Tia, the Doll-Sized Goddess
"Hey, it could be dangerous. Be careful." Makkokji whispered from inside me. The elevator doors closed with a ding, and the cold air of the underground 13th floor faded behind my back. The heavy foreign object in my pocket was all too real. I gripped the doll-sized figure of Saint Teresa, shrunken to the size of my palm, inside the pocket of my work uniform. Along with the chill of the metal restraint, a faint warmth emanated from the doll, traveling up through my fingertips.
My footsteps out to the first-floor lobby were as steady and rhythmic as ever. The correction facility was quiet in the late evening, broken only by the occasional crackle of guards' radios piercing the silence. I swiped my exit card without a second thought.
"Good work."
The guard greeted me indifferently. I nodded and passed through the main gate. The night air brushed my cheek, carrying the fishy scent of dampness from the humid wind.
On the way home. The subway's rattling noise, the monochrome scenery flashing by outside the window. But tonight, that ordinary routine felt strangely alien. Just the fact that I had a fragment of the goddess in my pocket seemed to shift the saturation of the entire world.
I opened the front door, and the stale air of my cramped room welcomed me. From another pocket, I pulled out the tracking device issued by the correction facility and stashed it on the bathroom shelf, closing the door behind it. Makkokji had confirmed multiple times there were no bugs, but you could never be too sure. I hung up my outer clothes haphazardly and took the doll from my pocket, placing it on the desk.
Clack. The dry sound of two metal restraints and the small doll hitting the wooden desk echoed. The doll was still breathing raggedly. Due to her shrunken size, her moans were tiny and faint.
"Hah... hngh!" She huddled on the desk, trembling. Her white nun's habit was crumpled, and her tiny hands clutched at her chest. Proof that her main body, the goddess Celestia, was suffering somewhere right now.
"So, you're really a goddess?" I pulled up a chair and sat, leaning forward to meet her eye level.
The doll slowly lifted her head. Her blue eyes stared into mine. Even through the pain, that gaze was clear.
"Yes... that's right. Hngh... it's me."
Her voice was as small as a mosquito's but distinct. It was hard to believe. I picked up the doll again. I touched her arms and legs with my fingertips. Not the texture of soft fabric, but the resilient feel of real skin. Springy.
"Partner! Feels legit. Squeeze her again!" Makkokji shouted excitedly in my head.
I kneaded her body here and there as he suggested. Thighs, belly, even her chest. Though shrunken, her breasts had a realistic bounce—soft yet elastic. And with every touch, a faint static spark jumped. Holy power, no doubt. It stung, but bearable. Maybe because of her size, it wasn't as sharp as on the 13th floor. Instead, the sensation spread from my fingertips through my body, bringing a pleasant tingle.
"Hngh! Stop touching... the stimulation is double!" She cried out like a scream, twisting her tiny body to evade my hands.
"The pain from my main body is already overwhelming... and now you too..." Her face flushed as she panted.
I stopped. Her reaction wasn't an act. It was a physiological response only a living being could have.
"Sorry. Just verifying." I set her back on the desk. She straightened her disheveled habit and looked up at me.
"Like I said earlier... hah... I know what you did to Prism Pink. That her corruption is fake."
I flinched. "How do you know?"
"I'm a fragment of the goddess. I'm connected to the souls of all magical girls. It's faint because of the demons' barriers, but I can feel her soul still shining purely. The fact my own mental corruption level hasn't risen is proof."
Her explanation was logical. If Prism Pink were truly corrupted, it would have affected her as the goddess. But she was still holding on. Just as Makkokji had explained before.
"You... hngh... might be the last hope of this world. But... but there's a demon inside you?" Her gaze lingered on my solar plexus. Precisely where Makkokji parasitized.
"Yeah. Name's Makkokji."
The moment I answered, an explosive yell erupted in my head.
"You bastard! I've been quiet so you treat me like luggage? It's not Makkokji!"
Makkokji was throwing a fit. His pride must have been hurt in front of a goddess.
"My noble name is [Aruen]! Heir to the 0th rank throne of the demon realm! Don't call me that vulgar nickname!"
I ignored his protests and continued to the doll. "Met him on the battlefield ten years ago. We're coexisting to survive."
The Teresa doll fell silent. Her blue eyes darkened deeply, as if lost in thought.
"I see. Light and darkness coexisting in one body... hah... ironic."
She moaned as she spoke. "Anyway... both you and I... we can help each other. Like you and Makkokji. Haaaah!"
She kept moaning. Was her corruption show still ongoing?
"So... you're on my side now?" I asked.
"Not 'side' exactly... hngh, let's say collaborator. I want out of here too. And I have to save my main body. Or... at least if we reach the Star Sanctuary... there might be a way."
She pleaded with desperate eyes. "Help me. Your deception skills might make it possible."
I stared at the tiny doll, arms crossed and moaning. A new ally? A goddess, no less. Could I trust her? What if she was another demon trap?
But the holy power emanating from her was real. Hadn't Makkokji vouched for it?
"Alright. I'll trust you for now." I decided.
"But conditions: Obey my commands. And never reveal my identity to anyone."
"Understood. I swear."
I opened a desk drawer and found a small box suitable for her—a cigarette case would do.
"By the way, what's your name? Teresa or Celestia?"
"Celestia. Just call me Tia."
"Got it, Tia. Looking forward to working with you."
Before closing the lid, I looked at her. Tia had no goddess aura. Symbol of humanity's defeat. The captured goddess. Ten years ago, humanity worshipped her, but I, tainted by Makkokji, no longer did. She was just a palm-sized doll.
"And Tia... we have an immediate problem."
I said. Tia widened her eyes and looked at me. "What is it?"
"A demon named Berial has me under hypnosis. Don't know the full reason yet."
Tia's expression hardened. She covered her mouth with tiny hands, startled. "Berial... rank 8 in the demon hierarchy. Terrifying."
"I know. Anyway, that's why I was getting the high-grade mana restraint to catch her—and that's how I met you."
I pointed to the metal ring on the desk. Tia nodded and sighed. "I see..."
Then she pondered deeply. "But capturing Berial with just that one... might be tough. Haaaah!"
She curled up again, moaning. "What nonsense! My calculations wrong? The rank 0 demon king heir—Makkokji, no, Aruen—wrong?! You moaning doll!"
Makkokji snapped back sharply. His voice in my head mixed irritation and bewilderment instead of his usual smugness. His pride was scratched.
"Mana restraints for magical girls exploit structural weaknesses in their circuits. The principle's the same for demons or magical girls. Blocking the energy source and binding the mind—absolute!"
I looked down at the tiny doll. Tia clutched her chest, head bowed. Faint tremors passed through the wrinkles of her white habit. Each heave of her small shoulders sent a subtle vibration across the desk.
"It could work." Tia's voice was still small and thin, but the conviction in it was firm. She lifted her head, staring at me—or rather, at Makkokji inside me. Her blue eyes sparkled in the dim room light.
"But are you gambling on that possibility alone?"
Makkokji didn't reply. His silence was neither affirmation nor denial. Just an uncomfortable acknowledgment of uncertainty. He knew too—the gap between theory and reality, the variables of someone like Berial.
"We can't think simply. That's how... I... hngh... ended up like this."
Tia's body convulsed again. She hugged herself, swallowing a moan. Waves of pain from her main body seemed to sweep through her tiny form. Tears welled in her eyes, glittering like transparent jewels.
"You're right." Her words rang true. A confession born of bitter experience. Even a so-called goddess had fallen pathetically to the demons' schemes. She, more than anyone, knew how reckless it was for a mere human like me to charge in relying on one restraint.
"So what do we do?" I leaned back deeply in the chair and asked.