{Liri}

The ven opened her eyes and found herself inside a familiar space.

She had been dropped into a black void, with only her own body, glowing brightly inside of it, trying desperately to illuminate her surroundings.

Naturally, her immediate assumption was:

[Did I die?]

"Not this time, no."

The voice that responded to her was equally familiar. It had been so long since she heard it, though, that she looked around, trying to make sure her ears hadn't been mistaken.

As she suspected, Alteria was standing beside her.

Strangely, though, the glow the goddess's body emitted was dimmer than Liri's.

[So, what happened?] Liri asked first.

"The God-King was about to kill you, so I used up almost all of my remaining power to bring you here," she stated. "I did not move you, though. He is under the impression that I teleported you away. I would have loved to but, unfortunately, I quite literally did not have the power to do that. So, I'm just hiding your presence, so to speak, until he leaves. If he leaves, anyway," she waved a hand. "If he doesn't, well..."

[... You might end up needing to find someone else to save the world.]

"Yes. Let's hope he gets bored of this place soon."

That was it.

Alteria had, at least for now, saved Liri, and all they could do at this point was wait for the God-King to get bored and go away.

"Sit down, get comfortable," Alteria said. "We may be here for a while."

Doing as she suggested, Liri sat on the black floor and crossed her legs. That moment played back in her mind. The moment when Arisa had struck the God-King and taken his attention off her. That had been the last thing she'd seen before appearing here.

Unease and worry were tearing her heart in half. She needed to know what happened.

[Is Arisa alright?]

"Indeed, she is. She ran off as soon as she hit the God-King and the man was just too shocked to do anything to her before she escaped. So, stupid and brave as she is, the woman is still alive, thankfully."

[Oh, okay.] Liri breathed a sigh of relief. [Thank goodness.]

"Yes, that is quite fortunate."

[By the way, didn't you run out of power earlier? How were you able to help me out this time?]

"Thanks to you," Alteria replied. "You've been having some sex and activating Mother Trees and these acts have strengthened me. Don't get me wrong, my power is still too weak to do anything about the God-King directly, but I was able to do this much for you. But, that brings me to what I wanted to discuss with you now."

The goddess, with her hands clasped together, began to pace from one side of that otherworldly space to another.

"Assuming that the God-King does not stay in that prison forever and you are allowed to live, then you will need to act. And now, finally," she said, walking toward Liri, "you have, at least somewhat, learned about the world and adjusted to it. And now, you've been faced with the full measure of the enemy you are up against. I have but one question I wish to ask you, Liri. What will you do now?"

It was a hell of a question to receive when she'd just been completely obliterated like this.

Before she could answer that, she wanted to ask a question of her own, though.

[... So, we're just going to skip over the fact that the God-King came from Earth too?]

Alteria crossed her arms, glaring a little.

"What is there to say?"

[I don't know, maybe you could say, "I'm sorry for not telling you a bunch of very important stuff", perhaps?]

Liri had never been the type to get too angry. Not in this life, nor the last, but she couldn't help it at this moment.

Scowling, Alteria swallowed and said:

"What exactly would knowing about the God-King's nature change? Would you have somehow won this fight if you'd known that he was also reincarnated?"

[No... But, I might have been a little more urgent if I knew.]

"Oh, please," Alteria scoffed. "Your lack of urgency had nothing to do with your lack of information. Even though you were born a ven and raised as one, you have held onto old insecurities from your past life. I will admit, there are probably things I could have done differently, but no. These emotional attachments of yours to a life you no longer lead, *that* is what you should be blaming."

Try as she might, Liri couldn't argue against that last part.

What would have happened if she'd been performing the duties she'd been assigned by her goddess as soon as she was able? If she'd reproduced early if she'd gone and visited as many mother trees as she could? No. Instead, she waited for years, until the enemy arrived at her doorstep before she was mentally ready for her responsibilities.

When put like that, Elmira's fall was, at least in part, her own fault.

It was almost enough to make her cry.

Sensing this sudden bout of sadness, Alteria walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It is pointless to discuss the past. What's done is done, and all that you or I can do now is plan for the future. With that being said, Liri, I ask again. What will you do from now on? You will realize this soon, but... Now that you've crossed into 5000 Soul Rating, gaining more is about to become a lot harder."

[... What *can* I do, then?] She asked. [Should I still go hunting for monsters and try to level up? Should I just focus entirely on sex? I... I feel like none of it would be of any use. He's just too strong.]

Alteria nodded.

"I am inclined to agree," she muttered. "But, I didn't send you here to kill him, necessarily."

[What?]

"Don't you remember?" Alteria asked. "Your duty, your true responsibility, is to repopulate the ven side of the world. Or, at least, kick-start its repopulation. Liri," the goddess said, leaning in close. "*You* may not be powerful enough to beat the God-King in a fistfight. You may never be powerful enough. The amount of creatures you would have to kill would be enough to form a river of blood. However, what if there were 10 of you?" Alteria smiled. "What if there were 100? The God-King is strong. Very strong. There are hardly any words in your language that can accurately describe how strong he is. But, despite that, he is still just one human, at the end of the day." 

Suddenly, the goddess grinned, pressing her face against Liri's.

"You. Need. To. Have. Sex, Liri!" She announced. "This is how you win! You might not be able to punch your way to victory, but what if you make more ven than he can kill? Then, you stand a chance!"

Liri pulled back at that passionate declaration, but, well, this was the same conclusion Liri herself had arrived at.

"This is your purpose, Liri. But, in order to accomplish it, you need to kill your past self. Cast it aside," she swept the air with her right arm, "let your human self die once and for all, and reemerge as a true ven! Once you do... You will find that your libido is so strong that even having sex with every woman in the world wouldn't be enough to sate you!"

[... This conversation took a weird turn, but you're right. You're absolutely right,] Liri thought. [I need to let go. But... How? Where do I start? The elves at the settlement just got wiped. I doubt any of them are in the mood.]

Alteria grinned.

"I know just the thing to kick this plan off properly. Listen close, okay?"