An otherworldly beautiful woman, the Amber Goddess, kneeled before her fallen lover. Orange-lifeforce radiated from her in all directions, illuminating the still features of the handsome man slumped in her lap. Her light dimmed as butterflies formed from her lifeforce flowed into a vortex hovering above the man’s torso. The vortex acted as a doorway into the events of the man’s life, flashing too fast for any casual onlooker to observe, appearing as a swirling mass of colour blended into grey.

「Noah, I sacrifice my lifeforce to save you. I cannot be with you in this new timeline, but I’m at peace with my decision because you will not remember me anyway. So you will not mourn my loss.」the goddess said.

She lovingly caressed the deceased Noah’s face, brushing a loose strand of hair to expose his features. His appearance was different from the Noah shown through the vortex. Softer and at peace, as if he had never suffered a single day of hardship in his life.

[ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!]

[Ability limit threshold exceeded. Poses threat to SYSTEM operation.]

[Tier ??? Combined Ability: Butterfly Effect.]

[ Failed to neutralise temporal interference. Timeline divergence threat level: MAXIMUM.]

[Mustering all nearby Soulless to combat threat.]

[Insuffient forces, threat identified as ARC citizen. Deploying Pylons.]

[Requesting assistance from nearby ARC citizens. Reward: Tier-6 Legacy Ability.]

A loud rumble shook the ground beneath her feet until the very air began to shake, causing the dense fiery clouds blanketing the Earth cleared. For the first time in millennia, the starry night sky could be witnessed by an ordinary creature’s eyesight. The goddess looked upward to witness countless Pylons arriving through slipspace to dot the sky.

She was in the middle of a ruined city from civilisation past that remained standing through generations since the SYSTEM’s arrival. Towering grotesque monsters pushed through the hollow remains of skyscrapers, collapsing them into rubble under their tyrannical might. They were Grade-6 Soulless, they possess sheer physical power capable of rivalling a God. Hordes of Soulless of all grades streamed between the approaching titans’ feet. All avenues of escape were cut off. The Amber Goddess looked at them in contempt. Ordinarily, they would be of little concern for her, but in her weakened state, she was at their mercy.

「Offering a tier-6 ability to hunt me? That doesn’t even exist, you must be desperate. Why don’t you just bring Noah back to me and I’ll stop. I don’t even care about you, I only want my Husband returned to me! Do you hear me SYSTEM, what say you? 」the goddess sorrowfully screamed into the clearing sky, losing her poise.

[Negative. User’s Origin was ordinary, consciousness was not preserved. Complete revival is impossible. Will you accept the restoration of the physical form?]

Countless beams of light emitted from the Pylons in the sky. They were ARC citizens arriving on Earth, otherwise known as God’s and Demons. They recklessly raced against one another to be the one to kill the Amber Goddess. She wryly looked around her, many of them were people she had considered friends. Now their faces were contorted with greed, all loyalty forgotten under the temptation of a tier-6 legacy ability, the first of its kind.

Her expression hardened with determination. She gently lowered the corpse of Noah to the ground. She slowly stood while brushing the dust from her clothes. The Soulless formed a circle to surround her. There was an invisible line they would not cross while the SYSTEM awaited her response. The wave of ARC citizens arrived a brief moment later, they also waited silently at the boundary, eyeing each other and the Grade-6 Soulless warily.

The Amber Goddess’s head drooped, her hair covering her face. She began to laugh quietly, gaining in volume. She threw her head back, laughing with abandon as tears streamed down her face.

「It’s too late. Your proposal is rejected. Beg Noah for mercy in the next life, this one is finished.」the goddess refused.

「Wait, Amber. Accept the offer, Noah’s just a worthless mortal. Don’t get me wrong, I liked him. But he is beneath you. His lifespan came to a natural end after he failed to even break through the barrier of Grade-4, barely past halfway to ascension. Don’t be foolish!」A voice familiar to the Amber Goddess called from the crowd. It was a large and intimidating human radiating an intense aura of yellow-lifeforce.

「Ronan, you’ve always hated those weaker than you. You’ve never hidden your disdain for Noah. It was only your fear of my strength that prevented you from doing as you please. No more. It all ends now」The goddess replied.

She raised her hands above her head with a roar of defiance. Orange-lifeforce raged beneath her skin, deconstructing muscle and sinew wherever it passed, transforming into Amber butterflies. The weak vortex above Noah's chest flared back into life. The Amber butterflies fluttered chaotically into the maelstrom.

[ALERT!]

[Temporal collapse imminent…]

The SYSTEM announcement was interrupted as the final butterfly passed into the vortex. The image briefly settled on a scene of a beautiful woman seated in a restaurant across a table from Noah. They were engaged in animated discussion

The Amber butterfly landed unnoticed on the beautiful woman's back, causing her to become unsteady in her seat. The woman reached up to rub her temples between her thumb and forefingers, closing her eyes against the sudden glare of the lights. Sweat beaded on her brow.

"Noah, I suddenly feel lightheaded. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." The woman said.

After she excused herself, her vision became blurry and a wave of nause overcame her. She managed to blindly navigate her way to the rest room to stand in front of a mirror above a basin. The woman gasped, stepping back in shock. Overlapping her reflection was the spectral image of an otherworldly beautiful woman, the Amber Goddess. The goddess fondly smiled as she met the startled gaze of her younger self.

「Forgive me, child. For what we must do next is necessary to save Noah. He must become strong enough to stand without us. This is the only way he can survive. The SYSTEM will Arrive within minutes of now, then it will be too late to choose. So I must make this choice for both of us. I'm sorry.」The goddess said.

"What?" Amber replied.

Amber fumbled at the tap, managing to turn on the water after a few failed attempts. She splashed water over her face to clear her head. When she looked again, the image of the goddess was gone. It was now her ordinary reflection staring back at her. She hurried to leave. She stumbled through the exit, slamming into a person walking outside the door. They steadied her before she could fall.

"Amber, are you okay? Have you been spiked?" A familiar voice asked.

It was her friend from behind the bar, John. He was looking at her with an expression of concern.

"No time to explain. Where's Noah?" Amber interrupted, leaning onto his chest.

"I saw him leave a minute ago, just after I finished my shift. We should be able to catch up with him if we hurry. Do you need me to come with you?" John replied in confusion.

Amber didn't respond, she just shoved him away before rushing toward the street. Noah was walking unsteadily on the other side of the road. She ignored the slow-moving traffic to chase after him.

"Noah..." Amber called, weakly stretching her arm out toward him.

Amber collapsed to the ground in a heap. At that moment, the first Pylons dramatically arrived above the cities of Earth, causing something to change within her. Orange light spread outward to blanket her figure entirely. The light flared brighter until it consumed her from sight. As the light faded, in her place was a butterfly formed from orange-lifeforce startling a driver so badly that it caused them to hit another pedestrian crossing the street.

The Amber butterfly silently fluttered to land on a nearby trashcan. The disturbance caused Noah to pause briefly then glance over his shoulder in the direction of the Amber butterfly. He looked for only a moment before once again being distracted by thoughts of self-pity. He resumed his solitary walk home after what he believed to be another failed date, oblivious to magnitude of the changes that were about to happen.