Suddenly, a blinding light flashed from the stone statue that brightened up the whole room. Everyone squinted their eyes shut, then something shocking happened before Shizuki's eyes right after the bright light faded away slowly.
Everyone inside the room stood still in their previous postures, their eyes tightly shut. Even their breathing seemed to have stopped. Other than the soft hum coming from the Dragon's heart as if resonating to something, no other sound could be heard. It was as if someone pressed the pause button, as if the time had stopped around her.
What...what is going on? Why is no one moving? Why can I still move? Am I inside a dream? What the heck is going on here?!
Shizuki really felt like she would break down at anytime after experiencing one shock after another on the first day she opened her eyes after dying once. No normal person would be able to keep their sanity after getting shocked anytime, anywhere like she was right now.
Even she could only barely keep her rationality at this terrifying situation of suddenly experiencing a time stop.
F*ck, is someone playing a prank at me by making a Jojo reference?! At least shout out 'The World!' before you do so that I can mentally prepare myself!
"That's some interesting reaction you got there. What is a 'Jojo reference' and 'The world'?" Out of the blue, a woman's playful voice suddenly rang in Shizuki's ears which nearly made her jump out of Johann's arms in shock.
"Ueergh?!" Oh f*cking sh*t! What the-!?
Shizuki yelped as she cursed out loud inside her head. Her heart almost stopped beating when she suddenly heard someone talk right beside her ear but when she looked around, she found no one there which made her scalp tingle in fear. Just when she was wondering whether it was her hallucinating as she tried to calm down from the scare she just got, the voice sounded out again and she heard it even clearer than before.
"Oh, I'm sorry for scaring you. I swear I wasn't trying to surprise you like that for fun." said the voice in a tone which wasn't the least bit apologetic at all and instead had some playfulness in it.
So you WERE doing that for fun!
Shizuki rolled her eyes to herself after hearing her words. But she was still feeling somewhat apprehensive at the appearance of the mysterious person which she couldn't find no matter how much she craned her neck around. Well, it was also because she was just too small to even be able to cover the whole area in one look...
"Fufu, you don't have to be so on guard. I don't mean any harm to you." a soft chuckle resounded in the room.
Yeah, anyone with ulterior motive would say that.
Shizuki retorted inside her head but then suddenly, she realised something wrong.
Wait....how can you hear my thoughts?? How come I can also understand you? I couldn't understand anything when others around me spoke but you are clearly speaking that same gibberish language yet how can I understand it? Who are you?
Shizuki bombarded one question after another as curiosity and dread sprouted in her heart. After all, she was someone from the 21st century where people only believed in scientific theories and researches and didn't really believe in supernatural things such as telepathy or telekinesis etc. It was really a bit unnerving to her when she suddenly found out that someone could actually hear her thoughts...
"Hmm..I can understand your suspicions. Mind reading is just a simple low level magic for someone like me, nothing special at all. There is nothing in this world that I don't know about. I even know who you are," the voice paused for a second then uttered the last words slowly, "an otherworlder."
Shizuki felt her heart skip a beat. She widened her eyes so much that some might even wonder if they will fall out of their sockets any moment. She suddenly felt a chill run down her spine as she shuddered, a deep fear and apprehension creeping in her heart that seemed to have stopped beating from the oppressive air in the room.
After a deep silence fell in the room, Shizuki finally asked, Who are you?
The mysterious voice chuckled as it replied, "How careless of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Asteria, the goddess of stars and the overseer of the world of Asteria. I am the god that oversees the past, present and the future of the mortals, the one who controls the time and space. I welcome you to my world, little one."
Shizuki blanked out after hearing her introduction as she turned her head towards the goddess' statue, almost in a mechanical way.
A...god?
Shizuki felt like she had swallowed a fly after hearing her answer. She didn't believe in her claims of being a god at all. Like, who would even believe that someone is a god just because they said so?
Are you kidding me? How can there be a god in the world? Weren't they just some made-up mythical beings that the people used to form a religion as the symbol of their unity and religious beliefs? Don't try to prank me with these cheap methods.
Shizuki never really believed in god and wasn't a religious person. If there really was a god and if they could really strive in their life just by praying wholeheartedly then why would she even have to struggle day and night just to make a living for herself? Why would there still be billions of people who didn't know whether they might be able to have anything to eat for tomorrow?
Even if a god really existed, she would still not really care about it much and mind her own business like she did always. Because even a god wouldn't be omnipotent. There were tens of billions of living beings in the world, they had their own needs, desires and wishes, how could a god really fulfill and satisfy all of them? The world worked in the law of equivalent exchange where rewards and punishments were decided by their own efforts and actions. It was the same even if a god existed so she might as well just work hard to live and not blindly put all her expectations on a so-called god.
"...Sigh, you really have such a unique view of the world. Wouldn't most people be ecstatic to meet a god? You aren't even hiding your clear indifference to the possibility of it being true," Asteria sighed then muttered to herself, "as expected of you..."
What's there to be ecstatic about it anyway? People live and die eventually. They are born with nothing and end with nothing. It's not like a god can grant someone immortality that every mortals sought after. Maybe they can be granted a healthy long life but they still can't escape from death.
"You are right. No one can escape death. There is no such thing as immortality. Even us gods aren't truly immortal as death also awaits us at the end," Asteria said in a somewhat indifferent and detached tone then reverted into her previous playful tone almost in an instant. "But let's not waste our time on this never-ending subject. I prophesied your arrival and thus came here in advance to meet you and as expected, you are a very interesting soul."
Not letting Shizuki to give any reply, the statue started to glow in the same blinding light like before as she heard Asteria speak again while she struggled to keep her eyes shut at the bright light.
"So let me give you a suitable name and also a gift from me for our first meeting after coming to this world."
After she finished speaking, the bright light finally faded away and the time continued to flow normally again.
"What was that light from earlier?" A priest asked in a low voice as he looked around in confusion.
Almost everyone had the same question in their mind but no one could tell for sure about what it was.
For them, it had only been a few seconds since the light had faded away but for Shizuki who hadn't been affected by the pause in time, a few minutes had already passed. For her, those few minutes were like a dream which she still couldn't process in her mind that was currently filled with many questions of which she couldn't get a definite answer.
Oh wait, she could now understand others as well!
Johann immediately checked on his daughter after he adjusted to his sight, worried that she was affected somehow. He only breathed a sigh of relief after finding nothing wrong in her condition.
"Sir bishop, may I ask if you know anything about the light from before?" Arthur asked the elderly bishop who was currently deep in his thoughts as he stared at the statue with a mixture of excitement, shock and elation inside his eyes.
"Hm? Ah, to reply your majesty, I can only disappoint you as even I also don't have any idea about it," The bishop shook his head helplessly as he continued, "But the divine might behind the blinding light was, without a doubt, the work of the goddess. As for why she did that, no one can say."
Everyone had a look of surprise on their face when they heard his answer. To think that the goddess would make a move before they could even start the ceremony....
"Sir bishop, please proceed with the ceremony. We cannot make the goddess wait any longer than this." said Arthur. Others also nodded their head in consent as the bishop prepared to start the ceremony when, yet again, a bright light which was much weaker than before, flashed in the statue and a graceful voice imbued with divine might came from it.
"No need. I have already decided on a suitable name for the child. She has an exceptionally bright soul like the sun, her breath will bring a new life. She may henceforth be named as Avalyn. With the blessings of the five gods, she is hereby granted the sole name of the goddess of life, Anastasia. May she be loved and protected by the nature for her whole life.
"May her name, Avalyn Anastasia De Callisto, be imprinted in the annals of history for thousands of years."
Right after, a golden ray of light shot out of the statue's forehead and got absorbed between Shizuki's eyebrows in the blink of an eye.
She could feel a comfortable and warm current flowing throughout her whole body. Her body seemed to be going through various changes from both inside and outside as her bones and veins restructured and were strengthened further, her blood seemed to now contain an additional flow of energy which easily blended in like it was her own part. Even her already smooth and fair skin became fairer and glossy, while her previously small body seemed to have grown a bit bigger.
It all happened within seconds which left her dumbfounded at the completely new feeling of her body. This was too miraculous for someone like her, who had never seen magic in real life before. She could even sense some sort of energy present in the air around her and they were being frantically absorbed by her body through her pores.
She was completely bathed in a golden light which wrapped around her like a cocoon. This sight was so amazing that no one could shift their eyes off of her.
At the moment, everyone's feelings were in a turmoil. Although Shizuki didn't know what all of this meant, but they clearly knew how great of an importance this matter was.
A goddess' sole name! The blessings of the five gods! The middle name of the royal family!
Every one of them could cause a huge sensation throughout the whole world, not to mention, her name was even to be imprinted in the annals of history for thousands of years! Even if she didn't do anything in her whole life, her name would still be written in golden letters and be passed on throughout the future generations!
Just what sort of an existence was she to be able to receive such love from the gods? It could be anything but normal! Just by receiving the sole name of a god, she could walk everywhere in the world, unhindered and even greatly respected by each and every person.
It was no exaggeration to say that she could even rule the whole world if she wanted to.
Johann and Violette looked at each other in both shock and delight as they could have never imagined that their child would be so greatly valued by the gods themselves! It was already a blessing that they could finally have a child but who would've thought that such a humongous surprise would be awaiting them? She was really a god sent blessing to them.
Meanwhile, the effect from the golden light finally receded and an intricate and complicated pattern suddenly appeared in her left, golden eye. The pattern looked like a magic circle which covered her whole pupil and glowed in a silvery light.
Blinking her eyes, Shizuki felt that her senses had been heightened to a whole new level. She could now see, hear and sense much better than before. And inside her mind, a name was imprinted in bright gold light.
It was her new name. A completely new identity in a new world. The imprint inside her mind seemed to be saying that she wasn't in a dream and that she really had a chance to relive a new life where she could live however she wanted. And even...with a new family.
My name is...Avalyn Anastasia De Callisto. And I promise to live my life however I want this time.