Satoru was just...tired. Bone-achingly, soul-crushingly tired. He knew life wasn't supposed to be a walk in the park, but his felt more like a trek through a thorny, garbage-strewn wasteland. He’d woken up late, burned his toast, and then had to deal with Mr. Gakuganji, a regular who always complained about the foam on his latte.

"God, I hate this job," Satoru muttered under his breath.

He couldn't even join a decent college to become a school teacher like he always wanted. Too many bills, no free time, trying to get by every day...

One particular grueling day was just the cake on top. A customer yelling at him, throwing their drink on him, staining his uniform with a sticky, wet mess. Then stuck with coworkers whose collective IQ barely scraped room temperature – the universe seemed to be actively conspiring against him.

As he trudged back to his cramped apartment, the heavens opened, adding a final, miserable layer to his already rotten cake of a day.

He stopped just outside his building, the relentless rain plastering his soaked jacket to his skin. He tilted his head back, gazing up at the angry, swollen sky.

He closed his eyes, a silent plea escaping his lips. Then, something shifted. The rain suddenly stopped hitting him. He could still hear it, the relentless patter against the pavement, but he was…dry?

Satoru's eyes snapped open. Standing before him, radiating an almost blinding light, was a being that defied description. An angel? No, too powerful, too…potent. A monster? Not with that ethereal grace. It was…a Goddess. A literal, honest-to-goodness Goddess.

She stood tall, a wing, impossibly large and feathered, arched over his head, shielding him from the downpour. He sputtered, a choked sound of disbelief and fear. He scrambled back, his legs tangling, sending him sprawling onto the cold, wet cement. His back slammed against the ground, the shock jolting through him.

"W-who are you?" Satoru stammered, scrambling backward, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and this…being.