The Goddess Is Obsessed With Me

At some point in their lives, everyone has heard this phrase more than once:

"The world is small."

A short statement, yet one with profound meaning.

This doesn't necessarily mean that the world is physically small.

In fact, the person saying this might feel that the world is so vast that once you part ways with someone, you might never meet them again due to the immense scope of our world.

However, despite this, it's a phrase that one might utter when they 'truly' 'coincidentally' run into an acquaintance or a familiar face while exploring the world.

It's something we say to an unexpected figure we reunite with, as if by fate, in this vast world.

That's the sentiment I wanted to express.

"Sigh... The world really is small..."

While most people might say this when they bump into a pleasant acquaintance, I couldn't.

Instead, I lamented and begrudged encountering someone I wished to avoid.

In the game's lore, it's Miru, an ancient, ferocious dragon that has consumed darkness and cultivated infinite power for a long time.

For some reason, she seemed to be confronting Erina as if they were reuniting after a long time.

What on earth brought them face-to-face, and how did they end up in this situation?

'Coincidentally', this happened when I happened to leave Erina alone, and 'somehow' there was a dispute with a passerby, who 'coincidentally' turned out to be Miru.

"Damn."

I wanted to laugh at the cruelty of the world and the improbable face-off that had occurred.

But standing there, blaming an uncertain fate wouldn't help. Even though I was reluctant and scared, I had to step in.

"Erina, Miru! Both of you, calm down—"

Just as I was about to intervene,

Swoosh-

"?!?!"

A chilling, unfamiliar sensation crept up my neck, spreading throughout my body.

Before I could even process what I felt, the answer was right before my eyes.

A sharp, massive claw, emanating a dark aura, lunged at me.

It takes only 0.06 seconds for humans to recognize something—a mere instant.

In that fleeting moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion, as if recorded in ultra-high-speed footage.

Memories of my life flashed before my eyes, even ones from my original world that I had forgotten.

All these memories, large and small, seemed to hover in front of me.

What I realized was the concept of death.

The encroaching claw signified inevitable death.

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I instinctively knew that if Miru's claw hit me, it would be instant death.

The memories that brushed past me were the 'life flashing before my eyes' phenomenon people experience before death.

I had heard that when someone is about to die and sees their life flash before their eyes, they are subconsciously searching their brain for a way to avoid their impending doom, reflecting on past situations where they overcame danger.

The moment I recognized the situation, my brain frantically sent signals to evade the impending claw. However, while my perception of time seemed to slow down, my reflexes remained the same. No matter how much I commanded my body, the response was agonizingly slow. The claw had already reached so close that in that moment, I almost resigned to my fate.

"No! I don't want to die—"

I wasn't sure if I'd spoken aloud or just screamed internally, but I blurted out what could have been my last words.

Ting!

With the clear sound of metal clashing, my vision returned to normal.

"Huh?!"

Barely coming to terms with reality, I touched my face amidst a flurry of thoughts.

Am... am I alive?

Relief washed over me as the cold sensation disappeared, and I realized I was still alive.

"Huff... huff... huff...!"

I breathed heavily, wiping off the cold sweat, overwhelmed by the sheer drama of it all and looking up at the clear sky.

Fortunately, Erina's sword had blocked Miru's claw, preventing it from hitting my face and sparing me from certain death.

Roar!

"Ugh!"

A powerful gust was created by the collision of the sword and claw. Had I not anchored myself to the ground, I might have been blown away.

"Aaah!"

Sadly, the bystanders weren't as fortunate. They were scattered like leaves in the wind, with surrounding structures being destroyed, showcasing the very definition of chaos.

"Damn!"

"Harold?!"

Only after the storm had passed did the two women realize that I had intervened just before their weapons could clash.

Their expressions, failing to hide their surprise, twisted as if they hadn't expected me to step in.

"What have I done..."

"Are... are you okay?"

One approached me with shaking pupils, seemingly unable to believe what she had done.

Now, both of them seemed to ignore each other, focusing only on me.

Suddenly!

Both rushed into my arms. To an outsider, it might look as if a man was lying in the middle of the road during broad daylight, playfully sandwiched between two women—a situation that could lead to major misunderstandings.

"Hey! Calm down! For now, let's move somewhere—"

I tried to reason, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.

"I'm sorry! It's this red-haired woman's fault for talking nonsense..."

"I never meant to hurt you! If it weren't for this so-called 'dragon'..."

Their simultaneous excuses threatened to overwhelm me.

"He's my knight in shining armor..."

"Harold is my lover..."

Oh no.

Suddenly, it hit me—the realization filled my mind, triggering alarms in my brain's emergency response center.

"What?"

"Say that again."

Suddenly recognizing one another, the two women glared with deepening darkness in their eyes.

"I've already marked Harold as mine... Harold wants me too."

"Today, Harold told me he'd be with me forever, that he loves me."

Both exaggerated their shared past, looking ready to jump at each other at any moment.

"I almost had Harold as my knight; if we had a bit more time to talk, he would've been serving me by now."

"We were close enough that I felt his warmth every day; if we met just three months earlier, we'd be married by now."

I could sense the root cause of their argument, though I didn't know how they'd come to this point.

"I shared my first kiss with Harold."

"I've even tasted Harold's sweat."

"What...?!"

Miru looked jealous and flustered, while Erina smirked maliciously.

Soon, the two silently glared at each other until...

"Harold!"

"Who is it?!"

"It's me, Miru, who devours darkness?!"

"Or is it Erina?!"

Suddenly, I was forced to choose between the two.

"Um... well..."

"Answer quickly!"

The pressure to respond was palpable. If I had to describe the situation, it felt like running into both a current and an ex-girlfriend, and they're having an intense argument, both looking to me to settle the score.

"Um, so..."

"Stop driving me crazy and answer!"

Truly, it was an agonizing situation for me, making me want to flee right then and there. No matter who I chose, one would undoubtedly be devastated. And if I chose neither, it felt like I was the one in danger. Yet as I pondered, time continued to pass, and their patience was running thin. In the end, I couldn't choose, and all I could do was maintain a serious silence.

"What on earth happened?!"

"We received reports of chaos in the village, and it's true!"

Hearing the villagers' voices, the village guards rushed over.

"Damn..."

"Uh?!"

Then, looking irritated, the women turned their attention to the guards.

Now's my chance!

Seizing the opportunity, I bolted at full speed.

"Harold!!"

Without looking back, I sprinted away, the shrieks of desperation and piercing glares chasing after me.

"The guards are here! Let's change the location!"

Whether they heard me or not, I didn't wait to find out and kept running.

"Phew... ha..."

Feeling I had put enough distance between us, I ducked into an unfamiliar alley to catch my breath. The exhaustion from such a sprint was something I hadn't felt in a while. I wiped the sweat from my brow.

"Why does such bad luck always find me?"

Murmuring to myself, I looked up at the clear sky.

"Fate, you say... Are you interested in your destiny?"

An old voice caught my attention, making me turn.

"Who are you?"

Turning my head, I saw a small tent in the corner of my vision. Inside was an elderly fortune teller, looking at me, playing with some beads.

"Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. I am a humble seer, a child of the Goddess of Fate, Mori One."

In the game's lore, Mori One is the goddess who oversees fate, known to foresee the future with high accuracy. In-game, while players can't offer tributes to Mori One, the character acts like an NPC that conveys news from the developers about patches or upcoming events.

"Fate, you say..."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, and the old woman started talking about me to gain my trust.

"Believe it or not, I sense something foreign in you. Perhaps, you're loved by an entity beyond human comprehension?"

Catching on to my exact situation, my eyes widened in surprise. The old woman, seeing my reaction, smirked and gestured to a chair in front of her.

"Sit here, and I'll tell you more. Don't worry about the cost. Money doesn't mean much to this old woman... If your fate is intriguing, I might even give you a discount."

Indeed, as the child of the Goddess of Fate, she had an uncanny ability to read people. The aura around her was exceptional, yet there was an unsettling air about her. Yet, there was no one else who could offer such effective insights.

"Alright... Please proceed."

Sitting stiffly in front of the fortune-teller, she advised, "You can sit comfortably." Taking her advice, I relaxed my shoulders.

"Now, let's see. Please infuse this bead with your magic."

Following her instructions, I placed my hand on the seer's bead and channeled a bit of my magic into it. A difficult-to-describe color began swirling inside the bead, forming cloud-like patterns.

"Hmm... Uh..."

Although I couldn't see anything specific, the old woman seemed to perceive something, gazing intently at the bead. Then, suddenly,

"What?"

She looked startled and shocked, her eyes widening in surprise.