Chapter 17

"Doesn't it feel good to be alive?"

I was laying in a magma's lake that was created in the wake of the destruction of my battle with Bast. The searing hotness of the 'pool' felt like an intense warmth to me, seeping into my bones and making me feel like in a hot spring. I could feel my body adapting gradually to the heat and developing a resistance to it.

The only thing left out of the magma was my head, on which laid a small cat. It was incredibly cute and had fluffy, salmon-pink fur. Yes, I wanted an iconic pet, so what?

"Mmmm"

Bast let out a satisfied growl while feeling the warm feeling engulfing her in a comforting embrace. How did we go from battling opponents to relaxing buddies so quickly? I may have used a certain Talk-no-Jutsu as well as a few cheeky quotes from my 'anime quotes folder'.

////////Flashback used celestial ability: Time Reversal//////////

"…Now, my dear, you just have to sign here."

She was quite reluctant as she took the contract, and only read it briefly, knowing that she was doomed no matter what, before signing it.

Immediately, the effect took place. The first, and most noticeable one, is the link that was created between her and my dimension, granting her the benefits that Alula received before.

From her twitching body and her dilated pupils, she should have felt the 'high' that came with the new power. Man, I'm feeling like a drug dealer right now.

I could feel and 'see' my dimension's energy 'invading' and transforming her body, effectively making her a bit stronger as well as cutting her reliance on Divinity. I don't want my pet to be weak, since I'm planning for her to at least be able to beat Thanos with three stones. Imagine a cat winning against the Mad Titan, that would be hilarious, and terrifying.

I gave her immortality based on my dimensional energy so that she would be more dependant on my existence than her Divinity. Though she can still use it to strengthen herself and to connect with her believers, I needed her for that after all.

It took her around ten minutes to complete the change and to get a grasp of the new power in her body.

"Good, are you ready to talk now? I'm curious about you after all."

She nods her head and I proceed to conjure a table with two chairs for us to sit on.

"Ah, before that, I prepared a drink for the occasion."

I took out a tea set and a steaming teapot. The herbal fragrance quickly spread in the surrounding, leaving one's mind in a calm state.

From Bast's contracting eyes, sniffing nose and salivating mouth, it was a good idea to add catnip to calm her down. Ah, the king of cat herbs. Catnip is beloved by felines the world over, and for good reason, it makes them very happy. It's sort of like an after-work cocktail for cats, relieving them of stress and nervousness.

I poured a cup for her, which she quickly downed, and from her shoulders that went from tense to relaxed, it was a success. A cat goddess is still a cat after all.

Then, just like a broken dam, she burst in tears while narrating her story. Like it was shown in the comics, she and her family were born in a dimension adjacent to Earth and were called Enneads, a race of naturally long-lived individuals.

At some point, they 'descended' and began to be worshipped by ancient Egypt. This gave them access to a new and fascinating power, Divinity. From long-lived, they became nearly immortal while their power greatly increased. They began to truly see themselves as gods.

Unknowingly, this power became a drug they were addicted to, the more they had of it, the more they wanted. Unfortunately, their believers' population was limited, and so was their Divinity. Thus, some gods began to conspire against each other to gain more powers. Truly, it would have been a successful Netflix's show just by the story alone.

Bast was one of the more minor goddesses, and the amount of Divinity she had compared to the other major ones was negligible, so she was mostly left alone when the 'Game of Thrones' began. How intriguing, I never heard of an Egyptian version of Ragnarok.

By a stroke of luck, a few of her faithful believers spread her faith to a remote region, namely Wakanda. She then pounced on the opportunity to leave the in-fighting Parthenon to build something more stable and to survive.

The rest is history. The Egyptians gods gradually all died from a lack of Divinity, leaving only her alive. The worse, according to her, is that she was connected to all of them because of their shared origins, so she could feel every single one of them slowly die in pain. The most impactful one was the death of her mother, which left her a crying mess for a while at that time.

She then turned her whole attention to her believers, trying to forget her sorrow, resulting in the birth of the Black Panther legacy.

"You are feeling torn between being the only survivor of your family, yet also grateful to your believers for their faith. From I have gathered, you are suffering from survivor guilt."

I have been wearing glasses and taking notes the whole time, trying to feel like a psychologist. Now, I opened page number 769 of my 'Anime MC's quotes'.

"I'm going to be blunt so that you may understand me. They are dead, and nothing can undo that. But you, you ARE alive, which is a gift in itself. You can still enjoy life, and it's not like they are completely dead, aren't you representing their legacy? Don't you have your memories of them? Aren't they, in a sense, living through you as well?" (AN: I know death can be undone in Marvel, but that's beyond the point haha)

The lost look her eyes gave was shaken, and I knew it was my cue to pour her 17th cup.

"If you truly felt regret at seeing all of them die, then it's even more of a reason for you to live on. Wouldn't it be a waste for you not to live your life as the last standing Egyptian goddess? Also, don't your believers need you? So stop wallowing in sorrow and move on!"

That, and the last cup she just downed, was enough for a new light to shine in her eyes.

She stood from her chair with a new, freshened mindset and a wide smile on her face. It seems that shounen MC's were truly talented in changing people. I actually liked doing this, so should I become a full-fledged psychologist?

"You are right, I won't bear this burden anymore, master."

Oh, so she acknowledged me in only one session! Though it took four days in total. Thousands of years old beings sure a had a lot of stories to tell.

I then kindly smiled at her.

"Oh but my dear, even if you signed a contract with me, you don't need to call me master, just calling my name, Arthur, is fine."

"alright, Arthur."

'A new pokemon has been caught! haha'

"I have a request for you, you see…"

////////Celestial ability: Time reversal is in cooldown///////////

"I still don't understand. why did you want my fur to be pink?"

The cat on my head finally spoke.

I respond with a grin on my face.

"Because no other cat is pink! you will be the only one in the whole world!"

*Pak*

She face-pawed while sighing.

"sigh.."