The goddess inside the crystal

It's a busy day in Asteria. Euphoric teenagers from all over the world have spread to this place; their youthful energy can be felt everywhere. This is a rather common sight here, a city that has been the scene of major historical events which were important to human civilization. From time to time, schools across the continent send their students to visit the great monuments that come together at this location.

All kinds of people can be seen here, not only humans, but also elves, angels, fairies and every race imaginable. One of these groups of people gather in front of a large and elegant building. Everyone seems excited, taking pictures and making comments all the time. Well, all except one.

A single lazy-looking boy walks slowly behind the crowd. The girl next to him tries to get his attention by poking him with her elbow, but without much success. Between the excited crowd and the big building, a woman in uniform shows herself.

"Now we are reaching the high point of our trip. I'm sure you've all seen or at least heard about this building. This is the Shrine of the Fallen Goddess. It was built four thousand years ago by the great emperor Klaus IV on the rubble of a castle that fell from the sky. At that time, it was not called a a 'shrine', because devotions to the goddess were prohibited. This was just a place to preserve his war trophy, and those who entered should admire not the goddess, but the emperor. However, we all know that this ended with the fall of the empire. Now, all devotees of the goddess use this place as a temple and come here periodically to offer their prayers. Let's take a look inside."

The students follow the tour guide into the sanctuary, but one of them - that one - stays in place. The girl realizes that he stopped and comes back to call him.

"Mark, aren't you coming?"

"Zzz ..."

"Uhh ... Really?"

She approaches the boy who was sleeping on his feet without losing his balance and pinches his cheek.

"Mark! Hey, Mark!"

"Nnnnnnnngh!"

The pain is enough to wake him up, but not enough to end all his tiredness. He scratches his eyes until his blurred vision begins to gain focus, revealing a familiar person staring at him angrily.

"Alexa? What are you doing here?"

"Excursion, remember?"

"Ah, that's right."

The girl, discredited, puts her hands on her hips.

"How can you sleep while standing up?"

"Well, this is all pretty boring."

"How can you say that? This is a sacred place, preserved for four thousand years by your ancestors! It really doesn't mean anything to you?"

"Hmm ... no. Besides, do you really think all this stuff happened? That a floating castle fell from the sky as a result of a war between humans and gods?"

"Huh. So you were listening after all."

"No, I already know these stories. My mom used to tell me all the time. After hearing them over and over again, they no longer seem special to me."

Alexa could understand Mark's attitude. No matter how incredible a story is, anyone could get tired after hearing it several times. Even so, she couldn't forgive him. He always had the habit of not taking things seriously and this always made things discouraging between them.

"I see. But regardless, this goes to our resumes. You should at least pretend to be excited."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Tired of his gloomy behavior, Alexa grabs Mark by the arm and forcibly drags him inside the shrine.

"Come on, let's go! I don't want to miss the trip because of you."

"Then go alone!"

"Oh, don't be like this!"

Inside the shrine, a goddess of crystal astonishes the sight of the students who saw her for the first time. The guide, again, emerges in front of them to begin the explanations.

"This is Caelia, the Fallen Goddess. She is said to be one of the Four Goddesses of Creation who ruled the world before the rise of the Klaus Empire."

The crowd of students come closer, amazed. Their eyes were shining, as was the crystal that held the goddess.

"Amazing!"

"Is she really inside?"

"She's so pretty!"

"Do you think she is alive?"

The knowledge of that beautiful and mysterious sculpture was not uncommon. Some of these teenages have seen her several times on television, on the internet and in books, but it was still so fascinating to see her up close trapped in that crystal, as if she were an insect inside an amber. t was no surprise that they were so curious.

"Before, she was known as the Goddess of Heavens and she lived in castle that floated in the sky. When the emperor Klaus IV started a war against the goddesses, she was the last one left. It is said that she launched a suicide attack by knocking down her castle with the emperor's troops, and to avoid being killed, she turned into a crystal. The emperor took her and turned her into a monument. That's how this shrine came about. Many hope that one day the goddess will break free from the crystal and bring salvation to the world."

Due the guide's last statement, the young students look confused at each other.

"Salvation of what?"

"Who cares? It's just a story."

"Do you think it really happened?"

"I don't know, but it seems that some people really believe that."

The comments became bolder and bolder and the students began to doubt the authenticity of the goddess. To prevent things from getting out of her control, the guide decides to take an initiative.

"Now, question time! Anyone want to ask something?"

One of the students raises his hand.

"What happened to the other three goddesses?"

"No one knows for sure, but it's believed that they were killed during the battle."

Again, the students begin to make comments between themselves.

"Goddess can die?"

"Isn't a goddess supposed to be stronger than a human?"

"The emperor's army must've been quite large to defeat four goddesses..."

"Or they must've been pretty weak."

"What shitty goddesses!"

"Hey, don't say that! People still worship them today, you know?"

To avoid turmoil, the tour guide claps her hands.

"Okay, calm down. Anyone else have questions?"

"Yes, I am! Uhh…"

Alexa excitedly raises her hand, but is unable to proceed as she is interrupted by Mark, who falls with his body over her. Annoyed, she pushes him away.

"Get hold of yourself for a while, please! Hrr hmm... Is the goddess inside the crystal really alive?"

" This is one of the greatest mysteries of the world. Is she alive? Is she dead? Will she wake up one day? Unfortunately, with our current technology, we're not yet able to know, but I believe that one day we will have these answers. Anyone else?"

The students continued to make comments, but none with a prominent question.

"Well, that's it for today. You can walk around and take pictures as you want, but remember to go back to your stays before dark."

The tour guide left the room. Some of the students - Alexa included - approached the crystal where the goddess was trapped.

"Oh my God, she's so beautiful! It looks like she'll come out of the crystal at any moment! Don't you think so, Mark?"

Without a drop of concern, Mark slept soundly, lying on the ground.

"Zzzz…"

"You're unbelievable!"

As the sun went down, the crowd returned to the hotel where they were staying. The euphoria was taken by the silence that the city was used to at nightfall. And the goddess remained there, quiet, sleeping peacefully as she always do.

Her next visitors were the ones she usually receives outside these big events. The few faithful who still existed, but which despite being few, didn't see her with the disrespectful eyes of those teenagers.

One of these visitors steps into the empty sanctuary. It's a girl with golden hair and angel wings. She looks fragile, but resolute. She kneels before the goddess and offers her prayers, as she is used to.

After being satisfied, the girl leaves the goddess alone. Like many, she believed that the goddess will one day free herself from the crystal and set foot on the earth, and that she will reign again, bringing eternal peace and happiness to all.

*crack*

But a unusual noise is enough to make her heart unease and stop her to leave that place. It's the sound of glass shattering. The girl turns to the source of the noise.

"Huh?"

Even though she imagined this moment for so long, she wouldn't know how to react. The crystal was cracking and the goddess inside was moving, like a bird hatching from its egg. The shards fall, one by one, until a mountain of shining glass forms on the floor. The goddess touches her feet gently on the ground, ignoring the fragments she steps on. The girl, trembling, stumbles as she realizes the situation. The goddess, however, brings her hand to her head to feel her body heat for the first time after so long.

"Am I… alive?! What is this place?"

"G-G-Goddess!"

The goddess sees the girl lying in front of her.

"You, what year is it?"

"F-F-Four thousand fifty six… of the new era..."

"Four thousand? This doesn't make sense…"

"E-Excuse me!"

"Wait!"

The girl runs away, panicked. The goddess extends her hand but cannot reach her in time.

"What a shame. I wanted ask more questions."

The goddess leaves that place, leaving a trail of shards behind.