Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
We continue along the path as it skirts the edge of the forest, taking us under towering crystal peaks that shine from the inside, until we come across a ridge of golden quartz, the interior sparkling with metallic lines. As we get closer, I see an archway in the ridged surface, carved from a single enormous opal, its surface reflecting the hues of the landscape in a mesmerizing display.
“Just through here,” my mother says as she disappears beneath it. I quickly follow, entering a vast chamber where the walls seem to pulsate with an inner light, casting intricate shadows that twist and writhe like living things.
At the center of the chamber stands a pool of liquid fire, its surface undulating with molten energy that beckons me closer. My mother gazes at me expectantly, her eyes ablaze with a mixture of pride and something more inscrutable. I can feel the power thrumming beneath my skin, a primal energy that seems to resonate with the very fabric of this surreal world and vice versa.
“This is the Crucible of Awakening,” my mother’s voice rings with authority, cutting through the ambient hum. “Here, you will undergo a cleansing to claim your birthright as a Goddess.”
I step closer to the pool of liquid fire, the heat radiating from it gently blowing back my hair. As I peer into its depths, I see visions swirling atop the molten surface—visions of my past, present, and potential futures all converging in a kaleidoscopic dance of light and shadow. I try to pick out each one, but they move so fast, I’m only left with the essence of the memory, something slippery and transparent.
“You must embrace your true self, Hanna,” she says, her words echoing against the chamber walls. “Only by facing your life and confronting your deepest fears and desires, of what it truly means to be human, will you unlock the full extent of your powers.”
I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what is to come. With a sense of determination burning in my chest, I raise my hands towards the pool. The surface ripples and distorts, as if responding to my touch, and I feel a surge of energy coursing through me, culminating in my fingertips.
In that moment, I let go of everything holding me back—my doubts, my insecurities, my mortal limitations. I surrender myself to the flames, and in doing so, they rise from the pool, reaching for my fingers.
For a second, I’m filled with the deepest fear of all: the fear of dying, an acute sense of my mortality that has me about to pull away and run as far as I can.
But the fire leaps onto my hands, as if sentient, as if sensing my fear, and climbs up my arms. I open my mouth to scream, to move, but something equally as fiery rises inside me, overpowering the human instinct to avoid death.
Instead, I allow the fire to consume me, to transform me into something new, something ancient and powerful. Then, as the flames envelop me, I feel a searing pain unlike anything I have ever experienced. It is as if every atom of my being is being torn apart and reassembled in a violent cacophony of light and sound. I scream, though whether in agony or ecstasy, I can’t tell. The world blurs and distorts around me, shifting and twisting in ways that defy comprehension. I am no longer sure where my body ends and the fire begins, the boundaries between us merging and melding into a single entity.
And then, just as suddenly as it began, the pain subsides, leaving me gasping for breath as I collapse to my knees beside the now-calm pool of liquid fire. My entire being feels as if it is vibrating with a newfound power, a raw energy that pulses beneath my skin like there’s some other being living inside me.
What the hell just happened to me?
“Get up, Hanna.” My mother’s voice rings through the throbbing sound in my head. “You’re all right. You’re better than all right.”
I exhale and slowly rise to my feet, feeling taller and stronger than I have ever been. The world around me seems sharper, more vivid, as if a veil has been lifted from my eyes. I look down at my hands and find they are no longer mine; no, they are adorned with intricate patterns of glowing runes that seem to writhe and shift of their own accord, much like the dress I’m wearing.
My mother stands before me, her eyes alight with pride. “You have done it,” she says softly. “You have embraced your true self—your divine self—and unlocked the Goddess within you.”
That was easy, I can’t help but think, but even the joke quickly slips away, a sense of gravity replacing it.
I look at her, feeling a surge of gratitude and love welling up within me. “Thank you, Mother,” I whisper, though the words feel inadequate to express the depth of what I’m feeling. It’s as if she saved me from a different future, one that was heading toward certain doom.