Epic of Bee

After everyone got their worldly possession in order, we all started heading back to the village. This was really going to mess with the day with everyone, but we would get things back in working order.

As much as I would have loved to stay with everyone, I was exhausted, and it was nearly morning, so our group flew back first. I left Leah and Riza behind just in case and had Tag and Sig follow us from a bit back, and we were able to make it back far quicker than we had left.

After getting back, I got fed, and we all went to bed without much fuss, and I was glad to get into my bed. Miasma crawled inside with me and then cuddled into me as we fell asleep.

In the morning, after everyone got up, I herded everyone outside and got Xani to bring out the Levitation Orb. I could see that the Ferrets and the Weasels seemed to be getting along fine, and I noticed that Tita was standing over with Thiamon.

The two of them were directing the people and getting them to do the jobs that needed to be done. The Weasels, it turned out, did mostly the same tasks as the Ferrets, but they liked meat more, and that meant that they knew how to hunt.

I had been worried initially that they had been stealing the Cockatrice to start their own farms. It turned out that the old chief was just a bad person and took them all for himself.

"All right, everyone. I want everyone to stand far back, except for you, Xani. Can you please come here with the orb?" I asked, and Xani nodded, stepping forward.

I had taken everyone to a place that was away from the village but still kept us more than within sight. I had no idea what was going to happen here, and I didn't want anyone getting hurt.

"Queeny, can you activate the quest again?" I asked her, and she appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Xani needs to charge the orb first, or you will get the same message," Queeny explained.

"Xani, do you know how to do that?" I asked with doubt.

She had just gotten her magic, so the chances of her knowing were slim to none, but she surprised me.

"Yes, I think that I can. It's almost like the magic wants to go to it," Xani explained as I watched the small blue orb start to get brighter.

Slowly it became like a small ball of pure light, and then I floated up and out of her hands. I stepped forward and touched the orb, but nothing about it felt any different; it was still cool.

[Hive Task] 1/10 Completed!

[Reward] Generator Shield.

[Reward] Activated!

Suddenly the orb flew away from us and settled about two meters off the ground in an open area. Then things started to get extremely weird.

The sky was suddenly filled with dark storm clouds that gathered around us, and the air started to vibrate. Bolts of lightning started to flash, but then a strange black line formed on the clouds.

"Ashia, you should come back!" Messia called to me, and I was about to do just that, but I was stopped by an otherworldly ethereal voice.

"Congratulations, my little Queen! You are making your goddess very happy!"

I was forced to my knees; there was no way to resist it. I turned to find not only the girls but even all the Ferrets and Weasels were prostrating themselves; what was going on?

I turned back to look where the voice was coming from, and the blood in my veins froze stiff. There was no way what I was seeing could be real.

The black line in the sky had been ripped open to reveal a crazy-looking space-like background, but that wasn't what filled me with awe and fear. No, it was the ten-meter tall head that was stretching down until the massive face was only 2 meters away from me.

"I am sorry that you have to see me blown up like this, but you have now created enough followers from me to walk this world yet. Still, you have been a buzzy little Bee, haven't you?" Beezli, Goddess of Bees, asked me.

"I am trying, but I am not really sure what I am supposed to do. This has all been one surprise after another," I told Beezli, and she smiled at me warmly.

"There is nothing that you have to do, my child. While you are alive in this world, your only job is to become great and die another great death! How you achieve that greatness is all up to you," Beezli explained to me.

"So I just have to go around fixing everyone's problems?" I asked.

"No, you don't have to do anything, little one, but what you are doing is very good for the people in this world and me. I am sure that you have noticed, but all the races prefer to work alone or use other races to achieve their ends," Beelzi explained.

"Why is it good for you? What do you get out of all of this, besides a chance to rule this world? I don't really know you, but I will assume that you aren't really the type to want to take care of an entire world, do you?" I asked.

"You are not wrong there, but getting to the position of this world's God is only part of the battle and the easy part. After that, then I will have to keep the world from descending into chaos," Beezli told me.

"So then, what you are really saying is that if we get you to God, then you will need me to help keep the world in order? For how long?" I asked with a tinge of exasperation in my voice.

"Hmm? You have somewhere to Bee, my little honeysuckle? Yes, I will need your help, but I also can't force you to do any of this. If you want to, you can just tell me off and continue your time in this world until you die. Then hopefully, you will have earned enough greatness to pass on to the next life," Beelzi said.

"Sure, of course. I know your game, honey witch! This is one of those, you don't have to do it, but if you do, the chance of you getting what you want increases dramatically, right?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, my little bumbling buzzer!" Beezli said with a smile of a person that knew that they had just won.