Approach

A feeling I’d experienced countless times since coming to this world, making me wonder if I’d seen wrong. I never imagined I’d feel that same sensation even after coming all the way to the Statue of Atonement.

I tore off all the remaining parts. As the strange, fluffy fur fell to the floor, its true form was revealed.

It was an incredibly alluring female body. Its breasts were as large as its head, and there wasn’t a single flaw in any other part of its body.

Though I had seen countless female bodies since coming to this world, the statue before me was fundamentally different. It was to the extent that no other word but ‘perfection’ even came to mind.

If a mere statue possessed such terrifying beauty, the thought of what its real form might be like flashed through my mind.

Of course, that feeling lasted only a moment. Because that wasn’t the real problem. I turned my gaze not to the body, but to the clothing.

To the statue’s attire, which I wished I had seen wrong.

‘…Perhaps even the Popes’ sacred vestments weren’t so wholesome after all?’

An immense degree of exposure, enough to make me think that Floretta and Luna’s sacred vestments seemed more wholesome by comparison.

No, before even considering the degree of exposure, it was something that made me fundamentally question whether ‘this could even be called clothing.’

A round necklace hung near its neck and collarbone, and a heart-shaped ornament was additionally embedded in the part of the necklace located above the cleavage.

Two pieces of cloth hung down from the necklace. Just those pieces of cloth, with an X-shaped pattern engraved near the middle. In fact, this alone could have been dismissed as a fashion choice.

That is, if that wasn’t all there was to the clothing covering its chest.

There was no other clothing whatsoever. No clothes, no underwear, not even a string like a micro bikini. It was just the cloth hanging from the necklace, and that was it.

The lower body was even more extreme. A strange string was tied diagonally from the side down, and a cross-shaped ornament was precisely located where the uterus would be.

The cloth wrapped around the side was connected to the cross-shaped ornament, and the lower part of the cloth was covering the woman’s private parts.

It wore no pants, no underwear, not even stockings. There was only a single, extremely thin piece of cloth that seemed as if it would reveal everything if even a breeze blew.

‘Is it completely naked, just wearing accessories?’

It was the same as when I first saw the Popes’ sacred vestments, but I simply didn’t have the courage to call this ‘clothing.’ It was closer to an object where cloth was added to accessories to cover important parts.

Clothing that made me wonder, ‘How on earth is this worn?’ even before any lewd thoughts. That was my impression.

“…Is this also because of a mod?”

I muttered, feeling a slight cognitive dissonance. I was being serious.

The goddess statue stood with its elbows tucked to its sides, hands slightly spread to the left and right, in a welcoming posture. It was the first time in my life I had seen the form inside the fur covering its body.

Though that form was more shocking than I could have imagined.

‘Wait a minute. Then, could it be that the form inside the halo was…?’

If this truly was a statue depicting the god of the Holy Nation, it meant there was a very high probability that the goddess within the halo was wearing something like this.

If it were other people, I might have been able to think that common sense had been altered due to a mod, but now, that was difficult. Because the goddess who brought me here couldn’t possibly be unaware of the attire outside.

“…”

I quietly added another line to my list of future questions. I felt that I absolutely had to ask why she was dressed like that.

For now, there were more urgent matters, so it would be sometime later.

I approached the goddess statue. I considered kneeling, like when I tried to converse with the Popes before, but I stopped myself.

Considering how she had treated me, she wouldn’t refuse to converse just because I didn’t kneel.

“Goddess-nim. You’re probably listening, aren’t you?”

I opened my mouth in front of it. The reason I had specifically come all the way here. It was to hear the answer directly from the goddess.

I could have gone to the Holy Nation, but if I were to step foot in the Holy Nation now, instead of conversing with the goddess, I’d likely be swept up by a crowd of people worshipping me, so I quietly gave up on that idea.

And if I were to find an empty spot in the Empire and pray, if by any chance the goddess herself appeared, the Holy Nation’s position would become very awkward, so that was also a tricky situation in its own way.

If either the Sun or the Moon appeared in the Empire instead of the Holy Nation? After that, it would be absolute chaos. To clean it up, I’d have to run around several times busier.

That’s why I came to the Statue of Atonement. Because it was a place connected to a god, and even if that side appeared directly, there wouldn’t be any major trouble for a while.

“I have a question, and I trust you will answer it.”

Of course, the statue remained silent, but I hadn’t expected it to answer as soon as I called anyway.

“Goddess-nim, you said you brought Nyx, the Soul Guardian Maiden from another world, here. But Nyx told me something. She said I was originally the protagonist of another world, specifically… Brightest Darkness 3.”

At first, I thought about vaguely referring to it as ‘another world,’ but it probably didn’t matter. If the goddess dragged me here, she’d understand even if I spoke like this. After all, she’s a goddess.

“And the worlds before that too. I’m talking about Brightest Darkness 1 and 2.”

I kept thinking about it. The reason Nyx specifically mentioned and explained the protagonists of BD 1 and 2, and why she used the phrase ‘spoke in circles.’

I truly thought it was a one-in-a-million chance, and there was no physical evidence yet, only circumstantial evidence, but… What if I had been in the protagonist’s position not only in BD 3, but also in 1 and 2?

The reason Nyx would say such a thing would make sense. And the probability of all those meaningful expressions falling into place would also greatly increase.

“I know you’re listening to me. If you had intended to ignore me from the start, you wouldn’t have made me do something like this. So please answer me.”

After a slight pause, I spoke the words I wanted to say.

“What exactly is the Brightest Darkness series? And what exactly happened to my lost memories?”

“…”

Silence continued. I slowly opened my eyes. The statue, adorned with something resembling clothing, still stood rooted to the spot. I waited a little longer, but there was no sign of anything being heard.

Just as I began to think whether I should urge her once more, the atmosphere suddenly changed. A tingling sensation washed over my skin. It felt like my hair was standing on end.

At first, I thought the goddess herself had come, but no. It was clearly different. A feeling that was much worse and instinctively sent shivers down my spine. It hadn’t been like this when the goddess appeared.

“What in the…”

Before I could even finish my sentence, my right arm began to be sucked into the statue.

“What the hell?!”

I quickly grabbed my right arm and tried to pull it out, but it was no use. Instead, it was only sucked further inward.

Even though I resisted with all my might, to the point where my shoe soles scraped against the floor, making ominous sounds, I could only hold on for about 10 seconds at most.

Soon after, my entire body disappeared into the statue.

“…”

I slowly opened my eyes. I was lying face down on a dirt floor. The distinct smell of earth filled my nostrils.

I had never heard of a statue sucking in a player, so I wondered what was going on. I got up. I looked around, dusting off the dirt that clung to me everywhere.

“Ah.”

As soon as I got up, I immediately knew where I was.

The world was divided exactly in half, with the sun floating on the right side of the sky and the moon on the left. Where the sun floated, it was day, and where the moon floated, it was night. It meant that day and night coexisted.

At this point, it would be stranger not to realize where this was. Anyone could see it was a place with the sun and moon. Though I had only asked for an answer, I hadn’t expected to be brought all the way here.

‘If you were going to bring me here anyway, you could have done it in a more normal way.’

I grumbled inwardly. It would be stranger to calmly accept my arm suddenly being sucked in. Anyone would have tried to pull their arm out first.

Aside from day and night coexisting and the sun and moon being present simultaneously, the surroundings were more ordinary than I expected.

In the area where it was day, flowers bloomed profusely. In the area where it was night, trees and grass emitted a refreshing scent. Exactly in the middle of it all was a not-so-large two-story house.

It wasn’t humble, but it was also definitely not a house befitting the status of the Holy Nation’s goddess.

“…You called me here, then where did you go?”

But the very person who brought me here was nowhere to be seen. I wondered where she had gone after calling me.

“Surely she’s not waiting inside the house- huh?”

I suddenly felt a sense of unease and raised my head. No particular sound was heard, but something felt ominous. The source of the unease was easily revealed.

The sun and moon were swaying.

“What on earth is that…”

Just as I was momentarily horrified by that fact, someone descended from between them.

To be precise, it should be called a fall. Because no one would describe the act of rapidly plummeting to the ground, kicking up dust, and creating a crater with one’s own body as a ‘landing.’

KWAANG! A deafening roar was heard. I rushed to the spot where it had fallen, pushed through the thick dust cloud, and jumped into the crater.

In the center of the crater lay a woman who looked exactly like the statue. Although there was the difference of her being colored, all the detailed parts were the same.

Her hair was black, and the pieces of cloth extending from the necklace and the cross respectively covered her nipples and vulva. Half of the cloth was golden, and the other half was silver.

Even in this chaotic situation, she somehow didn’t expose her vital parts. As expected, accessories worn by a god are different, somehow.

“Ugh…”

The woman let out a low groan. It was a voice of immense beauty, just like her appearance.

To the extent that despite her attire barely covering her vital parts, I was so overwhelmed by her beauty that no lewd thoughts or lustful desires arose at all.

I carefully supported her body. The woman, whom I presumed to be the goddess, let out another faint groan, then gently opened her eyes. Her right pupil was golden, but her left pupil was silver.

While I was surprised by that unusual combination, the woman, upon seeing me, also made a surprised expression.

“How did you get here…?”

“What do you mean, ‘How did I get here?’ Didn’t Goddess-nim hear my prayer and call me?”

“Ah, no. I don’t have time for that right now- Ugh?!”

The goddess grimaced and let out another groan. Judging by her affirmative response to my words, it seemed she was indeed a goddess. Whether she was the Sun or the Moon, I didn’t know.

“What’s suddenly the matter? And what’s going on?”

“It’s that bastard.”

“Huh?”

I wondered what she was talking about out of the blue, but my question was soon answered.

Because a red pupil, similar in size to the sun and moon, or perhaps even larger, had risen into view.

“That thing again?!”

As soon as I saw the familiar red vertical pupil, my body tensed up. Just one appearance was enough to make my heart sink, but this was already the third time. I felt like I was going to get a neurosis soon.

“I’ll buy you some time, so run-“

The goddess couldn’t finish her sentence. Because her body was enveloped in a red aura, and she was pushed away somewhere with enough force to completely tear up the ground. The sound of the ground being torn up gradually faded into the distance.

I briefly looked around the completely devastated surroundings, then turned my gaze to the red pupil floating in the sky.

“What is it this time? Did you call me again just to make that strange offer?”

As I shouted that, a dragon’s face appeared in the sky. Its scales, a mix of black and dark blue, and its terrifyingly large size were still the same. Its mouth slowly opened, and an unusual aura began to gather.

It seemed, this time, it wasn’t an offer.