Oh, my goddess.
Darkness, again. Comforting and familiar, a friend that is always by your side when you need it, and even sometimes when you don't. For Kenta, it was starting to become expected. (It's dark, but I can feel pain. Crazy pain. I suppose that means I'm not dead again, at least.) He sat up in the void, swathes of pitch black surrounding him like demonic tendrils. Just what was this place? First he was in Japan, then he was in another world, but now? It didn't feel right. It was as if some feeling of impending doom was lurching over him, yet he had no idea why. There was nothing there. Just black.
"Kenta." A woman's voice echoed in the shadowy expanse. (That's a nice voice...must be one cute lady.) he thought. "Ehem...I can hear you, Kenta." He jolted up in surprise. "Y-y-you can hear my thoughts?!" Kenta shouted, stammering like he used to. "Wait a minute, who even ARE you?" he said. A shimmer of light split the darkness, vanishing the suffocating black that surrounded Kenta. A fair, young looking woman with exceedingly long, blonde hair walked out of the light. Her hair was braided in various spots, and was dressed in a crown of flowers. A golden circlet sat above her striking, blue eyes. As she stepped toward Kenta, her long, white gown flowed along with her delicate movements, light dancing off the pearlescent surface. She kneeled down at his side, looked at him and smiled widely. "I am a goddess." She pointed at him. "I summoned you to this world to help me with something I believe only you can do." This was it. This was what Kenta was waiting for. But why did she wait till after he was attacked? Wouldn't it have made more sense to do the whole 'Isekai goddess shtick' before then?
"Umm, goddess-sama?" he said. "Hmm? Melephiel is fine." she said. "Ah, ok then. Mele-chan?" he said as she leaned in inquisitively. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU WAIT TILL AFTER EVERYTHING WENT TO SHIT AGAIN!?!" he screamed in her ear, sending her flying. She floated back over to him, knocking herself on the head in a cutesy manner. "Tehe~" she giggled, sticking her tongue out. "Don't you 'tehe' me! Aren't you supposed to give me cool powers or something right when I get here? That's usually how it works in light novels at least..." he crossed his arms and pouted. She looked him up, down and up again. "What is it?" he asked. "You're right, my mistake!" she said, slapping him on the back, laughing. He looked at her, nonplussed. "Some goddess you are. You're having fun with this, aren't you." She winked, giving a salute. "You betcha!"
He sighed and laid back down, looking up at the... sky? Whatever was there, he was looking at it. "This is not how I imagined my new life to be..." Just then, Melephiel shot up to her feet, put her hands on her hips and breathed in deeply. "Oh, stop being so gloomy already. I am going to bestow a gift upon you to help in your adventure, so pay attention!" He sat bolt upright, gawking at her with huge eyes. "A gift? Is this where I become an overpowered hero that one shots everything?" she shook her head, hair bouncing gracefully as she did. "Absolutely not, mister." she chided. He looked depressed. "You see, there's a reason why I didn't step in before." she tilted her head playfully, "Would you like to know?" he nodded.
"What you just went through was a test. I wanted to see where you stood on your own merit. And as the story goes...not too well, apparently." she fidgeted with her fingers. He looked at her and grimaced. "So, you, a goddess, let me and an innocent girl almost die just to test me? What exactly is it with you god types and being so sadistic?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "I'm not a monster, you know. You didn't die, did you? Everything happened for a reason, and while you showed near zero fighting aptitude, I know you have a latent power in you." He had many questions. Did she know he and Collete would be saved by that freakishly strong guy? And a so called 'latent power'? What did she mean by that? It was so much information, even an otaku like him was getting overwhelmed.
"I have so many questions, but I feel like you wouldn't answer most of them." he said. She nodded slightly. "Bingo! You're a weakling but you're pretty bright at least!" she chuckled. "Yeah, whatever. Give me this gift and get me out of here already." he said, standing to his feet. "My, my, aren't we a regular old mister grumpy pants." she put on a serious face. "Alright then, so be it. Come closer, I need to touch you for this." she pulled him forcefully into an embrace. "H-hey, wait!" he was soon engulfed in her warm bossom, the feeling of her softness invading all of his senses. She smelled amazing, like vanilla and cinnamon. A very clean scent that washed over his brain, calming him instantly. She placed a hand on his head, and began uttering some words. "By the power of I, the goddess of light Melephiel, I bestow upon thee, mana. Let thine body overflow with it, so that thine enemies may be destroyed with precision and extreme magical prejudice." he winced as she giggled with her final words. A bright, red orb of light passed from her hand into him. It filled him with a warmth like he'd never experienced before, surpassing even the goddesses embrace.
"There, it is done." she said, proudly puffing out her cheeks, fists balled on hips." Kenta looked at his hands, feeling a power surge through him. "So...Just like that you gave me the ability to use magic, huh?" she nodded, smiling. Kenta jumped into the air, kicking his feet together. "Woohoo! Finally! And here I thought I'd be useless the whole time and end up dead again in a heap somewhere!" he gained some composure and looked at the goddess. "So, what magic did you give me anyways?" "A simple, low level fire spell. Firebolt." He gaped at her angrily. "All of that for such a basic spell?! If you want me to help you with something you don't even tell me anything about, the least you could do is give me some really strong magic!!" he seethed. She walked away from him, looking back over her shoulder. Her beauty really was astounding. "This is just a starting point for you, something to help you get going. From here on out, you will need to apply yourself to become stronger."
He calmed himself, stared deeply at her. "So, I'm really on my own from here on out, eh?" she shook her head, turning around fully in his direction, her gown sparkling as it twirled. "Not at all, I will be watching you all along the way. Just don't expect an easy journey knowing you have a goddess watching your back, got it?" she winked. He grinned. "Alright, I got it. So, what do you want me to do? I'm feeling more ready than ever, now!" he gave a fist pump. She floated into the air, looking down at him. "For starters, I want you to head to the capital of the Empire, Deviritum, to the west. The journey there will not be short nor will it be sweet, and you're likely to have plenty of stops along the way." Kenta nodded, arms folded. "Side quests, got it." "Once you are there, you will know what to do." she smiled a half smile, and floated higher, away from Kenta. "Gonna leave me on a cliffhanger? That's lame." Kenta said. "You're about to wake up, nerd. We'll be seeing plenty of each other from here on out, try not to miss me too much~" she blew a kiss, then she was gone.