The Abyss 15th floor.
A big structure of an incomplete building was standing tall near a big lava pond. The building was surrounded by walls made of metal, and several men were guarding the gate. They were clad in light metal armors and holding swords and such.
"Rudy, has the Expedition team come back already?"
A middle-aged man with white beard approached and asked a younger guy beside him. A pair of big axes were hanging from his back.
"Oh, Sir Leon…", the younger guy made a salute gesture. "They will most probably arrive this afternoon, Sir."
The middle-aged man, Leon, sighed heavily while crossing his arms.
"Something must've happened…"
Just as the same time as he stopped his words, the warning siren buzzed loudly. He flinched and ran towards the inside of the building. The axes he was carrying made clanking sounds, and his metal armor didn't hinder him from running as fast as he could.
"What happened!?"
Leon shouted as he arrived at a room full of people operating computers and machines.
"Commander Leon! A hostile presence detected in the radar, heading to this place at high speed!"
"What did you say!? This sector should have been cleared from monsters!"
Leon forced his way to snatch over the radar control. And there, his expression turned pale.
"No way…", he stepped backwards. "Tell the HQ, something with the speed of a bullet train is aiming at this place…"
***
Several hours earlier.
[Wake up, Farenna. How long do you plan to waste your time?]
"5 minutes more, please…"
I kept my eyes closed as Dea tried waking me up with her soft voice. Huh? Soft voice?
"Bweh!"
I gasped and opened my eyes in a hurry. Then I raised my body while rubbing my half asleep eyes.
"Haaaaaaaaaaan…", I yawned and stretched my arms. "Dea? How long did I sleep?"
[Exactly 7 hours. Actually, you were more like, passing out instead of sleeping? I don't know to be honest.]
The vibe was way too different. Dea's robotic tone had gone and she now spoke like a normie.
[I kinda feel you're thinking something rude but I'll let you off just for now…]
I recognized this way of talking. I even remembered she appeared in front of me right before I passed out.
[Anyway, why don't you check your status first? I bet you're gonna be sh—]
"Status."
[Hey listen when I'm still talking!]
The next moment, the status panel popped up before me.
———————
Status
———————
Name : Farenna
Race : Lv. 1/100 Calamity Nymph (EX)
Status : Sealed
Sync. Rate: 10.01%
———————
HP: 500/500 MP: 300/300
SP: 700/700
———————
STR : 37 LUK : 5
AGI : 45 DEX : 40
INT : 32 VIT : 33
Unallocated pts: 55
Bonus pts: 60
———————
You have completed the task:
· Level up to max 30/30
Rewards: Sync. Rate +10%, All Stats +10
Accept now? (Y/N)
———————
"Hmm…", I stared at it for a while. "I seemed to successfully evolve. A Calamity Nymph, huh? I like the way it sounds."
I laid my body back on the ground, and a springy sensation spread through all over my chest.
"Huh?"
I turned my gaze to my chest and spotted a pair of medium sized mountains swaying left and right. The mini hills I had used to adore were no longer there.
"What the hell!?"
I hurriedly stood up and began looking at myself. I groped my own breasts to check if I was dreaming or not. I definitely didn't have ulterior motives.
"Nnnnhhh♥…", I let out a weird sound and pinched the beans softly.
[... Did you forget I'm here too?]
"Ugh… Sorry…"
[Just try to remember you also have my appearance. How do you think I was feeling, my dear Apostle?]
"..."
I continued checking for myself and it seemed I grew taller as well. I reached for my head frantically and accidentally hurt my fingers.
"Ouch! What was that!?"
My fingers were making contact with something hard and sharp, located right above my temples. I gently rubbed the foreign objects and found out they were apparently my horns. They grew longer and judging by how they were shaped, they must look a little bit menacing.
"Wow… I wonder what I look like right now… Man, if only I have a mirror!"
[It can be done later. First, you must wear your clothes.]
"Oh! The strapless bra Dea made me before!"
I looked around and found it near where my butt was. I took it and wore it immediately. It was a perfect fit.
"Damn. Dea really knew everything, huh?", I smiled bitterly. "Anyway, which one of you is in charge of guiding me now? Dea or the Goddess one?"
I waited for her answer while fumbling around and searching for my dress. Then I found it on top of a flat rock. It was neatly folded. Who did that?
[Mostly, I'll be in charge of it. Well, you can say you have a Goddess inside your body.]
"I see…", I took my dress and held it in my hands. "So I won't be hearing Dea's voice anymore, huh?"
[You seem to grow attached to her, don't you? Don't worry, I can switch out with her whenever you want.]
I widened my eyes and smiled after hearing that.
[Well, she's originally a part of me, though. You can say she was preparing a vessel I could infuse myself into.]
Wait, what?
"This is the first time I'm hearing that… What do you mean?"
I felt chills down my spine, anticipating if she said something insane.
[Ugh… This is what happens when you never listen to me… Haaaaah…]
She sighed heavily. But for real, I never heard anything about this.
[Listen, Farenna. You're a vessel, and I gave you my incarnation, didn't I?]
I nodded my head in confusion. I completely forgot about that. A lot of things had been going on so how could I remember each of them?
[You and your self justification. Anyway, you must be thinking that I'll be taking over your body or something, right?]
Again, I nodded my head frantically. I didn't even know what to say after hearing this ridiculous explanation. Was I dreaming by any chance?
[No, you're not. And I won't take over your body. We, Deities, even since the Ancient Times, had secretly entered human society by blending in with the masses.]
She stopped for a brief moment.
[Have you ever heard of Prophets and Legendary Heroes?]
"I have… Are you saying they were Deities in disguise?", I voiced my mind.
[Um, it's half correct, err… How should I put it? The outer vessel was still of a human while the soul residing inside it was a Deity? Ugh...This is so hard to explain!]
I could imagine her scratching her head in frustration. I kinda got the idea but a lot of things were still left unanswered.
[Anyway, it's just like that. We do this to maintain balance between the mortal world and the Divine Realm. But this time, it's different.]
Her tone changed suddenly.
[The faction I used to belong to, the Romans, along with their ally, the Norse, planned to wage war with the Abyss and rule over the mortal world for themselves.]
I wouldn't mind seeing mankind being enslaved by them, but waging war against the Abyss would trouble me though.
"Used to belong to? So you're saying you're not siding with them anymore?"
[No, I'm not siding with anyone. I am completely alone with my own ideals.]
"How about the other Alliance?"
[You mean the Devatas and those Olympians? I used to believe they were nice and all but… Nah, let's talk about this later.]
She sounded hopeless. Was this the reason why Dea hadn't told me anything about this?
[Anyway, that's the gist of it. I won't take over your body, or rather, I can't. But at some point, I can make things easier for you.]
Every single thing she explained was unbelievable. No one in their right mind would believe this kind of thing. Even I wouldn't believe it as well if the one explaining to me wasn't a real Goddess.
[I know you're doubting me, but trust me. Soon, you'll see it yourself.]
There was no point in doubting, actually. I wanted to doubt her but deep down inside I trusted every word she said. I didn't know, I just knew she wasn't spouting any lies.
[Thank you, Farenna.]
Her gentle tone returned and it relieved my heart a little.
[By the way, you've been calling me 'she' and 'her' since you woke up.]
"Ugh…", I gulped my saliva and turned away. "H-How should I call you then?"
It was confusing. Referring to Bona Dea I mean.
[Hmm… I won't mind you calling me Dea but you already grew attached to it… How about Bona?]
"Bona, huh?", I mumbled and placed my hand on my chin. "Well, that should be fine I guess."
I smiled a little bit and turned my gaze to the status panel before me.
"Hmm… Can I just accept the rewards right away?"
[Yeah, it's up to you. But before that, let me warn you.]
"What is it?"
[You'll experience excruciating pain when the Sync. Rate goes up.]
"Ah, I remember that…", I pondered a little. "I'm used to pain so no worries."
I pushed the 'Y' option and a tremendous surge of energy entered my body. It was fine since I didn't feel any pain at all. But what came next almost made me insane.
The chains wrapping up my right hand started moving wildly, making sparks like a firework. It was a normally beautiful sight, but then, everything crumbled.
"Uaaaaaaaaaargh!!!"
It was so hot and painful at the same time. It felt like my skin was melting due to the heat yet I couldn't even lift my fingers at all. I shrieked loudly, as tears started to dwell from my eyes.
[You can do it, Farenna! Just a little bit more!]
I gritted my teeth as hard as I could so that I stopped crying. And then…
Clank!
The chains fell on the ground, and vanished into nothingness.
[Congratulations, Farenna. You've done well enduring it. Your Sync. Rate successfully went up, and you're no longer sealed.]
"... It hurt…"
[I know. You've done well, my dear.]
I stole a glance at the status panel and smiled while wiping down my tears.
"I've grown stronger. Just you wait, humans!"
———————
Status
———————
Name : Farenna
Race : Lv. 1/100 Calamity Nymph (EX)
Status : Unsealed
Sync. Rate: 20.01%
———————
HP: 500/1400 MP: 300/900
SP: 700/1200
———————
STR : 47 LUK : 15
AGI : 55 DEX : 50
INT : 42 VIT : 43
Unallocated pts: 55
Bonus pts: 60
———————