“If that’s what it takes, then...”

I stared at the orb in my hand.

The black corruption snaked its ways across trying to take over, but it was vehemently resisted by the die-hard light. The battle seemed undecided … for now.

What Rina said was true, if I left this corroded soul alone, the original owner will be truly dead. She would then be possessed by a Devil. Her hatred towards this world that betrayed her, is also hatred towards me for being a bad mother.

To let my creations suffer like this, I was not without blame.

Child, was it painful?

It’s okay now.

I will shoulder all your pain.

I held the orb close to my chest. It was warm with a pulsating beat, like a heart.

“[Purify].”

Under my word, the black corrosion started shriveling up. It thrashed around, as if trying to escape under the chase of a dangerous predator.

The struggle was futile. Its fate was decided the moment I laid my hand on the orb.

The black bits of the soul continued to multiply and fight back, but its recovery rate could not compare to the effect of my magic. The ugly, muddy contamination was wiped off the yellow orb bit by bit, revealing a dazzling gem under its corroded layer.

It was beautiful.

I held the purified orb up and gave it a last look, before pulling it inside my arms.

“[Absorb].”

The orb gave out its last glow, as bright as the sun, lighting up my dull Outer Palace and fading away. Bits and bits of it, each as small as a firefly fluttered around, dancing and waving into their comrades’ path as lost children trying to find their way home, before slowing down and settled in my bosom.

“Mother ... I’m home.”

A silky, unfamiliar voice that ended with an echoing laugh woke me up from my reverie. I quickly turned around to find its source, but my god space was at its usual scene with only me and Rina, except for the lingering fireflies, dimming and blurring as they crowded on my body, their final resting place.

“It’s strange...”

I muttered.

“I must be hallucinating.”

Soon enough, information, power, knowledge, many things I was unfamiliar with, flew into my Inner Palace at an astonishing rate. Problems I never knew existed, as well as their pragmatic solutions crammed up my mental storage space speedily.

“Still no further memory, ehhh...”

Even after absorbing this goddess’s soul, the memory I inherited was still cut off at that part. It was akin to a curse.

However, that could be moved down on my priority list.

There are more pressing matters at hand.

“Congratulations! Now you’re now officially a goddess … maybe.”

Rina said without a care in her tone.

“I have always been a goddess, Rina-chan...”

“Not with that attitude. Also, you have a body now!”

“Ehhh!? Really?”

A body? 

That’s handy.

I know I can’t hide this forever...

Guys, I have a confession to make.

It might be shocking to some of you, but please bear with me. I could not afford to lie to you forever, so I think it’s time I come to terms with my sin.

But first, let me take a deep breath first.

Breath in, breath out.

Hahhh~, okay, I’m ready.

These past days…

I’m sorry to say this, but…

I was only a shapeless blob.

…

...

You think I was a cute girl all along!?

Jokes on you, stupid people.

The truth is, I don’t have a big enough PP (power points) pool to maintain a physical form, so I just keep doing things in whatever shape I woke up with, and it turned out to be just a gas-like misty thing.

In technical terms, that would be the raw form of a soul.

When I need to do something that needs a certain level of dexterity, I would just carve out the shape of a hand, do the task, and dissolve it back to its raw form when I'm done.

Needless to say, when Rina said this soul came along with a physical body, I was quite pleased. Even though it’s my daughter’s (on paper) body.

That sounds kind of wrong, so let’s keep it at that.

Let’s see if my daughter grows up into a fine maiden.

“Nah, I’m sorry to break this up to you, but your body is not the same as the previous goddess’s. Your physical form would ultimately be altered due to the difference in soul deconstruction. There would be some resemblance, but that’s it. No doppelganger.”

“Ehhh~, is that so?”

“Remember, you are not the previous goddess. You just inherited her power and domain. Think of it as being her successor, while you’re actually her progenitor … damn, this is confusing.”

Ignoring Rina who was still scratching her head, I summoned a large piece of looking-glass.

Let’s unbox my new appearance.

...

Ehhh?

How do I say this?

The figure reflected in the mirror was short, only at the height of a middle schooler at most. She has silky blonde hair braided into big ponytails on each side, tied in place with two red ribbons.

Her skin was pale with a dash of translucence. The big ruby gems on her eyes and her ruffled Gothic-style dress further contributed to the doll-like look. It was as if you’re looking at a masterfully handcrafted Victorian doll from the best dollmaker in the world.

All in all, she just looked so huggable that you could not resist wrapping your arms around this cute little being and pinch her plump cheeks.

Everything is fine, except this cute-beyond-word reflection is from myself.

Ehhh?

I don’t mind being cute, but … isn’t this a bit too much?

Looking at my petite hands and body, they are so light that I wonder, if I go out alone, will there be a suspicious uncle who just lifts me up and carries me to some secluded place? 

It’s hard to keep calm around a being this cute.

Uwaa, scary~

Huh?

Something else is suspicious.

My head is heavier than usual, and so does the area around my waist.

I looked up, and noticed a pair of big, fluffy ears. They are even bigger than Rina-chan, and they moved around as I bobbed my head. The color was the same as my hair with a stroke of white.

Oi, what’s this?

Turning my back around, there was a long tail coming from the lower end of my waist area, and it seemed to be real too. I could move it by contracting the appropriate muscle. It was no decoration.

I now looked like an even fluffier version of Rina-chan.

“Huhh, interesting. So it’s a cat, no, fox form. That tail is too big for a cat.” 

Rina-chan yawned.

“Rina-chan, does this mean…?”

My eyes were on the verge of tears.

“It seemed to be so. Quite an interesting race to rule over, this goddess.”

I closed my eyes and scrambled my way to the new Inner Palace. Soon enough, I found a dedicated space for storing soulless bodies.

Elegant beauties, both male and female floated around the god space. They were eye-catching to human standards, but all of them have some kind of animal ears on their heads, ranging from familiar pet animals like dogs, cats to exotic ones like pandas, tigers and zebras. They all stayed still, as if having slept for a long time.

Awawawa…

I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry...