When my eyes slowly fluttered open, the first thing that hit me was the light. It wasn't like sunlight—this was softer, almost liquid, washing over everything in a pale gold glow. As my vision cleared, I realized I was standing inside a vast hall so large it made my school gym look like a storage closet. The walls reached up so high they vanished into the clouds, carved with symbols I couldn't understand, and white marble pillars lined both sides, each one etched with patterns of stars and wings. The floor was polished stone, so smooth it reflected the glow of the ceiling like water. The air itself felt heavy but clean, like breathing in something sacred.
Right in front of me, two flashes of light appeared with a soft whoosh. Startled, I took a step back. Out of the light, two people materialized. They were wearing modern clothes—hoodies, sneakers, even backpacks—nothing like the robes or armor you'd expect in a place like this. Just as I opened my mouth to say something, they vanished again, fading into thin air like they'd been erased.
'Wait… those two—were they from Earth too? Like me?' I thought, my mind racing. My eyes darted around, trying to find any trace of them. But there was nothing. Only me.
Then I noticed what was ahead of me.
At the far end of the hall, on a towering dais, sat a throne carved from pure white crystal. It shimmered faintly with golden veins running through it like trapped sunlight. Upon that throne was a woman unlike anyone I had ever seen.
Her hair spilled down like a river of silver and gold, each strand glinting with its own light. A delicate crown of what looked like living feathers rested on her head, each feather glowing faintly. Her skin was pale but radiant, as if the light itself clung to her. Eyes of piercing sky-blue—eyes so sharp they almost cut—stared straight at me. Her dress flowed down in layers of white and azure silk, sparkling like the edge of a dawn sky. She was beautiful, but not just beautiful—she was overwhelming, like looking at a storm you couldn't escape.
I froze, caught somewhere between awe and fear.
"You are late."
Her voice broke my thoughts like a bell ringing across a valley. I snapped my eyes to her, startled.
"Huh?" I said dumbly, my mind still stuck on the two people who'd appeared and disappeared.
The goddess's eyes narrowed slightly. "I have already chosen my heroes for this world," she said, her tone sharp but elegant. "You are too late."
The words struck me like cold water. I stood there, stunned.
She went on, her gaze tilting slightly as if annoyed. "Fujin is always late. I didn't even need heroes from him in the first place. I am far more capable than he is. A better god."
Each word felt heavier than the last. My chest tightened as the meaning sank in. My heart started to pound.
"Wait—what about me?!" I shouted, stepping forward without realizing it. "Will I… will I go back home then?" Panic edged my voice.
The goddess only tilted her head slightly, her expression calm but final. "Too bad," she said softly, almost like she was scolding a child. "Once you are here, there is no going back."
Her words echoed in the vast hall like a door slamming shut. My stomach dropped. The glowing throne room suddenly felt colder and emptier.
"And I have already used most of my divine powers on summoning and granting blessings to the heroes. So, I cannot give you anything too," she said, her voice calm but laced with something like indifference.
I stared at her in disbelief, my mind spinning. No powers? Nothing? After everything that had happened—after being pulled from my life, my home, and thrown here—she was telling me I'd get nothing?
But then she leaned forward slightly, her golden-silver hair spilling over her shoulders like liquid light. Her lips curved into a faint, almost sly smile.
"But… maybe if you agree to one thing with me," she said softly, "then I might grant you something."
My breath caught in my throat. Confusion, suspicion, and a faint flicker of hope tangled inside me. What was she going to ask for? Money? Loyalty? My life? My voice trembled a little as I asked, "W-what do you mean?"
Her eyes, those piercing sky-blue eyes, glowed a little brighter. And then the next words left her lips like a blade sliding from a sheath.
"Give up on Fujin," she said. "Renounce him. Worship me instead. This is my world, after all."
My eyes widened so far it almost hurt. My heart slammed against my ribs.
'What? Give up on Lord Fujin… She's trying to say I should betray him? Betray my family's god? No way… no way!'
I felt my expression tighten. The fear in me shifted into something steadier, heavier. I took a step forward, the echo of my footfall swallowed by the marble floor.
"I'm sorry," I said firmly, my voice sharper than before. "But I can't do that."
Her gaze narrowed. I went on, each word steadier than the last. "My family has followed Lord Fujin for generations. He has protected us, guided us, blessed us. To betray him now would be betraying not just my god, but my parents, my brother, everything we believe in. Even if you say you're stronger, even if you say you're better, the way you're acting right now makes it clear to me—Lord Fujin is a far better god than you."
For a moment, silence swallowed the throne room. The air grew heavy, like before a storm. The goddess's hair shifted as if caught by a wind that wasn't there. Her fingers curled slightly over the armrest of her throne.
"Is that so…" she murmured. Her voice was soft, but it rippled with barely contained rage.
"I was trying to help you," she said, her words low and dangerous. "But now… you've done it."
She rose slightly, lifting one pale hand. Power gathered there—a searing white light that swallowed her palm like a miniature sun. Before I could move, before I could even think, she flung it at me.
A bolt of white light slammed into my chest. I didn't feel pain in my skin or my muscles—this pain was deeper, tearing at something unseen inside me.
"Aaaaaaahhh!" I screamed, my body arching. It felt like my blood was being ripped out, my breath stolen, my very soul shredded.
"I'm taking away your right to use magic," she declared coldly, her voice echoing like a verdict. "I am removing every drop of mana from your body and make sure it never returns. I'll make sure you have no chance to survive, you little brat."
Her words echoed dimly through the haze of pain. My vision blurred, white light and darkness twisting together. I could barely hear my own scream as it tore from my throat, raw and helpless.
"Now… get lost from my sight."
Her voice was like a blade of ice, cutting through the heavy air of the divine hall. She snapped her fingers—just a soft, casual snap—but the sound echoed like thunder.
"I hope you have a great death," she added, her tone almost mocking, and before I could even open my mouth, my body dissolved into a burst of white light.
The throne room vanished.
And then—
I was falling.
Not standing. Not floating. Falling.
The sky above me was a dull, pale gray, and clouds swirled past like shredded sheets of paper. I spun helplessly, the world tilting and twisting as the wind roared in my ears. The air up here was bitterly cold, stabbing my skin like a thousand tiny needles. My long, spiky black hair whipped around wildly, strands freezing stiff in seconds as the icy wind sliced through them.
"Whaaaaaa—!" My scream tore from my throat, ripped away by the rushing air. My eyes burned from the cold and the speed.
Below me stretched an endless land of white. Snow. Nothing but snow. No cities, no roads, no signs of life. Just a frozen wasteland reaching as far as I could see.
"I'm gonna die! I'm gonna diiiiiiie!!!" I shouted, my voice breaking as the ground rushed closer.
And then—
A voice.
Deep, steady, familiar. Not in my ears, but in my mind.
'Don't worry. I'll save you, my child.'
My eyes widened, tears from the freezing wind blurring my sight. That voice—I wasn't mistaken. It was him.
"L-Lord Fujin!" I screamed, desperation cracking my voice. "Help meeeeee!"
The voice answered, calm but filled with something warm, like a gust of spring air in winter.
'Thank you… for always being loyal to me. I will give you everything I have.'
Suddenly, the air around me shifted. A massive wave of wind surged upward from nowhere, wrapping around my body like an invisible shield. The cold was blown away, the air warming just enough to stop the biting pain on my skin. The winds formed a spiraling circle around me, glowing faintly with green light, like a living barrier. For a heartbeat, I felt weightless, as if I was no longer falling but floating in a giant cradle of air.
But then reality snapped back. Even with Fujin's winds, my body was still plummeting, still racing toward the snowy ground below at terrifying speed. The white expanse was no longer far—it was right there, rising up to meet me.
"I'm gonna craaaashhhh!!!" I screamed, flailing helplessly as the snow grew larger, closer, and impossibly bright.
A heartbeat later, I hit.
The impact tore through me like a thunderclap, sending up a huge burst of snow in every direction. The sound was like an explosion muffled by cotton. The ground cracked beneath me, snow spraying high into the air before settling back down in slow, drifting flakes.
Everything went white.