How much time has passed since I blacked out? Sigh… My show's probably over by now. What even just happened? And… where am I?
I scanned my surroundings and was greeted by nothing but darkness, an endless void stretching in all directions. I wasn't standing, but floating, suspended in this strange space.
Then, in the distance, I saw her again.
The crying girl.
But this time, she was facing me. My breath caught in my throat. There was no mistaking her.
"It's… me," I whispered.
The girl from my past, a helpless, crying child with no one to look after her.
"Why am I seeing my younger self? What is this place? Hello? Anyone? Hey, weird magical ball of light? Can someone tell me what's going on?" My voice echoed back at me, but there was no response.
Resigned, I began walking toward her.
The moment I touched her, a jolt of lightning coursed through my body. My mind erupted with memories, flashing by like a reel of film.
I didn't have any big dreams as a child. My only goal was to play with my dad. Life was simple back then, happy, even. I never knew my mother, but Dad always took care of me.
"Your mom's a hero," he used to say. "She's working hard, but when she's done, she'll come back, and we'll all play together."
I believed him for a while. Eventually, I stopped asking.
Dad and I had a routine. On weekdays, he worked while I went to school. Weekends were our time, shopping at the mall, playing in the park. It was perfect.
Until it wasn't....
I was ten years old. It was a normal day. Dad was leaving for work, just like always.
"Bye, sweetie. Do your homework before I get back!" he said with a smile.
"Okay, Papa!" I mumbled, half-watching TV with a piece of toast in my mouth.
That evening, I waited for him. Six o'clock came and went. Then seven. Then eight.
I called his phone repeatedly, but it was unreachable.
By ten, panic set in. I ran to our neighbors, and they helped file a missing person's report. They let me stay with them while the police searched, but as days turned into weeks, their kindness faded.
The whispers started. "She's a burden." "Poor thing."
I understood. I was a nuisance. But I had nowhere else to go.
One day, the woman caring for me drove me to an orphanage.
"It'll be a new home," she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
The orphanage wasn't a home. It was survival. I learned quickly that without money, you're nothing. I studied harder than anyone, topping exams to prove I wasn't worthless.
But I also rebelled. I dyed my hair blonde, got into fights, became a delinquent, or at least tried. My grades never slipped. I wouldn't let them.
Eventually, I graduated high school with a scholarship and went to college. I thought things would get better. I'd make friends. Build a family. Find a place where I belonged.
But it never happened.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I relived it all.
All that pain… was it for nothing? Will my life end like this? All I ever wanted was a normal, happy life. Was that too much to ask? I just wanted to meet Papa again…
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind hit me. I wiped my eyes and looked around.
The void was gone.
Instead, I saw the sky.
"Wait… is this heaven?" I muttered.
Then I realized something horrifying.
"No. No, no, no! WHY AM I IN THE SKY?!"
I was hundreds of feet above the ground, falling fast.
"NOOO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! NOT AGAIN!" I screamed, bracing for impact as the ground rushed up to meet me.
Wind roared past my ears as I plummeted through the sky, my heart hammering wildly in my chest. Adrenaline surged through my veins, making my thoughts race even faster than my falling body.
Is this really happening? Am I actually going to die like this?
My mind spiraled.
What if this is the end? What if I just… crash into the ground and die for no reason at all? Would my entire life just end like that? Pointless? Meaningless?
Helpless and with the ground just a few feet below me, as a last futile attempt I stretched my arms wide in front of myself and the ground and screamed at the top of my lungs
Just as I braced for impact, something extraordinary happened. My body began to glow, bright, crimson red. A powerful aura enveloped me, and two enormous, glowing red claws erupted from my back.
"BAM!"
The claws slammed into the ground before I could, shattering the stone beneath me. The impact cracked the earth and sent debris flying in every direction. Dust swallowed everything. My body jolted violently, but the claws absorbed the fall. For a few seconds, I could hear nothing but the ringing in my ears and my own ragged breathing.
Then one thought slowly surfaced through the haze.
I'm… alive.
As the dust began to settle, I cautiously lifted my head and looked around.
The place I had crashed into wasn't ordinary ground.
Or at least… it hadn't been.
It looked like some kind of stone structure. A temple maybe? Or a monument? I couldn't tell anymore. Whatever it was, it was now completely demolished. Broken pillars and shattered stone were scattered everywhere.
Did I… do that?
Beyond the ruins stretched a dense forest. Tall trees surrounded the clearing, their leaves whispering softly in the wind. Not far away, a massive lake shimmered under the sunlight.
My head spun. Slowly, painfully, my thoughts started catching up with reality.
What just happened?
How am I still alive?
What were those giant claws?
And where did they go?
My heart pounded harder with every question.
"I… I don't understand…" I muttered, burying my face in my hands.
My head throbbed, and tears threatened to spill from my eyes.
Then suddenly!
"NOOO! What have you done?!"
The high-pitched scream sliced through the air like a knife. Startled, I snapped my head up. A little girl stood a short distance away, glaring at me with pure fury.
She couldn't have been older than ten. Her hair was a soft, shimmering blue, and her bright blue eyes glowed like neon lights. A bright yellow hood covered her head, making her look oddly like a tiny duckling.
I blinked.
For a few seconds, my brain refused to process the situation.
Wait… what?
Where did she come from? Was she here the whole time?
"U-uh…" My voice came out weak and scratchy.
The girl stared at the ruined structure behind me, then back at me. Her expression slowly twisted into pure horror.
I blinked, then slowly turned to look behind me again. The shattered stones. The broken pillars.
"…Oh.", I muttered.
The girl stomped forward, pointing accusingly at the wreckage.
"You! How did you come flying out of the sky like that?! And why did you destroy our shrine?!"
"I- "
I opened my mouth. Then closed it again. Because honestly… I had no idea.
My brain replayed the last few minutes.
Falling.
Screaming.
Red claws.
Crash.
"…Uhhh." I rubbed the back of my head.
"I… don't actually know."
The girl froze. Her eye twitched.
"WHAT?!"
"I mean," I said quickly, waving my hands in panic, "I didn't mean to destroy anything! I was literally falling out of the sky five seconds ago!"
She stared at me like I had just said the most ridiculous thing imaginable.
"You expect us to believe that?!"
"I don't even believe it!" I blurted out.
For a brief moment, we just stared at each other.
Then her face slowly turned red with rage. "You destroyed our shrine for no reason?!"
Her voice rose several octaves.
"UNACCEPTABLE! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!"
Her voice suddenly changed. The childish tone faded away, replaced by something deeper and older. It sounded like wind whispering through ancient trees. A strange light began to glow around her small body. Her frame started to rise as silver and sky-blue energy flowed across her skin like liquid moonlight.
My brain froze.
"Wait… what…?"
Before I could even finish the thought, the girl vanished.
In her place stood a colossal stag. Its towering body was covered in sleek silver fur that shimmered like polished metal. Across its body flowed glowing sky-blue patterns, pulsing softly like rivers of magic beneath the surface. A magnificent crown of antlers rose from its head, enormous and branching like the limbs of an ancient tree. They glowed with pale blue light that illuminated the entire clearing. The creature's eyes shone with a brilliant neon blue.
My legs immediately gave out.
I collapsed onto my back, staring up at the enormous creature with my mouth hanging open.
The ground trembled as the stag lowered its massive head. Its antlers stretched high above the trees, casting long glowing shadows across the forest.
Then it spoke.
"Foolish human. Do you understand where you stand?"
The voice echoed across the forest like thunder. The air itself seemed to freeze.
"Every tree, every root, every beast of this forest breathes by my will."
Her glowing eyes locked onto mine.
"You have defiled sacred ground."
A wave of sky-blue light rippled through the clearing as her voice deepened with divine authority.
"Prepare yourself, mortal… for I am Demeter, Goddess of this Forest, and you shall answer for your transgression."
My brain felt like it had completely stopped working.
A goddess.
A giant glowing deer goddess.
And she's angry.
"Why… why is this happening…?" I muttered weakly. "I just wanted snacks…"
As I lay there, completely overwhelmed, Demeter opened her mouth.
A sphere of glowing sky-blue energy began forming between her jaws, growing brighter and brighter with every passing second.
And judging by the way it was pointed directly at me… That beam was definitely meant for me.
I sighed internally as this was the third time i was about to die...