The Goddess Reborns as a Nobody

I open my eyes and I see nothing but darkness around me. The sleepy sounds of the forest creatures along with the noises made by the nocturnal ones are my only indication that it’s night and that I’m not blind. Calmly checking my surroundings, I sense no sign of danger anywhere. Not that I’m not able to handle any danger that comes my way even in my new form. I look down at my small chubby hands, experimentally squeezing the soft yet rough texture of the basket I’m in. Base on the size and the feebleness I feel in my hand, I think I’m a toddler of two years. I don’t know why my siblings decide to send me to Asturias’ Human Realm in the form of a human child. Oh, wait, I think I remember my last memories of when I was still a goddess... “Let’s turn her into a baby! This is so the humans won’t be scared of our little sister. It’ll be good for her to gain the Humans’ trust while she grows and who can ever be scared of a cute little baby?” my brother, the God of Water and Wind, says. "I agree, my dear brother. We all know how humans can be when it comes to encountering someone stronger than them. They might hurt our little baby sister and there goes our plan to bring order to the Asturias," my sister, the Goddess of Fire and Earth agrees. “Well, we’ll leave that to you, kids,” my father, the God of Light, yawns, ruffling my hair as he passes me by towards their bed chambers. Mother, the Goddess of Darkness, gives my brother and sister a stern glare. “You two, you better keep an eye on your sister while we slumber. Your father and I are so tired from developing this planet.” “Yes, Mother,” they both answer with a mock salute, to which Mother only shook her head at their antics. “Twins,” she grumbles affectionately. As soon as she passes by me, she bends down to place a kiss on the top of my head before following Father. After that, I'm left to the devices of my brother and sister who are wearing wicked and mischievous smiles while rubbing their hands with anticipation... I sigh at the memory, squeezing the woven basket absently. So this is the new hobby my sister picked up from watching the humans? And I guess this ugly-looking blanket is my brother’s doing. Sighing again, my mind wanders over to my parents. I knew that if there’s still some work to do in the world they chose to oversee, which is called Asturias, I won’t be surprised if I get a little brother or sister after their so-called ‘slumber’. However, their work is already done. True, it still needs a few polish and whatnot because the humans keep on self-destructing whenever my parents are done from taking a nap(which actually takes a couple of decades). But I think the reason they're not bothered by those little details is because of me. I don’t see that in a bad way but I don’t see it in a good way, either. You see, in a world, there exist two realms for a world to be appropriate for life to propagate. The Human Realm and the Deity Realm. A world needs a deity to be in the Deity Realm so they can create a world that can sustain life such as creating land, water, placing the trees, and everything in between. However, those in the Deity Realm can only head down the Human Realm for a short period of time and only when the Deity has accumulated enough power to sustain their form there. My parents are already drained from so much work that they won't be able to come down to the Human Realm for the next few hundred thousand years. And the reasons why I got the task to be sent into the Human Realm. One, it’s because our Deity count in the realm is low. The reason why there needs to be a Deity Realm is for the deities to provide maintenance to the humans. If left unchecked, the humans will cause chaos and will result in destruction to the world a deity worked so hard on. As much as my parents want to keep on giving us more siblings to give my brother and sister a hand, their powers and energy are all but depleted from completing Asturias. When my elder siblings were born, my parents discovered that Asturias is a world that contains mana as infinite as oxygen and magic can exist. My brother was already showing an affinity to Water and Wind while he was being born which is why he’s the god of both elements. The same goes for my sister for Fire and Earth elements. They are the ones the humans pray to when they need to borrow the power of one or all elements. Because of that, my brother and sister already have their hands full with maintaining both their followers and the elements under their power. The second reason why I'm being sent there is that I don't have any affinity with elements or other basic affinities a deity should have. Affinities such as cooking, music, art, or anything at all that humans can follow to provide them the inspiration or motivation. What I do have is an affinity that cements my destiny to be sent down to the Human Realm and receiving the task to finish my parents' job. And that’s my affinity for Humans. Saying it like that, though, it does sound a little broad. But to make it simple, I have the ability to head down to the Human Realm without any strain or restrictions on my powers. I'm basically a god who's capable of living in the Human Realm. If I want to, I can create chaos or bring peace in the Human Realm and the humans can't do anything about it. But I have no plans in bringing destruction, though. Peace? That will depend but it's more likely since it'll coincide with my goal to complete Asturias. Regardless... I know how hard my parents worked on Asturias and if I blatantly show off my abilities, whether it’s good or bad, the humans will cause chaos and bring about the world’s end. I still remember after learning about my affinity, my parents both exhaled a sigh of relief. It's the reason they're retiring for slumber early. Because of me, they know that I can polish their world and fill in the blanks such as adding more creatures to the ecosystem, improve the works of magic, and many more. Not only my parents but my brother and sister are also more onboard with the idea of me heading down to the Human Realm. It’s probably they can’t properly maintain or inspire their followers or keep an eye on the elements if they don’t really see it in the Human Realm themselves. Besides, contrary to what the humans believe, we actually can’t see everything that’s happening in the Human Realm from the Deity Realm. This is because we aren’t the ones who created the world and that we are too young to have that ability. The only way we can see through everything and anything in our realm is if there’s a priest or priestess devoted to bearing a deity’s affinity around. If there's a temple dedicated to either my brother or sister or both, then we can see anything and everything in the Kingdom where the temple is. Otherwise, we can only see things from a priest's or priestess's eyes. It's the reason why pilgrims exist. There are also wandering priests and priestess is so that my siblings can see the world outside the scope of the temple for maintenance. I’m happy that my siblings are really dedicated to their destined tasks. It just shows that they’re great deities and that I’m glad that my parents’ hard work won’t be going to waste. It’s also the reason why I don’t tell them my deepest wish. Having this affinity already raised my family’s expectations of me and they give me nothing but love and life. I don’t have it in me to disappoint them. I have no choice but to just grin and bear it. And the first task I have for today is to wait for the couple who devoutly follow the Gods of the Elements a.k.a my brother and sister. Speaking of which… I don’t know how long I’ve been stuck in the blanket shrouded in the darkness of the forest of who-knows-where filled with who-knows-what, but thanks to that I manage to finally think all of the things I forbid myself from thinking back in the Deity Realm. As soon as I regain my thoughts to focus on the now, I hear rustling not far from where I am, followed by the sounds of footsteps. One heavy and one light. This is definitely none other than that couple my siblings tasked to get me. “Are you sure it’s this way, my dear?” I hear a male voice ask from the distance. “I’m sure this is the way the Gods of the Elements told us to go,” a female voice replies. “Are you really sure about that? I don’t hear any baby crying though.” My face scrunches up at the comment. Do I really have to cry like a newborn for them to confirm my existence? I can just call to them but even though I'm capable of speech, my body is still adjusting, and for now, I'm a helpless little baby. I can only gurgle stuff but it won't reach the couple at this distance. Unless I cry… I shudder, maybe I won’t have to do that. The woman sounds capable and level-headed. Surely she’ll be able to trust in her gods’ instructions and find me here, right? Right?! "Come to think of it, you're right. A baby in the middle of the forest like this is a little dangerous. If we hear crying, then the baby's definitely here. If not, then…I fear we might be too late," the words seem to tremble out of the woman's mouth. Oh, for goodness’ sake! I guess a baby’s got to do what a baby’s got to do. All I have to do is cry and that’s not hard to pull off considering this miserable situation I am in. I open my mouth and belted out a strong and ear-splitting wail. “Oh my goodness, you hear that?” “It’s this way. Quick!” It didn’t take long for the couple to find me crying my heart out in the basket woven by my sister and swaddled by the ugly-ass blanket I’ve ever laid my eyes on courtesy of my brother. As soon as they're within the basket's vicinity, the basket illuminates before bursting, creating a pillar of golden light towards the heavens. It's a signal to my brother and sister that I'm safely retrieved by their follower. If they only knew that their followers didn’t really follow their instructions or believe in their orders 100%, I think these two will be in big trouble. Maybe I’ll consider this my first ever task and teach them the error of their ways. "She's beautiful," the woman whispers as she drops to her knees to hover over me. From the faint glow of the basket, I can see that she's a pretty woman in her late twenties with a nice and tall, slender physique. She has bright red hair and her green emerald eyes glitter like the jewels themselves from the soft light. I expected her to be older, smaller, round, and mom-looking but she's not. “That she is,” the man agrees. The man she’s with, on the other hand, is also not what I was expecting. If the woman’s tall, this man’s taller, and I mean taller, around six－no almost seven feet? His hair is thick and dark and his gray eyes look like the bluish smoke from a snuffed candle. He's also very muscular and fit with a handsome face that I wonder if he's really a mage and not a swordsman or a woodcutter. A yawn suddenly escapes my lips when the woman picks me up from the basket and cradles me in her arms. My eyes start to drop close as I feel her warmth seep through me. I didn’t know that I was feeling a little cold before. And that’s when I realize that after so much thinking and after crying so loudly, I manage to use up almost all my energy and I’m beat. I can’t remember being this tired and exhausted when I was a baby myself. Could it be? Is this how weak and helpless human babies are? I mean, I’m still a god. At least in terms of essences and auras. But now that I’m sent to the Human Realm, I guess my body adapts to mimic a human’s. A literally godlike human. The hushed conversation the couple is having is lulling me even more to sleep. However, before I succumb to the sweet beckoning of slumber, I manage to catch a snippet of their conversation. “...name’s woven in the basket…” “...Keira Asturias…” The next moment when I open my eyes, I no longer am looking at the darkness of the forest nor am I seeing the clear blue sky surrounded by the trees. It seems that wasn’t a dream after all and the couple really did came to pick me up. Also, the part where I was crying like a baby happened as well. Maybe that's not so bad, right? I mean, I can tell that the couple isn't a priest or priestess. Therefore, brother and sister didn’t see that embarrassing display but why am I worrying when it’s natural since I’m literally a baby. Besides, it’s their idea to turn me into one in the first place. “Oh my, oh my, so the little one’s awake!” I flinch at the sound of the booming voice as the burly man from last night strolls inside the room I’m in. Upon closer inspection, I seem to be in the couple’s bedroom, lying on their bed. I hope I didn’t inconvenience them by taking away their bedding. The room itself is simple and most of the furniture like a small end table and the wooden doors are from smooth wood that gives off an elegant feel. I wonder if the man does all the furniture himself which would explain his physique. The woman suddenly tsked, pushing the man aside from the door as she enters with a bottle of milk. “Now look what you’ve done. You’ve shocked the poor thing. Maybe you can tone down your voice a little bit? You have to practice in case we’ll have our own little one in the future.” The man grins at his wife sheepishly. Even though they almost deserted me back there in the forest, watching how they look at each other with pure love is enough to make me forgive them. As a god, we are perfect. However, no matter how perfect we are, we always have that one flaw. For my mother, she’s a nagger, my father is lazy, my brother sucks at anything creative, and my sister’s interest depends on what’s trending with the humans. Me? I don’t deny that I’m a sucker for a good romance. And there’s nothing more like a good romance than what these two have. So yeah, I definitely forgive them. Consider there almost-neglect forgotten. Come to think of it, I don’t know their names yet. And as if reading my thoughts－which is impossible, really－the woman turns to me with a sweet, warm smile on her face. “By the way, my name is Nialla and this brute here is Rodney.” Huh, no last names. Well, it does make sense because after the war during my parents’ break from creating Asturias, those who were gifted with the ability to come up with last names for the commoners were killed. So today, only the royals and those who have blue blood have last names. Commoners who have last names were being hunted down and because of that, they all hid their last names until it’s forgotten. I don’t know if Nialla and Rodney have last names though. If they don’t have them, well, it’s time for them to have one because I’m going to work on returning the last names for everyone, commoner and beggar alike. Gingerly sitting on the edge of the bed, she leans over and carefully places the baby bottle in my mouth. Perfect timing, I didn’t know that I was hungry. While I drink, the couple watches me curiously to the point where it's getting awkward for me. Thankfully, Rodney seems to notice and smiles at me apologetically before clearing his throat. "So, we understand that you are sent by the Gods of the Elements. You must be an out-of-the-ordinary baby to be able to get the attention of the gods like that. Based on your expressions so far, is it safe for me to assume that you understand what we're saying and doing?" Huh, so my siblings didn’t tell them that I’m a goddess as well. My guess that they just let the couple think that I’m some kind of Chosen One. But maybe that’s not such a bad idea. Other than I need to keep a low profile, I also don’t like all the attention which is very counterproductive especially when I’m a goddess who needs the power of her followers’ attention. But that's also one of the perks of having an affinity for Humans. As long as there are humans around, then I'm going to have my powers. I finish my bottle, letting Nialla take it, and nodded my answer. It's been a day since I got here in the Human Realm. I can feel my body adapting to the environment, my godly aura grows faint as I become human but I can feel my powers grow stronger. And because of that, I can talk now. “Yesth,” I wince at my lisp. This is really embarrassing. I can talk but the truth is, I'm still a baby, and lisps are unavoidable. I should refrain from talking whenever there's a priest or priestess around or I wouldn't hear the end of it from my siblings. “Thank you so much for taking me last night. My name is Keira Asturias and I am the one chosen and sent by Gods of the Elements to aid you in rebuilding your Kingdom and bring about the Golden Age of Aster. If you could take me to the castle, I would appreciate it.” On a bad note, I keep on lisping all the way and I hope that they understood what I'm saying. On a good note, Nialla and Rodney don't look too surprised that a two-year-old baby can talk complicated sentences already. Suddenly, Nialla squeals and pulls me into a hug, squeezing me so hard that if I were a real human baby, I’d already cry. Or worse, I’d have died. I don’t sense any malice or evil intent so I let her. “Oh my goodness! You heard that Rodney, she’s so cute!” “That she is, my dear. Can we keep her?” "What are you talking about? She's already ours when we took her from the forest." You two make it sound like I'm a pet animal… Nialla pulls away so she can look at my face. I don’t know what I look like yet but I hope my siblings didn’t change my appearance. I’m rather fond of my golden blond hair and my light gold eyes. “We’ll go, sweetie, don’t worry. But first, we need to have you bathed and changed and then we’ll go. No need to be so formal with us. You can call us Mommy and Daddy if you want.” “Our first family outing! I’ll go draw the bath!” Rodney dashes out of the room in excitement. “Then wait here for a moment, okay? I’ll look for clothes you can change into,” Nialla gently places me back on the bed and left as well, leaving me wondering what just happened. Mommy and Daddy, huh? Well, they don’t know that I’m a god and I’m supposed to live as a Chosen One so I guess having a foster family doesn’t sound too bad. Rolling my body on the bed, I flip on my stomach, discovering that I can easily maneuver and move my body as I wish compared to last night. Crawling towards the window, I heft myself up to stand as I watch the outside world of the Human Realm under the light of the sun for the first time. So, this is where everything starts. I am Keira Asturias and my life begins now.