It took only a little while for Miranda to internalize that fact.
[I'm… dead,] she thought. [Holy shit.]
"Take your time to process this information," the woman told her. "We are in no hurry to proceed."
Miranda tried to take a deep breath before realizing she didn't have a body to do that with.
[What happened back there? Why was that building on fire to begin with?] Miranda asked through her thoughts.
"A disgruntled employee who felt like he wasn't getting paid enough for the work that he put in decided to set the building on fire. Most of the people inside were able to get out, but, in the process, a few explosions happened. One of them sent an object flying toward you, and, unfortunately, you did not possess the reflexes necessary to dodge it. That is how and why you died."
[Right… I kinda just froze. I-I mean, in my defense, I haven't had to use my reflexes for much anyway. I've never even been punched in the face before.]
"You do not have to justify yourself to me," the godly woman informed her. "Yours was hardly the most ridiculous way I have seen humans perish."
[Really?]
"Yes," she replied. "I've seen a few people die by getting run over by tractors and ice cream trucks. You would be surprised how many people have heart attacks during masturbation. And, just yesterday, a man choked to death because his girlfriend spit in his mouth and he was not prepared for it. You're fine."
[… Noted.]
The woman continued rambling, though.
"There was also this one old man who was caught molesting someone on a train and was punched in the face so hard he died, and also…"
But, as she spoke, Miranda had a thought. One that came to her as her eyes lowered and she realized this angelic woman had some pretty huge boobs.
[She's hot.]
"Anyway," the lady waved an ethereal hand, "there is a reason you are here and not being advanced into any of your possible afterlives yet. That is because I have an offer for you. Have you internalized the fact that you were crushed?"
[Do you really have to say it like that? I mean, yeah, that's what happened but you could just say-]
"Focus, please."
[Right, sorry. Y-Yeah, I'm ready.]
"Good," the woman said, sighing. "My name is Alteria. I am what you would call a 'goddess', though, not your world's deity. I am the goddess of a different world. I am speaking with you because your world's god has allowed me to make this proposal."
[Whoa, uh, okay… Alteria, hi, nice to meet you, what's the offer?]
Alteria looked away from her.
"In my world, there is an injustice happening that will only get worse with time," she began to say with a slightly softer tone. "An injustice that I cannot allow. Now, normally, I would intervene myself, however, us deities, we prefer to avoid interfering in mortal affairs whenever possible. We abide by a certain code to make sure we do not fall victim to chaos. Because of this, I decided to look for an alternative. That's when I saw you die and I decided that, maybe, you could help me with this."
Miranda was in shock.
[Me? I can help?] She asked.
"Indeed."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Here was this angel, no, this goddess, telling her she could be useful. Even though it was an otherworldly being telling her this, her initial reaction was to believe she was lying somehow.
Alteria didn't pay any mind to that.
"This is the offer. I will reincarnate you into my world, so long as you make me a promise. A promise that you will carry out over the course of your new life," Alteria stated.
[… Is that all?] Miranda wondered.
"Indeed. So long as you keep your promise, you will be free to live through this next life in whichever way you see fit. And, to make sure that you are able to keep this promise, I will grant you power. I will give you an edge over other mortals," she explained. "I cannot make you too powerful on my own, as that would be going against that code I mentioned earlier, but, I can give you the tools to acquire power on your own."
[Wait, wait,] Miranda quickly thought. [Power? Is this… Is this like a fantasy world or something?]
"Yes, I suppose that term is suitable, given what you associate it with. Although, it will be *very* real for you. I would advise that you do not take it lightly."
[O-Of course, I was just asking because… Holy crap,] Miranda thought. [I'm actually being reincarnated into some Lord of the-]
"If you wish," Alteria quickly added. "If you would rather move on, into the afterlife, then you can simply do that and I will find someone else. It is your choice."
Miranda wasn't too knowledgeable when it came to fantasy-type stuff, but she had played a couple of RPGs here and there. If those types of games were a sneak peek into what her new life could potentially hold in store for her, she was excited.
She did have to know one thing, though.
[So… That promise,] she thought. [What is it?]
Alteria looked back at her, staring into the very essence of her being.
And then, she said it.
"You must have as many children as possible," the goddess stated. "That is the promise you must keep."
[…]
If Miranda had physical eyes right now, she would blink.
[What?]
"The injustice I spoke of," the goddess elaborated, "you can help fix it by creating a prosperous family. Hence why I need you to take on as many partners as possible and produce as many offspring as possible. Do you understand?"
Miranda's response was instant.
[Oh, then, sorry. Just send me to the afterlife.]
"What?" Now it was the goddess's turn to be confused. "But the sheer amount of lust you harbor within you, I swore you would be… Why? Why are you declining?"
[I'm not into guys,] Miranda explained. [Like, at all. So, having sex with them so I can get pregnant and make kids… Nah, I'd rather not.]
Alteria tilted her head. Then, she started laughing.
"OH!" She said loudly, as her laughter intensified. "I see, I see. My apologies, I understand now. Do not worry, that will not be an issue."
[Huh?]
"You will not have to engage in intercourse with any men to produce offspring. If that is what's barring you from reincarnating, then, please, disregard that notion."
Upon hearing that, initially, Miranda was confused. However, once she really thought about it, she realized that a fantasy world probably had some way for women to produce children between each other, and for men to do the same.
[Oh, okay, good,] she replied. [Then… Is that really all?]
"Yes," Alteria nodded. "No strings attached, other than that. You must produce children at some point in your life. As long as you do this for me, you can do whatever else you want. You can become a politician, a scientist, a warrior, a doctor, whatever would make your life a satisfactory one, so long as you have children."
That was a lot to take in.
Miranda had died at the age of 18. She had never really seen herself as being capable of being a mother. A walking husk of a human being could probably never take care of something else in any decent way. Now, however, that was what was being asked of her.
And Miranda couldn't do anything else but accept. With one question, however.
[Can I choose when?]
"Yes, but, just to make sure you *do* have children, I will place the requirement on your soul that you must, at least, have one child by the time you are 21, in this new world. If you do not, you will die instantly on your 21st birthday of a heart attack and I will find someone else who is more willing to fulfill this task. If you do, then, you will be allowed to live out the rest of your life."
[21… That's kind of early, but... whatever. If that's the only requirement, then, it's definitely better than staying dead. I accept. I'll do it.]
"Wonderful. Naturally," Alteria added, "I will grant you an appearance that will make even the most celibate of individuals salivate upon seeing you, just to make things a bit easier in this department. In addition, the race you will be reincarnating into carries what you might call a 'passive effect' where they heighten the libido of all those around them. With these two factors in your favor, you should have no trouble with this."
[Wow, uh, thank you.]
"That is not all," Alteria said. "In addition, I will grant you a small amount of natural power that you can then build on. And, finally, I will give you what you would call a 'cheat' ability. Something only, you can do that no one else can."
[Holy shit.]
"In this world, people can cast magical abilities. I guess you could call them 'spells'. In order to do so, of course, everyone has an innate source of energy. Yours, however, will have one unique benefit. And that is, that every time you do a sexual act, your energy will regenerate much faster than normal."
Quickly, Miranda thought of a question.
[What are we defining as "a sexual act"?]
Back on Earth, there had always been a debate over whether or not kissing, for example, could be considered a sexual act or just a loving one. She wanted to be clear on it.
"A good question. The answer is, anything physical that turns you on. Anything at all. If your body responds to it, your energy replenishes. This is just another way I hope to incentivize you to be proactive when it comes to reproduction."
[Oh… uh, got it,] Miranda answered.
"Now… Here's the hard part."
[There's a hard part?]
"Yes," she replied. "I have a question to ask of you. Do you want me to erase your memory before you head into this new world?"
[You can- wait, of course you can, you're a goddess.]
"Indeed. I offer this because I understand how traumatizing your youth was. Such memories could get in the way of you building an entirely new life. Because of this, I wish to give you this opportunity. Now, I cannot erase your memory of how you died or this conversation because I do not want you to forget your promise. However, everything else? I can. What do you say?"
Miranda took a moment to think about it. An answer came to her faster than she expected.
[… Most of them.]
"Hm? What do you mean?"
[I want you to erase most of my memories,] Miranda explained. [Everything involving my parents, my childhood… That stuff. But I don't want to forget the lonely days I had. The years I wasted. I want those to be in the back of my mind, so I can actually take advantage of this opportunity. Do… Do you understand?]
Alteria smiled.
"It would seem I picked the right person. Very well, I will grant this wish of yours. And, with that, our business is concluded. Do you have anything else to ask for? Anything you wish for me to elaborate on? Speak now, before I send you to your new life."
[Uhm… Well, let's see if I got everything. You're going to reincarnate me from scratch, I'm going to be really hot in this new life, people are going to want to fuck me, you want me to have kids, and it's not going to be a problem that I don't want to sleep with guys, right? That's all?]
"And you have your 'cheat' ability and natural power," Alteria reminded her. "Don't forget that."
[Right, that too… Then, yeah. If that's all, then I'm good to go.]
"Very well. I will be sending you now, my dear." Alteria then walked toward her and placed a kiss on her formless figure. One that made Miranda feel so warm, it was like she'd been set on fire. "You are blessed by me. So long as you remain in contact with nature, you will remain blessed. Pray to me, and I will grant you comfort. Stick to your goals and remain true to yourself and nothing can stand in your way. Do not forget this. Good luck."
As soon as those words escaped Alteria's mouth, Miranda couldn't see her anymore.
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed, and Miranda's eyes opened again.
This time, she wasn't in a black void, however. She was in a woman's arms.
A *beautiful* woman's arms, with another woman looking down at her.
And the first words she heard were:
"Liri," she said. "I will name her Liri."