A Witch's Blessing... (Konosuba Twinning) (Patreon)

Hey folks!

Well, it's July already. The days are achingly long and the weather boiling hot! I'm honestly finding it a lot easier to get my work done by staying up through the night rather than working through the day!

Speaking of writing, I think my process is starting to speed back up again. It's another three stories for you this week, and hopefully more next, though I won't make promises yet (I have had some rotten luck on that front lately). Still, I hope you enjoy the stock, and have a good week.

I'll see you next Wednesday!

-

“Okay, so, ah…” Eris, goddess of Fortune and main deity of a whole wide fantasy world, tried to steel her nerve. As an overseer, it had often been her job to ferry souls from one world to the next after they perished, but only ever for those that died on her world – the job of directing new souls here from other worlds had been the job of her senior goddess, Aqua.

At least, it had been, up until recently, when Aqua had mistakenly let herself be sent down to earth as Kazuma’s ‘cheat item’ – an arrangement which had quickly proven to be to neither of them’s liking, but you didn’t get take-backs on stuff like that. All well and good for those two and their wacky adventures down among the mortals, but the divine realm had to keep ticking over too! There were still divine duties to attend to, and souls to ferry – only now, they were down one powerful (if flighty) deity to do them with.

And it was proving to be harder to replace Aqua at her job than anyone expected. Say what you like about the water goddess – and Kazuma certainly would, down in the mortal realm – but she was actually quite good at appearing as a benevolent, comforting spirit during a time of great distress for the recently deceased. Perhaps it was a combination of her ego and her lackadaisical nature, or perhaps she was just simply talented in that regard, but there was no denying that, when it came to getting souls sent down to be heroes, she had a fantastic track record.

But now that she was gone, the heroes had all but dried up completely. None of the other gods given the job seemed to be capable of convincing the newly dead to head on down to a cute little fantasy world with no modern technology and risk their reincarnated lives on the daily to defeat the evil demon king. For some reason people just weren’t into it! And now there was a real problem, because without a steady stream of ‘heroic’ souls, then…

Okay, look, this was no time to get into the intricacies of the divine economy, but it’d be bad, right? That was simple enough. No more heroes = bad.

So, after a lot of fumbling, a few holy screaming sessions, and a lot of really bad temps later, Eris, a goddess with quite a lot on her plate already, was tapped to fill in – at least for spirits heading to the world she was in charge of. This should be fine, right? Tending to the souls of the dead was already something she did regularly – her church was the dominant religion here. Surely a few more should be fine…

Still, she was a humble goddess – and certainly more conscientious about her image than Aqua had ever been. She wanted to get this right. The heroes that had come to her world from earth had been rather bold, and even perhaps a little, uh, forthright! Which were great traits to have for heroes, of course, but it did mean you had to be gentle while dealing with them, lest they get set off in the wrong direction. That, Eris felt, was probably the mistake most of her divine colleagues had made. Gods weren’t really the gentle type, usually.

Still… This wasn’t what she’d been expecting. Actually, she hadn’t expected to start taking up reincarnation duties for another week! But here was her first soul, none the less, walking into her spiritual chambers (she’d stuck with the endless void of stars wallpaper for this one – it really lent a good almighty vibe to these chats) bold as you please. Ah, this was just typical – junior goddesses were always getting the short end of the stick. Oh well – better get started.

“W-Welcome!” The silver haired goddess patted her chest and tried to banish her uncertain stutter. “Miss…”

… She had no information on her guest. Their divine portfolio hadn’t been uploaded. What on earth had the celestial bureaucracy been doing?! She was supposed to have a full summary of a soul’s life right up to the moment of their death uploaded to her head the moment they arrived in her realm! How was she supposed to work with nothing to go off? Even the backup file book at her side was blank! Argh…

See, stuff like this was why she spent every moment she could sneaking out and [SPOILERS].

“Uh. Noble soul. I am… sorry to tell you, but this is the afterlife. You have passed on, and now it is time for you to decide what happens next.” She smiled comfortingly. “I am Eris, the goddess who will lead you down this new path.”

“Oh really?” The woman in front of her smiled as well, though there was something about her look that made the goddess feel uncomfortable. She was dressed in an unusual outfit for someone from earth – a black dress and a big, black pointy hat, one that fit snugly over her long red hair. Not to mention, the woman looked older than the usual people sent to her world – who were, by and large, male teens/young adults, for reasons Eris wasn’t quite sure of, but had been told was to do with ‘demographics’, whatever those were.

“I’m afraid so.” Even so, Eris ploughed on ahead. She knew the script here. Comfort the soul, offer them the chance for big adventure, and then hand over their chosen cheat item. It was pretty simple – even without knowing who this person was, she should be able to handle it. And then she was going to let whichever cherub screwed up the system have it for sticking her in such an awkward situation. “I know this can be something of a shock.”

The woman’s smile didn’t change, even as she took a seat across the void from the god. “I can certainly say it’s a surprise to me.”

The silver haired maiden nodded. “That’s understandable. It’s not something many mortals are ready for. But, now that you’ve arrived here, you have three-  ah, I mean, um, t-two choices!”

Damnit. She’d slipped up. She was supposed to hold the third choice back for a bit to make it more tantalizing. That was the technique Aqua had always used to such success! But, well, while Eris was no stranger to gilding the truth, she did tend to trip over her tongue when nervous. Aqua was much more natural at all of this!

“Three options, you say?” The woman in black leaned back in her chair, her chin resting on her palm. Damn, she’d caught on. Okay, well, keep going, play the hand you’re dealt.

“S-something like that. So, you can be reborn, and start your life over from scratch…”

“Ah, well that wouldn’t do. I’m rather happy with my current self. No need for a do over.” The woman’s smile became a smirk.

“Ahhh. Um. Fair enough.” Ugh, this woman’s attitude was completely throwing her off! Normally new souls were all meek and uncertain and ‘I can’t be dead’ or whatever! Angry, upset, rude, sure, she knew these kinds of reactions, but smug? No, smug was not right at all. It really undermined the grandeur of the occasion! “So, then, option two is to ascend on to heaven, which…”

“Would be hilarious,” the woman interrupted with a laugh. “But I think we can do better, no? So what’s your mysterious option three?”

“Uh… W-well, that… That option is supposed to be, ah… Well, it’s not really for everyone…” Eris tried not to look like she was flailing as badly as she felt like she was while she attempted to regain control of this conversation. Argh. How was her luck this bad? She was a goddess of fortune!

“Now now…” Gah! When did the woman stand up? When did she get so close?!? “You don’t seem like the type that’s good at keeping secrets, Dear. Why don’t you open up and tell me all about whatever you’re hiding, hm? You’ll feel better.”

“Ahhh… No, no, I’m sorry, I’ve given you totally the wrong impression.” The goddess was irrevocably flustered now, trying to ward her guest off with her hands as her face flushed, and really not making the situation any better. “It’s, it’s not a secret! Just, ah, um… Oh, how to explain…”

“That’s okay Dear.” Again, the woman was smiling – and still weirdly close. Normally it was the goddess who was supposed to be doing the comforting, but right now Eris was very much feeling like the one being reassured. Even moreso as the redhead’s hand gently squeezed her shoulder. “Just relax. Here, let me help.”

And before the rather confused goddess could respond, the woman waved a finger in front of her face.

“Poor little goddess, all lost and confused,

Your heart all aflutter and your ego quite bruised.

But everything’s fine, and all is all right,

Take a deep breath, relax, let those worries take flight!”

Eris blinked, her lips already pursed to ask the woman just what she was doing – when suddenly, she found herself breathing out instead, all of the nervous tension in her divine body dissolving away. Another deep breath, and suddenly she was feeling better than she had all week. “Oh, my. Thank you, that’s a big relief. Was that a spell? I thought they didn’t have those in your world?”

The woman chuckled, rubbing the goddess’s back. “Of a sort. I’m a rare exception – but no need to worry about that. Please, you were explaining my third choice?”

Hm. Eris didn’t know much about the world Kazuma was from, but she was pretty sure magic wasn’t a thing there. This definitely should have been something she questioned – but, weirdly, she just couldn’t bring herself to worry about it! Oh well.

“Right. Well, you see, there is another world in my care that needs help,” she started to explain, already feeling far more confident in her words. “The forces of darkness are very active there, and thanks to them the population is declining, so we’ve decided to send a few souls from other worlds who have died before their time to help out. We give them a cheat item or ability to assist their heroic quests, and let them incarnate as mortals once again with all of their memories intact for a grand adventure. Normally the ones chosen for that fate are younger males… for some reason… But I see no reason why a woman like yourself couldn’t do the same…”

“A woman like myself?” The redhead laughed in understanding. “You mean old enough to be your mother? Well that’s sweet of you to say dear. What an interesting system. But I think I shall have to go for option four.”

The goddess’s brow wrinkled. “Option four? But there were only…”

But before she could finish, that finger was waving in her face again.

“You’re still in a trance, but you can go deeper,

Just give me a moment, I’ll make you a sleeper.

That mind’s all a whirl, so give it a rest

And listen to me now, that’s just what is best~”

Huh? What was she… What… What was…

Eris blinked slowly, her eyes suddenly struggling to stay open. All of a sudden, she just felt so terribly tired – like she hadn’t slept in centuries. She found herself yawning instead of asking her guest just what she was doing, and by the time she was done her sleepy head had forgotten the woman doing anything strange at all. There was something she was supposed to be doing, she knew, but just what it was and how it was supposed to work eluded her tired brain right now. Surely she’d remember if she just rested a bit… Just… let her tired eyes… close… for a moment…

The goddess’s silver haired hair dropped, chin coming to rest against her chest as her eyelids slid down, and a soft snore echoed through the starry expanse.

And standing over her, the red headed woman in the black witch’s hat kept on smiling, her eyes shining with triumph. This had been the last kind of scenario that Astra had expected to encounter when she went world walking. An unguarded goddess? A fantasy world with heroes and cheat powers? What a delightful setup.

“Ah, if only I had time to explore it all properly,” the witch sighed, stroking Eris’s hair as the sleeping goddess mumbled into her dreams. “But the spell I used to come here won’t last for long. Still…” A soft finger slid up under the goddess’s chin, and lifted her snoozing face up towards Astra’s gaze. “You can have some fun in my place, Dear. Or maybe, I’ll have some fun in yours~”

Reaching up, the witch plucked a single red hair from her head, examining it with a critical eye for a moment, before nodding. This would do nicely. Then, without wasting a moment, she began to weave the thread of red into Eris’s own hair, entwining it into her locks carefully, while reciting another spell.

“You’ve been a fine host, Dear, it’s been a real treat,

And now to reward you, this spell can’t be beat.

I feel your fears and worries, so a cure this will be,

A full transformation, to turn you into… me~!”

Astra giggled and blew the goddess a kiss as her spell went to work, standing back to watch the magic.

It started, fittingly, with the hair. As Eris snored, her chin dropping back to her chest, red was spreading through her silver locks like fire through an oil spill. In a matter of moments, the humble goddess’s colouration was completely changed – now a perfect double of the other redhead in the room.

That wouldn’t be the last thing that was a double, either.

The changes seeped downwards, like liquid drizzling out of a sieve. The goddess’s face was next, her features shifting just slightly, nose shrinking a little, eyes turning from purple to green, her lips growing just a bit thicker and redder - her whole look shifting from cute to sultry. Before long, from the neck up, the sleeping god looked like a younger version of the woman standing in front of her.

But the spell wasn’t done, of course. Now it was the rest of her body’s turn. The changes continued to seep, flowing down into her arms, where a mysterious collection of toned muscles (that one might suspect came from a goddess skipping work to go play at being an adventurer) slowly vanished, replaced with soft, smooth skin, and her nails grew long as they gained a bold shade of red paint. Her shoulders shrank in a little, and a few tense knots in her muscles popped loose in a wonderful flood of relaxation that made the goddess moan, revealing that even her voice had changed to sound like Astra’s.

Ah, and of course, her most embarrassing secret suddenly became irrelevant, the pads under her dress popping up and out through the cleavage hole as her breasts began to swell, growing up far more than she’d ever pretended to be in her divine visions – so big, in fact, that her holy raiment tore straight down the middle as her godly globes broke free from their constraint. Which happened just before the spell leaked into her clothes as well, and the whole holy purple ensemble unwove itself, and then respun its threads into a curve hugging black dress and a pointy witch’s hat.

A few last changes to her hips, which gave her a firm, healthy ass, and her legs, which smoothed and gained wonderful hose stockings, capped by sharp black high heels, and the transformation was complete. The silver haired goddess had been replaced by a red headed witch – albeit, one who looked a decade or so younger than the woman who’d cast the spell on her.

Astra nodded to herself happily. Fine work, if she said so herself. Though, of course, that was just the physical changes. The mental ones were the most important to check. And so, she raised her hand one last time, and snapped her red nailed fingers right in front of the former Eris’s face, shattering the sleeping spell and allowing her to awaken.

Green eyes slowly opened. Blinked once. Twice. A new, curvier body rose to its feet, and a new redhead stretched, flexing her neck as she cast off the last remnants of her nap.

“Hmm…” she said, testing her sultry new voice. “Not bad,” she decided, a familiar smirk crossing her features. “Not bad at all.”

“I’m so glad you think so,” Astra chuckled. “And happy to make your acquaintance once again.”

“Yeessss…” The former Eris licked her lips, as if testing their shape. “Yes, thank you. I know you now – you are Astra, the Witch of the Seven Tomes. And so am I.” She sighed happily. “But I am also Eris, goddess of fortune, granted new form, knowledge, and confidence. Which makes me… Aeris. Such a wonderful gift you’ve given me~ The powers of a witch and a goddess both, to use as I please. Oh, this will be fun indeed – I can’t wait to show Lady Aqua what I can do now.”

Astra nodded, pleased. It seemed that the spell had worked just as she wanted – the goddess of this world was now an Astra, through and through. “I would be delighted to see you do it,” she said, bowing politely to the only kind of woman she really considered her equal – herself. “But alas, my world walking spell is at its limit. I’ll have to research a stronger version of it to allow me to visit this place for longer.”

“Oh, you really must!” Aeris agreed whole heartedly. “I have so many plans already. You know, I already had a church before your gift – you’re going to love what blessings I bestow upon my followers. And oh my, so many heroic adventurers to corrupt… You really might want to set up a holiday home here. You might enjoy it almost as much as me.”

“I’ll have to consider it~” By now, Astra was starting to turn transparent. Sadly, her time in the afterlife was almost over. “For the moment, I’ll just have to settle for wishing you well, and a request that you tell me all your exploits once we meet again. Until then… Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Dear~”

With that, she faded, her image vanishing in a haze of glittering lights, before vanishing entirely. And Aeris was left alone in the void once more.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she chuckled to herself, stretching out her new body once again, before turning her attention to the world below. It sparkled like a gem in the infinite black, and she couldn’t help but smile at it.

She had such blessings she wanted to bestow upon this wonderful world~