Not So Simply Divine (Open)

This time, Elyna did snort: that was a stupid question, and she was going to respond to it as such. This goddess was giving off a whole lot of mixed signals and the soldier was getting tired of dancing to its tune. No wonder people didn’t pray more often, if these encounters were always so maddening. ”Of course not. Of course I’m not a tool. I’m a person, just like everyone else, with wants, and needs, and desires, just like everyone else. I might not have the same ones as other people, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have them.” Her voice was laced with a bitterness that surprised even her. Too many people looked at her and made assumptions about who she was and what she did and didn’t want. So much so that she’d put up this tough facade—which was true in many ways—to try and break free of the stereotypes people had associated with her. Before her transformation, people had seen her pretty face and lithe limbs and thought that’s all she was. Then, once she’d been reborn, they’d viewed her as a creepy monster; at times, she had leaned into that, because it kept people away and she was a loner. But it wasn’t quite true, and conforming to people’s conceptions and expectations of her had left her feeling quite empty inside. But what did she want? She thought she had an idea: freedom. True freedom. Not to be fettered by her limitations or the limitations others imposed upon her. Beyond that, freedom from pain, and hurt, and heartache. Not just for herself, but for everyone else who deserved that. Not everyone did—she knew some people were monsters and rotten to the core, maybe herself included—but many did, and few achieved that. Those few were the powerful, those who didn’t answer to anyone but themselves. That’s why she sought power, not so she could wield it over others, but so she could protect them. Even if it meant sacrificing herself to do it. But no, she wasn’t just a body that did things. ”I spoke of my speed and my strength because you brought up utility, so it seemed the only thing you cared about was power and how useful I might be to you. However I am so much more than that. I want to explore. I want to protect. I want to uncover mysteries and understand them so that others will not fear them. I want to be happy and at peace. And more than anything else, I yearn to be free.” She craved it, even, with a fervor that mirrored that of a drowning man gasping for air. ”But I wasn’t allowed to be free, unless I fought for it. So I did, in every way I could and in every way I knew how. And now I won’t let anyone take that away from me if I can help it. I’d rather die than lose it.” Elyna’s tone had grown defiant again, but it wasn’t directed at the goddess this time. No, this was for those spectres that haunted her, those figures in her life that had abused her. But she’d battled her ghosts and emerged victorious; in the same way, she would battle whoever tried to oppress her in the future. Gazing at the deity with a fierce confidence, no longer even slightly daunted by the being’s presence or powers—Elyna had reminded herself of just who she was—the soldier asked the question that had been lingering on her mind for a while now. ”Why are you here? Or still here, rather. Why did you answer my call?” Technically that was two questions, but they boiled down to the same thing in the end. The goddess would probably ignore that question, like she’d ignored all the others; however, nothing about this made any sense to Elyna, and she hated that feeling. elyna Improving upon perfection