“Oh my, what do we have here?’’
I pivoted around trying to find the source of the voice, which seemed to reverberate around the empty space that I was now in.
After a couple rotations with nothing there, a bewitching lady appeared out of thin air. She definitely wasn’t there before…...
Long leafy hair fluttered past her shoulders. Striking crimson eyes seemed to glow within their sockets. Diamond shaped pupils seemed to pierce through everything that was caught under their gaze. A distinct engraving was found below her left eye. An unbloomed flower framed her face. Her body was stunning with perfect proportions and amazing curvature.
If I was asked what she looked like,I’d say she looks like the child of a palm tree and a vampire. With a nice pair of coco- AH! Wow, my mind almost slipped into the gutter there. It’s almost scary for someone to be that attractive. A-anyways she was an undeniable beauty, by far the most attractive person I had ever seen. Definitely not human, but that didn’t matter.
“Fufu, so that’s your first impression of me? How cute. If anyone else sized me up like that, they’d have a one way ticket on the train to oblivion, but I’ll make an exception for you~”
So instead of my life flashing before my eyes, they show a dazzling girl from straight out of a fantasy novel, go figure. Well it could definitely be worse, so no complaints here.
Wait a minute. Huh? Did she say something?
“Yes, I-“
I just heard her again. Wait,this isn’t an after death hallucination?
“No that doesn-“
Maybe this is Hell? Is this punishment for all those people I killed? I thought all was fair in love and war. Well I doubt angels, far less demons, look this good. So maybe Heaven?
I watched as a faint red tint slowly crawled up her face.
Eh? What is she blushing for? I didn’t even say anything...
Ah, she must be reading my mind….That’s so cool. WAIT!!! SHE’S READING MY MIND?!?! AW, I'M SO SCREWED!!
M-MY APOLOGIES MA’AM! N-NO I MEANT MY LADY!? GODDESS MAYBE?! I WASN’T LOOKING AT YOU WITH MALICIOUS INTENT! I SWEAR!!!
Which was true, I was looking at her with mostly eyes full of admiration of her beauty and an emotion I can’t quite place? Envy? Nah, there’s no way. Right?
“Fufu” she laughed softly, seemingly no longer flustered. ” I don’t mind.That’s just like you. Anyways I believe introductions are needed. I’ll start. My name is Maua. You're right I am. in fact, a goddess. But don’t worry about formal talk, I won’t get mad at you regardless of how you speak to me. As a matter of fact, you can call me onee-chan. I enjoy gardening and archery. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I’m your lover from your past life.”
Wait, you don’t care? That's great, you’re quite magnanimous. So your name is Maua. That's a really pretty name….A goddess, huh? Figures. Hold on, did you say I can call you onee-chan? *shiver* Ho-how did you know I have a thing for older sister types? I only ever told one person that….. AND LOVER IN MY PAST LIFE?! WHATTT?!?
“Yes, yes, we’ll get to that in a minute, but don't you think it’s rude to not introduce yourself?” Maua said with mock irritation, as she couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her face.
Right, right~ Well my name was Joziah Banks. I don’t know if I keep it, since I’m dead but I was the captain of the Guano Special Ops for the CRAP. That’s really all there is to it.
“Haah.” Maua sighed “That’s all? Quite the terrible introduction.”
Well, yeah. Didn’t have much really going for me. I also don’t feel comfortable spilling out my secrets for a stranger or anyone at all. But it seems rather pointless to tell someone who can read my mind anyways.
“I guess that makes sense, but just so you know I’m not reading your mind. I get the surface thoughts and feelings because you don't have a mouth to talk with.”
Yeah, now that you mention it, I don’t have a body. Must be a spirit or a soul or something, right? Well, whatever, I assume I’m going to be reincarnated, so I have a few questions.
“Dunno, your guess is as good as mine. And yes, you’ll be reincarnated.If you have questions on what I think you do, I should have some answers for you. I also have something I want to do to put you at ease.”
Eh? You don’t know? Are you supposed to be an amazing goddess or something? Sounds like someone's an airhead to me. And put me at ease?
“Rude! I’ll have you know,I am an amazing goddess, you nitwit. I’m just not omnipotent. Disregarding that, you reek of negative emotions. If I had to guess, you were betrayed right before your death. And you’ve said a couple of things that support my assumption. So in an attempt to show my sincerity, I’m going to take a god’s vow.”
Whoa. How did you figure that out? I was really starting to think you were a bone head. I guess you’re pretty sharp. Or maybe I’m just easy to see through. But a god’s vow...what’s that?
“Basically it’s a promise on a god's name. Very taboo. There are several types of vows, but this one is by far the most extreme. You see, it requires absolute compliance with what is promised or the individual will suffer soulburn. Soulburn is just how it sounds, and is one of the worst pains one can feel. Like literally death feels better. And before you ask, no, I can’t make a malicious promise within the vow. However I do need your approval to make it. So do you accept?”
Uhmmm. Well, it seems like it’s impossible for this to backfire on me. And as much as my brain is screaming at me to be wary of you, my heart seems to think the opposite. So yes, I accept.
“Great!” she beamed. “ In that case, I’ll do it immediately. I, Maua, swear upon my name as a goddess. I promise to never betray the bright soul in front of me. I promise to never lie in an attempt to intentionally hurt them. I promise I’ll be on their side, no matter the circumstance. I promise that I’ll be with them until the end of time and even past that. Let it be known, this I swear.”
Oi, doesn’t that sound too much like a marriage vow?! GAH! Why do I feel like I just got stamped by a searing branding iron?
“That's the vow engraving itself. you only felt it because you have no physical body. And yes, I based it off a marriage vow, you like? Teehee~”
Tch. Impossible to backfire my nonexistent booty cheeks. Looks like Mr. Brain was right after all. And by the way, that laugh doesn’t suit you.
“...”
…
“...You had other questions for me right?”
Ah, that’s right. First, where in the h-e-double hockey sticks are we?
“Oh, we’re in my god space.They grow and mature as the god does the same. Since I’m a relatively new god, it's pretty small and barren. The spaces of other gods are probably large and luxurious. Never been to one so I couldn’t tell you.”
Are you a shut-in or something? That aside, you already inadvertently answered another question, that being the existence of other gods…. but gods of what world exactly?
“We’re gods of the realm of Amava. A fantasy land full of mythical creatures and even a system like all those light novels.”
So the standard reincarnation shebang, nice. Can you tell me more about the system? You know, like how leveling works?
“...Dunno...” Maua deadpanned.
Okay….how about the creatures.Can you tell me more about them?
“Umm. Not really, I never paid much attention to the ones I encountered, and there’s so many that I’ve never seen. I really just did what I needed to do to achieve godhood.”
Oi, do you know anything you airheaded goddess?! Anyways, seems like becoming a god was your only focus. Why though?
“That’s right. It was my only goal. Nothing else mattered.”
Okay…..that was weird, your whole vibe switched.Next question. Did my friends reincarnate over here too?
“Fufu...that’s for you to find out...I can’t say more.”
Ah, back to the first vibe eh? Please tell me though, pleaaase onee-chan~
“No, even if you ask in that cute tone and call me onee-chan, I don’t want to get in tro-buahh! Crap, talking to you is way too relaxing, it's so easy to slip up. This is totally your fault, you idiot!”
My fault? Well I guess I'll accept. I did get some precious information out of you. Gods, or at least you, have a boss. Interesting. You’re also a bad actor, but because of that vow…I know you weren’t lying about not experiencing much in this world which makes me a bit sad.
“Forget it, forget it, please. All that aside, what do you want to do with this new life?”
Hmm...what do I want to do. Ah! I know. I want to be…..A HAREM KING! Kidding… seriously not my style. I’m not eternally horny like all those protagonists and the whole thing sounds like a major headache.
If my friends are here, my main priority will be finding them. After that I want to enjoy this new world, maybe with some divine airhead. I guess this time around, I just want to actually be happy.
“Well with your goal set and your mind calmed, I guess there’s no point in waiting any longer. Although everything in me wants to keep you here. You're going to pass out but don’t worry. While you’re unconscious, your soul will create the ideal body for you. So this is goodbye for now. But not for long.”
As my senses started to slowly wane, I thought.
So all of that was just to help me? I guess that goddess isn’t a total blockhead.
And then everything faded away.
I like maua, but I wonderrrrr what kind of things you have to do to become a goddess and why she wanted to be one so badly?
Between the ‘lover in your past life’ bit they glossed over far too quickly, the basically a marriage vow, and the girls love tag, I’m pretty sure she was gunning to find her wife’s soul to reunite with her.
@Sylent-M oh that makes sense
@Sylent-M I can’t say too much without getting into spoiler territory, but Maua threw that out there and glossed over it intentionally. Joziah, on the other hand, might be the real airhead here.
I thought this was really well written, I thoroughly enjoyed their conversation. Keep it up!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fufu” she laughed -> Fufu,
You're right I am. in fact, a goddess. -> am, in
if I keep it, since I’m dead but I was-> it since I’m dead,
Maua sighed “That’s all -> sighed.
you’ll be reincarnated.If you have questions -> add space after the period
I’ll have you know,I am an amazing -> add space after comma
So in an attempt to show my sincerity, I’m going -> So,
Like literally death feels better. -> Like,
However I do need your approval -> However,
she beamed. “ In that case -> remove extra space after quote mark
itself. you only felt it -> You
in my god space.They grow and -> add space after the period
about the creatures.Can you tell -> add space after the period
your whole vibe switched.Next question -> add space after the period
going to pass out but don’t worry. -> out,
So this is goodbye for now. But not for long.” -> now, but
“I want to be…..A HAREM KING!” “...errr... A HAREM QUEEN! That sounds better for some reason, even if it isn’t my actual goal.”
Ah, so that’s what Maua looks like? Neat. I didn’t get the hair color from the description though, it seemed more like she might have had literal flower petals around her head instead of hair given how she’s a goddess and all common sense flies out the window with how they can look
Joziah’s reactions seem a bit off compared to the impression I got from the prior chapter-it seemed like they basically shut down emotionally and pushed everyone away, especially after the father’s murder attempt and death curse. Maybe their time in that military group helped even them out some? But by their own description they were a broken person, mentally and emotionally. Even if they did get closer to sanity based on their time with their squad, they still seemed like they were emotionally withdrawn. After death though Joziah seems...pretty chill about everything and quite cordial to Maua-first reactions were noting Maua was pretty, realizing she was reading their mind, and then panicking and apologizing. They’re also surprisingly well adjusted at this point despite the sh**** life they had and being turned into a killing machine. I guess mental shock from Sariah’s betrayal could be numbing the reactions, but they don’t seem to be numb to everything and are reacting like a person who didn’t have such a s***** life would
Despite all that, this is a much more pleasant MC to read about than so many other stories that have the “ruthless protagonist” tag that have their MC’s as complete sociopaths and frequently psychopaths as well. The type of character that’s like “Well the bad guy took someone hostage, time to show how ’ruthless’ I am and blow up the entire building and kill everyone since the bad guy was going to do that anyways.”
Thank you for the corrections and the in depth comments!!! They’re so much fun to read and reply to. Okay so this is what I was going for on the reactions out of the MC. So from the start, they were a prankster, and an optimist regardless of there situation. You’re completely right about them being about them being initially broken, and honestly they’re still very much broken. The time with the military group, did help revert them back to their intial optimism mindset but to the extreme. It went from “my life sucks and everyone else should die” to “eh, this sucks, but there’s definitely some way it could be worse.” So that conversation went how it went due to the mindset of the MC. So more than numbing, it’s almost like they take everything to the chin and push through.
And I guess my definition of ruthlessness might be a tad bit different than some authors. When I think ruthless, I think of the protagonist’s thought process more like “Oh this person is causing me problems, and if I let them go now they might end up being a bigger problem in the future, so lets eliminate them right now.” Rather than just killing people just cause.
@Lulla that’s also the kind of character type I think “ruthless” should be used as a descriptor, but way too often authors take “ruthless” to mean “chaotic evil” like the Joker form Batman. Or even “stupid chaotic evil” where they do stuff like backstab anyone that is dumb enough to trust them, sometimes even before they’ve actually finished working with them, like they’re compelled to do the absolute stupidest thing just because it’s the most evil/“ruthless” thing they could do
And fair enough about Joziah’s character type. No one reacts to stress and situations the same way, so it isn’t that unreasonable for them to have ended up with a pretty sunny disposition even after having such a rough life.
So ummm odd question but when the protagonist get a Humanoid form will they be umm hermaphrodite? Cuz slugs are hermaphrodite.....?
No hermaphroditism over here. The mc will have a singular gender. I can't say much because spoilers, but hopefully it makes sense whenever we get there.
I really enjoyed the interactions between the two characters. I got the feeling of them knowing each other very well back and forth based on a deeply personal relationship, reinforcing the whole I knew you before this life thing.
Awesome, that means I’m doing something right. Thanks for the insight!
Thanks for the chapter
Thanks for reading.
Ah, that's right. First, where in the h-e-double hockey sticks are we?
bruh
Wow, she's so mean and rude to the goddess.
Probably not the most intelligent choice but I guess it worked out fine?
Palm tree and a vampire... Yeah, it fits.
Coconut-vampire