Chapter 125: Emotional DamageGrace’s room in Stormcrest’s inn was absolute garbage.

    The bed creaked every time she breathed. The walls leaked mysterious liquids that definitely weren’t just water. Thunder rattled the windows hard enough to make the glass crack.

    But at least she was alone.

    No Diana trying to bend her into a pretzel while railing her senseless. No Petriel stammering apologies while somehow still managing to grope every inch of her body. No Alia and Zephyr turning a simple goodnight kiss into an impromptu orgy.

    Just Grace, a mattress that smelled like wet dog, and nature having a complete mental breakdown outside.

    She flopped onto the bed, springs screaming in protest.

    [Finally. Peace and quiet and—]

    The dream yanked her under before she could finish the thought.

    ---

    "Well, well, well. My favorite little creation returns for another chat."

    Grace opened her eyes to that familiar white void. Eternia sprawled across a throne made of literal starlight, looking exactly like Grace would if Grace had tits the size of her head and negative amounts of shame. sea??h thё ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Hey." Grace rubbed her face. "Let me guess—the Tempest is gonna be a massive pain in my butt?"

    "Oh, absolutely." Eternia crossed her legs, her dress riding up to show approximately three miles of thigh. "She’s special, that one. My favorite disaster child."

    "Special how?"

    "Remember our little chat about the Pillars? How I shoved all my negative emotions into them?"

    "Unfortunately, yeah."

    "Well, the Tempest got all my indecision. My frustration. Every single time I couldn’t make up my mind about something." Eternia twirled a strand of white hair around her finger. "Which, between you and me? Happened constantly. Do I make the sky blue or purple? Should angels have wings or tentacles? Is it weird to fuck a dragon?"

    "I’m gonna stop you right there, my lady."

    "The answer was no, by the way. Not weird at all. Very enjoyable actually—"

    "MOVE ON." Grace looked around the void, which somehow felt more solid than the inn’s floor. "S-So she’s indecisive. That explains the weather having an identity crisis."

    "Doesn’t it though?" Eternia grinned. "She can’t decide what storm to throw, so she throws them all. Can’t decide who to be angry at, so she’s angry at everyone. It’s adorable."

    "Adorable isn’t the word I’d use for kidnapping seventeen people."

    "You haven’t met her yet." Eternia’s eyes sparkled with unholy glee. "She’s going to hate you so much."

    "Great. Can’t wait." Grace sat down on the void’s non-floor, which felt weirdly warm. "So what’s her deal? Gonna mistake me for you and try to fuck me into submission like the others?"

    "Oh no, no, no." Eternia leaned forward, tits threatening to spill out of her dress entirely. "The Tempest will know exactly who you are. See, she’s the only one who figured out I abandoned them."

    Grace’s stomach dropped.

    "What?"

    "The others? Still waiting for mommy to come home. But the Tempest?" Eternia’s smile turned sharp. "She knows I’m never coming back. Or, well, she gussed as much. Correctly, of course. And she is pissed."

    "Fantastic. So instead of confused and horny, I get aware and homicidal."

    "Exactly! Isn’t it exciting?"

    "That’s not the word I’d use."

    They sat in silence for a moment. Well, Grace sat. Eternia continued posing.

    "Her indecision makes her unpredictable," Eternia added casually. "One second she might want to have a philosophical debate about abandonment. The next? Lightning bolt to the face. Keeps things spicy!"

    Grace groaned.

    "Any actual helpful advice?"

    "Hmm." Eternia tapped her chin. "Don’t die? Ah, well, you won’t have to worry about that, haha!"

    "Super helpful. Thanks. Really feeling the creator-creation bond here."

    "I do my best."

    More silence. The void hummed with distant cosmic energy that made Grace’s teeth ache.

    "Can I ask you something?" Grace finally said.

    "Shoot, tiny me."

    "When you made the Pillars and dumped all your emotional baggage into them..." Grace struggled to find the right words. "Did you ever think about what would happen? Like, the consequences?"

    Eternia blinked. Once. Twice.

    "Consequences?"

    "Yeah. Of overloading primordial beings with concentrated negative emotions and then fucking off to who knows where."

    "Huh." Eternia tilted her head like a confused puppy. A confused puppy with reality-warping powers. "You know what? No. Not really."

    "Seriously?"

    "I was busy! Had a whole world to create. Angels to design. Mortals to populate the land. That thing with the dragon I mentioned—"

    "Please don’t."

    "The Pillars were supposed to just sit there and hold my emotional baggage. Like... cosmic storage units. Very convenient."

    "Storage units that developed consciousness and started creating demons and killing people."

    "That was, indeed, unprecedented."

    "Unprecedented?" Grace stared at her creator. "Thousands of people have died! Entire villages corrupted! Angels fallen!"

    "And you’re fixing it! See?" Eternia sighed happily. "I knew it would all work out eventually."

    Grace wanted to strangle her.

    Which was probably the worst kind of blasphemy.

    "You’re unbelievable."

    "Thank you!" Eternia beamed like she’d been given a compliment. "I do try. Now, anything else? I’ve got a thing."

    "A thing?"

    "Cosmic orgy. Very exclusive."

    "Of course."

    The void started dissolving around them. Eternia’s form grew hazy, but her tits remained mysteriously in focus.

    "Oh, one more thing!" the goddess called out as reality reasserted itself. "The Tempest feeds on emotional instability. So maybe work on that before you meet her."

    "W-Wait that was actually helpful advice-DON’T GO YET, ETERNIA, ELABORATE ON THAT!"

    But Eternia was gone, and Grace was waking up to the sound of hail punching holes in the roof.

    ---

    Morning in Stormcrest looked like someone had declared war on the concept of weather patterns.

    Grace stumbled downstairs, hair sticking up in twelve directions. The common room reeked of burnt eggs and existential dread.

    Diana sat at a table with her feet up, topless as always. Grace chuckled seeing some of the nearby men fight for their lives, trying not to look. Venus perched delicately beside her.

    "Sleep well?" Venus asked sweetly.

    "Yeah, I did." Grace collapsed into a chair that immediately tried to collapse under her. "So, I thought about it. I think the Tempest is made of pure indecision and knows she was abandoned. Also, she’s- she might be aware I’m not Eternia and will probably try to murder me."

    "You think so?" Diana asked.

    "I’m guessing."

    "Delightful." Diana grabbed a piece of toast that looked more like charcoal.

    "Right?"

    A server approached—some nervous boy who kept glancing at the ceiling like it might cave in. Which, fair. He slid a bowl of something gray and lumpy in front of Grace.

    "Is this porridge?" Grace poked it with her spoon.

    "We... we think so?"

    "Good enough."

    The boy fled. Grace took a bite and immediately regretted existing.

    "I’m thinking," she said, trying not to taste what she was swallowing, "I should go scout ahead. See if there are demons around. Maybe get murdered by weather."

    Diana’s eyebrows shot up.

    "Alone?"

    Grace nodded.

    "You two should stay here. Keep the villagers calm. Make sure no one else gets sucked into the stratosphere." Grace forced down another spoonful of maybe-porridge. "Someone needs to be here in case more tornadoes show up with grabby hands."

    "That’s actually decent logic," Venus admitted. "Color me impressed."

    "I have my moments."

    Diana’s jaw clenched.

    "Fine." Diana crossed her arms under her bare chest. "But if something decapitates you, I’m dragging your ass back to heaven headless."

    Grace shrugged.

    "I’ll figure it out."

    Grace finished her definitely-not-porridge and stood. Her Blade of Dawn materialized with a thought, golden light cutting through the inn’s gloom like hope itself had taken sword form.

    "Try not to have too much fun without me."

    "Please." Venus smiled that smile that meant someone was about to get very lucky. "We’ll be model angels."

    Diana snorted.

    "Yeah. Model angels who’ll probably fuck half the village by lunch."

    "Only half?" Venus looked genuinely offended. "You underestimate me. I’m thinking at least three quarters."

    "It’s barely past dawn."

    "Your point?"

    Grace rolled her eyes and left them to their competitive endeavors. Outside, the weather immediately chose violence. Rain from the left, snow from the right, and—

    [Is that a tornado made of fish?]

    Shaking her head, she spread her wings and launched herself down the mountain path.

    The wind tried to introduce her face to a cliff, but her new, recently-honed reflexes kept her from becoming a Grace-shaped splatter.

    [All this training’s done wonders for me!]

    The path wound through dead trees and rocks. Every few feet, the weather changed. Blazing sun. Freezing hail. Weird, sideways rain.

    Ten minutes in, the first demon appeared.

    Level 45, red numbers floating above its head. It looked like someone had tried to cross a bear with a thundercloud and ended up with something that shouldn’t exist. Crackling fur, too many teeth, and eyes that sparked with electricity.

    Grace’s blade swept through its neck before it could even roar.

    The demon dissolved into nothing. No dramatic death scene. No final words. Just gone, like she’d deleted it from reality.

    Two more demons burst from a cave to her left. Levels 52 and 48. They moved in sync, trying for a classic pincer maneuver.

    Grace spun, her blade extending into a whip of pure light. It caught both demons across their chests. They exploded like shadow-filled pi?atas at the world’s worst birthday party.

    "That all you got?" she called to the empty air. "Come on!"

    Thunder answered. The mountain rumbled.

    Then more demons.

    A whole pack emerged from the caves—four of them, levels ranging from 40 to 63. They circled her with predator intelligence, recognizing a threat when they saw one.

    Grace grinned.

    [When did I start enjoying this so much?]