8 Chapter 8: Punishment

From here on forth you godhood will be revoked until you are able to prove to at minimum of half the gods and goddesses here that you are worthy of being a goddess," the elder god said with his mighty voice, the sound echoed once again but this time no anger could be felt coming from it, it had returned to the normal calm voice that all the gods and goddesses had come to expect. A wave of calm flowed over the other gods and goddesses, except for the diva goddess. This was the second worst punishment she could have received, while she had started as a mortal and earned her godhood she didn't remember what exactly she had done that had impressed all the other gods. 

"You will be reincarnated as a mortal and sent to the land of Esteria, you will retain your memories as a reward for all the hard work you have done up to this point, I wish you the best of luck in regaining your godhood," the elder god said with a smile, he was clearly enjoying this and had no shame in showing it. The diva goddess looked like she had been broken, her face had gone pale and it looked like she could faint at any moment. All she could do was look up at the elder good with plea in her eyes and when she found no remorse she looked over to Kalo hoping that he might do something.

Yet no pity was found there either, Kalo just looked back with what looked like an understanding face but said nothing. It wasn't until the elder god stood up and began walking down the steps that lead to the judges bench that she knew her fate had been sealed. The elder god took his time walking down the steps, sure he could have floated but he wanted to enjoy every moment of this. In what felt like an eternity to the diva goddess the elder god was soon standing in front of her.

"I wish you luck on your journey in regaining your godhood," the elder god said while placing a hand on her shoulder. With a snap of his finders a light enveloped the diva goddess surrounding her. It took quite a while before the light had dissipated, all the gods and goddesses looked on at the spectacle with wonder in their eyes, this was the first time in over a thousand years that a god or goddess had been demoted after all and no one was willing to miss it. When the light finally faded completely only the elder god was left standing, all traces of the diva goddess were gone and only colored nails were left laying on the ground where she had been standing. 

"Let this be a lesson to all, if you neglect your duties as a god then there will be no remorse in your punishment, for all those who wish to watch her struggle I will create a viewing screen at the hall of trials," the elder god announced to the gods and goddesses. Then with that he turned around and floated back to the still lit portal and walked through, leaving everyone else in shock. 

Ziuna could feel a warm breeze blowing across her face, she just waved her hand at the breeze trying to force it to stop, it must be one of the other goddesses using the wind to dry their hair after a bath. It wasn't until she noticed that the wind didn't stop that she felt something was wrong, slowly she opened her eyes and instead of seeing her heavenly cloud house she saw a lush open field. Worry and shock ran through her, that's when everything came rushing back to her. Once she realized that this wasn't a dream she began to scream at the top of her lungs for no reason at all. 

Ziuna began hyperventilating trying her best to calm down but failing horribly, it had been thousands of years since she was a mortal and had no clue what to do from here, it wasn't until she looked down to see a pair of clothes and a note on top of them that she calmed down enough to pick them up. She quickly put on the light tan tunic and brown pants then with shaky hands she opened the note.

"Dear Ziuna, as you can see I have left you a set of clothes on the ground, these will help you fit in with the locals, everything you need to achieve your goal is available to you all you have to do is find it, good luck. P.S. If you say status out loud a level screen will appear, this is common knowledge in this world, I recommend you keep your origins a secret." The note read, instantly Ziuna felt rage begin boiling in her core, she would not let this pass if it was the last thing she did.

Ziuna remembered what direction Robert had gone when he first got here and quickly decided that if she used him then maybe she could return to heaven. She slowly began walking in the same direction but after walking for well over a mile came across a tiny pond, the pond isn't what concerned her but rather the fact that when she was watching Robert she never saw him pass or find this pond. Worry began to creep into her heart but a dryness in her throat pushed it down, she hurried over to the pond feeling immense thirst for the first time in thousands of years.

She arrived within a few seconds, her legs carrying her much faster than she thought possible. When she arrived she dropped to her knees and began cupping the water into her hands and bringing it to her mouth. It wasn't until her third mouth full though that she noticed something felt different. Her young felt like sandpaper on the water and she could feel her ears twitching as she drank, it wasn't until she reached to the side of her head to scratch them that she noticed what was wrong. She didn't have ears on the side of her head anymore, with shaky hands she reached to the top of her head, her hands slowly closing around two black fuzzy ears.

Ziuna wanted to scream but managed to hold it back, quickly she looked down at the pond water to confirm, her reflection coming back in a distorted image due to her causing ripples in the water but nonetheless she could see the black cat ears on the top of her head. She could have sworn that they weren't there when she arrived, the moment that she began touching them again she felt a sharp pain attack her back, her lower back felt like it was on fire. For what felt like hours to her Ziuna screamed rolling around on the grass. 

It took quite a while before the pain eventually resided but in its place she could feel something swinging about. With wide eyes she looked back, and staring back at her was a pitch black tail, this time all Ziuna could do was break down and cry, falling to the ground in a fit of tears, screaming and cussing at the sky.

Far above the screaming Ziuna the elder god sat, he was in what looked like a normal human office, a giant mahogany desk in the center. The elder god had what looked like a crystal ball in front of him, inside the crystal ball was an image of a woman with long black hair and eyes that looked like they held universes in them. 

"Thank you for your help Zala, I appreciate you letting us send people over without breaking the treaty," the elder god said to the woman who just stared blankly back at him. This awkward science stayed for quite a while before the woman spoke. 

"Don't let it happen again," she said in a rough tone, then without warning the crystal ball went blank leaving just the reflection of the elder god, who laid back in his chair pinching the brim of his nose. The elder god stayed like this for quite a while before eventually standing up, he walked over to the closest shelf which was lined with books that appeared so old that if you even blinked at them they would turn to dust. The elder god didn't grab any of the books but instead a bell that rested in front of them. Then with a ring of the bell the messenger god Kalo was kneeling in front of the desk.

"Did you poison the water like I asked?" The elder god asked Kalo who just nodded back. The elder god just smiled while sitting back down in his chair, then without any warning began laughing like a mad man, if anyone else had been able to hear it they would have described it as the laughing of a maniac.