introduction

When Iliane arrived at the base, she was shocked. Charlotte had already explained how it would look and what she had to do, but seeing it with her own eyes differed from hearing it.

Beautifully decorated buildings stood in a pattern. They weren't that big and looked like they only had one floor, but they still looked big.

This 'base' they brought me to looked like a village or even bigger than that. Looking around, I could see a lot of people running around.

I saw some civilians that looked out of place but were guided by someone. Charlotte, seeing my confusion, decided to explain.

"The monster outbreak is over the whole world, and while the goddess of light has just started to make moves like making you her saintess, that doesn't mean that other gods didn't act before her. 

My god began taking action almost ten years ago. He and the other gods knew of the attack's arrival but weren't prepared for its scale. So, while many places are safe, we can't obviously protect the world at the same time. It took time, but now almost all forces that initially invaded are killed, and every survivor is being placed at these camps."

Charlotte gave a whole explanation while I stood there, a bit dumbfounded. All the information was a bit much for me. Processing the information or all I could, I asked a question.

"What will happen to the people you saved? You are a strong force and could survive without these people, so why do you save them?"

Charlotte just looked at me before giving me a gentle smile. "That is because the gods of this world still see potential in them. Like how the goddess of light sees much potential in you while the other gods see potential in humans. And now that mana has been released to the world, humans have a higher chance of standing out and making it."

I nodded my head at her explanation. While this was still a bit much for me, it didn't help if I questioned everything.

"Let me guide you to the place where you will be resting. I have to say my prayers right after that. So follow me quickly."

Charlotte began to walk towards a group of buildings that was overflowing with people—not that it was overcrowded, but just that there were a lot of people. She hadn't seen these many people since she was in a big city, and even her own city, where she lived, couldn't compare to the bustling crowd here.

Before they met the place where people were walking, Charlotte took a right turn in a two-story building. Between two buildings was an alley, and I followed her. The alley didn't look special, but when we arrived at the wall, she took a plate from her pocket and placed it against the stone.

When the plate made contact with the wall, vibrations occurred, but if you didn't focus, you wouldn't even feel them. The wall began to fade, and a purple portal appeared in its place. Charlotte walked directly inside the portal, and after a moment of hesitation, I followed her inside.

A shivering feeling came down my spine when we came to the other side; I was in paradise now. This place looked like heaven's personification. It looked like a white palace being built and surrounded by a beautiful forest, and even though a forest surrounded it, you could see the beautiful sky even from the ground through the trees.

"This place is one of nine palaces on this planet. It is where the strongest beings from this continent are located. Some people were just recruited by the people here and are new, but most of the people here have been here for a long time."

Iliane stood in a daze, not because of what Charlotte was saying but because her connection with her goddess was getting stronger. Because of this, she looked around more curiously now. Charlotte, seeing what she was doing, understood what she was feeling.

"Due to this place being blessed by one of the gods of this world, our connection to our gods is stronger here."

After the short explanation, Charlotte walked towards one of the palace's towers. "While you are a guest, you aren't connected to our god, so you can't enter the main palace, but I did manage to secure a place in one of the towers here."

When they arrived at the tower, they saw how massive it was. It was about five hundred meters high and had beautiful sculptures throughout. When I thought we just had to walk inside, Charlotte stopped me. She placed the metal plate from earlier on the tower's door, and another portal, this time red, sprang out.

We walked through the portal; on the other side was a beautiful room. Calling it a room was an understatement because of its size. This room had three different sections: a sleeping section, a living section, and, lastly, a bathing section.

"This is the place you can rest. This metal plate is for you to drop a bit of your blood on it, and it will recognize you as its owner. This plate can be summoned whenever you want, and you can keep it here after giving it your blood. You can go outside and summon it when you need it."

Charlotte then explained that she could call for help with the phone at the door if she needed anything and that she would meet her in three days. After that, she left. Iliane jumped on the bed because she was exhausted from everything that had happened that day.

When Iliane wanted to fall asleep, she was suddenly sucked into a portal, but this time to a place she knew all too well. She went on both of her knees and greeted the goddess that was before her.

"Greetings, goddess."

Her head was bowed down, and it stayed there. There was silence after she had spoken, and just when she was about to look up, she felt a warm hand on her head.

"You are doing well, my child. It's your first day, and you have already done so much. Just continue to work hard and follow my manual, and you can protect yourself and spread the word about me. I will be waiting for that day, my child."

As suddenly as she came, she vanished just as quickly. 

"Yes, goddess, I will not disappoint you."

Iliane's eyes were filled with determination for her goddess. What she didn't know was that the goddess had to leave so quickly because her husband wasn't done with her yet.