What would you do if one day someone asks you, "Do you want to be a god?" What will your answer be? What if you said yes but the god you become wasn't what you expected? Will you regret it? Miki met some familiar and some not so familiar people as she tried to cope with suddenly being a sky goddess. Sky Goddess Chapter 2 A story of adventure in a fantasy world. By Shinieris

"Master, we received an urgent letter from the mainland," said a robed man whose face was hidden under the shadow of his hood.

The elderly man sitting at the desk dropped his quill and looked up at the man, "I assume this just arrived?" he asked, to which the hooded man nodded, "Give it to me."

The elderly man read the letter for a moment in silence before he put it down. "So... a goddess appeared in the mainland? By the name of Miki? Does she has any connection with Miki-na-maresh?"

"We cannot tell for sure, master. By the time our monks arrived there, she had already left. They did confirm that a sanctuary dedicated to her is being built and that the builders had been blessed. They were carrying big stone blocks as if it weighed nothing."

"Did our godspeaker say anything?"

"Yes master, our god, Kulkuri-un-kisis has already ordered that this goddess be captured and brought to one of our temples so she can be brought back to the Sky Kingdom. It seems like she wasn't supposed to be here in the first place, master."

"Then, has the preparations been made?"

"Yes master, twenty of our warrior monks are already assembled. They can leave at any time."

"Tell them to take Arlen with them."

"Arlen? But he's not a devout follower, master. Just look at the mess in Olkar!"

"Yes, Olkar was indeed a debacle, but the objective was completed and he was so good at it that nothing was ever traced back to us. He is the only one among our order that has no honour. Let him dirty his hands."

"If that is what you wish, master. I will fetch him from the dungeons."

------

"Farran?" Miki said as she twirled her hair around her fingers.

"Something on your mind, Miki?" Farran said with difficulty. He was carrying not only his own warrior gear, but also provisions and gifts from the six villages when they announced their leaving.

"I've been wondering... Are there no magicians in this world?"

"Sure, there are plenty. Court jesters, travelling carnivals, sorcerors, shamans, priests, scholars, they all can use their own magics," he answered.

"Then why can't I be one of those, instead of a goddess?" Miki said as she pouted a little.

"Because for the simple reason that your magic is widely different from theirs. Court jesters and travelling carnivals don't normally practice real magic, theirs are slight of hands and parlour tricks that played on the audience's inattentiveness. Shamans make rituals that don't always work. Sorcerors and priests need to make long chants or long prayers before they can use magic. As for scholars, their magics are the magic of mechanics and potions," Farran explained.

"But I still can act like a sorceror or priestess, right?"

"You still don't get it, Miki. See that apple over there? The juiciest one?" Farran said, pointing to a distant apple tree.

"I can see one," Miki said.

"I want it. Get it for me," Farran said, while looking at Miki's reaction.

Miki made a gesture as if asking the apple to come to her. The apple in question simply plucked itself and flew across the distance and landed on her palm. "Here," she said, while handing him the apple.

"Now you see what I mean? A priestess simply won't do that, because they're afraid they will offend their gods. A sorceress may do that, but they will require very long invocations and it still won't accurately fly into their hands. It would've much easier for the sorceress to walk there and pluck it by hand," Farran said as he took the apple and cut it into halves, handing one half back to Miki.

"What's the point of having magic if it can't be used to make life simpler? I guess I need to be more careful then, huh?" Miki said as she took a bite.

"I suppose. It amazes me though, you seemed to do that effortlessly. I recall you saying you couldn't do any magic just less than a week ago."

"I've practiced. I've been getting better since we left Rownfelt. I get what you mean, maybe I should do some nonsensical spellcasting to throw people off."

"What would be the point? You are you. Just live with it and avoid using too much magic if you don't like to be worshipped," Farran said as he also took a bite.

"Still, why a temple? Why did you suggest that they build a huge temple for me in the woods?" Miki asked, concerning the events of the past few days.

He shrugged. "Of course, which goddess doesn't have a temple? You need to think of your own reputation."

"I think you're enjoying this a bit too much," Miki muttered under her breath.

Farran chuckled, ignoring her remark as he stated, "Here we are! Garnbrad!"

Miki looked in front of her, "It's just a signboard."

"It's a signboard informing us that we're close to Garnbrad. It is much more than a mere signboard. Now let's hurry. It will be dark soon and with luck, we can sleep under a roof tonight," Farran said excitedly.

------

"Ahh... a nice bed at last," Farran said as he laid down on bed without taking off his shoes.

Miki raised an eyebrow and said, "On the floor."

"What?"

"On the floor."

Farran looked at the hard wooden floor and asked, "You want to do it on the floor?"

"I meant you sleep on the floor. I'm taking the bed," Miki clarified.

Farran looked at the floor again. "But it will be cold!"

"You should've thought about it before asking for a single room," Miki admonished.

"But you're my bride!" Farran reasoned.

"Well according to you, I'm also a goddess. Goddesses sleep on the bed. Servants sleep on the floor. Good night!" Miki said as she grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her body.

Farran dejectedly took his backpack and set it on the floor, near the door. He propped his backpack against the wall and used it as a makeshift pillow. He had actually been looking forward to sleeping with his bride tonight.

"Oh one more thing," Miki said with her back to him, "If you dare try to get on the bed and sleep next to me, I will make sure to have you tied to the roof, naked."

Farran wept for his bad luck. He wondered why couldn't he get a sex demon instead of a frigid goddess. It was with great difficulty that he fell asleep, still weeping for his bad luck. He didn't notice when a flicker of light emerged from Miki's chest and disappeared in a blink.

------

"Goddess Miki, please grant me long life."

"Goddess Miki, please make me strong."

"I wish I can become an adult soon."

"I wish the miller's daughter will fall in love with me."

"Would you make me rich?"

"Goddess Miki, would you cure my mother?"

Miki looked around herself, looking for the owner of those voices in the deep mist. She waded through the silvery mist as the voices echoed around her, seemingly following her wherever she went. Despite walking for what must've been miles, the everpresent voices, asking for a boon or blessing was never getting nearer. At times it sounded close enough that she could almost grasp it, but then it went away, again became the distant but persistent voices she heard earlier.

"Goddess, please make me the most beautiful woman in the village."

"Please convince my father to let me leave the village."

"Goddess Miki, please make me a rich man."

Miki could no longer bear the constant noise so she lashed out, "Would you all please shut the hell up?!!!"

"What's with this wind?"

"Goddess, is that you?"

"Are you here with me, Goddess Miki?"

"Are you going to grant my wish then, Goddess Miki?"

"Shut up!!!" Miki lashed out again.

"Annoying, isn't it? But what can we do? With great power comes great responsibility. Not that anyone expects us to be responsible at any rate," came another voice, female, Miki was sure. Unlike the other voices, this voice was clear, distinct, not at all echoey, as if she was right next to Miki.

Miki tried to feel around her, and she still couldn't find or touch anything.

"Who are you?" she called, "You're different from the others."

"Focus. Focus on my voice. Can you hear me?" the voice said again.

"Yes, but where are you?" Miki asked.

"Tune out all the other voices. Listen to only mine. Can you hear where my voice comes from?"

"Your voice is to my left," Miki said as she turned left.

"Come to me, Miki. Chase after my voice. You know where I am," the voice lured.

"Yes, I know where you are. Don't move," Miki said as she broke into a run, chasing for this woman's voice.

Miki ran and ran, until she saw the silhouette of a woman at the far end of the misty space. Then as if she was running on the wind, her feet left the ground and she rushed through the mist into a clear meadowy place. She fell unceremoniously to the grassy ground accompanied by the sound of crickets and nocturnal life.

"Took you long enough," the female voice said again, but this time, she sounded very clear.

Miki got up from the grass and looked at a small domed structure on the grassy field. There was a woman sitting on a pedestal under the domed gazebo. She was beautiful with long silvery hair and big silvery eyes. She wore the same kind of toga that Miki was wearing, except that while Miki's toga had golden embroidery, the woman's embroidery was silvery. The woman smiled at Miki so sweetly, as if she never suffered a day in her life. She had on her shoulder a silvery owl, whose eyes were looking all over the place. For some reason, this woman looked very familiar to Miki.

"I... know you, don't I?" Miki asked.

"Of course you do, I was there when you were born. You were such an adorable baby," the woman said as she caressed the owl on her shoulder.

"You were there? But you don't look like you're that old," Miki stated.

The woman giggled, "I'm older than you think, little sister. When our mother gave birth to me, men were still killing each other with stone tools."

"'Our' mother? But I'm an only child," Miki argued.

The woman giggled again. "That's what mother wanted you to think. You are the only sky goddess that has never touched the ground, as they say. You are mother's most precious jewel. The jewel that she preferred not to be seen."

"Again with the sky goddess thing. I am not a sky goddess! I was born in Missouri to Frank Albright and Gloria Belshamen. I was an only child, and I am sure of that because my mother died during childbirth," Miki said.

The woman pursed her lips as if she was trying very hard not to laugh. "Oh, I know all about that story. Tell me, little sister, what kind of surname is Belshamen?"

"Jewish?" Miki guessed.

The woman didn't even bother hiding her mirth by then. Nor did she bother remaining composed. She laughed so loud, she had tears in her eyes. Even her owl was looking at her strangely.

"I'm sorry, little sister. I wasn't laughing at you, it's just... that was so funny. Excuse me," the woman said as she laughed even louder.

Looking at the woman laughing without control kind of pissed Miki off. Miki looked around her in annoyance, as looking at the woman just made her blood boil. It was then that she noticed that there were a lot more gazebos similar to the one the woman was sitting under.

Thirty-six gazebos in total, arranged in a circle. They all had a statue of a woman standing on a pedestal under it in various glamorous poses. Miki noticed that the only one without a statue was the one this woman was sitting under. Miki looked at the plaque under the woman's feet. Aya-na-ulas. Goddess of Ancient Wisdoms, Miki read.

"Where are we?" Miki asked the woman when her laughter subsided.

"Why, we're in Emelys, of course. The place fondly called 'The City Closest to Heaven' and the only place in the world dedicating itself to honouring every sky goddesses known to mortal creatures."

"What do you mean?" Miki asked again.

"Look," the woman pointed to one gazebo, which shined the moment Miki set her eyes on it, "Go ahead, have a good look."

Miki walked the short distance towards the gazebo. She was very shocked when she saw the face on the statue. "That's me!" she said as she saw that the statue was wearing the same face as she was wearing right now.

"Of course, that's your shrine. They even wrote your name properly."

Miki looked down at the plaque fixed on the floor. It read, Miki-na-maresh, Goddess of Rain. Miki looked at the woman and said, "Rain? That's so lame. Who decide this?"

"Mother, I think. I'm the Goddess of Ancient Wisdoms. I suppose it's fitting, I am after all, the oldest sky goddess still alive as well as the wisest, if I may say so myself."

"But I don't even know how to make rain... so if I die or something, does the world stop raining?" Miki asked.

"Baby steps, little sister. We all needed to learn at first. And to answer your question, no, just that if you die, rain will occur naturally. Praying will not work from the moment of your death. But I must say, little sister, you seems to be adjusting well. I would've thought that you would be suicidal, what with suddenly becoming a girl," she grinned.

"I was driving to a job interview and suddenly I was here. Being summoned into the World of Warcraft to fulfill a stupid wish while on my way to an interview for my dream job was a tad more annoying than being turned into a girl. Wait, I was driving when I was summoned, so did I die in the other world?

"Oh no no, you whole body was transported here. You simply disappeared from that world. You're fine, really. Can't say the same about your car, though," she shrugged.

Miki panicked hearing that. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY CAR?!!! That was brand new!"

"That was kind of annoying," she rubbed her ears, "But to answer your question, your car suffered from... spontaneous combustion when it kissed the wall. Would you like to see a picture?" she said as she materialized a newspaper clipping between her fingers which she threw at Miki.

"My car..." Miki wept at the charred husk of her brand new Mustang Shelby GT500.

"Well, I suppose that's all the time I have for you tonight. Unlike you, the rest of us are actually quite busy."

"Wait! Will we ever see each other again?"

"Of course! Maybe one day we'll have ourselves a reunion in Emelys with all our sisters, how does that sound? Oh before I forget, I have a task for you tonight and every night until I see you again. I want you to fulfill ten wishes from your worshippers. Make sure you only fulfill the wishes of those who made an offering. Don't bother helping cheapskates. Our powers aren't infinite. Well, good bye then," the woman stood on the padestal as her owl flew away.

The woman made a glamorous pose on the padestal where her body, starting from her legs up turned to stone bit by bit. Just as her head was about to turn into stone she suddenly opened her eyes and turned her head towards Miki, "By the way, my name is Aya. I am the guardian deity of museums and libraries. So if you need to find me urgently, look for me in those two places."

Then she turned completely into stone.

Miki stood in the middle of the grassy field feeling lost. "She didn't tell me how to go back," Miki said out loud.

Miki couldn't be sure, but she swore she heard giggling from the statues around her.

------

Miki woke with a gasp. She looked around and realized that she was still in the same room that she slept in. She rubbed her head, trying to remember the contents of her dream. After much attempt, the only thing she could remember was that she cured a man with rotted toes. She deduced she recalled it clearer than others because it was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen.

A groaning sound alerted her to Farran's sleeping form near the door. He was curled in a fetal position, shivering as if he was freezing. Miki wondered if he was putting on an act, wondered if he knew Miki was awake and trying to beg for sympathy. In the end, Miki did sympathize with Farran and used her power to keep the air around Farran warm. Then she went back to sleep. She still felt very tired, as if she had just run a mile.

------

"Farran, what is this?" Miki asked as she looked at some kind of poster on the inn's notice board.

"That's the Garnbrad Tournament. So it's that time of the year already. The weeks after harvest, most big cities organize their own tournaments or festivals."

"What is this Garnbrad Tournament about?" Miki asked as she munched on a piece of pancake.

"It consists of people competing in various games. Last year, I participated in swordfighting. I got second, to my shame. This year, it seems they have only free-form. I wonder what this free-form game is."

"It starts tomorrow, it says here registration ends at sunset today," Miki read, "Oh, the rewards are 2000 flores for first place, 500 flores for second place and 50 flores for third place! Isn't that like a lot of money?"

"Yes, but read the fine print. The king may give winners a nobility title and a place in the king's army. Those who refuse such honour may only take a quarter of the rewards. I refused the honour last year, so I only got a quarter," Farran said sheepishly.

"But I've always wanted to be a nobleman!" Miki said. Duke Albright, hohoho, sounds great.

"You're a sky goddess, why would you want a human title?"

"Stop it with the sky goddess thing. I don't want people worshipping me around here too."

"Well at any rate, I'll ask the registration booth what this free-form tournament is. If it's anything like last year, I think I'll be joining again."

"What about me?" Miki asked.

Farran rummaged around under his iron plate and produced a leather pouch that jingled as it moved. "Here, there's 2 galosh and 8 fitter in there. Buy something you like. The city is pretty safe, just avoid the dark alleys and you'll be fine. Guard it though, thieves are everywhere."

After breakfast, Farran left to enquire about the tournament after making sure that they still have the room for the next two days. Miki on the other hand was unsure what to do. She could browse the merchandise of the bazaars on Flute Street. Or she could have a look at the more upscale shops on Merry Street. Then a sudden breeze reminded her of the single most important thing that she kept forgetting to get. Panties!

Miki got out from a shop called 'Marli & Sarn' as a proud owner of a pair of set of black panties and bra, with several spares. She had wanted to get the white ones, but when she told the shopkeeper that she would most likely be travelling around, she suggested black or dark colour ones instead. The shopkeeper told her that unless she does her laundry in urine regularly, the white ones will always turn disgustingly yellow. She was horrified and ended up buying more black and dark blue panties and bras than she intended.

As she rounded the corner towards Flute Street, she bumped shoulders with a tall man wearing something similar to a leather trench coat. The man turned to her and was about to kiss her fingers in apology when he said, "Mickey? My god, I didn't expect to see you here. It's been so long!"

Miki looked at the man, wondering if she had ever met him before. "Umm, hi Father John."

The man, who looked like he was in his 40s frowned. "Who are you calling Father John? It's me, Albert. Uncle Albert, remember?"

Miki scrunched her face trying to remember an Uncle Albert in her life. She briefly wondered if this was a man's way to court a stranger in this world. She wouldn't know, as Michael, she only had one girlfriend and that girlfriend dumped Michael before he graduated.

"Figures," the man sighed, "Michael, it's Uncle Albert, I gave you a toy train set when you were 6. I gave you this Gundam thing when you were 9." When the man saw Miki's looks, he said, "I fell into the moat when I took you to Disneyland when you were 7."

Recognition dawned on Miki's face as she finally remembered, "Uncle Albert!" Miki jumped to hug her long lost uncle.

"Just great, that you remember," Uncle Albert complained.

"Oh come on, forgive me, please?" Miki begged, "It's been so long, how are-wait a minute. Why are you here?"

"Just bought some pickled plums, see?" Uncle Albert said as he took out a bag containing some pickled plums from his trench coat.

"Ohhh, I love pickled plums, can I have one?" Miki took one before Uncle Albert could say yes or no, "Wait, that wasn't what I wanted to ask. I meant why are you here, in this world? It's a totally different world, isn't it? Or am I suffering from schizophrenia here?"

Uncle Albert chuckled. "Yes, it's a different world and no, you're not suffering from schizophrenia. As for why I'm here, you can call me an adventurer. One day, I realized that there was no more adventure in our world. Everything has already been explored. It was while I was being depressed that I found a way to punch through into this world. I've been going back and forth ever since."

"How?"

"That is a secret between me and the powers that be. But enough about me, what is going on here? It seems more hectic than the other times I've been here."

"Tomorrow's the annual Garnbrad Tournament, I guess everyone's either preparing or participating. I heard most of the inns here are already out of room," Miki said.

"Ahh, Garnbrad Tournament isn't it? How nice. I knew something good will come if I arrive today. Say, don't you want to participate too?" Uncle Albert asked with a smile.

Miki refused. "Me? But I don't know how to fight."

"Oh, I'm sure you have other 'skills' that is worth showing off," Uncle Albert coaxed, his voice was so pleasant.

"But I-"

Uncle Albert continued pushing. "Let's just go find a registration booth and see you registered for the tournament."

"But I don't-" Miki could already feel her control slipping.

"Nu-uh, remember what I always say?"

"Life needs to be enjoyed," they said together.

When Miki finally became conscious of herself, she already had a metallic bracelet locked tightly around her left wrist and her signature on both copies of the registration document. She looked at the document in her hand and cursed, "What the hell?"

Miki could barely recall Uncle Albert telling her, "Name, let's just put Miki there. Age, let's go with 18. Occupation, priestess of Alodil, now that's poetic. Fighting style, let's make it grand, Northern Mountains Dropping Eagle Wind Summoning Mastery. Marriage status, hey, when did you get married? But damned, I knew you would be beautiful as a girl. Now, place of origin, just go with Emelys."

"What the hell did Uncle Albert put in that pickled plum?" Miki said as she rubbed her aching head. "When I see Uncle Albert next time, I'm gonna massacre him. But then again, how did he recognize the female me?"

Miki decided that her adventure was over and headed back to the inn. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Miki was only woken up much later when Farran got back.

"Sorry for waking you. I found out what the free-from was about. It's-hey, when did you join?"

Miki looked at the bracelet around her left wrist. "There's this senile old man who wouldn't take no for an answer. I was swept along."

Farran laughed. "We'll. I guess we'll be joining together then," Farran said as he showed her his bracelet.

"I'm sure you will win this year," Miki said confidently.

"Unlikely, since we have a goddess participating this year. But you won't see me an easy foe!" he grinned.

------

Oron, the merchant that Miki and Farran met several days earlier sat on one of the wooden long stools in the guesthall. He was inside the Solarium of Garnbrad, touted as one of the best and most complete hall of learning in the southern lands. He came here several days ago to find an answer to one of the most burning questions he had.

"Master Oron?" one of the librarian boys asked.

Finally it seemed like he would get some answer.

"Yes," Oron confirmed.

"Master Lysus will see you now. If you will follow me," the boy asked as he led the way. He wasn't even looking behind to check if Oron was following.

"Master Oron has arrived, Master Lysus," the boy announced as soon as he opened the heavy door into Master Lysus's office.

"Thank you, Eron. Please inform the others that we are not to be disturbed," a tall man in robes of a scholar said. Unlike the boy's gray robes, his was one of blue with black stripes along the length of his robe. He was holding a book in his hand as he studied Oron through the corner of his eyes.

Oron waited until the boy closed the heavy wooden door tightly before he said, "I still can't accept how young you look. If not for the bags under your eyes, you could've looked like a twenty years old."

"I've found what you wanted," Lysus said as he handed the book he was holding to Oron, totally ignoring Oron's remark.

"It says here, that gods and goddesses assume mortal form when the balance of the mortal world is in peril..." Oron said once he finished reading the page.

Lysus took a seat at his desk. "That's just one," he said as he gestured to a stack of books and scrolls on the desk. "Apparently there has been many cases of gods and goddesses assuming mortal form and there are more than a hundred reasons. After reading these, I just can't decide whether these people were delusional or if they were trying to write a stupid fiction."

"What makes you so sure that it's fiction or a delusion?" Oron said as he helped himself to one of the chairs and a slice of the cake on the desk.

"Because only an idiot thinks gods and goddesses are real. Just think, people say thunder is a wrath of god, but it's only a natural phenomenon, even replicable under laboratory conditions. How about fire? Do you know how many idiots worshipped fire?" Lysus looked disgusted as he said that.

"I saw one," Oron stated.

Lysus looked at Oron like he just grew an extra head, then he reached into his desk drawer and took out a bottle of cough medicine.

"I don't have a fever!" Oron slammed his palms on the desk, "I really did see her."

Lysus snorted, "Yeah sure. like that time you mistaken a fox for a girl."

"I'm serious, Lysus. Do you own a copy of 'Complete Encyclopedia of Gods and Goddesses'?" Oron asked.

"Of course!" Lysus went to one side of the room and drew a big book which was quite hard to carry. He then slammed the book onto the desk, blowing dust everywhere.

"Is this the original copy?" Oron asked as he touched the leatherbound cover in reverence.

"The first copy of the original. The original was lost in a fire. My mentor was the one who compiled it. When he was on his deathbed, he asked me to continue updating the content. I wasn't very thrilled with that task, so I've been putting it aside all these years," Lysus explained.

"Well, open the page about a sky goddess by the name of Miki-na-maresh," Oron urged.

Lysus opened the book while looking bored. He looked at the list of contents and turned to the page corresponding to the goddess Miki-na-maresh. "There's not a lot on her. Out of the two pages allocated for her, the other page is empty. If not for the drawing of her idol, her entry would have nothing," Lysus remarked.

"Please read it for me," Oron asked.

Lysus sneered. "If you want someone to read you a bedtime story, you should just settle down with a nice woman."

"I did, it didn't work out, remember? Just please, humour me," Oron said.

"Oh fine, let's see..."

Sky Goddess Miki-na-maresh, Goddess of Life-Giving Rain. Her name essentially means 'she who weeps (for mankind)'. She is the Goddess of Victory Gloria-muu-shiha amari's youngest and most sheltered daughter. Her principle power is wind, with which she brings rainclouds from the sea to water the crops being planted. She is least in control of the soil because of her reluctance to touch the ground. The seer Latitochus claims that the reason for her reluctance is for the fact that she is the most coveted by Bolodhir-un-awel, the God of the Underworld and the Afterlife.

Like most sky goddesses, the only place one may find her shrine is in Emelys, 'the city closest to heaven' as sky goddesses are considered closest to humans than the other gods. The only depiction of Miki-na-maresh comes from the image of the stonecarver Ellicus, of which she is a woman in white toga who carries with her two pots in either hand, one containing damp winds that releases rain and the other a strong wind that she unleashes on those who incur her wrath. She has golden hair and golden eyes and her body is described as being so soft and fleeting as if it is made of air. Her idol in Emelys was built by a stone carver who received a vision while praying to the Goddess of Victory.

Her favoured offerings are corn, gold flores and incense.

To date, there has been no claim that she has taken a human form.

"And that's where the entry ends. What is this about?" Lysus asked as he closed the book.

"I saw her," Oron stated.

"Miki-na-maresh?" Lysus asked unbelievingly.

"Her hair and eyes are of different colour, But the face is the same. She even calls herself Miki."

"Could be just a similar face. As for the name, maybe her parents had a life-saving harvest brought by rain that they named her in honour of Miki-na-maresh."

"There's another thing. She was wearing the exact same toga that she wore in this picture. She had married a human man, and get this, they were both wearing identical wedding rings, made of orichalcum," Oron said.

"Orichalcum?!" Lysus jumped, "Are you sure?"

"That got your attention?"

"Don't joke around, Oron. Orichalcum is known as divine metal, its worth is quadruple its weight in gold," he leaned forward across the desk, "Are you very sure of this?"

"Of course I'm sure, one of my skills is identifying ores. There is no other metal that's golden and emitting a red light. Those were orichalcum rings, no doubt about it," Oron said confidently.

"If what you're saying is true, then this is a great find! They must have found an orichalcum deposit somewhere. I need to see them, we can all be rich!" Lysus remarked excitedly.

"You... still don't believe that she's a goddess, do you?"

"Of course not. Goddesses don't exist. Orichalcum does."

------

"You mean, you didn't know?" Farran asked.

"Know what?" Miki asked as she fed herself a slice of venison.

"Tomorrow is the official tournament, but tonight is the preliminary. Not sure what it entails but we'll be spending the night in a secluded place with all the other contestants. Didn't the tournament official tell you?"

"I was swept along, when I realized it, I was holding my copy of the entry form and I have this," she raised her bracelet, "around my wrist. I don't think I heard anything back then. I'm gonna kill Uncle Albert when I see him again."

"Who's Uncle Albert?"

"Nobody you'd know. So when do we have to leave?"

"We'll leave after dinner. They said we can enter the preliminary area after the registration ended, but it will only start after midnight. I think it's best if we go as soon as we can," Farran suggested.

"Why?" Miki asked, not understanding the need for rushing.

"Because I think this is the elimination round. Whoever got there first will have the best hiding spot and know the terrain better than anyone who comes later. We'll need to find a good spot for us to get through the night as well," Farran explained.

"Might as well. I don't like losing," she said as she finished her dinner.

"I don't like losing either, so we'll have to go there as soon as we can and find a good spot," he said as he got up, "I'm buying provisions for tonight, you go ahead and gather whatever things you may need for tonight. Don't take too much, though."

"Right," Miki said as she got out to buy herself some leather outfits or dark clothes. Her glowing white toga was too eyechatching for a night in the forest.

Two hours later, they arrived at the preliminary area, a forest in the middle of a valley flanked by three mountains. In the middle, a wide river separated it into the northern and the southern valley. Miki was amazed at the natural beauty of the valley. If she was still Michael, she would've loved to spend time here camping and fishing.

They met the preliminary official who demanded to see their bracelets and registration forms. After checking to see that they were authentic, he let them in after saying. "Your task is to protect your bracelet. If it breaks or disappears, your entry is forfeit. Remember, you must remain in the valley until sunrise. Failure to remain before the official bell ring will also mean your entry is forfeit."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir," Farran stopped walking and turned back as he asked, "How many contestants are here?"

The preliminary official leafed through a stack of parchment and said, "The total is 3228 contestants. So far only 2270 contestants are here. Any other questions?"

"None, thank you," Farran bowed and took Miki by the hand.

Miki looked at the offending hand feeling slightly pissed but wasn't about to make a scene in public, "What are you doing?"

"There are already 2270 contestants inside. There is no doubt that we will be seen. We need to make them think that we're harmless and only here for fun."

"Holding hands will achieve that?" Miki asked unbelievingly.

"It's a start, but it's not enough. We need to be as annoyingly loving as a young couple in love."

"Excuse me? Did you just suggest that we act lovey-dovey in front of people who would rather kill us?"

"They're not going to kill us. It's against the rules, but if we made them think that we'd rather make love in the middle of the night than compete seriously, there's a good chance that they will leave us for last."

"Why do I feel like I'm walking into a trap?" Miki looked at Farran with the eyes of a sceptic.

"Of course we're walking into a trap, I won't put it past them to put a trap already," Farran said, not catching the other meaning behind Miki's words.

Miki studied Farran's face before she sighed. "You don't look like you're lying but it's possible you're just a good actor. Alright, let's give them a performance that will make them throw up their last bits of dinner," Miki said as she hooked her arms around Farran and leaned tightly against him.

I could get used to this Farran thought.

------

Miki floated in the sky as she looked down at the valley below. She had finished fulfilling prayers early tonight and decided to make use of her dreamwalking state to spy on her rivals. 3119 have already taken their hiding spots, some merely a few feet away from another, she thought. She looked with concern at her own hiding spot, which was surrounded six other contestants, some of whom already aware where they were. She looked on at the gate and noted the last of the contestants coming in.

"Quite a few withdrew," she said to herself.

She looked at the valley below and again noted with concern that both she and Farran were within striking distance from the others. She knew they will need to move, but how to avoid the others? The game was to keep their bracelets intact. Maybe she could hide it? She thought again and wondered if it would work. She decided to try only when necessary. Right now, she decided that moving themselves was a priority.

"And for that, we need to know where the others are... well, I'll just mark them somehow, but how? What kind of marking can I make now and be recognizable with my normal eyes?"

It was when Miki saw one of them move, rustling the tree branch he was sitting on and dropping red leaves onto the guy under him that she got an idea. "All right! Leaf above everyone's head suspended by wind, here it goes!" Miki said as she manipulated her wind powers to pluck all the red leaves from the area and suspending them above each contestant's head using something akin to 'persistent programming' to keep the wind maintain a strict distance and height of the leaves from the contestants. She of course excluded both her and Farran.

Miki woke up an hour some time after midnight, half an hour after the bell rang. Stretching, she saw Farran planting something like grass on eight corners of their hiding sport. "What is that, Farran?"

"Bellsprouts. It's very sensitive to vibrations, see," Farran demonstrated by tapping his leg on the ground. The grasses vibrated with a hum and the flower part of the grass all pointed towards Farran.

"Wow, that's so neat!" Miki whispered.

"It's amazing isn't it? Learned it from a someone I knew on my adventures."

"Yes, that's really cool," Miki whispered again.

"Why are we whispering?" Farran whispered as well.

"There are six others around us. Two of them are already aware of us here," Miki whispered closer to Farran's ear.

"Seriously?" Farran said to which Miki nodded, "Well then, I guess it's time we make love and make them think we're not here for the game." Farran took a step forward as he tried to kiss Miki.

Miki quickly stopped him by placing her palm on Farran's face. "Not going to happen, you lecher! We're leaving!"

"But how? You said we're surrounded, how would we leave?"

"Well, maybe-" Miki's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of screams and explosions nearby. "What the hell was that?"

Farran looked concernly at the direction of the noise. "If we want to leave, we best be quick because-" just then, a figure jumped out from a nearby bush and Farran quickly met his sword with his own, "That explosion riled everyone up."

"Are you saying that everyone's been waiting for a signal?" Miki asked.

"Not signal," Farran said as he kicked his opponent away, "Everyone knew that just guarding their bracelets wouldn't be enough, sooner or later, someone was bound to start attacking others. When that happened, of course the best way to protect their own bracelets would be to destroy other people's bracelets. That was what everyone must've been thinking."

The return of his opponent took all his attention that he couldn't spare a brain power to explain the situation to Miki.

"Why didn't you tell me this-" Miki's words were interrupted by a man suddenly appearing from the darkness and brandishing his falchion at her. Miki raised her hand at his direction and using her wind power, lifted the man up in the air and then explosively used her wind to send the man flying a long way from their position, "You should've told me this earlier, Farran!"

Miki used her power to suspend Farran's opponent in the air and sent him flying like the other man.

"Thanks, but really, I can take him," Farran said as he looked around for vibrations in the bellsprouts. It was no use, there were so many vibrations in the area that all the flowers made 360 degrees spinning.

"Meh, there is no honour in a duel in this situation. This is nothing more than a free-for-all massacre. I think we should just hide and - damned it!" Miki cursed as two more jumped out of the bushes. Miki carefully targeted the two assailants with her fingers and delivered a strong, sharp and well aimed wind at their bracelets, shattering them in the process.

Farran was also fighting two other assailants using his sword and sheath. Miki helped Farran by throwing a ball of violent air at one of them, a woman, until not only her bracelet shattered, her clothes was also ripped apart. Farran handled the other one with ease afterward by cutting the bracelet with his sword.

"Shall we leave then?" Miki suggested.

Farran agreed. "Definitely, lead the way."

They made their move slowly as Miki not only had to watch the way in front, she also had to look upward, watching her specially marked red leaves to see if the direction they were heading would be free of enemies. Twice she had to use her powers to shatter the bracelets of people they accidentally ran into and twice more they had to fight their way through when a group of battling contestants unexpectedly extended their battles near them. In the end, they managed to reach one of the parts that was devoid of any contestants as everyone had joined in the fight near the center of the valley.

"Guess we can rest a little now. Wonder if I can take a nap for awhile," Farran commented as he sat on the mossy soil followed by Miki, who sat with her back leaning on a rock.

"Go ahead. I'll keep watch. I'll wake you up if anyone got close," Miki said as she continued watching the floating red leaves in the sky.

"I'll do that then, goodnight," Farran said as he laid his head on Miki's lap.

"I didn't say you could..." Miki objected but relented as he saw Farran doze off, "Just this once."

It was three hours later that Farran woke up on his own, much to Miki's relief. Miki already had lost feeling of her legs by then. When Farran got up, Miki carefully stretched her legs and massaged the blood back into her veins.

"Did anyone come?" Farran asked as he yawned.

"None," Miki lied. Four people had come separately within the past three hours. She blew them all away with her wind.

Farran looked up at the starry sky. "How much longer until sunrise?"

"Probably two hours," Miki replied.

"Still a long way to go. Anything can happen within two hours," Farran remarked.

"Farran, how much do you know about the magics of this world?" Miki asked, there was something nagging at her.

"Not much, but I do know a mage in my hometown. I learned a lot from her and able to do minor spells with difficulty. Why?"

"You can do magic? Why did you ask for magic from me last time?"

"Well, in all fairness, the only magic I can do is this," Farran plucked a leaf and pointed his forefinger at the leaf. Then he made a very long chant and slowly, the leaf started smoking before it shrivelled.

"That's it?" Miki asked to which Farran nodded, "That's pretty useless."

"Tell me about it. So you can see why I asked you for magic. The mage who taught me said I had absolutely no talent for magic. She said it would be best if I concentrated on swordsmanship and only practice magic defense. I suppose she was right."

"Then are you aware of a magic that can detect people?" Miki asked.

"Yes, it's a magic to find lost object or people. The mage I told you about said it was sixth sense, but I think she lied."

"How about a magic that allows one to communicate over long distance?"

"The mage did say that people with talent in clairvoyance can communicate with their minds, but I've never had it happen to me, so I can't say with any certainly. What's this about?"

"I think we're being tracked," Miki said.

"What do you mean?" Farran asked, concern evident on his face.

"There are 126 people coming this way. These are separate individuals coming from different directions, yet they are all coming straight at us. I think someone's watching us and telling these people where to find us.

"We should leave then!"

"We can, or we take that challenge and massacre these people," Miki said with a grin.

"That sounds extreme..." Farran said as he unsheathed his sword.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine," Miki said as she patted his back.

"You mean 'we', right?" Farran said as he started to feel a sense of dread.

"Oh no, I mean 'you'. I'll just sit here and let you do all the work," Miki said as she sat back against the rock.

"Don't joke! I can't fight 120 people-"

"126, oops! 129 now!"

"Well, I can't fight that many!"

"You kept saying that I'm a goddess but you don't trust me?"

"It's not about trust..."

"Relax, I'm gonna bless you. Now hold still," Miki said as she placed her hand on Farran's left, giving him an invisible tower shield as strong as steel but as light as air. Then Miki put Farran's sword back into its sheath and placing it between her palms, she lightened the weapon and increased the volume with a layer of violent twisting air, making it twice as thick and able to throw away anything that barely touched it. At last she placed both hands on Farran's chest and blessed him with less weight, allowing him to move faster and jump higher.

"Go get 'em, tiger!" she whispered into his ear as the first of the assailants arrived.

Once sunrise arrived, the preliminary officials rang the bell signifying the end of the preliminary round. Both Miki and Farran came out without a scratch. Although no death was reported, over 3000 contestants were either injured or unconscious, 456 of which was caused by the 'blessed Farran'. After confirming with the officials that their bracelets were still intact, they went back to the inn and went to sleep. Miki was so tired that she didn't even notice when Farran slipped in behind her and spooned her until they both fell asleep.

*Following a number of requests, Sky Goddess has now been serialized! Yay!
**As a goddess, surely Miki will need a symbol or sacred animal. Symbol as in a jackal for Horus, peacock for Hera and cats for Bast. As my faithful readers, what animal do you think Sky Goddess Miki-na-maresh should have and why? Needing suggestions. Future chapters will be modified to fit the sacred animal.
***As usual, please leave your comments and feedbacks. Praises helps me write faster. Constructive criticisms helps me write better. As with most authors, I'd like to receive both. Thank you for reading.