Inside & Out Ch 8: Awakening Of The Goddess, The Girl Who Became A Enforcer!

(Kael)

"Kael. Kael, wake up!"

A voice—sharp, familiar—cut through the heavy fog in my skull like a chisel through rock.

I groaned, squinting against the light, which was weird considering I was inside a goddess's mouth, which wasn't exactly famous for its skylights.

My eyes flickered open to see Veyna crouched over me, her crimson armor scratched and her red hair tied back in that no-nonsense bun she always wore when things got serious. She looked annoyed. Classic Veyna.

"What... happened?" I mumbled, blinking up at her. My head felt like it had been drop-kicked by a ten-ton molar. Probably because it nearly had.

"You fell," she said, arms crossed. "From the goddess's tooth. You're lucky the straps held or you'd have been a Kael-flavored smear between her gums and lips."

Ah. That explained the headache.

"Great," I muttered, sitting up slowly, wincing as everything ached. "Death by molar. The most glamorous way for a Blue to go."

But Veyna didn't laugh. In fact, her expression shifted—brows furrowing, voice lowering.

"But something else happened."

I paused mid-sit-up. That tone of hers only came out during serious moments. Like when we were ten and she found out her father had tried to cook blue frooms again.

"What?" I asked, feeling a pit open in my stomach.

She looked around like someone might be listening—which, inside a living goddess's mouth, isn't all that paranoid—and then leaned in.

"The goddess awakened."

I froze. "You mean..."

"Yes." She nodded, her voice low. "A Munari has been born among the Royals."

I stared at her.

A Munari. One of the Awakened. Someone with a bond so deep with the goddess that their connection didn't just influence her—it empowered her.

"I wish you could've seen it," she said, eyes distant now, like she was replaying the moment in her mind. "The whole mouth—the walls, the ground, even her breath—it all began to glow with this deep blue light. It was like... like standing inside a star."

I could picture it. Barely. The scale of that kind of power... the goddess wasn't just alive, she was aware.

"I've gotta go," Veyna said, standing up and tightening the straps on her armor. "All Reds are being summoned immediately. If there's a Munari now, security's going to triple."

"Of course it is," I muttered. "Never a quiet shift."

She looked down at me one last time, a hint of something gentler in her normally hard eyes. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright, idiot."

I gave her a crooked grin. "I'm fine. I mean, mildly concussed, possibly traumatized, but fine."

She rolled her eyes. "Try not to get yourself killed while I'm gone."

Then she turned and leapt off the edge of the tooth like a true Red, landing gracefully on the goddess's massive pink tongue far below. She looked back and waved, calling out, "Don't die!"

I raised my hand weakly. "Yea, yea. I'll try."

As she disappeared below the curve of a taste bud, I sighed and glanced down at my hand—

And blinked.

It was glowing.

Not just a little. A subtle, steady shimmer of blue light pulsed from my palm, soft and warm and very, very wrong.

I stared at it like it was a bomb about to go off.

"Uh... what?" I whispered, flexing my fingers. The glow didn't fade. It danced, thrummed in time with my heartbeat.

No.

That couldn't be right.

I was a Blue.

Stamina, endurance. The one who could clean a goddess's molars for ten hours straight without passing out. I wasn't supposed to glow.

And certainly not with that color.

"Okay," I said slowly, quietly, trying not to panic. "Let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe this is a side effect of getting nearly chewed to death. Yeah. Probably just a concussion hallucination. Totally normal."

The glow pulsed again. Stronger this time.

"...Great," I muttered. "Either I'm about to ascend to something incredible, or I'm going to explode in a glittery fireball."

I flopped back against the warm enamel of the tooth and stared up at the ceiling of the goddess's mouth.

"Just another normal day."

***

(Charlotte)

The room was cold.

Not like freezing cold, but that kind of uncomfortable, government-building cold where everything is metal or tile and smells like a hospital.

I sat with my arms on a steel table, my fingers loosely laced together, tapping lightly against the smooth surface as I stared at the wall ahead. It was painted a pale, calming gray—probably meant to make people feel safe. Instead, it just made me more aware of how quiet everything was.

They'd brought me here after what happened. The car, the boy, the boom—all of it felt like a movie I watched last night and only remembered in pieces.

Still, I couldn't help but smile. Just a little.

The kid had clung to my leg like a koala on caffeine, sobbing and thanking me through hiccups. And the mom? I practically had to pry her off of me. She was crying too. Kissing my forehead like I was some kind of walking miracle.

And I guess I... sort of was?

I looked down at my hands, spreading my fingers out. Wiggling them. Waiting for something to happen. Light, maybe. Or a spark. Or that weird tingle I felt in my chest right before everything went all supernova.

Nothing.

"Okay," I muttered, "now you're shy?"

I frowned.

How did I do that?

That white space—where I met that boy with the blue eyes and messy hair—it didn't feel like a dream. It felt real. Too real.

And him. Who was he?

He looked as shocked to see me as I was to see him.

Before I could spiral deeper into my very normal, casual existential crisis, the door hissed open.

I straightened up instantly.

A man walked in, tall and broad-shouldered, his black vest catching the overhead lights. He wore sleek black tactical pants and heavy boots, the kind that meant business. A helmet covered most of his face, with a dark visor shielding his eyes.

He said nothing as he pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. The metal creaked slightly under his weight.

Then, with one slow, smooth motion, he reached up and pulled off the helmet.

Sharp eyes.

That was the first thing I noticed. Not mean, not kind—just sharp. Like he saw everything at once and had already decided what it meant.

"Charlotte Mave," he said, voice low and professional. No nonsense. "Seventeen. Works part-time at Manny's Sandwich Stop. Lives with her aunt on 8th and Willow. No previous criminal record. Pretty average student."

"Thanks?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "You forgot 'likes long walks on the beach' and 'has a thing for superhero movies.'"

His mouth twitched—maybe a smile, maybe just a muscle spasm.

"My name is Agent Duren."

He leaned forward, placing the helmet on the table with a dull thunk.

"I'm with Enforcement Division Six. And I'm here to officially congratulate you, Miss Mave."

I blinked. "For... not dying?"

"For becoming an Enforcer," he said, as casually as if he were commenting on the weather.

My stomach did a weird flip, somewhere between excitement and straight-up terror.

"Uh, thanks."