Chapter 333: Disappearing Within Flames

"Phew..."

Eve took a deep, warm breath as she opened her eyes.

As she did, she found her own body covered in a golden glow—as if she was wearing a semi-transparent, gossamer golden silken dress that clung to her skin without weight.

"This is..." She whispered in genuine awe.

Before she could ponder the change in her appearance, however, Fenrir had already come before her, clapping her hands together in clear congratulations.

"Well done, Eve, for finding your true essence," Fenrir said warmly. "With this, you finally earned the right to challenge the first step toward godhood."

"Thank you—wait. This isn't the goal?" Eve's confusion bloomed fast.

After hearing Fenrir's words, Eve felt genuinely puzzled. She thought that finding her essence was the first step to ascension. Yet here she was, being told otherwise.

"No?" Fenrir tilted her head, amused at the misunderstanding. "Realizing your essence is just the basics of the basics. It's nothing much, really. If you can't even complete this step, you can never ascend to godhood."

"I see..."

Eve's expression deflated, crumpling like paper.

After all, she had realized her strength hadn't increased at all. She thought, perhaps, the increase in her powers was something she herself couldn't quite detect. But now, she knew with certainty that nothing much had actually changed from before she started.

Eve felt like she got scammed. Thoroughly.

"Alright," but as expected, she shifted gears quickly, refusing to wallow. "What should I do next?" She asked, determination already creeping back into her voice.

Fenrir smiled, genuinely impressed by how determined the little queen truly was.

[For that, let me give you guidance,] Fenrir began, but before she could respond properly, it was Sekhmet who interjected instead.

[This is a trial I personally oversee. It's only fair that I set the trials myself, right, Fenrir?] She added, smiling faintly—a smile that held no warmth.

"You..."

Fenrir glared at Sekhmet for a short moment before sighing deeply, shaking her head in resignation.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," she relented, taking a step back and giving a light, mocking salute. "Then, Eve, good luck, and don't die."

"Huh?"

Before Eve could even process what Fenrir meant, her entire body was suddenly swallowed by a burst of crackling flames, then disappeared without a trace.

"Q-Queen Eve?!"

Maria, Cherry, and Arianne all shouted at once, their voices sharp with shock and alarm at the sudden scene.

In just a flash—literally a flash—Eve was no longer with them.

"You...!"

Arianne bit her lip hard, charging forward with her sword raised high, swinging toward Sekhmet who remained standing as if nothing had happened at all.

The blade came down, swift and sharp as a whip, before landing right on target. Sekhmet's exposed neck.

CLANG!

But to Arianne's surprise, her sword merely bounced back hard, as if she had just hit solid, immovable metal—unable to even leave a scratch on the goddess's flawless skin.

[What great devotion, little knight,] the goddess spoke, her lips curling up into a faint, predatory smile.

"Shut up!" But Arianne was caught up in her own thoughts, not willing to listen to reason. "Return Queen Eve to us, now!"

Arianne knew how futile attacking was. She understood that truth. However, it was the only thing she could actually do—to swing her sword, and hope somehow for the best.

A single-minded devotion, the kind of unwavering focus that was enough to even make the gods feel genuine awe.

VOOOM!

And just as the tenth strike struck true, suddenly, Arianne's body began to glow with the same golden radiance.

"T-This is...!" She gasped, absolutely shocked by the sudden change.

[Oh? It looks like you, too, are ready for the test,] Sekhmet whispered, honest shock coloring her divine voice.

After all, Arianne had realized her own essence from attacking a literal goddess nonstop. That wasn't something someone could do normally—not without losing their lives in the process.

But Sekhmet wasn't one to get pissed off just because a blade was swung at her face repeatedly.

However, instead of explaining, Sekhmet felt the current situation was funnier—ahem!—beneficial to everyone involved. So she declared it so. [You want your little queen back, right? Then I'll send you to where she is right now.]

"Hiss...!"

The next moment, Arianne's body was swallowed by a flash of brilliant flames.

Just like with Eve, Arianne disappeared, leaving nothing behind—not even ashes or a scorch mark.

Maria and Cherry, who watched the entire exchange unfold, had their faces turn pale with genuine fear. Nina and Ria exchanged glances and had dark looks in their eyes, while Beatrix alone scoffed lightly, shaking her head at the drama.

"Girls, relax," she said, addressing the others with calm certainty. "Look at Fenrir. If Eve and Arianne were hurt, you think she'd sit still like that?" She pointed out the obvious truth.

At her prompt, everyone turned to look at Fenrir, and saw that she was sitting cross-legged, arms crossed before her chest, a faint frown over her lips that suggested annoyance rather than concern.

"Y-You mean, Eve and Arianne are both fine?" Maria asked, hope blooming in her voice.

Beatrix nodded without hesitation, firm in her conviction. "Yes, of course," she said. "This exercise is meant to strengthen us, not to weaken Axevaria. So just trust the process the way Fenrir trusts her—and us."

[And here I thought I'd get to have a bit of fun after a long time... What a buzzkill.]

Sekhmet sighed, but smiled even wider, her amusement undiminished.

[As she said, those two are fine. I just sent them to a slightly different location where they'll be useful. Right about now, they should be training with a clone of mine.]

"I-I see..."

Maria sighed, finally feeling the knot in her heart unravel and ease.

[Rather than worrying about them, worry about yourselves,] Sekhmet quickly added with pointed intent. [You already spent a day here, and you still couldn't figure out your essence. If you fail to achieve this in a week, then you should just honestly give up on getting stronger.]

"...Ah."

Only after they were expressly told so did the girls realize that, in the past 24 hours, only Eve and Arianne had actually succeeded in figuring out their essence.

Eve did hers through deep meditation and introspection, and Arianne instinctively after trying to fight Sekhmet repeatedly for her. But no matter the method, both did succeed, so the girls felt a sudden, very real pressure settle on their shoulders.

'I don't want to be the only one left behind!'

They all thought this at the same time, fear and determination mixing together.

Beatrix, the least distracted of them all, returned to her meditation fast. Maria and Cherry followed suit without complaint, before Nina and Ria nodded to each other and started doing their weird, rhythmic chants once more.

Each one was back to trying to figure out what their essence truly was.

None of them had the leeway to pay heed to what Eve and Arianne were currently doing or experiencing.

If they knew, then their resolve might've wavered a bit.