The world around me dissolved as the Ether pulled me deeper into my memories. Adult awareness hovered at the edges while my six-year-old self experienced the Goddess's visitation anew.
"She's still with me," I whispered, my voice sounding distant. "The Goddess is sitting on my bed, and she's going to tell me a story."
In my memory, the luminous woman smiled down at me. Her beauty was otherworldly—skin like moonlight on water, hair like spun silver, and golden eyes so like my own. She reached out, her fingertips cool against my cheek.
"Little one," she said, her voice resonating with ancient power yet gentle as a mother's lullaby, "would you like to hear the tale of how all things came to be?"
My child-self nodded eagerly, eyes wide with wonder.
"Before time began," the Goddess started, "there existed a vast darkness. Not evil darkness, but the darkness of infinite possibility. Within this darkness dwelled a singular entity—the God of Creation."
