Natalie
Natalie didn't pay any mind to the pair's disappearance, she had much more on her mind than worrying about fridge raiders.
"So, um, hello Laylasih." She said nervously, "It's been a while."
"Iit has, and I'm really glad to see you, Nayru." Layla replied, speaking in an unusually calm manner.
Natalie cringed at the name. Best to rip the bandage off, she supposed.
"I, um, I'm not Nayru." She said.
"What?" Layla said, dumbfounded.
"I'm sure it's no big surprise that the soul that belonged to the goddess chose not to destroy my soul. I am still Natalie, and although I have memory of being your sister, I am not."
"..." Layla was silent a moment, "No, it isn't. But it still hurts. I'm sure you can tell what happened in my case. If it's all the same, Natalie, I would appreciate if you would be my sister anyways."
Before Natalie could respond, Anna reentered the room and inquired about pinching snacks.
"Oh, yeah, take whatever, mom eats out half the time anyways." She said dismissively before returning her focus to Layla.
"So, how about we do a headcount." she said, taking the opportunity to dodge Layla's request, "I've got Kalli, the Eye of Hope, a Darkness Fury and Light Fury."
"A Water Shield, a Hope Vine, Eth- er, Eden's Curse, and... a Time Eye." Layla said.
"A Time Eye? How is that possible?"
"Well, from what I've seen of Arya, she hates the world even more than he does."
"Arya?" Natalie said in surprise.
"Yes, Arya one with the powers of Time." Layla explained.
Natalie then turned to her friend, a look of sorrow on her features. For Eden's Curse to give her this power, it showed just how much pain Arya had truly been through.
"Arya." She began, "Since you're with Layla I assume you know the basics of what's going on. I'm sorry you got caught up in this mess of a situation. And I'm sorry for becoming a symbol of this broken world. But I can give you at least some good news: Eden's Curse is not evil, the fact that it gave you these powers is a sign that it considers you to be a person who values truth. This world is wrong, and Eden's Curse is the only one with the power to change it. If you'd like, I can probably come up with an activation chant for you, just keep in mind that you'll be committing to a path that has been reserved for the descendants of Adam. It's no light decision, the power to change the world is one beyond that which Layla or I possess."
Helen Opium
Helen stood in the show, the warm spray of water washing over her body. It rushed over her closed eyelids, droplets splashing across her face. Behind said eyelids was not blackness, but rather a vivid picture of the room outside as seen through Natalie's eyes. She made a mental note to scold Esyllt for not asking before taking food. Helen had known for some time that her daughter was the incarnation of a goddess, but it was still a bit of a shock to hear her admit it out loud. The question now was whether or not she would continue to side with the Eye of Hope or choose a more pure path. Of even greater interest, however, was the revelation of Arya being a Time Eye. The fact that Ethan would give power to a woman, perhaps he wasn't nearly as hateful as Kallisto thought. There might be a chance to reason with him. In fact, it felt like Kallisto would be the tougher one to reason with at this point. The goddess had taken the responsibility for everything that had happened on herself, a burden which had clearly come to cloud her judgement in the past few months. Helen still remembered how lively Katherine was when the two had first met...
She sat across a table from a young Kallistle priestess, a girl considered to be a prodigy in religious study. Also a girl with views even more controversial than Helen's. Their shared dislike of the Kalo government was what had brought Helen to accept this meeting, but the words the girl spoke were unbelievable, literally.
"You're telling me that you're a goddess." Helen scoffed, "forgive me for not believing you, Lucille."
"Lady Opium, I know I sound crazy." The prodigy known as Katherine Lucille replied, "but if you'll just give me a chanc-."
"Alright, say you are Kallisto." Helen interrupted, "Why would you want to go in direct defiance of your own order of priestesses?"
"Surely you realize what a mess this world is, and it's largely because my followers have lost their path."
"And what's stopping me from going straight to Estole Syv and revealing your blasphemy?"
"As it happens, my mother is already aware of my claims. You think I managed to stick around in defiance of the church without giving her a damn good reason to keep me around?"
"Wait, you actually convinced Karen that you're the goddess?" Helen was so surprised she forgot to use the Estole's honorary name.
"Mother has become equally dissatisfied with the current state of the church as yourself since becoming Estole. When I began teaching my views, she immediately recognized them as those actually detailed in the original versions of the Kallistle scriptures. She is actually the one who suggested that I might be the goddess and caused me to awaken."
For Karen to believe that this girl was indeed Kallisto, no one was more well-versed in the scriptures than that crazy priestess. Helen didn't like the church, but its head was a different matter. As the Estole, Karen was the only person in the world who knew how to read the Kallistle scriptures in their original language. She was also Helen's close friend, although the two had to keep their relationship largely secret because of Helen's open dislike of the church. If Karen believed Katherine was the goddess, then Helen had to believe it as well.
"Alright, I believe you." Helen said finally, "What am I supposed to do with this information? I'm powerful, but not nearly as powerful as the Estole."
"That's where you're wrong." Katherine said excitedly, "The Estole is the head of the church, the only one allowed to learn ancient Kallistle, but she can be impeached if it is believed she no longer follows the right path. If she attempts to speak the truth she has learned in the scriptures, she'll be stripped of her position and probably executed. But you, you're a redhead, your influence is outside the church."
Helen nodded, "That does make sense."
"So I was thinking. If I'm here, why not the other goddesses? And what if we brought us together and stood up to the church and tried to fix things?"
"You'd seem four times as crazy." Helen joked.
Katherine laughed, it was a hearty, emotional laugh, "True enough. But I do still have access to some of my divine magic."
"You know, you could just show those off and anyone who saw would have to believe you."
"Alone I would seem a charlatan, especially after being so openly against the church."
"So we gather the other goddesses, how?"
"I was thinking we could try to exploit Alexus's luck to land us all in the same place..."
Eventually the two had worked out a plan to form the Opium Institute, the school that Helen now presided over. Kallisto had given Helen access to hidden powers. In return, Helen had supported the goddess the whole way with both financial and emotional support. Unfortunately, the emotional support seemed to be failing, as Kallisto slowly descended into a depressive state. Helen worried that by the time they gathered the goddesses together Kallisto would no longer care about changing the world for the better. The goddess was emotionally unstable, like a child who had lost their favorite hugging kitten. But now both Nayru and Layla were here, perhaps the recovery of some of what she had lost would prevent Kallisto from destroying herself just yet