Awakening, Part 2

Clare stares open-mouthed at Naya, not trusting her own sanity, certain that she must have fallen asleep reading the book and that this is but a dream. Naya, chuckling at Clare's expression of disbelief tells her "I assure you, young one, you are not dreaming. This is quite real. If you do not believe me, then count your fingers, as in a dream you cannot count, and usually your hands come with an extra finger."

Clare does exactly that, counting her fingers on each hand, ten fingers in total. As she finishes counting she hears the Goddess erupting into a laugh. Clare blushes, realizing the goddess hadn't actually meant for her to actually count her fingers. "Alright, so, i'm not dreaming. That would mean i am actually speaking with a goddess... and apparently laying in a goddess' bed... naked. i understand the who, the what and the where now, thank you Goddess, for explaining. I do now wonder, though, why am i here? what happens now and how do i get home?"

Smiling warmly, the goddess puts her hand to Clare's cheek.

"Child, you interest me a great deal, i sense the pain and the conflict within you, you were taught to be good, to do good, to care for others, and yet there has always been a conflicting shadow in you, a darkness, growing stronger as you yourself grow."

"You have unfortunately, by stumlbing upon my book, been **** to a crossroads, where you will have to make a choice. Had you not found my book, and me, then perhaps you could have continued your life as a normal human, but now, that path has closed for good. You belong to the shadow world now, where magic is real, where good wars against evil, demons against angels, deities on opposite sides clash. There is a choice to be made, you must choose to champion either Light, or Dark, but with so little knowledge of this shadow world, it is an impossible choice."

Clare finds herself once more staring at the goddess in open-mouthed shock, Angels, Demons, Deities, Gods. Never had she thought it to be real, she had of course fantasized of it, and her favorite genres in movies, books and games have always been fantasy, a chance to escape from the dreary world of commons, of school, of work, of the shackles of society.

"Must i choose now? between good or evil? light or dark? what happens if a can't choose?" Clare asked the goddess, feeling somewhat frightened, and yet.. excited.

The Goddess, looking Clare in the eyes, takes a moment to think, and to make a choice of her own, before answering.

"Normally, yes, however, with you, i will make an exception. I will grant you power, and the sight. Power to defend yourself, should you need it, and Sight to see all the shadows have to offer. I will give you three days to make a choice, and once those three days are up, i will summon you here. There is, however, one more path you can take, swear yourself to me, body, and soul, and i will accept you as my daughter, and my priestess. As my daughter you will be reborn, and granted powers beyond anything you could imagine, the power to dominate, to rule, and to shape reality as you wish it."

"Take this pendant, and wear it around your neck, always. It will act as a gateway to me, and to my powers, giving you power to defend yourself, and to see. Be warned, the more power you summon, the greater the darkness within you will become. Remember, in three days, i will summon you once more."

The goddess takes hold of Clare, and moves her lips towards Clare's, kissing her passionately while placing the pendant around her, and sending Clare back to the mortal world.