Divine Encounter
Lina and Gourry were in such a hurry, they didn't stop home to pick up a pet for the journey. Not that they wanted to bring them anyway since all they were doing was going back home. Soon they arrived at the Mana Tree.
Near the entrance, the duo saw Pokiehl. "The Mana Goddess is light and so she could not see herself," he said, "So she hid herself in the shadows. But with those shadows came the negative emotions in the heart of mankind. You should know that the Goddess is trapped between two forms, good and evil. Only you can save her." Then, he vanished.
"Let's get going Gourry, we can't have the Goddess waiting for us to arrive. Besides, I'm in the mood for a lunch from our own world," she stated.
They began to climb the branches of the tree. Along the way, monsters tried to cut their long journey to an end. But none of them were any match for the duo's sword skills-Lina was trying to save her magic for any surprises.
Finally, they came to what appeared to be the archway of an old temple. Lina examined the carvings, and jumped back with a shock. "Gourry, come look at these! They're the same as the ones in the temple we came from."
Gourry asked, "Hey, Lina how do you suppose the same symbols are on a temple in two different worlds? I mean, we came here by the power of their Goddess, and not a gate built by whomever made those ruins. So how are we related?"
"Congratulations Gourry, you managed to ask an intelligent question for once," commented Lina, "But I don't know the answer either. I guess the only way we'll ever find out is to ask the Mana Goddess herself. Let's get going."
In the temple, Lina saw what appeared to be a huge courtyard. It was divided into many circular courtyards with a fountain in the center of each. Some of them contained treasure chests, while others were filled with monsters. The monsters weren't that hard, it was just that there were so many of them, especially the higher level ones.
"Lina, look out!" yelled Gourry. A Land Dragon was about to hit her from behind while she attacked the Kid Dragon he was with. Lina turned around, and dodged the attack, but was still scratched across her arm. She then countered with Demona Crystal, killing it.
Gourry ripped a piece of his skirt off for Lina to use as a bandage. But she was way ahead of him, and using Recovery on the wound. Still, Lina took the bandage from Gourry's hand to wipe the sweat from her fevered brow.
A voice was suddenly heard throughout the courtyard. "Well fought Lina Inverse. It is such an honor to have you in my humble home."
Lina yelled, "You better show yourself now! I'm getting really annoyed with these little games you've had us playing."
"But if we're not playing, where's the fun in it?" asked the Goddess, "You mortals are all the same, you don't know how to have fun."
"How much fun would you be having if you were forced to run around doing errands for some divine being you've never met? Especially if it meant you had to leave your home and go to some world you'd never seen before?" Lina inquired.
The Goddess let out a soft laugh. "I guess I wouldn't like it very much. But it's so much easier to get my vessels to do what I want if I don't let them ask questions. Usually they just refuse if I give them the option."
Lina told her, "They all have a good reason for that. I swear, you masters of creation are all alike. All you do is play with us mortals and ask questions later."
"What an impudent girl," the Goddess exclaimed, "It's a wonder that L- Sama was able to put up with you for all this time."
"Come out here and say that to my face you coward," Lina yelled.
Suddenly, the room began to disappear. Instead of a beautiful courtyard, Lina and Gourry found themselves in a barren void. They were then sent from the blackness into another courtyard, but this one was much different. It was devoid of bright colors and vegetation. Instead, it was a room with a full moon that shown down on a floor that reflected it like a mirror. Several shrubs were present, but not much else. It was quite a depressing room.
Lina looked around. Just then, the voice of the Goddess rang out again. "I am the light. I am the darkness. Half of me is what you've fought in the past. The other half is what has protected you thus far. I am the essence of love. Fight me, brave heroes, fight me and defeat me. You will become a hero." Then, a strange woman appeared. She looked human in stature, but her face looked like that of an Iris. Leaves came out from her collar, her body was the exact replica of a plant's stem, and her arms and legs looked like roots.
Lina exclaimed, "This is the best you can do?! Oh please, I've seen worse than this. Let's see.I've killed Shabranigdo, Zanafar, Phibrizzio, Dark Star, and do I have to continue? Prepare yourself for death. Let's go Gourry."
The two charged her at once. Now Lina knew what she had saved her magic for. After opening a deep gash in the Goddess's shoulder with Dragon's Breath, she dropped back. Gourry continued to fight her hand to hand as Lina began to chant her Boost spell. Then she began to call on her most powerful spell. "Ragna Blade," she screamed, "Now you will be destroyed!" Lina charged at the Goddess, and got her in the heart with the Ragna Blade.
- - - -
What happened after Lina used Ragna Blade? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out.
Lina and Gourry were in such a hurry, they didn't stop home to pick up a pet for the journey. Not that they wanted to bring them anyway since all they were doing was going back home. Soon they arrived at the Mana Tree.
Near the entrance, the duo saw Pokiehl. "The Mana Goddess is light and so she could not see herself," he said, "So she hid herself in the shadows. But with those shadows came the negative emotions in the heart of mankind. You should know that the Goddess is trapped between two forms, good and evil. Only you can save her." Then, he vanished.
"Let's get going Gourry, we can't have the Goddess waiting for us to arrive. Besides, I'm in the mood for a lunch from our own world," she stated.
They began to climb the branches of the tree. Along the way, monsters tried to cut their long journey to an end. But none of them were any match for the duo's sword skills-Lina was trying to save her magic for any surprises.
Finally, they came to what appeared to be the archway of an old temple. Lina examined the carvings, and jumped back with a shock. "Gourry, come look at these! They're the same as the ones in the temple we came from."
Gourry asked, "Hey, Lina how do you suppose the same symbols are on a temple in two different worlds? I mean, we came here by the power of their Goddess, and not a gate built by whomever made those ruins. So how are we related?"
"Congratulations Gourry, you managed to ask an intelligent question for once," commented Lina, "But I don't know the answer either. I guess the only way we'll ever find out is to ask the Mana Goddess herself. Let's get going."
In the temple, Lina saw what appeared to be a huge courtyard. It was divided into many circular courtyards with a fountain in the center of each. Some of them contained treasure chests, while others were filled with monsters. The monsters weren't that hard, it was just that there were so many of them, especially the higher level ones.
"Lina, look out!" yelled Gourry. A Land Dragon was about to hit her from behind while she attacked the Kid Dragon he was with. Lina turned around, and dodged the attack, but was still scratched across her arm. She then countered with Demona Crystal, killing it.
Gourry ripped a piece of his skirt off for Lina to use as a bandage. But she was way ahead of him, and using Recovery on the wound. Still, Lina took the bandage from Gourry's hand to wipe the sweat from her fevered brow.
A voice was suddenly heard throughout the courtyard. "Well fought Lina Inverse. It is such an honor to have you in my humble home."
Lina yelled, "You better show yourself now! I'm getting really annoyed with these little games you've had us playing."
"But if we're not playing, where's the fun in it?" asked the Goddess, "You mortals are all the same, you don't know how to have fun."
"How much fun would you be having if you were forced to run around doing errands for some divine being you've never met? Especially if it meant you had to leave your home and go to some world you'd never seen before?" Lina inquired.
The Goddess let out a soft laugh. "I guess I wouldn't like it very much. But it's so much easier to get my vessels to do what I want if I don't let them ask questions. Usually they just refuse if I give them the option."
Lina told her, "They all have a good reason for that. I swear, you masters of creation are all alike. All you do is play with us mortals and ask questions later."
"What an impudent girl," the Goddess exclaimed, "It's a wonder that L- Sama was able to put up with you for all this time."
"Come out here and say that to my face you coward," Lina yelled.
Suddenly, the room began to disappear. Instead of a beautiful courtyard, Lina and Gourry found themselves in a barren void. They were then sent from the blackness into another courtyard, but this one was much different. It was devoid of bright colors and vegetation. Instead, it was a room with a full moon that shown down on a floor that reflected it like a mirror. Several shrubs were present, but not much else. It was quite a depressing room.
Lina looked around. Just then, the voice of the Goddess rang out again. "I am the light. I am the darkness. Half of me is what you've fought in the past. The other half is what has protected you thus far. I am the essence of love. Fight me, brave heroes, fight me and defeat me. You will become a hero." Then, a strange woman appeared. She looked human in stature, but her face looked like that of an Iris. Leaves came out from her collar, her body was the exact replica of a plant's stem, and her arms and legs looked like roots.
Lina exclaimed, "This is the best you can do?! Oh please, I've seen worse than this. Let's see.I've killed Shabranigdo, Zanafar, Phibrizzio, Dark Star, and do I have to continue? Prepare yourself for death. Let's go Gourry."
The two charged her at once. Now Lina knew what she had saved her magic for. After opening a deep gash in the Goddess's shoulder with Dragon's Breath, she dropped back. Gourry continued to fight her hand to hand as Lina began to chant her Boost spell. Then she began to call on her most powerful spell. "Ragna Blade," she screamed, "Now you will be destroyed!" Lina charged at the Goddess, and got her in the heart with the Ragna Blade.
- - - -
What happened after Lina used Ragna Blade? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out.