"Hey, Aqua?"

A man in white and gold robes sat on what one would call a throne, Aqua stood beside him.

She had a different uniform as the man, wearing a dark blue and gold uniform like a military general.

They were both inside a room, the walls were with but darkened as the only light source was from the window in front of them. The window was there so that the gods were able to observe their creations.

"Yes, Father?"

The man and Aqua were both staring into the earth below them. It seemed like the man looked bothered as he looked towards the glass.

"I see one of your siblings ruining this perfect world with her creations…."

"Do everything in your power to punish her and exterminate her newest creations."

"Yes, my lord."

Aqua immediately walkedwalked towards the exit with a swift turn.

-

Aqua didn't know how long since she was given that order.

To kill humans.

"AQUA THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! WHY DID YOU NOT WAIT FOR THE SIGNAL!!" Kazuma screamed while being drenched in white stains all over his clothes.

Now she is really reconsidering following that order.

Today after walking for a bit, the party needed to exterminate a giant bat known for its size and tendency to eat up farmers' crops since it was vegan.

Aqua and the rest were not very lucky as it flew away.

As it proceeded to fly away and convinced birds to fly away as well due to itsits sheer size.

Fun fact, birds poop when they fly.

Fun fact, there were many to count in that forest.

"Well…. I didn't want to get eaten again so I punched it! " Aqua yelled.

"THE BAT IS A HERBIVORE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

The party was currently trying to find where the giant bat went by walking in the direction where it flew.

Kazuma and Aqua were arguing about who ruined the plan.

But one more person decided to enter the ring.

"IT WAS THOSE BIRDS FAULT! IF THEY DIDN'T INTERRUPT MY EXPLOSION WE'D BE WALKING HOME!"

This person was definitely eating bird-related food later.

The trio then hears a chuckle from their left.

They see Darkness with no damage whatsoever.

"You didn't include me in your plan."

They all stare in awe.

Kazuma flinches.

He remembers a particular moment in his "plan".

-

Kazuma and Darkness were huddled behind a rock, stalking the giant bat.

The plan was for Aqua to act as bait and then to cover the beast in water to confuse it. Leading Megumin to cast her explosion.

Darkness didn't need to do anything.

But life had other plans.

"Pssst… Kazuma!" Darkness whispered.

"Yeah what?" Kazuma whispered back.

"Look at the claws from the bat! They look so big and sharp!"

"Literally, why are you telling me this?"

"I must be the bait… I shall replace Aqua and serve as the distraction for this plan."

This dialogue would sound heroic if not for Darkness's panting in between those words.

Such a shame really.

"Would you stop thinking about that?! Actually, continue to think about that."

Darkness chuckles as she stares aimlessly at the sky.

"Ahh yes, those large claws…… I can defend you guys by being your shield, the plan might turn bad. And then, You'd leave me with that THING!"

Darkness then looks over towards where Kazuma would be standing, only to find him gone.

She then looks inward.

"Why did I ever think that he'd want to listen anyway?"

-

Darkness then lunges at Kazuma.

"WHY! I WAS THE PERFECT SHIELD!"

"Will you shut it? all this shouting is giving me a headache. "

The argument then continues.

Until Aqua then sees a large figure heading towards them.

And proceeded to do nothing about it as she knew….

" I CAN'T HANDLE THIS YOU PERVERT? WHY SHOULD I INCORPORATE YOU IN THE PLAN IF YOU'RE JUST GONNA BE A PAIN IN MY A-AHHH!! " Kazuma screams as he is taken by the bat.

Kazuma would deal with this.

"It should've been me…"

Megumin nudges the pervert's shoulder.

-

The way to Arcanlentia was a long one.

Aqua led the crowd as she marched through cold winds in the night.

But as always, fate had other plans as a cold blizzard hit the group.

The trip went from 2 days to a week in estimation.

Due to the setback, they were currently setting up camp for the night and would start the journey again in the morning.

The goddess did tell the group that they would only need to pack food as other necessities would be provided.

Aqua already knew the cause of the cold, as she dealt with it before.

Her brother Ifrit was kidnapped by Terra, not long after this war started.

Aqua knew that Terra was using Ifrit to power his kingdom and leave anything that was not in blizzards.

Arcanletia is luckily covered in sunlight as Aqua made measures to keep her city warm enough for the inhabitants to live. The city was also heated by the various hot springs underground, but it was more of a lucky add-on.

One of the villagers tapped Aqua on the shoulder while she was meditating in her tent. It appeared to be an adult woman, she had a sad look on her face.

"Ms.Aqua are you busy? We have a problem, please follow me."

"Sure," Aqua responded.

Aqua followed the woman out of her tent.

"What's the problem?" Aqua spoke as they walked through tent after tent.

"It's Ms.Starling… She requests your presence." the woman said in a sombre voice.

"Why?"

Both Aqua and the woman entered a tent, Ms.Starling is revealed to be an old woman lying on a bed, there was also a boy on the side of the bed. The boy was crying.

"Please take Lucas outside." Ms.Starling asked in a croaked voice. As the woman guided the boy out of the tent, Aqua and the old woman were now the only ones inside.

"You said you are a god, right?" The old woman asked.

"Yes, I am," Aqua replied.

"You can't do anything about me can you?"

"I can't."

"It's alright then, I've lived a good life."

"Why do you think that? There cultists wandering around these lands and terrorising everything."

"I lived a life Aqua, that's what it is. Although the circumstances now are dire, I had created something to leave behind. " The old woman responded.

"Something beautiful." She added.

"Can I ask you another question?" Ms.Starling changes the topic.

"Sure."

"What happens to me after I pass?"

Aqua thought for a second. She hadn't died yet obviously, so she wouldn't know the answer and she did not see how her creator created this system.

"I'm sorry, I do not know what will happen," Aqua responds.

"It's alright, I thought that I could get some idea of what would happen, but nothing gets you ready. Thanks for coming. But I have one last request"

"Can you take care of my grandson when I'm gone?"

Aqua was confused and flabbergasted for a moment, she forged the words in her head and told her response.

"Yes, the orphanage in Arcanlentia can take care of him."

"That's all I needed to hear, thanks for visiting me. It's an honour to die in the presence of a god."

Aqua stays silent as the woman closes her eyes for the last time. Aqua then wonders why the old woman decided to exclude her grandson from this.

"You don't know where? Didn't you make me?" The voice of a little girl suddenly whispered in her ear.

Aqua looked over towards the entrance of the tent to see a little girl. She was dressed in rags, she had black hair and her face was similar to Aqua's emotionless face.

Aqua looks at the girl in disbelief.

"Who are you?" Aqua interrogated.

-

Back in the present, the party(excluding Kazuma) was now trying to find a way to get back their precious leader.

Darkness was looking around the area searching for clues.

Megumin looked quite scared as she sat on a nearby rock.

Aqua did nothing.

"Hey…." Megumin suddenly interrupted the thoughts of the remaining two members.

"Is Kazuma going to be all right?" Megumin asked.

Darkness walked over to Megumin and patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, he's going to be all right Megumin. I'm sure he's doing everything he can to survive, he has gone through worse."

Darkness's reassuring manages to calm the panicked girl, but only a bit.

"Didn't he die after falling off a tree?" Megumin asks.

Aqua who was bored, started to listen to their conversation. To be honest, she couldn't help but hold a bit of laughter when remembering that fumble.

It wasn't until then that Megumin suddenly looked her in the eyes.

"Hey Aqua, can I ask you something?" Megumin suddenly asks.

"Sure Megumin, feel free to ask your goddess!" Aqua responds while shooting finger guns towards the frightened girl.

It didn't really help the mood.

"Can you resurrect Kazuma an infinite amount of times? Or is it just limited?"

Well well well.

That marks 2 things that gave Aqua nostalgia.

"Well, that spell only applies when Kazuma dies in battle or infection, old age can't be affected. Aside from that, like your explosion I can cast it whenever I like."

The resurrection spell reminded Aqua how she got the skill in the first place. But it wasn't important now.

Megumin sighs in relief. But is still worried since Kazuma is still in danger.

They then both hear Darkness in the distance.

"I've found something! Come check it out!"

Megumin and Aqua both quickly followed her voice.

After following the path of where the bat flew, Darkness found some wreckage amongst the trees ahead.

"Looks like he didn't give up without a fight," Aqua said.

"This is Kazuma's tinder!" Megumin said as she spotted burns on the trees.

"And they're still lit!" She added.

"Let's get going, they must be nearby." Darkness said as both she and Megumin began running towards the wrecked path, leaving Aqua behind.

"W-wait for me!" Aqua said as she began running as well.

-

Aqua was staring at the little girl, internally shocked while keeping her emotionless blank face. She was questioning why she didn't detect the child when she entered, adding to the mystery.

"Answer me," Aqua said in response to the girl's inaction from her previous question.

The girl then continued to stare at Aqua with the same emotionless face that the older goddess also had for a bit.

"I don't have a name yet." The girl said.

"But I know what purpose I serve." She added.

"And what is it?" Aqua interrogated with swiftness, she seemed to be impatient with the girl.

"Guiding people to the dead world, I just did it with Ms.Starling over there." The girl then pointed to the body of the old woman.

Aqua was shocked and lost her firm expression for a moment, she had never known another god apart from her father and siblings. But with the responsibilities the child has, this is no doubt a god.

"You are a god, right? How do you exist?"

The girl looked at Aqua.

"You ended a life. I was then born into existence."

The girl pauses.

"Do you remember? The first life was ended because of you."

"Stop," Aqua commanded.

Aqua's composure broke, she had a slight frown on her face. A single tear leaked out from her right eye.

"Please, don't remind me." She added.

"Very well." The child responded.

"I have no idea what made you kill, but I've always wanted to meet you Aqua, Goddess of Water."

"And recently, with the extra title."

"The Goddess of Life."

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading. Sorry in advance, but the amount of time until next chapter's release is very uncertain. Do expect a potentially long wait.