OMNISCIENT THIRD PERSON P.O.V.

She woke up completely at peace. It was weird and she knew why.

"I’m dead?" Aegis’s voice was raw as she stared around the glowing white courtyard. Statues of faceless figures loomed around her, doing little to mask the faces and decapitated of her fellow dead pack members. They matched in a straight line with her at the very end. All ended to meet the Goddess and be judged. Then it was her turn.

Selene sat on a massive throne before her basking in radiant and calm light. "Am I dead?," "Yes," the goddess said softly. "And you lived a beautiful life, child."

Aegis froze. Her chest tightened with rage like boiling water. "A 'beautiful' life? You call that a beautiful life? Are you insane?" she spat, her voice carrying through the stillness of the courtyard.

Her nails diggyed into her palms but she felt no pain. "What kind of life would you define as beautiful ?"Selene tilted her head, unbothered as ever.

"A life of trials, yes. But beauty often grows in pain."

"Beauty?" Aegis let out a bitter laugh , "You call years of suffering beauty? Rejected by the one that was made to love me? Nearly losing my life to get over a selfishness that was no fault of mine? Being used, and betrayed over and over again? And then finally.. fin,' She choked on a sob. "When I finally felt like I was happy, when I thought you were finally coming through for me. You turn AND TAKE IT ALL AWAY. YOU TOOK IT. What beauty is in that, Selene? Where?" Her voice cracked, but she didn’t care. The dam had broken. "You just watched, didn’t you? You gods sit on your high thrones while people like me ROT !"

Selene’s calm expression flickered. Her silver eyes hardened. "Mind your tongue."

Aegis stepped forward out of her mind with fury. "Or what? You’ll kill me? Oh, wait, I’m already dead!" Her laughter hysterical. "What more can you do to me? Strike me down? Curse me? Go ahead! At least then, I’ll know you actually DID something."Lightning cracked in the distance, but Aegis didn’t flinch.

Selene’s hand twitched, her lips pressing into a thin line. "You are treading dangerous ground Mortal," Selene warned in a now sharp voice.

"Good," Aegis hissed. She stepped closer, fire in her eyes. "You don’t scare me, Goddess. Pain doesn’t scare me. You can’t hurt me more than I’ve already been hurt."

For a moment, silence hung heavy between them. Then, with a flick of her wrist, Selene summoned a bolt of lightning. It struck the ground inches from Aegis and sent up sparks and smoke. Aegis didn’t move. Didn’t blink. She stood tall, meeting Selene’s glare with defiance. "Is that all you've got?" she said, her voice cold and steady. "Go ahead. Try harder."

Selene’s expression faltered. Her hand lowered. "You…you are not afraid," she said to herself. "What have they done to you child?."

Afraid?" Aegis took another step closer, "What’s left to fear when you’ve already lost everything? When the world you created has thrown every kind of pain at me? You don’t get to act shocked, goddess. This is your fault. You let this happen."

Selene’s eyes widened, then narrowed. "Enough!" Her voice boomed, shaking the air around them. "You speak as if you understand the balance of the cosmos, as if your suffering is unique!"

Aegis laughed harshly at that. "Unique? No. But it’s mine, and it was hell. And you stood by and did 'nothing'. So much for being a fair Goddess."

For a long moment, Selene stared at her. The goddess’s perfect face was unreadable, but something shifted in her silver eyes. She whispered, almost too softly to hear, "You grew stronger than I expected."

"What?" Aegis blinked, her anger still simmering. Selene sighed, her shoulders dropping slightly. "You’ve earned a favor, child," she said, her voice gentler now. "From me."

"I don’t want your favors."

The Goddess's voice grew soft and firm. "It is not pity. It is respect. Tell me, Aegis. What do you desire? Speak it, and it shall be yours."

For a moment, Aegis was silent, the rage in her chest twisting into something sharper. She thought of the faces of all who had betrayed her, the ones who had taken everything from her. Her hands curled into fists again, but this time, it was with purpose. "I want revenge," she said in a dangerous low voice. "I want to destroy them." Her voice grew louder and more angry with every sentence. "The people who ruined me. I want them to feel every single thing they made me feel."

Selene’s lips curled into a faint smile. "It is done."

"What?" Aegis blinked confused. Selene raised her hand again and a soft, golden light began to wrap around Aegis.

Her body felt heavy, her eyelids drooping."You will return," Selene said, her voice almost a whisper. "Your life will not be the same. You’ll find strength where you thought there was none. And you will have your revenge."The light grew brighter, and Aegis felt her knees buckle. She was falling, her body weightless.

Then it was all darkness.

"I’m very sorry for all that happened, little niece."

And finally the darkness swallowed her whole.

Lesson Three: Sometimes the systems we put in place break us, sometimes they make us and sometimes they give us another chance. _____________________________________________

Pretty short I know. But anyways 👍👍..

Please 🥺 vote and Comment. I love reading your comments 😁 🤩..