Point of View: Ishtar
I sensed a bright light engulfing my vision. No, light was the wrong term. The light could never be that blinding, that painful. It was scorching. I squinted and struggled, attempting to break free from my confines, but to no avail. I was inside something. Or, rather, trapped inside something.
"Mmmph..."
My thoughts were hazy, my body still limp. My breathing was difficult. My body felt tight. Was I inside the meteor that the Goddess talked about? Isn't it a never-falling meteor? Then how the hell am I supposed to get out?
"Ugh... argh... the hell?! Get this off me already! Just, dammit!"
My movements slowed down, becoming weaker and weaker.
I tried my best, fighting until my last breath, but something seemed to stop me.
Like a warm blanket.
A mother's warmth.
No matter how hard I fought and how strong I tried to be, it was useless. Soon, my vision darkened, and a quiet, peaceful feeling settled over me. A comfortable blanket wrapped around my mind, giving me rest from the chaos of my life. And this time, it wasn't because I had died and woken up somewhere else; rather, it was because someone was taking care of me, the one that was trapped within this cage for years.
"Take care of my body, reincarnated one," a voice rang in my head. "Find my sword, find my legacy, and save the world."
"Ishtar?!"
Her tone seemed serious and calm. In a way, she knew what needed to happen, what had to be done. There was no malice or grudge against me. We weren't fighting; no animosity existed between us.
Suddenly, the white light receded, and I fell to the floor with a loud thud. I took a breath, and my lungs filled with fresh air once again. My arms and legs were loose and pliable, not bound by a thick coating. I was free at last.
Looking around, I found myself in a tiny bedroom. A few chests, a table, and a bed were the only furnishings in the room. The floor was tidy and swept clean, with not a speck of dust in sight. Picture frames hung on the walls, and candles were placed throughout the room, giving it a homely atmosphere.
Behind me was the enormous meteor that had crashed through the room's roof. It was covered with runes and symbols, which seemed to glow in the moonlight, and a shimmering shield was surrounding it, seemingly to prevent too much destruction as it fell. It certainly didn't seem to have caused much destruction for a meteor of this size.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "Who are you?!"
Turning, I faced an alluring young girl who stood in front of me, mostly nude, with a bit of cloth covering her breasts and nether regions. Her hair was messy and blue, but her eyes were fierce. She held a blunt sword in her hands as if prepared to attack or defend at any moment.
"What?" I said, confused. "You okay?" I sounded exactly like the voice I heard earlier in the meteor, which was a curveball, considering I had been used to my deeper male voice.
"You... Did you come out of the meteor?"
"Hm?" I pointed backward with my thumb. "That thing? Probably."
"Wait," she paused, staring wide-eyed at my form, uncomprehending for a moment, but then sighed in realization and took her own chin in thought. "Okay, I got a lot to say. Look away for a moment; I gotta get dressed first."
"Ah, sure," I nodded, looking around the room. A long mirror sat next to the bed, which showed my reflection in it.
I had acquired a rather voluptuous figure—very different from when I was alive but still pleasant enough for the eyes, with soft curves and full breasts. Pointy ears adorned either side of my face, and a pair of lovely crimson eyes stared back at me from the mirror. A golden halo rested on my head, the emblem of a goddess's blessing. My silky white hair flowed past my shoulders, braided neatly. I seemed to stand shorter than I was back on Earth, but the height difference shouldn't bother me. A thin, long robe clung to my upper torso, though the part near the breast hung a little low, exposing them in all their glory. I tugged it up to hide the rosy buds but couldn't help but get a little excited at myself.
"Well," a girlish voice called behind me. I turned to find the same girl from earlier, dressed in simple robes, sitting on the side of the bed. She had laid her weapon away, signaling that it was safe, and motioned for me to sit. I obeyed, keeping a comfortable distance between us. She offered me some water with a strange container made of ceramic.
"Sorry, I might've landed at quite the inappropriate time," I apologized, gazing at the drenched dildo with a slightly smug. "This looks like a special toy, huh?"
"T-that's—" she blushed, dashing forward and stuffing it underneath the sheets, muttering curses under her breath. "Don't... don't mind it."
I merely smirked. That girl was pretty cute, I had to say. It was an interesting dynamic since she had a more mature and somewhat mannish body compared to her girly appearance, but it made me chuckle slightly.
"So, what the hell's going on here? Don't just laugh," she barked, flustered as if I had seen everything.
"Oh, come on, I'm not here to judge. Nothing wrong with some intimate times. " I stretched out a hand toward her with a smile. "The name's Ishtar."
She remained wary but still took my hand and gave me a strong but quick squeeze.
"Elara," she introduced. Her eyes scanned me from top to bottom, slightly lingering on my halo. "I can't believe you actually came after all those years of prophecy. It was a little more anti-climatic than I had expected, though."
"Would it have been better if I had casually wrecked this entire region?"
"No, I didn't mean it like that."
I smiled. "I'm just messing with you, haha. Anyway, what's that whole prophecy about?"
"Well, it's just a tale from centuries ago," she sighed. "Ever since we moved here, there has been a meteor in the air. At first, it was an enormous floating mass of pure white. It grew to fit into the sky and never changed position or altered its movement. Hundreds of years passed, and we thought it might never happen until a prophecy appeared telling us that the meteor will one day fall and the savior of the world would rise from it."
"Ah~," I said, clapping my hands. "So that's me? I suppose?"
"Maybe," she answered, eyes flicking over me, then turning. I followed her gaze out the window, where the sunlight filtered down from above. The houses outside were only slightly damaged; nothing a few weeks of cleaning couldn't fix, I presumed.
"Sorry again for making a mess," I apologized, scratching the nape of my neck awkwardly.
Elara chuckled, "No need to apologize. If crashing through my roof is the divine entrance of our savior, then I'd say it's worth it."
I couldn't help but smile at her easygoing demeanor. "Well, I'm honored to have made such a grand entrance. Anyway, tell me more."
"There isn't much more to it. It's something the villagers made up, and to be honest, I don't even believe it. It's more of a superstitious myth that villagers believe in. But the Goddess is real and certainly does exist."
"Huh, why so skeptical?" I asked.
She sighed, placing her arms behind her and propping herself up.
"Back when I was younger, my parents died. They were both respectable fighters with great experience and skills. They helped the village maintain peace by hunting monsters and helping farmers plow their fields. But now that they're gone, practically none of the villagers are capable of fighting back. Whenever a forest wolf or another creature leaks into the village, we just have to hope we can fend it off with makeshift weapons. No one wants to get stronger because they all believe that you'll save them when you land. But I guess that day is today."
I frowned slightly as Elara's words sunk in. "Oh, that's something."
"Well, you better head out and introduce yourself to the village. No point in staying here. Let's go."