# Note: This first chapter is a little heavy. CW for thoughts of self harm, but the story ends in a very wholesome place. It is has a happy ending <3.
|| -- Chapter 8 -- ||
A waterfall froze in place, and the falling water came to a stop in mid-air. From the leaves blowing in the breeze to the clouds in the sky and even the rotation of the world around its axis, everything came to a grinding halt.
Then, the water flowed up the cliff side and returned to the mountain from which it came. The leaves in the wind tumbled backwards, and they reconnected to the branches of their parent tree. Up above, the clouds dissipated without a single drop of rain falling, and even the sun retraced its path backwards through the sky.
"Time Reversal magic... Omniversal Recursion." Veranda clapped her hands together, completing the divine magic.
"Hm? What was that?" Trixie asked, tilting her head up at Veranda.
They had returned to the Celestial Summit, and the lesser imp stood at the bottom of the stone caldera, looking up to where Veranda sat on her tall marble throne. By using her powers as a goddess, she turned back the clock to a point before she accepted the wager.
Her breasts were back to their dignified D cups, her pussy returned to a tight slit, and even her engorged nipples and clit had gone back to their original sizes. In the instant she cast the spell, all the effects on her body disappeared, and she returned to her original divine form.
"What I do is of no concern to you." Veranda turned her gaze down towards the lesser demon. "Be on your way, imp, or I'll return you to a pile of primordial goo."
"My name's Trixie, and what about my idea for a wager?" Trixie asked. "You didn't give me an answer."
Veranda tapped her fingers against the armrest of her marble throne, staring down at the tiny demon. When they had initially met, she hadn't done a full analysis of the imp, but she decided to do one now. With a single look, she began a magical examination of her.
[ Trixie (Lesser Imp) ] [ Equipment: thin black chest sash, black thong ] [ Power Level: Weakest ] [ Status Effects: Cursed ] [ Description: Another failed experiment. ]
"I refuse the very concept of entering a wager with a *failure* like you." Veranda fixed her iciest gaze on the demon, and she summoned all her regal grace to outstretch her hand and give a shooing motion towards her. "Begone, Trixie. If it will get you to leave, I'll remember your name, but I won't hesitate to smite you in the future. Consider this your one and only warning to never enter my presence again."
At the word 'failure', Trixie visibly flinched, and her bangs parted. A lone brown eye stared up at Veranda, stretching wide in surprise, then her crude bowl cut fell back into place, obscuring her eyes once more.
Veranda continued to stare down at the demon with murderous intent. She did not hide the malevolent aura forming around her, and she let her divine mana spill out, washing through the stone caldera like a thick wave.
"As y-you wish..." Trixie bowed her head, and she choked on her words. "This failure shall see herself out."
She stepped back, and a portal opened behind her. As Veranda continued to direct a murderous stare at her, Trixie retreated through the portal, and it blinked out of existence, disappearing.
--
Back in the forest, Trixie jumped out of the portal, and she landed in a brightly lit forest.
Unlike the first time, Veranda didn't appear with her. There was no wager and no bet, only the sound of the wind blowing across the tree branches. It was a familiar sound to Trixie, but at that moment, she hated it.
The chill it brought felt horrible against her skin, and the whisper of it in her ears served as a grim reminder of how empty the forest truly was. Not even the buzz of insects or chirps of birds broke up the monotonous drone of the wind. It was an unnatural silence only interrupted by the rustle of the breeze through forest foliage. In this place, if she wanted to hear a voice, the only option was her own.
"It's been a long time since I was called a failure, huh?" Trixie said to herself, and she sank down to her knees, sitting on the forest floor. "I wonder why she used that word..."
Trixie stared at her hands in silence. Only an hour earlier, she'd been bubbling with energy and excitement to explore new worlds. The one and only benefit to being an imp was that it allowed her to teleport anywhere, even to other dimensions and unexplored places. The multiverse was her sandbox to play in, but she no longer had the drive to go dimension hopping.
"I'm not a failure..." Trixie said under her breath, and she tightened her fists into balls.
As she stared down at them, tears fell from her eyes. Hot burning drops obscured her vision, and her breath came in choking gasps. It had been more than a few decades since she last cried, but 'that word' always seemed to do it.
It was a beautiful day in the forest. Her lush surroundings had never looked prettier. However, the word continued to echo in her head. Over and over, the word 'failure' was repeated, and the tears grew worse. Like a dam giving way, her cheery attitude crumbled, and she buried her face in her hands.
Why did the goddess use that word for her? Perhaps she was all-knowing, but even then, it was too cruel. All she wanted to do was cause a little mischief, yet now she sat in the forest, crying. She was pathetic to let a single word ruin her day, but she couldn't help it. In the end, she truly was just a failure.
A lone tentacle monster crawled out from some bushes in front of her.
At the sight of Trixie, it approached where she sat and came to a stop next to her. With an outstretched tentacle, it prodded at her knee, giving a gentle poke, but she didn't react. She continued to hold her hands over her eyes, giving choking sobs.
"It's not fair..." she said quietly. "Why does such a beautiful day need to turn out like this?"
The sun spilled brilliant pools of light through the canopy of the forest. They lit up her lush surroundings and gave it a picturesque quality that surpassed even the most beautiful paintings, but it felt like a dark cloud had descended over it.
The word 'failure' repeated in her ears ad infinitum, and she felt like she was choking. Every gasping breath came more labored than the last, and the hot tears pushed themselves out regardless of her will. She had just wanted to have fun today, but it had somehow turned out like this.
More tentacles emerged from the underbrush, and they surrounded her in a half-circle.
