, curiosity stirring behind the blindfold.

  "My friend Adam… He's waiting outside. He's... well, he's really good at dealing with this kind of thing. Curses, corruption, even weird divine illnesses, possibly... It's kind of his specialty."

  Kazue said, her voice brightening with hope; Arianka gave a faint, almost incredulous smile.

  "When you speak of him, your voice becomes very soft."

  She said with a smile. Kazue flushed a deep red, flailing her hands slightly.

  "I-it’s not like that!"

  She protested quickly.

  "I mean... I just... they’re my first real friends."

  She lowered her hands, gripping the fabric of her pants nervously.

  "But even now, sometimes I'm scared… Scared to let them in. Scared to trust them completely."

  She admitted, her voice dropping. Arianka reached out a trembling hand, stopping just short of touching her.

  "You should, just as you opened your heart to me... You should open it to them, too."

  She said softly. Kazue bit her lip, the words sinking deep into her heart. She looked down at her hands, then back at Arianka, and after a moment, she nodded slowly.

  "I'll try."

  She whispered. Arianka smiled, a true, fragile smile.

  "I would be happy to see you share your joy with your loved ones."

  The goddess said while Kazue laughed quietly, wiping the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. Euphemia giggled as well, her wings shimmering with a softer light in front of such a warm moment between them.

  "Alright, let’s go meet Adam. I’m sure he’ll know what to do."

  Kazue stood up, ready to call for Adam and bring him to meet Arianka, when a sudden shimmering ripple appeared before her. A blue system window materialized in the air just in front of her.

  "Hidden Subplot… Hidden Subplot?!"

  She exclaimed, feeling her heart drop into her stomach as the words left her lips.

  Before she could even process the meaning behind it, her hand brushed accidentally against Arianka's. A brief, almost weightless touch, but it was enough.

  Immediately, the air around them changed. The soft light of the chamber fractured violently, and an intense pulse surged through the space, sending chills down Kazue’s spine. She staggered back instinctively, but it was too late.

  Multiple panels burst into existence around her, crowding her vision, each displaying strange error messages and unknown system codes. The temperature in the room plummeted, and a sharp, stinging pain shot through Kazue’s chest. She gasped, her mind barely registering what was happening as she turned her wide, terrified eyes toward Arianka.

  The goddess convulsed violently, her body arching backward in a way that no human body should move. A scream tore itself from Arianka's throat, a sound so raw and agonizing that it seemed to tear the very air apart. Kazue watched, frozen in horror, as the goddess’s form expanded, growing larger and larger, her limbs twisting unnaturally, her delicate features warping into something grotesque and monstrous.

  Kazue stumbled back another step, unable to tear her gaze away from the transformation. Where once there had been beauty and sorrow, now there stood a creature of nightmares, a titanic figure with limbs like molten light and a distorted, half-human face that still bore the trace of Arianka’s divine sorrow twisted into rage and despair.

  Without warning, the monstrous goddess lunged forward with shocking speed. The marble under her shattered into a thousand pieces with the force of her movement, and the very air seemed to buckle under her weight. Kazue barely had time to react when Euphemia seized her wrist with surprising strength and yanked her away.

  "Run!"

  The woman screamed, her voice high and panicked. Kazue needed no second urging. Together, they sprinted across the vast hall, the once-majestic chamber now crumbling around them. The thunderous sound of Arianka's monstrous pursuit echoed behind them, each step causing the ground to quake and sacred murals to crack and fall from the walls.

  "What did you do?!"

  Euphemia cried out as she flew alongside Kazue, her wings beating frantically, her face pale with terror.

  "It was an accident!"

  Kazue shouted back, panting heavily as she forced her legs to move faster. Her muscles burned from the exertion, but adrenaline fueled her beyond her limits.

  Kazue clenched her teeth, trying to focus on the path ahead as they turned sharply at a junction. The walls around them shuddered violently, and cracks raced across the ceiling. Ancient pillars collapsed one after another as the divine corruption spread through the palace like a living plague.

  "This is really bad!"

  Kazue cried, dodging debris as she ran.

  "Understatement of the century!"

  Euphemia snapped, weaving through falling pieces of architecture with desperate grace. As they disappeared down the narrow corridor, trailed by the rampaging Goddess, Kazue could only hope that Adam, wherever he was, would find them soon; if someone could do something about this, it was him.