"It's okay, it's okay. I won't let anyone hurt you, Cass!"
Seraphyra's shimmering hands wrapped around Cassian as she embraced him in a tight hug, his face pressed against her shoulders.
'Damn it, I might fall in love with her!'
Cassian's mind reeled, his hands barely restrained from embracing her in return.
His heart urged him to hold her, but maybe her scent or warm words did the trick—he calmed entirely, his mind fixated on one thought:
Keeping her as a ruthless monster, not a tender goddess.
After long, warm moments between them, Cassian finally slipped from her grip with words that made her release him,
"Thank you, I'm okay now!"
The goddess descended to her chair and settled down, disappointment flickering across her face. She wasn't hiding it well, yet she continued regardless.
"Then let me tell you how the system works and how you can become a god for me and how to defeat these Infinities."
System Progress was familiar to Cassian;
It functioned like a video game interface, Class, skill branches, inventory, but with mechanics that rendered it monumentally overpowered. The secret lay in Divine Being's Blessing.
Each divine being could grant their chosen ones the ability to bestow their blessing upon System Progress that mortals wielded.
"I thought divine beings couldn't interfere with System!"
Cassian interjected, yet Seraphyra simply added his question to her mental list and pressed on without pause.
System Progress arose from vast amounts of divine energy sacrificed by divine beings. Each divine system was its own entity, like each divine being and infinite being.
Neither could influence each other directly, but like infinites, System Progress possessed the ability to absorb enormous quantities of divine energy, approaching their level.
That's why mortals needed to wield System Progress and fight for their Heaven and Hell.
Seraphyra fell silent for a moment, her steady hands resting gently across her legs, her gaze drifting to the table as she spoke,
"Infinites are gaining more divine energies every day, and divine beings are perishing one by one."
Her eyes snapped toward Cassian, urgent and pleading,
"Cassian, the only way for us to live together is if you wipe out infinite creatures from existence and become a God for me, Idol Cassian Johnathan."
Cassian, strangely peaceful despite everything, inquired calmly,
"How do I become a god, then?"
"Finally, you ask something that delights me, Cass,"
Seraphyra's lips curved into a faint smile as her eyes glistened with joy. She leaned forward,
"When Infinites hunt divine beings, they steal their divine energies to fuel themselves. Just as when System Bearers hunt these Infinite beings, they gain something you've certainly heard of before!"
"Me! Heard before!"
The goddess paused, waiting. After a moment's hesitation, drawing from everything he'd absorbed, Cassian ventured,
"Is it Exp!"
"Yes, it's Exp. Everything about System Progress mirrors games and stories you've read, my love!"
'Whoever created this System Progress is a huge video game nutcase like this idol freak!'
Cassian mused silently as Seraphyra's words flowed,
"Whenever a mortal gathers enough EXP, their System progresses toward greater power. An Infinite's core stores vast amounts of Exp. Defeat enough Infinites, gather enough Exp, and you cross the threshold from Mortal to God itself."
Cassian rested his hands on his chin, pondering deeply, while Seraphyra's thoughts drifted,
'He must be thinking about coming to live with me quickly. Ahh… just him being here makes me so aroused! My love, endure for me!'
Meanwhile, Cassian's mind churned with darker thoughts,
'If I become God, can I escape her, or should I fail and die quickly... Wait!'
His head snapped up abruptly, eyes narrowing,
"What would happen if I died by the hands of the Infinites!"
Instantly, the world shifted.
The warm breeze turned violent, the grass field withered, trees swayed wildly as smoke rose.
Heat built intensely, flames licked at the mountains, stones melted into molten lava, rushing like a flood down the riverway. Trees burned to ash, the grass field consuming itself.
Cassian coughed, pressing his face with his elbow, peering through the gaps to see Goddess Seraphyra.
Her eyes blazed crimson, her white dress rippled with energy, her red hair ignited with fierce light, her face glowing with an intensity he could barely comprehend.
Cassian kept coughing, struggling as the ground beneath him turned molten. Realizing the gravity of his situation, another cough erupted before he screamed,
"Seraphyra, I will never die for you!"
A stale silence fell.
Cassian found himself back on the bed, darkness enveloping him, Seraphyra's arms wrapped tightly around him.
Seraphyra lay pressed against him, her sweet lips kissing his forehead gently as she whispered,
"Cass, if you break your promise and die, I will slaughter every mortal in every universe to avenge you! I will destroy every divine being for taking you from me and annihilate every Infinite for separating us. And then… I will join you in nothingness!"
'I can never die, can I?'
Cassian's mind surrendered as exhaustion crashed over him.
He drifted to sleep in the Goddess's embrace, she cradling him gently, stroking his head with a tender whisper,
"Sleep without worry, my love. You will not die with this Blessing! You will not die!"
---
"Did you dream of us getting married, my love!"
Seraphyra's sweet words stirred Cassian from deep slumber.
Cassian lay on the bed with Seraphyra resting her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat quicken as everything he'd learned began to settle in.
"Your heart beats so fast, like mine. My love, do you remember the song you wrote, 'Heartbeat'?"
She placed her chin on his chest, lifted her head gently, and continued with barely contained glee,
"I still remember when you wrote that for me, though it's unfortunate that faceless idol thought you composed it for her. You wrote it for me, didn't you?"
Cassian simply nodded, watching as her eyes flickered red before she tilted her head and mirrored the gesture.
Seraphyra lifted herself from him silently and settled at the bed's edge, her back turned as she spoke in a somber tone,
"It's time."
The bed beneath Cassian began to emit a faint glow, as Seraphyra's hair shimmered with radiant light.
Her voice rang out, ancient and powerful,
"Cassian Johnathan, the one who claims all, I will bestow upon you my Blessing: 'Boundless Authority: Mine'"
Without warning, the bed swallowed him whole.
Blurred images of Seraphyra's face materialized, tears streaming, a faint smile playing on her lips, her melodic voice echoing,
"Claim Me!"