“Come now, Fouré. You’ve been making so much noise! What is there to be screeching about?” Oh. Another voice sounded through the air, presumably scolding the first woman, and along with the second voice came a woman floating down from the sky just as the first one had. This newcomer had white hair instead of pink.
Unlike the first woman, who was quite lively, the white-haired woman had a sharp glare—a glare that was pointed directly at the pink-haired woman who was still tugging at my cheeks. Then, coming to a late realization, she pointed unsteadily at me.
“Huh? How? How...are you able to touch the boy, Fouré?” she asked, surprise obvious in her tone.
“No clue! But I can touch him. He can see and hear me! I’m sure he can see you too, Aruna,” replied the pink-haired woman.
“I don’t believe you... That’s impossible. We’ve never encountered a human like this before.”
“At first, I thought it was some silly trick too. But it’s clear as day—just touching him like this is proof enough.” As the pink-haired woman said all of that, she began squishing and tugging my cheeks again. I was wishing she’d stop, as it kinda hurt.
The white-haired woman turned her attention to me. “Who are you really, boy? Are you actually a human?”
“Y-Yes. My name’s Hisui Belcoure Clematis,” I responded through the pain of my cheeks getting tugged on.
“Clematis? That’s the name of this area. You must be the baron’s son,” she surmised.
“Yes, the youngest of three.”
“I see. Then you really are a human. I can hardly believe this, but your very existence appears similar to ours.”
“Um, what do you mean?” I stumbled over my words, not quite comprehending. What was she saying? I couldn’t grasp the implications at all.
“In short, well... Hm, how do I explain this?”
“Couldn’t you say we’re like goddesses? That’s the easiest way for him to understand, right?” Fouré interjected.
“Ah, now that you mention it...humans do call us goddesses, don’t they?”
I could scarcely believe my ears. “G-Goddesses?” I mumbled, mulling over their words. Then it struck me—I had the feeling I’d heard their names somewhere before. The pink-haired woman had called the white-haired woman “Aruna,” and Aruna in return had addressed the other as “Fouré.” When they brought up the fact that they were called “goddesses,” I arrived at the one and only explanation.
The white-haired woman spoke to me once more, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Let us introduce ourselves. I’m Aruna.”
“And I’m Fouré.”
“A-Are you two...of the three goddesses?” Having come to my conclusion, I had to ask. Twylite Kingdom had a very deep-rooted faith in the three goddesses. Two of these three goddesses were the War Goddess Aruna and the Light Goddess Fouré—the exact same names as these women.
“You’re one smart cookie! You’re not just any normal kid, are you? The color of your soul’s different and all.”
Confused, Aruna cut in before I could reply. “What do you mean, Fouré?”
“The color of his soul’s completely different from any human I’ve ever seen. Maybe he came from another world.”
At that point, a surprised squeak escaped my mouth before I had time to even register it. How did she know I was from another world?! I was at a complete loss, given that I’d never once expected anyone to discover my secret.
Seeing my reaction, Fouré smiled knowingly.
“Looks like I was right. Wow, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a soul drift here from another world. I guess you were reincarnated in this realm? Your body’s a part of this world down to the core—it’s just your soul that’s different.”
“I’ve never seen a soul from another world before... That explains the strange aura about him,” Aruna said in response.
“And probably explains why he can see us too,” Fouré agreed.
“Perhaps. But this child certainly has an aptitude for my power; I imagine that’s the real reason he can see me, at least.”
“Ohhh! That makes more sense.” Suddenly turning to look toward a nearby spot where there seemed to be nothing at all of note, Fouré spoke. “Hey! Come on, Cult, join us!”
Shortly after Fouré’s earnest call, another woman appeared from the empty space like a ghost. Her hair was stunningly long, both in front and behind. From the space between her bangs, deep red eyes peered out at me. A strange anxiety settled over me, clutching me in its embrace. Considering the identities of the other two women, she must be the last of the three goddesses.
“This is Cult. She’s a member of our family,” Fouré announced.
I knew it. She was the last goddess, the Chaos Goddess Cult. Of the three, I’d heard her powers were the most dangerous—and it was that very woman who now stood among us, silently gazing down at me. After a moment, she muttered, “It appears he has synergy with spellcraft as well.”
“I thought so! Wow, I’ve never seen a human who had synergy with all three powers before!” Fouré seemed thrilled.
“His existence is quite a rare treasure indeed. He’s fundamentally of a different nature than us, but similar in infinite other respects,” Cult observed.
“How wonderful! No one’s ever been able to see us before, much less actually interact.” Fouré’s pokes and pulls intensified to the point where she was practically hugging me—she gave me the distinct impression of someone who’d found a doll she adored. But that was of secondary importance right now, as something else had caught my attention.
“Um, can I ask something?”
“Hmm? What is it, cutie?”
“When you say I have synergy with all three powers, what exactly do you mean?” Among all their chatter, this was the point that interested me the most. If my assumption was correct, then this might be the huge turning point that I’d been needing in my short life.
“It means exactly what it says—you can use all three powers. Normally humans can only use one,” Fouré said plainly.
“A-All three?!”
“Yep!”
Silence. I didn’t know how to respond, but this new, shocking revelation sank into my mind, consuming it. This news about my power—or, well, my synergies—drew my attention even over the fact that I just met the three goddesses of this realm. I laughed in spite of myself.
“I-I see... So I do have power.”
“Is that important to you? You certainly seem happy.”
“Yes! Thank you for letting me know, Lady Fouré!” The light of hope finally had finally shone down on my life, and it was all thanks to these women.
“I can’t say I fully understand, but I’m glad for you! Did you want power?”
“Yes—no matter what. I’m so weak, and I have to change that—to become strong.” I clenched my fists tight.
If I had magecraft, I could help Azalea. I’m not sure how well I could hold my own against monsters, but I’d be happy to try as long as I could ease her burdens.
If I had godcraft, that would give me the opportunity to cure Armeria’s illness. I’d heard it was a difficult task, but as long as there was a chance, no obstacles or complications would stop me from trying to help her.
And lastly, spellcraft—the power to create something from nothing. More precisely, spellcraft encompassed the ability to change and alter things at will, and according to what father had once told me, it could even create the food that me, Cosmos, and Armeria so sorely lacked.
I was beyond thrilled. I would have been happy to have been granted any one of the three powers, but now all of them were within my grasp. With enough training, I could save each of my sisters by myself. Elated, I thanked Fouré effusively.
“I didn’t do anything!” she said. “But I see... It looks like you’ve suffered a lot,” she sighed. Embarrassed that it was so obvious, I chuckled.
“Yeah... My family is really poor.”
“Then this must be fate! I’m sure with your aptitude, you’ll be able to handle our powers. Now that our family’s gotten one member larger, I’ll give you a present to celebrate!”
“Huh? A present?” I mumbled to myself. What was she planning on giving me?
“That’s a lovely idea. In this world, the more power you have, the better. It would be such a shame to part with a human who can talk with us, given we’ve never met one before,” Aruna agreed.
Cult chimed in as well. “Very well. For my part, I am also curious.” She quietly giggled before continuing, “I shall grace you with spellcraft.”
I could do nothing but sit, perplexed by their intentions. Pulling away, the three goddesses stood before me side by side, then held out their hands all at once. In that moment, they each radiated an aura that was uniquely theirs, flowing from their bodies and into their hands.
“I grant you the power of battle—magecraft,” said Aruna.
“I grant you the power of tranquility—godcraft,” said Fouré.
“I grant you the power of change—spellcraft,” said Cult.
“We give these powers unto you,” they all intoned at once.
Aruna’s hands glowed violet, Fouré’s hands glowed gold, and Cult’s hands glowed red. Then the shining lights, each embodying their own different energies, shot straight into my body. As soon as they did, I was overwhelmed by an inexplicable feeling of...omnipotence.
“Now your body houses each of our powers.” Aruna nodded.
“Do your best to learn how to use them!” chirped Fouré.
“I’m quite excited to see how things turn out,” giggled Cult.
The three goddesses laughed gaily as they looked down at me, glowing as I was with their three colors of light.
In that moment, I knew beyond a doubt that my destiny had changed.