Chapter 51: A Thousand-Year Love Story 〈Goddess〉
——Ah, I’m glad.
After confirming the situation, I let out a small sigh of relief.
At first, it was out of curiosity.
The world of the gods gives a good view of the human world. I noticed a dull man who was always researching magic, and for some reason, I wanted to talk to him, so I descended to the earth for the first time.
Gods are big. Using magic to become the same size as humans, I talked to a man on a walk.
“I am the Goddess of Time, Sheila. Can you give me your time?”
“… Huh?”
The man tilted his head suspiciously and introduced himself as Leocadio Nemesio.
At first, he was just trying to humor a crazy woman talking to him, but we soon hit it off.
Why was it so fun to talk to Leocadio like that?
Still inexperienced, I didn’t understand the meaning of the emotions born in my heart, so I descended to the human world many times.
“Look, Sheila. There is a big difference in magic power depending on the person. I think if we make a measuring device, we can tell if someone is suitable for it or not!”
“Well, that’s amazing!”
“When it’s finished, let’s try measuring Sheila’s as well.”
“I’m looking forward to it. My magical power far exceeds that of ordinary people, you know.”
“Yes, yes. Goddess-sama.”
“Really, you don’t believe me at all!”
I always had fun talking with Leocadio and was always laughing.
Little did I know that this time would lead to a dreadful conclusion.
The seasons came and went. The blooming spring ended, the scorching summer arrived, the autumn leaves danced away, and we endured the winter with snow adding to the whiteness.
Meeting Leocadio and having conversations with him day after day was both gentle and cruel.
In the fifth winter since we met, he died.
I lamented the fragility of life. It was just five years, a blink of an eye from a god’s perspective.
I still wanted to talk to him more, why did he have to go?
I longed to see Leocadio.
I despaired, hated, and resented the merciless length of my life.
I learned that what had sprouted in my heart was called love in the human world.
If I were human, this would be the end. It wouldn’t be such an unusual story.
However, I soon realized that I had the absolute power to fulfill my only wish.
Using my power for my own sake was the only taboo imposed by the gods. Even though I knew that, I couldn’t stop myself.
Without hesitation, I traveled back in time five years.
Just like that day, I called out to Leocadio while pretending it was a coincidence during our walk.
“I am Sheila, the Goddess of Time. Would you give me your time?”
“…Huh?”
Oh, to be able to see him again like this. There’s nothing happier than this.
The seasons passed. And in the winter of the fifth year, he died again, and I went back in time once more.
Again and again, again and again. Just to satisfy my own desires, I rewound time.
And after I had a face-to-face encounter with Leocadio, which I couldn’t even count how many times.
I finally noticed the anomaly. In every corner of the human world, there was a black magic that shouldn’t have existed.
The black magic power only dwelled in women, perhaps because I was a woman. And the women who gained the power of grotesque began to cause mischief everywhere.
Yes, it was because I kept repeating the same time and even descended on the human world, causing the balance of magic to be disrupted and causing this situation.
Oh, I have created something terrible in the human world by using my position as a god for my own selfish desires.
I can’t see Leocadio anymore. I have to atone for the sins I have committed.
After that, I was desperate.
Those who acquired black magic eventually came to be called witches. Every time I found a tragedy caused by witches, I rewound time.
But every time I rewound time, people would stash away their first memories.
However, I could call out one person as the axis even during the time rewind. I explained the memories to that person and sent them out to avoid the tragedy. This made it easier for them to recall their first memories.
…Well, sometimes I forgot to explain one or two things. Recently, I forgot to mention the condition for the memory to return, “the person who is the axis has died before,” and realized it later.
Over the course of a thousand years repeating such things, I couldn’t eradicate the black magic fundamentally.
With lingering regrets, I will disappear today.
“Miss Sheila.”
Called from behind, I slowly turned around.
There was a new Goddess of Time with white hair and golden eyes.
“Nice to meet you. You’ve come to take over, haven’t you?”
The term of a goddess is about two thousand years, and my body is already starting to crumble like sand. Having exhausted all my power, I entrust my role to the next Goddess of Time.
“…I won’t clean up after you.”
The goddess, who has the same color but a different appearance, says. Indeed, gods are selfish and merciless.
“I understand. I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”
“Well, I’ll provide the minimum response as a god. Please take your time to rest.”
The words of consolation sounded surprisingly gentle. With a small smile on my face, I dissolved my body into the white space.
Ah, this is it, it’s finally over.
From now on, time will never go back. But since that’s the way time works, perhaps we should say that things have simply returned to their original state.
In this millennium, research on witches has advanced considerably, and society has established order, so tragedies like that don’t happen anymore.
Surely, humans can coexist with witches, and we can believe that everything will be okay.
Come to think of it, about the last tragedy.
I wonder if Camilo Cervantes, who became the trigger to turn back time, will continue to live happily with the girl he loves.
If you think about it, they would have walked separate paths if it weren’t for the black magic in the first place. I really twisted the human world.
But their last smile looked happy, so I want to believe that this was for the best…
…Lies.
No way.
Leocadio?
Why? Oh, were you also…because you had little magic, you remembered me after we parted ways in our last lives.
I’m sorry. Did you wait for me?
Thank you. I’ve missed you too, for a long, long time.
I’m actually very tall, but does it bother you?
That’s good, I’m glad.
Yes, let’s go together.
Together, forever…
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