Separation

Rein is still processing what's happening, exclaiming, "I'm… Am I in heaven?"

A brief look at Rayna immediately disproves that statement. "NOPE, I'm in hell."

An awkward silence fills the room. Rayna, being the person who started all of this, tries to break the ice and walks over to the group. She explains the whole situation, recounting how Rethrea killed her, and how she decided to bring her friends along.

"So yeah, we're all dead because of Miss Goddess's mistakes."

After a good minute of processing what Rayna just said, Rein is the first to speak. "So, you're telling me that you KILLED us, brought us to this infinite void, and this twelve-year-old is sending us to some random world because you wanted to?"

Rayna interrupts. "Correction, she's actually 'older than humanity.'"

Rein, irritated, snaps back, "Yeah, that really doesn't matter. What matters is that you killed us without consulting us. That's pretty messed up, Rayna."

Rayna, confused about why Rein seems upset, says, "I'm a bit confused about why you're mad, Rein. I gave you the opportunity to go to a world that I'm sure all of you wanted. Our old world was boring, basic, and mundane. Plus, you all said it would be fun and cool."

"Those all basically mean the same thing," Rein interrupts.

Shrugging off Rein's comment, Rayna continues, "We all basically had a planned-out path in front of us. It was either you succeed and live a rich lifestyle until you get old and die, or you fail and constantly struggle to make ends meet. But that's beside the point because, guess what? None of that matters anyway, bud. I already killed you, and your past lives are most likely gone forever. Right, Rethrea?"

Being met with silence, Rayna repeats herself, "Right… Rethrea?"

Hailey, shaking from the experience, finally musters enough courage to say something. "Wait, so there's a way back!?" Overwhelmed by joy, she falls to her knees. "Thank God."

Rethrea walks over to Hailey and, in a sweet, calming voice, says, "Aww, that's sweet of you, but no. Y'all are dead-dead. Like, what did you think this was, mortal? A vacation? Once you die, you go to the place you humans call heaven, or, if you're unfortunate enough, to what you call hell. And if by some chance you're lucky, like your friend Pocket Rocket over there"—she lets out a deep sigh—"you get to go to another world."

After hearing all of this, Hailey falls silent. Feeling that the room's atmosphere has taken a major shift, Rayna walks over to Hailey and puts her hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, bestie, you'll be okay. After all, you got everything you've always asked for! I could have picked anyone else, but I picked you. Not only because you're one of my closest friends, but because I know how much you always yearned for a second chance, so cheer up!"

Hailey, unmoved by Rayna's attempt to cheer her up, punches her square in the face. Her eyes filled with rage and despair, she tackles Rayna to the ground and starts throwing a barrage of punches.

"CHEER UP?! YOU SERIOUSLY WANT ME TO CHEER UP!? RAYNA, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME IF YOU EXPECT ME TO BE HAPPY. I WORKED MY ABSOLUTE ASS OFF TO SUCCEED! LIKE, OH MY GOD, RAYNA. WHY DO YOU CONSTANTLY MESS WITH PEOPLE'S LIVES? REIN DIDN'T WANT THIS. LOGAN HAD A DATE TODAY, AND I KNOW IT WENT WELL. WE DIDN'T WANT THIS. I HAVE A FAMILY THAT FINALLY ACCEPTED ME, RAYNA. FOR GOD'S SAKE, A BROTHER TO TAKE CARE OF, A LIFE AHEAD OF ME THAT I ACTUALLY WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO. YOU HAD A LIFE AHEAD OF YOU. YOU ALWAYS HAD EVERYTHING—THE LOOKS, THE HEIGHT, THE STRENGTH, A LOVING FAMILY. YOU NEVER HAD TO FIGHT FOR ANYTHING. JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE BORED DOESN'T ALLOW YOU TO DRAG US DOWN WITH YOU."

Logan and Rein just watch as Hailey rages on Rayna. Rein, being somewhat unfazed by her actions, gives out a sigh and looks away. Logan, just standing there, watches the two fight it out. He walks over to Rethrea and asks for a sandwich since he hasn't eaten yet. Rethrea obliges and provides him with a double-stacked turkey sandwich while summoning a bucket of popcorn to watch the fight.

After a good 10 seconds of straight punching, Hailey breaks into tears.

"Why, Rayna? Why are you so damn selfish? Why don't you realize how much pain you cause us? You're always doing this—dragging people into your crazy adventures without asking them first. Yeah, most of them were fun, but this is too far."

Going in for another punch, she gets interrupted by the goddess. "Alright, that's enough. This fight was fun at first, but continue your bickering elsewhere."

Rethrea raises her arms, and a blinding light engulfs the room. "See y'all whenever."

And as suddenly as they arrived, they vanished. Once the flash of light subsided, Rayna was met with a gust of wind. Struggling to open her eyes, she sees a seemingly endless lush forest, towering snow-covered mountains stretching into the horizon, roaring waterfalls cascading down vine-covered cliffsides into winding rivers that reached further than the eye could see, and streams that glistened like a thousand shining stars. Seeing all this almost made Rayna forget that she was thousands of feet in the air and falling.

"HOLY!" Panicking, she flailed around, trying to grab anything to stop herself from falling but failing horribly. The fact she was 1,000 feet in the air had yet to completely register. Redirecting her attention to finding a way not to die, she noticed her outfit had changed. Instead of her casual clothes from home—a black hoodie and navy jeans—she now wore a long-sleeved blouse with a brown corset.

"Oh wow, Miss Goddess went all out on this."

Checking the pockets, she found a note from Rethrea that read, "Hope you enjoy the clothes, dingus." Rayna chuckled at the note and put it away, trying to focus on the main task at hand: not falling to her death. She looked around the landscape, spotting a lake not too far away. Seeing that this was her only chance of survival, she begrudgingly braced herself for the plunge, repeating, "Please, don't be too deep," as she hurtled toward the body of water.

SPLASH!!!

She landed smack dab in the middle of the lake. Now submerged, she rushed to the surface, refusing to open her eyes. The lack of air in her lungs caused her to stiffen. Unable to effectively swim to the top, her chest grew heavier, her throat tightened.

"I'm gonna die." The thought echoed in her mind as she swam harder. "I don't wanna die, please not like this," her arms now feeling weaker. Rayna opened her eyes, desperate to know how much farther she must swim up for air. "I'm almost there, just a little farther," she motivated herself. Her head pounded in pain from the lack of oxygen. She reached her hand out toward the surface, just moments from reaching the top, her vision slowly fading. She bit her lip, desperately trying to hold on to her ever-fading consciousness. "Help." The sinking feeling of hopelessness consumed her. "Logan, Rein, Hailey." She closed her eyes, and with one more thrust, she made it. Gasping for air, the feeling of her chest filling up with oxygen brought her immense relief. Savoring every following breath like there would never be another, she exclaimed, "I HATE water."

However, unable to catch a break, a frog the size of a house lunged out of the water and let out an earth-shattering belch. Looking up at the monstrous-sized frog, Rayna, exhausted and frozen by fear, floated hopelessly in front of the giant beast.

"Rayna!"

A familiar voice echoed above her, snapping Rayna out of her trance, her face lighting up upon seeing her beloved friend.

"LOGAN!!!!"

Although happy to see her friend, she was quickly reminded of the dire situation she found herself in. Panicking, she yelled out to Logan, "Logan, watch out! There's a frog in the water! You've got to fall somewhere—"

In mid-air, Logan pulled a sword and plunged it into the frog's head, driving the blade deep into its skull. Blood sprayed from the beast, leaking into the lake, turning the surface into a murky blood-red. Rayna was left completely shocked, floating in front of a dead frog six times her size. Logan, standing triumphantly on top of the giant beast, let out a furious scream about his first monster kill. Rayna, still shocked at this feat, stared in awe at the massive frog her friend stood atop. Her face brimming with anticipation, she climbed up to join him.

"Omg, you saved me back there! If it weren't for you, I don't know where I'd be right now," Rayna said enthusiastically.

"Probably in this thing's stomach," Logan said, kicking a horn off the beast.

Laying down, Rayna took a moment to catch her breath, reflecting on the heart-wrenching experience that happened almost moments ago. "You know, Logan, it's crazy how I almost died. TWICE! Like, once by drowning and the other time by this giant fish. Speaking of which, how'd you manage to kill this thing?"

"I don't know, I just stabbed it in the head," Logan replied nonchalantly.

Rayna, annoyed with his nonchalance, punched his arm. "Logan, I know you stabbed it. I'm asking how the hell YOU killed THIS. IT'S HUGE."

"I saw you looking like a worthless summer ant that needed saving, so I fucking ground-slammed this sword into its head. Maybe if you weren't such a bitch, you'd be able to as well."

"What was I supposed to do? I was in the water!"

"Sounds like a skill issue to me, dog."

Rayna stopped talking and pushed Logan into the water, flipping him off as he swam back up to the surface.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"I don't know, 'dog,'" Rayna said sarcastically.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'I DON'T KNOW'? YOU PUSHED ME!"

Rayna smirked. "If you know what I did, why are you asking?"

"Because that was uncalled for! Now I'm all wet!"

"Oh, my bad. I forgot you MONKEYS are afraid of water."

"DOG, YOU'RE A MONKEY TOO!!"

"Nah, I'm just tanned."

Visibly annoyed, Logan swam ashore, leaving Rayna on top of the monster.

"Whatever, call your mom," Logan yelled back.

"How? I'm dead, dumbass!"

Rayna, now alone, examined the head. A feeling of joy rushed through her body as she said to herself, "Now THIS is a new world!"