500th Time Reborn, A World Only Known By Women: The Karma System

Nemoria chuckled to herself as she walked through the portal, and it closed behind her, but that was where the laugh ended. She walked over to a swing that was made from bones, and it hung from a dead and twisted tree that sat on a cliff. Below was constant fighting, pain, and sadness, but above all, there was the darkness of the Living Shadows. These were Nemoria's personal shades that moved among the chaos to collect the Negative Energy, slowly becoming more immense.

Nemoria sat down in the swing and began to softly rock as she looked down at the sleeping girl in her arms. "You will be the key to everything, my dear," Nemoria whispered, then she leaned back and continued to rock as she looked out over her dark domain with a satisfied smirk.

Some might see untold horrors. Others might say this world was evil incarnate, but to Nemoria, the chaos and destruction were beautiful. Not many could understand this, but that was what Balance was. Galio was going to have to learn how to keep that Balance with him.

Tallia began to wake up in her arms, so Nemorai slowly set her down on the swing beside her as the little Goddess looked around in confusion.

"Is this a dream?" Tallia whispered, but Nemoria chuckled and shook her head.

"No, child, this is not a dream. You are in my domain now, and you will be here until it is time for you to return home," Nemoria said as she looked down at Tallia with a soft smile.

"But I thought that I was supposed to help your son? Kaedon needs me!" Tallia said as she tried to get off the swing, but Nemoria gently pushed her back.

"He does need you, but there are things that he must do alone. Things that even you cannot help him with," Nemoria said as she looked out over her domain with a sad expression. "This is the home of Pain, Death, Destruction, Calamity, and many others, and it is also a place of testing. Your role in all of this has yet to be revealed, but it is due time. That Pretender will not hide who you are anymore."

Tallia was about to say something else when she felt something tugging on her dress. She looked down to see a small shadow cat rubbing against her leg purring softly. She reached down and scooped it into her arms and cuddled it close as she looked up at Nemoria with wide eyes. "What is this?"

Nemoria smiled and shrugged like it was no big deal. "That, my dear, is your personal Living Shadow. While you are here, she will be your guide, and she will now join you in the Mortal Realm."

"Why? Not that I am against having a pet, and especially a cat, but what is the reason for giving me her?" Tallia asked, but Nemoria put up a hand.

"First, Do you know why you are so important to Ophiuchus? Do you know why that man would give up anything for you?" Nemoria asked, but Tallia shook her head. The question had been bothering her ever since she had learned just what he had given up.

"I don't get it. I know I love him, and he loves me, but how could that be enough for him to give up everything? That just doesn't make sense to me," Tallia said, and Nemoria nodded.

"Once upon a time, there was a world of only Gods. They were once just humans but then gained immense power from an event known only as the Mana Wave. One, above all, was the strongest, but that did not make him perfect, nor was he truly evil. After failing countless times to bring balance to the world, nothing seemed to work, so he started to force people to follow his way. This caused others to rise up, and a thousand-year war began," Nemoria explained, but Tallia looked confused.

"What does this have to do with me?" Tallia asked, but Nemoria clicked her tongue.

"Just because I take a breath does not mean I am finished speaking yet, Child. After over a thousand years of conflict, one brave woman rose up from the lesser Gods and approached Galio, the True God. The True God was prepared for battle like always, but you were the heart that changed everything. You asked him if he would make the two of you lunch," Nemoria chuckled, putting one hand over her mouth. "You know that I can almost remember seeing it happen like it was yesterday! When you told your father what your plan was, I still remember how mad Kadeon was! He had refused to come with us that day, but I had faith in you, my daughter."

Tallia was about to speak, but her words got caught in her throat, and her mind slipped a gear.

"Your... how? You are..." Tallia tried to choke out, but Nemoria pulled the little Goddess into her side.

"Another breath, Child. You should try to take one. Galio's parents died when the Mana Wave hit. Now, as I was saying! You were able to slowly bring balance back to the True God. That man treasured you, and I can't say I was envious, especially the way your father acted after. Kadeon was the leader of the Lesser Gods, and he was determined to kill Galio to take his place and was never able to let things go. I still consider Galio as my child because from that point, he became a son to me," Nemoria said with a small smile, but that was wiped away.

"Your father couldn't beat Galio, so he used you to trick the True God into a challenge, but Kadeon bit off much more than he could chew. After the Thousand Year War, Yaggisdral was a wasteland, and Kadeon put forth the idea of Galio creating a new world for them, but."

"But Galio refused?" Tallia whispered, and Nemoria nodded.

"For that to happen, Galio would have had to kill everyone, and they all would have had to be reborn, including you. You can imagine Galio's reaction, and this was the final straw between them. Galio cast him out of the City of the Gods, and all of his followers, not killing him only because you begged him not to," Nemoria explained, and Tallia frowned.

"Why would I do something so stupid?" Tallia asked, and Nemoria smiled warmly.

"You were still a child at that point, hardly even a millennium old yet. There was a time when I also felt the same way as you, but that is neither here nor there. I am just telling you what you cannot remember," Nemoria explained, and Tallia signed but nodded. She was starting to feel frustrated but also like she might be partly to blame for all of this.

"What happened next?" Tallia asked. "From the sounds of it, my father would not have taken this lying down."

"Yes, so Kadeon took matters into his own hands and created a break in the world. A place where the Lesser Gods could live without having to worry about Galio's rule. From there, they plotted their revenge against Galio and all those who sided with him," Nemoria explained as she looked down at Tallia.

"How does this apply to where we are now? I don't mean to gripe, but this has to be going somewhere, right? I just can't see how we get from there to here," Tallia said, and Nemoria nodded.

"Since Kadeon was trying to have the world rest, he convinced his followers to sacrifice themselves to create the three abominations known as the Guides. Be careful of them, and never let Galio fight them. Kadeon sent them after Galio, but he had no idea what they would do when they got to Galio. They attacked us, but they went for you, and naturally, Galio saved you, but they latched on to him. Kadeon was with us in the same room, and something happened. The moments they touched Galio, the world collapsed, then your father and I stood facing each other in darkness with the three Guides. I was forced into my role while your father was given the one he has. The Guides told us that we needed to guide Galio and at the end of the Test, A new God would be decided from the three of us. There is only one True God, but he is nothing without you and will turn to ruin again if you two can't find balance," Nemoria said as she sighed, looking out at her domain.

"Wait, so if I am not around, my father will gain control of everything and one?! Is that what you are saying?" Tallia asked as everything clicked into place for her.

"Yes, and if you cannot find a way to fix this, then," Nemoria said bluntly as she got off the swing and walked towards the cliff's edge. "But that is not something you need to worry about right now. For now, you need to return home; your work is only just beginning."