CHAPTER THREE GODDESS
1106 Words
*Angels’ Realm — the realm of the gods.*
A cold, vast hall shimmered with ethereal light. The goddesses sat in a circle, their white dresses flowing like mist. At the center, Goddess Jill smiled softly, her eyes calm but sharp.
Mai broke the silence, her voice heavy with disbelief.
“What do you expect from a demon with seven horns?”
Jill’s smile deepened but she said nothing.
Suddenly, one of the goddesses leaned forward, voice sharp.
“So, what’s the plan? Are we just going to watch?”
Jill’s gaze swept over them, serene.
“No plan,” she replied simply.
A ripple of shock passed through the group.
“That girl… she’s going to die. She’s blind. There’s nothing to be done,” Goddess Mantis said quietly, her tone resigned.
Jill nodded slowly.
“The solution lies with the child. It is her fate.”
Another goddess, voice dripping with disbelief, interjected.
“What if they fall in love?”
The room erupted into laughter, light and mocking.
“Love? From a demon?” one scoffed.
“That demon has lived for thousands of years. He hates the sight of women,” another added.
Jill remained unmoved, her eyes reflecting a distant wisdom. The laughter grew louder.
“Imagine—a goddess and a demon falling in love,” the goddess chuckled, “and their children becoming demigods. What a joke!”
The laughter echoed like a wave.
Finally, Goddess Mantis raised a hand, silencing the room. Her expression was serious, almost grim.
“Enough.”
She fixed her gaze on Jill.
“Let’s just watch.”
---
---
In the heart of a shadowed chamber, a throne of iron stood imposingly. It was no ordinary seat — intricately crafted with cold stone, gleaming marble, and veins of gold and silver that caught the faintest glimmers of light. The room was cloaked in darkness, mirroring the aura of its occupant, a man whose presence seemed as ancient and unforgiving as time itself.
Emperor Lucas sat motionless upon the throne, his eyes closed — not in slumber, but in silent command. The weight of countless centuries bore down on him, shaping a heart as cold and unyielding as the metals entwined in his throne.
A bitter thought crossed his mind. *A mere peasant dared to speak to me?* The idea alone stirred a dark amusement within him. “What a lowly fool,” he mused, a shadow of a cruel smile curling his lips. “I should have ended her then and there. But no… that would be too easy. Watching her plead for death will be far more entertaining.”
The darkness deepened as his smile grew, and in that moment, the sky outside rumbled—a foreboding echo of his wrath.
---
Suddenly, an urgent voice shattered the silence. “That wasn’t the plan!” an unknown man shouted, panic edging his tone.
A shadowy figure stepped forward, voice low but firm. “I know, but we had no choice. If the truth came out now, we’d be exposed. I pinned it on him to buy us time.”
“But this cannot remain hidden forever,” another voice warned, tense and unyielding.
The room fell into uneasy silence before the first speaker responded, “I’m aware. We must act quickly. That demon… we must eliminate him before the next full moon.”
Heads nodded in grim agreement, the weight of their task sinking in like a stone in a still pond.
---
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Dark cage Aria's POV
*My body ached with every step.*
Each breath I drew felt heavy, laced with the pain of wounds I couldn’t even see. Being blind was one thing—being broken and blind was something else entirely. I didn’t deserve this. None of it.
But I had to escape. I had to try.
"Come... follow my lead," a voice whispered in the dark.
"Really?" I asked, my voice hoarse with disbelief.
"Yes, quickly."
A hand slipped into mine—warm, steady. I didn’t question. I ran. As fast as I could. My feet stumbled, legs trembling, but I held on... until I didn’t.
The hand vanished.
"Where are you?" I whispered into the cold air. No reply. Only the fading echo of steps I couldn’t follow.
I wandered, arms outstretched, unsure of where I was. Suddenly, a sharp sting cut through my skin—thorns? A strange warmth crawled through me.
A vision.
Dark roses. An endless garden of them, their petals deep as blood, their thorns jagged like secrets. Somehow, I had wandered into a garden. I smiled faintly, almost forgetting the pain… almost.
Then—
Thud.
I collided into someone—tall, unmoving. Cold.
And then the vision again. Seven black horns. Eyes of fire. Dread clawed at my chest. *I had just bumped into the Emperor.*
Before I could react, something gripped my throat. I gasped.
"You dare?" a voice, low and cruel, growled. "How *dare* you?"
I was airborne before I realized it. My body slammed into the thorny bushes. The dark roses tore through my skin like punishment. I cried out in pain, curling inwards.
"Run," his voice thundered. "RUN!"
Shaking, bleeding, I obeyed. I ran blindly through the garden, thorns catching my clothes. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.
Then—nothing.
I stepped into air. The ground disappeared.
I screamed.
Falling. Deeper, deeper—until I hit the bottom of a cold, dark pit. I gasped, only to feel the ground seal above me, trapping me completely.
Just two days.
Two days since my life had turned into a nightmare. I hugged my knees, sobbing in the darkness.
---
*Meanwhile, in the Angel’s Realm...*
“What did you do?” a goddess trembled, staring at the glowing pool that reflected Aria’s fall.
“I… I only wanted them to fall in love faster…” Mai stammered.
“You’re daft!” another goddess snapped. “That place—no one dares enter it. Not even touch the border. Even *thinking* about it is dangerous.”
Queen Mantis entered, robes shimmering like starlight.
“What is happening?” she asked, voice cold.
The hall fell silent.
“It’s Goddess Mai,” one of the attendants said quietly. “She disguised herself and led the blind girl to *him.*”
“To Emperor Lucas?” Queen Mantis asked, eyes narrowing. “Into the Crescent Garden?”
Mai dropped to her knees. “I’m sorry…”
“You pushed her into the lion’s den,” the Queen said with a sigh. “You may have just rewritten fate... for better, or for worse.”
- Writer
