Chapter 2 – First Taste of Power
Right after a short ceremony where Diana is recognized as queen, she gets to tailoring her own Heaven and Hell.
While deciding how both places should operate, she asks Helen, “Why did everyone cheer when I emptied Hell into Heaven?”
“Because you showed them that if anyone were to “die”, they would go to Heaven no matter how bad they acted. Everyone here in this dimension thinks they’re a good person, so they think they deserve nothing but the best.”
“Did I send anyone to Heaven that didn’t deserve it?”
“There were a few questionable people that I think we’re in Hell, but I wouldn’t let that bother you. I mean, has anything bad ever come out of Heaven?”
“The devil and his angels.”
“Then you better make sure they’re happy up there. Right now, it’s just a place where angels serve the inhabitants whatever they want. What are you going to make it?”
“It’s going to be a place where people can create and do whatever they want, however, it will only be in their minds so that there will be no conflict.”
“So Heaven is just going to be a dream? I like it. It will allow people to do what they want without interfering in each other’s dreams.”
“Do you know how I can change Heaven and Hell?”
“You will it like how you willed people to and out of Heaven and Hell. Your right hand controls your Heaven and your left controls Hell.”
As Diana wills her control over Heaven, her hand is lit on fire with a blue flame that doesn’t hurt her. She sees her Heaven change the way she wants it to and the happy people in it. They lie down in the completely white space while they live out their own Heaven in their minds with their faces mirroring the absolute bliss they are feeling.
“Now I’m going to make Hell the exact opposite of Heaven with everyone dreaming their own personal nightmare.”
“That’s a good choice as well. It will be just like the real Hell.”
Diana exerts her will on her Hell and it becomes a completely black void of a dimension where only suffering exists.
“There’s only one issue with the way you’ve made Heaven and Hell.”
“And what’s that?”
“Even though Hell is the way it should be, Heaven is a better place to live than here since you make people live out their greatest fantasies. People might “kill” themselves to get sent to Heaven.”
“I see your point. I’ll make it a crime punishable by being sent to Hell.”
“But how will you know if a person “killed” themselves to get to Heaven? What about if someone deserves to go to Heaven but everyone says they should go to Hell?”
“Both dimensions will show me the color of the person’s soul. If their soul is radiant, then they will go to Heaven. If their soul is too dull to see the light in it, then they will go to Hell.”
“Wisely planned.”
“You think so?”
“I do. Let’s see how the people take these changes.”
Diana and Helen publicly explain how Heaven and Hell will work along with the new rules on which souls go there. There is some talk among the crowd, but they eventually clap then cheer for Diana. Now that’s done, Diana goes back into the castle and checks both her Heaven and Hell and separates those with a radiant soul and a dull soul. She also finds people with a soul that’s not too radiant but also not too dull. She brings these people “back” to life and instructs them to live a good life in order to go back to Heaven since their soul was neither radiant nor dull. Diana also tells them about the new rules. They accept and start their lives anew.
“Oh yeah, what is this kingdom called? You never told me,” Diana says.
“It has a forgettable name, so you can call it whatever you want,” Helen says.
“I’ll call my kingdom…Arcadia.”
“That name isn’t taken as far as I know, so it’s yours.”
“What are the names of other kingdoms?”
“Agartha, Asgard, Diyu, Muspelheim, and other names of mythological places that you can find in a book. People find these references to be appealing and yours is appealing as well.”
The next part of Diana’s schedule is to change the landscape of her island. She makes the surrounding forest lush with flowers, vegetation, and various other beautiful plants. Her people like the new change in scenery as it makes the island beautiful. It also attracts people from other realities to come and admire the new look to the island. It also gives merchants on the island a reason to come to Diana’s kingdom to trade and do business. Other rulers also come to the island and establish friendships with Diana.
Everything that’s needed to be done to solidify Diana’s power in this dimension appears to have been done in a matter of hours. It was morning when she started, and the time is now early in the afternoon. Curious about this, Diana asks Helen why this is.
Helen answers that, “Days and nights are longer in this dimension no matter how you change your reality. I’m impressed with how much you’ve done in this long yet short amount of time. Most rulers will change one thing at a time, but you’ve made a significant number of rulers notice you. I knew you’d be good as a ruler.”
“Really?”
“Just look outside. Look at how your kingdom is flourishing. Yesterday it lived in fear. Today it lives in happiness.”
“Then I guess I don’t need to do anything else.”
“That’s not so. We need to build a military. There is an infinite number of realities out there some of which are hostile to everyone or whoever isn’t allied with them. We need a military to defend our people from them.”
“Can I make a military the same way I manage this reality?”
“You can conjure your own soldiers, but they eventually fade away. You can infuse materials into the island for our citizens to mine in order to make weapons and armor. We also have leftover weapons and armor from the previous ruler, so we don’t need to worry about rushing our production.”
Diana sections off a part of her island that contains mineable materials that can create weapons and armor. These materials can be enchanted so that they can contain elemental powers. A good number of people volunteer to mine these materials, another number volunteer to be the blacksmiths, and an even bigger number volunteers to be the soldiers, which include soldiers who served under the previous ruler. Every citizen volunteers for a job for their ruler who they happily bow to. With all of this, Diana’s kingdom is now a true force to be reckoned with. She goes back to Helen to receive more instruction as to what she must also do. It is now late in the afternoon.
“Helen, is there anything else I have to do to ensure that my people are happy, and my kingdom is secure?”
“My glorious queen, you have done much to make your reality one of the best and your kingdom one of the mightiest. You are everything that I expected you to be.”
“Enough with the compliments. Just tell me what I need to do.”
“It should be noted that there are other ruthless and wicked rulers out there. We should use our military might along with our allies in order to bring the peace and happiness we enjoy here to other realities.”
“Was that part of your plan to begin with? Make someone a ruler and take over this dimension with them?”
“If you’re implying conquering hostile realities for a pure goal is a bad thing, then you got me wrong. This is something that can only benefit us.”
“I’m not going to do it. I ran away from home to escape conflict, worry, and being ruled.”
Helen’s expression has now soured from its once happy state, which she was for a majority for the day.
“Whatever you say, my queen. Just keep what I said in mind.”
For the remainder of the day, Diana looked out at her kingdom, which she rules over. It gives her a sense of pride that she never felt before. Even though it’s not exactly what she envisioned herself as, being the queen of this reality made her feel like she finally found her place. A place that treated her the way she wanted to be treated. A place where she could control her fate and where she could live comfortably. After watching her citizens living happily for a while, she decides to join them. Her citizens welcome her into their activities such as firework displays, games, and just being with each other. Once Diana finally tires herself out, she says goodbye to her citizens then goes back into the castle to sleep.
Helen wakes her up the next morning with startling news.
She says that, “The foreign kingdom called The Circus is attacking us!”
Diana leaps out of bed and looks outside her window to see her kingdom under siege. Her troops are defending the main gates, but the rest of the island is being destroyed. She then starts running to the front gates with Helen.
Along the way she asks her, “Why are they here?”
“They must’ve heard of you taking over this dimension and improving its condition in a single day. You made a huge impact on people and have attracted the attention of many people and kingdoms. I told you we should’ve used our military might. This wouldn’t have happened if you listened to me.”
“Then I will in the future now let’s help our forces out.”
“What? The queen is going to fight?”
“Yes. I’m a ruler, not a tyrant. Is there a problem with that?”
“Not at all as long as I can join.”
The joyful expression that was once on Helen’s face has no returned as she flies Diana to the frontlines to fight with their army. The allies Diana made yesterday quickly rush to her aid as well as the two fight the kingdom of The Circus. Diana’s snakes do most of the fighting and defending for her while she acts as an inspirational figure for her troops. The battle ends quickly, and the opposing forces retreat back to their reality.
“They aren’t so tough, are they?” Diana remarks.
“The Circus is a cunning kingdom. This was probably to test our fighting ability,” Helen says.
“I won’t stand for this! We’re taking them down.”
Her kingdom cheers for her along with her allies. It’s only day two of Diana’s time in this dimension and she’s already taken over a kingdom and started a war with another, and yet, there is still much for her to do.
