A week earlier, on Palas.

  “Are you really an igigi, Epona?” Mitras asked in disbelief as he watched the horse goddess raise her power using her totema.

  Epona had been training alongside Mitras and Sol in one of the desolate regions of planet Palas. Sulfuric acid rained from the sky, and the ground boiled from the heat of several active volcanoes.

  Despite the complete absence of horses, Epona had managed to greatly increase her power, learning to unleash her full potential without equine presences.

  “I am,” Epona said, lowering her divine energy and relaxing her body again.

  “But I—I’ve never heard of an igigi with p-power like yours,” Sol said, astonished.

  “Well… I’m just a simple pastoral goddess who grew up tending the stables in Avalon, the realm of the Celtic gods,” the blonde goddess replied as she remained standing amid the scorched ground.

  Mitras and Sol stepped closer, eager to hear her story.

  “The Celtic gods went to war with the Roman gods, but all that had nothing to do with me; I only tended the stables, and no one ever paid me any mind.

  My Celtic brothers only came to me when they needed a horse. I didn’t even know their names,” Epona continued.

  “One day, I descended to the human world with several Celtic gods. They decided to use war chariots drawn by my horses, and I was the only one who could keep them under control.

  The battle caused catastrophic damage in the human world, and I was traumatized by what my brothers had done,” she said, scratching her right arm.

  The goddess closed her eyes and looked toward the sky. It was dark, as if a thick layer of smoke covered the atmosphere. Thin rays of light pierced through it.

  “I wandered through the battlefield camp and stumbled upon prisoners about to be sacrificed. They’d been mutilated and injured. I begged the druids to spare them—

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  in return, I would heal their wounds.

  I revealed myself as Epona and managed to save and heal them.

  I remember the men were stunned, and they all bowed to me,” she said quietly.

  “Wasn’t… wasn’t that forbidden?” Mitras asked.

  “Yes,” the goddess replied.

  “But I didn’t know. I didn’t know the rules or anything.

  I was taken to trial in Avalon and sentenced to execution.

  But the cult that formed around me grew so large that my power increased—so much that the Celtic gods saw me as a potential ally and decided to absolve me,” Epona said.

  “Didn’t they o-offer to promote you to katteres?” Sol asked.

  “They did. But I refused.”

  She smiled faintly.

  “I was just a pastoral goddess. My life was the stables—talking with horses, riding them, feeding them.

  That was who I was.

  And once I became famous and powerful, the way my brothers treated me changed completely.

  Suddenly, I was attending banquets, gatherings, ceremonies, combats…

  But I hated that life.

  So I turned down the title of katteres and went back to the stables,” she concluded.

  “An igigi with the power of a katteres…” Mitras murmured, stunned.

  “When they p-promoted me to katteres, I n-never imagined rejecting it. You are truly unique,” Sol added.

  “I’m a simple girl. Truly.

  My dream was to live among humans in some small village—teach little children, care for their health and their animals.

  That was the life I wanted.

  But by fate’s whims, I ended up a fugitive on a planet without even vegetation,” Epona said, disappointed.

  “Do you regret your decisions?” Mitras asked.

  Epona remained silent for a moment.

  “Yes… a little.

  Though, living on Earth, I began to lose sight of my dreams.

  I wore elegant clothes, drank expensive wine, stayed in refined places…

  I think all this—the betrayal of my brothers, meeting Rodrigo, spending time with Ana and Tania—

  it reminded me of who I really am.

  Especially Anpiel’s sacrifice,” she said softly.

  “Sh-shall we continue your tr-training?” Sol asked.

  “Of course. I’m not doing this for myself anymore.

  I’m doing it for Anpiel and for my friends.

  And if I survive… I hope I can retire and finally live my dream,” Epona said, still gazing at the sky.

  The smoke above them thinned slightly, and rays of sunlight lit the rosy face of the goddess.

  “V-very well… let’s keep increasing your manna,” Sol said, stepping forward as Epona took her combat stance again.

  An exceptional igigi—not because she was a war goddess, not because of sacrifices of humans or beasts—

  she was a goddess who cared for people, who healed them.

  A being of beauty and light, loved by children.

  I almost feel guilty having to harden this girl, Mitras thought.

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