Chapter 123: Facing the Goddess
by rosalie“Goddess Maha…?”
“Yes. I am Goddess Maha.”
The hem of her white chiton dress dragged across the floor, making a soft rustling sound. With graceful movements, the goddess descended the steps of the altar.
As she descended the mere three steps, the golden light that enveloped her entire body gradually diminished, revealing her original appearance.
Surprisingly, the goddess’s form was human, but it was not corporeal. It only felt that way through perception.
“Why are you so surprised? It’s because I am a spiritual entity. If you wish, I can change my appearance to the one people commonly associate with a goddess.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“What? You don’t know?”
“The ‘appearance’ of Goddess Maha that is known to the world. I’ve never been interested in religious texts.”
“You truly lack devotion. Why did I even make you a saintess… Never mind. What is the appearance of a goddess you are familiar with?”
“Well, let’s see.”
The goddess I know is Venus, standing naked on a seashell. But that’s not it.
Hera? Hera is a bit scary.
My mind kept conjuring up images of goddesses from Greek and Roman mythology that I had read about as a child.
Goddess Maha seemed to have less patience than expected. She crossed her arms and frowned, staring at me. It was clear she wanted me to answer quickly.
Mother Teresa? No, that’s not it.
Oh well, I don’t know.
“Goddess Son Yejin?”
“What? That woman? Why her?”
That’s not it either.
“Oh, it’s just… Please transform into the appearance that the temple people are familiar with.”
“You should have said that from the beginning.”
Goddess Maha raised her fingers into the air as if to transform into something else.
“Goddess Maha, on second thought, you can just stay as you are. There’s nothing particularly inconvenient.”
“What do you want me to do then?”
Still pointing her finger in the air, the goddess sounded irritated.
“No, go ahead and continue.”
“Hmph.”
What is this back-and-forth? Is it even okay to talk to a goddess like this?
Goddess Maha was nothing like the solemn and sacred image of a goddess I had imagined.
After giving me a sideways glance, Goddess Maha, in the blink of an eye, shook off her golden light and transformed into a woman with deep brown hair and blue eyes.
“Wow, you’re beautiful.”
“Of course. This is my favorite appearance.”
She was almost… casual.
“But are you really a goddess?”
“You really have no filter, do you?”
“No, it’s just… I feel an odd mix of dissonance and familiarity.”
“……”
“Why do you think that is?”
The goddess, who had been watching me with wide eyes, coughed awkwardly before speaking.
“Ahem. You didn’t even flinch when I sent you constant oracles, so what wind blew you here today?”
“I have questions. Were you expecting me, Goddess?”
“Isn’t that obvious? You are the saintess I personally chose.”
If the goddess chose me, then she must also know that I’m a transmigrator.
“You chose me? Why? I’m not even from this world. I can’t understand it.”
“Because you wanted change.”
A silence fell between the goddess and me.
‘She’s not even surprised when I said I’m not from this world. As expected, this goddess is the one who brought me into the book.’
But what exactly did I want to change? Curious, I quickly asked.
“What did I want to change?”
“You said you hated the miserable ending of this book. And you said you were tired of a life filled only with work and wanted to have fun.”
“How did you…”
I recalled the time when I had purchased and downloaded both the original and the remake versions of <The Men of Saintess Rosetta> and read the original first.
‘Life is already miserable, and now even the novel has a miserable ending?’
‘I want to live with warm parents, without worrying about money. I want to raise animals, and experience love, things I’ve never done before. I’m sick of this wretched life.’
Yes, I definitely thought that.
Then I cried myself to sleep on the floor, and I heard a voice.
Then, why don’t you try changing it?
“The voice I thought I heard in my dream….”
“That was me.”
“No way.”
Did I really wish for this?
Of course, my life back then, worn out by work every day, was terrible, and I meant what I said. But that didn’t mean I wanted to enter a misery novel!
My legs trembled with fear. I buried my face in my hands, trying to deny this moment, but the goddess stood firmly before me.
“You wanted wealthy parents and to change the ending, so I brought you here. I didn’t like the original ending either.”
What?
“What are you saying?”
“<The Men of Saintess Rosetta> is my first work.”
“…Excuse me?”
“When I released it to the world, it received hate comments, and people called it trash. Later, even I wasn’t satisfied with the ending. The Beast Kingdom shouldn’t have been destroyed, and the sub-male leads shouldn’t have died so miserably. The same goes for Xavier. That was never the ending I wanted.”
Despite my continuous questions, Goddess Maha kept talking as if it was a story I absolutely needed to hear, without stopping.
“So I started writing the remake version. At some point, I hit a wall in the plot. While brainstorming, I was crossing the street when a crazy truck hit me. When I came to, I was inside this sacred temple. Specifically, inside this chiton dress.”
“The person who fell into a vegetative state after being hit by the truck was the author… Why are you talking as if you’re her?”
“While I was in a vegetative state, I possessed the goddess in the damned novel I wrote.”
“……!”
I was speechless.
“You’re really the author?”
I muttered blankly, looking up at Goddess Maha.
“Yes. I’m the original author of <The Men of Saintess Rosetta>. When I came here, I found myself as Goddess Maha. And it’s the unfinished remake version. We need to change its ending properly for both you and me to return to our original worlds.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“You have to. What choice do you have?”
A hollow laugh escaped my lips, and goosebumps rose on my skin.
“Wow, this is chilling. Why me, of all people? Do you know how much I loved your work?”
“I’m sorry. But there wasn’t another reader who rejected their previous life and wanted to change this world as much as you did. Plus, you were the only one who clicked on the remake version, Lee Joo-hee.”
“Ah.”
My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground. My knees trembled uncontrollably, and a strangled sound came from my throat.
“If you’re the one who brought me here, then you can send me back, right?”
The author, wearing the shell of Goddess Maha, approached. She grabbed my shoulders, her blue eyes shimmering as they stared straight into mine. Her low voice flowed out.
“If we change the ending and my interference power reaches its maximum, I can send you back. I might even wake up from my vegetative state. So, save the end of this world.”
“I can really go back?”
When I first transmigrated, I was dumbfounded, but I only tried to adapt to this world, never thinking about returning. No, I hadn’t even considered it possible.
“Yes. After changing the ending, if you wish, I’ll send you back. I don’t want to live trapped in this cumbersome dress that’s supposedly sacred either.”
But I didn’t want to go back.
I felt wronged.
The memories of struggling to survive and saving people through immense hardship were vivid.
“I’m not going back. If you want the ending changed, find someone else. Aren’t you the creator, Goddess Maha?”
The goddess let out a deep sigh.
“To be blunt, I can’t change the ending with my own power. I’m not the protagonist. I brought you here for a reason. And I used up most of my interference power to bring you here.”
So that’s why the oracles have been sparse lately.
“How can you be so irresponsible when you lack the ability?”
“You’re very blunt. That stings.”
“I’ve gotten used to bluntness after being hit with it so many times here. So, what can the current goddess even do?”
“I can protect your life and give oracles related to the ending. Predetermined events will inevitably happen. I can give you three oracles a day at most.”
Her words twisted my stomach. No, they made me angry.
I shot to my feet from where I had collapsed and confronted the goddess like a bulldozer.
“Why did you make the settings so terrible?”
“What’s wrong with my settings?”
The startled goddess awkwardly stepped back.
“A contact-based saintess? That’s so inefficient! Why isn’t there any area-wide healing?”
“Well, it’s because the novel is R-rated. It’s a misery genre.”
“That’s too much! Do you know how much I suffered trying to create holy power storage because of that?”
“I’m sorry. I just told you, didn’t I? My interference power is limited. I didn’t have the strength to change even that. But because you’re a contact-based saintess, you had some good moments with Xavier, didn’t you?”
“Author!”
I screamed in shock. What on earth was going on in her head?
“Sorry.”
The goddess genuinely looked apologetic, lowering her shoulders. I blew out a rough breath and asked.
“What about Lonicera? What is that?”
“It’s part of the setting that Goddess Maha is hot-tempered but kind. Along with the plague, I provided Lonicera as a cure. Isn’t that benevolent?”
If there’s any more benevolence, the world might end.
“Then you could have given the Pope or me an oracle about the plague. Or erased the plague setting altogether.”
“I assumed people would recognize it as a cure. And as you can see, unless the protagonist changes it, existing settings can’t be altered. In that sense, creating the holy power storage was brilliant! You accomplished what Rosetta couldn’t as the protagonist! I believe you can save the world!”
“Do you think saying ‘well done’ will make me agree?”
“No?”
I looked at the goddess with a pitiful gaze. Her words essentially meant I had to endure and struggle to change this world.
“What about the curse? What does ‘the saintess must sacrifice all that is precious to her’ mean? Is it really my life? At least tell me that.”
“It’s literal. Think carefully about what is precious to the saintess. It’s very simple. I can’t tell you more. Interference power…”
“Yes, yes. Because of interference power.”
My head hurt.
I had to break the curse to change the ending.
“I want the Beast Kingdom and the Empire to coexist peacefully. Not a miserable bad ending, but a happy ending where the Beast Kingdom doesn’t fall and the curse is lifted.”
“That’s easier said than done. I can’t do it.”
“You have to break Xavier’s curse anyway, right? Otherwise, he’ll die young. And this world will reset and start over from the beginning.”
“What does that mean?”
“If we don’t see a happy ending, this story will repeat itself. Until the ending I desire comes. This world will keep welcoming new saintesses.”