Is the Iah virus the goddess’ curse on humanity?

—Professor Leif Eiberg, Ancient Vinleaf History 101, Kraej University

Asteria

“I’m sorry, Ely, but I have to go,” I said. “Magnus, please take care of my investments. Uriel, please take care of the schoolchildren for me. Sariel, take care of these two idiots, okay? Make sure Ely eats and sleeps properly. Please don’t forget to collect the monthly artifact rental fees. I’ll be counting on you.”

Sariel covered his face with his hands. “I’m supposed to be the immature, bratty one!”

“Ely…” The light was tugging at me, and soon I’d be gone, but I still had a few minutes left. “Did you tell Sariel that we’re engaged to be married?”

“Yes, of course,” said Seraphiel.

“Um, since when have we been engaged?” I asked in as gentle and mild a tone as I could.

Seraphiel bit his lip. He swallowed several times before speaking, “That time at the lake at midnight, you said you’ll marry me.”

“But you never said a word about marriage or weddings,” I said.

“I asked you to stay with me forever! That was a proposal,” said Seraphiel. He looked to Uriel and Sariel for confirmation, but they avoided his gaze.

“No, it wasn’t,” I said. “Also, I didn’t say yes that time.”

Seraphiel’s shoulders slumped.

“I didn't know she had a sadistic side to her,” Magnus said to the others.

Uriel patted Seraphiel on the shoulder consolingly.

Sariel said to Seraphiel, “Try it now.”

Seraphiel got down on his knees, took my hand, and said, “Asteria, will you marry me?”

Smoothing the hair from his brow, I looked into Seraphiel’s beautiful golden eyes. “No way.”

“What?!” Seraphiel went slack-jawed with astonishment, and he dropped my hand as though it burned him.

“I don’t want to get married. I’m only eighteen years old! I haven’t gone to college or even found a real job yet,” I said.

“What? What are you saying?” The poor guy was looking at me as though I’d sprouted an extra head.

“This is how it goes - first people date, then they go steady, then they get engaged. You can’t just skip the first few stages.” I pursed my lips and gave him a disapproving look.

Behind Seraphiel, Uriel was frowning and shaking his head at me, and Sariel slid a finger across his throat in a “cut it out!” gesture. Magnus was looking away from us, pretending that he wasn’t paying close attention to our exchange.

“Get up,” whispered Uriel to Seraphiel. He hauled Seraphiel up and said, “She said she wants to date, so you’re all good.”

“Looks like Asteria is an old-fashioned girl who wants a long, old-fashioned courtship,” said Sariel. He patted Seraphiel on the back.

“Will you go on a date with me when you return?” Eyebrows drawn together and the corners of his lips turned down, Seraphiel looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

“Yes, but only If you promise to not skip any meals when I’m gone,” I said.

The force of Goddess’ Embrace was pulling me upward. My feet were already off the ground when Seraphiel caught my hand, but my body continued to rise. He said, “I promise! Don’t leave, please don’t leave!”

“I’m sorry about the misunderstanding, Ely. I’m not ready to settle down because there are so many things I want to do first. I want to go bar hopping. I want to party all night. I want to go to a concert. I want to explore the world. Together.”

“Together,” said Seraphiel.

Our hands were slowly forced apart as my body rose above their heads. It was time. I said, “Goodbye.”

And that was that. The angelic chorus reached a climax and I ascended.

***

Ascending to the spiritual plane using my skill was less disorienting to the mind than dying, but I still needed a few moments to adjust. I kept my eyes tightly closed until I smelled incense.

“You’ve worked hard, daughter,” said a high-pitched, slightly annoying-sounding voice.

The goddess Elyon stood in front of me. She still looked like an ordinary grade-schooler except for the fact that her whole body, especially her eyes, glowed a soft, inviting gold color. To my spiritual senses, she blazed with glory like a thousand suns yet soothed the eyes instead of harming them.

When I looked into her eyes I saw a mind whose wisdom spanned trillions of years; power that could destroy a world as easily as I could squash an ant; nobility and altruism on a scale impossible for humans; and infinite compassion for every living thing.

“Goddess,” I said, bowing my head to her. Though I wasn’t here physically, habit made me make a spiritual body for myself because floating around with no body made me feel weird.

“It was hard for you to adjust to this world, wasn’t it?” said the goddess. It wasn’t really a question. She knew.

I thought about the ten years I’d spent learning this world’s language and customs, and the thousands of hours I’d spent training to master healing magic. It hadn’t been easy. And my family situation hadn’t been great either. Signe had done her best, but there was never enough food or fuel in the winter.

I nodded “It was hard… but worth it.”

“Now the real work begins,” said Elyon.

“Yes.”

“Is there anything you need before you start?” she asked.

“I have a few questions.”

“Ask, daughter.”

“Um.” Now that she was here to answer all my questions, I couldn’t remember all the things I wanted to know. “What happened to Iah?”

I’d only ever seen Elyon, never her twin Iah.

“When the alien World Devourer entered our Solar System, it landed on the moon, which is Iah's realm. My sister fought the alien, and when the World Devourer sensed that it was going to lose, it broke off a piece of its body. Iah managed to destroy that piece, too, except for a tiny remnant,” said the goddess.

“And that remnant was the monster that the heroes of the Vinleaf fought?’ The ancient humans thought that Iah had gone mad, but that was because they thought the Iah spawn was the goddess’ daughter since it came from the moon.

“Correct. After her fight, Iah was badly wounded so she’s sleeping to recover her strength. She’ll recover faster when the virus has been totally eradicated.”

“Can’t you heal Iah yourself? And kill off the virus in the spiritual plane?”

“I am healing her. Iah and I are one. Your help will make us heal faster.”

“Oh.” I remembered that bit of religious dogma. So Elyon was also weakened, maybe sick, and needed my help, too. I suppose my role was analogous to an antibiotic or antiviral. Perhaps, like humans, goddesses could heal themselves, but sometimes an outside agent was used to help fight off particularly virulent infections. “I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will. You’ve been so strong and wise. I’m proud of you, and I will always be watching over you,” said the goddess in parting as she slowly dissolved into light.