I stared up at the beautiful woman in front of me. If I was even able to speak, I would be speechless, struck by her ethereal beauty. As I gazed up at her, I saw a quartet of butterfly wings spreading out behind her as she floated, seemingly on her own in the ether.

She wore an elaborate purple dress with golden armbands and a hairpin with a butterfly on it. She was barefoot.

As I floated transfixed, the lady approached me smiling, she reached out her arms, before gathering me close in a soft embrace. It was only then that I noticed that I was a butterfly.

My new form was strange. It was semi transparent, and frequently glowing purple parts flaked off it and floated away, before the gaps left in me quickly refilled themselves, reforming and growing before flaking off again in an everlasting cycle of destruction and rebirth.

I wasn't concerned however, I was already dead. I knew this to be an irreversible fact. I had lived and died already, and now that I was dead, there would be nothing that could permanently hurt me. It’s funny how dying can have that effect, isn’t it?

As I stared up at the lady, no, the Goddess, for that was only what she could be, I was overcome with a feeling of warmth, one that led to me curling up close against the deity. I didn’t know why I did this, but I felt that she meant me no harm, and that I was safe by her side.

I had never felt like this before. That was partially my own fault I suppose, I had wanted to keep away from my peers, making me a loner by my own actions. But that was before. Now, upon the pain of death, I understood my mistake. I never had any friends beyond my animals, and now this Goddess was showing me that I mattered, and that I was loved. If I had had a real body, I’m sure I would’ve cried.

Alas, I only had a phantom butterfly body, but even so, the Goddess still managed to cradle me in her arms. As I looked up she gazed down on me with a matronly expression.

She sent another blast of joy, and I slowly became able to understand her. There was a trick to it really, I had to speak the language of the soul. Feelings and emotions and thoughts. Until that point, I had been trying to communicate with a tongue and ears that I no longer possessed. I had to open my mind.

[Oh hi,] the Goddess sent alongside yet more emotions of peacefulness and happiness. [I see you can hear me now.]

I was overcome with emotion as I focused on returning her greeting. [Thank you so much!] I sent back. [What is this place?] I queried.

She laughed soundlessly, head turned upwards and in obvious mirth. [You are in my realm Little One,] she replied, [the realm of the soul, a brief stop-over between the Mortal Realms and the underworld. I am Psyche, the goddess of souls]

I stared amazed, metaphorical eyes wide as she continued. 

[I’m sure you want to know why you are here,] she said. [I heard your last moments in life, and I was struck by your compassion for lives, human or not.]

[Your prayer for the welfare of the animals at your shelter was answered,] she sent. [Not long after your death on Earth, your animals were all given care and were able to be released back into the world.]

I breathed a metaphorical breath of relief. My animals were safe, and could lead full lives once more.

I turned up to Psyche with a question. [Thank you again so much, that means the world to me, but why me? Why am I here now?] 

Psyche smiled again. [I was going to get to that,] she sent. [But the reason you’re here is because of how much I admire your devotion to life, and how you never stopped wondering.]

[In life, you pondered existence often,] she continued. [You questioned what came next, what the end was, and eternity as a whole]

It was true, throughout my life I was one of those people who always thought about the reason for life, the meaning of life, and what comes after the end of life. Now I knew.

Psyche went on. [I loved watching your kindness, so I decided to reincarnate you!]

I looked up, shocked as I came to terms with the fact that I might be able to live again. [R-really?] I somehow managed to stutter in my thoughts. [You mean I could return to life?]

The woman laughed again, her purple locks waving. [I will not return you to Earth] she finally said.

I looked down again, disappointed, but not entirely upset because I knew from the start that it would be a longshot. 

However, my thoughts were shattered when she continued. [I could return you to life.] She sent.

I looked up again, confused and hardly daring to believe.

[I won't return you to your old world however. If you wished, I would send you to a new world, one filled with adventure and danger, but where you could make friends and serve me in the living realm as my Avatar.]

This was when I finally dared to believe that this was real, and that I might be able to live on, even make friends, something I really did lack on earth. Towards the end of Psyche’s sentence however I noticed a catch.

[What is an Avatar?] I asked, [And what would I do as one?] It didn’t really matter, I knew deep down that I would choose to be reincarnated no matter what she asked, as long as it wasnt something deeply disturbing.

Psyche thankfully required none of that. [All I ask is that you help me by serving as my connection to the living realm.] She frowned, and I suddenly felt a deep emptiness from her. 

[I have been here for so long, my only contact being souls such as yourself, but even then, it's so brief. If I didn't save you, Thanatos would have dragged you down to the underworld. But you shone with life and compassion, and reminded me so much of myself when I was still mortal.]

Again I got the feeling that if I had tear ducts, I would be tearing up right now. The Goddess had been alone all this time, possibly for all of eternity itself. 

[If you wish, I can return you to Thanatos’ embrace] Psyche continued, [Or you could remain by my side for eternity if you don’t want to live in the mortal realm.]

I knew immediately that I couldn’t ever abandon Psyche. She was alone, so much like myself on Earth that I saw myself in her. I would never abandon her by returning to the state I was in before, floating in the dark and just waiting for some being to lead me away from the only person who’d ever made me feel truly happy.

It was harder to choose between life in whatever realm I would be dropped or living permanently with Psyche. On one hand, I wanted to stay like I was, but on the other hand, at the time of my death, I remembered how I had basically wasted life by only helping animals. I told myself that if something like this ever happened, that I wouldn’t squander my life like I had on Earth. I would help so many more people, I would make an effort to connect.

Another perk of living was that I would be helping Psyche at the same time. She asked for me to serve as a connection to the living world, meaning that I must have some way of talking to her again. I don’t know why, but in that moment she seemed to shine, her radiant glow holding back the emptiness of the void.

While I was mulling this over however, Psyche laid the icing on the cake, [As my Avatar, you would be able to return to me physically, and I would be able to sometimes appear around you as you would act as an anchor for me in the living realm. Additionally, as the Goddess of the Soul, I can preserve your soul so that Thanatos will never take you again.] she sent.

With this in mind I made my decision. [In that case then I would be proud to serve you as your Avatar.]

Psyche smiled, her dimples showing as she beheld me in all my weird floaty misty glory.

[Thanks so much!] she exclaimed, [In that case then you will need a name!] I realized then that I couldn’t remember my name, as well as most of my past life. I questioned Psyche about this.

[It was taken by Thanatos,] she said apologetically, [What remains are the core things that make up your soul. My only regret about saving you is that I wasn’t able to save those other things as well.]

[Oh don’t worry Goddess,] I told her. [I don’t mind, only thank you for saving me!]

Psyche smiled again, and suggested a name for me. [How about we call you Cynthia, little butterfly?]

I readily agreed, Cynthia was a lovely name. An image grew clear in my eyes of a pretty girl in her late teens, with purple butterfly wings like Psyche, and wearing a jacket and pants. Her eyes were captivating. Purple irises with a butterfly shape for the pupils. Two long antennae sprouted from the girl’s head. Truly, I could see Psyche and her butterfly motif in every part of this girl.

As fast as the image appeared, it vanished again. Leaving me confused as to its appearance in the first place.

I looked up as Psyche raised her hands, before whispering something under her breath. I couldn’t hear it of course, due to my not having ears, but whatever she did suddenly made sense as a swirling circle of something opened in the void, among the fractals. 

It glowed with a bright light and I felt myself drawn to it. As I looked up at Psyche again I asked if it was alright to go through.

[Yes my dear Cyn,] she said, [this rift will lead to the living realm. Some things to take note of though before we say goodbye. This world, indeed, every world has a system of power. Some are better at using it than others, but as my Avatar you will have no trouble I’m sure. The System will let you grow powerful quickly, and with my help it could eventually lead to ascension to Immortality. But beware of other users, you aren’t the only Avatar in existence, other deities have their own Avatars, and some are even powerful enough to cause you harm now, so be careful down there.]

I sent over a feeling to convey my understanding as Psyche, holding me, reached closer to the rift. It was with some trepidation that I drew nearer to the rift, and I looked back at Psyche. She was smiling again, but in a bittersweet way. It seemed that she too didn’t want us to separate, but she understood it was necessary, and we both knew that it wouldn’t be forever. 

I wondered about this system, and how it functioned. It sounded similar to a few books I had read in my past life, and I wondered if it worked the same. If so, I was excited to figure out all the cool powers I no doubt had access to, and with the chance of immortality, I was ready to return to the realm of the living once more.

When I came back from my thoughts, the rift hovered in front of me. Its allure drew me in, and with one final glance back at Psyche and a burst of warm joy, I touched the rift, before pushing my way into it.

PurpleMonarch

Hi again! 

I'd like to mention that the deities in this story, while some are based on Earth mythology, are not lore accurate to Earth's mythology. So if you notice that some things don't line up with the myths it's because I've only taken inspiration from them. 

Cheers,
- Monarch