I climbed out of the bath tub and stretched. That felt nice. My whole body felt good, especially considering everything that I’d recently been through, such as getting killed again, and being resurrected only yesterday.

While I dried off, I examined my body, taking careful note of all the changes. Yesterday, I’d gained a lot of attribute points…nine in total, or even ten if I included the new ‘divinity’ attribute. Since one point in that one had given me a single point in every other attribute, I wasn’t going to count that among the rest. It was…different. Nine attribute points was a lot, even if they were all spread out so that I only got one point in each attribute. It all added up.

Over the last twenty-four hours, or actually a little less, my body had definitely changed. I’d grown about an inch taller, had become more graceful, more attractive, and my body had even filled out a little more, somehow becoming a little more athletic and a little curvier where it counted at the same time. None of these changes was very impressive or noticeable on their own, but when combined…

“Wow,” I said, not sure of what else to think about this.

I had mixed emotions about all these changes. A part of me, the vain part, was quite pleased by it all and wanted even more. However, the shattered remnants of my old masculinity just whimpered a little more. That part of me was in a losing battle and knew it, though it wasn’t about to just give up and fade away without a fight.

“At least I got a little taller, stronger, and tougher because of this,” I told myself awkwardly.

That didn’t do a lot to assuage my faded male pride. There was no denying that I looked good. In fact, I looked like I could be a fitness model. Of course, I wasn’t nearly as jacked as Teri, and it would take a few more points in strength, or a lot of time in the gym, before I was at her level. I wasn’t nearly as tall or strong as I used to be, but every little bit I gained made me feel a little better.

Then with a snort, I reminded myself that the extra height and muscles might help my pride, or at least, help me feel like I’m not so small and weak…but it didn’t do crap for my abilities. And more importantly, it didn’t really help me protect my friends.

I finished drying my body, then went to work on my hair. I smiled faintly as I pulled out a brush and began my daily ritual. It was calm, relaxing, and let me think things through while I worked. And at the moment, I had a lot of things to consider.

A short time later, I got dressed, discovering a new problem in the process. I was going to need new clothes again because my latest growth spurt meant that everything I had was now a little too tight.

When I went to the kitchen for breakfast, I found Lauren was already up and making breakfast for herself. She was in the middle of making an omelet, while having one of her class books open beside her. I smiled faintly at the sight.

“You want one too?” Lauren asked me.

“Sure,” I answered, always happy to let someone else make breakfast for me.

“Okay,” Lauren said as she began fixing up another omelet. After a few seconds, she gave me a smug look and added, “But that means you get to take care of the dishes.”

“Fine,” I grumbled without much enthusiasm. I didn’t want to do dishes but didn’t bother to argue since it was only fair.

I was about halfway through eating my breakfast when Cassandra finally made her morning appearance, having obviously climbed out of bed a bit later than Lauren or I. She was wearing a black robe with little images of bats and skulls all over it.

“Coffee,” Cassandra moaned in a tone that I might have expected a zombie to say, ‘brains…’

Cassandra poured herself a cup and then sat down beside me. She drank about half the cup before she started to really come alive again.

“I talked with Armestia,” Cassandra finally said.

“So, how’s she doing?” Lauren asked, though I wasn’t sure if she was just being polite, if she was honestly curious, or if she was playing her part to get the conversation going.

Cassandra took another long sip of coffee before answering. “She didn’t come right out and say it, but she feels pretty bad about what happened with Maelyne. I think she blames herself for not being able to kill Aralthiel before…”

I nodded at that. “She kept shooting at him,” I said, not really sure if ‘shooting’ was the right term. I hadn’t seen Armestia using a bow or anything, just firing this blasts from her hand. “But that bastard was so fast…”

“He’s a god,” Lauren pointed out.

Cassandra gave me an odd look. “I still can’t believe you actually met Armestia in person. I haven’t even seen her in person, and I’m her champion…”

“She seemed nice,” I offered a little awkwardly.

“Well, she said that she’s pleased you survived,” Cassandra told me with a wry smile. “And that she’s surprised by what Maelyne did.”

“Oh?” I asked, playing innocent.

Cassandra gave me a suspicious look. “Armestia didn’t give me any details, but she said you’re keeping a secret from me.”

“You’ve got me,” I said with a dramatic sigh. “I have a deep dark secret.” I looked around, then in a conspiratorial tone, I said, “I used to be a guy.”

Lauren burst out laughing. “Yeah, I think we know that. You keep leaving the toilet seat up, though I have absolutely no idea why. It’s not like you pee standing up anymore.”

Cassandra snickered, but gave me another look. “Somehow, I don’t think that is what she was talking about.”

“Fine,” I said, letting out another sigh. “Honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this and didn’t know how to bring it up…”

“You said that Maelyne gave you a new gift,” Cassandra said. “Does this have something to do with that.”

“Yeah,” I agreed with a frown.

“You feel a bit different somehow, and I noticed that some of your stats are a little higher,” Cassandra continued, still staring at me. “Definitely a little more charisma, and that isn’t the only one.”

“No,” I agreed with a sigh. “It isn’t.”

Lauren snorted. “Well, stop being so mysterious and spill it already…”

I chuckled at that for a moment, then looked at Cassandra. “I told you how Maelyne gave me a last gift, one she said would help against those bastards…”

“I remember,” Cassandra said. “You said it was called Maelyne’s Greater Blessing, but you didn’t say what it did.”

“It gives me a divine spark,” I reluctantly explain. “Apparently, it’s a piece of Maelyne’s essence or something. I don’t really understand what it is…only what it did. And then, only a little bit.”

“Now you’re really getting me curious,” Cassandra said.

I hesitated, still not certainly how to explain this part, especially when I didn’t understand it myself. “My status screen doesn’t list a patron anymore. Instead, it says that I’m the demi-goddess of loyalty and protection.”

Lauren nearly spat out her coffee while Cassandra gasped, “What the fuck does that mean?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted with a shrug. “I think it’s just a technicality thing, just because I have that divine spark now.”

“And what does it do?” Lauren asked me. “Besides giving you a fancy title?”

I snorted at the title. “I have a divinity attribute now,” I said, giving Cassandra a wry smile. “And a divine power resource attribute…just like what Maelyne had on her stat sheet, but a LOT less.” Then so I didn’t sound like I was trying to brag or anything, I quickly added, “I only have a divinity of one.”

“And what does that mean?” Lauren asked.

“What does divinity do?” Cassandra asked at the same time.

I brought up my status screen and clicked on ‘divinity’ for an explanation.

INCREASES THE MAXIMUM POTENTIAL FOR ALL ATTRIBUTES AND RESOURCES. HIGHER LEVELS OF THIS TRAIT INCREASE THE POWER AND RESILENCE OF THE BODY AND SOUL.

“It says it increases my maximum potential,” I answered. “But it also gave me plus one to all my attributes.”

“To ALL your attributes?” Cassandra asked. When I nodded agreement, she exclaimed, “Fuck… That’s like, nine fucking points…”

“Yeah,” I agreed with a wry smile. “It was a bit surprising… But since they’re all spread out, it’s not like any one thing improved all that much.”

“True,” Cassandra agreed. “But I don’t think Maelyne would have given you all that if it didn’t help…”

I nodded at that. “Maelyne told me that we couldn’t hurt the gods…even when they were using human bodies. She said it takes something special.”

“You said that you found Mary’s body…and Harker’s,” Cassandra said thoughtfully. “But they were both possessed…which means that god possessed bodies can be taken down…”

“By other gods,” I said, having considered this myself. “Or by people who have access to divine power.”

Cassandra’s eyes lit up at that. “Holy shit… You mean, you might be able to kill those fuckers?”

“I think so,” I said with a sigh. “I mean, a lot of that is assumption, but I’m pretty sure that’s why Maelyne gave me this. I still won’t be able to kill the gods, but if I figure out how to use this divine power…I might be able to take out their host bodies and knock them back to their own world…with a bloody lip at least.”

“Now THAT sounds promising,” Lauren said.

“Definitely,” Cassandra and I both agreed.

I got up and went to make myself a cup of tea, thinking of Maelyne at the same time. After all, she was the one who’d introduced me to the stuff, though I really wish I had a way to get some of her tea for myself. Nothing else compared to it. I let out a sigh, feeling sad at her loss.

“You know,” Lauren said, giving me a thoughtful look. “Yesterday, you told us that one of your popus said that Maelyne thought of you as her daughter. Maybe… Maybe this whole thing is her way of adopting you.”

“Maybe,” I responded without much conviction. That did seem rather unlikely. She was a goddess, so it was hard to believe that she’d adopt a human, even one who’d been her champion. “I think she was just trying to give me a chance to survive and fight back.” I considered the other popups that had been waiting for me when I awoke, and the other things that Maelyne had given me. “But whatever her reasons, Maelyne paid an enormous price to give me this chance, so there is no way in hell that I’m going to let it be in vain.”

--------------------

“So, what’s it like being a goddess?” Teri asked me with a grin.

“I’m not a goddess,” I responded in annoyance.

Cassandra just smirked. “That’s not what your status sheet says…Jaeri.” She carefully pronounced the name different than the usually ‘Jeri’ so that I knew she was trying to use the altered version.

I scowled at that, wondering why I’d told Cassandra about the name that now appeared on my status screen. Apparently, Maelyne had changed my official name in the system from Heather Marie Sievers to Jaeri, probably so that I could have my own identity instead of relying entirely on Heather’s. I wasn’t sure if Maelyne had accidentally misspelled my name, or if she’d done it intentionally, though I strongly suspected the latter.

“It must be strange,” Lauren said, giving me a curious look. “I mean, turning from a guy into a girl, and then into a goddess…”

“I…am…not…a…goddess,” I said in a flat tone that earned snickers from the other girls. “I have a divinity of ONE.” I held up one finger. “That’s almost nothing. I don’t feel any different, and haven’t notice anything different. I’ve met goddesses, and trust me, I’m no goddess…not even a demi-goddess.”

With that, I picked up my cup and took a sip of my tea. At the moment, the four of us were sitting in the food court of the local mall, after having just hit a coffee ship. We’d spent the last couple hours shopping and had decided to take a break.

Honestly, I’d only wanted to pick up a few new pieces of clothing, running in, grabbing what I wanted, and then running back out. Unfortunately, Lauren had insisted on making an outing of it, and Cassandra had immediately agreed, probably just to see how uncomfortable she could make me.

I looked down at the bag of clothes that was sitting beside my chair and let out a sigh. I couldn’t believe that I had to get more clothes…again. Buying clothes all the time seemed like a waste of money. I might be a chick now, but I didn’t think that I’d ever get that whole shopping obsession that most chicks seemed to have.

My thoughts turned to Matt, who’d come to the mall with us, though he’d immediately gone off on his own. In fact, he was probably still hanging around at the game shop, and I wished I could be there with him.

“Are we safe here?” Teri abruptly asked.

Cassandra glanced around before answering. “I’ve been keeping watch and haven’t seen any threats.”

Teri nodded at that. “But being out like this…when those guys are after us…”

“We can’t just hide away for the rest of our lives,” I said with a grimace. “And they’re just as likely to find us if we stay in one place… Well, in any one place besides the house…”

Cassandra chuckled at that. “Protecting the house is about all that Armestia can do to protect us. She said that her resources are pretty stretched. In fact, I bet all the gods are busy protecting their own asses, which is why they haven’t been helping their patrons much…”

“It’s pretty bad over there,” I said, remembering how much destruction I’d seen, and just how casually it had been happening. “I mean, they’re knocking down buildings like it’s nothing, and I think Maelyne said something about them losing a few cities…”

“Fuck,” Cassandra gasped.

“Yeah, that sounds pretty bad,” Lauren agreed grimly.

“And the really scary thing,” I admitted, “was I think they were still holding back.”

We were all silent after that, at least for a minute. Finally, Teri asked, “Do you really think you can hurt those guys now?”

“I…hope so,” I said with a scowl. “Maeylne said I’d be able to, but I certainly haven’t tried it out yet.” Then I let out a long sigh, shook my head, and quietly admitted, “I don’t feel any more powerful, so I’m just not sure…”

“We need help,” Cassandra said with a grim look. “Everyone else ran off and went into hiding…”

“So much for the rebel alliance,” Teri muttered.

I smirked at that. “Someone has been spending too much time with her brother.”

“Bite me,” Teri responded, flipping me off as she did so. Cassandra smirked.

“You’re right,” I told Cassandra. “We can’t deal with this on our own, so we need to find the other champions and convince them to help again.”

Teri rolled her eyes. “After the last time, good luck with that…”

“She has a point,” Lauren said. “I mean, I wasn’t there or anything, but if everything went to hell as bad as you said it did…”

“I know,” I grumbled. “Trust me, I know.”

After this, we got up from the table to leave. I immediately noticed the way that people were looking at me, and not just the guys. People had been looking at me…staring at me, ever since I’d ended up in Heather’s body. Guys always stared at a pretty girl, but with every point of charisma I gained, the more intense those stares became.

I picked up my empty cup and mused, “Well, if guys want to keep staring at me, I might as well get some use out of that…”

With that, I went back to the coffee shop and the guy who was serving drinks. I shifted my body language with an ease that still surprised me, gave him a suggestive smile and batted my eyes. A minute later, I walked away with a free refill.

“Well, that was fun to watch,” Teri said with a snicker.

“Yes, it was,” Cassandra added with a smirk and an appreciative look.

“Well, I’m done for now,” I said, holding up my shopping bag and taking sip of my tea. “Let’s find Matt and get going. We’ve got some planning to do, and this isn’t the place to do it.”