Chapter
4 – Rejecting Godhood
Huh? Where am I? I’m strapped to a golden
chair that is being carried by molted serpentmen. Around me is a city of towering
castles made of gold and black. Crowds of molted and deities surround me cheer and
throw golden petals as if I, Venetta, and everyone around us were part of some
parade. Venetta tells everyone to celebrate my arrival and they do as if I was
someone actually important. This is “the return of the princess,” as she says.
This feels pretty good to be celebrated for
simply being the daughter of a queen…but…
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying this, is
there? It’s not like me telling them not to cheer for me would do anything and
I am being cheered for something I legitimately am. The molted bring me to the
largest castle in the city and to the very top of the building which gives me a
view of the entire place. It isn’t as big as I thought it was with there only
being about ten castles at most that are all surrounded by their individual walls.
“All you see before you is your inheritance,
my daughter. You can even conquer what is beyond our walls if you wish and no
one will deny you what you claim to be yours.”
I…I can hardly think will all the cheering
that is happening below me and everything that is around me that is supposed to
be mine. It’s all too much! It was hard for me to think straight before and now
it’s almost impossible. I…I…
“I accept it all.” The snakes from the top of
my head go in through the back and come out of my mouth. I have become molted.
My mind is numb, and yet, I feel as if a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
“Yes! I’m so happy that you finally have
taken the first step in your deification. Soon, you will be a god like me. All
hail Princess Varena!”
All hail me! The crowds grow louder after my
true mother’s proclamation. They are my servants, this is my kingdom, and the
world is mine to take and do with as I please. Now, I can finally be happy in
a place that accepts me. Here, my family can be at peace. No longer will I have
to constantly work on my personality because I realize that I am perfect as I
am.
“Oh, those clouds look familiar. Could it be?”
What Venetta is referring to are the clouds nearby that are now green, gray,
and beginning to produce lighting. As the clouds quickly approach us, they begin
to pour out a dark green shower of rain that melts whatever it touches except
for the people below us who hurry inside their crumbling castles. “Ah, I see
what you’re playing at Zenos! You’ve finally decided to use your deific powers
again!”
“This is my dad’s doing? Will I be granted
the same kind of power when I become a deity?”
“Yes, this is Zenos’ doing. His power is why
we were able to have so much power and influence when we ruled together as
lovers. As for your powers, you’ll only know what they are when you become a
deity. Of course, there is also black magic to attempt to alter your powers and
appearance as I have. For now, let’s see what Zenos wants.” Going back down, we
find several deities using their powers to stop the acidic rain. They shoot and
breathe fire out of their mouths, blow strong winds, fire electricity, and use
their own venom all of which have no effect on the clouds. Ahead of me, my dad,
my other mom, Zidane, Trista, Selestine, Fr. Virgil, and some other faces I recognize
from the town approach us.
“Return my daughter to me, Venetta!”
“I am so glad you came to me so that I wouldn’t
have to grab you for myself, Zenos. I am especially glad that you brought our
daughter’s husband-to-be and your false wife, so that I may kill her myself.”
“That
won’t happen. Before, I thought God kept me in this deity form as penance for
my sins, but now I see why He left me like this. It was to keep my acidic venom
for this moment and it is more powerful than it was before and has the special
property of not harming those with pure souls such as the people I have behind
me. You and your deities, however, will not be unaffected by it.” Several
deities around me test that statement by walking into the acidic rain and trying to stop it to no avail.
“Don’t let up! Keep fighting against the rain
for Varena and Venetta!” Those who don’t retreat inside run into the rain and succumb
to the pain of the acid, but it doesn’t appear that they die because of it
since they are still breathing and knocked out such as Niklos. Two familiar
faces come out from the castle to face those who claim to rescue me.
“You won’t take Varena from her rightful
place as princess of her kingdom and she won’t be going back to that hypocritical
town!”
“I ran away and undermined that town because
it caused me and my family so much misery! I won’t be going back and letting
you take Varena back to it!” Both Oretta and Piaras charge ahead and are hardly
affected by the rain. Still, the two are no match for Zidane who fights them and
knocks them both out by himself.
“I love your spirit, boy. You remind me so
much of Zenos when he was younger. You’ll make a perfect husband for my
daughter.”
“Give Varena back to us right now and stop
trying to corrupt her with your lies!”
“Corrupting? Lying? I have only told her the
truth and she has accepted my offer. Isn’t that true?”
“Yes, it’s true. Why don’t you all join us so
that we can be forever happy together here in our own kingdom?”
“Here, we won’t have to constantly confess
our so-called sins. We are always perfect in everything we are and do and the
only struggles we encounter are the ones that we chose.”
“It’s a kingdom that is rapidly crumbling as
we speak.” What my dad says is true. People are abandoning it and the once
magnificent castles are falling one after the other. Venetta is the only
one left with me as she and I slowly retreat from the rain.
“We can build it back up together. All will
be forgiven as long as you do as I say. Things will be as they were in our
golden age when we were feared and rich!”
“It’s not too late to change, Venetta and
Varena. I have. I know that you think you may be too far gone, but no one who
is living is too sinful for God to save.”
“If God wanted to save me, then he wouldn’t have
let me get into this situation. He wouldn’t have let me fall so many times, He
wouldn’t have let us suffer so much, and He wouldn’t have let these snakes, my
temptations stay with me and influence my mind for my entire life.”
“God draws us closer to Him and makes us realize
our need for Him by constantly showing us our weaknesses. It’s better for us to
fail and repent over and over again to stay humble than for us to always be perfect
and become prideful as a result. It took me a long time to come to terms with
this and I still struggle to always be faithful, but I grow a little with each act
of repentance and every penance I do. You may think that you’re lost and will
never change. I did when I was in your situation, but I believe that you’ll
change for the better because you’re my daughter and I love you.”
“We’re always here for you and love you no
matter what you do.”
“I’ll never turn you away no matter how many
times you come for confession just as God is always waiting for you to come
back home like a caring father waiting for his prodigal son.”
“You can count on me to give you the wisdom
of the Church whenever you need it.”
“Nobody is perfect and everyone makes stupid
mistakes. I thought you knew that. I’m your friend and I’m here for you when
you need me. Don’t forget that again.”
“I love you, Varena! I’ll never abandon you
no matter what happens and I’ll fight for you until the day I die!” The people
in the crowd with my loved ones cheer and something begins to change in me. My mind
begins to wake up and clear as I finally realize what is happening, the
mistakes I’ve made, the wisdom in the words of my friends and family, and what I
must do.
“Your dedication to my daughter is admirable,
but you are all so idiotic. We are who we are and we will never change for anyone.
We’ll be back to change your minds and bring you to the true path.”
“They are on the true path,” I say as I regain
control of myself. “And we will follow it too.” I grab Venetta with my hands
and tail and drag her into the acidic rain that burns both me and her. The
snakes writhe around as if dying and Venetta screams while struggling to escape
me. My loved ones help hold her in the rain with me until we both fall unconscious.
In what feels like an instant, I find myself back in my room. What I know
happened feels as if it were a fever dream and looking at myself now, I feel
like I’m still dreaming.
Looking into the mirror, I see that I’m in a
human form now with legs and my snakes moved to the very back of my head. I can’t
help but laugh and giggle at this because I am overjoyed that I am finally
human. This is the first time I’m moving around with legs and it feels strange.
I’m sure I’ll get used to it since it's not too hard to do.
“Varena! I’m glad you’re awake!” a man I assume
to be my dad says as he and my mom enter my room.
“Dad? You’ve changed into a human too?”
“Yes. Both you and I shed our skin after the rain
stopped and now, we’re both human! I’m just as overjoyed as you are.”
“I’m so glad for both of you. You still have
to go confession though for losing yourself to temptation.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Oh, what happened to
Piaras, Oretta, and Venetta?”
“The three of them and their molted and deity
followers are in jail for the chaos they caused across the lands and in this
town. They were actually the reason why we weren’t around when our house was
being attacked. I blame myself for chasing after their distraction so that we
would be away while they took you away from us.”
“It’s okay. It all worked out in the end
after all. I hope they go easy on Oretta and Piaras because they were being preyed
on by Venetta.”
“I’m sure they’ll get a lesser punishment
than the others, especially Piaras who was more desperate than the others. We
shouldn’t keep your friends downstairs waiting too long for you.” As soon as I go
downstairs, Trista, Selestine, and Zidane say my name and then crowd around me.
Zidane hugs, kisses me, and then says, “I’m
so glad you’re okay. You’re human now too!”
“I hope my sudden change in appearance doesn’t
affect our relationship in any way?”
“No, of course it doesn’t.” I give Zidane a
little jab.
“Ow! What did I say wrong?”
“You’re supposed to say you’re as beautiful
as ever and give me another kiss.”
“Oh, uh. You’re as beautiful as ever,” Zidane
says before giving me a kiss.
“Despite being human, which is a form for the
most virtuous of serpentmen, you’re still the same as ever.”
“And you never seem to change either.”
“I’m working on that.”
“Ah, ah, ah! We’ve just been through a lot so
can we all be calm and peaceful?”
Both Trista and I tell Selestine to shut up
before we all laugh. Yup. Things are just the same as they’ve always been, and
yet, something is different and I’m not just talking about my dad and I changing
into a human form. I’m a bit wiser now because of what I’ve gone through and a
bit more appreciative of what I have. Even though part of me would’ve rather
not have gone through what I did, I see in part why I had to and silently thank
God for it all. Now, I will no longer pray to avoid the obstacles in my life.
Instead, I’ll pray for the strength to overcome them and get up after every
time I fall.
The End
“It’s nothing. Just bad dreams and
temptations again.”
“You’ll overcome your temptations one day.
Trust me.”
Lifting his head, the priest reveals himself
to be a deity. “Nothing that you have mentioned is a sin, Varena.”
“You’re a deity and that must mean you’re
with Venetta, aren’t you? What are you doing here pretending to be a priest?
Answer me or else I’ll have to confess beating you down to a real priest.”
“Keep talking. That doesn’t explain why you
are here.”
“I know that the people in this town that
already had suspicions of you and you defending yourself against them is the
reason why you are here, but what you did was just self-defense even though you
did put one of them in the hospital.”
“I’ll let you go. I’ve done what I needed to
do.” Niklos lets me go and quickly slithers out of the room. When I leave the
confessional, I can’t manage to find him, so I instead try to find Fr. Virgil. Eventually,
I do find him in the nearby abbey after asking around for him.
“Did you need my help, Varena? What’s going
on?”
“What?! As if today couldn’t get any worse.”
Before Zidane can explain any further, I quickly get out of the building and
make my way back home. Behind me, Zidane and Fr. Virgil try telling me to calm
down and be careful. I don’t care to listen to them at this point. It doesn’t
matter if this is Venetta’s doing or the people in the town. I’ll kill whoever
is destroying what my family built up. When I get back to my house, I find a
mob of people throwing things at my house with one of them trying to burn it
down. I immediately leap into action and try to stop them, but I’m too late and
the building catches fire. With it, the last bit of my patience goes away and
my anger is enflamed even further.
“You…you people won’t escape me!” I say while
trying to keep down my temptations and continue the chase. Eventually, I lose
Zidane in the constant twists and turns.
“I’m not! You’re behind all my troubles and I
want you out of my life! You’re probably also the reason why these people
attacked my home!”
“How much time? Your confessions are hollow
because you keep making the same mistakes in the same ways all the time. In
reality, you aren’t sorry for your sins and you shouldn’t be. You’re perfect as
you are, my daughter. Nothing that you do is fundamentally wrong, as if such a
thing exists. If it does, then it exists in your circus of a church with a
deity that exists outside of reality and who doesn’t answer your prayers.”