'Yes, my love. You will be going away!'
Goddess Seraphyra's words melted Cassian.
He lifted the cup to his lips, trying to hide the smile and bubbling joy in his heart, but the delight in his eyes was impossible to conceal.
Suddenly, a sharp crash rang out.
Cassian's smile vanished, replaced by shock as he stared at the goddess.
Her teacup lay shattered, hot tea splattered across her white dress and beautiful face, red hair streaked with droplets.
Yet Seraphyra sat perfectly still, unbothered, as if she were still sipping tea.
Cassian swallowed hard as her eyes flashed crimson and a strange, invisible pressure pressed in around him.
Maybe being away from the goddess had calmed him, but Cassian quickly realized what he needed to do. He steadied his voice and asked,
"Is everything alright, Goddess… no, Seraphyra? Is everything alright?"
He straightened his posture, making sure she could see him clearly.
Seraphyra didn't answer, but the gut-wrenching feeling faded, leaving Cassian with a sense of relief.
Moments passed in silence. Even the breeze, the clouds, and the river seemed to pause.
Cassian kept his gaze locked on Seraphyra until she finally spoke in a distant, almost hollow tone,
"I thought you would be sadder when you heard that you would be going away."
Cassian coughed, then swallowed a mouthful of hot tea that burned his tongue, but he didn't stop until the cup was empty. He poured himself more, then stood up, cup in hand, and walked over to the goddess.
With a hesitant motion, he set the cup down and began to unbutton his shirt.
"Wh… what are you doing, my love?"
Her calm voice faltered, her pale skin flushing red as she quickly covered her face with her hands and whispered,
"Please, we should wait until the ceremony!"
But her heart skipped a beat as Cassian gently pulled her hands away from her face.
Seraphyra opened her eyes to see Cassian wiping the tea stains from her hands, her dress, and her hair with his shirt. His slender, pale body hunched over on one knee, cleaning the mess, even as his own pants became stained.
"Goddess Seraphyra shouldn't be dirty."
Cassian's words were soft as he rotated his shirt to a clean spot and carefully wiped the tea from her face. Seraphyra's eyes followed his every move, frozen in place, her heart pounding at his touch.
When he finished, Cassian picked up the teacup, blew gently to cool the tea, and brought it to her lips, nodding for her to drink.
Seraphyra managed a faint smile before sipping, feeling Cassian's warm breath swirl inside her throat. A single tear slipped down her cheek as she whispered,
"Sorry for doubting you, my love. I will never do it again."
Cassian only smiled softly.
He set the cup on the table, took Seraphyra's left hand, and looked into her eyes with sincerity.
"I'm sorry too."
Seraphyra quickly stood, turning away in embarrassment as she gestured,
"Please, go… go sit on your chair, Cass!"
Cassian sat down, mentally high-fiving himself.
Acting like Romeo from the school play had actually worked, even though he'd only played a tree as an extra. Still, it saved him now.
He buttoned his stained shirt and tried to look composed.
Seraphyra's skin was still tinged with red, but her voice returned to normal as she explained,
"You will be going away for a quest that will make you a god, my love."
"What?"
Cassian blurted out, not expecting those words. He'd thought she might say,
"You need to go to hell for all your evil deeds," not that he'd become a god.
Seraphyra continued, while Cassian listened, puzzled,
"Mortal souls can't stay forever with divine beings like me. So, you have to finish a divine quest. Then you can become a divine being like me, and we can stay together forever."
Cassian wanted to ask why he had to do this quest in the first place, but even he knew better than to question a yandere goddess. He simply nodded and replied,
"It sounds great. What is the divine quest? Is it easy?"
Suddenly, Seraphyra's face turned mournful, her expression curling with sorrow as she answered,
"No, it is not easy. Let me tell you what the divine quest is."
There are four realms:
Divine realm
Heaven realm
Mortal realm
Hell realm
Mortal realms are where people like Cassian live. There are infinite mortal realms in the universe, but only one Heaven and one Hell, where souls go after death. There is also one Divine realm, where gods and goddesses reside.
It was the divine rule that kept order since the beginning, but one mortal realm shook the very foundation of that rule.
In that realm, divine beings watched closely because it contained so much divine energy that even gods were jealous. But mortals remained mortals.
They used their power to start a great war, causing billions to die and nearly wiping out their realm. Their deaths didn't just affect the mortal realm—it affected Heaven and Hell.
Even in Heaven and Hell, those mortals carried their vengeance and hatred, fighting each other.
The divine energy in their souls caused chaos in Heaven and Hell, forcing divine beings to intervene.
But even the divine lost Heaven and Hell.
"What?"
Cassian's heart sank.
"How can gods lose to mortals?"
Seraphyra's voice trembled with pain and shame.
"Divine beings didn't lose to mortals. We lost Heaven and Hell because those mortals absorbed more divine energy than their souls could handle. They became voids, draining divine energy endlessly, and turned into Bearers of Infinity, something the divine had never faced. We lost Heaven and Hell to them.
But our ancestors didn't give up. Many divine beings sacrificed themselves to create one last hope for mortals to fight the Infinite Beings. It's called:
'System Progress.'
System Progress empowers a mortal's soul, not with divine power, but with something new.
Neither divine beings nor Infinite Beings can affect System Bearers.
Now that we've lost Heaven and Hell, we send all mortal souls from every realm to fight the Infinite Beings using System power, to reclaim Heaven and Hell.
Right now, our greatest hope is mortals."
Cassian tried to keep his composure after hearing everything, but sweat beaded on his face.
The idea of facing these Infinities that even gods lost to terrified him.
'I'm not going there! I'll die if I go! I'm afraid!'
Maybe Seraphyra read his face, because she spoke the words Cassian held in his heart,
"I'm afraid too."