Cheers erupted from the hooded figures. Weapons clattered against stone as some dropped their blades entirely, laughing, crying, embracing one another. One by one, they lowered their hoods.
Boys and girls, not a single one looked older than nineteen.
And then there was Dick. The only foreigner among them, unmoving amid the celebration. His eyes stayed locked on the blonde girl across the platform.
She was identical to his wife.
A tremor of disbelief rippled through him, followed by something he hadn't felt in years: relief. For a heartbeat, the chain of guilt around his neck loosened.
He crawled across the blood-slick stone, tears streaming down his face.
"Mary…" His voice cracked. "Mary!"
He reached her at last, bowing until his forehead nearly touched the stone, fingers clutching at the hem of her cloak.
"Mary, I'm so sorry! But you're alive! How—" His words tumbled over each other. "And Alice—our little girl—please tell me she's okay too!"
The girl turned toward him. Confusion creased her brow, twisting quickly into revulsion.
"I don't know who Mary is, you creep!" she snapped. "My name is Summer!"
Her boot shot out and caught him clean across the jaw. The crack echoed like a gunshot, and Dick's body skidded across the stone.
The fragile warmth in his chest died.
Dick wasn't a fool. Slowly, he pushed himself up, rubbing his jaw as the other Aspirants stared.
Mary is still dead, and so is Alice.
If there were other worlds, then surely there were other faces. Faces that might look like hers.
Faces that weren't hers.
Rage bloomed in his gut. Rage that he'd allowed even a flicker of happiness.
His fist crashed against the stone. Cracks spiderwebbed outward. Again. Again. He struck until his knuckles burst open and bone jutted white through torn skin. Blood streaked the platform.
Gasps rippled through the Aspirants. They watched the foreigner punish himself, a man unraveling before their eyes.
Then—
The air turned heavy.
Invisible weight slammed down, pinning his limbs like iron shackles. Dick's ragged breathing hitched, his bloodied hands frozen mid-swing.
"My goodness… what a dreadful display."
The Goddess descended from her throne, a hand covering her lips. Each step seemed weightless—she simply floated, silk and shadow trailing behind.
Dick glared up at her, muscles straining.
"Take this pressure off me!"
She tilted her head, amused.
"Only if you promise not to destroy yourself the moment I do."
He hesitated. "Fine."
The crushing weight vanished. Dick slumped forward, gasping, before forcing himself upright. She landed in front of him and extended a hand.
He took it reluctantly. When he tried to pull away, her grip tightened.
"I am the goddess Evalyn. And what is your name, foreigner?"
"Dick." He yanked his hand free.
Several Aspirants flinched at his tone, stepping forward in outrage. Evalyn raised one hand, and they froze.
"A simple name," she mused. "And you truly know nothing of this world."
Dick straightened. "No. My therapist forced me here. I don't belong in this place, and I have no interest in staying."
Evalyn sighed. "Then I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there's nothing I can do to send you back."
"Okay." Dick met her gaze with hollow calm. "Then if you're a goddess… can you tell me if my wife and daughter made it to heaven?"
For the first time, her composure cracked. Evalyn placed a hand over her heart.
"I wish I could," she whispered. "But even as a goddess, I know nothing of heaven in recent years. I have never left this world."
A single tear traced down her cheek. She twirled a strand of her black hair, chewing absently on its tip before letting it fall.
Dick's brow twitched. "You sure don't act like a goddess."
She smiled faintly. "You'll find most of us are disappointingly human."
Her gaze drifted toward the endless sea. Beyond the platform, the ocean stretched toward a vast landmass rising from the waves. Something enormous soared over it, scales glinting in the sun.
"What is that?" Dick asked.
"A dragon." Evalyn gestured toward the Island. "Long ago, gods and angels waged war against the Devil and his legions. The battle shattered the world."
Dick's eyes stayed fixed on the distant creature. Its shadow slid over the waves like a living storm.
"In the end, half the gods sacrificed themselves to seal the demons away," Evalyn continued. "To protect what remained, they created the Islands—living fragments of divinity. Each one pulses with energy we call Particles."
"And those things live there?" Dick nodded toward the dragon.
"Creatures made from Particles, born from the dreams and nightmares of the gods themselves." Her tone softened. "Now, Deviants raid those Islands to slay the monsters and harness Particles. Each hopes to grow strong enough to survive the day when the seal finally breaks."
Dick processed this slowly. So this entire ceremony was to become a Deviant. To earn the right to raid some cursed Island.
Madness.
But his eyes remained on the dragon, watching it circle, watching it hunt.
Easy place to die.
Evalyn's hand rested on his shoulder. Her expression shifted, serene one moment, and wild the next.
"And now you're part of it too." Her eyes gleamed. "You survived the Ceremony of Death. That makes you a Deviant. You'll raid the Islands, absorb their power, and stand as this world's shield when the demons return."
The way she said it made it sound less like a blessing and more like a sentence.
Dick barely processed half of it, but one thought rose above the noise.
"Alright," he said flatly.
Evalyn smiled as if that was exactly what she'd expected.
She waved her hand, and the air shimmered. From nothing, an enormous wheel materialized, spinning lazily in the void. It towered over them, its countless sections painted in dazzling hues. Each one bore a word in a language Dick couldn't recognize—thousands of them, all pulsing faintly with divine energy.
"Of course," Evalyn announced, spreading her arms wide, "none of you will walk this path unaided."
Her hair lifted in a divine breeze. The other Aspirants leaned forward, breathless.
"It is time, the moment you've all been waiting for!" Her smile turned radiant, almost frightening. "Step forward! Form a line before the Wheel of Fate!"
Her voice echoed across the endless sea.
"Now, receive your Particle Affinity!"