The lair of the goddess of chaos had turned into a battlefield far quicker than either of us had anticipated. Satoru and I stood our ground, but the oppressive presence of the goddess entered my lungs like a poisonous gas, making it difficult to breathe, let alone think.
She circled us like a predator playing with her prey, her red eyes gleaming with malice, her lips curled into a mocking smile.
"So, these are the humans the gods have entrusted their precious fate to? I've heard about your little tale and how pitiful both you and the dieties are," she sneered, her voice a mixture of amusement and contempt.
I felt a cold sweat trickle down my temples. Satoru and I exchanged a brief glance, both of us fully aware that we were completely out of our depth. We had no experience in battle, let alone one with a goddess who embodied pure chaos.
"Satoru..." I whispered, my voice trembling. "What do we do?"
Before he could respond, the goddess lashed out, her hand glowing with dark energy. A whip-like tendril of shadow snapped through the air, striking the ground where we stood moments ago.
We managed to dodge, but just barely. The force of the impact sent debris flying, and the sheer power behind the strike left me breathless.
"You mortals are nothing but a joke," she hissed, her smile widening as if the entire situation was nothing more than a game to her. "The gods think that your pathetic bond is strong enough to defeat me? How laughable."
Satoru gritted his teeth, pulling me to my feet as I stumbled from the shock of the attack. "We’re not here to fight you!" he shouted, desperation seeping into his voice. "We just want the timepiece. That’s all."
The goddess let out a low, malevolent laugh, shaking her head slowly. "Oh? Well, too bad. I am."
With a flick of her wrist, another tendril of darkness shot toward us. This time, it struck Satoru directly, sending him flying backward into one of the demonic statues that lined the walls of the lair.
"Satoru!" I screamed, rushing to his side. His face was pale, his breath ragged, but he forced himself to stand again, refusing to give in.
The goddess watched us with bored amusement, her eyes gleaming with cruel delight.
"It’s insulting, really. That the gods would trust such fragile, insignificant beings with a task so monumental. It’s as if they’ve forgotten what true power looks like." She stepped forward, her dark aura expanding around her, making the air feel thick and suffocating.
"I will remind them. And I’ll start by breaking the two of you."
I tried to steady my breathing, my mind racing as I struggled to think of a way out of this. Satoru was hurt, and neither of us had the skills to face a goddess in combat. We were no match for her strength, and every strike she unleashed seemed to tear away at our hope.
Desperation clawed at my chest. How were we supposed to survive this? Let alone defeat her?
Then, I remembered the goddess’s words before we set out on this journey. She had spoken of the bond Satoru and I shared, a bond strong enough to bridge worlds, to bend time itself. But how? How could that possibly be the answer?
The goddess laughed and was about to strike the two of us heads on; however, in the midst of the chaos, something stirred within me—a flicker of a memory, something important that had slipped my mind in the heat of battle.
"Satoru!" I gasped, my voice sharp with realization. "We’ve been fighting like humans this whole time... but we’re not just humans anymore."
His eyes widened as the same realization hit him. "The powers," he muttered. "The goddess gave us brute strength and divine vision. How could we have forgotten?"
It was true. The goddess of time and the gods had bestowed upon us temporary powers—strength beyond mortal comprehension and the ability to see through divine forces, to see things as they truly were.
In the panic of facing the goddess of chaos, we’d relied on instinct alone, forgetting the very tools we had been granted to fight this battle.
I clenched my fists, feeling a surge of energy course through me, a power I had not yet tapped into. My muscles felt stronger, my senses sharper.
And as I opened my eyes, I noticed the change in my vision—everything around us shimmered with a faint glow, as if the divine realm itself was now visible to me in ways I had never experienced before.
Satoru, too, had undergone a transformation. His body seemed to vibrate with raw energy, and his gaze was now focused and clear, no longer clouded by fear or uncertainty. "This changes everything," he said, his voice steady with newfound confidence.
The goddess of chaos, sensing the shift in us, paused for a moment, her sneer fading slightly.
"But do you really think those trinkets of power will save you? You’re still nothing compared to me."
But her words no longer held the same weight. I could feel the power coursing through me, the divine energy that had been dormant until now. And with this power, I could see her for what she truly was—a goddess, yes, but one corrupted by her own ambition, her power tainted by the fruit of life she had consumed.
Her aura pulsed with chaotic energy, but I could now see the cracks beneath her seemingly impenetrable facade.
"We don’t need to be more powerful than you," I said, stepping forward with renewed strength. "We just need to use what we’ve been given."
Satoru nodded, positioning himself beside me, his eyes fixed on the goddess. "And with these powers, we can see what you’re trying to hide."
The goddess snarled, her red eyes narrowing. "You think you’ve gained some advantage? Let me show you the difference between a goddess and mere mortals pretending to be divine."
With a wave of her hand, the ground beneath us trembled as shadowy figures began to rise from the floor—creatures of chaos, twisted and monstrous, their forms distorted and writhing with dark energy. They lunged at us, their claws outstretched, but this time, we were ready.
Satoru leaped forward, his brute strength sending one of the creatures flying back with a single punch. His movements were fluid, powerful, as though he had been trained for this his whole life. I, too, felt the rush of power in my limbs as I swung my arm, sending a wave of energy crashing into another creature, dissolving it into nothingness.
"Is that all you’ve got?" Satoru shouted, his voice filled with determination. "We’re not afraid of you anymore."
The goddess’s smile faltered, her confidence slipping as she realized we were no longer the helpless mortals she had been toying with.
"You think this changes anything?" she hissed, her voice filled with venom. "Your powers are temporary. You’re still fragile, still bound by time."
We were no longer listening to her taunts. With our newfound strength and vision, we could see through her illusions, her tricks. The lair, once a suffocating place of darkness and fear, now appeared less menacing. The statues that had seemed demonic before were simply old, forgotten relics.
The dark tendrils she wielded so effortlessly now looked thinner, weaker, as though the goddess herself was starting to lose control.
"We don’t need these powers forever," I said, my voice steady. "We just need them long enough to stop you and restore what you’ve broken."
Satoru’s eyes met mine, and I could see the same resolve in his gaze. We were in this together, stronger than we had ever been—both physically and emotionally. And though the goddess of chaos still loomed before us, her power seemed to shrink in comparison to the bond we shared.
"Let’s finish this," Satoru said, his voice low but firm.