Chapter 1: The Rite of Ascension
The marble halls of the Grand Church gleamed under the golden morning light as Alina stepped forward. Today was the day. Sixteen years had passed since she was born, and like every other child in Aetheria, she was about to receive her goddess—a divine patron whose essence would shape her destiny.
Excitement and apprehension warred within her as she crossed the sacred threshold. Families lined the pews, whispering prayers as their children knelt before the altar. The High Priest stood in his ornate robes, hands raised toward the celestial mosaic overhead
One by one, the sixteen-year-olds stepped forward, and with the priest's blessing, the divine energy descended. A golden thread connected them to their goddess: some received Nyxara, the mistress of shadows, destined for secrecy and intrigue. Others felt the fiery might of Bellara, the goddess of war, their path entwined with battle and glory. .
Then it was Alina's turn.
She inhaled deeply, steadying her trembling hands. She had dreamed of this moment since childhood, of being bound to Vaelora, goddess of knowledge, or perhaps Elysia, the goddess of life. But as she knelt before the altar and the priest began the sacred chant, something shifted.The divine thread descended—but it was not a single thread. It was many, interwoven in a swirling maelstrom of light and shadow, storm and silence. The temple trembled. The air cracked with power.
Gasps filled the room.
This had never happened before.
Alina was engulfed in radiant energy, and in that instant, she understood. The voice—the presence—was not one goddess. It was all of them.
And then, one voice rose above the rest. Soft. Unyielding. Boundless.
"I am Omniva, Goddess of Everything."
Alina collapsed, her mind drowning in an unfathomable sea of knowledge, of creation, destruction, time, space—all things that had ever existed. And as the voices of the pantheon whispered in awe, she realized one thing with undeniable certainty.
She was the first.
And she was unstoppable.