Story by: Rhenhwa.
Virtual God's Online
Chapter 2: Goddess of Stars - Ageha
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, organizations, and settings depicted are entirely fictional and created for storytelling purposes.
***
MYRIAD STAR PALACE
The Goddess of the Stars, or so she is called.
She is known by many names.
But in Gods Online, across simulation layers, systems, and starbound servers—only one matters:
Ageha. One of the strongest gods in the networked cosmos.
A being of absurd authority, whose dominion over celestial forces is so absolute that even among primal-class deities, her name causes tension.
As a wise follower of hers said: "If it be a force, then it can be forced."
Yet, what truly scares them is not just her power.
It's the fact that, alongside her divine role and unmatched prowess, Ageha is a battle junkie. Through and through.
Star Palace
A place boasting one of the highest numbers of followers, or even middle- to lower-class deities under its name.
It is nothing short of a virtual oasis.
The "myriad" in its name comes not from poetry, but from scale—the megastructure of Ageha's star is so vast, it could house multiple giant virtual stars within itself without strain.
And inside?
It is nothing short of paradise.
Even the Primal Deity of Paradise herself once commented that Ageha's Star Palace embodied paradise far more than even her own Elysium.
A sprawling cityscape.
Towering residential blocks.
Massive industrial sectors.
Grand arenas that roar with eternal combat festivals. What does the Goddess of Stars not possess?
What does the Goddess of Stars not possess?
If one were forced to name a flaw, it would be this:
She lacks a formal pantheon.
But does she truly?
Ageha, who already commands countless high-, middle-, and low-ranking deities under her banner—
Would you not already call that a pantheon of her own?
At the heart of the Myriad Star Palace stood a structure even more extravagant than the rest.
A grand palace, spanning several tekels in length and width. A place that embodied the word "cosmos."
The ceilings, walls, and ground all reflect the endless cosmos.
Constellations are merely reflections of a coded blueprint in her palace.
And at its center, elevated on a luminous dais, sat the goddess herself.
Goddess of Star,
The Neutrality, Ageha.
A goddess who looked like she was in her teenage years. Pure white, shimmering hair cascaded down her waist.
Navy-colored uniform with blue streaks and several medals, coupled with a matching knee-length skirt.
At a mere glance, she looked harmless; a delicate, celestial beauty.
But any deity who truly knew her… knew better.
They knew about the battle lust buried behind that serene face.
For now, though, she was still. In what a certain Primordial Sun Deity once called:
"Normal Ageha Mode."
A mood where she actually did her job as the Goddess of Stars.…
Well, only because a certain deity had scolded her into it.
Because truthfully? If it weren't for that, she wouldn't be sitting still at all.
Especially when—
"Ahh~ahh. I'm bored. Is nothing happening?"
Archetype Supreme, Primal Star, a goddess of dignified title yet currently draped over her throne like a lazy cat.
Ageha muttered with a weary expression, reclining so deeply into her seat it was a miracle she hadn't slid off entirely.
Normally, such an undignified posture would have been unbecoming for a being of her rank.
And yet…
If any of her followers saw her like this, they would only sigh and say:
"Ah. It's just Lady Ageha being Lady Ageha again."
At the very least, those who knew her well would say so. And true to those words—
"Lady Ageha… is doing that again."
"Geh."
They were her personal attendants, but also high-ranking deities in their own right—yet even they found themselves at the mercy of her moods.
And this one?
This was dangerous.
They could already feel it: she was this close to abandoning the Myriad Star Palace in search of "something interesting."
And whenever she did that?
The incident reports never stopped.
Unauthorized duels (initiated by her by the way). System breaches (forceful entry into other Deities Domain).
Scared demigods (would scare them shitless). And all sorts of bizarre reports.
But as a Transcendent Virtual Deity, who in their right mind would dare to file a complaint to Illionis?
Perhaps her fellow Deity…?
Very much so.
But considering she was the Goddess of Stars—one who had surpassed all other deities that embodied the Star archetype, and ascended into something Primal—
The first.
The origin.
There were very few who would seriously risk trying to beat her influence over "minor disturbances."
In a way, it did feel like she was indeed cheating due to her influence.
"Erm… Rey, come up with something already."
Mei hissed.
"Hm. In that case, how about this? It was something reported not long ago. Here."
The two high-ranking deities were male and female, respectively. The female had dark hair, almost reflective of the blanket of space.
She wore maid-like clothes that complemented her dark hairstyle and gray eyes well.
The male, like her, possessed raven-black hair and ashen-colored eyes, wearing a butler suit.
Physically, they appeared no more than in their late teens, but appearances were never something to worry about.
Unlike mortals, they paid no heed to appearance.
Except, perhaps, those whose Authority demanded physique, example being Deities like Asura or Susanoo.
But those were different cases.
Anyway—
To answer Mei's rising anxiety, Rey sent her the panel.
She squinted at the contents, then raised an unimpressed brow at her brother.
"Really, Eathern-ranked deities squabble? Why would Lady Ageha be interested in this?"
Looking over at her goddess, she was already in the "about to explode" stage. Mei's heart skipped.
"Mei, just show it to Lady Ageha."
The male urged.
"Ugh, fine," Mei groaned. "It's not my fault if anything unexpected happens.."
"Gladly."
She sauntered over to her goddess, heels clicking lightly against the polished floor, and presented the virtual interface with a swipe.
Contrary to what most believed, Ageha held no prejudice toward lower-ranked deities.
But neither did she care much about them.
She was a goddess of war.
And what are battle maniacs like her known for? Their obsession with battle.
Unless a lower-class deity demonstrated unusual promise, something special, or something rare …
They were just noise on the battlefield.
"Hm…"
Ageha hummed, clearly disinterested as her eyes remained short for a brief moment.
But since it was her loyal servants who brought it forward, she humored them with a lazy glance.
A few seconds passed. Then, she paused.
"Eh?"
Her voice was quiet. Curious.
On the screen, a single figure blurred across the simulated battlefield, and in an instant, ten deities were eliminated.
Ten distinct targets. Each with unique (not very unique) Authority, clad in virtual "dignity". Gone.
In a match like God and Seek, which spanned fifty to hundreds of participants, that kind of efficiency was... absurd.
But that wasn't what made Ageha pause.
"Wa-wait… why does Lady Ageha look that focused?"
Mei whispered, her eyes wide as she turned toward her brother, who passed another virtual interface to her as if to say,
'you'd hate to see it.'
This time she watched it, though scrolling past some clips until she eventually saw him. She froze.
Her eyebrows knitted together as she observed him.
"Wait… this guy, why does he give the opposite feeling of Lady Ageha."
As virtual beings, they weren't bound by the same sense of screen and distance as mortals.
When they watched something through a screen, they didn't just see it.
The concept was weird, but while watching it on a screen, they were, in a sense, experiencing it.
And this presence—it was wrong in a way that felt familiar but yet opposing.
"I have to go–!"
Ageha suddenly rose from her throne.
"My lady?"
"Lady Ageha?"
They looked back at their goddess, and there it was, that smile on her face.
This wasn't the normal one they were used to, nor the crazed one.
Lady Ageha…?
They called out to her, but before they could move to stop her, she was already out of sight, disappearing into blurs of fragmented data.
"Her expression…"
"It's different."
[COMMUNITY THREAD]
[Myriad Star Sub-thread]
[Starting thread]
[MyAgehaCantBeThatCute]: [Hm..? I felt Lady Ageha's presence leave the Myriad Star, what happened? Mahasabha isn't anytime soon, anyone…?]
1 min(s) ago
[Likes: 30] [Replies: 13]
↳ No1AgehaFan replying to @MyAgehaCantBeThatCute: [Eh? It's true, her usual presence is no longer here.]
↳ NahIdWin replying to @MyAgehaCantBeThatCute: [Is it related to Blackstar? Are they really a deity from our faction in the first place?]
↳ Nukashi_Official (mod) replying to @NahIdWin: [I don't think that's the case. There are no records of such a person within our ranks; official files have already been checked.]
↳ NahIdWin replying to @Nukashi_Official (mod): [So then….?]
↳ Nukashi_Official (mod) replying to @NahIdWin: [We simply cannot say yet. Let's just wait. Official information should eventually be released.]
[Thread end]
[THREAD CLOSED]