Poisoned Rationality

I found myself drifting in an endless sea of darkness.

I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t hear or smell anything. I couldn’t move or make a sound either.

It was just darkness.

Yet it didn’t feel oppressive or scary. I felt comfortable.

Then a rush of energy began to flow around me, and suddenly I could move and see.

Surrounding me was an endless sea of not-quite-darkness. It was dark, yes, but it was filled with swirls of dark purple and blue.

Then a deep, rumbling voice spoke.

“Hello, young one,” It said. “I see you have discovered the Void Space.”

The what? I thought, not expecting it to reply.

“It is an extradimensional space where void inhabitants like myself dwell,” The voice explained. I managed to spin myself around in the gravity-less place to spot the owner of the voice.

It was a huge humanoid being, so large that my mind couldn’t comprehend it. Its body was covered in starlike specks, and its face was a glowing light.

You can hear my thoughts? I asked.

“Indeed,” It replied, the light on its face pulsing as it spoke. “You cannot speak, and I must be able to hear what you want to say, so that means I must hear your thoughts.”

Who are you? I demanded. And what do you mean that you must be able to hear what I want to say?

“Simple,” The being answered. “I am Null, although I have also been called ‘The Great Void’. You are the Goddess of the Void, although you have not reached your full potential yet.”

What’s void? I asked.

“It is the most powerful element,” Null replied. “The only thing that can overcome the power of void is C̷̤̓h̴͈̀a̶͔͑o̴̼͋s̵͎̅.”

Oh, I thought. Huh. But then the void world twisted around in my vision, and my body started to fade.

“I will see you the next time you enter the Void Space,” Null said.

Then, suddenly, I was lying on my back, looking up into the face of Mother.

I blinked, turning to look around me as Mother cried out in joy, hugging me close.

“Oh, my baby!” She said. “I thought you were gone!”

I was confused now. What happened? Was that a dream? It didn’t feel like one.

“Do you know what happened?” I heard Father ask someone.

“No,” The voice of Priestess Lyrice replied. “The ceremony should have gone normally. I don’t know why or how it went wrong, or what happened as a result.”

“Is Nyx okay?” Mother asked.

“May I appraise her?” Priestess Lyrice asked. Mother nodded, and the robed woman raised a hand. I felt a slight pulse of energy.

-Priestess Lyrice-

I cast a simple appraising spell on the young girl, and her status window appeared in my vision.

Name: Nyxandria Arilis

Race: Void Dokukyoku Wendigo (Twintailed)

Age: 1/0/0

Level: 0 (0% EXP)

Statistics:

Str: F Vit: E

Int: A Dex: F

Agi: F Def: C

HP: 100% F

MP: 100% F

Titles: Divine Blessing of the Goddess of Love and Family, Fated One, True Void

Skills: N/A

My jaw dropped.

The girl was only a year old, but her Int stat was already incredible! And even though she had just been through the System-Upgrading Ceremony, she already had three titles, one of which I had never heard of before.

“Mrs. Arilis, your daughter is incredibly special,” I said, my voice shaking.

“Special?” The woman in question asked. “What do you mean by special?”

“Your daughter has the blessing of the Goddess of Love and Family as well as the title [Fated One],” I replied. Both adults’ eyes went wide.

“Do you know how this happened?” Mr. Arilis asked.

“No, I do not,” I answered. “You would need to pray to Estelle yourself; I cannot, as she is not my patron. I would think she would respond to your prayers, seeing as she has blessed your daughter.”

“I see,” Mr. Arilis said. “I suppose we will do that, then. Thank you, Priestess.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile.

Then the family left, leaving me behind in the room, stunned. I sent up a prayer to my Patron, Alysto, Goddess of the System and Space.

I felt a ripple of energy around me. Then, motes of light drifted from nowhere and coalesced into the form of a woman.

She was tall, with a huge ring of fluffy fur circling her neck. Two feathery antennae extended from her forehead, and two pairs of large, patterned wings hung off a spot between her shoulders on her back.

Other bits of fur were on her wrists and ankles as well as at the base of her abdomen, which was a large, roundish bulb that had rings of more fur. Overall, she was incredibly fluffy and easily huggable.

“My Goddess,” I said, kneeling.

“Oh, stop it,” Alysto said. “I made a domain so we can speak freely.”

I stood up and leaned into my patron. She smiled and hugged me, planting a kiss on my forehead. I blushed intensely, and she smiled.

“So, what is it you wanted to know?” She asked.

“I just did a System Level-Up Ceremony, and the recipient had several surprising titles,” I explained. “She was a little one-year-old girl, and she had the Divine Blessing of the Goddess of Love and Family, the title [Fated One], and the title [True Void].”

“I see,” Alysto said. She frowned slightly. “I thought Estelle already had a Fated One.” She hummed, her wings buzzing. I rested my head on her shoulder, burying my face in her fluff. “And I have no idea what that last one means.” She paused. “I’ll get back to you soon,” she murmured after a few seconds, rubbing my head. “Don’t tell anyone else about that last title.”

I pulled myself off of Alysto and smiled. She planted a kiss on my lips and then disappeared, leaving me behind, blushing intensely.

I was not only a Priestess of Alysto but also Alysto’s Apostle, her representative in the mortal world. And also her wife.

I left the room just as another Priestess was walking by.

Zeila was a nekomata and, while not an Apostle, was a High Priestess of Estelle. She was also one of the only mortals who knew about my status with Alysto.

She saw my blush and grinned, joining me as we walked toward our rooms in the temple.

“Have a fun time?” She asked, wiggling her eyebrows. I blushed harder and crossed my arms.

“You know it was nothing like that,” I replied. Her grin widened.

“Oh, such a dirty mind,” She said. “What if I meant something else?” I raised an eyebrow at her. Her grin broke down, and she laughed. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. So what happened?”

“The last ceremony I did had a weird outcome,” I explained. “It was a level one, and the girl had the Divine Blessing of your Goddess and the title [Fated One].”

“Oh, that is very interesting,” Zeila murmured. “Hmm. Is Goddess Alysto looking into it already?”

“I think she’s looking into something else,” I said. “I can’t tell you about it, though.”

“That’s fine,” Zelia told me. “I know that the matters of the Gods are usually kept secret from us lowly mortals.”

“You know it’s not like that,” I chided her.

“Yeah, I was just messing with you,” Zelia said. “Come on, I heard that there’s fish available in the cafe.”

I smiled, and the two of us hurried to the cafe. Some fish sounded great.