8 Mai's 12th Birthday

After Claire had left, Mai returned to her "usual" activities, however she felt an aching emptiness in everything that she did- she would remember the encouragement, the reprimands, and the all-around-care that Teacher Claire had for her. Mai imagined that that was what a mother was.

Since she had around six months left until her 12th birthday, the villagers were getting nervous. This was the critical time for all sacrifices, and it was the time when Mai's birth mother had grievously injured herself, preventing herself from being sacrificed. There was a female villager during every waking moment that Mai had; they would watch her eat, weave, and any other activity that she did other than going to the restroom and sleeping. Although it was uncomfortable, Mai understood. They didn't want another repeat of her mother.

Sighing, Mai began to weave yet again. However, she had another plan in mind for this project. She was going to make a blanket and send it to Teacher Claire to thank her for everything that she had done for both Dir and her.

Mai smiled and started. She hoped that it would be of some use.

..........

Months passed by and Mai spent her last days on this Earth finishing the blanket for Teacher Claire. She sent it via a merchant that visits the village once a month, just days before the sacrificial ceremony.

In the past month or so, Dir visited from time to time, trying to convince her to escape in some way, shape, or form. Mai calmly listened to him before sending him on his way- he had his own ceremony to do. Dir was to go through his adult rites of passage which would be harder than others since he was the next village chief. However, his intense learning with Teacher Claire had more than prepared him for the practical test. He just needed to learn the formal actions required. But for Dir, it was enough to set him back for a month.

Conversely, Mai had nothing to do. She had prepared for her own sacrificial ceremony throughout her whole life, and furthermore she did not have any formal actions at all. She just had to close her eyes and wait for the dirt to fall.

Which was what she did as the dirt fell on top of her. Opening her eyes, Mai glanced at the villagers she had known all her life. The dirt had already covered her chest, and Mai could no longer move. She smiled and re-closed her eyes. It was just a few minutes more and then ten more minutes for her to pass out and then die. She would die with grace.

"Will you tell me a story?" Mai whispered, hoping that the voice could hear her over the booming drums and song the villagers echoed.

"Of course," the voice's tone was rough and nasally. Mai smiled, but she still felt sadness. She didn't want to die.

"Once upon a time, there was a god. He was the most powerful god out of all of the other gods and goddesses, but the other gods and goddesses feared him. So, they banded together to place a curse on the god: a curse that would prevent him from using his full strength. However, the god was too powerful for them, so they could only prevent him from using varying amounts of his strength depending on the time of day and the season. The god could only use his full power at solstices when either the sun or the moon is at its highest. Despite the potential problems that not having his full power may cause, the god did not mind- he did not care enough about anything to notice the disadvantage.

One day, however, the god had coincidentally glanced down at Earth and noticed the life of an insignificant human girl. The girl was born with a tragic fate, yet she did not gripe nor bemoan it. Instead, the girl complied with every order while still fanning her own flames of insubordination. The god was amused at first- he couldn't believe that such a tiny creature would be able to hold the world in her hands. He watched her at first, but he soon grew curious and wanted to talk to her. But the god was shy. He had never spoken to humans before. It was not until the girl was six years old that he spoke, comparing her to a grassroots for he thought that her tenacity and beauty of spirit was the same. To his delight, the girl spoke back.

The god watched the girl grow older, his heart growing ever more fonder and fonder, and he no longer wanted the girl to be sacrificed. So, the god made a plan."

Mai held her breath and closed her eyes tighter. It was covering her face now.

"The god no longer had the power to be able to change the fate of the girl- no, that power was prevented by the other gods and goddesses. So, the god made deals with neutral gods, those that would not mind to let the god borrow their power. In this way, the god slowly amassed power, readying it for the day that he would need it to save his beloved."

Mai was completely submerged by the dirt, its heavy weight crushing her. Her lungs tightened, and Mai hated the feeling of no longer having air.

"So, Mai, don't worry," the voice whispered, "I now have enough power to save you."

When the voice's last words fell, Mai grew unconscious, so she was unable to realize that she had been teleported to a different space, a different realm. She was now in the realm of the Gods, in the hands of the voice that had always spoken to her since she had turned six-years-old. And Mai was finally able to feel the warmth that the voice was always withholding- he was scared to lose her, so the voice had always kept a distance.

Now, however, the voice was a god with long, black hair and pale white skin. His facial features were breathtaking, yet the tenderness in his eyes was what would truly take people aback; his eyes told anyone that he was willing to give the world to the girl that he was holding in his arms.

"Hello, Mai," the man said, "I have been called many things: Hades, Yama, Osiris, Anubis, Mictlantecuhtli, Yeomra, or just simply, Death. However, the humans have forgotten my true form. I am Minas, God of Creation and Destruction, ruler of all. And you, my dear, will become my Queen."

Minas tenderly kissed Mai's eyes and brought her to the room that he had prepared for her. Tucking her in, he left her, having to complete his end of the bargain with the many gods that had assisted him in making it possible to save Mai.

When he turned to leave, he failed to see Mai slowly disappear. He had used too much power in bringing her to God's realm, that he failed to notice the chaotic energy surrounding the girl.

Mai had entered a reincarnation cycle.

...........

Standing before the Goddess of Time and Aging, the Goddess of Life, and the God of Death, Minas was furious.

"If you do not explain in clear terms what you mean, I will destroy you," he said, his voice dangerously calm. The god and goddesses that provoked his fury glanced at each other, urging the other to do what they were afraid to explain. Finally, the Goddess of Time and Aging, Tiaela, spoke up.

"She's human, O'Great One. She cannot withstand the turbulent energy of the realm of the Gods[1]. Even with the energy of us all, you cannot change her constitution without major repercussions."

Minas' constitution grew colder, the air forming ice crystals with his every breath. "You lie. Which God or Goddess had bribed you three?"

Another glance was exchanged between the offending God and two Goddesses before the God of Death braved two steps forward.

"N-no one, my Lord," the God of Death sputtered, trembling hands clasped before him to show honesty, "We will remain neutral."

"Bull," narrowing his eyes, Minas leaned in closer to the God of Death's face, "I can smell the wine under your breath, Phoerow."

A drop of sweat streaked down Phoerow's back. His eyes spun as he tried to formulate words. "T-that was-"

"Lies. They were all lies. Now explain to me who had bribed you before I blast you to non-existence."

The Goddess of Life trembled, "You can't do it! You don't have enough power to!"

"I may not have enough power to bend time and space and reshape the destinies of billions of individuals without harming the fabric of creation, but I have enough power to destroy a few puny Gods. I can always bestow your powers to some other God, or I can form another God."

The three Gods trembled. "Brqi'a," Tiaela blurted, the pressure of Minas too great for the Goddess of Time and Aging to handle.

"Brqi'a," Minas hissed, his eyes narrowed in slits, "You have harmed Mai for the first and last time."

.............

Mai was confused- she had woken up to a different identity in a different world. She was not on Earth anymore and instead in Loaka. And she was now 'Maria von Hübschesherz', a young lady from a wealthy noble family.

"Miss, have you finished eating?" a maid had asked, gesturing towards the plate of barely touched food in front of Mai.

Mai looked down and quickly gobbled the food, not willing to waste a single bite. The maid looked on in hidden disgust, wondering what had happened to their elegant Miss.

Mai thought back to the story the voice had told her. Perhaps the voice had saved her by transporting her to another world. But if the voice-

"Mai, I'm sorry."

Mai looked up in surprise, happiness in her features.

"Voi-"

"I don't have enough time and I can't hear you, so I'll be quick. I originally transported you to the Gods realm, but there was a slight mishap and you were instead placed into a reincarnation cycle. I have tried everything, but I don't have enough power to save you, much to my chagrin. Instead, you will have to reincarnate twelve times. However," Minas paused, his voice getting softer and harder to hear, "I made sure that you will remember each of your lives and that you would die peaceful deaths. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to do more." His voice almost faded to oblivion, but Mai was able to hear his last words, "Bye, Mai. I won't be able to contact you often, but I will try my best. I will see you in person in twelve thousand years."

Mai was shocked, her head swimming. How was she to do this?

........

Minas' connection with Mai's world sputtered out, and he hit the wall in front of him in frustration. Brqi'a smirked from his position on the floor, rope tied tightly across his entire body.

"You've gotten weak, O'Weak One," Brqi'a taunted, derision in his eyes.

"Shut up, goat," Minas' foot connected with Brqi'a's. "You will pay for this."

"Ha! You barely have enough power to sustain yourself and that girl. How can you possibly make me pay?"

Minas narrowed his eyes and a deadly smile slowly formed on his face. He leaned in closer towards Brqi'a. "Who said that I will be the one to make you pay?"

Brqi'a's face darkened. "You wouldn't."

"Yes," Minas laughed, "yes I would."

A dark shadow swooped into Brqi'a's throne room, picking up the trussed-up goat man on the floor. Brqi'a struggled to escape from his bonds, but the rope tightened further, and he could only give up futilely. "F*ck you, Minas!"

"I'm taken," Minas calmly said, watching as the Crow of Infinite Darkness carried Brqi'a away. "If only she accepts me."

The small deities that served Brqi'a watched the God of Creation and Destruction slowly leave the scene, the destroyed throne and charred floor proof of the fight that occurred between him and Brqi'a. Minas had to find a way to break his curse.

............

Mai stood before her parents of this world.

"What do you think of this boy?" Her mother asked her, gesturing for one of the servants to lift the portrait of a boy three years older than Mai.

"I-"

"Or this one?" Her father gestured once more and a different portrait was held up.

"I-"

"Or the son of Count Spergel?" Her mother asked, eagerly. "His estate is huge!"

"I don't want an engagement!" Mai promptly replied, dashing their hopes. Her parents exchanged glances with each other before her mother walked to Mai, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Honey, I realize that getting engaged might be a difficult process, but think of the benefits you will receive! Wealth, land, status, everything! Doesn't all that outweigh the teeny-weensy little problem like getting married?"

"No," Mai said, still getting used to no longer having her 50-word limit. "I won't be getting married." Even if she did, she would leave her children behind as she reincarnates. She wouldn't be able to do that.

"Dear!" Mai's mother said, tugging the sleeve of her husband. "Convince Mai for me!"

Mai's father stepped up, looking at his daughter up-and-down. "Now Maria, you realize that you are the only daughter of our house. You must marry a man to become the heir of our household!"

"No. I can just be heir."

Her parents exchanged glances once more. "That's not how this works, honey," her mother said. "A woman can't own property."

Mai's face darkened. 'What is this inequality,' she thought. "Who says so?" Mai asked, looking straight at her mother's eyes.

"The King," her father said, his face solemn.

Mai was about to mention the voice before she changed her mind, making her next words a general statement. "Men that oppress women have insecurities about their masculinity."

Once again, her parents exchanged glances when a suppressed laugh was heard from the doorway. A handsome young man stood, his skin a dark brown color and hair so dark a brown it looked black.

"Is this the young lady from the household of Hübschesherz?" A different young man asked from behind the handsome youth.

"Yes, yes she is," replied Mai's mother, "but who are you?"

The different young man popped his head from behind the handsome youth, revealing pale white skin and platinum blonde hair. "I am Gabriel Alastair Cannan the Third of the house of Traap." The young man nudged the boy before him.

Coughing, the boy at the doorway shyly introduced himself, "I'm Nicholas Matthias of the house of De Vaare."

Mai's mother's eyes lit up. "Oh! What are you boys here for?"

"We came to invite your daughter to one of the noble children's events. We will be going to one of the villages near here and donate things like clothes and food because only God knows how they survive," Gabriel chirped, his voice upbeat.

Mai felt slightly offended as she looked at the boy. The village always had enough food in some way or another, and although she didn't live a life with surplus, she still lived well. Who were they to look down on indigenous groups?

"Excuse me-" Mai began but was interrupted by her father.

"Go, go!" Her father pushed Mai out of the room, "Take her. Make sure she comes back by midnight."

Mai stood dumbfounded in front of the two young men that she was just introduced to. 'What is this,' she thought.

***************

[1] Gods with a capital G and an 's' at the end will mean both gods and goddesses while no 's' is just god and goddess. The plural form of male deities will be 'gods' and 'goddesses' for female deities unless it's a formal title like 'God of Creation and Destruction, rule of all'. It's honestly such a pain to keep typing out Gods and Goddesses, so just know that I'm not being sexist (just lazy).