Maria’s body thrashed around on the ground. The jerky movement was violent and caused her arms to start bleeding.

“What the hell is wrong with her? I thought she was just like her father but she’s proven to be even crazier.” The goddess muttered. Her tired body hit the ground.

But she could not take her eyes away from the suffering female in front of her.

She knew she had seen something like this before but it had been a long time. It took some time for her brain to register what she was seeing in front of her.

“T-This is an ascension. But something is wrong. The girl is rejecting her magic.” The goddess lying on the ground pushed herself to her elbow.

It had been such a long time since anyone had ascended to the upper realm. The last time had been when her love had his trail.

But he had rejected his ascension as well.

“Maria.” The goddess recognised that voice as Venus. She had observed the girl beforehand to create a replica.

“Don’t come closer or you’ll die. That magic is not something you can control.” The goddess replied.

While she was in awe of the happenings, she also dreaded the moment a new goddess would be birthed.

“W-What. But we need to help her.” Venus cried out as she ignored the goddess’s warning. Venus took a few steps toward Maria before she was shoved back.

It was Yuuki and his serious look that stopped Venus short in her tracks.

“Don’t try to reach Maria. She won’t want you to hurt yourself. You are already struggling to breathe.” Yuuki replied. Venus wanted to protest but she was not able to stand against Yuuki’s serious look.

And she also knew that he was right. The magic power Maria was giving off was too much for her to bear even at a distance.

“I-Is she ascending? My mother told me that it was possible but-“

“-It had never been done. Not for a human at least. Their body is not meant to host this much power. That’s why the contract demons.” The goddess finished.

She seemed to be the calmest one. Venus instantly disliked her for some reason.

Maybe it was the way the goddess looked at Maria. Or maybe it was the way she talked.

‘Or maybe because she tried to kill you all.’ Venus’s brain supplied her.

“You’re from the upper realm as well, right? Can’t you help her out?” Yuuki asked.

Three pairs of eyes turned toward the goddess. But she did not look intimidated at all.

“I could have tried if I had my powers. But those damned chains sealed me away. The only one who can unlock my powers is Maria.” The goddess replied.

Venus turned away from her and looked toward Maria. The poor girl seemed to be suffering quite heavily.

“I can’t watch anymore. Please, someone, do something.” Venus cried out. She sounded in distress.

The goddess could not stop her jealousy from raising its ugly head. She hated how powerless she felt to help the female.

The goddess had felt the attraction the moment she had cast eyes on the Oracle. It had felt like her love had reincarnated in his daughter.

Some might have even called it an obsession but the goddess believed it to be ‘love at first sight.’

“I can help her out but I’ll need to recover first. Put a barrier over this place and leave.” The goddess commanded. Her voice had enough magic to make the best move.

She had learned that trick from her sister. It helped that her sister did not control either node on this continent. It was uncontrolled land.

“Are we just going to follow her order? I don’t think so and -hey. Stop it.” The beast dragged the other two out.

The goddess finally looked toward the female lying on the ground in front of her. The oracle looked pained even in her sleep.

“It’s so foolish to fall in love like this. But I have always been like this.” The goddess spoke softly.

And as her lips met the unconscious oracles, the goddess felt her mind whisper some words to her.

‘This is not love. You are just projecting your feelings on the poor girl because you like someone that looks like her.’ The voice took that wretched woman, Silvya’s tone.

And the goddess ignored her. She hated Silvya and she did not want to ruin this moment. She had been bestowed a second chance by fate.

And this time she would make sure there was no Silvya to ruin her chances.

……………

[Is the user intended to die of their one will?] The system asked.

And Maria embraced that thought. She knew she would have no regrets.

‘Yes.’

[The answer is unacceptable. The user is not allowed to die before they have rectified the consequences of their actions.

Opening emergency life-saving protocol ll]

One second Maria was dying, the next she felt a magic course through her body. It was a foreign sensation she did not want to feel.

‘Stop it. I don’t want to exist anymore.’ Maria cried out. Her thrashing made the chain come loose around the goddess.

Maria was having a worse time than the goddess. The magic coursing through her body was foreign and it burned. She did not want the magic to save her.

‘Don’t. It burns. I don’t want to live anymore.’ Maria cried. But the magic did not stop coursing through her body.

The system did not stop even when Maria tried actively to resist the temptations of the power and life she was being bestowed.

The surge of magic was so harsh that it leaked out of Maria. Her unwillingness to accept it caused her surroundings to deteriorate as more and more magic leaked out of her.

“Stop it.” Maria’s voice was weak as she spoke. It was barely audible to even her.

But she knew that the system he’d heard her but chose to ignore Maria’s plea. Her body was heating up and cooling down too fast.

The magic was in disharmony. It felt like a key trying to fit into a lick that shook too much. It tried its best but Maria was not according to it in her body.

“Don’t try to fight it. Let it take you over.” A familiar pair of hands caressed Maria’s face but she fought against the hold.

Nao’s familiar face looked back at her. The touch on Maria’s face burned and her anger surged.

How dare the magic take Nao’s face? Was it not enough to sully Nao’s memory.

Her hand passed through the mirage and the magic got even more discordant. She did not know what to do.

The magic flashed again and Suna looked back at her. The girl looked younger and happier as she extended her hand toward Maria.

“Don’t fight it. Accept it inside you. Please, for me?” The mirage asked. But Maria knew that this could not be Suna either.

The other female was on Imu and was recovering. Besides, Suna had never looked at Maria with such a beloved expression.

Not when Suna had been in love with Nao. That boat has sailed as well.

Lady Karin and other people’s faces flashed in front of Maria. But she passed through all those transparent memories.

It looked like she had a lot of people in her life but no one truly important to ground her. There was no one she wanted to keep on living for. It was such a cursed existence.

“Don’t close your eyes. I’m still waiting for you to resolve things.” Maria’s was opened in an instant at the familiar voice.

That face, that voice. Maria recognised it in an instant.

“Neah.” The whisper was almost unheard by everyone. The face looking back at her smiled gently.

Maria tried to reach for Neha before she stopped herself. She did not want to give herself false hope and then get it all dashed.

If her hand passed through Neah, Maria knew she would break. Neah was her anchor in this place.

And that was why she avoided the hands reaching for her. She did not want the hurt to take her over.

“Don’t run away from me. We have things to resolve.” The image said. But Maria knew that Neah was not real.

She was in Ger a, governing the nation. And it hurt as much as it relieved her.

But the hands touched Maria and they held on to her. A mouth whispered in her ear and Maria felt tears fill her eyes.

She nodded before a mouth descended on her own. It felt good but also like a failure.

After all, she knew that the hands on her body were not Neah’s. The mouth devouring her own was not Neah’s either.

And the female in front of her was not someone she cared about either. It was a form the other hand taken for Maria’s convenience.

And Maria had no idea why her mind had chosen this form at all to settle. She did not care either.

‘Just pretend that I am the one you are seeing. I am real and I am here for you. Allow yourself to accept your fate and we’ll meet again.’ The voice in her ear had whispered

And Maria chose to believe in her. She chose to pretend that she was in Neah’s arms because it felt good.

It felt right to her.