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For the past four hours,
Mayor Rayel took me around the village and stopped at every corner to ask me to fix something.
At first I thought he was earnestly trying to help me get used to manipulating things,
but when he asked me to grow a shell into the size of a car,
I knew he was just amusing himself.
He probably never knew that he'd live to see Goddess's return and was living his childhood fantasies.
At least he helped me realize what I can do with my powers, though.
A few times, we stopped by the huts in the village and the mayor introduced me to the people inside.
They were just as shocked as everyone else to see that their Creator had returned,
but at least they didn't reprimand me like the others.
They welcomed me with hugs and even kisses on my cheek,
which I thought was sweet until they started smothering me.
Some of them were like sloths climbing down a tree when they released me from their hugs.
Well, I'm glad that not everyone thinks of my return as a bad omen or whatever.
I also got the chance to talk to the other water mages, who gave me such
pure water that I didn't even know I was drinking anything until it spilled down my front.
They told me they're soldiers from the kingdom Arriscyal,
where natives are born with mastery over a single element.
I asked them why Gediyon could control water as well as shoot fire out of his hands.
"We don't quite know ourselves, but Sir Gediyon has always been special."
Wow, Gediyon is even a "Sir"? Fancy.
I wanted to personally ask him more about himself, but by the time Mayor Rayel was finished parading me around from hut to hut,
Gediyon already finished the stew and left to feed the villagers on the other side of town.
Mayor Rayel wouldn't let me go, saying,
"You'll be a distraction to him, Miss Goddess."
At least he gave me a basket of food, and here I am, at the top of Mayor Rayel's hut,
in a room high over sea level, munching away on the tropical goodies.
The mayor told me the flat bread was made this morning. It's the first thing I bite into.
Still warm from the surrounding air, grainy and rough,
but the seeds add a lot of flavor, and as soon as the first bite rubs against my tongue,
I'm already drooling for more.
There are five circles of flat bread in the basket, and they're all for me!
I know I shouldn't eat them all at once, but this bread is delicious and I missed my last two meals.
As I start on my third circle, I finally look at what else is in the basket.
They're all the same fruit that the mayor said grows on local trees.
While I'm chewing on a ball of grain, I sniff the fruit.
So fragrant.
Before I even finish the bread, I take the knife and slice into the thick skin, then take a full, juicy bite.
Sticky juice runs down my chin and the meat bursts flavor into my mouth.
I already feel some of the fibers stuck in my teeth, but I keep chewing.
Whatever it is, it has the texture of mango, but it tastes like plum and a hint of lemon.
"This food is godly!"
Once I finish the whole basket, I wash my face and hands in a makeshift basin.
These people are so cool, they can weave baskets like bowls—
—not a single drop seeps through the cracks.
I fall to the floor and rest my head against the cot on the floor.
Overhead, at the point of the thatched ceiling, glowing insects circle one another.
They flicker from teal to magenta.
Now what am I going to do?
Gediyon still isn't back, and there are about five hours left until the whirlpool opens.
I would sleep, but I'm not tired at all.
Oh yeah. I'm in a video game.
Waiting in video games really blows.
In one game, the password for an enemy hideout was three whole minutes of standing in place, perfectly still.
I made myself a sandwich in that time.
But it's too bad this place doesn't have any ingredients for a sandwich.
How do I even save the game?
How do I...even turn it off?
"Aaron."
I jump to my feet and look around the hut.
There aren't even any goddang buttons for me to press! No sack of BBs to pull off my eyes.
I pat myself over, hoping there might be an alien button somewhere,
but it's just me and my skimpy summer clothes.
I've been playing for at least seven hours, and Aaron only played for twenty minutes?
How the heck do I turn the game off?
"Aaron!"
I scream overhead, hoping he can hear me.
Maybe he's monitoring me from our garage.
"Aaron! How do I turn this thing off?"
A young Arriscylean with ginger hair peeks his head over the hut ladder and asks,
"Miss Goddess, could I help you with something?"
I flash him a smile.
"No, I'm fine, really."
Urg, no I'm not!
"Just ignore me."
It's not like any of them can help me, anyway. They don't get that they're characters in a video game.
I stretch out my arms and punch into the air.
"All right, game! Are you listening to me?"
"Power off! Now!"
"Turn off now!"
"Game over!"
"Reset—oh, geez, no, I don't want to start all over."
The Arriscylean pops his head into the hut again.
"Miss Goddess, are you certain everything—"
"Jesus, yes, everything's fine!"
"I'm just trying to get out of the game. Leave me alone!"
Even if he is a video game character, I can't help but feel pretty stupid.
Maybe getting out isn't as simple as pressing a button or shouting commands.
Maybe I have to fall asleep, or save my game, or complete my current mission.
But I still have five hours before I can do anything!
I plop onto the floor and sigh, then look at the basket.
It still has three fruit pits, their skin, and the knife.
Maybe I can actually use these next few hours to do something productive.
It's weapon making time!
I pick up the knife and examine it from all angles, just as I learned with everything else I fixed or altered.
I never trusted myself with sharp things, so a sword is definitely out of the question,
even though I could simply extend the blade.
I need something blunt, something I can swing around carelessly and still not hurt myself.
As I picture my new weapon, the wooden handle of the knife extends and rounds until it reaches four feet in length.
The blade broadens and multiplies, stacking onto itself several times until it's as thick as a football.
I give the entire thing a shake and the sharp ends flatten,
but the metal part also falls to the floor with its sudden weight.
It leaves a dent in the boards—oops. I can fix that later.
In my hands is now an inverted, long-handled mallet.
I smile and try to lift it up, but the metal is too heavy.
This isn't good! What use is a weapon if I can't even lift it?
I squeeze the handle tight and will the metal to be as light as a feather—
—or a football, at least.
I can feel my warmth running through the wooden shaft,
and gradually I can lift the weapon until it's the perfect weight.
Now I can swing it as easily as a tennis racket,
but it's probably ten times as destructive.
The mallet is still missing its finishing touches, so I temper the wood until it shines like a baseball bat.
Now it shouldn't snap with my first swing.
I create a leathery handle in the middle of the shaft for easy gripping,
and just for fun, I engrave both flat sides of the mallet with an angry emoticon.
That way, when I smack someone, it'll leave an imprint like this: >:O
I can't help but dance around and laugh.
"This thing is so cool! I can't wait to use it!"
I twirl toward the window and look outside.
Through the fog, I don't think I can see anything to fight out there.
I could smash the fireflies or whatever they are,
but they've been nice to me, so I don't want to attack them for nothing.
Below, I see someone in a flowing white cloak,
and at first I think it's just another Arriscylean, when I notice his long dark braid.
"Gediyon!"
I don't think he can hear me.
He's levitating a pot of stew behind him and in his arms is something furry.
Jumping down to him from this height would be crazy fun,
but I don't think I want to risk breaking my neck.
I glance around the hut and pull a shell candle holder from a shelf,
then, in the fastest manipulation I had done so far, I fashion it into a grapple gun.
For kicks, I make it blue and pixellated.
With the mallet in one hand and the grapple gun in the other,
I step through the window and aim for one of the raised walkways below me.
I squeeze the handle and the whole device rumbles in my hand as its cord releases.
I feel the entire length of the sturdy cord wobble when the spike hits wood,
and a second later, I fly through the window.
Half screaming and half laughing, I swing from the platform to the lower docks
and kick Gediyon right in the chest.
He falls backwards and I land on top of him,
but the pot remains in the air and the girl he was talking to kneels over both of us.
Gediyon regains his composure at once.
I try to apologize to him, but I'm laughing so hard I don't think he understands a word I say.
"I'm so sorry!"
"I see you've learned quite a bit while I was gone."
He says, still mustering a smile.
I climb off of him and raise the mallet and grapple gun.
The girl's mouth hangs open.
"Aren't these super cool?"
"They'll probably help out later with the first task."
"My, Miss Goddess, I never imagined you would be so bouncy."
"Thank you again, Gediyon. It means so much to us."
She starts down the dock, but a few steps later, she turns around and calls,
"By the way, you're a wonderful cook!"
Then she runs away.
I laugh and pat Gediyon on the back.
"Looks like someone likes you."
He completely ignores that comment and raises the furry thing to me.
"I regret that you can't eat the stew, so I found this for you."
"It's a cocoa nut, a delicacy, and it's the right season for ripening."
I look at the hairy thing.
It looks like a deflated volley ball, but covered in coarse brown hair.
Disgusting—but just sitting in his arms, it smells like cake.
My mouth waters.
"A coconut, you say?"
"Shall I prepare some for you?"
"Sure, why the heck not?"
He brings the pot and weird fruit to the side of the dock in case we block anybody,
then he pulls off a bowl hooked to the pot.
He seems almost as excited to prepare it as I am to taste it.
With cautious hands, he expertly slices open the fruit and scoops out a chunk into the bowl.
It's a creamy brown color, like mocha, but it has the consistency of shortening.
"It's best to drink it hot. You would need a spoon to eat it cold."
With that, flames rise out of his fingers and surround the bowl.
In a few seconds, the cream softens and melts into a thick drink.
He pulls out a cloth from his vest, wraps it around the cup, then hands it to me.
"Careful, it's hot."
It smells divine.
I let it steam my face and smile at Gediyon, who's smiling at me as if he's handed me my first ice cream cone.
Then I take a sip.
It's instantly sweet and warms me all the way down.
It's like drinking the tropics.
Chocolate, coffee, coconut,
all blended in the perfect ratio into one creamy drink.
I don't want to drink it all at once, though.
I want to savor every sip, as if I'll never have another taste again,
but I can just lift the bowl to my lips and drink more.
"This is amazing!"
"My mother loved this for dessert."
"You mustn't drink too much, though, because the high sugar content can make you nauseated."
"Bah! This is the best thing ever!"
By the time I finish it, I feel like I never want another sweet thing near my mouth again,
but at the same time I know I'll want another drink in a day or so.
We walk down the docks toward the mayor's hut again
when I see a group of people huddled in an area I hadn't seen before.
"What's that over there?"
"Lereli's Universal Mirror. Would you like to speak to it?"
"Speak to it? What, is it like the mirror in Snow White?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Is it magical?"
"You could say that."
As we walk closer, I see some of the villagers kneeling,
some bowing in what looks like a shrine.
The platform juts out into the water, but I don't see any mirror.
Instead, there are three slabs of black stone positioned like a three-way mirror.
I guess the stone is pretty glassy, since I can see the torches flickering clearly on its surface,
but otherwise it's not very reflective.
Gediyon and I stand on the dock, looking at it.
Some of the glowing insects circle our feet.
"What does it do?"
"It connects directly to the cosmos of all six universes."
"We in Starrs are the only ones of the six universes aware of the Cycle,"
"so we fabricated these mirrors."
"If we speak to them, we can lend our consciousness to connect the universes."
"We do this with the hope that in another life, we can recapture the memories we made on Starrs."
"It also helps ease our spirits."
"Goddess Saei's memories are in the cosmos,"
"and when speaking to the Mirror, sometimes she appears in the reflection."
"Then we know everything will be all right."
"That's also how we can tell that you're Goddess."
"You look like her."
"I wish. She's way too pretty."
I cross my arms.
"So basically, what you're saying is, this thing is a save point?"
"Come again?"
"If I talk to it, I can save my game."
"Maybe if I do this I can actually get the option of stopping for now."
"Yunno, I want to try this."
I march onto the platform and dodge aside some, push others, making my way to the Mirror.
The people kneeling in front scramble out of the way and I set the mallet and grapple gun where they prayed.
I rub my hands and then clap them.
I can see my outline in the glossy black stone.
"Okay, universe! Michelle here."
"Time to save my game."
"Want to know what happened so far?"
"Well, let's see, I met this Goddess person, and then I fell from the sky, but Gediyon here helped me."
"Then we came here, yadda yadda ya, I figured out how to use my Goddess powers, blah blah blah."
"Don't want to do that again."
"And here I am! Game saved, right?"
"Do I want to quit the game? Yes I do!"
I hold my arms out, expecting to see a big flash, then I'll be back in my garage,
but nothing happens.
I don't even get to see Goddess Saei.
"Game saved!"
"Quit. Game. NOW!"
Still nothing.
I let out an ugly croak and turn around.
"Gediyon, this thing is broken!"
I pick up my things and march back across the platform to the docks.
The villagers look confused but smile apologetically as I pass.
Well, that totally failed.
I guess I have two more options left: completing my first mission, and then sleep.
If these don't work either, then I'm not sure what else I can do.
When another thought comes to mind, my stomach twists horribly.
Maybe I actually have to complete the entire game.