episode_0100

The world of the gods.

A place that humans cannot understand and do not seek to understand.

Elia arrived in front of the huge palace located at the center of the world.

As if it had known she would come, the tightly shut entrance opened, and Elia walked inside on her own two feet instead of walking on air.

Because that is the law that must be followed by the God of gods.

When they finally reached the place, there was a huge throne.

Below are hundreds of stairs leading down to the floor.

At the bottom of the steps that showed the gap between those who sat on the throne and those who sought the throne, Elia looked up at the top with her hands clasped politely.

“See my destiny.”

“… Elia.”

The throne was too far away to be seen with the naked eye, but the gods did not bother to look at each other.

Elia’s turning her head towards the throne was also just a form of etiquette, as she was looking at the other person clearly with her mind’s eye, not her two eyes.

“What’s going on this time?”

As the owner of this space spoke, her voice echoed throughout the area.

Although she is the goddess of fate who reigns over everything in the world, including the gods, her tone was warm, unlike her authority.

Elia, on the other hand, bowed her head and answered politely.

“I came to see you again to ask you a favor I asked you before.”

“I see.”

“When the Mother of Destiny gave me her power, I was so happy that I couldn’t express it. I thought she understood the sorrow I felt whenever I saw the limitations of a weak human being.”

The goddess of fate remained completely unmoved, as if listening to music she knew.

However, I was just slightly furrowing my brows in worry and concern.

“But lately, I’ve been feeling increasingly weak. I knew in my head that my mother had a purpose, so I tried to wait, but my heart wouldn’t let me.”

“… .”

“The source of power to save the wronged is guilt. Why did you give me this ordeal? Why do I have to pay the price for helping the poor?”

Elia’s voice grew louder as her emotions rose.

Although it was an action that should not be done in front of the throne, the benevolent master did not blame him for it.

“Child, the reason you feel guilty every time you help a human is so that you won’t get involved with them anymore.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Humans are just a part of the world we have to rule over, and it is not good to empathize with them.”

“But isn’t it a pity that people die unjustly? They die unwanted deaths due to the malice of others.”

“We should also see it as a natural flow of the world. They are certainly living beings, but they are also part of nature. We should not be sad when a single grain of sand in the desert breaks apart.”

Affectionate yet firm tone of speech.

Still, Elia’s thoughts remained unchanged.

“But don’t they think like us and even look like us? Don’t you feel sorry for them?”

“You look more pitiful in my eyes. The way you are suffering while being absorbed in a grain of sand.”

“If that’s what you think, please listen to my request. The price of power is not guilt, but something else-.”

“That won’t do.”

As the Goddess of Fate answered bluntly, Elia’s expression darkened more than before.

“Why… .”

“We are the ones who govern the whole world, not a part of it. So we should not treat any one being specially. You know that too. If you break the law, you will have to step down from your position as a goddess.”

“… .”

“The guilt you feel every time you save a human is not the price of power. It’s my wish that my child will never break the law of God again.”

The title of “Ira” is merely a sign of the goddess of destiny’s intimacy, and does not mean that they are truly mother and daughter.

But her face as she looked at Elia was filled with worry, as if she was looking at her own child.

“There are already many goddesses who do not like you. I am turning a blind eye to you for now, but if the people around you start to look down on you, I will have no choice but to care about their opinions. Have you forgotten already? You have already been punished for your arbitrary actions. Do you want to become a small thing again?”

“… .”

“I know you have a warm heart that even feels pity for humans. That’s why instead of punishing you, I’m giving you a chance to give up on your own. If you find it hard to bear the guilt, stop helping humans.”

In the voice that speaks like that, one can sense not only worry but also desperation.

But even that earnestness did not change Elijah’s mind.

“Then you are saying that you cannot grant my request.”

“Elia… .”

“I feel relieved now that I have lost hope. Mother of Destiny, you said that this guilt is not the price of power. However, I will consider it that way. I will accept this pain as the price of saving humanity and endure it.”

“… I’m afraid that your innocent and kind heart will be hurt.”

“Don’t worry, it’s the path you chose. Then I’ll take my leave now.”

Elia bows in greeting, then turns around and walks away.

A worried sigh escaped the mouth of the Goddess of Fate, who was watching the scene.

—

A few days have passed since the day I became invisible again at school with Zia.

I have three lovers, but coincidentally, Ji-ah and Ha-eun had homework and Seon-yeong had a schedule, so I was alone in my studio.

“Whoa! Should I take a break?”

In the middle of the night, while I was diligently building up my stockpile of novels, I lay down in bed and muttered to myself.

…I wonder if I should contact you and see what you’re doing.

Seonyeong said she would contact me when her schedule is over, so I should ask Jiana Ha-eun.

… Since Jia is really focused when doing homework, would it be better for Ha-eun to do it first?

Ha-eun is surprisingly focused, so what if I disturb her?

When I turned on the messaging app, I remembered that there was a separate chat room created by three lovers, excluding me.

What on earth are those three talking about there?

Could it be that you are sharing your impressions about the experience you had with me…?

It’s a complicated feeling of wanting to know but also not wanting to know.

It was at that time that I was having such useless thoughts.

The surrounding background was sucked into one point and turned into a completely white space.

Before my eyes, as usual, the goddess was floating in the air.

He looked the same as usual, wrapped in a pure white cloth that looked like something out of a fantasy game, and his eyes were covered with the cloth.

“Hello, Dohyun.”

“Hello. Am I alone today?”

“… Yes.”

What is it? Your voice is unusually heavy today.

“What’s wrong?”

“… I recently visited the Goddess of Fate.”

“Really?”

The goddess nodded slowly and answered me as I asked her again.

“Yes. I beg you again to change the price of power to something other than guilt. ”

Has the goddess of fate finally granted her request?

That expectation was shattered by the following words.

“But I heard the answer that it can’t be done. She doesn’t want me, a goddess, to help humans.”

“Then what happens next?”

“I want to continue to save innocent people. So, I’m sorry, but I think I’ll have to keep asking for help from the four people I’ve met so far… .”

“Ah… .”

To be honest, it’s not that hard to grant a goddess’s request.

Although there are times when they make absurd and unreasonable demands, they have never directly harmed me or my lovers.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t any problems or concerns.

“Then, apart from Ji-ah, Ha-eun, and Seon-yeong, I might have to do it with another woman? If that happens, it’ll be really difficult… .”

“… .”

Unlike before when she answered without hesitation, the goddess kept her mouth shut and fell into thought.

As the silence grew longer, my anxiety grew, and when her lips finally opened again, my anxiety became reality.

“Actually… the power demanded a new woman.”

“Huh? Right now?”

I didn’t know it would happen so suddenly right in front of my nose.

I had hoped the goddess’s request would be granted before the situation unfolded, but it was the worst possible situation in many ways.

“Isn’t there a way? Doing it with someone other than the three of us is a bit… .”

Of course, you can do it with your eyes closed, thinking that you are saving the poor person.

But I didn’t want to do anything that would make me feel guilty in front of my lovers anymore.

The goddess spoke with a serious face, as if she understood my feelings.

“So I thought of a way.”

“Really? What method is this?”

“That’s….”

What method would it take to make the ending of the sentence vague and ambiguous?

It was when I was about to ask again and urge him on because I was frustrated.

“I am paying the price of power instead of other women.”

“What did you say?”

I understood the goddess’s words belatedly and asked again.

“So does that mean the goddess is with me?”

“Yes.”

“Uh…um….”

The other person continued speaking, seeing me at a loss for words because it was so unexpected.

“I’m not human, so I won’t have any problems with Dohyun in my daily life. It would be less troublesome than bringing in another woman.”

“I guess so… .”

“Also, for someone in the position of a goddess to mix with a human is a sin that will never be forgiven in the divine realm. My guilt will be that great, so the power will no longer demand new women.”

Certainly, from my perspective, it’s much better for a goddess to be my last partner than to keep getting entangled with new women.

It’s better, but… .

“Are you okay, Goddess? You said it was an unforgivable sin.”

“The Mother of Destiny wants me to stop this, but she is so kind that she doesn’t watch over me.”

“But still doing it secretly… .”

“It would be a guilt to commit a sin while hiding behind compassion. But I want to help at least one more innocent person, enough to endure it and be prepared to face the punishment that will come someday.”

Is it harder to watch people die unjustly than to live in fear of being punished?

I don’t know how benevolent the Goddess of Fate is, but the Goddess before my eyes seemed much more benevolent and sacred to me.

“Since I will pay the price entirely, there will be no harm to Do-Hyeon or those around him. So… .”

She was floating in the air, then came down to the ground and stood on her own two feet.

And then he bowed more politely than when we first met.

“Dohyun, please. Please help me until I get punished.”

It’s hard to refuse such an earnest attitude.

Of course, I had no reason to refuse, and it wasn’t a situation where I could refuse, so I didn’t have to think long before answering.

“Okay, I’ll help you.”

“Thank you so much.”

She raised her upper body again and slowly approached me.

Although both eyes were still covered by the white cloth, tension was conveyed from the shape of the trembling mouth.

“Alright, let’s get started right away… .”

I shut my eyes tightly.

Because an intense light emanated from the goddess’s body.

After a while, when the light cleared, what was standing in front of me was a woman with silver hair that shined like snow.

Even though she was naked with the goddess’ clothes covering her body and eyes gone, she was a beautiful person who could be felt as a sacred aura.