Cozy and her friends stood on the moon once again, facing off against the man that lived here. The two stood off in the empty expanse, surrounded by the vast void of the sky around them.

  Cozy’s friends seemed less concerned with the man on the moon, and more the fact that they were on the moon in the first place.

  “Woah… what in the world…?” Ed said. It seemed like he was the first one to turn around. The entire world was behind them, and this was his first time seeing it.

  “Oh… my…” Adelyn turned around as well, and so did Teddie shortly after. For someone who has never seen this place before, this was surely a sight to behold. But for Cozy, her eyes were laser focused on the man greeting them.

  “Welcome back, Cosette.”

  “Midnas.”

  Cozy spoke his name. That caused the other three to snap out of their awe. It was the only word she could have spoken to bring them out of the wonder of seeing the entire world from this far.

  “That’s Midnas?” Teddie said. “Wow. He looks so…”

  “Strong.” Ed finished. “Like, ridiculously so.”

  “A communion with God,” Adelyn said. “Amazing…”

  “I greet you all,” Midnas said with a gentle smile. “It seems like you all have come here with quite the mission. I’ve been watching with great interest ever since those flashes of light appeared in our world.” The man looked at each of them, with an interested gaze, before turning back to Cozy. “And especially since you’ve encountered this young lady at a store.”

  “And here I thought you would only be there in my memories,” Cozy responded. “But here we are. Again.”

  “Yes. I’m surprised, most people don’t keep their memories from when they were so young, but you seem to remember me quite well.”

  “How could I not?”

  “Woah, woah, woah,” Ed interrupted their standoff. “Considering the reaction your blood had with the ritual, and what you’re saying now. Do you two know each other? Cozy… you know God?”

  Despite the man on the moon himself standing right in front of them. Cozy still was hesitant to fully confirm what Ed’s suspicions were. However, she knew that she couldn’t keep it a secret now. Not when they’ve come this far.

  Though, when she tried to speak to confirm it… the words didn’t come out. She just looked at Ed, trying to convey the answer.

  “She’s from Lune,” Teddie said. “She’s been trying to keep that a secret so that none of you would be discouraged.”

  “Wait,” Adelyn suddenly ran up to Cozy. “You’re from here?”

  “Yeah. That’s… shocking… not only from Lune… but if you’re so familiar with God, then are you from here as well? You’re… divine?” Ed asked.

  Cozy looked at both of her friends. They had questions for her which she did not want to particularly answer. But, she knew she had to. She looked at Teddie, he looked nervous about the fact that he even answered in the first place. Cozy didn’t want him to feel like that, so she gave the boy a soft smile, before turning back to Adelyn and Edward.

  “I’m from Lune, yes. Though, I’m not from the moon. It’s a little bit more complicated than that. I suppose you could call me divine.”

  “In the purest sense,” Midnas added. “Cosette is quite the special girl.”

  “Almost too special,” Cozy sighed. “It’s crazy that I’m standing next to God, and I’m still the one that’s getting the most attention.”

  Midnas chuckled at that comment. “Well, you are their friend. That is a power that even I do not have. Additionally, the longer I stay on the moon, the less my story means.” The god turned away from them. “The acts of a man who carved the world you stand on. One who separated the land from the sea. It all eventually becomes just a tale. You, on the other hand, have a lot more to say.” Midnas then looked back at the group, over his shoulder. “So let us discuss in a comfier place. I don’t expect to leave my guests standing after all.”

  There was a cottage on the moon.

  Somehow, this was more mindbending than them being on the moon in the first place. It was a nice, comfy cottage with a small porch growing a few flowers in the moondust. Crystals decorated the exterior, reflecting the light that came from the ground, heading all the way back to Earth.

  “Welcome to where I stay. It reminded me of my first home,” Midnas said. “Lets have a seat on the porch. The plants could use some new company.”

  The four of them walked onto the steps of the cottage porch, before sitting at a small table that stood on it. Midnas walked behind them, checking in on the moon flowers that made up the small garden.

  “So, uh… how do we get divinity?” Ed asked.

  “Ed…” Teddie said. “Should we be asking that first thing?”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “What? I mean, he’s literally God so he should know what we want. It’s probably best to be straightforward with him.”

  Cozy would normally roll her eyes at Ed’s snappiness, but she was too focused on the environment at hand. She had a headache when she entered the holy chamber for the first time, but here… she felt serene. She didn’t know why.

  “If you’ve been watching us then you already know…” Adelyn began to state. “I want to meet my best friend again! We… we need your divinity in order to do so, because then we can get Governor Luan’s approval!”

  “It’s a noble goal,” Midnas nodded, taking a seat alongside the four. “You are far from the first person in this world to have ended up far from home… but you two are quite special indeed. The obstacles that are in your way are plentiful, yet both of you do not give up.”

  “Yes. I know that she’s trying her hardest as well,” Adelyn said. “So, please. We need your blessing!”

  Midnas summoned forth a cup of tea. He seemed to take a moment to ponder over this decision, leaving everyone in silence for a moment. “You three are different from those who normally achieve divinity. Normally, my power flows through those who have years of connection with the world… those who have fought for the land I made… or those who at birth… traveled and achieved my essence since they were an infant.”

  “Like… the royal family, right?” Adelyn asked. “Is that how they have divinity?”

  “I suppose so. In a person’s formative years, being basked in the essence of the moon is certainly a way to achieve divinity. Their connection to me is quite strong, and it endures as they grow. But, for the three of you… you are all quite developed. It’s harder for you to form that bond.”

  “Well, some of us did have a bit of divinity,” Ed said. “Look at Teddie, he managed to survive quite a long time in your tears.”

  “I guess I did… yeah. Maybe that means something good,” Teddie added.

  “Mhm, and if you were given some more years living the way you lived. You may have connected with the planet long enough to achieve that divinity. But you say you need it now, and that is something that requires more judgment on my part,” Midnas said. The god looked at all three of them, before turning to Cozy. “All, except you.”

  Cozy remained uncharacteristically quiet, still. She kept on looking at the god, as he gazed back at him. “Except me.”

  “Yes. The purest divinity that this world has seen,” Midnas confirmed.

  “Well, that makes me curious… What is up with that? Cozy’s not super nature-bound like Teddie… so her being the most divine out of all of us is surprising.”

  Midnas stood up from his chair, and headed off the porch into the garden. “The tale of your friend comes in two parts. I will reveal what I know, and it is up to her if she wishes to reveal the rest of her tale.”

  Cozy frowned. The onus was being put on her to speak again. But at least this time, she had some time to think, as Midnas began to recite his story.

  “Thirteen years ago. A plan was formed. The governor… the highest religious authority in your country, and a couple… who claim to spread my own story. A pair of priests. Both of them had a shared dream. To touch the Moon and understand what it truly means to be divine. So, they worked together.”

  Midnas turned to look at the planet wistfully, as if remembering a tale that he wished he didn’t have to recall.

  “Your ritual… it allows one to commune with the moon. This works for the royal family as well. It is very likely to mold someone into divinity just from utilizing my own essence in such a way. But they didn’t wish to just have divine blood… they wished to become truly close to the Moon. But how? They had already grown past their formative years, it was too late for any of them to reach the skies. So, there was only one option left. A child.”

  Cozy tensed up at the mention of the child. Everyone’s eyes were on her at that statement.

  “Wait. So… what does that mean?” Adelyn asked. “A child… close to god?”

  “Yes. It was a… complicated… messy ritual. There were many attempts to conceive a truly holy child in the holiest place in the city. Between the mother and father… painful process ensued. They did everything they could to reach my home… and to make sure their child would be born with the purest divinity they’ve ever seen. Both of them suffered greatly, and the previous Governor was concerned too… but…” Midnas sighed. “Everything proceeded. Until one day, the Governor attempted to call it all off.”

  “What? Why?” Ed said. “Why would he do that?”

  “The human mind is something that even I cannot grasp sometimes. Maybe he deemed it unethical to attempt to recreate my likeness in a child. Maybe he was worried about the legitimacy of it all. But regardless, he attempted to close it all down. But yet… a miracle happened.” Midnas turned back to the group, with a serious look in his face. “One day, I was walking on the surface of the moon, and I found a small soul. Something that I had never seen before… on the Moon.”

  Cozy’s heart began to beat heavily. She knew where this story was going, and she needed to decide. How much would she tell, and how much was Midnas going to tell himself?

  “I nursed it for nine months. I had seen communions before, but not one for a soul as young as this. It was still incubating in my presence. So I let it grow… form… before I knew it had to return back to the planet it lived on. That was when it happened.”

  Midnas pointed directly at Cozy.

  “The birth of the child closest to God. Unbeknownst to everyone, except for herself and her parents. She is the closest that any man has gotten to divinity.”

  Cozy looked down at herself. Her hands, her body, her wings, and her soul. All of them were born from, and nursed in a place so far from home. A land so far from everything she was familiar with… and she was back where it all began.

  “But wait,” Teddie said. “That… doesn’t explain one thing. Why does she dislike you… and the entire city so much?”

  Cozy felt that gentle push Teddie gave her. She should be upset, because Teddie told her that he would keep it a secret. But she felt like it was necessary.

  “I thought it was from all of the stubborn religious people.” Adelyn said. Cozy knew that this reaction would happen if she had told them. It wasn’t the time yet, but now… it might just be.

  “Yeah. You have been acting very cooped up lately… it might not have just been that. Though, knowing that it was your hometown, it makes a lot more sense,” Ed said. “Still, is there something else to it?”

  “That part is not my part of the story to tell. There is only one person who can tell you the answer to that,” Midnas said. Cozy knew who that was going to have to be.

  The girl’s wings manifested behind her. They lifted her off of the porch and onto the garden. Both of their wings glowed, standing next to each other. Pink and green light reflected off of each of their backs, as Cozy turned back to her friends.

  “I didn’t want to tell you all this, because it would make me feel like a burden,” Cozy began to speak. “But, you all are my friends. We’ve already been through a lot together, and I can’t thank you enough. So I think you deserve to know who I am, and why I’ve been far away from home for so long. I trust you all, please.”