A Real Goddess Would Let Nobody Die

<You may hear from me again, but it could be a long time, even decades. Stay safe.>

<I will. Thank you, Holy Messenger.>

Zyriko put the finishing touches on his notes, then leaned back in his chair, and turned his attention to the Armory. Suri and Telf had been highly distracting, a little while ago.

<What happened?> he asked Suri.

<Mennie and Twilight sang the Anastasis spell, at the Island Pool.>

Well then. No further explanation required.

<Whatever you're imagining, it was better, because it's not possible to imagine it,> She raved.

Zyriko chuckled a little. Suri was ruthlessly stomping on the 'Mennie' awkwardness, in Her mental background, so he felt like a husband listening to his wife recount Her most recent outing to the theater while She casually beat a captive to death in the other room.

In any case, he believed Her.

<Will You play it for me?>

<I'll play the best version I can manage,> Suri promised. <But there's a better idea. Keekee says watching My memory of the original is a good practice assignment for you, like how She showed Izzie's memory.>

Replaying memories with that level of fidelity was advanced red magic, but being as strong as he was made things easier, especially with Suri as his target. If Izenakee thought he could do it, he could. She couldn't be wrong about such things.

...Zyriko was trying to use Their names, too, so it felt more natural for Suri. Izena certainly wouldn't hesitate.

<I would like to watch it with you,> Suri prodded.

Priority one it was.

<Then I'll make it happen, but it may take me a while to get it right,> he promised in return. <So, what I'm feeling from Telf makes it seem like You all told her the plan? She took it well?>

<As well as she could have. She understands the situation,> Suri confirmed. <It turns out that she had already guessed who you were. She wants to come thank you in person, midday tomorrow.> There was a pulse of amusement, through the link. <'Once for each village,' she says. We told her that you will be the God of Honesty and Secrets, but she's aware that you're still mortal, for now.>

Zyriko sighed. He was determined not to force Suri to shoulder all those heavy expectations alone, forever--he had made that decision the moment She had accepted Who She needed to become--but non-mages bowing and kneeling and deifying him was still the exact opposite of his longtime goal.

Suri had become very skilled at reading him. <Showing what your parents should be like is-->

<I know,> Zyriko interrupted. <I won't run from it any more than any of You did. I understand all the arguments. I've thought carefully about Their interpretation of divinity, and I can stomach declaring myself to be 'the highest class of helper.' I understand that the worship You accept is not servile groveling, but what happens when gratitude and respect reach a level where people don't know how else to express what they're feeling. I know--sorry. I forgot the situation. I'll let You get back to it.>

<Mennie's healing trees, on the Island. Twilight's showing Telf all Her swimsuit designs. They don't need Me. Keep talking.>

<I see. Well, I was going to say that I know I'm being a hypocrite. I've told You that appearing in every way to be the True Goddess of Prosperity means that You are, in fact, Her. I mean it, I truly believe it, and I know that You could say something analogous to Me. I know that if You are not significantly different from the Violet Goddess, then I won't be, either, and I know what that implies. I know what I do for people, and I am not in denial about how much they value what I do, or how much credit I deserve--people deified Izenakee for doing the same kinds of things that I'm doing.>

When She was a lot less powerful than him, too.

<I know that I am not like my parents, and I know that if I end up getting sincerely worshipped some day, it won't be equivalent or even comparable, objectively, to what my parents extract by breaking people. It won't be what I was forced to stand next to them and accept as 'my birthright.' I understand all of this, and will still feel uncomfortable if Telf kneels in front of me and sincerely treats me like some kind of higher being. But I'll push through it. I accept my profound responsibility with a sigh of unease. That's all it is.>

Suri was Suri-ing, which worked out well for Zyriko, since the link was filling him with the bluest of hazes, at the moment.

<Can I tell you what helps Me?> Suri asked, when She finished. <I don't want to come off like I think I'm some millennial Goddess Who has it all figured out, or like I am in exactly the same situation, but I think I have learned something that will help you.>

<By all means, please.>

<During Our first meeting, when We went through the Temple, Mennie repeatedly knelt next to people worshipping Her, and talked them through what they were feeling. So, from the very beginning, I tried to do the same. I've found that kneeling with people helps Me feel more comfortable with the whole thing, and also, that no one minds. People don't kneel because they want Me to loom over them, and look down on them. That's not the point. They kneel because they feel too emotional to stand, and because it feels more properly respectful of what I have done for everyone. So, in the future, when it happens, kneel with people, and simply listen to what they want to tell you. Your parents would never, but you would, and I think you will find that, if you do things that way, it feels more like having intimate conversations--what you already do, as the Messenger--and not like the self-aggrandizing, tyrannical nonsense that you were forced through in the past.>

Zyriko had noticed that Suri consistently knelt next to people worshipping Her. Interesting.

<That seems plausible,> he decided. <I'll give it a try. Any tips for handling the sort that believe everything You touch is made holy?>

<Wait until you see what you look like, wearing the tunic, and feel the effect,> Suri advised. <You accepted even before I did that the tunic had made Me into a literal Goddess. What are people supposed to think, when they see that mud doesn't dare to touch My glowing feet, that I'm out of phase with the mortal world, and diapers are cleaned if I am standing nearby? By what definition of 'holy' are they mistaken? We both knew that the plan needed to change. I bet you won't need to spend over a day playing music to come to terms with objective reality, after you put on your own copy. Just seeing Myself in the mirror was transformative.>

Hah! Izena must be rubbing off on Her.

<Speaking of my copy, are You still convinced that it's a wise use of limited time, to make it before-->

<Yes. Your parents need to feel like you're an equal partner. The more pleased they are, the better. Otherwise, the world's second strongest red mage may start looking for leverage, and I don't like the idea of what he might find.>

Zyriko smirked. It was an open secret that this was an excuse. Suri's true motives were less...analytical.

<And I want to show off My husband,> She admitted, getting closer to the whole truth. <We're going to be mythical. No half-measures.>

Zyriko imagined what Suri was envisioning. Both of Them glowing Her color, wearing matching armor and circlets, dancing together in front of hundreds of Their enemies...

Well, he had promised to wear whatever She told him to. If She was this determined, it couldn't be helped.

<Twilight just pulled real clothes on,> Suri told him, breaking him out of his daydream. <We're headed to a public mall.>

That was something like a large, permanent exposition complex, said his inscribed knowledge of the Language. Such a place on the Goddesses' Garden must be truly spectacular.

<Have fun.>

Zyriko had been about to disconnect, but then he noticed that Suri was in that everything-tinged-with-embarrassment state. There was no way he was missing the next edition of his favorite genre.

Any second now...

<I need to make your tunic before We leave because I may never have another chance to see you wearing it.> The whole truth at last, but he could tell that there was more to come. <And one last thing. While I was watching Twilight, I was thinking...it might be fun to do My Own version of Her swimsuit show? And you would tell Me your favorites?>

Zyriko loved this genre so, so much.

<Just like Hers? Like with Your mana?>

<Yes.> So, so much. <I don't think I can switch styles as seamlessly and rapidly as She does, but I'll try. And obviously, no one can dance like Her, but I'll do My best.>

No half-measures, indeed.

<Is there anything I could do in return?> Zyriko asked. <I feel spoiled.>

He had very little practice making things with his mana, and besides, it was pretty ugly unless he was in sunlight.

Suri didn't answer immediately.

<Zyriko,> She began, at last. <You endured a life of torture so horrific that I cannot fathom how you stayed sane. I will spend the rest of eternity thanking you for that, an eternity I have because of you. On the day you saved Us both, I was thinking things like: 'You can't kill yourself. That would doom everyone living in Keyic territory. Maybe someone really stupid could be manipulated, so he would do less damage? But then what if your heir inherits his stupidity? Keyic wouldn't survive.' And now? I'm the True Goddess of Prosperity, married to someone who makes Me want to paint My nails red and dance in mana swimsuits. Shut up and let Me thank you for existing.>

Words were too clumsy, for what Zyriko wanted to say. Instead, he made the link as strong as he could, so Suri could see all of the thoughts.

<...Here's an idea,> She proposed. <Make the link like this, the whole time, so I feel everything you're feeling, the whole time. I'll know your favorites as soon as you do, and exactly what you think of them. Then, dance with Me. We need to brush up, anyway.>

----

Menelyn turned to raise an eyebrow at Izenakee. She was staring out a window, to give Telf a look at Esto's glittering cityscape, while radiating "squeeeeeee!" throughout the mall. Esto was as fine a city as there was, but no one would call this view adorable.

<I love young love,> She explained, sighing contentedly, with Her hands clasped over Her heart. <It's My thing.>

"Oh-oh-oh! Moms, look! They have Great Mages: BG set up on the demo displays!" Kennalaria cried. "Let's play!"

She led the party toward a game store. A pair of Guards headed over to the shopkeeper, to let him know what was happening, while the others surveyed the aisles or watched the entrance. Izenakee looked around and narrated, for Telf, while Kennalaria pulled Menelyn toward the displays She had spotted.

They were cycling through a series of short gameplay recordings, each showing a mage from the Ancient War era in action. Menelyn recognized most. Helpers, all of them.

She nodded in approval.

Suddenly, it was Her and Izena.

"Oho!" Izena liked what She saw. "Are We playable?"

"Yes, both of You, but only in sparring mode! The story mode player character is a mage who leaves Ezenta to help You, in the BG war. I don't know all the details of Your roles in the story, but I heard that You have a lot of awesome scenes, where You swoop in to save the player and everyone else whenever battles seem hopeless!"

That was vaguely historical, ignoring all the battles where They couldn't intervene, because They were somewhere else.

"I'm also in sparring mode, as a special character!" Kennalaria shrugged. "Bit anachronistic, but something something Goddess of Time, I guess? Not complaining!"

Menelyn understood the position that the creators found themselves in. In the public's current mood, failing to find an excuse to include the Goddess of Beauty would have been irresponsible, from a marketing perspective.

"Did You hear all this in the Dome?" She asked.

"Mmhmm! Yesterday! A lot of people asked if I like My game version, and I promised I would try it soon! Come on! Let's do a spar, You against Me!"

If Izena was playable, Menelyn was interested. She made a platform and rose off the ground a little, so She could reach the controls more easily, and flipped through the sparring mode character selection list. Her old friends and allies gazed back at Her, one after another, recognizable on sight. Clearly, enormous effort had been invested into historical accuracy and attention to detail.

Menelyn made a mental note to contact whoever was responsible, to express Her strong approval. The public tended to mythologize the Ancient War as Her and Izena fighting alone to protect everyone from the forces of evil. This game would assuredly help to increase awareness of the others who deserved to be remembered. If nothing else, the game's character selection was worthy of appearing in Benevin.

Then, "Oh, it's father!" She exclaimed. "He must be one of the best to pick, right?"

"I hear he is!"

Menelyn paused Her flipping, and She stared at the display with Izena for a while. The attention to detail was exquisite.

By the time She flipped to the next character, there was a sizable crowd, and the shopkeeper was the world's most fervent devotee of the Goddess of Luck.

The character following Azenum Corza was Menelyn Herself. Visually, it was an accurate representation of what She had looked like toward the end of the Ancient War, but Menelyn was disappointed.

<Why is My OFFENSE rating 000?>

Kennalaria laid a sparkly hand on Her Mother's shoulder, and looked at Her with pity.

<Mom, I'm sorry, but You're lucky they didn't make it negative. Your swords heal the wounds they make.>

Menelyn turned to look Her Daughter in the eye.

<As a matter of historical fact, My healy light sword kill count is well in excess of 000,> She huffed. <Put Me alone in a room with whoever selected that value, and We'll see whether they still think I deserve 000.>

Hmph.

<Holy Goddess, is this what You looked like, when You were mortal?> Telf butt in. Izenakee must have finished explaining everything.

<Yes, this is what I looked like before I went to the Island,> Menelyn answered. <When I was around your age, actually. It's quite accurate. Not what you expected?>

<It's...I thought You were born like a normal person? But it looks like You were always a Goddess? Even when You were mortal?>

Menelyn turned back to the display. She wasn't glowing or anything? This was definitely Her as a mortal mage?

<Ah! Is it My hair?> She realized. <It is strange, isn't it, for everything to be silver, even My brows and lashes?>

<Well, yes, but it's not just the color. It's really bright and shiny, like a mirror!> Telf was excited. <And You are so pretty!>

Menelyn blushed. She would never, ever get used to people saying that kind of thing, completely honestly, without any ulterior motive.

<Is this what the Messenger is like? Except red?>

<Suri, You want to answer this one?> Izenakee asked, smiling mischievously. <Suri? You there?>

<Hm? What? Oh, uh, yes. He's mortal, but he doesn't look like regular people. He has red hair, to his shoulders, a little longer than when Yonen saw him. He kept growing it out, because he could tell I liked it, you know? And, and it's curly, but not as curly as Mine, like on the border between curly and wavy. Also, you see how all Mennie's hair is the same silver, but Her eyes are very pale blue, instead? Zyriko has the same kind of pattern. All of his hair is red, like Mennie's silver, but his eyes are orange. It's not like how I have My same blue, everywhere. Oh! And his red is like sunset, more orange-red, not pinkish-red like Keekee. So, his eyes and hair remind you of how the Sun and the sky aren't quite the same color, at sunset. I get stuck staring, all the time...at sunsets, too, since, you know...>

Menelyn was developing a better understanding of what Izenakee had been sighing about, earlier.

<So, yeah, he's gorgeous just like Mennie. Except, for a man, of course. He thinks he looks fine, better than average, but he doesn't realize. Like, he's always thought he's barely adequate, compared to Me. Ridiculous.>

<Our souls affect how We appear!> Kennalaria explained. <Think about everything Zyriko does, as the Messenger. He looks as good as he acts!>

Menelyn flipped to the next character, and there was Izena, looking as good as She acted.

<See?! My Mother is just like Her sword! Perfect black hair, and so cool!>

Menelyn wholeheartedly agreed. She locked in Her pick.

<It makes so, so much sense why You're the Goddess of Beauty,> Telf said, her voice filled with the wonder of enlightenment.

<Sure does!> Kennalaria chimed, now at the other display. <Oooo! My effects are so sparkly!>

A minute later, Menelyn was frustrated.

<Stop doing that!> She insisted.

<What?> Kennalaria played dumb.

<That jump-behind-Me-and-stab move! It's unfair!>

<It feels unfair because it counters power attack spam, and that's all-You're-do-ing!> A finger wagged in sync with Her criticism. <If I don't play this way, You'll one-shot Me!> She held Her hands near Her shoulders, palms up. <Nothing personal!>

<I'm playing Izena, and You want Me not to make Her biggest booms!?> Menelyn couldn't understand. Who was this, and what had She done with Menelyn's Daughter?!

Kennalaria gulped, and She gripped the controls a little tighter. At first, Menelyn thought She had realized the severity of Her mistake, but learned the actual cause shortly after.

"Little Sister," Izena purred, taking over Their hands. "Allow Me."

"I--I'll use My magic!" Kennalaria warned. "We never h-hold back!"

"Please do. It would be a shame if the match were too one-sided. After all, I am playing such an overpowered character."

Menelyn tried not to be too distracting.