How can this be possible?
The Goddess of Rebirth stared at the motionless wheel of light.
Goddess Rhongomyniad.
For a moment, even she forgot to smile.
That's impossible. I built the system so that no one could pull a deity. And certainly not her.
A sharp, cold thought ran through her.
This could cost me my head if the higher gods find out.
Outwardly, however, her voice remained soft and dignified.
"Congratulations," she said. "You have drawn a UR body. The odds were only one in fifty-eight trillion."
Inside, her mind was already racing.
I have to cover this up. Immediately. If she has already received that body, then at least I can give her a system that keeps her small. One with which she can barely grow. No one must notice what happened here.
The sphere of light that was Jenni's soul hovered motionless before her.
With a light snap of her fingers, its form began to change.
At first there was only a silhouette.
Then, slowly, a human body took shape—slender, female, beautiful in a way that seemed almost unreal.
But no sooner had the figure fully formed than fine cracks spread across its surface.
A crack.
Then another.
The shell shattered into dozens, then hundreds of fragments, falling soundlessly to the ground like shards of porcelain. Beneath them, skin appeared—pale and flawless, as though the true body beneath had merely been waiting to be freed from its prison.
Even the Goddess of Rebirth had to avert her eyes for a moment.
So overwhelming was the sight.
"I hope this body will please you," she said, forcing herself back to calm.
Then she smiled again.
"And are you ready for the next roulette? This time for your system?"
Come on. Quickly. Pull some garbage. Something useless. Something that keeps you small.
In her thoughts, she was already elsewhere.
I have to remove the SSR and UR forms from the gacha. They should never have been obtainable. Never.
Then a quiet voice sounded.
Confused. Fragile. Strange and yet not strange.
"Who... am I?"
The goddess blinked.
Jenni's soul trembled.
Something was wrong.
Normally, the fusion was clean. Memories settled into place. Personality, body, and knowledge merged into a new whole.
But this was different.
Here, two existences were being forced into one another with raw violence.
Then came the first voice.
Not in the room.
Inside.
"My king... I will return your sword to you."
Jenni flinched.
A stabbing pain tore through her mind.
What... was that?
Then another memory.
A boy.
No—a girl forced to live as a boy.
A calm voice.
"You are no longer called Artoria. From this day on, you are Arthur."
Merlin.
A stone.
A sword.
"It is your duty to draw the sword from the stone."
"Yes... Master Merlin."
More memories crashed over her like waves.
A throne room.
Cold.
A father whose gaze had never known warmth.
"Father... why was I never good enough for your throne?"
Then pain.
Sharp. Metallic. Final.
A blade piercing her body.
Or his.
Or hers.
The boundaries blurred.
"I only ever wanted... your acknowledgment..."
Tears ran down her face.
Or the other one's face.
Then another jump.
A completely different world.
Two girls in cosplay.
Laughter. Fabric. Makeup. Phone lights.
Shared photos for fans.
Patreon. Walks to school. Familiarity. Closeness.
A life that had been soft. Human. Fragile.
And then loneliness again.
Wandering.
An endless road through a world that no longer recognized you.
Two lives.
Two losses.
Two souls that had both lost everything.
From Jenni.
From Artoria Pendragon.
From the Holy Lance that had become a goddess.
Something new was born.
Something broken.
Something exalted.
Rhongomyniad.
Then she heard the voice again, one she already seemed to know from somewhere.
Distant.
And yet directly before her.
"And are you ready for the next roulette for your system?"
Why did her heart feel so empty?
Not because of the lost kingdom.
Not because of the death of her son—no.
Her daughter. Mordred.
She had killed her with her own hands.
For what?
For Britain?
For the throne?
For Merlin?
She had sacrificed everything.
And in the end, it had all been for nothing.
But even that was not the true reason for this emptiness.
There was something else.
Something deeper.
Something that should not have been missing.
Rhongomyniad slowly raised her hand.
Pure energy gathered in her open palm, condensed, took shape—until at last a weapon emerged from it.
A holy lance.
Rhongomyniad.
Without hesitation, she aimed its tip at the Goddess of Rebirth.
"What have you done to me, goddess?" she asked in a cold voice. "Why does my heart feel so empty?"
The goddess froze.
What? How is that possible? She was supposed to possess the knowledge to fight, perhaps, but not her weapon. No... this lance was not created by me. Did she summon Rhongomyniad itself? Damn it.
Slowly, the goddess raised both hands.
"Calm yourself... Artoria Pendragon."
Inside, her thoughts were racing.
Has the artificial soul that was supposed to merge with the other become too strong in the end? Or is this something entirely different?
Rhongomyniad's gaze sharpened.
"Speak."
The goddess swallowed.
For the space of a heartbeat, even she seemed uncertain.
Then she forced herself into a calm tone.
"You took part in a gacha of reincarnation and were reborn. But the price for that was... the love in your heart."
For a moment, everything went completely still.
Rhongomyniad's eyes widened.
"What?" she breathed.
Then her voice grew harder. Colder. More dangerous.
"Who dares interfere so deeply with the core of a soul? That goes against all nature."
The tip of the lance did not lower by even a finger's breadth.
"Can you undo it?"
The goddess slowly shook her head.
"No. That is no longer possible. That part of your soul has already been purified. The pain will remain... until your next death. Only then will the cleansing be fully completed."
Silence.
Heavy and crushing, it settled over the space.
Rhongomyniad looked down at her hands.
Who am I?
Artoria?
Someone else?
Or only Rhongomyniad now?
The answer would not come today.
Perhaps not even tomorrow.
Perhaps only time would decide what remained of her.
At last, she lowered the lance.
"Very well," she said quietly. "If you claim it cannot be undone, then I believe you."
"What?"
The goddess's eyes flew open in disbelief.
"I can feel that you did not lie to me on that point," Rhongomyniad replied. "So we continue. With the next gacha. Just as you said."
Beads of sweat ran down the goddess's forehead.
She smiled, but her smile was brittle.
The moment this is over, I will destroy this gacha system. All of it. I hate problems. I hate surprises. And I hate it when something interrupts my boredom.
Before Artoria Pendragon, a new roulette wheel appeared.
A circle of light, vast and shimmering, with countless names engraved across its surface. Innumerable systems passed before her eyes.
And yet...
Most of them felt wrong.
Empty.
Cheap.
As though they were merely shells without any true worth.
The Goddess of Rebirth still smiled pleasantly.
"Here you see the selection of your possible systems. I wish you good luck."
Inside, she was far less composed.
I turned almost everything into worthless junk. Systems that offer barely any benefit. I'm genuinely curious what kind of nonsense she'll end up with.
Artoria raised her armored hand.
Slowly, she placed it on the edge of the roulette wheel and, with a single controlled motion, set it spinning.
The wheel began to turn.
Streaks of light flickered across its surface as names and symbols blurred.
Then it slowed.
And slowed.
Until at last it came to a stop.
Mentor System.
For a moment, no one said anything.
Then the goddess nearly collapsed with relief.
Yes... that's perfect.
Her system only allows her to guide others. She can pass on knowledge, shape students, perhaps even foster talents—but her own combat power will not rise directly because of it. And since she will land in a world of mortal students, her growth remains limited.
Bad luck within good fortune. Or rather: good fortune within bad luck. For me, at least.
The goddess cleared her throat and resumed her official bearing.
"Congratulations, Artoria Pendragon," she said in a ceremonious voice. "You have received the Mentor System. May your students, through your guidance, walk the proper path."
"What...?"
It was only a single word, but in Artoria's voice lay confusion, weariness, and a trace of distrust.
The goddess gave her no time to ask further.
Space-energy was already gathering around Artoria's body. Threads of light wrapped themselves around her, at first gently, then ever more densely, until the boundaries of her body began to blur.
The journey into a new world had already begun.
The Goddess of Rebirth watched her go as cold sweat ran down her back.
Please... please never let my superiors learn that I unleashed a goddess like her upon the multiverse.
With one final flicker, Artoria vanished.
And the goddess was left behind alone.
With a mistake that might yet shake entire worlds.