Chapter 256: Continuity Error
The fog filling the boundless void leapt to life all at once, as multiple versions of Belladonna suddenly formed, alongside different versions of the strange woman that called herself a Goddess.
Some of the Belladonna’s laughed at the woman, some of them cowered in fear. A few attacked her, taking her presence as a threat and acting on it. A few others simply turned on their heels and ran in blind panic.
Regardless of what they were doing, many of them started to die brutal deaths. Some swift, some slow, some painful, some gory, some painless and a few that simply had her just dropping down dead instantly with no clear reason as to why she died.
As all of these very realistic fog illusions performed their various acts, and met their gruesome ends, the real Belladonna remained frozen with her eyes wide open, her mind racing as she stared at the smirking Goddess.
Sylvi glanced around at the various illusions and chuckled as she shook her head.
"There you go again, losing yourself in your thoughts. At least you have an active imagination, although a little too detailed if you ask me." She muttered as she looked at one particular illusion of the Goddess exploding Belladonna like a bloody balloon with just the wave of her hand.
The Goddess chuckled again, turning and walking away from Belladonna without a care, as she spoke kindly. "Please, just relax and drink your tea."
"Drink my- But I don’t have any-" Belladonna muttered, glancing down only to find herself holding a steaming cup of fresh tea. One hand curled around the handle while the other cupped the mug, letting her feel the heat radiating from the drink.
When she lifted her head, she was no longer standing in the void surrounded by versions of herself being slaughtered. Instead she was sitting in the coffee shop that she had visited after the beta test with Percy.
There was people bustling around her, having quiet conversations with each other as they laughed and looked lovingly into each other’s eyes. For a brief moment, she considered if all of it, everything that involved real magic in the world, had simply been a dream.
But that would not explain the woman sitting across from her, dressed like she was ready to go up the Mount Everest Express Staircase. It was a very popular tourist location for those who could afford it, and had even carved a ski slope down the other side for a quick descent.
She was wearing a giant, bright pink puffer jacket, thick ski goggles that shielded her eyes from view, heavy hiking boots and a fluffy white hat styled to look like a cat with the ears included. Even despite the change into an outfit that was incredibly garish and undignified, Belladonna could still recognise the mischievous and playful smile of the one that called herself a Goddess.
Sylvi raised her own cup, as if she was making a toast, before sipping at it and letting out a sigh of relief.
Keeping her eyes on the Goddess, Belladonna tentatively raised her cup up to her lips, trying to keep any thoughts of poison out of her mind in case they came true.
"I’m not really much of a tea girl..." She muttered, but sipped at the drink nonetheless. Not just because it was rude, but because she was not completely idiotic. If a Goddess offers you tea, you drink the damned tea!
Telling her no and spitting in the face of such a generous offer was how people got smited or turned into Spiders, Horses or something else awful for their rudeness or hubris.
"Ah, that probably explains why you ordered a coffee instead." The Goddess replied with a playful chuckle.
The moment the liquid touched Belladonna’s tongue, she knew that the Goddess was right. The taste of her favourite coffee, brewed to perfection, exploded across her taste buds. When she pulled her hands away, she was not even holding the tea cup anymore, but the paper takeaway cup that would dissolve if you left your coffee sitting for too long.
She didn’t even feel her hands changing position to accommodate for the differences in the cups. It reminded her of a film and the continuity errors, where things changed between different shots because of the different takes.
One minute the actors glass was half empty, the next it was full as they were taking a drink.
"You know, the thought that it is linear and only goes in one direction. That it is always Cause and Effect." The Goddess explained, as if that meant anything at all and did not come out of nowhere.
"W-what?" Belladonna stuttered, her mind starting to ache from the constant blows her sanity was taking, as she tried to keep herself together. Between controlling her thoughts so nothing bad happened, and tried to wrap her mind around everything that was utterly wrong with this place, it was starting to unravel her sense of what was right and true. Plus, it was incredibly stressful.
"Hmm... You are a smart one, so I suppose that it would happen sooner than later. That’s the biggest disappointment of all. The smart ones are the ones you want to talk to, but are always the ones that have the most trouble.
But trouble is much preferable than talking to morons. Actually... trouble is more preferable to everything." The Goddess cackled wickedly as she leaned back in her chair, her outfit having changed again the next time Belladonna looked at her.
Now instead of a skier, the Goddess was dressed like a homeless woman. With warm, but ragged and dirty clothing, including a torn hoodie that naturally had its hood pulled up to hide half of her face, as always.
She also happened to be stirring and creating the drink that she had drunk only a few moments ago. Not a new version of the same drink, but literally the exact drink that she had already drunk. That just made Belladonna’s head throb even more.
"You mean... you’re doing this?" Belladonna asked through gritted teeth, making the Goddess shake her head and sigh solemnly.
"No. Well... Not intentionally. This is just the way it is. Mortal minds are simply unable to handle interacting with Divinity. Even now, I am just an aspect of myself. A mere fraction of my power, and yet if i kept you here for long enough I would drive you mad.
So, how about we avoid that and get down to the purpose of your little visit, shall we? I’m sure you are curious as to why I brought you here, after all."
