Three days after Liriel's sacrifice, the world felt… too quiet.
No portals, no golden light in the sky, no creatures from other dimensions invading an innocent tavern. It was strange. Almost unsettling.
Vespera was sprawled across the table, fiddling with an arrow like someone taking apart a broken toy.
"Elara, do you think she's coming back?"
Elara, face resting on her book, murmured, "Technically, she's here."
"I'm not talking about the ghostly version. I mean the real Liriel. The one who drank until common sense ran out."
The necklace on the table glowed faintly, and a voice echoed in the air:
"I heard that, archer."
Vespera grinned. "It's nice to tease you, even in lamp form."
The bluish light from the necklace condensed, once again taking Liriel's translucent shape. She looked more stable than before — still ethereal, but with an almost solid outline.
"I'm slowly piecing myself together. But... something's wrong."
"Wrong how?" I asked, already suspicious.
"I can hear Celine."
Elara's head shot up. "Hear? Like, telepathically?"
"No. Like a distant echo. The problem is... she's crying."
The tavern went silent. Torin looked over the counter. "Look, if this is another divine problem, take it outside. I just cleaned the floor."
Liriel ignored him. "She's being consumed by her own throne. The divine plane's energy is collapsing. The throne seeks new balance... and it's trying to absorb her completely."
"Then we're going after her," I said without thinking.
"You say that like it's easy to get into Heaven," Vespera remarked.
"It's not impossible," Liriel replied, crossing her spectral arms. "Just mortally improbable."
Elara smirked. "Perfect. Our specialty."
Two hours later, we stood before the ancient celestial portal — the same one that had nearly destroyed everything. The difference was that now it pulsed differently, calm and bluish, as if asleep.
Liriel floated above the stones. "If we open this portal, it'll pull us straight to the Divine Palace. But be careful: the plane doesn't tolerate imperfection. Everything there tests your essence. If you falter, it consumes you."
"So it's like hell with a golden carpet," Vespera said.
"Basically."
Elara took a deep breath and opened her grimoire. "I can stabilize the entrance for a few seconds, but after that, we're on our own."
"As always," I muttered.
The spell began. The air vibrated. A beam of light tore through the ground and swallowed us whole.
The divine sky didn't look like paradise.
It was cold. Bright, yet empty. Everything was made of floating white marble and rivers of liquid light.
And high above, an immense castle hovered among the clouds — Celine's Celestial Palace.
"Beautiful, but boring," Vespera said, kicking a solid cloud.
"It's the reflection of her mind," Liriel explained. "Too much perfection kills the soul."
We began climbing the stairs. The path was long and silent, except for distorted echoes of celestial voices.
With each step, the air grew heavier. I felt as if someone were watching me constantly.
"Liriel," I whispered, "are you sure she wants to be saved?"
"Celine never wanted power. She wanted recognition. The throne took advantage of that."
Elara looked around, uneasy. "This place is made to test intentions, isn't it?"
"Yes. So avoid thinking about nonsense."
Vespera smirked. "Too late."
Suddenly, the walls began to change. The columns turned into mirrors, and in each reflection, I saw versions of ourselves — arrogant, fearful, corrupted.
"Don't look too long!" Liriel shouted. "The reflection reads your heart and tries to take over!"
But it was too late. Elara had stopped, staring at her own image.
In the reflection, she was majestic, dressed like a supreme mage, commanding armies of light.
"You could be this," the mirror whispered. "A goddess among mortals."
Elara took a step forward, entranced.
I ran and grabbed her arm. "Hey! Snap out of it!"
"I... I saw what I could be..."
"And what you are is already enough."
She blinked, returning to herself, and the images vanished.
We continued in silence until we reached the main golden gate.
Inside, the sound was almost like a song — but distorted.
The throne room was immense.
The floor reflected the sky, and in the center, seated on the throne, was Celine.
She looked... different. Golden veins covered her arms, her eyes were empty, her expression broken.
Chains of light bound her, connected to the throne.
"Liriel..." — her voice was a whisper. — "I tried to control it, but it's controlling me..."
Liriel floated toward her, worried. "I warned you. The throne doesn't accept those who feel."
"But I just wanted to be... like you."
"Then stop trying to be me," said Liriel, her tone unexpectedly gentle. "You've always been better at what I never was: order."
Celine looked at her, golden tears streaming down her face. "I created a prison... for myself."
"And we came to break it."
Vespera pointed her bow at the chains. "If I shoot them, do they break?"
"If you miss, the whole plane explodes," replied Liriel.
"Oh, great. No pressure then."
Elara approached the throne, analyzing the runes. "I can disable the seals if Liriel helps me. But... she'll have to use her full power."
"That might erase me for good," said Liriel.
"And letting her die would be better?"
"No."
Liriel sighed, closing her eyes. "Then let's free the fool who wanted to be a goddess."
Celine smiled weakly. "And the goddess who wanted to be human."
The ritual began. The chains pulsed, trying to resist.
Elara recited incantations, and Liriel extended her hands, channeling blue energy.
Golden and blue sparks mingled in the air.
Suddenly, the chains came to life. Tendrils of light shot out from the throne, attacking everyone.
"I'll handle them!" I shouted, drawing my sword.
I slashed one of the tendrils, which dissolved into dust.
Vespera fired enchanted arrows, dodging the strikes.
"Elara! How much longer?" I yelled.
"Just one more seal!"
"Then hurry! The ceiling's about to collapse!"
Liriel was almost fading — her glow flickering.
"Liriel!" I called.
"Don't stop now!"
She released one final burst of energy. The chains shattered into shards of light.
Celine screamed, breaking free, and the throne exploded into golden fragments.
The silence that followed was almost deafening.
Celine fell to her knees. The golden veins slowly faded.
"You saved me... after everything."
Liriel smiled weakly. "Looks like we're finally even."
But something was wrong.
The floor of the hall began to crack. The throne was dissolving, taking the castle with it.
"Elara, portal! NOW!" I shouted.
She opened her grimoire, channeling mana desperately. "Hold on!"
A vortex opened. Vespera jumped first, pulling Celine along.
Liriel stayed behind.
"Liriel, come on!" I yelled.
"I need to stabilize the closing. If I leave now, the portal will consume the entire plane."
"No, not again! I won't let you!"
She looked at me, smiling faintly. "Relax. I've learned how to survive the impossible."
Before I could protest, the light engulfed everything.
I woke up face-first on the tavern floor.
Elara was coughing, Vespera lay sprawled over the counter, and Celine — unconscious but breathing.
"She did it?" I asked, gasping.
The necklace on my chest glowed, and her voice echoed:
"I did. And look — didn't even die this time."
Vespera lifted her head, laughing. "Knew she'd come back."
Celine slowly opened her eyes. "You... saved me. After everything."
Elara held her hand. "Everyone deserves a second chance. Even unhinged goddesses."
Liriel appeared in her spiritual form, floating beside us.
"Welcome back, Celine. Now the throne is yours... for real this time."
Celine nodded, moved. "And you?"
"I'm staying here. The mortal world still needs a touch of divine disaster."
Vespera raised her mug. "Here's to the goddess who can't sit still."
Torin appeared with a dirty rag. "As long as you don't burn my roof, drink all you want."
Later that night, when everyone was asleep, I sat alone on the porch. The sky was calm and clear.
Liriel appeared beside me, still ethereal, but with a different glow — stronger.
"You look more alive," I said.
"Every time someone believes in me, I become a little more real."
"So that's it? Drunkard's faith counts too?"
She laughed. "If it's yours, I think it does."
We stayed silent for a while.
"Takumi," she said suddenly. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For never giving up — even when I deserved it."
"You never deserved the opposite."
She smiled, looking up at the stars. "Celine will rebuild the divine plane. And I... maybe I finally have a home here."
"With us?"
"With you."
Her light flickered, touching my hand for a second — warm, real.
Then it dissolved into the breeze, leaving only the faint echo of her laughter in the air.
And for the first time since it all began, the world felt at peace.
Even if, deep down, we knew — peace never lasts long when Liriel is around.