It’s been three long months since I ravaged the training hall, conjuring a cataclysm worthy of the cosmos. For that, the scientists decided to lock me in a cell for three days without food or water. However, they soon realized I no longer needed to eat or drink. Nor did I need to sleep without significant physical exertion. I mean, I am a deity now! What did they expect to happen? I could have guessed that mortal needs would have become irrelevant, especially given that I am the goddess of the void. So many objects in space exist almost eternally on human time scales that it would be absurd for me to change with a few weeks.
The scientists have been trying to replicate the procedure they performed to awaken my latent potential on several of the other test subjects since I ascended. All have failed. Most test subjects have died within moments of receiving their treatment. Only one person has survived their augmentation, but he yielded no obvious alterations or otherworldly powers like I did. So, the lab rats turned their efforts back to studying me. They say there’s an identifiable gene that triggers once your connection has been established to the source of your power. Yet I doubt their theory because all my genetic tests have returned the exact same as they were before I ascended. The only hope I have of breaking out of this prison is by storing up my reserves until I can decimate the entire facility with one singular construct. However, I’ve been sitting in the same room for the last three months and my eyes are getting rather twitchy.
A soft knock echoes on the door before two scientists enter the room. Behind them is a group of three guards toting laser rifles and heavy armor, though none of their equipment could save them if I really yearned to kill this group in particular. The first group they sent in here learned that the hard way. Despite the handcuffs they have wrapped around my wrist, I’m floating upside down in the air, cobalt blue and violet threads hanging like a curtain from my head. The two scientists stare, mouths open wide as I rotate and descend down to the floor, landing on my feet before them. I tip my head towards them, walking out of my prison cell. The hallway lights are the worst kind, fluorescent bulbs that suck the energy right out of you. I swear they designed this place to keep ordinary mortals on the verge of death. The scientists and guards trail just behind me murmuring to themselves as they check off boxes on their checklists. Soon we pass the cells of the other test subjects, who all seem to be doing alright. The worst part of this shitshow is that there are some people here who are barely adults, including me. Never will I age again thanks to this bountiful curse. However, if I can manage to save someone from having a similar fate befall them, I’ll take the curse.
“Miss Vihiara, we need you to follow us to the medical room to perform a routine physical examination. We promise their will be no surprises this time,” the younger scientist exclaims.
She’s rather young for a scientist working at this facility. Most of them are in their late forties or early fifties, while others are in their thirties. This girl looks as though she’s my age. The second doctor is rather boring looking, but he’s got a decent face for being fifty-five. Together, the two head towards the medical room, arcing left from the training hall. I’ve had three long months to learn how these gifts of mine work, so I’ve got so many new techniques I want to test on all those higher-ups in the surveillance rooms. But for now, I’ll play the fool. I waltz my way into the medical room, taking a seat on the operating table.
“Well, V, I’m quite surprised that you’ve decided to come to the medical wing without breaking a few things along your way. Perhaps you’ve decided to finally accept your future as a savior of humanity,” my favorite doctor’s voice blaring on the intercom.
“Hmm, not that you mention it, I did behave myself today, didn’t I? Maybe you should give me a treat to celebrate my good behavior,” I snap.
“Now now, V, don’t be so hostile. This is your home, and we are your fam—”
The room trembles as I channel the magic flowing through my veins into a specific point. The doctor wretches into the intercom, wheezing as his lungs are crushed beneath the grip of gravity. A sick smile creeps across my face, the doctors around me screaming in terror as the intercom goes silent. The guards draw their weapons, but I tear the weapons from their hands. If slaughtering him saves the rest of these test subjects, I’d kill him a hundred times over. His hands were stained with so much blood he could wash his hands every day and they’d still be stained crimson. I march out of the medical room, atomizing the guns. Violet sparks radiate from my body, shorting out the electronics in the hallway as raw manna tears through the circuitry. Flames burst out from the walls, sending black clouds billowing through the halls. Sprinklers spray mist all over the disastrous scene as I fall to my knees. Tears run down my face as I stare at the violet energy coursing around me. In making me a god, that wretched man turned me into a weapon. A tool meant to save humanity from centuries of disregard and ignorance.
“Well, looks like you’ve finally lost it, didn’t you, Vihiara?” a voice calls from beyond the smoke.
A figure walks out of the smoke with a golden halo around him. I could care less about how he looked because everything around him froze. The fires stood still before dissolving into dust. The smoke melded into the open air until nothing remained. Even the violet arcs of my power fell motionless before this man. I stared in horror as my stomach sank to the floor. I was too late to stop them. I was too late to save humanity from ourselves. Now, a new god stands before me, and his power eclipses mine. Whatever he represents must be something grander than the universe itself, likely a fundamental concept of existence. That’s the only thing I could see defeating me in a head-to-head power struggle. In the presence of another god, the air itself stood deathly still, waiting with bated breath for someone to flinch first.
“Should I put you out of your misery dear? I can make all the pain go away,” the man says, conjuring an arc of golden spheres.
I unleash a wave of violet flames, before conjuring a wall of stardust between us. The man walks toward the wall, carving a hole right through the center. A golden laser whizzes right past my ear as this golden man struts down the hallway. Reaching deeper into my reserves, I summon a torrent of violet missiles, pummeling the hallway with enough firepower to decimate an entire army.
“What an impressive display of power, my dear. I find it wonderful that you were the first one of us to awaken,” the man says.
“How are you so powerful? Who the hell are you?” I shout.
“My name is Perigor, or at least that’s my new name. As the new Lord of Order, I am one of three deities responsible for holding together our frail little universe.”
I take a step backward, the void contracting around me into a translucent barrier. Perigor marches forward, ever persistent until he reaches the intersection between the training room and the medical room. Yet for all his bravado, Perigor stands still as a statue, stroking his chin as he ponders my defensive shell. Even with all my power, I imagine Perigor can shatter my defenses before I can prepare a counteroffensive. So, rather than letting him see me sweat, I unleash all the pent-up energy I’ve been storing for the last few months. Everything around us grinds to a halt as I stretch my hands out to my side. My violet flames erupt into erratic dances, spiraling into my palms and condensing. My hair flows in the air behind me as every ounce of magic I poured out returns back to me, sending a surging warmth through my body as goosebumps litter my skin.
I dart toward Perigor, appearing right before him. I detonate my barrier, sending the golden god flying through a wall into the training room. I teleport straight to him, crushing his jaw with a right cross. As Perigor falls to the ground, I stare at the god’s crumpled form. Perigor’s physical stature is modest at best, and his facial features are freakishly perfect, giving him an almost uncanny looking face. Everything about him screams pretentious asshole, sickening me to the core. Yet, I kick the new god in the chest, knocking him further backwards.
As I surge toward Perigor, the god grabs me by my right hand. My momentum stops dead in its tracks, so I kick Perigor in his shin. Perigor sinks one leg in the ground, opening his stomach up. I slam my left fist into Perigor’s gut, knocking the air from his lungs. I conjure a violet sword in my left hand, yet something snatches my wrist before I plunge the blade into his chest. I wrench my wrist free in no time at all, but even half a second is enough to give Perigor a chance to breath and recover. Perigor, despite his swollen left eye, smiles as his gaze meets mine. The god clenches his fists as Perigor’s body emits a soft golden glow. Perigor launches towards me, conjuring an arc of golden rings around his shoulders like he did before. Each ring unleashes a golden laser, blasting the ground at my feet. I channel more energy into my barrier and mold it into a shield on my right arm.
“You’ve fashioned yourself after an antiquated warrior? What possessed you to do that when we are gods? You could have been so much more creative, Vihiara!” Perigor snaps.
The golden god snaps his fingers, summoning an entire legion of angels behind him. I stare in awe as the angels all draw their swords and charge toward me. I conjure a faux star, hurling it into the legion of angels. As the angels swerve around the star, I snap my fingers. The faux star detonates, annihilating almost every single one of them. A savage smile shines on my face as the angels dissolve into golden dust. Yet, a cold swell rattles its way down my spine. Darkness reaches into my peripheral vision, but the angels re-double their efforts. Despite losing over eighty percent of their numbers, the remaining twenty percent march without even a shred of fear in their eyes.
“It’s too bad Perigor. I fought you one-on-one, yet you refused to give me the same respect,” I chide.
“It’s not about how you win a fight, the only thing that truly matters is that you win darling,” Perigor says, hovering in the air above.
“That’s right love, it’s all about winning. Too bad, that she’s protected by someone just a bit stronger than her,” a voice shouts.
A silver-haired woman steps to my side, pressing a hand on my shoulder. An immediate rush of energy floods my body, restoring my energy stores to full strength. Her clothes resemble a dark vest with ash grey pants, though her voice echoes with resounding authority.
“Ellewyn, we aren’t doing anything wrong, I was just testing her limits, wasn’t I, Vihiara?” Perigor says.
“You were trying to test my strength. I was fighting for my life. We have two different definitions of a friendly competition,” I snap.
“You did good Vihiara,” Perigor replies, “You are the strongest deity outside of me, Ellewyn, and Ubelyta. You are truly exceptional and could reach our level. None of the others could match your raw power.”
Ellewyn chuckles as Perigor finishes his statement but doesn’t offer any other words. Instead, Perigor opens his hands, conjuring a golden ray that pierces through the ceiling of the training room. For the first time in nine long months, I lay my eyes on the sky. However, the sky is dull brown instead of crystal blue I said farewell when I arrived here.
“What did they do to you, Mother?”
“Humanity has murdered its parent, and by extension, has doomed itself to suffer the same fate. Unfortunately for us, we seem to be immune to her death knolls. We have about a week before the world detonates because of nuclear war,” Perigor sighs.
“So, we are planning to build a new world named Seervah,” Ellewyn starts, “We are still working on the name, but we’ll need your mastery over the cosmos to help us find the best star for our new humanity. Would you be willing to help us?”
“I think I’d like that.”
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