Chapter 262 – A Tear Of Fate

She opened her eyes, or at least thought she did, but couldn't see anything. She could feel her body was a bit cool, and with a touch, realized she was naked.

"Hun? Where am I?" She asked, looking around.

"Quiet, we are about to go live." A female voice said from the darkness, startling her. 

"What? Who are you? Where am I?"

"Shhh. In, 3, 2, 1..."

"Wha-" She said, then nearly screamed as a burst of light blinded her. She shielded her eyes and breasts with her arms, having no clue what in the world was happening. Loud music began to play, and the lights changed colours rapidly in time with the bass of the song.

She blinked a few times, then realized she was on some sort of stage, with a pair of white chairs and a round table in between them. To the side were ten doors, all different colours, with the words, 'World Randomizer' emblazoned on signs above them. Other than that, there were just black curtains surrounding the area, leaving her unable to see much else.

"What is this?" She asked. As if on cue, another voice spoke from somewhere above her, booming loudly through the space.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Deities of all Ages and Times, welcome to DEN, where we put reincarnators into various worlds in order for them to grow stronger and compete in the grand finale. The winners are granted immortality, the losers are returned back to the life stream, their souls hanging in shame. Without further ado, please welcome our host, Alec Triveck!"

The lights stopped flashing, then dimmed, leaving a spotlight both on her and a man across the room. Up on a raised dais, a pale, blue-haired man stood, head tilted back like he was inspecting the ceiling and arms outstretched, taking in applause that she couldn't hear. He wore a nicely tailored white suit with a matching white shirt and shoes. A blue tie and handkerchief finished the ensemble.

He stared at her, his greasy smile looking like he could see through her-

Oh me! I'm naked! 

She covered herself as best as she could. 

"Welcome, Aqua, to your new life as a DEN protagonist, where you will be competing agains- ACK!" The man started to say something, but was smacked upside the head by a towering, one-armed man with an eyepatch.

"Alec, you idiot! If you are not going to let her keep her clothing, at least give her a bathrobe!" John said, shrugging his jacket off and coming towards her. 

"John? Where... where are we?" She asked, not understanding anything. She just left heaven to start her new life, and now... she was at DEN?

Wasn't that where John was from? I'm so confused.

"Well, apparently you're part of DEN now, and not just part of one of my worlds," John replied, wrapping Aqua in his leather jacket to give her a bit of coverage. "I have some serious questions about this... what are you playing at, Alec?"

The man sighed, then snapped his fingers. The table grew in size, and several more chairs materialized around it, each with a glass of Westria. "Take a seat, and have a drink, John. I have someone here that I would like you to meet."

A man walked on stage, one whom he had met once before in his dreams. "Pleasure to meet you again, John, and in person no less. Imagine my surprise when you arrived at not just one, but three of the worlds I oversee. My dear Alec assures me it was just a coincidence, though I am more inclined to believe he is playing with fate," said Morgan Freeman, the God of Fate, and offered his off hand to John.

John shook it. "Good to see you, too. Yeah, he has a great time throwing curve balls at me, though I'm not sure I'm understanding this one." 

"Boss? Y-Y-You're here too?" Aqua said, clutching in tightly to his side.

"I'm not your boss anymore, Aqua. You died, remember? DEN has decided to take your soul instead of letting you be reborn. Probably for the best, you didn't even look at that paper when you fed your magic into it. You would have been reborn as the eighth daughter of an impoverished noble household. You would have been married off without a second thought within a decade unless you managed to pull off a miracle."

"Oh me... I'm such an idiot sometimes... I just wanted to get it over with before I lost my nerve." Aqua said. 

"At least you are self-aware of the fact. Baby steps, girl, baby steps. Now, shall we sit down?" Fate said, then took a seat beside Alec. John followed suit, making sure Aqua was seated and, after prodding Alec, covered up in a bathrobe before taking his own chair.

C'mon, man, I know you can see it all, but it's the principle of the thing!

The man shrugged at John's thoughts, but had acquiesced to his request.

"So, please explain to me what is going on? I've never seen another DEN contestant since I arrived, and suddenly, the woman who died protecting one of my fiancées and my unborn child is on stage when I returned? I'm happy she has the chance to live a whole bunch of new lives... but... this seems rather... convenient." John asked after he took a sip of the Westria. The drink helped calm his annoyance at this whole situation, but it still stank of some over-the-top prank. 

"It's not a prank, John, though it was done rather hastily. When Aqua passed, their heaven captured her soul before it went to the life stream, as many heavens do. That is when Fate called in a favour I owed him from back when I was a contestant on DEN, a million or so years ago. So, instead of being reborn as a normal human with a tiny trace of divinity, she has been brought here where she can attempt to actually become a goddess again." 

"I thought you only accepted souls from the Prime to come to DEN?"

"Part of her soul is from the Prime, so it works. She is the offspring of a former DEN contestant who became part of the Omni and a Goddess, though she doesn't know that."

"What? My father is here?" She asked.

"Your father is around, though he is indisposed at the moment," Alec said. "He will come to meet you sometime if you want."

"I... I have no idea. This is a bit... I..."

"I understand. Here, have a drink. It will help ease your mind." Alec said, floating her untouched glass over to her. She took it and, after a tentative sip, slammed the drink back.

{He didn't even know she existed until recently. Her mother didn't tell him, and he is... well, he is a vegetable right now, else I would bring him out to meet her. I'll work on that.}

Why are you telling me this?!?  

{Because she trusts you.}

"Okay, so she has your qualifications. That still doesn't explain why she was here when I arrived. I thought the contestants were staggered."

"They usually are, but we thought you might want to see her off on her grand adventure, so we let you come in. I didn't expect you to run up and smack me when I was doing my introduction."

"And I'll do it again if you drop her off naked when she comes back here. Its-"

"I don't want to do it!"

"Aqua?"

"I don't want to jump around to a bunch of different worlds. Not alone. I can't do it!" She said, then jumped into his lap. "No, please. Don't make me do it. I'll be a good girl... just don't make me do that alone!"

"Aqua..." John said. He wrapped his arm around her, activated his Healing Hands magic, and rubbed her back as she cried into his shoulder. He was pretty sure this was legitimate this time, not her trying to manipulate him. Not that he had much to give her right now other than a shoulder to cry on. 

"Hmm... this is unexpected," Alec said, then tilted his head to the side as if he was listening to someone.

"What does the director have to say this time?" John asked, having seen this bit before.

"Twenty thousand tokens," Alec replied without hesitating.

"What?"

"Her life. Twenty thousand tokens."

"Done." He agreed. He didn't even question it; he didn't need to. The choice was to play their game or return to the life stream. She didn't want to play, at least not alone. It was the least he could do for the woman who saved his child.

"Huh?" She said, not understanding.

"John just saved your life," Fate said with sympathy in his voice. "You really are his boon now."

"Hold still, this will just take a moment," Alec said, pulling a familiar-looking pearl out of his pocket. 

Didn't I give that to Xiaolin after I fished it out of a clam?

Aqua squawked as she levitated off of him and drifted over to Alec. He held the pearl in front of him, funnelling golden energy into it. The lighting flickered in the room, and waves of energy buffeted him, nearly deafening him from the noise they created. 

"What is happening!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!" Aqua screamed as she was drawn into the pearl. 

"Aqua!!!!"

*Pop*

All was silent again. 

"You know, this was supposed to be for your equipment gatcha, but I guess this works just the same," Alec said, teleporting beside John. Before John could move, he ripped his eyepatch off and jammed the pearl into his empty eye socket. Pain shot through his skull for a moment before a cool soothing sensation dampened the feeling. He blinked a few times, realizing he could see out of his right eye again. 

*Pop*

Aqua was back in his lap, looking quite dishevelled, but otherwise was perfectly fine.

"Congratulations. You have received the Special-Tier Equipment Opalescent Tear of Isha Aqua. This holy soul stone pearl allows the user to see as if they had a normal eye, and comes with built-in True Sight up to 100 metres around them. On top of this, the pearl can be preloaded with up to 50 000 10 000 mana's worth of holy magic spells. Currently, eighty percent of its capacity is occupied with Aqua, the former Goddess of Healing." Elvis announced, just like he would have if he were drawing from the gatcha.

"What just happened?" Aqua asked, looking as confused as John felt. 

"We just tied your soul to John's new eye. So, welcome to DEN, Aqua. I'm Alec, the host of the show. You will be joining him on his journey as he travels to different worlds and changes their stories."

"Huh? Stories?"

"Alec. I think we need a break." John said, standing up. "I'm going to take Aqua outside to relax for a bit before I explain a few things to her. Does that work for you?"

"Sure, John. Take all the time you need."

"Thanks." He replied, then nodded to Fate before calling out. "Xiaolin? Want to come with us?" he asked, knowing she would be somewhere recording them.

"Of course, Hon." She replied, the tiger woman stepping out from behind a curtain. She gave him a tight smile.

With that, the three of them went outside to the deck of the Omni, leaving the two gods behind.

"Did you know she would turn down the offer?" Fate asked, filling his glass again.

"No, but I never thought to check either. No one has ever turned down the offer before, but we usually screen our contestants before they come here."

"Usually?"

"Well, John was a mistake, or as the director likes to say, a happy little accident." 

"Really? He seems to be putting on a good show for a mistake."

"That he does. That he does. So, are you still going to make him the offer?"

Fate just smiled at Alec, swirling his Westria around.