I did some research and couldn't find any canonical mention of what the Divine Realm in *DanMachi* is actually like, so everything in this chapter is my own invention—please read with an open mind.
//
A towering pillar of golden light erupted into the endless expanse for several moments before gradually fading away.
When the light finally dissolved, only Hestia remained.
The goddess slowly opened her eyes. As the haze of her eviction cleared, she realized she was standing in a different, yet painfully familiar place—the Tenkai.
It was a golden paradise. Her feet rested upon a thick floor of pure white clouds. All around her, an infinite sky of gold and violet stretched out without a sun. The light emanated naturally from the atmosphere.
Hestia looked around, absorbing the abstract, changeless beauty of the divine realm. Floating marble palaces stood untouched by time in the distance. It was perfect, and utterly suffocating.
She let out a heavy sigh.
"Welcome back to paradise, Lady Hestia." A gentle male voice, resonating with several voices joined together, said
Glancing to the side, she noticed someone—or something—floating effortlessly just above: a giant eye, larger than a head, with six white feathered wings behind it, motionless as if merely decorative.
"Michael. Still bound to guard the entryways, I see. How is life treating you?" Hestia said, speaking to the giant eye as if it were the most normal thing in the universe.
The large iris blinked slowly, its wings rustling softly.
"You know how it is, My Lady. This is my function," Michael replied smoothly with a sheepish murmur. "Though... I do wish my Lord had granted me a slightly less bizarre form for the job, I know I'm a "observer" but..."
It had no other appendages besides its wings, so likely communicating directly into Hestia's mind.
"Yeah," Hestia murmured, a dry smile forming on her face. "Yahweh can be just as eccentric as any of us when it comes to the bodies of his... angels."
"Not really; I consider myself very lucky to be a creation of Lord Yahweh. The creations from the groups further east are pretty... wacky, for lack of better word."
Mortals usually think the realm of the gods contains only... well, gods. However, that isn't exactly true. As beings capable of destroying and creating life at will, it stands to reason that they would create beings to share eternity with—whether as servants, protectors, protégés, pets, playthings, or even romantic partners.
In the Greek faction to which Hestia belongs, there are the nymphs—renowned for their beauty and frequently pursued by most of the Greek gods; Zeus, for one, can certainly attest to that.
Michael is a being known as an angel—a creation of Yahweh, a god among the most powerful. He is deeply charitable yet solitary, belonging to no faction. He is also highly creative; no one can deny that the appearance of his angels is truly unique.
"Regardless, we can discuss my lack of a proper physical vessel another time," Michael replied seamlessly. "I assume you wish to head to your quarters, Lady Hestia?"
"Yes, I am in your care," Hestia said, her shoulders dropping slightly.
"Think nothing of it, My Lady. It is my absolute duty to serve the great gods."
The massive, winged eye slowly rotated in the air, shifting its direction. It began to float forward at a leisurely pace, with Hestia following right behind. However, even though it felt as if they were walking normally, the abstract landscape around them began to blur past them in a sweeping, dizzying motion.
"So, how was your stay in the mortal realm?" Michael asked, breaking the brief silence. "What was the name of that world again? Zenkai? Hentai? Bankai?"
"It's Genkai, it literally means Mortal World." Hestia corrected with an exasperated sigh.
"Ah, right, of course. Forgive me for that unwanted display," Michael murmured sheepishly, his large iris shifting slightly. "My retention of non-indispensable information has never been the sharpest."
"It's fine. As for Genkai... meh... I spent the entire time in a single city, so I can't really share too much about the rest of the world."
"Anything will do, My Lady. I adore hearing your stories," Michael said warmly. "Most of the gods who return also happen to come from that exact same city... Horario? That place must be an unending battlefield for so many deities to be forced back in such a short span of time."
"Hehe~ something like that," Hestia giggled weakly, though a sudden pang of sadness hit her chest. "The atmosphere there can be a bit overwhelming, but you eventually get used to it. Besides..."
A sudden image flashed through Hestia's mind, the faces of all the friends she had made during her brief time down below, the laughter shared in their small home, and...
"I found someone very special to share my moments with," Hestia said softly, her voice dropping into a tender, gentle tone.
The sentence caused the giant, winged eye to freeze instantly in mid-air. Stopping so abruptly that the blurred scenery around them snapped back into a static, clear view, the entity turned its massive body around, its large retina shrinking in utter shock.
"Oh, my Lord Father... I know that tone," Michael gasped, his wings fluttering frantically. "Lady Hestia, do not tell me you found your soulmate?!"
"To the absolute limit of what a deity can experience? Yes, I think I did," Hestia admitted, a genuine, albeit melancholy smile touching her lips.
"That is incredible news! Everyone is surely going to be ecstatic to hear this!" Michael cheered, his resonant voice echoing through the golden quiet. "I absolutely cannot wait to tell Gabriel! She has always been such a massive gossip!"
"Later, Michael... right now, I just want to go home," Hestia said quietly.
She turned her eyes toward the path ahead. But deep down, her heart knew the truth—the place she was heading to right now was no longer the place she truly called home.
"Of course. Forgive my overexcitement, My Lady," Michael replied softly, adjusting his flight. "We are almost there."
After an indeterminate amount of time, it could have been mere seconds or several hours, the two finally arrived at their destination.
Before Hestia stood a massive Greek temple. Towering white marble columns supported a triangular roof adorned with carvings, perfectly capturing the classic residence of a Greek deity. It was imposing, clean, and stood beautifully untouched amidst the sea of clouds.
"There it is, the residence of Lady Hestia, exactly how you left it when you departed. The nymphs have taken great care to keep it absolutely immaculate."
As if waiting for this exact moment, several figures emerged from the temple entrance. They were nymphs, spirits dressed in translucent, shimmering silks, they carried brooms and cloths, dedicated to the upkeep of the sacred grounds.
Hurrying forward, they promptly fell to their knees in perfect unison before Hestia, lowering their heads in deep respect.
"Welcome back, Goddess Hestia," they spoke together.
Hestia raised a hand, dismissively waving off the formal gesture before locking her eyes onto the apparent leader of the group.
"Acantha, how are things?" Hestia asked.
"Better now with your return, Goddess Hestia," Acantha replied, looking up with deep reverence. "You grace us with your presence."
"Come on, Acantha," Hestia sighed, a faint smile on her face. "We've known each other for so long, there's really no need for all of this formality."
"I am sorry, My Lady, but this is my duty, I must maintain the highest standards so as not to tarnish your grand image."
Hestia let out another sigh. With every passing second, she was remembering more and more why she felt so constrained by the expectations of this place.
She turned her gaze toward her grand residence. She didn't quite know how to feel about it. Nostalgic? It had certainly been a long time since she last stood here, yet she felt very little genuine affection for the grandeur.
It wasn't due to bad memories; it was simply because she now had another place in mind—a far humbler home where she truly felt she belonged.
"I guess it's time to return to my origins," Hestia murmured to herself.
With a simple thought, her clothing began to shift and morph. The attire from the mortal world melted away, replaced by a traditional white chiton. The fabric draped elegantly, pinned at the shoulders in the classic style of her people, leaving one of her breasts completely exposed. Hestia stood tall, feeling absolutely no shame about her exposed skin, as this was natural.
"So, how do I look?" she asked, turning to Michael.
"Incredibly stunning, Lady Hestia, I fear for the integrity of my own being. Considering I am just a single eye, becoming blind from your radiant splendor would be quite a shame."
"Hahaha, that's true," Hestia laughed softly, the heavy gloom that had gripped her chest finally beginning to ease.
"However... without wanting to judge the dress code of your Greek group, I would highly recommend that you make some... minor adjustments. Now that you have found your soulmate, it would be wise to consider if you wish for such intimacy to be visible to everyone. That beauty is a gift, and perhaps its full radiance is a treasure best shared specifically with the one who holds your heart."
Hestia looked down at her attire. Michael's words resonated with her new perspective; her feelings for her partner made her want to keep certain aspects of herself more private and dedicated to their unique bond. It wasn't about shame, but about the special significance of their connection.
With another quick thought, her divine garments shifted once more. The white fabric grew more substantial, flowing upwards and wrapping securely to cover her shoulders and chest more fully.
Hestia smiled softly at her adjusted attire and turned back toward her nymphs.
"Thank you all for working so hard to take care of this place, but you are all dismissed for now," Hestia said, her voice warm but final.
The nymphs' eyes widened in sheer shock, their heads snapping up in surprise.
"What is the matter, Goddess Hestia?" Acantha gasped, her face turning pale as she panicked. "Did we do something wrong? Please, give us a second chance to correct our mistakes!"
"There is no problem at all, Acantha," Hestia interrupted gently, holding up a comforting gaze. "I simply wish to be completely alone for a while."
"But, My Lady, please consider-" Acantha tried to plead, desperately moving forward.
Before she could finish her sentence, Hestia raised her hand with a silent command, and in an instant, all the nymphs vanished into thin air, leaving the courtyard silent once more.
"You seem rather stressed, Lady Hestia," Michael observed quietly from the air.
"I'm just tired of this kind of treatment... I wish people would treat me for who I actually am, and not just blindly serve me as the goddess of the hearth."
"Forgive their behavior, My Lady. They simply have not gotten used to you yet. I am certain that in a few years, you will all be laughing and playing together like great friends."
"Yeah, maybe..." Hestia murmured before looking up at the winged entity. "Anyway, thank you for bringing me all the way here, Michael. Simply walking across the realm would have taken way too long."
"Think nothing of it. I am simply doing my job. I have noticed how deeply attached you gods seem to your mortal bodies when you return, although... I strongly advise you to cast it aside as soon as possible. Time can feel incredibly heavy in an eternal place. Only the vast perspective of a true deity is capable of enduring our way of life."
"I know," Hestia whispered, her chest tightening as she thought of what she left behind. "I just... want to stay like this for a little longer."
"No problem at all. Do not let my baseless advice dictate your existence, you are entirely free to make your own choices. Now, if you will excuse me, I foresee that a few more deities are about to arrive. My, that city down below must be an absolute inferno right now."
"Have a good day, Michael," Hestia replied, giving him a small wave.
Without causing a single disturbance in the calm air, the massive winged eye completely disappeared from her sight.
Hestia turned her gaze back toward her massive home. She let out a long, heavy sigh and took a single step forward, slowly beginning to climb the white marble steps of the grand staircase.
...
Hestia walked through the silent halls of her mansion, observing her surroundings with an indifferent, detached gaze. It felt almost as if she were a mere visitor passing through an unfamiliar museum, rather than someone returning to her home.
The place was paradoxically empty and overcrowded all at once. The interior was vast, spanning a space far greater than what the exterior walls suggested. Immense rooms and endless corridors stretched out, completely filled with various useless or outdated objects placed there for the sole purpose of making the mansion seem less hollow.
Like, in one random hallway, a small marble pillar stood holding a simple basket of fresh fruit. Why on earth was there a basket of fruit in the middle of a random corridor?
When she entered the grand main hall, her eyes locked onto a massive statue of herself. It looked absolutely nothing like her. The sculpture depicted a tall, slender, and imposing goddess leaning confidently against a long spear.
Perhaps that was how the rest of the world chose to perceive her—a deity grander than everything and everyone else. Yet, the real Hestia was simply... this.
Eventually, Hestia reached her personal quarters. Pushing the heavy wooden door open, she was greeted by the sight of her enormous bed.
Without any ceremony, she threw herself onto it, bouncing a few times on the remarkably soft mattress before finally settling down, staring blankly up at the vast, empty ceiling.
Hestia closed her eyes and remained completely still for a few moments, looking as if she had fallen fast asleep. However, a single, lonely tear escaped and traced its way down the side of her cheek, proving that beneath her calm expression lay countless, painful thoughts.
Opening her eyes once more, they were noticeably red with the overwhelming urge to break down and cry, yet she refused to let herself weep.
"I hate this place..." she murmured under her breath, slowly pushing herself up to sit on the edge of the bed.
As she did, something in her peripheral vision caught her attention.
Turning her head, her gaze locked onto a large spear hanging on the wall right above her headboard. It was her divine weapon—a gift she had nagged Hephaestus to forge out of pure jealousy, now reduced to a mere decorative ornament.
"Good thing you don't possess a consciousness like most, buddy. Otherwise, you'd make me feel absolutely horrible." she spoke softly, reaching up to take the heavy weapon into her hands. A wave of unfamiliarity washed over her as her fingers wrapped around the shaft, having long forgotten what it felt like to actually wield it.
The moment her skin made contact with the divine steel, the weapon seemed to resonate with her soul. It began to hum with a soft glow, mirroring a certain someone's sword down below, completely overjoyed that its mistress had returned.
"Come on," Hestia said, a dangerous glint returning to her eyes. "Depending on what I see down there, you might actually be useful for once."
She stepped out of her quarters, walking with the massive spear pointed squarely toward the ceiling. The sight was almost comical, considering the divine weapon was several times larger than the small goddess herself.
Hestia eventually walked into a small, secluded room. It was minimally decorated, containing nothing but a single couch and several comfortable cushions scattered across the floor. On the main wall hung a single, colossally large mirror entirely devoid of a frame.
Taking a seat on the comfortable couch directly facing the glass, she rested her heavy spear safely at her side. Then, with a simple gesture, the smooth surface of the mirror began to ripple like water, and an image from the mortal world promptly materialized before her eyes.
"Ugh, how did I do this again...?" Hestia murmured to herself, tapping her chin as she focused on the glass. "Genkai... Orario... and..."
The image within the mirror shifted rapidly, blurring past stars until it locked onto the mortal world. The view zoomed in closer, focusing on a single, massive city dominated by a colossal white tower built right in its center.
Manually controlling the 'camera' with subtle gestures of her hand, Hestia began to search the streets and buildings, looking for one specific person.
"Found you!" she cheered happily, her face instantly lighting up.
The mirror now displayed a clear image of Luki, sleeping peacefully in his bed with Lili resting right beside him. Both of them looked entirely exhausted for some reason.
With a fond, eager smile, Hestia swept her arm across the air, causing the reflection to rewind, moving backward through the hours like a video playing in reverse.
"Let's see what you've been up to," she whispered.
Hestia began to watch the events of the morning unfold from above. She saw the exact moment she woke up completely destroyed, eventually leaving his room. But instead of tracking her own past self, she kept the divine camera locked entirely on Luki.
In the reflection, she noticed his small wing-ears twitching subtly every now and then, a clear sign that he was slowly breaking away from his induced slumber. Then, Luki opened his eyes, blurred and unfocused from the heavy magic that had forced him to sleep.
"I don't know why, but I just knew this would happen," she said in a deeply affectionate tone, resting her chin on her hands with her elbows propped against her legs. "My tireless little monster simply can't stay still, can he~"
She watched everything. She saw how his hand instinctively reached out to the empty space beside him, patting the mattress only to find cold fabric instead of her warmth. His eyes snapped wide awake as the realization hit him, noticing how late it was. He desperately tried to force himself out of bed, but his weak, uncooperative legs gave out immediately, sending him crashing onto the floor.
Yet, he didn't give up. Fighting against the forced drowsiness with everything he had, he practically dragged and threw his body out of the room, knocking over a few objects in his path. He stumbled blindly into the hallway until he reached the top of the stairs, losing his balance entirely and rolling all the way down to the bottom.
Hestia let out a bittersweet smile as she witnessed his desperate struggle.
The mirror's reflection shifted smoothly, showing Ryuu and Lili rushing over to help Luki back to his feet. The girls frantically explained the situation as Luki stubbornly insisted on chasing after her. In his battered state, he would have likely collapsed in the middle of the street on his own, so the two supported his weight.
With immense difficulty, they pressed forward, matching the timeline of Hestia's conversation with the other deities, her face-to-face cwith Loki, her judgment at the top of Babel, and her ultimate banishment.
Hestia's expression turned bitter as she watched his reaction to the brilliant pillar of light. Her heart ached even more seeing him crash onto the cobblestones, writhing in pure agony as his Falna entered hibernation. Finally, Soma appeared to restore Lili's Falna while leaving Luki completely untouched. The sight made her glad yet uncertain; it had forced her lover to suffer through the entire excruciating process until he blacked out.
The memory played out until Ryuu carried Luki and Lili back to the Hostess, placing them in bed to rest while the rest of the staff armed themselves for the impending war.
"Now that I am out of the game, the other gods will do whatever it takes to claim Luki for themselves," Hestia murmured, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "But with Loki, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ganesha, and Ouranos in the way, only Freya poses a real threat. And I feel like she won't push her hand too aggressively; it's not her style. I just need one of them to reactivate his Falna so he can use my blessing and put an end to all of this."
Hestia returned her gaze to the present image of Luki sleeping, blissfully ignorant of the chaos brewing around him.
To hell with being banished to this inferno of infinite boredom; as long as she could watch over him from afar, it was more than enough.
Leaning back into the couch, Hestia stretched her limbs out, spreading her arms and legs completely wide with absolutely no decorum. A deeply peaceful expression washed over her face.
Then, for some reason, her hand drifted down toward her stomach, gently caressing the lower part of her abdomen.She looked down at her belly, affectionately stroking it with a tender, loving smile.
For a brief moment, her palm glowed with a faint, soft light as she channeled her divine energy, weaving a subtle miracle. Once the light faded, she simply continued to caress the exact spot where her womb resided in this vessel.
"They say that gods cannot have children with mortals," Hestia whispered, her soft laughter echoing through the quiet room. "I'd love to see what they're going to say about this now. Hehehe~"
She let out a quiet giggle, her dreamy, loving smile never leaving her lips.Pro