Just then a beautiful Goddess holding a bow in her hands ascended from the right stage and took the hand of Hiori and smile at her. She had been chosen by the goddess of hunting wild animals Lady Artemis.

A God with a built up body, grey beard and a trident in his hands jumped from the stage on the ground and ignoring everyone took the hand of Hashima Katsuragi. He had been chosen by the God of seas – Poseidon.

Then suddenly a beauty, superior and outstanding even among the gods stepped down from the stairs. (What a relief at least some Gods know the usage of stairs is better for maintaining health and is better than scaring others by flying or appearing out of nowhere.)  She has long silver hair, silver eyes and white skin like that of fresh snow. A perfect golden ratio and her silhouette even in the dress she wore were just too attractive. Her clothes were in large parts coloured white and red, they exposed most of her stomach and breasts. She also wore a beautiful pair of shining gem ornament in her hair. While everyone’s eyes were laid on her she walked without a care in the world as if used to such kind of attention, she grabbed the hand of our class rep. Homura Kenta had been chosen by the goddess of lust- Freya.

Then a strawberry blonde hair girl with a fair, flawless skin and a curvy figure epitomizing feminine beauty, came forward and took the hand Yumiko Furata. She was the goddess of love – Aphrodite.

A blonde hair guy with a quickened pace ran forward and made a quick stop before crashing into Okarin Ooshima he held his hands. Until then I wasn’t able to see him. He was the messenger god – Hermes, who had the most peculiar outfit, wearing a pot shaped hat and winged sandals.

Several Gods and Goddesses had jumped, flew, walked, disappeared-appeared into the ring and had already choosen their partner. Even though we were not made clear on what basis or qualification we needed to be a partner of a specific God or Goddess, we were still more than happy to be accepted by them.

While all these things were happening so casually, a sudden sense of fear and despair fell on my face, when I realized that for the first time after coming to Pantheon all the eyes were focused on me.

Holy crap!!!! What the hell!! I was still standing alone and even the assembly hall filled with hustle and bustle of the eccentric crowd, felt like a lonely desert where I couldn’t find a single oasis after travelling for months and had ran out of water supply just a week before.

Should I pretend that I hadn’t noticed anything and ask directions for the washroom. But then I realized that I hadn’t even talked to anyone after coming to heaven. Should I ask my classmates? No, no I can’t, they will just try to pull my leg or even worst ignore me.  How about one of the gods, the entire hall is filled with them. Would they mind if I ask such a trifling question in such an important meeting. Is there even a place here called washroom. Should I make a run or try to hide my face which was already half covered with my black hairs which were a bit of a mess since I was unable to comb after waking up to catch the running train.

All my classmates and even the Gods were giving me all weird looks and their gossips about me took a humongous jump.

‘What she was not chosen, by any god or goddess.’

‘How is this possible?’

‘She is just as pathetic as she was in school.’

‘Was she even in our class? Maybe I never noticed.’

‘Me too.’

‘She is the one in our class who always got bullied by other students while we all just sat and enjoyed.’

‘My goddess she is one of our classmates and is very shy and afraid to interact with others.’

‘It is as you suspect my dear god, she is just a weakling. ‘THE WEAKEST ONE’ among all of us.’

‘So what is going to happen with her, if no god or goddess chose her.’

‘Are we already cut short with one competitor?’

‘It seems so my Lady, but its all the same for us.’

‘YAY’

‘She is the weakest one after all, so no God or Goddess would try to waste their time on her.’

Even though I was standing there, the way they casually talked about me made me angrier and sad at the same time. Am I really this pathetic!  But this was something not new for me. Not wanted by anyone. Left all alone again and again.

There was no one who chose me nor did I get an opportunity to choose anyone. But for once I really wanted it, this one feeling of being embraced and hugged by someone as if I had just experienced it a while ago, to be needed by someone and a place to belong to.

Are my chances of living a happy life really over before it even started? Please just give me an opportunity and I will prove myself and work hard to protect what is important to me and save the world with my own hands. So please, someone, anyone chose me for once in my life.

***

GODDESS ATHENA

Today the General Assembly was filled with both energy and joy. Humans’ visiting the divine realm for reincarnation with a God or Goddess was a very big deal after all. Opportunities that keep you entertained in an immortal body in divine realm for a long time were just too few. Also the opportunity to take control over a world and ascend to upper echelons of the divine realm was a big opportunity for new gods and goddesses like me who belonged to the lower echelons. In the wars of holy crusade on Isleguard hundreds years ago I lost my family when I was too young. My father mother and big brother were the victims of the gore of the war. After that my family lost all its power and authority in divine realm.

With me as the only surviving member, no god wanted to bother with a low-level god child. With no guidance my divine powers were not that great and grew up to be the most infamous ‘non-combatant weak god.’ Often the other elder goddesses tried to make fun of me and used to make me run errands. I was just too weak to stand against them or refuse their most trivial demands. I had to bear it all, after all no one would dare to go against the wishes of a god from the upper echelons.

Usually I used to go and close myself up in the library and read books all day and night. This was my only escape. The only place where I could find peace, my own divine salvation. Even though I was alone and wanted to talk to someone more than anything and share my sorrow, my work of interest, discuss with others about their life and what future held for the divine realm, but in this life of isolation, friendship does not exist. At least I was happy to be alone since it was better than to face those haughty goddesses who always made fun of me and saw me as a tool to relieve them of their boredom.

After the announcement of the Almighty World God a new chance presented before me to become stronger and bring back the lost glory of my family. But I was a non-combatant god; I can’t even lift up a sword properly let alone think of saving a world. Maybe if I choose a strong human, who may gain enough power from my divinity even though of my incompatibility with the combat aptitude.

I searched harder and harder and checked whether my divinity matched with the wavelength of anyone’s soul. But it wasn’t a success. Was there really no one, who is fit to be a match with me? Do I really have to spend my life alone and as a weakling forever? I closed my eyes and searched for the One again but the tag of failure kept blinking in front of my eyes.

I opened my eyes to count the number of students and try again, time was of the essence but then I noticed that almost every human child had been chosen by one of the gods or goddesses. Did I really let the opportunity slip by my own hands? Did I really loose even before I tried? Was this my only chance to get to know someone better? In my heart I knew I desired no great power or status, what I really wanted was someone to accept me with all of my faults, weaknesses and strength. All the other Gods only looked down upon me so if I had to turn to humans for companionship then I accept them as my equals. Even though I am weak, I cannot fight in a battle or even support my partner but its fine, even if I do not win I wanted to spent time with someone to know them better and travel the world and compare it with the knowledge I had gained from books in all these years. So please anyone just lend me a hand, help me, save me….

My eyes had been shut but I could hear people laughing and making fun of someone, was it me they were laughing at or maybe someone else but who?

A pair of warm hands caressed my shoulder, as if someone was trying to relieve me from my stress, but is there really someone kind here. But before I even felt it I was pushed forward, but somehow my foot landed on the marble of the lower floor where in front of my eyes stood a girl helpless and afraid of whatever was in her sight. I turned my body in a circle and after inspecting my surroundings I saw that everyone’s gazes were fixed on that girl.

She had not been chosen by any god or goddess. But why, I used my divine eyes to analyse her soul and saw that there was no energy radiating from it but there was complete darkness, an abyss that sucked all light in its vicinity and  peered back at you and if I continued any longer I may not be able to find my way back. Is it even possible for such an existence, was such a living being really alive with no ‘soul power’ at all. It seemed that she was about to cry. No one wanted to be her partner and she was left alone. From the looks of her and other classmates it seems that they all look down on her and treated her as an outcast. No one is even moving from their place to comfort her or lend a helping hand. Has she been really alone all this time hiding her face from the world with her long black hair and her weak looking but gorgeous body made her look like a fragile small kid who had been abandoned by fate and the world itself. Her body language of hiding her face with her hands, her body shaking with fear from everyone’s hateful comments and piercing gazes, the feeling of wanting someone to fill the emptiness in heart, She was just like me and I was just like her.

I wanted to help her as a fellow comrade, who had suffered the same fate, but I cannot choose her because we are not compatible. This left a distasteful tinge on my tongue, a goddess and human left all alone in the darkness and thrown away from the society who considered themselves above us. Were our opportunities and wings of hope really cut short before we even got to take our first flight?

“DON’T LOOSE HOPE. EMBRACE AND PROTECT THE ONES WHOM YOU HOLD DEAR TO YOURSELF.” A voice rang in my head, and I looked back to trace its source. But there was no one nor does it appear that anyone else did it.

By this time my presence on the ground had attracted attention too. Humans, Gods or Goddesses they all were just too chatty but no one was observant enough that this VERY MOMENT THE FUTURE OF A GODDESS AND A HUMAN RELIED ON A SLIM THREAD OF CHANCE AND GLIMMER OF HOPE THAT CAN BE SNAPPED INTO TWO AT ANY TIME AND LOST IN THE SHADOWS OF FOREVER.

‘Isn’t that the non combat goddess?’

‘Is she trying to participate and save the world? How hilarious?’

‘She doesn’t stand a chance.’

‘She is too weak.’

‘But is she really going to pair up with the only left child who has not even a flicker of ‘soul power’.’

‘It doesn’t make a sense. Two weakling forming a team trying to save the world or are they trying to commit suicide.’

‘No worries, they will be eliminated on the first day of their battle. We can still count one competitor less.’

‘I cannot put it any better.’

‘HAHAHAAAAAHHAHAAH’ crackle of laughter had filled the hall.

 But I did not mind, what mattered to me was the voice that asked me to protect those who are important to me.

I closed my eyes and used my divine eyes again and peered into that abyss again.

“What is this? Have I been teleported somewhere? It’s too dark here.”

Athena tried to move her puny, slim limbs and legs but they did not possess the strength to even stir the air.

“So you have come.”  I could hear the same voice again that asked me to do this.

“Where am I? Who are you? Answer me.”

Before my own words even reached my ear, I heard a huge screech sound and cracks appeared everywhere in this dark dimension.

CRACK.

CRACK.

CRACK.

My eyes were suddenly blinded by light brighter than divinity itself entered through these cracks and flooded the entire case where I could helplessly only shout for help as I drowned in that holy sea of radiance.

My eyes opened in the hall of General Assembly again and to my surprise a tiny but bright light formed at the centre of the soul core of that girl and it was in perfect sync with my divinity. I felt a strange connection between the light that drowned me and the light which was in the girl’s core. At last I found my partner.

Without any trace of doubt or confusion on my face I took the FIRST STEP towards a girl who needed help and a savior to rescue her from all her worries.

***