Arrival

[Amaterasu]

"..."

"..."

For a bit, there was just silence all around after Omni's brief announcement. Even Fiara and Oki who'd been struggling remained silent. Then Amaterasu spoke, smiling brightly and with unbroken conviction. "I'm sorry... I don't think I understood that. I'm a Kami, just missing the powers of one at this time. If I want to fulfil what I was brought here for, I'll need those powers back. Don't I?" To her, that was a rhethoric question.

[Omni]

Omni scratched his head as he looked to the side.

"You were a Kami. But here, you are what you make of yourself. Think about it. You. Your friends. Everybody you've met. Who deserves to be God? Who has earned the right?"

He looked straight back at Amaterasu.

"Here, there is only one Omni. There can't be two."

[Amaterasu]

Amaterasu was dumbfounded. Omni was telling her straight to her face that she was like everyone else?! That she was not a Kami?! That she had not earned the right?!

"T-that can't be right!" she insisted. "I..." Have earned the right? Have always had it? She didn't think that there was a right to earn here. And if there was, had she not extensively proven that she was suited to her position by her journey through Nippon, delivering humans from the demons that haunted them and eliminating the Lords of Darkness, most prominently Yami the Rage Incarnate who had slain all other Kami on the Ark?

That had all been in Nippon. In a world where she was given the powers to eliminate evil and was expected to do so, she realized. Here, her accomplishments in that land were not worth the air it took to list them up. Of course she was worthy in Nippon, worthier than all others, because she had the powers needed to prove herself. In the Omniverse she was one among many, and what had she accomplished to prove herself? Had she slain a Rage Incarnate, a Nine-Tailed Fox, an Eight-Headed Snake Demon, or even a minor Darklord? Had she sacrificed anything meaningful to help others? Had she remotely proved that she was worthier than the dozens, maybe hundreds of others out there who had reached far greater accomplishments? Omni was completely right.

That realization dealt a blow to her that felt like she had been hit by that creature's energy blast again - the mindless monster of the Hero's Graveyard. Or the attack that had killed her not long after. Like a fragile vase of glass her world shattered and the shards dug into her, causing her physical pain. Yet all she could do was to sink to her knees and cry.

A hand on her back made her realize that she had not just sunk in her mind but in reality as well. The stinging pain came not from glass shards but from her fingernails that she had dug into her skin from hugging herself so hard that her knuckles had turned white. Her vision was blurry and her tongue tasted salt and liquid. Tears. Oki spoke to her, asked her something, but his voice was far away.

With everything she believed in gone, with her goals and ideas shattered, she did not know what there was to go on. But he could answer that question, couldn't he? She did not look at Omni as she spoke, shakily-voiced: "If... if I am not here to achieve the ascension to a Kami... answer me something else, Omni. Why am I here? Why have you brought me to the Omniverse? What purpose does it have? What... what is it that you want me to do?"

[Omni]

Omni grinned. "You misinterpreted my words. But ..." he carried on without elaborating on his previous point. "Your life here is what you make of it. I set the stage, but I won't force you to do anything, and I won't tell you your goal. Whatever happens, it won't be the same as back home. This is a new journey, Ams."

[Amaterasu]

"My life is what I make of it, and you won't force me to do anything", Amaterasu parroted. She wiped the tears with her sleeve, even though new ones came, and still looked at the ground without coming back to her feet. "So... what you told me when you first met me is just that? You brought me here because I interested you? Or have you a goal you're not telling...?"

Whether it was the deity's supernatural force acting in the room, or simply his words, the thought of this being a new journey in which she was bound neither by duty nor by goals, was uplifting. Hope-inspiring. She found that her tears dried and her mind cleared much faster than she had expected. Or, to continue the metaphor, the glass vase was broken, but the shards were swept aside and an empty space waited to be filled.

Suddenly she was very aware of where she was, and more importantly who surrounded her. Oki still had his hand on her back but she could tell that he was shocked to see her breaking down like that. With deep breaths she forced her feelings back. Then she wiped her tears again, and this time there wasn't more. She was making things awkward for everyone, and someone of her standing should not cry like this. Not in front of everyone.

"Then... allow me to ask you something different. In the Omniverse... are there evils out there who are stronger than the horned warlock that I encountered when we helped the Hero Teucer? Are there greater dangers, bigger threats to the realm? And... and if so, who or what are they?"

[Omni]

Omni shook his head. "That ... is a subjective question. And I cannot answer it. Perhaps you are evil, in the eyes of another? If they were to come here, should I tell them your name? Your face?" The corner of his mouth turned up a little.

[Amaterasu]

Having her world overthrown had left Amaterasu in a bigger shock than she let in on now. Although outwardly she appeared to have composed herself again, having stopped crying and shivering uncontrollably, within she was still shook up. Still trying to fully grasp the extent of what Omni's words meant to her.

And then he kicked her while she was down and least expecting it.

She was not the only one surprised by his words either: Oki and Fiara both froze and Fiara's face showed that she had not expected this response at all, whereas Oki's reaction had to be gauged by his body language, since his face was obscured by the mask, but he was no less surprised than Fiara. Amaterasu's expression however turned from surprise to anger very quickly. "Is it not enough that you're telling me I'm not a Kami? Do you intend on taking this away from me too?! To tell me that I am not a force of good?!" she snarled. Though she stayed where she was, her hands balled into fists so hard that her knuckles turned white and the Yasakani no Magatama that had been tied around her waist began to float, as if ready to attack. But she did not.

"I'm not talking about this subjective evil you refer to. Not evils of... of perspective, not the evils where the evildoer believes to be doing good! I mean REAL evils! I mean high-class Youkai! Or worse yet, Akuma of the Underworld! Creatures of darkness, monstrosities with not a speck of good in them, evils that oppose life itself! Creatures that know that they are evil and wholeheartedly accept it!"

With her tirade finished, she was huffing and puffing, but still glared at the white deity. The Yasakani no Magatama began to settle on her waist again, one after another. "I'm Amaterasu... I protect life itself from the evils that seek to wipe it out. I may not be without my flaws as a warrior of good, but I will not allow anyone to call my alignment into question." Her knuckles slowly regained their color as her grip relaxed a little. Again, she paused, huffed and puffed a few times, then finished: "So... if any of them were to come here and ask about me, then by all means tell them even if you won't tell me. It'll save me the effort of tracking them down first."

Translations:

Youkai = Evil spirits ("evil" being anywhere from mishievous to outright malicious)
Akuma = Demon/Devil

[Omni]

Omni shrugged. "That's not my place."

[Amaterasu]

"So that is your stance", said Amaterasu. "You choose to remain passive and to observe rather than intervening with the powers that you have." Her tone was calmer, now, even the frustration was diminishing with every word. "It is the duty of one in our position to use the powers granted to us to help those who cannot help themselves. I cannot agree with your position, Omni-sama, but it is neither within my power nor my realm to judge you, nor could I reasonably claim the throne for myself even if it were so."

She raised a hand towards the deity with a serious face, as if offering him to take it so she could guide him somewhere. "You may say that I am not a kami any longer, but I will nontheless show you what it means, to me, to be one. I will show you my way... and one day I'll come back. Then we can speak again. This is not over - but for today I bid you farewell." With that she put on a smile and bowed, only a tiny bit less deep than when she had initially greeted him. Then she turned around without looking at him another time and strode towards the rest of the group with big steps. To Oki, she whispered: "Lead the others back to the Frozen Fields... to Dwarfholm. I will leave some mounts by the gate who will come when you whistle. Don't try to follow me."

"We shouldn't..." the warrior began, but seeing her face, he cut himself off and nodded. "Understood."

The goddess picked up her pace again and had soon left the halls of Valhalla, leaving Oki, Urist and Fiara alone. Once again it was the former who took the initiative and knelt down.

"I apologize on behalf of my liege, Omni-sama", he said. "Her words were rash because of her upbeaten emotions. Please do not hold it against her. I've one last request to make... is there any way out of your home that would not take us through the same route that Amaterasu is going? I would not want to annoy you with our presence, nor do I want to make her believe that we are trying to follow her after I promised her that we wouldn't."

"Aye... tha' wouldn' be good", murmured Urist. He looked at the carving he had left for Omni's enjoyment, then bowed. "Bu' before we go, ah thank ye fer all yer kindness. Ah'll keep mum 'bout everythin' ah've seen an' heard here, ye've got me word."

Fiara bowed too. "You have my thanks too. The memories that you have returned to me... I'll be sure to not allow them to be lost again." All three of them kept their heads low as they awaited his response.

[Omni]

"Sure thing!" Omni winked. "Thanks for visiting, guys. I'll be watching! Watch your step."

With a sudden lurch, the three companions were standing in the Nexus.

Amaterasu receives 1000 OM for visiting Omni!