Aphrodite

While Dante caught his breath after exterminating all the rabbits in that secluded forest, something grand and invisible to mortal eyes was unfolding on a plane far above the human world.

In Tenkai, the celestial realm of the gods, a powerful presence was awakening.

"Hmm... what is this?" murmured a feminine voice, melodious and enchanting, laced with surprise and doubt.

She looked around, feeling her heart suddenly race. It was an uneasy throb, almost painful — and completely out of the ordinary for a goddess like her.

Seated gracefully on a white marble throne, her legs crossed with natural elegance radiated captivating femininity. Anyone who dared glance her way would be lost in her beauty, even though she made no effort to seduce.

With a gentle motion, she uncrossed her legs and stood. Something was calling to her — something that touched her essence like nothing ever had.

Her long pink hair swayed softly as she rose, cascading in silky waves down her bare back to the base of her spine. She wore a red silk dress, sensual and clinging to her body, accentuating every curve with perfection. Her ample breasts swayed with each step. Her narrow waist, wide hips, and large, perky buttocks moved in a rhythm that was both graceful and naturally provocative.

Her face was the definition of divine beauty: crimson eyes, glowing with a supernatural light; a small, delicate nose; and full, red lips slightly parted — moist and inviting.

She was Aphrodite.

The goddess of love, beauty, desire, sensuality, and pleasure. One of the most prominent deities of Olympus.

And at that moment, Aphrodite was... confused.

"This... this feels like me... but more intense... stronger..." she murmured, dazed, pressing lightly against her chest. "I've never felt anything like this before..."

Instinctively, she spread her divine senses in an attempt to find the source of the disturbance. Something — or someone — was touching her essence, invading her soul with an energy that mirrored her own… but even more intense, almost primal.

Yet no clear signal appeared, no matter how hard she tried. Only that lingering — overwhelming — sensation remained.

"I must find the source of this... no matter what it takes," she said, her eyes shining with resolve.

If there was one place where something new could arise, it was the mortal world. Unlike the divine realms, eternal and unchanging, the world of humans was fertile ground for the improbable. Revolutions, wars, love, and tragedy could all be born in a matter of years — sometimes days.

Aphrodite extended her hand and summoned a massive mirror with a golden frame encrusted with rubies. The mirror's liquid surface shimmered, and slowly began to reveal images of the lower world.

The first vision was Orario — the giant city surrounding the Dungeon, with its towering Babel stretching into the heavens.

But with her divine intuition, she knew instantly: that wasn't it.

With a subtle wave of her hand, she began to shift the images like someone flipping through channels. Villages, deserts, oceans, temples... each scene vanished as quickly as it appeared. Her eyes remained sharp, searching for any trace of that familiar, unsettling energy.

Long, silent minutes passed until a mid-sized forest appeared — a seemingly ordinary place, far from the major cities.

But in that exact instant — she knew.

Her heart skipped a beat.

There. That was the source.

She zoomed in on the image until she found a young man kneeling, naked, wounded, and gasping for air in the middle of a clearing. His body was covered in dried blood and dirt, but his presence... his presence was like a silent thunder that shook the goddess's heart.

At the sight of him, her eyes widened.

Her cheeks flushed deeply.

Her heart pounded so violently that she had to press her hand against her chest.

"It's... y-you..." she whispered, trembling. "You're the reason for all this... my equal... my soulmate..."

Aphrodite remained silent for a few seconds, mesmerized by the image of that mortal. For the first time in countless ages, she felt whole — and yet desperately empty for not having him by her side.

Confirming his location with divine precision, she dismissed the mirror.

And without hesitation, she vanished from the throne in a burst of golden light, leaving Tenkai behind.

---

In the mortal world — Genkai — the sky suddenly glowed.

Gods and goddesses across the continent looked up. They felt it. They saw it.

A golden comet streaked across the sky, descending toward the earth.

And everyone knew, without the need for words:

A new deity had descended.

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