"This had to be a dream."
Aiden muttered as he looked at the huge goddess looming over him. There was no other way to justify his current situation.
His infatuation with snakes must have finally caused his brain to rot and imagine the face of the woman of his dreams... on a snake’s lower half. Aiden hated to admit it, but maybe he had wild tastes after all.
Why else would he be able to imagine something like this? Not that he was complaining.
He remembered getting bitten, so if this was his last dream, he felt fortunate to see something like this.
"Rejoice, human! Your faith has touched my soul. From today onwards, I shall bestow upon you my ultimate favor and make you my most precious believer. You shall reign by my side and spread my word."
The woman of Aiden’s dream spoke, and her voice made the space around him vibrate. Aiden’s heart skipped a beat as well, and his body followed the command before his mind could catch up with it.
He ended up kneeling in front of the goddess, looking at her with respect and desire. If this divine creature wanted him, who was he to deny her?
"My Goddess, I shall give you what you want. Please, show me the way."
Aiden promised, and the goddess reached toward his face before lightly touching him to show her favor.
Her touch felt solid, making Aiden believe that this might be more than a dream. But it no longer mattered to him because he had found his destiny, and it was the goddess in front of him.
[Your absolute faith in the Forgotten Goddess has awakened the Divine Faith System.]
[Your show of faith has strengthened the goddess’s divinity.]
[Primary Deity: The Forgotten Snake Goddess]
[Name: ???
Divinity: 0.02%
Authority: Dormant
Followers: 1
Temples: 0
Priests: 0
Blessings: Unavailable
Miracles: Locked
Divine Rank: Forgotten Deity]
[Current Objective: Restore the First Shrine.]
[Reward: +0.5% Divinity]
#Hidden Tag: Goddess’s Attachment: 1%#
The screen showed Aiden what he needed to do, but there was a hidden row enclosed within the #...# that he could not see. He did not let it deter him and got ready to work. But before that, he wanted to know something even more important—the goddess’s name.
It was a mystery that had plagued him ever since he learned of her existence.
"My Goddess, your first follower would like to know the name of the one he’s serving."
Aiden kept his head down, but his voice was filled with curiosity. He finally dared to look up when the goddess did not say anything. Her expression was one of interest and regret.
"I am afraid that my name has long been lost to history. You may address me however you like."
Aiden felt like he had hit the jackpot when the goddess gave him this right, since there was a name he had always wanted to give a snake.
He did not feel any shame in declaring her new name outright.
"I would like to call you Lady Apophis until you can recall your true name."
Apophis was the name of an ancient snake deity, and Aiden had always liked it enough to want to use it. Now he finally got the chance.
He quickly looked up to see if the goddess in front of him was offended by his words, only to notice a small smile on her face.
"Hmm, I like that name, so I will keep it as my title. You may address me as Lady Apophis."
The goddess looked happy, which made Aiden feel satisfied.
Aiden wanted to keep looking at the goddess for much longer, but a loud roar in the distance made his ears ring. His body naturally tensed in anticipation of approaching danger, and he placed himself in a defensive position in front of the goddess.
If there was danger approaching, then Aiden was going to protect her.
Soon, the creature that made the roar emerged from the shrubs and rushed toward the temple, only to freeze outside the main gate. It roamed around the territory marked by the goddess but did not dare come any closer.
What irked Aiden was the fact that this lowly creature dared to bare its fangs at the goddess standing behind him.
"Tsk, how dare a lowly creature like you try to make my believer your prey? Run before I take your life."
Apophis raised her head, and her glare made the creature tense before it ran away. But it kept looking back, wanting to take advantage of the weakness Apophis had shown.
The goddess kept her head raised until she noticed that the monster was gone. Only once it was safe did she lower herself back down.
She looked far too tired after doing this small task, and Aiden immediately felt sorry for her. He moved toward her, but the goddess waved her hand to show that she was fine.
"Using my Authority has tired me out. I will sleep for some time to recover. You are free to do whatever you want... as long as you remain inside my temple. I will guarantee your safety on my premises."
The goddess promised, and Aiden felt determined to do what he could to make her feel better. His goddess did not deserve to be low on energy.
Apophis’s body shone, and her form shrank into that of a small but familiar two-foot-long snake curled up on itself.
It looked eerily similar to the one that had bitten Aiden and caused his death, but Aiden refused to believe that it was his goddess who had caused his death.
In fact, even if it was his goddess, he was going to pretend it was not. Instead, he was going to help her restore her strength.
[Important Note: Divinity determines a god’s strength. The more Divinity a god possesses, the more power they will be able to exert. Please proceed to strengthen the goddess’s Divinity in order to increase her strength.]
The instructions were clear, and Aiden felt filled with determination.
First, he needed to rebuild this temple, and there was a lot that needed to be repaired.
The temple was barely 10 sq. ft. in size and was made up of stones piled together. Since nothing held them in place, Aiden quickly started pushing the rocks back into the right positions.
And that was how the temple slowly started to return to its former state. The stones formed a room once more, and the temple finally looked like a shrine that could house a god.
[Objective Completed: Restore the First Shrine.]
[Reward: +0.5% Divinity]
[Current Divinity: 0.52%]
[Updating Current Objective: Gather 10 Followers.]
[Reward: +0.5% Divinity]
[Additional Reward: Promotion to Lesser Goddess.]