It was a quiet afternoon, the kind that slipped easily between the seconds — sunlight spilling across concrete, the lazy hum of life moving as usual.
A young man walked down the street, headphones snug in his ears, a faint smile tugging at his lips as the familiar rhythm of a Pokémon battle theme filled his world. His steps were light, hopeful. In just a few weeks, the new game would release, and for him… that was enough to look forward to tomorrow.
But fate, it seemed, had a different tomorrow in mind.
A flicker of motion pulled him from his daydream.
Ahead — a little girl, no older than six, wandered into the road, chasing after something round and glinting in the sunlight. A ball? A toy?
She didn't hear the blaring horn.
She didn't see the truck that thundered toward her, brakes screaming too late.
His heart seized.
And then, he moved.
No thought. No plan. Just instinct.
"Move!" he shouted, his voice cracking through the chaos.
She didn't react. The truck roared closer.
In that heartbeat, everything narrowed — sound, sight, thought — until all that existed was the fragile child before him and the steel beast behind. He sprinted, faster than he'd ever moved in his life.
One desperate lunge, one final push — his arms wrapped around her small frame, hurling her toward safety.
She rolled onto the curb, unharmed.
He didn't make it.
The impact struck like a thunderclap.
A world of sound and pain and light collapsed all at once.
And then, stillness.
He lay on the cold asphalt, breath shallow, crimson pooling beneath him. The taste of iron filled his mouth. His body felt distant, numb — already fading.
Through blurring vision, he turned his head. The girl was safe. Trembling, crying, but alive.
A faint smile found its way to his lips. That's good…
She's safe.
And yet, an ache followed — absurd in its simplicity.
Guess… I'll never get to play that new game.
A shaky breath left his chest. The sound of the world dimmed.
Darkness came for him — soft, almost merciful.
His eyes closed.
But that was not the end.
That moment of sacrifice, born of pure instinct and unshaken kindness, had not gone unnoticed. For the child he had saved was no ordinary girl. Beneath the fragile shell of humanity slept a being far older than the stars themselves.
A goddess.
And his final act of selflessness had stirred her heart.
Warmth.
A gentle breeze caressed his cheek.
He opened his eyes — not to sirens, not to pain, but to light.
An endless sky stretched above, painted in hues too vivid to be real. Petals floated lazily through the air, glimmering like fragments of dreams. Beneath him, grass shimmered with starlight, soft and warm beneath his fingers. A stream whispered nearby, its waters glowing faintly as if singing to the rhythm of eternity.
"Where… am I?" His voice was barely a breath, trembling with awe.
Then — footsteps. Light, serene.
He turned. And his heart stopped.
She stood there, framed in radiance.
Her hair flowed like rivers of silver moonlight, each strand glinting as if it caught the essence of the heavens. Her eyes — vast, deep, infinite — held galaxies within them, yet they softened upon him with warmth, as though eternity itself had chosen to smile.
He knew those eyes.
"You… you're the girl I saved," he whispered.
Her lips curved in a gentle smile. "Yes. But that was only a small part of me — a mask I wore to walk among your kind. What you see now… is my true self."
Her voice wasn't just sound — it was melody. It resonated through the air, through his soul, through every thread of what he was.
"I am a goddess," she said softly. "I walk the mortal world in many forms, seeking hearts that shine even in darkness. And you… without hesitation, gave your life for mine."
He stared, trying to make sense of it all. "A… goddess?"
Her eyes softened further. "You were dead. But I could not let your light fade so easily. So I brought you here. As reward for your sacrifice, I offer you a gift — three wishes. Anything your heart desires."
"Anything?"
"Anything," she whispered, and the air trembled with the weight of her promise.
For a long moment, he said nothing. He could have wished for riches, power, immortality. The kind of things mortals spent lifetimes chasing.
But as he looked into her eyes — eyes that held both eternity and tenderness — he felt something stir deep within his chest. Something wordless.
His heart pounded. His throat tightened. And before fear could stop him, he spoke.
"For my first wish…" His voice was unsteady, yet his gaze never wavered. "…I want you to be my wife."
The garden froze.
The petals, the wind, the stream — all fell silent, as though the world itself had forgotten how to move.
The goddess blinked. "…You wish… for me?"
He nodded. "I don't know why. Maybe it's foolish. Maybe it's impossible. But when I saw you — even when I thought you were just a girl — I felt something I can't explain. You're… everything I never knew I wanted. I don't care that you're a goddess and I'm just human. I want to be with you."
For a moment, her divine composure faltered. Beneath the glow of her power, something fragile flickered — surprise, disbelief… and maybe, just maybe, emotion.
"You do not understand what you ask," she whispered. "My true form would shatter your very soul. My presence could erase worlds. To be with me is to stand beyond life itself. You would have to rise… far above what you are."
"I'll rise, then," he said simply. "No matter how far, I'll reach you."
Silence lingered — and then, slowly, impossibly, she smiled.
"You are… extraordinary," she murmured.
Her fingers brushed his cheek, feather-light. The touch burned, not with pain, but with warmth that sank into his very being — a divine promise written upon his soul.
"If you truly desire this…" Her voice softened into something trembling, almost human. "…Then so be it. From this moment forth, I am yours."
Light erupted around them.
The sky ignited with constellations, the garden bursting into celestial bloom. The air shimmered, alive with music not meant for mortal ears. The stream rose in a song of crystal light, and the stars themselves seemed to bow.
And in that moment — surrounded by radiance and eternity — a mortal and a goddess stood by destiny.