As the ethereal woman's words echoed in my mind, I pondered their true meaning for a brief moment. No matter their intentions, I reasoned, nothing could possibly surpass the suffering I had already endured.

  "If you mean to kill me." I replied, my voice devoid of emotion, "Please do. Death is all I want."

  The beautiful specter drew nearer, her delicate hand coming to rest upon my cheek. Her touch held a warmth reminiscent of my mother's, and I could no longer hold back the flood of tears as memories of her tragic demise resurfaced.

  "Oh, my poor child." she soothed, her voice a balm to my shattered heart. "I could never bring myself to harm you. Now, we are a part of one another, our fates intertwined."

  Her words were cryptic, but I longed for her to hurry up with whatever fate she had in store for me. It was as if she had read my mind, for she gently pleaded with me to remain patient, admitting it had been some time since she had last done "this."

  "This may hurt." she warned, "But do not despair, for it will be over quickly."

  Before I could brace myself, my entire being was engulfed in golden flames, searing my essence with an intensity that made me scream. Yet the pain was not unbearable—the weeks of relentless torture had left my senses numb, a hollow shell of what they once were.

  As my physical form diminished, I became smaller, whiter, translucent. It was as though I had become a ghost, my spirit now liberated from its mortal coil. Peering down, I beheld my former self laid out on the medical bed, now charred beyond recognition as the flames continued their ravaging dance.

  The enforcer, who had been watching the scene with widened eyes, frantically ran over in shock. Evidently at a loss for what to do, he quickly fled the room to seek help.

  The ethereal woman beckoned me to follow her, and as if by instinct, I found myself gliding effortlessly towards her. "I have freed your soul," she explained, "Allowing you to traverse freely. It is a shame to lose this body so young, but remember—bodies are merely temporary vessels."

  "I'm grateful for your help." I interjected, "But can you please explain what's going on?"

  Her lips curled into a knowing smile. "All will be revealed in time."

  With a wave of her hand, she conjured a phantasmal portal above my smoldering remains. Beyond its depths, I could see nothing but an endless expanse of blinding whiteness.

  "Stay close." she cautioned, "These dimensional passages are volatile."

  I floated obediently behind her as we traversed the strange portal, my senses overwhelmed by a deluge of unimaginable sensations. I remarked that for a short moment I could even taste sounds. The cosmos swirled around us in a dizzying kaleidoscope of colors and lights, the boundaries between space, time, and reality blurring into oblivion.

  "Where are we?" I breathed, my awe-stricken voice barely a whisper amidst the celestial spectacle.

  "We exist both everywhere and nowhere." she replied, her form melding with the swirling symphony of stars. "We're traveling through a dimensional passageway, a bridge connecting countless worlds scattered throughout the cosmos."

  She glanced back at me, an air of gentle warmth emanating from her celestial gaze. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. You can call me Celeste."

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  'Celeste' then gestured towards the constellations whirling past us, each star a glittering jewel in the tapestry of the universe. "All that you see here is part of my domain. I have avatars stationed on each of my major worlds—with the exception of a select few, including yours."

  I struggled to grasp the concept. "Avatars? Do you mean, like, other bodies?"

  "In a sense." she responded, a hint of melancholy coloring her words.

  A brief silence settled between us before Celeste continued, her voice tinged with ancient memories. "Your world was one of the first under my guardianship, and I was still learning to control my powers. Millennia ago, I walked among humans, bestowing boons and blessings to uplift your entire species."

  Her tale wove itself around us like stardust. "Every man, woman, and child was granted eternal youth and the gift of never-death."

  My eyes widened in amazement. "So, everyone on Earth basically had superpowers at some point?"

  A gentle laugh, like the peal of celestial bells, resonated through the cosmos. "I suppose that's one way to put it. But I soon discovered that humans harbored an insatiable greed, unlike any other race under my watch."

  I couldn't help but offer a wry smile, unsurprised by her revelation.

  "Some sought to hoard my power, denying its gifts to the rest of humanity. They devised a devious scheme to trap me—you see, I'm unable to harm those whom I've blessed. Armed with this knowledge, they succeeded in killing my avatar."

  I bristled with indignation. "Damn those ungrateful bastards!"

  Celeste merely sighed, the weight of ages heavy in her voice. "Indeed. After my avatar's demise, the humans seized my lifeless form, partaking of my flesh and blood to fuel their ravenous thirst for power. With my avatar no longer tethered to your world, my blessings vanished from every other human."

  Celeste's story began to fall into place, elucidating why most humans remained oblivious to such incredible powers. "So, those greedy pigs transformed your body into the fountain of life?" I said, connecting the dots.

  Celeste nodded. "That's correct. Merely imbibing my essence is enough to extend one's life by centuries. Fortunately, I can still influence the blessings bestowed upon those who partake of it."

  She paused for a moment, her gaze drifting into the depths of the cosmos. "I've denied humans true immortality, yet the powers they wield are more than sufficient for their ambitions."

  "True immortality, huh?" I pondered the concept. "Sounds pretty neat."

  "That's the very blessing I granted you." Celeste revealed, almost as an afterthought. "You're the first person in two millennia, the first to ingest my essence, whom I've deemed worthy of such a gift."

  That actually made a lot of sense. It was a sobering realization—only those with vast wealth, likely tainted by corruption, could afford the miraculous elixir. These are people who would commonly be considered by many to be the worst humans to exist.

  "Now that I'm a ghost, is there an afterlife awaiting me?" I pondered, uncertain of our purpose within the dimensional passage.

  "In your world, you humans have a concept called 'reincarnation.'" Celeste explained. "This is essentially the fate of your soul after your body perishes. You're not truly dead; you're actually already in the midst of reincarnation now."

  Reincarnation. The idea was familiar from the countless light novels and anime I'd encountered, where protagonists would meet grisly ends, only to awaken as infants in foreign worlds. Was this to be my destiny? However, the thought of beginning anew in a different realm, without the memory of my late parents, was unbearable.

  "What if I refuse reincarnation?" I asked abruptly, catching Celeste off guard.

  She hesitated, clearly unused to such defiance. "This isn't something within my control. Your soul will inevitably be drawn to another body, regardless of your wishes. The only aspect under my influence is your soul's final destination."

  Given the alternative—rebirth as a lowly grasshopper, perhaps—I reluctantly decided to entrust my reincarnation to the goddess' guidance. It would truly be unfortunate to reincarnate into a chicken, only to be slaughtered after a few months and end up back in the cycle.

  "I have a favor to ask of you." Celeste announced unexpectedly. "However, you're under no obligation to accept."

  I couldn't help but laugh, incredulous at the idea of a celestial being requesting my aid. "A favor? What could a goddess possibly want from me?"