The Dark Goddess

Chapter 37

Ami tried to open her eyes, she tried really hard to open up and see but she couldn’t, or wait, something just flashed across, she was sure of that.

It was then she discovered that her eyes were actually opened but where she currently is was pitch black.

‘Where am I?’ she thought to herself but her thoughts echoed about her loudly as if she had used an amplifier to talk.

‘What!?, What is wrong with this place' Ami thought yet again and still she experienced the deafening echo of her own thoughts.

She panicked and for a few moments her multiple thoughts bounced back at her, making her head reel in pain, she couldn’t stop thinking, so how was she to stop this?

She discovered she was floating, more thoughts, more echoes, more headache.

She wanted to try to gain control, more thoughts, more echoes, more headache.

She needed this to stop, she would do anything to stop it, more thoughts, more echoes, more headache.

Oh she could use her powers, she tried to activate her powers, just to do something to stop this loop of madness that she was.

But her powers failed her, they wouldn’t come, in fact she couldn’t even feel them at all, ‘what?!’

A loud amused chuckle that wasn’t hers sounded from all around her, but this sound did not have the effects that her own thoughts had on her, no headaches.

“You know for someone who thwarted one of my uprising plan, you don’t look so bright” a deep voice said, Ami figured the same voice owned the chuckle but what she couldn’t figure out was what he meant by what he was saying.

“Imagine being imprisoned in a place like this, I have survived it for millennial, but seeing your struggle here now, I have to give myself credit for that feat” the voice continued

Ami was getting irritated, who is this person and what does he have to do with where she is, he did mention a prison.

“Who are you?” Ami asked in a small voice afraid that if she talked out loud the same thing would happen with the echoes and headaches.

But nothing happened, just her voice sailed about the darkness.

The voice burst out laughing and even without seeing its face Ami knew the laughter wasn’t genuine.

“You know me! Don’t pretend that you don’t know me!” the voice boomed angrily after the laughter.

Ami really wished she could see his face or body or something so she could have a clue as to who or what she was talking to, all these were thoughts so the normal thing happened, it echoed about splitting her head from within.

“You really don’t know me?” the voice sounded really surprised and baffled “if you don’t know me then why stop my uprising?” he asked genuinely curious.

“I actually don’t know what you are talking about, I only just met myself here with no clue as to how I got here only that my thoughts seems to be after my life” She replied still irritated.

“Hmmm” the voice said and seemed to be deliberating on something, Ami heard him mumbling in very low tones but knew not what he was saying.

“So when you kind dies, they have no clue they’re dead? Or did that just happen to you because you’re bit dull from the look of things?” the voice asked point blank.

Multiple thoughts flooded her mind after hearing that from the voice, dead he said? Could she really be dead? What could she have done to deserve death?

All her thoughts bounced about and back at her in multiple folds, the intense pain from the splitting headache made her hold her head with both hands for fear of her head splitting into two.

“You are still thinking aren’t you?” the voice asked disapprovingly “You really are quite dull you know?”

“Well you see this prison here doesn’t allow you to keep thoughts, it brings them out in very loud tones, bounces them about to increase its loudness even more and then send them back to your head, now no head can take a loud version of their thoughts if you didn’t know, not to talk of a super loud version of it” the voice explained

“So you have to say everything out, keep talking, don’t stop to think, express any thoughts you would have out loud verbally” the voice stated.

“That is insane” Ami said with strain, her head was starting to get relief.

“Insane! Insane!!” the voice boomed “Oh yeah, Insane is the right word, you can’t possibly imagine how insane it could get, especially when I’ve been here for a millennial, always talking to myself never to have a moment of rest because then I’d have to think” 

“Being what I am, my thoughts gets amplified so much that the very prison shakes, after a while I discovered that those same thoughts of mine do escape the prison in waves, I mean the rebound is just too strong that even I get knocked down for a while after it enters back into my head” the voice went on.

“So, every start, middle and end of a decade I send out my thoughts, bearing the pain, putting ideas out, putting promises out, putting plans out, hoping it’ll get to some foolhardy people and they’ll give breaking me out a try” 

“Eventually, I started having followers, those who pray to me, worship me, sacrifice for me even, making me stronger, not strong enough to break out on my own, but strong enough to withstand the effects of my thoughts more, so I began to send out more thoughts and gained more followers and grew more in power” the voice kept going.

“How else did you think I was able to pull you here after you died, and for what? Thwarting one plan to break me out of here, one plan out of so many numerous plans all over the world, it was futile really, but I acknowledged and admired you and your sacrifice hence why I brought you here so we could have this conversation” the voice stated.

It all came rushing back to Ami after hearing that, Haven, the mission, the failure and then the success because of her sacrifice apparently.

And Casey!? They must all think she is dead and if they tell her… Ami copied the voice by saying all those in very low tones rather than thinking about it.

“You are a fast learner aren’t you?” the voice acknowledged.

“Send me back” Ami demanded.

“Well that is not really up to me, I only snatched you away from your route to where you’d be evaluated before being sent back, the evaluation will determine how long or short it’ll take to send you back depending on your deeds on earth, and seeing that you made a noble sacrifice apparently, you’d be sent back quite soon if not immediately even” the voice stated.

“Ok, so send me back to my route” Ami demanded still.

“Now why would I do that? We aren’t done here you know” the voice teased.

“But my colleagues must be worried about me, I have to go back and let people know I’m fine” Ami stated.

The voice chuckled again, “Oh my oh my, you are naïve aren’t you? You are not fine, not in the slightest bit, do you think death won’t take its toll? That you’ll just die, get reincarnated and just be back to your normal self? You must be crazier than I am to think that” the voice said.

“What is going to happen to me?” Ami asked filled with curious dread.

“You’ll grow” the voice answered 

“You are a pure born goddess, a really powerful entity, death links and merges you more and more with your powers, your aspect and your specialty”

“It strips you of any mortality you have in you innate or acquired, in your case your mortality was acquired by living with human and mingling with mortals, all that will be gone thanks to death and you’ll be more of a goddess”

“why did you think I went to the stress of bringing you here? You are a rare commodity, and right here and now, I want to recruit you, have you as an ally, I don’t need you to break me out, no, that will be achieved by my followers soon enough, I only need you to he by my side as I conquer the world and rule it in eternal darkness” the voice said.

It all started to make sense to Ami, she had never understood why almost all the deities from her actual heritage had at one point in time died, and then when they resurrect and become fully a god or goddess of their aspect, they either lose their humanity in full or their compassion towards humans or the peace they’ve had as being human or being with humans, they all withdraw to themselves away from the humans, save a few.

One thing about this situation she was in was that she found herself agreeing with this entity that had brought her to its prison, that really scared her but at the same gave her a mission as well so she steeled her resolve and focused on that mission.

“Fine, I’ll consider your offer on one condition, tell me all about you” Ami said and the voice chuckled deeply again.

***

As Ami moved in transit off towards the throne of evaluation she had a lot of thoughts, thankfully there was no echoes and rebounds here so she could fully think them over and over.

She arrived at the underworld first as the demon she had been with up to a moment ago had told her, 

“first the throne of evaluation at the underworld then the throne of redemption at the godly realm” the demon had said, he had also told her he was from the nether realm.

“Welcome uhm Ami I believe” a man said seated on the throne, he was clad in dark but really elegant native attires and he looked ruggedly handsome, his expression though said clueless.

With what the demon had told her, they will be surprised to learn about her over here, how the demon got so much information even from that prison was beyond her.

“Yes, my liege, I am Ami, daughter of Oya” Ami answered and although she knew it was wrong to claim being born of a woman in this heritage, it was all she truly knew to be true, she still had no idea who her father could actually be, only vague suspicions.

The man on the throne choked a bit at that statement, the demon was right after all, they have not a clue about her existence.

“Hmm, you don’t say” the man said and got of his throne which dissolved into smoke as he headed for her.

As he came closer the smoke followed, it was then she really saw that the smoke was in fact no smoke, but souls.

The man moved about her with his souls in tow curiously looking her over, she wasn’t moved one bit.

“I can really see now, the essence, the aura the carriage and visage, all truly indicates being born of the warrior goddess, but there is also something else, its percentage is really small, almost nonexistent, but its spark made this possible” the man said.

“That would be my father?” Ami asked with an expressionless face.

“Oh yes indeed, oh but where are my manners, I am Esu lalu, god of the underworld, welcome to my domain” he responded.

As he did the whole place changed from being dark and gloomy to being bright and elegant, the interior filled up with elegant and definitely expensive furniture, art of different kinds, and a soft melodious tune play from an instrument at the far corner.

Ami couldn’t see who was playing, when she glanced back at her host Esu lalu, he was now putting on a three piece suit of really great design, Ami suspected the souls had something to do with the sewing.

“So Ami, tell me about yourself and how you came to be here, truth be told I have absolutely no clue you existed, something only your mother is capable of you know?” Esu asked and gestured for her to seat.

Ami sat downz she herself needed to know a few things especially about this heritage of hers, and the way Esu called her name wasn’t the way it’s pronounced, he said it like ‘ah me’ instead of ‘ay me’, but there was something to the way he called it that made it seem he was the one that was actually right with the pronunciation.

Ami looked worried and uneasy, she needed to be done here fast so she could go to the next throne and be reincarnated as soon as possible.

“Are you worried about your next stop? The throne at the godly realm? Please don’t, I can dismiss you here to be reincarnated straight away, you don’t need those old fools up there, besides I don’t want a lot of people learning about you if that’s what your mother wants as well” Esu said.

Ami signed “Very well” she said and started the account of her entire life up to that very point, except the part where she was hijacked by a demon on her way there.

During her explanation food and drinks were presented to her by more invisible servants, but then she remembered something about not eating or drinking in the underworld, so she left them untouched, not that she was hungry in the first place.

“Hmmm… interesting, by this account of yours, I can tell that a lot is about to unfold, but now is not the time to go into details” Esu said and stood up.

“Now is the time to be reincarnated” as he said that everything returned to its dark and gloomy status, even the servants that were invisible were now visible as ghouls, skeletons and zombies, even the ones playing the instruments.

Now the music changed its tone from a soft one to an intense one, everywhere vibrated and moved rhythmically.

“Do you know the process and requirements and implications of being reincarnated?” Esu asked her.

Thanks to the demon, she does so she nodded her head in consent.

“One more thing, would you like to be aware all the while or would you rather have no idea as it happens?” Esu asked.

There was something mischievous about him since he discovered her to be the daughter of a goddess, but that was to be expected from the god of mischief.

“No, I don’t want to know, I don’t want to be aware” she said, the demon had also told her that experiencing the first reincarnated would be excruciatingly painful so if she could avoid it, she should.

There wasn’t any reason to doubt his words yet, he did want something from her afterall.

Esu looked a bit disappointed, “Very well then, Ami daughter of Oya, follow me and be resurrected” he said to her and they moved to an inner chamber to get the process underway.

As they moved in deeper Ami remembered the demon had told her to request for an intentional resurrection where she would be reincarnated where she chose, how could she have forgotten.

She tried to talk but her voice didn’t work anymore, crap she was off to Nigeria, after all that is where she really originated from hence by default she’d be reincarnated there.