Urania waited patiently for Maggie to wake up, contemplating whether she needed to check ancient texts for any information she might have missed. Particularly, information regarding why the descendants of the moon goddess were trapped in a divination’s alternate space, unable to escape.
Meanwhile, Maggie underwent another baptism of power.
The scene resembled the one she witnessed when she first saw her mother, but this time, the colors were softer-shades of gray and white, creating a serene atmosphere. In addition to white, there was a dazzling orange-gold. Emerging from the vast mist, a figure appeared, and as Maggie scrutinized, she was startled to recognize the face-it was her own reflection in the mirror.
However, compared to her usual appearance, this face seemed to radiate a divine aura, benevolent and serene.
“Maggie Nelson,” the voice lacked any human emotion, speaking like an emotionless robot with predetermined programming, “I’ve been waiting for you here.”
Studying the face, Maggie tried to discern any differences between her memories and her own features. Simultaneously, the identical figure spoke, “You’ve finally left the power your mother left for you and found your way here.”
“Sorry, but can I know who you are?” Maggie was perplexed, with more than one question on her mind. “Why do you look like me? Where is this place, how can I get out, and what do you mean by leaving my mother’s power to come here?”
“I cannot answer all your questions at once.”
Maggie hurriedly apologized, “I’m sorry.”
The face, usually seen every day in well-lit places, now exuded an oppressive feeling, and Maggie instinctively responded to the figure’s prompt.
“Now you can ask the question you most want to know.”
The face, always expressionless, imposed great pressure on Maggie. She wracked her brain but couldn’t decide on the most pressing question from a moment ago.
“It seems you have no more questions. Let me answer your first question. I am Maggie Nelson, also Selene. Every moon goddess is called Selene, regardless of their previous names or identities. When she becomes the moon goddess, she becomes Selene. I am you, but not exactly you.”
What does it mean to be me but not me? Maggie frowned; was she playing a guessing game?
“I am the divine essence separated from you. The reason you can only use a small part of your power, besides not being your mother herself, is that your current body only possesses a regular personality.”
Maggie looked puzzled, “What does regular personality mean?”
“In order to let you live an ordinary life, the previous moon goddess not only sent you away from the world of werewolves but also separated your original divine essence. Your father is a werewolf, so normally, you should have both a divine essence and your own wolf. But after your birth, she erased your wolf and stripped away your divine essence. Thus, you left the power of the previous moon goddess, and now you are indeed just an ordinary person.”
“What does that mean? Aren’t you me?” Maggie was astonished; she couldn’t comprehend the meanings behind divine essence, regular personality, and her own wolf. It seemed like she was saying all of these were herself, but now she had neither divine essence nor a wolf. “You’ve confused me.”
“I’m certainly not you. I am the original divine essence of Maggie Nelson. We were supposed to grow up together, but we didn’t. I only represent the divine part and cannot stand for the complete Maggie Nelson. Similarly, you do not represent your complete self, but now the choice is yours.”
“Choice?”
“You can accept my power, merge it with the power left by the previous moon goddess, or you can reject my power, preserving your original personality and only using the power your mother left. But I need to remind you, because you don’t have the ability to create new power and are not the original host of that power, it is limited. Once used up, you’ll be just an ordinary person.”
Maggie hesitated, “What if I accept your power? What will be the consequences?”
“Re-merging with the divine essence may cause rejection, like in a transplant surgery, where the body naturally rejects the newcomer. This can be dangerous.”
“But you said we are one person.”
“In the long river of time, we have already become entirely different entities. Even if we appear together in front of Aldrich or Alisa now, they can quickly distinguish the differences between us.”
Maggie looked at her consistently cold expression and thought, perhaps.
“Of course, more complicated issues may arise. As a divine essence, I don’t possess ordinary human emotions. So, after merging, if I take control, everything will remain normal, with no changes. But if I take control, your past emotions as a regular human will be erased by me-your love, hate, your fondness and expectations for this world, and your feelings towards children, Aldrich, and Alisa will all become zero.”
Like the time after the big bang, when the entire world returned to nothingness.
“You have to ensure that you can control this power as its master, not let it control you.”
This was uncontrollable, even for Urania. Prophecies couldn’t predict such uncertain things. The prediction couldn’t foresee determination, those intangible things like faith and love that existed in human thoughts-only those who possessed them truly understood. Sometimes, even those who had these things weren’t sure themselves.
Before erupting with that immense power, Maggie never thought of herself as someone who could rush into danger.
If two drugged bald black men were walking towards her on the streets of New York, would she confidently duel them instead of running away?
Of course not. She hadn’t even touched a gun. Alisa took her to a shooting range, and she envied Alisa’s calm grip on the gun, hitting the bullseye with each shot. She touched the petite iron object, and just holding it made her tremble. She couldn’t aim and hit the opponent in a sudden danger.
But now she possessed an extraordinary power, a power so formidable that she could overturn a whole neighborhood with just a flick of her finger.
In the face of absolute power, anyone would involuntarily show submission, expressing their willingness to sacrifice everything-life, and even making a deal with the devil-to obtain such power. However, Maggie didn’t want to make a deal with the devil. She didn’t want to become a slave to the power, and most importantly, she didn’t want her hard-earned emotions to be stripped away.
She spent a long time learning to love and be loved, a treasure that came to her with great difficulty. Especially now, with two children in her belly-her children.
Maggie caressed her stomach.
By rejecting this power, she couldn’t take on the responsibilities of the Moon Goddess. By accepting it, she would have to bear the risk of the power turning against her.