Chapter 1: Is this a Goddess?
Chapter 1: Is this a Goddess?
A bright light. A dark void. Heaven. Hell. Purgatory. Something incomprehensible to the human mind. Maybe even some sort of office. That's what's normally expected, if you believe your consciousness perserveres after death.
All it knew was, it died. It used to be a human being with a family, a job, hobbies, friends and other interests. Even if it couldn't remember itself or the people that it used to know. Just seconds ago, it was so clear but now? It felt like holding fine sand in your hands. It all slipped away and it was left with the feeling of loss (albeit minor).
"Still getting over the fact that you're dead and a bunch of memories are gone eh? I get it. Take your time." A melodius voice spoke, cutting through it's state of shock and confusion. Across from it, was someone it had never seen before. A woman, with pink, brown and white hair. Her eyes heterochomatic with elongated pupils, like those of a fox. Speaking of foxes, she had nine tails, all in the same color scheme of her hair. Her clothes followed the same style as well. Some sort of hooded white, pink, red and brown that fit her. She was probably the most beautiful creature it had ever seen.
"Aw, thanks- I'm flattered. Feel free to praise me more." She chimed in, clearly able to tell what it was thinking.
'Where.. No, what.. Who..?' It tried to ask, but no voice came out.
"You have no mouth, dawg. I can feel your thoughts though. I'll give ya all the answers you need. Just take a minute to collect yourself. No need to rush into this." The woman assured, making it relax just a little.
Looking around, it observed more than the beautiful woman in front of it. She was sitting in a black swivel chair, sitting in front of some Presidential-looking desk. Large windows placed behind her, lighting the room with what seemed to be sunlight. The room itself looked like a strange combo of a man cave and a President's office. Bean bag chairs, seventy inch plasma wide screen television and some junk food were on the coffee table behind it. It gave off a homely feeling, weirdly enough.
"Good. You're all calmed down now. I see you like my crib. Roman sure knows how to interior design." The woman nodded to herself with a small smile.
'Wait that sounds familiar.. You look sorta familiar too' It thought, closely observing the
woman.
"We'll get to that sometime soon. Let's go over your earlier questions first. That being, where am I? Well I can fully explain but you won't really get it. I'll give you a short explaination. You're in my shared domain. In my main city. More specifically, in my Mayor's office slash Neo-cave. Not on Earth." The woman explained casually while a small orange fox leapt into her lap and began nuzzling itself into her hand for pets, which she happily obliged.
'So an Afterlife?' It asked, trying not to get distracted by the cute fox.
"No. The place is like a seperate plane of reality. I share the space with my sisters. Now, moving onto the next question! What happened to me? This one's easy. You already know it too. You died. I brought you here." The woman once again casually explained.
'Yes but how did I..? I don't even remember' It asked, its frustration rising at the lack of memory.
"Well. You had stage four cancer-" Its eyes widened as she started explaining.
-"But then, somehow you beat it. One night in the hospital, you heard the door to your room open. And in stepped Goku. He said: 'Hey I heard you were strong-" It started to snicker to itself, cutting the woman off at the end of her joke.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
"Ah I knew I picked the right one.." She nodded to herself with a smug smile after hearing it crack up.
'So how'd I really die? I mean it'd be amazing if I was killed by Goku in a fight but that's not really the case here' It asked, before getting confused.
'Wait I can remember Goku but not my death? Or my family and friends?' It asked itself, seeing the woman nod.
"I'll clear that up after I answer your third question. How you died doesn't matter now. Now let's address Who is this amazing, sexy Goddess?" The woman smugly smiled.
'I never said all that extra-' The Woman just ignored its thoughts and went onto explain. "I'm Hecate. Or Neo. Or Equinox, as other Gods have started to call me after my little fiasco with Rae. I'm a Goddess. Literally. I brought you here, to give you another shot at life. Yes, like those Light Novels, Anime and Fanfictions." Hecate explained, putting the small fox down, who ran out the nearest door to play with a corgi.
'Why me? I don't feel particularly special or anything.' It asked, seeing Hecate's brow raise.
"On the contrary. I spent a year looking for just the right type of person to do this. You match the criteria but so did a few others. It's those extra qualities in your personality that made me choose you. Your world has its mediums that allow you to create and observe different realities. As a living being, you couldn't directly interact with these worlds. But as a disembodied soul? It's possible. So, I grabbed you as you left your mortal body. And here you are." Hecate explained, a bit more seriously now.
It was a lot to take in. But the soul wasn't stupid. While not everything was spelled out for it, the general idea was understood. It had traversed the boundary between Earth and (what used to be) fiction. But questions still remained. Why was it pulled here? Why can't it remember its past human connections?
"Riiiight right. I'll get to that too. Just didn't want to info dump on you. I'm not in a rush to send you off yet. I'd rather you be informed first before you make the decision." Hecate gave the soul an understanding smile before leaning back in her chair.
The soul felt more at ease with those words. But as it was about to think again, it was distracted by the sight of a gorgeous pale blonde woman in a black and blue dress walking outside with an adorable nine tailed fluffy girl on her shoulders. Both looked to be enjoying the other's company as they leisurely strolled past the windows, followed by two pale skinned women with horns.
"Hm? Something you- Ah yeah.. Those are two of my sisters. Don't get too close to Artoria. Her presence might corrupt and or destroy you. You're safe in here. Now, let's explain the memory stuff. Want any tea? Soda? Beer?" Hecate asked, closing the blinds to avoid further distractions.
'I can drink? I'll get soda then. Beer always tasted nasty as hell to me' The soul replied.
"It's Qrow's anyways. Her Wife's been getting on her about drinking so she hides it here" Hecate shrugged before one of her tails opens up a nearby mini fridge and pulls out a pepsi for
the soul.
'Wait several things feel off about that sentence..' The soul replied before its ethereal colorless hand grabbed the soda, opening it and taking a drink.
"Don't worry about it. Now.. the issue with your memory. Truth be told, I had your memories scrubbed. I had my past memories myself and they caused me some problems. But even if you lack these memories, your core self is still there. You just have to rediscover it. I mean, your distaste for beer, sense of humor and sexual preference is already known." Hecate joked, seeing the soul shiver to itself in what she could tell was embarrassment.
"But if you really need a reason, here you go. If you were treated awfully and died in horrifying pain, you wouldn't really want to remember all that, would you? In a second life, it'd weigh you down. Give you trust issues. On the opposite end, if you were well loved and were separated from the people you loved more than anything, you wouldn't truly be living your best life. A kind of detachment is needed when you live a second life. That way, you'll feel the connections you make, the loved ones and the enemies? All of it will matter that much more to you." Hecate explained, the soul pausing and thinking on her words.
'..I.... suppose I can accept that. I guess knowing whether I had a good or terrible life doesn't truly matter at this point huh?' The soul thought to itself, accepting the lack of memories.
"Another reason why I chose you~ You're rational, level headed and somewhat wise. Now let's go onto the deal at hand. I wanna send you off to reincarnate in another world. And you can probably guess which one." Hecate smiled.
'In RWBY, right? I had a feeling, based on your name and appearance. Never heard of Neo being a kitsune though' The soul replied.
"Yeah well.. my story was kinda weird. Didn't exactly stay just 'RWBY' for long. Yours, though? Well you shouldn't be in a rush to leave Remnant, if you decide to go. Lots of stuff to do. A world to explore.." Hecate stopped, feeling the soul's confusion.
'I have a choice?' The soul asked.
"Why yes. I'm big on freedom. You have a ton of options. I can forge you a new body and make you one of Tearwyn's kitsune guard, send your soul off to the cycle of rebirth, place you on some world in our territory or go with the original plan. Rebirth on Remnant." Hecate
clarified.
'I see... Huh.. Why Remnant though? Do I get anything for going with the original plan?' The soul asked, seeing Hecate's lips curve up.
"This Remnant is one I altered myself. I added quite a few things and tweaked other things. And to answer your question, yes. You will get something special if you agree to reincarnate here." Hecate answered, kicking her feet up on the desk.
'Guess I'll figure it out after I agree huh? One last question. Will doing this get me the chance to have powers like yours? Changing worlds and adventuring to different places..' The soul asked, its tone hinting at its interest.
"Heh~ If you had chosen anything else, I'd have answered no. But it won't be easy. Definitely not as easy as I had it. If you choose to go to Remnant, you'll have it harder than I did. So, what do you think?" Hecate asked, her tails cushioning her head as she leaned back.
'I agree. I'd be insane to pass up something like this' The soul responded. "Yes! I knew you'd agree! My gift to you will activate once you're in the womb. Sorry but you'll probably be bored for a few months as your soul acclimates to your new body. Good luck and don't bite the dust, okay?" Hecate hopped off her seat and grasped the soul with her two hands before bringing it in and planting a kiss on it.
The soul felt Hecate's embrace before her lips pressed onto its intangible form. Just when it was about to voice its embarrassment, its consciousness faded. Falling into a deep sleep and
vanishing from the office.
"She's gonna have to deal with all those numbers and skills. Even as beginner friendly as I made it, that still sounds like a pain to keep track of.." Hecate sighed before seeing her door open, an orange haired familiar man poking his head in.
"Hey Foxy, you done with the soul you pulled in? That female Shirou is waiting outside still.
And when are we going back to Hellsing? I like Alucard and the busty blonde. Oh and Integra too, I guess." Roman asked, adjusting his bowler cap.
"Oh yeah the one from that crossover with the loli I regret. Send her in. And we'll go as soon as
Mumei joins us. I think Lilith's talking to her manager." Hecate smiled, remembering her
little trip with Roman.
"Just keep her away from me. Brutes are such a pain in my perfect ass to deal with." Roman grumbled as he shut the door.