Reincarnated With The Strongest System

Just as soon as everything descended into darkness, several bright lights suddenly appeared in the sky of the pitch-black world, which made the beautiful goddess frown.

Soon, the lights converged forming a constellation. A dazzling golden light shone down upon William's body, who was cradled in the beautiful goddess' embrace. 

A second later, the Half-Elf's body was covered by a golden barrier, which made the Goddess' frown deepen.

A moment later, Amalthea's projection appeared in front of the Primordial Goddess.

"You shouldn't treat your guest in this manner," Amalthea said with a smile as she made a welcoming gesture to William's body.

As if being pulled by an invisible force, the Half-Elf's body floated towards the blue-haired beauty.

The Primordial Goddess could have held onto the red-headed teenager's body to keep him in place, but she didn't do that. She simply stared at the Half-Elf who was now being held in a princess carry by the blue-haired beauty that she thought she would never see again.

"You just became a constellation a day ago, and yet you appear just to save this boy from me," the Primordial Goddess stated with a smile that matched Amalthea's. "Well, your timing is perfect as well. I want to ask you a few questions. Just who is this boy? Is he the reason why you decided to become one with the stars?"

Amalthea didn't answer right away. Instead, she pressed her hand on the pitch-black gem that was embedded on William's chest. All the light in William's body had been snuffed out. If she didn't tend to him soon, the boy would be consumed by darkness, and this was something that Amalthea didn't want to see.

A few seconds later, the gem on William's chest glowed brightly, and pulsed like a beating heart. 

Only after the color of William's face returned did the blue-haired beauty shift her attention back to the Primordial Goddess, who watched everything unfold, while seated on her throne.

"His name is William, and he is a very special existence to me," Amalthea replied. "You're right. The reason I decided to join the stars was because of him. I will appreciate it if you don't mess with him too much."

"Too late," the Primordial Goddess said softly. "There is already a strand of darkness in his soul, and this strand came from the future. This means that I have marked him as my property, you should be the one that should back off, Amalthea."

"If I back out now, wouldn't my sacrifice be in vain? Sorry, but I'm not handing this child over to you."

"I see… so we agree to disagree. How do you want to settle this?"

Amalthea planted a kiss on William's forehead before raising him towards the sky. The constellation above her shone, and showered William's body with its radiance, pulling him upwards.

"We are not the ones who get to decide his fate," Amalthea answered. "The one who will be making the decision is him."

The Primordial Goddess rested the side of her face on the palm of her hand, as she stared at the lady in front of her. After briefly experiencing the exquisite taste of William's soul, her interest in the Half-Elf had grown by leaps and bounds.

Also, she wondered why a strand of darkness had buried itself deep in the boy's Sea of Consciousness. She was sure that she had no recollection of doing something like this, which meant that it was something that had happened in the future.

"Fair enough," the Primordial Goddess said after William's body had left her world of darkness. "I still don't know what kind of game you are playing, Amalthea, but I can somewhat understand your thoughts after spending some time with that child. He is a very special existence."

Amalthea nodded. "That's right."

"Then, just who is he?"

"If I tell you, will you keep it a secret for eternity?"

The Primordial Goddess placed her delicate hand over her chest as she made an oath.

"By my name, I swear that I will keep it a secret for eternity," the Primordial Goddess vowed. "Satisfied?"

Amalthea nodded in acknowledgement. Making an oath using their names meant that they were binding their Divinity to the promise. Breaking that promise would give them a very harsh backlash, which could cause them to fall from grace.

"That child is an existence who was denied to be born in this world," Amalthea explained. 

The Primordial Goddess immediately fixed her posture as she looked at Amalthea in shock.

"You mean to tell me that he is…"

"Yes. He is him."

A minute passed in silence before it was broken by the Primordial Goddess' bell-like laughter. 

"No wonder. So that's the reason," the Primordial Goddess smiled sweetly after realizing who WIlliam really was. "Well, I guess I have something to look forward to now. This will be a fun thing to watch."

Amalthea shook her head because she knew that the Primordial Goddess had always been like this.

"Promise me that you will not mess with him for the duration of his stay in this timeline."

"Don't worry. I'm not that petty. You have my word that I will no longer touch him while he is in this world. I would rather wait to enjoy a grand feast, than eat cookie crumbs."

Amalthea smiled as she floated towards the sky, leaving that dark and cold world behind her.

The Primordial Goddess lightly tapped the armrest of her throne with her finger.

"William…" the Primordial Goddess smiled. "I look forward to meeting you again in the future."

—-

William felt something softly caress the side of his face. 

A minute later, he felt someone lightly pulling on his ears.

After that, his nose was poked repeatedly.

It was as if someone was toying with him while he slept.

Earlier, he felt very cold. So cold that he thought that he had turned into a block of ice, unable to move ever again.

However, right now, he felt warm and at peace. 

The Half-Elf opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the face of the Goddess that made his heart ache, when he first arrived in this strange world.

"You are… Amalthea," William said as the beautiful lady poked his nose. 

"Yes," Amalthea replied. 

"Have we met before?"

"Maybe."

William felt a little emboldened as he raised his hand to touch the side of Amalthea's face. It was soft, and smooth, which made the Half-Elf feel that he had indeed felt this familiar sensation before.

Suddenly the memories of the world of darkness returned to him. He almost panicked, but Amalthea's gaze and touch calmed his senses.

"Don't worry," Amalthea assured him. "You're safe with me."

"Am I really?" William asked back.

"Yes," Amalthea said with a smile. "But, you can't stay here for long. There are still many people waiting for you in the future."

William felt a pang of pain in his heart because he felt that he would part ways with this beautiful lady whom he felt was very important to him.

As if seeing his discomfort, Amalthea planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that," Amalthea said as she held William in her loving embrace. "Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

William didn't understand what Amalthea was trying to tell him, but he didn't resist being hugged by her. For some reason, he instinctively felt that this was the place where he belonged. 

It reminded him of the days during his childhood where he would snuggle against Ella's body to keep his body warm and safe. That was his special place, a place that only belonged to him.