Chapter 2: I got curious
by fnovelpia
In Prophecy RPG, there are many gods.
If you pray to a god, you receive an incredible bonus effect called a Blessing.
If you pray to the God of Craftsmanship, you get a bonus when creating things.
If you pray to the Goddess of Abundance, you get a bonus when gathering materials.
If you pray to the God of Trade, you get a bonus when trading items.
Depending on which god you worship, your entire playstyle can change because the Blessings are that powerful.
And here’s the important part:
You receive a Blessing just by praying.
That’s right.
It’s not just the protagonist who receives blessings.
Even companions can get them simply by praying.
Even NPCs can get them just by praying.
Thanks to that, in the world of Prophecy RPG, there’s almost no one who doesn’t believe in the gods.
Who would refuse a buff that doubles your salary just by praying?
Who wouldn’t go to a temple when it gives you a buff that multiplies your pay fivefold?
Of course you’d do it!
So then, why bring this up while talking about the Goddess of Light?
It’s because every prayer in Prophecy RPG goes something like this:
[We offer our gratitude to the Goddess of Light Serena for shining her light upon us, and to the Goddess of Abundance Gaia for blessing the earth.]
[With the hammer of the Goddess of Light Serena, I pray that the blessing of Vulcan, God of Craftsmanship, may infuse my own hammer.]
[I pray to the World Tree, the Great Mother planted by the Goddess of Light Serena.]
…And so on.
Every prayer begins with worship of the Goddess of Light Serena, followed by praise for other gods.
In other words, believing in the gods means believing in the Goddess of Light Serena.
And since everyone believes in the gods, it’s no exaggeration to say that everyone believes in the Goddess of Light Serena.
***
“Um… Mom…?”
“The Goddess of Light Serena?”
Of course, the girl from the countryside village, Ria, was one of the many who believed in the Goddess of Light Serena.
Which is why she couldn’t believe it.
“That’s a lie…”
“Does it feel like a lie?”
“…”
“It feels like a lie, doesn’t it?”
“Then should I give you proof?”
“Proof?”
“First piece of proof.”
“You’ve awakened as a Hero, right? You know that?”
Ria looked down at her sword and armor and thought:
‘The Holy Sword of Light… The Armor of Light…’
‘It’s just like the Hero’s legend Mom used to tell me. But the way it suddenly appeared…’
No matter how she looked at it, they weren’t ordinary items.
‘Is this really…’
‘The power of the Hero…?’
For some reason, she did feel stronger than usual.
It really did feel like she had awakened the power of a Hero.
“You also know that the Hero’s power is granted by the Goddess of Light Serena, right?”
She knew that.
“Then why do you think you were chosen?”
“Why didn’t she give that power to someone more talented, someone braver?”
***
Ria couldn’t think of a reason.
She didn’t consider herself worthy of being a Hero.
She was a crybaby.
A coward.
Even after awakening the Hero’s power, she couldn’t swing her sword once.
That made it even more confusing.
‘Why?’
‘Why was she the Hero?’
But the answer was surprisingly simple.
“Because you’re the daughter of the Goddess.”
“Because you’re the one and only child that the Goddess of Light Serena conceived, gave birth to, and raised.”
She was given the power simply because she was the daughter.
But even then, the doubts remained.
“If I’m her daughter, then she should know better than anyone…”
“She should know that someone like me—a cowardly crybaby—has no right to be a Hero…”
Tears welled up as she spoke.
She was scared.
She was terrified of bandits, and terrified of monsters charging at her.
If even fighting a regular monster was this scary, how terrifying would it be to face the Demon King?
Just thinking about it made her legs tremble and her tears fall.
‘And that person is supposed to be a Hero?’
‘Mom…’
‘This can’t be right…’
It felt like her mother had just sent her off to die.
And she wouldn’t die alone.
If she couldn’t defeat the Demon King, everyone would die with her.
And yet, she was the one chosen as the Hero?
That couldn’t be.
If her mother truly knew her, she would have chosen someone else.
…Or so she thought.
***
“Ria.”
“…”
“Let me show you proof that even a crybaby coward like you can do this.”
The man who saved her drew his sword and swung it straight at her arm.
“KYAAAAAAAH!!!”
CLANG!
The sword struck her arm with a loud metallic clang.
But she didn’t feel any pain.
‘Huh?’
‘She was hit by a sword.’
‘So why didn’t it hurt?’
“Ria.”
“This is your proof.”
“Huh?”
“You have a trait called Absolute Invincibility.”
“A defensive trait that makes any attack hit only like that—barely a scratch.”
“An invincible defense trait…?”
“Absolute Invincibility…?”
“Yup.”
“Even if the Demon King hits you, it’ll feel just like that.”
“Even against the Demon King?!”
“Exactly.”
“But that’s not all.”
“Th-Then what else…?”
“You also have a trait called Complete Immunity, which makes you immune to all poisons.”
“And another one called One-Hit Kill, which lets you defeat any enemy with a single blow.”
“You’re immune to poison?”
“You can kill enemies in one hit?”
“You’re basically stacked with traits so overpowered, you could defeat the Demon King right now if you wanted to.”
“That’s who you are now.”
“Uh… huh?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve just got one question…”
“What is it?”
“In the legends of the Hero…”
“The Demon King was said to be insanely powerful. The hero and their companions had to risk their lives just to barely defeat him…”
“You won’t have to do any of that.”
“You could beat him with just one tackle.”
“What about… hardship? Struggles?”
“The life-or-death battles…?”
“None of that.”
“Why not…?”
“Because your mom loves her daughter too much.”
“She gave you a ridiculous amount of power so you wouldn’t have to suffer.”
“Because she loves me…?”
“Yep.”
“Your mom loves you more than anything.”
All the other creations were made with just a snap of her fingers, but you were raised lovingly for twenty whole years.
Of course she’s attached.
Of course she turned into a doting mom.
…When I said that, Ria teared up and whispered, “Mom…”
“If the Goddess of Light, Serena, is really my mom… that means she’s alive, right?”
“Yes, she’s alive.”
“Then I can see her again, right?”
“No.”
“That’s not possible.”
You can’t meet the Goddess of Light, Serena, by normal means.
The sun is a kind and warm mother to all life, but if it ever came down to Earth, it would burn everything to ash.
The goddess is the same.
Her power is a blessing from afar, but if she gets too close, it becomes a disaster.
That’s how powerful the Goddess of Light, Serena, truly is.
…When I explained this, Ria fell into despair.
“No… that can’t be…”
She refused to believe it.
Then suddenly, her face lit up with a “brilliant idea.”
“Then I’ll just make another body!”
“Like when I first came here!”
“That won’t work.”
“Why not?”
“Because creating a body that can withstand the goddess’s mind isn’t easy.”
“It would take at least 500 years.”
Five hundred years is more than enough time for Ria to grow old and die.
So…
Meeting her is impossible.
After killing the Demon King, it might be possible to restore communication with the Celestial Realm,
so you could hear the goddess’s voice.
“But you’d only be able to talk.”
Meeting her in person is pretty much impossible.
…When I said that, Ria fell into even deeper despair.
“Mom…”
This is something that simply can’t be helped.
As a veteran of Prophecy RPG, I once tried to find a true happy ending where the protagonist and her mom could reunite, but no matter how hard I tried, there was no solution.
I gave up.
…That’s just an excuse though.
The truth is, I spent most of my energy researching the happy ending route for my favorite character instead.
I went crazy trying to make it work.
The bad ending trigger for my favorite character?
It’s meeting the protagonist.
‘As soon as they meet—bad end.’
‘But if they don’t meet? Still a bad end.’
There’s just no good ending for her.
She’s a truly pitiful girl.
Which is why I became obsessed.
I poured everything into finding a way.
But there’s no avoiding the bad end.
Unless I control another character—not the protagonist—there’s no way to dodge it.
‘And guess what?’
That condition just came true in real life.
I didn’t get possessed into the protagonist’s body.
I ended up in the body of an extra character named Kain.
That means I now have the perfect setup to see a happy ending that was never possible in the game.
So my heart’s racing.
I want to wrap up the protagonist’s route quickly, and then run to my favorite character and give her the happy ending she deserves.
“Mommm…”
But I can’t just abandon the protagonist while she’s sobbing her heart out.
I’ll have to think a bit more.
‘Tsk… A way for her to meet her mom, huh…’
There was no solution in the game.
But there was a hint.
“If the human body hadn’t died, I might have been able to possess it again and spend some happy moments with my daughter…”
“But it died…”
She said she couldn’t possess the body because it died.
Which means…
If the body’s still alive, possession is possible.
But Prophecy RPG has no such thing as resurrection magic.
If a companion dies, that’s it.
There is necromancy that can control corpses, but that’s just manipulation—not resurrection.
There’s no way to revive the dead.
So I gave up.
But then…
‘Wait a sec…’
‘It’s impossible on normal difficulty, sure…’
‘But what about Blessing Mode?’
Baby Mode—where Serena basically slapped cheat skills all over her daughter to keep her safe.
And one of those traits…
There’s exactly one that can actually revive a dead body.
‘It’s not like this trait was meant for this kind of use, but…’
‘Gamers are freaks who do exactly what devs tell them not to.’
It’s basically instinct at this point.
Now I’m curious.
‘Is my bugged-out idea actually going to work?’
0 Comments