Reception – 2

“Yes, well… I naturally expected there to be one or two secrets.”

I calmly retorted. At that, the cluster of light seemed to smile faintly.

“You had an inkling?”

“Only a fool wouldn’t know. There’s a restriction, something like a ban, preventing me from speaking certain truths, and I even received confirmation that the one who placed it was the God of the Holy Nation. Wouldn’t it be living life too simply to just let that pass?”

The fact that a restriction was placed to prevent the disclosure of secrets could only mean that some great secret was hidden. The only remaining question was when it would be revealed.

Only now had I finally caught an opportunity.

“In that case, our conversation will be quick. For you are ready to approach the secret.”

“I’ve been ready for a long time. It’s just that I couldn’t hear it because that guy just babbled to himself, or because the only answer I got from the Goddess-nim was that it wasn’t time yet.”

Since it was still in the form of a cluster of light, I wondered if it was truly the Goddess, but the Popes themselves had told me that the Sun and Moon took on female forms, and the voice was feminine, so it was probably correct.

The cluster of light merely laughed even after hearing my words. It seemed to intend to gloss over what it had said.

“The identity of that little witch is probably as you expected.”

“…What did you just say?”

For a moment, I asked back, wondering if I had misheard. But the answer that came back told me I hadn’t misheard.

“I said it would be as you expected.”

“How do you know what I expected?”

A sharp retort instantly shot out, but the cluster of light laughed as if it understood everything and moved on.

Of course, since I couldn’t see its expression, I couldn’t tell if it was truly laughing. It was just a feeling I got.

“Recall who I am. There’s no way you wouldn’t even realize that, is there?”

To give such a confident answer, wasn’t it the case that it couldn’t even properly catch a single dragon, was even mocked by that guy, and still had to let it go?

I stared intently at the Goddess-nim. As I did, I felt as if she subtly averted her gaze.

“My abilities and the ability to catch that thing are completely separate. Just as humans cannot smell with their eyes or taste things with their ears, the same goes for me. So, I couldn’t help it. It’s absolutely not that I lack power. It’s that the nature of my power is different.”

The cluster of light earnestly made excuses. It was an explanation that seemed both incomprehensible and understandable. In short, did it mean it was more a matter of compatibility than a lack of power?

“My trivial words have been long. Now, we should return to the main topic. What you truly desired.”

I had a strong feeling that it was trying to change the subject, but I didn’t want to press further here. My curiosity about Nyx’s identity was far greater.

“As you expected, that little witch is indeed a human from another world.”

‘As expected.’

I was surprised at myself for being able to remain so calm even after hearing that.

The reason was unknown. Was it because it was something I had already expected, or because I naturally assumed it would be so? Or perhaps the Goddess-nim had done something to prevent me from collapsing in shock.

“To be precise, you should say she ‘once was.’ Her identity as a person from that world has now completely disappeared. However, I will not delve deeply into this point. You don’t intend to debate philosophy with me here, do you?”

I nodded. I didn’t want to come all this way and debate ‘what defines a person?’ or anything like that. That was a job for philosophers who would appear someday, not for me.

‘Another world probably means…’

It must be referring to Brightest Darkness 3.

And furthermore, even Brightest Darkness 1.

According to what users had deduced from the item lists and descriptions in the game, Brightest Darkness 1 through 3 shared the same worldview, only differing in their timelines.

Synthesizing the Goddess-nim’s words, Nyx seemed to be an NPC who appeared in Brightest Darkness 3. No, perhaps it was ambiguous to call her an NPC now. Since she had come from another world.

My head throbbed, feeling complicated. I had only played Brightest Darkness 3 for about 200 hours, so my memory was vague, but there were no NPCs who could be called witches.

Then who on earth was Nyx?

Ignoring my questions, the Goddess-nim continued speaking.

“The division of that child’s personality into two is also a side effect that occurred because she crossed worlds and accepted some of my power.”

“…Accepted power?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“But I didn’t feel any divine power from Nyx-“

“Because it was fundamentally different from such gentle power.”

The cluster of light let out a small sigh. No, it seemed to have sighed.

“What did that little witch confess to having done to you?”

“She said she cast two spells on me.”

“Both are powers that cannot be used with a human soul. If she had made even a slight mistake, her mind would have collapsed.”

“What?”

“That’s also why the little witch’s personality was divided into two. It was to share the burden.”

I never imagined there was such an underlying reason.

In the game, she just tested newly created magic on random passersby, but here, only the result was the same, while the process had changed into completely different magic.

How could I have known that without any special information?

‘…Wait a minute. Then why did she cast the magic?’

Judging from her tone and actions, the God of the Holy Nation seemed to care for me quite a bit or was fond of me. Then, if they were going to drag me here anyway, shouldn’t they have given me all sorts of support?

Rather than going to the trouble of casting such magic and giving me a penalty, it would have been much better to have intentionally supported me from the beginning. That way, I could have grown much faster.

This was even more true when I thought about the hardships I endured in the early stages.

“Just a moment. Then why did you cast magic on me? If I hadn’t had that magic-“

“You would have already been attacked and killed by it.”

The Goddess-nim’s voice sank low. I paused, stopping what I was about to say.

“The reason why it just turned back when you first encountered it. Don’t you know?”

I retraced my thoughts. The World-Eater had even come directly to the imperial palace, and what did it say before just turning back?

“…Is it because I seemed insignificant on the surface?”

“You hit the nail on the head. As you complained, I could have granted your wishes. I could have. But if I had truly done so, it would have dealt with you.”

Hoo, the cluster of light sighed again.

“Making it seem as if I had no interest in you at all was the best I could do. Only then would it not try to kill you.”

“Are you saying that if I hadn’t been stripped of all my power, that guy would have killed me?”

“Precisely.”

Hearing that made a little sense.

Honestly, if asked whether I could have fought and won against the World-Eater immediately after being possessed here, or immediately after it appeared in the imperial palace, the answer would have been closer to ‘no.’

I hadn’t yet obtained the Dragon Word needed to fight that guy. The moment it flew into the sky and breathed fire, I would be utterly helpless. It would know that too, so it naturally wouldn’t come down to the ground.

But the questions still remained.

“Then, why am I alive now? That guy must have realized our relationship the moment the Goddess-nim descended here. Why didn’t it kill me and instead tried to persuade me?”

“It’s because I have been continuously defeated. Do you remember when I told you that it was filled with extreme arrogance?”

The sorrow in her voice deepened even further.

“When you first met it, the tide of the war was still uncertain, but now it’s different. The speed at which it devours worlds has gradually accelerated, and as you heard, it has finally left only a single world. That’s why it made you that offer, to mock me.”

The Goddess-nim’s explanation continued for a long time after that, but the core summary was this:

When the Creature Abandoned by God died, it thought the Goddess-nim had created a being capable of killing it, so it rushed to find me, but I, the person in question, was too weak.

Aside from a little divine power, I was only slightly stronger than an ordinary human, so the Creature Abandoned by God considered its defeat in the fight with me to be a matter of compatibility and simply left.

The World-Eater itself was overwhelmingly victorious in its war with the Goddess-nim due to that difference in compatibility, so it was understandable that it would think that way.

Calling it a difference in compatibility felt subtly strange, but that’s what it was. In a word, it meant that my existence was considered nothing more than the Goddess-nim’s useless struggle.

Now, it was naturally ignoring me even though it knew. If one only listened to the explanation, it was a battle where losing like this was stranger.

‘No wonder it came all the way to the imperial palace and then just left.’

Additionally, it was added that if she hadn’t given me authority back then, she couldn’t give it to me now. She said that just hindering the guy from absorbing the worlds it had swallowed as slowly as possible was already overwhelming.

I wondered if she should be telling me all this, but I held back and listened quietly. If it were an explanation that could cause me trouble, she would have held her tongue first.

“Is there anything else you are curious about? If it does not strain your dignity, I will answer anything.”

The cluster of light seemed to smile faintly. Standing still and organizing my thoughts, I opened my mouth with a sudden question that came to mind.

“If the Goddess-nim’s words are true, then what exactly was the game I played? And what exactly did you believe in me to be so confident that I would reach this point?”

With my initial stats, where I could die instantly if brushed by a mere mob, a single mistake in a moment of carelessness could have meant the difference between life and death.

I still couldn’t understand what immense certainty she had, what strong belief she possessed, to cast such magic on me.

“…”

The Goddess-nim was silent for a moment.

Then, she gave a very familiar answer.

“That, it is not time yet.”

“Yes, yes. Of course, it isn’t.”

I had a hunch, and it was right. I just brushed it off, saying I knew it would be like that.

The cluster of light receded. As the light that filled my vision disappeared, I saw Lucifer still struggling in the distance.

Come to think of it, that guy isn’t dead yet. The words I heard here were so shocking that I had momentarily forgotten.

The Goddess-nim whispered in a subtle voice.

“What will you do with that guy?”

“What do you mean, what? I’ll kill him.”

“I thought you would.”

The cluster of light overlapped a hand towards me.

“It may not be as much as you wish, but I will give you the most I can…”

“…Well, you can roughly say it happened like this.”

I omitted the conversation about the truth of the world that I had with the Goddess-nim, and also omitted the fact that the World-Eater was actually much stronger than a god. I just summarized and told them about my encounter with Lucifer.

‘Honestly, if you take those two out, I wonder what’s left…’

Thanks to that, it turned into a meaning that the Goddess-nim appeared in person just to catch Lucifer, which ultimately made me lose a bit of face. Well, he’s dead anyway, so I don’t think he’ll care.

The five people gathered around me were still reeling from the shocking fact that I had directly met and conversed with a god.

“Th-then… Delta. Do you still have that power the God gave you?”

Aurora, the first to snap out of the shock, urgently asked.

“Probably?”

“Probably?”

“I haven’t been able to test it since I came back. From what she said, it seems like it’ll probably stay, but you never know.”

Just as Aurora’s question began, and the Knight Captains were about to join the barrage of questions, a knock was heard at the door. Five times, regularly, in a consistent rhythm.

It meant it was something related to Kaikilia. The Knight Captains fell off the bed at an invisible speed. Aurora lingered until the last moment before returning to the sofa.

Erica opened the door. A maid from the imperial palace, with a completely expressionless face as if she were a robot, walked in.

“It is a summons from His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor.”

“Understood. I will prepare immediately-“

“It does not mean you, Silver Dawn Knight Captain-nim.”

Her black pupils pointed directly at me.

“Jet-Black Holy Night Knight Captain-nim. Only you alone have been summoned.”