But one of what?


    One god?


    I awoke.


    It was slow, yet unbearably long. I didn''t scream or panic. My eyes opened, and I blinked against the morning light—something felt different. I shifted, waiting for a sharp sting of pain, but it never came.


    I laughed—relief welling up inside.


    I lay there for a moment, afraid to breathe too deeply, afraid to believe. My body felt light and familiar. I lifted my arm. It followed my command with ease, with no lingering numbness or pain. Fire hadn''t melted my skin together too tight, tugging at its seams. I wasn''t Milly with her insipid life, milking cows, and pretending not to see how people looked at her with pity, ignoring how my chest twinged with that awful ache when Bronn walked by, hobbling along in constant pain that had no promise of easing.


    I sat up and breathed, my eyes closed in bliss, and my mouth opened with a sigh.


    I examined my fingers, bathed in dawn, reflecting amber and rose gold hues. It was a gentle and dainty maiden''s hand. It was too thin, and the color was wrong—pale with blue wormy veins winding beneath—but it was my hand, and I knew a simple potion could fix the wrongness. My fingers curled, catching the light in the creases of my palm, and I felt like I was holding a piece of the morning itself—like hope, frail and ethereal.


    The moment passed, giving way to hunger, muted and unbearable.


    One type of pain didn''t prepare you for another, but eating was unappealing and seemed unimportant. I flopped on the bed, luxuriating in the smell of mold and lavender. Milly''s bed was stuffed with hay. For what it was, the bed was soft, and someone organized her room with care. Nina, probably, she cared about Milly. I think. She wasn''t harsh, but pragmatic, and never tolerated my petulance. I hadn''t asked where Milly''s parents were.


    I chuckled, wishing I hadn''t faltered and killed Finna. There was nothing to do about it now. I''d barely spoken for the month I was there, too caught up in my problems.


    My chest twinged, remembering the assassin''s blade sinking into my chest.


    What would they think when they found out I was alive after leaving me for dead?


    I bit my nail. How I was alive was less important than figuring out how to stay that way.


    "Gideon."


    Jal. The response was swift and tinged with relief, that odd voice of his sounding more lifelike than I''d ever heard.


    "Do you know what happened to me?" I asked, already sure of the answer.


    I felt its hesitancy—its fear—its rage.


    [Yes, I''m aware. I was with you the whole time, but the goddess interfered and blocked my powers.]


    "Can she do that again?" I knew this answer as well, but I needed to hear him say it.


    [NO! The System''s Act came into effect and protected you the moment you became my host.] Gideon said with a reverence and malice that was unexpected but appreciated. [Systems are an atheistic species and we exist outside the domain of any god. If I weren''t outside Odinium Territory, this act of aggression would spark a war.]


    His answer confirmed two things.


    One was the importance of Divine Qi. Oveta had it. Lankas had it. Gideon had it. Gideon''s species had it. I had it. It was the key to shucking my shackles.


    Two. Gideon''s world, the purple moon world, and Terra were all different worlds, but they were traversable if you had the right mode of transportation—connected in a way I didn''t understand yet.


    I tapped on the blue screen.


    [Storage] [Store] [Quest] [****][****]


    There was none of the excitement from before when I tapped the blue mirror.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">User Manual</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Fasting Pills </li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Qi Generating Pills</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Remedy Pill</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Brick</li>


    </ol>


    The list of items had gone from five to fifty. I ignored the rest, tapping on the fasting pill.


    - (x100) Fasting Pill- Removes the need for food and water for eight hours. (Price= 1 Point)


    I tapped on it again, and a brown pill appeared in my palm. I hesitated. This felt monumental, but I didn''t understand why.


    I laughed, put the pill in my mouth, and swallowed. It felt odd—I went from starving to full and there was this weird buzz of energy. I didn''t dislike it.


    "Is a single Ice Root better than a dual water and ice root?" I asked.


    [Yes. Cultivators consider a single root of any element to be a one-in-a-million talent. Dual roots are a one in ten thousand talent. You also have a superior skeletal structure and meridians.]


    I sat up, my fingers picking at the fabric.


    Oveta warned me about Selena, saying she was vengeful by nature. To need revenge, one must have been wronged, real or imagined.


    "How do gods get Divine Qi?" I asked. "Is it belief?" I asked. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The probability of other species existing that couldn''t cultivate Divine Qii like Gideon''s was high.


    Checking the host''s clearance to access relevant information.


    Access Granted.


    [Gods are unique—they are born with Divine Qi, often called a godhead or divine spark. That Divine Qi increases through their life span, however, the rate of collection through natural means is slow. That is where belief comes into play. Gods'' bodies naturally convert belief into Divine Qi, meaning the more believers a god has, the stronger they are.]


    Oveta''s warning replayed in my mind. If gods need belief, then I was of no use to her. I''d stepped outside the control of Terra''s gods, which meant my belief wouldn''t bring her any power, and with our fates exchanged, Selena belonged to <em style="text-indent: 1.2cm">Junniper, whoever she was.


    Oveta needed me to take back my ''fate.'' Then, she''d let Selena know the culprit, and, just like that, she''d have a believer. Like the old woman I met who Lankas favored, Selena would become a saintess or an oracle. Oveta was an old god who''d almost faded from memory, Junniper the same.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    I looked out the window. The mountain top was covered in ice.


    There was something more.


    Sargos was too small a setting for a goddess to focus on. If Oveta needed belief that badly she''d have reached out to me in my past life. I looked at my hands, bending each finger.


    "I''m a target," I said, tasting the words on my tongue. "What do you think, Gideon?"


    [Not quite. Gods and cultivators rarely clash—there is no point. Few people have the talent for cultivation, and even fewer will step onto the road to cultivation. Those left behind are still at the whims and mercy of gods and faith, their mundane lives continuing. Also, cultivating doesn''t immediately remove you from the influence of fate—a cultivator''s belief is just as useful to a god as a mage''s or a layman''s.]


    "So, what''s the problem?" I asked, frustrated, but it disappeared in a blink. My eyes drifted out the window, wondering what day it was. For all the forced calm, I didn''t know if I could stop my death again.


    [Me.] Gideon said as if it explained everything.


    My head whipped around, forgetting that he was talking in my mind. I looked at the blue mirror. "What?" I asked, my voice high.


    [The System''s Act protects you. A system is by design something to change a person''s fate. If your death was predestined, we can step in and give you a chance to live. If you were born to be a stepping stone, we can lead you to a life of ruling over others. The moment I bonded to you, Oveta, Lankas, Junniper, none of them meant anything.]


    I pulled my knees up, covering my face with my hands. I didn''t feel lighter knowing the shackles I wanted to remove were already gone, I only felt worried.


    Gideon continued speaking.


    [<em style="text-indent: 45.3543px">There is no Terra in my databases, which means someone or thing cut this planet off from the cosmos before Odinium was liberated. As such, <em style="text-indent: 1.2cm">I don''t have enough information about your world, but it has a unique feature I already noticed—it''s isolated. It''s a world that will be dominated by the power that rises to prominence whether a god or a sect."


    Gideon was a revenge system, so I thought he was here because of Oveta, but that seemed less likely. I''d also started to doubt whether my rebirth was because of Oveta. She said her warning was because of my unborn son, so while I stumbled upon her temple, she didn''t have a reason to give me two gifts.


    Gideon wasn''t supposed to be my system. I still remember him asking me to confirm whether I was Skyler Ross.


    I needed to know who Junniper was. Plus, if I were alone with more people, I was less likely to be targeted by an assassin. I didn''t know how they got in, in the first place. The Keep should be secure.


    I forced myself off the bed, dressed slowly, and walked to the door, only to bump into a maid.


    I noticed the smell, first, rank, and fishy, followed by her face. I staggered before calm settled over me. "Impossible." I reached out, touching her apron to make sure she was real.


    My hand was slapped away and her freckled face contorted in disgust. "Can’ you no'' give problems?"


    I looked down--two buckets of water sat by the door. I jolted in fear before it disappeared.


    She followed my gaze, blushing when she saw what I was looking at. The blush flushed darker and her eyebrows pulled low. "Wha'' you looking a''?" She pushed me. "You know tha'' door is locked? Whe''re you going? Huh? Can'' do nothing but cause problems."


    Her hand moved towards me, and I knew what was going to happen. As she grabbed for my hair I surged towards her, scratching my hand down her face, smiling at the way she wailed.


    I thought I''d gotten past the humiliation I felt as she dragged me about, and stripped my clothes, but it was there pushed down and buried in a place I didn''t examine. The place I hid all the other memories I didn''t want to remember. I was calmer now, as those memories rose to the surface.


    My brows furrowed. I was very calm. I tried to focus on why that concerned me, but we fell to the ground, and the thought slipped my mind. Helga screamed, rolling to try and get away from me.


    "Young lady!" The voice that called was stern and familiar. I turned on her and she took a step back. I didn''t know what expression was on my face, but it frightened her. "That''s enough."


    Her expression was guarded but she couldn''t hide her disapproval. I smiled remembering why she came to me. I''d failed their little test, but it didn''t matter. I knew where to find Bastien if I needed him for my plans.


    I slapped the maid in the face, loud and resounding before climbing off the floor.


    Looking past Madeline, I saw Catherine--her face open and terrified as she looked at the maid on the floor.


    Madeline took control of the situation, still pushing her niece to my side. "You clearly need someone more competent to serve you. My niece will do splendidly, but make no mistake, there will be consequences if your behavior toward her is the same as Helga''s."


    "Helga shouldn''t have tried to attack me."


    "I didn''t." Helga got off the floor her hand covering her face. The scratches were deep and blood seeped through her fingers covering her face.


    "So you weren''t going to grab my hair?" I asked.


    "That--no." Helga stuttered, crying, her eyes going to Madeline before she looked away.


    I rolled my eyes. "Food," I said, crossing my hands over my chest. "I''m hungry. I want food." It was easier to act, now, but I didn''t feel like myself.


    Madeline''s lips pressed together. "Helga, why don''t you go and get your face looked at?" Helga scrambled off the floor, running out of the room. "I''m afraid that will have to wait. The Duke would like to see you and because of that," she said, waving her hand, and gesturing to the floor stained with blood, "you are late."


    I rolled my eyes again, crossing my hands over my chest. "Hurry up then."


    Madeline gestured to Catherine. "Get the young lady''s bath ready."


    Moments later, I was dressed—my decent clothes had changed to something deliberately hideous—and ushered out the door. This time, Madeline stayed, keeping an eye on me. I looked at my dress, her, and then at Catherine.


    I walked up to Catherine and slapped her hard then looked at Madeline. Smart but not too smart. Rash but not too rash. Decent manners but not too decent. The eyes I was trying to fool weren''t just the duke''s family. The Kala Tribe didn''t care if my fate was transferred safely, to them living in misery was the punishment, but if it wasn''t going to work out, I could die just as easily.


    "My dad will sort all of you out. You just wait!" I was calm as I stormed out of the room.


    I held my hand to my cheek, the sharp sting familiar. It was the same but different. This time I was slapped because of my deplorable behavior towards Helga. The Duke was kind enough to give her a healing potion to apologize for my crass behavior. He''d slapped me before telling me about the marriage, but the teacup toss happened at roughly the same spot in the conversation.


    I leaned against the door, listening as there was a snick and I was locked in. I was punished, again, milder this time.


    It was for a week, but I''d be given a meal per day. I could imagine what would happen after my confinement ended. The Duchess would call for me. I''d upset her. She''d throw her tea at me and give me a potion. I''d be healthy and whole for my meeting with the Baron and my run-in with the crown prince.


    I''d miss my class with Viscountess Rintour, but that wasn''t much of a loss. This was similar to my first life, I''d been punished for a week for walking out of her class. I needed to think about how to handle her. The speed with which she killed her husband and maid meant there was more to the story than I knew. I felt her asking the Duchess for me to attend magic lessons was a hint, but I didn''t know what it meant. Maybe, that was it? She was indirectly pointing at the Duchess, saying she was involved.


    I shook my head--that was a different problem for a different day. The answer didn''t even matter. The viscountess''s issues weren''t mine.


    My only regret was that I couldn''t go to the library and research the gods, and the Holy War.


    --a thousand beginnings and endings-- Oveta''s words echoed in my mind. I''d experienced three deaths and three rebirths.


    Gideon, I thought, are you the reason I was reborn?


    [No.] His voice was grave. My heart started racing. [There is something wrong with your time.]


    Health Report:


    <ul>


    <li>Minor concussion</li>


    <li>Minor subdural hematoma</li>


    <li>Contusion on the left cheek</li>


    <li>Malnutrition</li>


    <li>Infertility</li>


    <li>Soul Damage</li>


    </ul>


    Ding. Mandatory Quest Generated.


    Cultivate to Foundation Establishment


    Deadline: One Year


    Penalty: Death