After the rebellion of the artifacts, I swore we'd finally have a peaceful day. But peace, in our group, was a word that lasted less than Elara's mana.
I woke up to Vespera screaming outside the inn.
"TAKUMI! THE SKY HAS A HOLE IN IT!"
I jumped out of bed, tripped over a chair, and hit my head on the wall. When I opened the window, I saw a luminous ring floating over Vaelor — a golden and purple circle spinning as if made of liquid glass. From its center, colorful sparks — and chunks of stone — were falling.
"Liriel!" I called, but she was still asleep, hugging her wine cup like a pillow.
Elara burst into the room, panting, her hair completely messy. "That's not a hole, it's a dimensional rift! And it's expanding fast!"
"Can you close it?" I asked.
"With my mana? Maybe in the next life."
The rift glowed brighter, and suddenly a voice echoed across the sky:
"ADVENTURERS OF VAELOR! COME TEST YOUR COURAGE IN THE DIMENSIONAL ARENA!"
People on the streets started screaming, running… and some even cheering. Because, of course, there's always someone who thinks the apocalypse is entertainment.
Liriel got up, yawning. "Dimensional arena? Oh no… Celine has started."
"Celine? Your assistant?" I asked.
"Ex-assistant. Apparently she's decided to play goddess of sports now."
A beam of light shot down from the sky, and we were pulled into the circle — not even time to complain.
I woke up in a golden field. Lilac sky, crystal ground. A crowd filled the stands — celestial beings, angels, lesser gods, and even a few humans who probably had no idea how they'd gotten there. In the center, a golden platform floated, and atop it stood her.
Celine.
She had long white hair tied in a perfect bun, wore light golden armor, and held a shining scepter. Her face was serene, but her eyes… cold. Calculating.
"Welcome to the Dimensional Arena!" — her voice echoed effortlessly. — "I am Celine, ruling goddess of the divine plane. Today, we shall test the mortals who dared to carry chaos within them."
Liriel crossed her arms. "She's definitely talking about me."
"She looks like your sober version," said Vespera.
"Was that an insult?"
"Maybe."
Celine raised her scepter. "The rules are simple: each round has different conditions. The group that wins them all shall receive divine blessings. Those who fail…"
She smiled — the kind of smile that even angels would find terrifying.
"… will be banished forever from stable dimensions."
I looked at Liriel. "Translate."
"If we lose, we turn into interdimensional dust."
"Oh, great. A better fate than our debts."
The first round began.
The ground split into floating platforms. In the center, glowing spheres floated in the air.
"Trial one: reach the Spheres of Harmony before the field collapses," announced Celine.
"Seems simple," said Vespera, drawing her bow.
Liriel sighed. "It always seems simple until you start shooting."
The platforms began to shake. Elara conjured a small levitation circle. "This will help us cross!"
It lasted five seconds before she fell to her knees. "Mana… gone."
"Predictable," I muttered, catching her before she fell off.
Vespera leapt from platform to platform with surprising agility — until she tripped on a sphere and went rolling.
"Was that… stylish?" I asked.
"Painful, but stylish," she replied, laughing.
Liriel snapped her fingers and created wings of light. "Fine, I'll handle this quickly."
She flew toward the center, but the wings started glowing too brightly. "What the…?"
The feathers turned into flames.
"She's going to blow up!" I shouted.
The explosion was beautiful — and devastating. The platforms collapsed, the spheres scattered, and we were all hurled into a lake of mist.
Celine appeared in the air, floating above us. "Round one: failure."
Liriel stood up, her hair still on fire. "Failure, my ass! That was sabotage!"
"You used forbidden energy, my former goddess. The arena reacts to imbalance."
There was a tone of irony in former goddess that made Liriel grit her teeth.
"Celine, if you want to fight me, get off that throne and stop hiding behind holograms!"
Celine merely smiled. "All in due time."
Round two: "Battle against perfect copies."
In front of us appeared clones — identical, but with sadistic expressions.
"Oh, great, I've always wanted to hate myself twice," said Vespera, readying her bow.
Her copy smiled the same way. "Me too, gorgeous."
"Okay, now I'm officially scared."
Elara tried to conjure a shield, but her clone shattered it easily. "Wow, I'm terrible even on the other side," she muttered.
"Don't say that, you're… average," I said, dodging my own copy.
"Is that a compliment?"
"Compared to me, yes."
Liriel faced her copy with real fury. The two exchanged spells on an absurd scale, turning the ground into glass.
"You're weak," said the copy.
"I'm human enough to have flaws."
"And that's strength?"
"It's what makes me free."
The words echoed, and something strange happened — the copies began to lose form, as if the very illusions had hesitated. The field glowed and dissolved.
Celine watched from above, her expression unreadable. "Round two: victory for the mortals."
Vespera raised her arms. "See? We're good when the universe feels sorry for us."
Round three: "The Trial of Shifting Rules."
Floating panels appeared all around, each with a rule that changed every minute.
"Forbidden to touch the ground."
"Forbidden to speak."
"Forbidden to breathe too hard."
"Celine's mocking us," I muttered.
"She always does," replied Liriel, trying to balance on a floating pillar.
Elara tried to keep a flight spell active, but the panel changed to "Forbidden to use magic."
"Oh, great!" she shouted, falling into my arms.
"You should win a prize for falling gracefully," I said.
"Can I win a pillow and sleep forever?"
Vespera tried to follow the rules, but one said "Forbidden to smile," and she started trembling.
"I can't! I laugh by reflex!"
The panel flashed. "Violation detected."
A bolt of lightning struck the ground, opening a crater.
Liriel sighed. "Enough!"
She raised her hands, breaking all the rules at once.
The floating letters dissolved. "Forbidden to defy the goddess" appeared for a moment before disappearing.
Silence fell. Celine slowly descended, floating a few meters above us.
"You still have enough power to break my dimensions, Liriel. But at what cost? Each use brings you closer to collapse."
"I'd rather collapse than become an obedient statue like you."
The two stood face-to-face, and even the air seemed to stop.
I tried to lighten the mood and raised my hand. "Does anyone know if there's a lunch break in this tournament?"
Vespera raised her finger. "Or at least a wine break?"
Liriel sighed. "Finally, a sensible question."
Celine ignored us. "The final round will be individual. Liriel, you will face me. The others — watch, and learn what it means to be a goddess."
The field turned into an infinite sky. Celine and Liriel floated among golden lights and ethereal chains.
Elara and Vespera tried to stand. I stayed beside them, watching the scene.
"Will she manage?" I asked.
"Liriel's stubborn," said Elara. "That counts as power."
The two goddesses collided. The impact illuminated everything. Rays of energy tore through the air, creating cracks in space. The divine crowd applauded as if it were a spectacle.
Celine spun her scepter, and golden chains bound Liriel.
"You never understood, my lady. Chaos needs limits."
"And you never understood that limits kill what is alive!"
Liriel exploded in blue light, shattering the chains. An echo spread through the arena — not of destruction, but of liberation.
In the midst of the energy, Celine faltered. Liriel approached, touching her forehead.
"You were my favorite creation, Celine. And you still are."
Celine stepped back, surprised. "You… still see me that way?"
"Yes. And that's why I'll stop you — not to destroy you, but to remind you who you were."
The light grew until it swallowed everything.
I woke up lying in a field of golden flowers. The sky was normal — no portals, no divine voices. Elara slept against a rock. Vespera snored face down.
Liriel stood, looking at the horizon.
"Did we win?" I asked.
"Not exactly," she replied. "But Celine retreated. She needs time to understand what she feels."
Her voice sounded strangely human.
"Would you forgive her, if you had the chance?" I asked.
"Forgiveness is easy. The hard part is admitting that part of her is right."
I stayed silent. Sometimes, even I didn't know what to say.
Vespera stood, stretching her arms. "Can the next adventure not involve homicidal deities?"
"I doubt it," said Elara, yawning.
Liriel gave a half-smile. "The good news is that Celine still has a heart. The bad… is that her next step will change everything."
I looked at my backpack, which started glowing again — the amulet and the scepter pulsed in sync.
"And what do we do now?" I asked.
Liriel took a sip from her cup and answered with the serenity of someone long accustomed to chaos:
"Survive until tomorrow. We'll make up the rest later."
At that moment, the sun began to rise. Its light reflected on her face, and for the first time, I noticed something different in Liriel.
She wasn't just a fallen goddess in the mortal world — she was someone fighting not to lose herself, trying to be something no god had ever been: human.
And, as absurd as it sounded, I wanted to stay by her side to see how far that would take us.