As the train prepared to depart, the yellow lights above the doors blinked more than once, accompanied by the familiar sound, signaling that the doors would soon close. Those who were still a few steps away quickly hurried to board, not wanting to be left behind.
Maria Eine managed to find a space in the middle, and as she stood by, she instinctively glanced out the glass window.
In that moment, a chill ran down her spine, and her heartbeat began to race. Maria Eine's eyes slowly widened, and her lips parted slightly as a shocked gaze fixed on a lone figure standing on the other side of the platform.
Supposedly, black eyes locked with hers—only now, they glowed a deep, ominous red.
It was him.
That young man from before!
The figure stood there, staring directly at her.
He didn't blink.
He didn't move, just standing there like a shadow that refused to fade.
Uneasy and uncomfortable, Maria Eine looked away. When she looked back, the figure was gone, and slowly, the train moved southbound.
What... was that? Why had that young man appeared again?
A question sat heavily in her mind, and she began to wonder if the other was truly serious about being her warrior.
But Maria Eine sighed and looked down at her feet, doing her best to ignore everything about the new world around her.
As the train continued toward the last stop at Taft Avenue, Maria Eine knew she needed to step out. Dragging her exhausted, weak body, the image of the young man's face came back to her mind. She shook her head in frustration. Forget, forget, forget about him!
"Ma, Pa—I am home." Maria Eine called out loudly as she arrived home safely. Exhausted to the core, she removed her doll shoes and placed them in the shoe cabinet by the entrance.
"Oh, you're home. You're not early today. Did something happen?" Her mother, Miya Chell, asked, sitting on the couch with her husband, Haye Eine. The elderly couple was watching the latest basketball game, something her father liked so much. Even though the world may change for some, for others, life continues as it always has.
"Just an overtime meeting, and the traffic was heavy today. Also, there were a lot of crazy people at the train station."
"Newsflash—Good evening, everyone!"
"Tonight, we have the latest update from the ECWA. Today, 404 females have awakened their goddess abilities all over the world. Our Earth Countries World Alliance (ECWA) is now preparing for the new opening of the Goddess Training for the One World Order."
The sudden cut-in of news broadcasts had become normal on national television.
On the screen of an 85-inch flat-screen TV, the professional female anchor delivered her report seriously, making everyone in the room watch intently.
Maria Eine stopped, standing at the side, unable to help but listen to more of the news. Her thoughts began to wander.
Why would such a program need to be made?
However, since there were already Goddess and Warrior registrations in her country and other places, it seemed more changes were to come.
But she had no need to care about it anyway.
"That's a lot today. Yesterday, they reported just ten people around the world." Haye Eine commented holding the remote for the television and continuing. "Your cousin awakened last week, and she found her warrior just yesterday too. They are now officially registered as a Goddess and Warrior of our country."
"Yeah, your cousin is now going to the Capital to live there." Excitement couldn't be hidden in her mother's tone, and suddenly both parents looked at Maria Eine with eager anticipation.
Suddenly, the center of attention fell upon her again. Maria Eine felt very uncomfortable, a wave of anxiety making her stomach churn. She wanted to show a good smile, but her face had always struggled to hide her feelings, so it came out awkwardly.
"Ah, that's good for her. I know some of my friends will go to the Capital too. They said there are big apartments…"
"Daughter, is there news of your warrior?" Haye Eine asked, interrupting his daughter's mumbling.
Maria Eine stared at her father, her mouth opening and closing without answering. The lack of words for a moment felt like centuries. When her mouth finally found its voice, she could taste a bitter tone in it. "There's still no news, Pa. Maybe not all Goddesses have their own warriors, right? It is possible, right?"
Unfortunately, she followed it with a weak laugh, making her sound a bit pathetic. Noticing this, she quickly changed the topic. "I'll change first, Pa, Ma. Then I'll eat later."
Every hurried step upstairs felt heavy as she made her way to her bedroom on the third floor, leaving her parents looking at each other, talking quietly.
"That's too bad. I heard Isabella's parents received thousands of dollars for her daughter being registered." Her mother's voice murmured from behind, and as if she remembered something, she shouted to her daughter. "Hey Mari, I already reheated the chicken curry for you."
Maria Eine chose not to answer, instead closing her bedroom door and locking it from the inside.
A long, bitter sigh escaped her lips as she slowly walked inside. Making her way toward her work desk, she placed her bag absentmindedly, took off her pink jacket, and let her body fall onto the bed with a low grunt.
She sighed again, opening and closing her eyes as she stayed still, staring at the white ceiling.
Maria Eine's mind drifted back to the day she had awakened after losing consciousness.
She remembered raising both hands, feeling the coursing energy running through her body, making her feel light and warm. A soft, golden glow began to emanate from her palms, its light gently shimmering with hints of gold.
She could make it seem as if it were completely normal, and her parents saw it right away. From then on, everyone in the family recognized it as her Goddess ability.
That's what she thought so too, until one day, she cannot make it out again.
Anxious and terrified. Maria Eine tried everything to feel it, to let it out. But nothing happened, as if it had all been a dream when she was unconscious.
Only Maria Eine realized she had lost her Goddess ability the following day.
Thinking about it again, she subconsciously raised one of her hands, looking at it as she tried to relive the same feeling she had experienced that day.
Come out... come out... light... light..., she thought repeatedly, but nothing happened, leaving her disappointed with a long sigh.
"How can I be a Goddess without the power they're talking about?" Maria Eine asked herself, filled with doubts and a sense of self-inferiority. But she quickly snapped out of it hearing her stomach growled. "Hmph, why should I even care about these things? Eating is still better than these stupid superpowers."
As if all her negative emotions had resolved instantly, Maria Eine stood up, cheering herself on with two slaps to her face. She went to the bathroom for a quick bath and then headed downstairs.
Even though her eyes begged for sleep and rest, she spent the evening with her parents for a while, talking about other things before finally heading upstairs to sleep.
Meanwhile, above the Eine family home, a small, glowing round object hovered silently, much like the others that had appeared in the night skies.
This one blinked faintly with a golden light, pulsing in time with the cold breeze that swept through the night.
In the following days, Maria Eine's life returned to its usual routine, work and home, work and home. The same boring rhythm played out every day. No one expected everything to change forever after a certain day.Maria Eine, having a normal day and returning home from a pleasant grocery shopping trip, suddenly heard—no, everyone heard it—a deafening bang, like a gong being struck in the sky. It was so loud, it felt as though the entire Earth shook.Three times, the sound of something like a gong being struck echoed through the air. With each strike, Maria Eine felt a growing sense of foreboding. Her line of sight fixed on the unmoving unknown floating objects in the sky. Her heartbeat quickened in sync with the unsettling feeling.While the ordinary people, who had heard the sound, couldn't withstand it for long. The sound was so deafening that it made their ears bleed. They fell to their knees, screaming in pain and others even lost their consciousness.
For those who miraculously managed to stand, they witnessed an unimaginable sight.
One floating island after another, began to appear, slowly coming into view before the eyes of humanity. This brought an even greater shock to the citizens of the world.
What was happening to their world? Was this even the reality they knew.
It didn't take long for government aircraft to fly nearby, and media outlets, along with social media, began rampantly covering the live news.
An island was floating in the sky, covered with normal grass and rocks, and the most striking sight was the huge iron gates, solid and unyielding. These mysterious gates stood alone, leading to nowhere, seemingly simple, with no visible interior or entrance, just an endless surface of solid material, leaving everyone baffled.
Maria Eine, standing below and looking up, couldn't shake a strange feeling deep inside. Big, something big is going to happen, and it's not something good.Whatever it could be, her instinct told her to go back home as soon as possible.Without hesitation, Maria Eine ran as fast as her legs could carry her, ignoring the confused glances from the people she passed.
'Clang...!'
Another deafening GONG echoed through the air, followed by the sudden appearance of massive screens across the entire world.
On these digital-like screens, names flickered and changed in rapid succession. Almost like a stream of binary code scrolling through a computer— incomprehensible yet strangely mesmerizing.
"Ma! Ma!" Maria Eine shouted, pushing open the gates of their house, unable to see what was happening in the sky.
"Mari... you came back."
"Yes, Ma, are you okay—?" Her words were cut off as Maria Eine noticed lights glowing beneath her feet.
Looking down, her black pupils dilated as her line of sight fell on the arcane circle, filled with unfamiliar letters and symbols. Just then, an unknown rift of darkness began to open beneath her.
Thud. Thud. Her heartbeat quickened, and fear flashed across her face.
Maria Eine raised her head to look up at her mother out of instinct, but before she could even say anything, she was gone in the blink of an eye.
The last thing she heard was her mother's anxious voice calling her name, 'Mari.'