The Goddess fragment
"I still can't believe you chose that fool's divinity," said a woman with pale pink hair, seated in a luxurious office crammed with documents and papers stacked in every corner. Her eyes were fixed on the figure before her: a woman with blue hair, a stern, unyielding gaze, and two black horns curving gracefully back from her head.
"Can you stop wasting time? You told me this seven times today, seven hundred and eighty-two times this week, and over three thousand times this month," Silvia replied firmly, her hard eyes locked on the goddess of life.
Lila, the woman behind the desk, let herself slump forward onto it with an exaggerated sigh, her whole demeanor dripping with boredom.
"You're not very nice, Silvia," she said, resting her head sideways on the polished wood. Then she slowly straightened, lacing her fingers beneath her chin with a playful smile. "Why don't I take a break and help you relax? We could take a walk through the market. Think of it as a date."
"Pass," Silvia replied curtly, without a trace of hesitation.
"Ugh… you're cruel, Silvia. Can't you see my poor little heart is suffering from your cold, impenetrable love?" Lila retorted dramatically, placing a hand over her chest as if she'd been pierced to the soul.
Silvia watched her in silence for a few seconds before speaking dryly. "Lady Lila, goddess of life, please continue with your work for the sake of our people. As your general and protector, I'll be waiting outside the door."
She turned on her heel without another word, heading for the exit.
"One day you'll fall for my charms, Silvia," Lila called out as she watched her leave, the door closing with a soft thud.
---
In the present, Silvia smiled faintly at the memory.
"What she didn't know… is that I had already fallen a long time ago," she murmured, her words carrying a warmth that contrasted with the hardness of her current demeanor.
"What are you talking about, Mom?" Lua asked with genuine confusion.
"Nothing… just a memory," Silvia replied calmly. Then her voice grew more serious. "Lua, you've gone much further than many spirits, even more than several spiritual gods. The previous god of destruction only found his fragments thanks to the help of others… and you did it on your own. I'm proud of you.
I was the previous bearer of two divine fragments of destruction. I served under the goddess of life during the war against humans and demons. At that time… I was pregnant with you. One of the demons wounded me with a terrible magic, and you, still in my womb, began to weaken… even as an Oni, a final evolutionary branch among hundreds we have. It was possible you wouldn't survive for long.
That's why… I used one of my fragments to keep you alive. Your mother helped me, but because of that, I was nearly killed. When a human stole my other divine fragment, she protected me… and that was also the reason she couldn't fight with her full power against the demigods. So she devised a way to keep us safe: you, me… and the entire remaining spiritual race.
She gave up her rank as a goddess to give me one of her fragments, so I could stay alive. That's why she slept for so long… and it's also the reason why I, as an Oni, have no power. As a demigoddess who changed her divinity… I can't use either the power I had before or the one I obtained afterward."
"Wait… wait," Lua interrupted, eyes widening. "You mean… the goddess of life…?"
"Yes. She's your mother… well, your other mother," Silvia answered softly.
"But… I'm only about two hundred years old," said Lua, puzzled.
"Yes. You were born around that time. Healing your body inside me took much longer than I imagined. During those years I tried to create a safe place for you… but," Silvia forced a smile, "I didn't do a very good job."
"So… you're a demigoddess?" Lua asked with curiosity.
"Technically yes… but without power," Silvia answered in a muted tone.
"And what about the goddess of life?"
"She… is in the forest. She's always been watching over you from afar," she said, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Why doesn't she come? Why…?"
"Because she can't get close to either you or me," Silvia cut in. "I have one of her divine fragments. If she came near, it would try to return to her. That's what happened during the attack… she wanted to intervene, and that's why I was unconscious for so long. She arrived late… but when she saw you alive, she stopped."
"Why can't she get close to me?" Lua pressed.
Silvia looked at her tenderly and sighed. "Because you have another divine fragment of life."
Lua's eyes widened at the revelation. Confusion swirled in her mind as she opened her status panel, searching for a clue… but found nothing.
"SIA," Lua called loudly, making Silvia turn her head toward her, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. Lua had already told her everything before.
"Hold on, boss… I'm looking," SIA replied hastily.
"So… she's no longer a goddess?" Lua asked Silvia as she waited.
"To be precise… I don't even know myself. All this time we've barely been able to talk… just exchange a few words," Silvia said, with the sadness of knowing where the love of her life was and not being able to be with her. "Don't worry… she'll be fine," she added, though it sounded more like she was telling herself than Lua. "She's always fine…" she whispered.
"Boss… I found something," SIA said suddenly, though with a nervous tone.
"What?" Lua asked seriously.
"Well… remember when I told you I destroyed a divine fragment from the human who was my host?" SIA began slowly.
"Yes," Lua replied, keeping her gaze steady.
"That was the payment for leaving his body. To enter yours… I needed another payment," SIA confessed, a trace of guilt in her mechanical voice.
Lua brought a hand to her forehead, as if trying to piece together a series of thoughts that didn't quite fit.
"What would happen if I no longer had the divine fragment of life in my body?" Lua asked her mother, touching her head in a thoughtful gesture.
Silvia watched her in silence for a few seconds before answering, visibly confused.
"Removing it would seriously damage your soul. Without a legendary flower, it would be impossible… you could even be left permanently crippled. I'm sorry, daughter. Having it might slow your evolution into a goddess, but taking it out is far too dangerous."
"And where would it go if it was forcibly removed?" Lua pressed.
"As I told you, if Lila came near, the fragment—being originally hers—would return to her. If it were taken from you by force, the same thing would happen, even without her being close. Lila has already undergone apotheosis; she's not like the demigods, who can retain fragments of the same type and must fight each other to keep them."
Then Silvia's eyes widened in sudden realization, and she stared at her.
"Wait… those are very specific questions. Don't tell me that…"
"I don't have it," Lua interrupted calmly.
Silvia froze, her mouth slightly open.
"You… you…" she murmured in surprise, her mind racing. She took a step toward her daughter with a mix of hope and urgency.
"Can you do it with me? Could you take the fragment out so your mother can get it back?" she asked with total seriousness.
Before Lua could respond, SIA's mechanical voice chimed in, as if she had immediately understood the situation.
"Having multiple bosses was part of the design of the previous system, but the human who got it was too selfish. It should still be possible now, since this system is an evolution of the old one. However… it requires such a massive amount of energy that not even all the players together could gather it in hundreds of years. Unless you get another divine fragment… and I don't want to destroy one of yours, boss. It would cause you very severe injuries."
SIA seemed to be searching for more information, perhaps as a way of apologizing for having removed the divine fragment from Lua's mother without permission in the past.
Lua explained all of this to Silvia, whose expression lost some of its initial excitement.
"Finding divine fragments is almost impossible. Even if you found yours with… strange ease… you haven't come across any others in all these years. Not even our spirits managed to find one in the forest," she said, lowering her head. Disappointment settled on her face as she realized she might not be able to help Lila regain what was hers.
"Don't worry," Lua said suddenly, her tone radiating confidence. "When the players are stronger… I'm sure one of them will help us."
"I see you've grown fond of them," Silvia commented with a slight smile.
"So far, they've all been good people," Lua replied calmly. "And they need our help too… or so it seems."
---
Meanwhile, on the far edge of the Dark Forest, a contingent of hundreds of human soldiers waited in silence. Some bore faces marked by fear; others, by exhaustion.
At the front stood Draven, clad in immaculate white armor, with an intricate set of carved runes spread across his chest.
"Alright. We'll split into ten teams. This mission had better yield results… or you'd best not come back," he said coldly, sweeping his gaze over the soldiers.
He placed a hand over his chest, and the runes lit up, emitting a bluish glow that began to expand into a barrier around him. Gradually, the light clung to his skin, turning it completely blue.
Draven looked at his own hands for a moment… and smiled. Without another word, he moved into the forest, escorted by five men.