Page 12 of Goddess of Light

No oxygen?!

My eyes fly open, lungs seizing in panic, and I immediately start to sway from the intensity, from the enormity of what I’m looking at. My mother keeps her grip on me, tsking under her breath, but all I can do is stare.

Before me is a radiant, utterly mythical landscape that looks like it was created in a fever dream. There are fields of glowing plants with shimmering petals that cast rainbows instead of shadows. Weaving between these iridescent fields are what look like vast deserts of fine golden sand sparkling intermittently. Every now and then, something blooms from the sand, cacti-like flora with luminescent leaves that open and close with the warm breeze.

Beyond are rivers of molten gold flowing through shimmering mesas and valleys. There, crystalline mountains and amber-colored forests stretch toward the sky, with tree leaves that glint like stained glass, absorbing the light and refracting it in a spectrum that fills the air like a soft aura. They stretch toward what feels like an endless horizon bathed in hues of gold, orange, and soft pinks, the light constantly shifting between a living sunrise and sunset.

“This is the sun,” I whisper. “How is this possible?”

Everything is illuminated by warm, golden light, including my own body, which, to my surprise, is no longer dressed in thedamp clothes I left the Upper World in. Instead, I’m in a silk-like dress that drapes over my body like gossamer, the threads sparkling as if they’ve come alive.

It’s all the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, enough that my eyes burn like I’m about to cry.

“Hold your tears, Hanna,” my mother says, a hint of disapproval in her voice. “If you want to gain access to the powers of a God, you have to start acting less like a mortal.”

I nod, even though I don’t know how that’s possible, not here, where I feel so insignificant, like every inch of my mortality, of my humanity, has been amplified.

But despite feeling dwarfed by the grandeur of this realm, I straighten my spine and take a deep breath. Though she said there is no oxygen, air still fills my lungs, giving me strength. The atmosphere is warm and rich, carrying scents of exotic flowers and something akin to cinnamon. As I exhale, a sense of empowerment surges through me, as if the very breath I release is filled with latent magic waiting to be unleashed. Something inside my core fizzes like champagne, floating and sparkling in buoyant song.

It feels like my body is coming alive.

“There,” my mother says with a satisfied nod as she looks me over. “This is all part of the becoming. Let your inner self recognize this place. Let your divine heritage seep into your bones. This is the first part of the process.”

I close my eyes and let the radiant feeling wash over me, sinking in deep.

“What’s the second part?” I ask before opening my eyes.

She lets go of my arm and gestures for me to follow her as she walks along a path that lies in front of us, glossy and faintly yellow, as if made of shimmering citrine. I walk carefully, the gravity here making me feel buoyant. Each step we take resonates with a melodious chime, music that follows us.

As we walk, ethereal beings flit among the towering amber trees flanking the side of the path, their forms translucent and ever-shifting like dancing flames. They pay us no heed, consumed by their own mysterious activities as they weave patterns in the air with trails of light. I reach out to touch a luminescent thread, and it wraps around my fingers before dissipating into a shower of golden sparks.

I laugh, and even that sound is melodic. This is like one hell of a mushroom trip, except without any of the I’m-going-to-die anxiety. It’s ironic, because you’d think being on the fuckingsun, of all places, might fill one with dread, but now that I’m here, I only feel wonder and belonging.

We continue along the path as it skirts the edge of the forest, taking us under towering crystal peaks that shine from the inside, until we come across a ridge of golden quartz, the interior sparkling with metallic lines. As we get closer, I see an archway in the ridged surface, carved from a single enormous opal, its surface reflecting the hues of the landscape in a mesmerizing display.

“Just through here,” my mother says as she disappears beneath it. I quickly follow, entering a vast chamber where the walls seem to pulsate with an inner light, casting intricate shadows that twist and writhe like living things.

At the center of the chamber stands a pool of liquid fire, its surface undulating with molten energy that beckons me closer. My mother gazes at me expectantly, her eyes ablaze with a mixture of pride and something more inscrutable. I can feel the power thrumming beneath my skin, a primal energy that seems to resonate with the very fabric of this surreal world and vice versa.

“This is the Crucible of Awakening,” my mother’s voice rings with authority, cutting through the ambient hum. “Here, you will undergo a cleansing to claim your birthright as a Goddess.”

I step closer to the pool of liquid fire, the heat radiating from it gently blowing back my hair. As I peer into its depths, I see visions swirling atop the molten surface—visions of my past, present, and potential futures all converging in a kaleidoscopic dance of light and shadow. I try to pick out each one, but they move so fast, I’m only left with the essence of the memory, something slippery and transparent.

“You must embrace your true self, Hanna,” she says, her words echoing against the chamber walls. “Only by facing your life and confronting your deepest fears and desires, of what it truly means to be human, will you unlock the full extent of your powers.”

I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what is to come. With a sense of determination burning in my chest, I raise my hands towards the pool. The surface ripples and distorts, as if responding to my touch, and I feel a surge of energy coursing through me, culminating in my fingertips.

In that moment, I let go of everything holding me back—my doubts, my insecurities, my mortal limitations. I surrender myself to the flames, and in doing so, they rise from the pool, reaching for my fingers.

For a second, I’m filled with the deepest fear of all: the fear of dying, an acute sense of my mortality that has me about to pull away and run as far as I can.

But the fire leaps onto my hands, as if sentient, as if sensing my fear, and climbs up my arms. I open my mouth to scream, to move, but something equally as fiery rises inside me, overpowering the human instinct to avoid death.

Instead, I allow the fire to consume me, to transform me into something new, something ancient and powerful. Then, as the flames envelop me, I feel a searing pain unlike anything I have ever experienced. It is as if every atom of my being is being torn apart and reassembled in a violent cacophony of light andsound. I scream, though whether in agony or ecstasy, I can’t tell. The world blurs and distorts around me, shifting and twisting in ways that defy comprehension. I am no longer sure where my body ends and the fire begins, the boundaries between us merging and melding into a single entity.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, the pain subsides, leaving me gasping for breath as I collapse to my knees beside the now-calm pool of liquid fire. My entire being feels as if it is vibrating with a newfound power, a raw energy that pulses beneath my skin like there’s some other being living inside me.

What the hell just happened to me?

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