I sat down on a chair that had suddenly appeared next to me and looked at the woman in amazement.
"Are you crazy? I come all this way and you're telling me that I won't get a blessing?"
"My blessings only go to those who deserve them. You are not worthy of such a gift."
"I beg your pardon?"
Eurybia sighed. "That's what I meant. You are a good girl. But you will never become one of my priestesses. That's why you are here."
At first I was speechless, then I couldn't help laughing. "You're joking, right? If that's the case, I'm going to leave right now. I know how to find my own way home."
"Don't be stupid," the goddess snapped. "You can't leave. Not even if you want to."
"What do you mean?"
"This is my house and you are my guest. And there is no way out."
"But you said yourself that I am not worthy of your blessing. How does that work?"
"Your soul does not grant me access. Your heart belongs to another God. That is the only explanation. You have been in contact with another god before."
Eurybia tilted her head thoughtfully. "I have never had anyone as my guest who has received a pre-binding blessing. When you turned to me, I could feel your pain on the way. You got that because you were already attributed to another god. But for over a thousand years there has been no God in this world who has bestowed a pre-binding blessing on a newborn."
"How did you know about that?"
"It's not a secret. I can see the runes in your soul. They are burnt in."
"Why does a god do that.... and who blessed me?"
"Yona, you've got me a bit wrong here. You are not completely blessed. You are merely under the protection of a god, but you are not one of his followers.
She started to grin and her eyes reflected her curiosity.
"Why? Why have I been placed under divine protection?"
"Because you are destined for a greater purpose than others."
Eurybia smiled and looked at me with sympathy. "You are special. But unfortunately, you have chosen the wrong path, and therefore you cannot become my divine pendant."
I chewed my lip thoughtfully.
"Did you expel me from your temple yesterday? I couldn't remember anything."
Eurybia sighed. "Yes. I felt a follower of another god enter one of my sacred halls. I expelled you and the protection of your god saved you. He brought you home. You must know that you cannot simply enter the sacred halls of another god once you have been blessed. You must be invited or accompanied by a believer of that god."
I ran my hands through my snow-white hair and looked at Eurybia a serious expression on my face, "So if I return to your temple and have not been blessed by you, I must leave Niantra?"
"No, of course not. Patron gods tolerate other devotees in their territories. However, there is one hitch. You have no rights in my protectorate. I am the law and can judge you in spite of another patron god if you do something that is against my laws."
I nodded. "I understand. What do you advise me to do?"
Eurybia got up and went to a well that was not yet there either.
She scooped up some water and put it in a glass jar which she handed to me.
"Drink this and I will have access to your soul for a moment. Maybe I can help you... but I ask something in return."
I felt inwardly that this would not work out in my favour. After all, I was talking to a deity and not a normal woman, even if it seemed so in her present form.
"If you ever have children, I want one of them to be my follower."
I started to laugh out loud and shook my head. "What kind of demand is that? I will not agree to that."
Eurybia frowned slightly in disappointment. "Too bad... then let's make another deal."
I waited eagerly for her proposal.
"I want you to tell me who is the god who blessed you. I would love to have a conversation with him or her."
I weighed the pros and cons but finally came to the conclusion that it would be better to accept her offer.
She was my only chance to find out whose protection I was under.
I grabbed her glass. "We have a deal."
***
After drinking the water, Eurybia returned to her original size.
"I hope you don't regret your decision." She spoke quietly, almost as if she were afraid that something might happen to me.
"No, I don't regret anything."
In the next moment, my eyes suddenly went black and it felt as if the ground was going to collapse beneath me. I fell into a seemingly endless depth, but it happened as slowly as if I were drowning in water. But with the difference that I could breathe in enough oxygen. I suddenly felt something soft close around my wrist. A hot burning spread from there and I felt the sweat on my forehead. The burning became more and more unbearable with every second that passed. In the distance I suddenly saw a small light. I tried to block out the pain and concentrate on it. But the burning pain had taken over my whole body and I was gasping for breath. Suddenly I heard my name and I was pulled upwards by something. The next moment I was standing in front of Eurybia again.
"Yona! Are you alright? " Eurybia called out to me worriedly.
"Yes, I'm fine. "
Her hand disappeared from my wrist and I looked around.
"Where did you take me?"
Eurybia stepped forward and stood in front of me.
"Do you remember what happened?"
I suddenly felt dizzy again and I lowered my head.
"It's okay. It will pass soon." Eurybia stroked my head comfortingly.
Suddenly, I remembered everything.
"Oh my goodness! I fell into nothing and something tried to burn me.!" I jumped up. "Who did that?"
Eurybia frowned and shook her head. "I don't know, but I felt it too. Someone or someting didn't want me to access your soul. I've never experienced anything like that!""
"But there was something else... a light..."
"Yona, you're not making sense. What do you mean a light? Where?"
"Far away, somewhere in the depths of the ocean. I thought it was a lighthouse. But a lighthouse in the ocean is not very likely....there was only darkness and that burning feeling. Was it all in my dreams and imagination?"
Eurybia was silent for a while. "Yona, you have seen the light? Can you describe it?"
I nodded and looked at her questioningly.
"Well, where was the light? I don't think you were dreaming."
I tried desperately to remember what I had just seen, but my memories seemed to blur.
"The light attracted me. It was as if it wanted me to swim there, but I couldn't move. The depth had me in its grip. I couldn't pull myself away."
Eurybia looked at me intensely. "Please tell me what you remember. Don't try to explain it with some fancy words. Just tell me exactly what you saw."
I nodded reluctantly. I knew that she might be able to help me and that I should trust her.
"It was far away... on the horizon maybe, but I couldn't really say. There was something that kept pulling me towards it with invisible strings. At first I was scared, but then it started to look appealing. It was warm and I could feel a gentle breeze blowing on my skin. Suddenly, I felt a wave hit me... it was cold and wet. I opened my eyes and I thought that the sea had swallowed me. But then I felt something squeezing my leg and I heard a voice calling out to me. It was calm and quiet... soothing."
"Yona, I want you to listen to me very carefully... you are special. You have been blessed by a god. You are destined for great things. You need to hold onto that memory and hold on to it until you get back home."
Eurybia placed both hands on my shoulders to stop me from shaking and took a deep breath.
"I need to give you a warning: That is one hell of a dangerous place you've found yourself in. You may not believe me now, but you'll understand soon enough. Please stay focused on the memory of your dream and focus on your goal."
"What do you mean?"
"You have been granted the protection of a god and you will be hunted down. Be wary of strangers who approach you. They are not what they seem."
I nodded vigorously and took a step back.
"Thank you for telling me."
She nodded slightly and then looked into the far distance. "You must return, your time here is coming to an end. The time in my world is not permanent.... I will guide you back to your world. Let us go back to the gate through which you entered my world."
We walked towards the gateway, but the closer we got to it, the more I felt uneasy.
"Eurybia, what is this place? I don't feel safe here anymore."
"It's okay, Yona. We're almost there. Just close your eyes and focus on your destination. "
Reluctantly I obeyed her and closed my eyes.
"You can open them now."
I opened my eyes to see Eurybia standing in front of me.
We stood again in the water in which I had come to my senses. Unlike before, there was now a huge golden gate. Water ran down the sides and flowed up again at the same time. A faint light illuminated our surroundings.
"You are in the realm of the goddess of the sea," Eurybia explained softly. "This is my domain... the gateway between the worlds. As long as you stay within this area, you will be safe. This is also the reason why you must return through here."
I looked at the gate in amazement. "How did you build this?"
Eurybia smiled proudly. "I'm not certain. I only know that it is the will of the gods."
I looked at the gateway again and then at Eurybia.
"Before I go, I wanted to thank you for your enlightening words. I will keep my promise to you!"
She nodded and gave me a nod. "Good luck."
I turned around and ran to the entrance. All of a sudden, I felt a gust of wind and the sensation of falling. I reached out for something, but my arms and legs flew out ahead of me.
I opened my eyes. The water above me was literally banging on my back. Unlike before, the water was not boiling hot, but lukewarm. I was back in the temple. My gaze slid to the edge of the pool where I saw my mother's frightened face. Even the priestess next to her gave me a fearful look. When I looked down, I knew why. The water in the pool under the statue of Eurybia was no longer turquoise blue but pitch black. It was official: I had not been blessed by our patron goddess.
"She did not drown, she is alive..." My mother looked at me with a mixture of horror and relief on her face. "You need to get out of there."
Just as my mother was about to join me, the priestess pulled her back again. "Don't you see? Your daughter is standing in pitch-black water and we did not witness a blessing... the only explanation is ... she was rejected."