Reunion with the Goddess (1)
"Here... "
When he came to his senses, he found himself in a vast, pure white space.
He realized he had experienced this once, long, long ago.
A profound sense of déjà vu washed over him, and Eunhyeon tensed.
Only one possibility surfaced in his mind.
"No way..."
Harboring that faint hope mingled with dread, Eunhyeon glanced around.
Turning back, he spotted three thrones—and the woman seated in the central one. Only then did he confirm his suspicion.
"God..."
A surge of longing and joy welled up in Eunhyeon as he tried to call out to her, but the words caught in his throat.
He couldn't understand why she had summoned him again.
Typically, a boss calls a subordinate for one of three reasons: to praise a major achievement, to assign critical work, or to reprimand a grave mistake.
'It can't be the third one... right? But if it were the first or second, wouldn't she have called me right after I died and resurrected? Summoning me now, right after the Hersha baronet incident... did I screw something up? For real?'
[Hehe, no need to worry so much, my child.]
"Pardon?"
Eunhyeon jerked his head up at the goddess's voice echoing in his mind.
A goddess with radiant blonde braids greeted him with a warm, affectionate smile, her face alight as she watched him wrestle with his troubled thoughts.
"God... dess..."
It had been nearly four hundred years since their last meeting, making this reunion feel utterly awkward for Eunhyeon.
Once, he had wailed in agony, desperately seeking her. Countless times during his lonely battles, he had whispered her name in isolation, yearning for her.
The goddesses had never responded back then, leaving him with a lingering resentment—but he had never once blamed them.
He had so many words pent up for this reunion, yet now that he stood before her, they wouldn't come.
Instead, the first thought that surfaced spilled from his lips.
"It's been a long time."
He dropped to one knee, hand over his heart, bowing his head in reverence.
[Yes. Come closer, child.]
Eunhyeon nodded at Verdandi's words and rose, approaching the throne.
As he ascended the long steps and stood before her seat, Verdandi rose and enveloped him in her arms.
"Uh... wha..."
He recalled a similar embrace from their first meeting, but it still felt impossible to get used to. His body went rigid.
A goddess's hug—there was no calming that.
[You've suffered so much. Truly, you've endured greatly.]
"Ah..."
Eunhyeon felt a deep satisfaction bloom within as Verdandi patted his back, like a mother praising a son home with an award from school.
Her words carried the weight of knowing every trial of his four hundred years that no one else could comprehend, which only amplified his joy.
"Those words alone are enough."
Eunhyeon replied to the goddess with a wry smile.
"But Goddess, have you come alone this time? The other two from our first meeting aren't here."
[Does my child... find me displeasing...?]
"Pardon?"
[I've come to greet you myself, yet you seek my sisters?]
Verdandi's tone and expression held not outright displeasure, but a peculiar petulance.
Seeing it, Eunhyeon realized he had misspoken.
"N-no, that's not it... I received powers from the other two as well. If I saw them again, I wanted to express my gratitude."
[Is that truly all?]
"Of course."
Eunhyeon gave a wry smile at Verdandi, who still eyed him suspiciously.
[...Very well. For the sake of that face of yours, I'll believe you... for now.]
Verdandi gazed at him like a pitiful son and sighed.
Eunhyeon tilted his head, puzzled.
"There were many things I wanted to ask upon seeing you again."
Eunhyeon cut to the chase.
[I thought as much.]
Verdandi nodded knowingly at his serious expression.
"Was it your grace that resurrected me from the grave?"
[Indeed.]
"Why?"
[Why, you ask?]
"Why did you resurrect me?"
[...Does it truly need a reason?]
"Well, no, but..."
Verdandi disliked how Eunhyeon seemed less joyful about his resurrection and more confused, grappling with why he existed in this world at all without knowing the reason.
[I simply couldn't bear to watch you die like that.]
"Pardon? What do you..."
[We dragged you here on our whim for our purposes, burdened you with a mission for our wish, and you met your end without any reward. I couldn't watch that.]
"......"
Eunhyeon realized she was gravely mistaken as he watched Verdandi explain with averted eyes, her face full of genuine remorse.
"Goddess. I never thought that way. If you've seen everything from above, you know that. As I died, I didn't resent you or the other goddesses. Quite the opposite—I felt my end was a satisfying one."
[Even if you were satisfied, I was not.]
"You're being unreasonable."
Eunhyeon gave a wry smile.
It was complicated—someone else denying what he himself had accepted—but it didn't feel bad.
After all, it proved how much Verdandi cherished him, her apostle.
"So, what should I do from here?"
[Your mission remains unchanged. But the restrictions will loosen somewhat compared to before.]
"Restrictions?"
[Yes. Previously, you were commanded to remain unseen as an 'extra,' supporting the 'heroes' from the shadows. That's no longer necessary.]
"You mean..."
[You may act as you wish now, without much consequence. The restrictions aren't fully lifted, but the gods who witnessed your trials will be cooperative toward you. They've agreed to overlook a certain degree of personal initiative.]
"I... see."
It was a strikingly lenient condition.
He felt like an employee whose big win had finally earned company recognition.
Thanks to him, could Verdandi now walk taller among the other goddesses? Her triumphant expression as she explained made Eunhyeon chuckle.
[What's so funny?]
"I thought your smile was beautiful."
[Wh-what...? Ahem! Teasing a goddess is no good.]
Flustered, Verdandi lightly scolded him before continuing.
[Thanks to you and the heroes thwarting the demon summoning, the fated 'doom of the mortal realm' has been pioneered. But in doing so, new problems have arisen.]
"Another future has branched off."
Verdandi nodded at Eunhyeon's succinct guess.
[Precisely. In the fate you've pioneered, new destinies have spawned—including threats like this one. Resurrecting you was partly my selfishness, but it benefited the other gods too.]
"Because I... succeeded once before..."
A human with no connections or talents had been chosen as an apostle simply for walking a path beyond his fated doom—and he had twisted the 'extinction of humanity,' a once-certain fate.
Many gods had mocked the Norns' unprecedented attempt as impossible.
Yet Eunhyeon, chosen by the three goddesses, had exceeded all expectations with brilliant results.
To them, he was like a joker card against the mortal realm's doom.
[I didn't care for being treated like a lab rat, but I had no choice but to agree to your resurrection as the condition.]
"I see."
Eunhyeon nodded calmly.
If new dangers loomed, he pondered why they had revived him—and what role he must play amid it all.
[And the other gods, inspired by your case, plan to take on promising humans as their own apostles.]
"That's..."
Eunhyeon wore a strange expression.
The thought that others might undergo experiences like his unsettled him.
Though granted overwhelming power and ability, living without lack, what had tormented him most was the loneliness and bitterness of seeing comrades ascend upon exhausting their lifespans.
[My child, the power I granted you is one only I can bestow. Other gods' apostles are limited to their own domains. Not all can make their apostles 'immortals' like I did.]
In other words, not all apostles wielded the same powers.
"I see. But that means..."
[Yes. If you encounter them, the other gods hope you'll lend a hand where possible.]
"I see..."
It felt like hearing parents plead, "Take good care of our kid!" Eunhyeon nodded with a wry smile.
"And one more thing I'm curious about. There was a child I saved this time. Was that your guidance too?"
Eunhyeon brought up Erin, whom he had rescued.
[You knew. Such a pitiful child. Her fate was so cruel. How could it befall one so young...]
Verdandi nodded, her face turning bitter.
The three Norns goddesses wove fates at birth but could not alter them directly.
Thus, they chose Eunhyeon, unbound by fate, as their apostle.
They guided those with potential but cruel destinies toward him for salvation.
Riod, Iliana, and many of Eunhyeon's comrades had been such souls.
Erin was no different.
"I see. Thank you for telling me."
Eunhyeon bowed his head in gratitude to Verdandi.
"And... this time, I have something to report from my side."
[About that witch child?]
"You knew?"
[I told you, didn't I? I couldn't interfere, but I watched your every action. That...]
She hesitated briefly, her face flushing. Seeing it, Eunhyeon's expression hardened.
"No way... you saw everything?"
[......]
Verdandi averted her gaze naturally, offering no reply to Eunhyeon's probing.