Cherreads

Chapter 189 - A sense of old nostalgia.

As I mentioned in the last chapter, I split this one in half because the tone of the writing shifts a lot, and I felt it would be awkward to read otherwise. 

That said, if anyone would like to support me—or just read 3/7/13 chapters ahead—you can do so on my (P)(A)(T). If not, I still sincerely appreciate you reading my story. Thank you very much!

As always, good night and enjoy the reading!

(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori.

[...]---[...]

I didn't sleep that night.

After ending the stream, I rushed back to the Kingdom, with Jinn returning to the Relic of Knowledge.

I changed clothes. Put on something simple: a white T-shirt and loose black sweatpants. I stayed barefoot. I left the leaf clothing and the two 'Living IV Supports' in my room aboard the Proto-A.

Then I shot off toward the Kingdom. I was tempted to test the Shield of the Moon to distort space, but restrained myself and left the experiments for later.

I had two things to do.

The first was to "infect" everything with my Nightmares. I let them loose—shadows with eyes crawling across the ground, slipping into every shadow of every living being and every object.

The second thing was to see what Tyrian was doing.

The answer was: nothing.

I found him hiding inside the shadow of a stray mutt. It looked like a mix between a labrador and something random. Kind of a downgraded labrador, with a long tail.

It had really tiny little legs.

The dog was actually female. She had caramel-colored fur, spiky hair, and a ring attached at the base of her tail.

I recognized the ring. It was the Travel Space I had given Tyrian earlier.

Inside were a few weapons and random items that might be useful in a fight. Some potions too—not for him, but in case someone near him needed them.

After Tyrian's usual "My Lord, Master and Savior" routine, I got a summary of what had happened during the battle.

I could have pulled it straight from his mind, but I avoided doing that. Tyrian having a mind at all was already something of a miracle, and I didn't want to accidentally melt it by screwing something up while looking through his memories.

Well… more than it already was.

I took the Travel Space ring from the dog's tail. And the dog too.

I looked inside the ring. The Hemogoblin Shark's body was almost intact, missing only the head and the heart—both placed beside the corpse.

I tossed the ring into the Voidbag. I'd decide later what to do with the body.

I spent a few more minutes in the Kingdom, spreading Nightmares everywhere and searching for the "Painter" and the second "Guide."

I didn't find either of them, unfortunately.

I circled almost the entire Kingdom several times. I even went to the Order of the Guides. But I found nothing abnormal. No orange or red points on the minimap.

I even used Analyze: Item superficially on everyone I encountered, just to check the "title" they had. But I didn't find another "Guide" like Dylan.

I returned to the Proto-A with the moon still hanging in the sky, the dog in my arms.

The next morning, I handed the dog over to Robyn.

"New team pet. Take care of her—it'll be good for everyone. I think."

I said, placing the dog in her arms. She was surprisingly gentle and goofy.

The dog, I mean. Robyn was the skittish one.

I was a bit confused as to why no one seemed to question me showing up with a random dog, but Jinn had the answer.

"You pull facts out of nowhere and do random, bizarre things ever since you set foot in this world. They're used to it."

I couldn't really argue with that, unfortunately.

Dylan was the one who liked the dog the most. He named her Willow. A surprisingly normal name, considering his track record.

Of course, I made a point of using Analyze: Item on the dog, just to be sure.

There was nothing malicious, magical, bizarre, or part of some grand master plan about her. She was just a normal, random dog.

Paranoia wasn't paranoia if someone really was following you…

[…]

The following week was busy and, at the same time, not.

I didn't do anything truly exhausting.

I focused on stabilizing my body, something that finally happened three days later. My mana and vitality settled down until they felt natural again, and I no longer felt like a balloon about to burst.

The "void" was still an issue. But it was contained to some extent and fading—extremely slowly. The one in my left eye was disappearing faster, but even then it would still take time.

I didn't even take a Flash Mission. Not that I didn't want to—none showed up that interested me or seemed like they'd give me anything useful.

One of the things I finally did was cut my hair, trim my beard, and have a tailored suit made. All three were done in Winterhord.

After all, who better than someone with the title "Stylist"?

Annabel made the suit personally, and also handled my haircut.

The suit was simple and well-fitted. Made from Wall Creeper silk that Annabel had probably pulled out of some cave near Hell.

The fabric was black as sin and genuinely seemed to absorb light.

She said she used a dye that was a family recipe. Nothing magical in the sense of granting special abilities—it was just a very deep black dye.

But her family recipe was based on another one. According to Analyze: Item, it was a formula derived from something called Ceaseless Dye.

Given the name, I wouldn't be surprised if the original dye actually absorbed light or had some ridiculous Fae bullshit property. But the modern version didn't do much beyond looking good.

The suit didn't have many ornaments.

The lapels—something I learned the name of from Ozma, basically the folded fabric flaps on jackets beneath the collar—were thin.

The buttons were just as dark as the suit itself, painted with a dye that reflected light almost imperceptibly. The shirt was dark as well, without strong contrast. The tie was plain and neatly aligned.

I made sure it had both an inner and outer chest pocket, so Millia could stay there.

One detail I really liked was the inside of the sleeves: a shade of orange that matched the black perfectly.

In Annabel's words: "I tried to find a dye in my collection that matched the color of your eyes when they glow orange, but I couldn't find anything that did justice to how threatening that color feels."

I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. I chose to take it as one.

As for the haircut, I went back to something short and simple.

The sides and back were cut very short and clean. The top was left slightly longer. As for the beard, I simply burned it away with Shadowflame and left my face clean.

Saya and several others in the (CHAT) complained about me shaving the beard, but I really preferred it this way.

After thanking and paying Annabel for both the haircut and the suit—despite her insisting it wasn't necessary—I briefly explained the recent events in the Kingdom and left Winterhord.

When I returned to the Kingdom, I started putting things in order for my departure.

Just like I'd told Jinn earlier, I distributed some items to the others.

I handed the Sanguine Staff to my team. Robyn would be the one using it, but Dylan was the real one in charge, as vice-leader. He was supposed to study it together with Hirael in his free time.

I also left the Humvee behind. Selina had done a good job fixing it. At that point, the Humvee was the team's vehicle.

I fixed what she'd missed and returned it after reworking some Mystic Symbol matrices and adding a few new runes.

Fuck it. Anything I touched would have an Anti-Foreign, Anti-Evil, and Anti-Malefic Rune if it were up to me.

I also left the Flying Carpet, the Dunerider Boots, the Blood Rain Bow, the Ice Rod, and various "minor" weapons. Firearms I'd picked up in Remnant, Dust ammunition, and several melee weapons.

I handed out multiple Travel Spaces filled with countless health and mana potions. Most were Lesser Potions, but I also left a few Healing Potions and one of my three Greater Healing Potions—for emergencies.

I added some Adhesive Bandages and other items I deemed useful. I also left behind several Scrolls I'd picked up in Remnant, along with Dust batteries.

They were Atlas-issued Scrolls. Modified, they could connect to each other if they were nearby, even without the CCT. The range was only about three kilometers, but they could be useful if the EcoMirrors failed.

I even left my phone there, so they could call me at any time now—even if I was in another world.

I also left Terragrim with Dylan, as a trump card in case it was necessary. The sword was much stronger in Terraria thanks to its ability, so I decided to leave it there.

It wasn't that I wouldn't use it—but for the Amalgam World, I didn't think it would be necessary. If I ever went to another world beyond that, I could always take it back.

One of the ideas I had was this: what if I made a blood pact with someone? Something like, "You can use part of my power if necessary." It would be a trump card for them.

And making a pact was relatively simple.

I needed the person's blood and their explicit "I accept," after hearing or reading my terms. A blood signature on a contract written by me with my own blood would also work.

I couldn't force a pact. At least, not yet. I could feel that if the Chalice recovered enough, that would become possible. And every pact needed to offer a "gain" to both sides.

It didn't have to be of equal value, of course.

If someone agreed to a pact where they were getting the short end of the stick, that was their problem. But if I asked for something, I had to give something in return in the agreement, no matter how small.

Unfortunately, that idea didn't last very long either.

And it wasn't because it was a bad idea. It was because the Chalice was far too weak to sustain strong pacts.

I could sustain the pacts directly, using the Chalice only as a "secondary pillar," but that lacked both the effectiveness and the "conceptual weight" that the Chalice carried when it came to pacts.

Put simply, a pact sustained directly by me, with the Chalice acting only as support, was flawed. It could malfunction, explode, or behave in a completely unpredictable way.

Not to mention that it could be broken far more easily, without any real consequences.

That wasn't the only reason I discarded the idea.

The second reason was that, even though I had tested pacts, I had no idea what would happen to them if I were literally in a different reality from the person who signed them.

With the Chalice fully restored, I felt that this would be trivial. Distance would be irrelevant—even between universes—and the pacts would remain active and functional.

But with the Chalice in its current state?…

The possibilities ranged from the pact simply deactivating and becoming "dormant" to it starting to melt the person from the inside out.

I wouldn't be surprised if, the moment I went to another world, the pacts caused the person to explode into blood in some kind of anomalous backlash.

And that wasn't something I could test right now. Only after traveling to another world.

Even so, I left something prepared.

I made a contract pact with a heinous criminal I found using Shadowflame and dumped him into the Kingdom's prison, with a pact in the form of a contract that stated:

"You may not lie in any way, nor omit important information, while imprisoned and/or serving your sentence. If you lie, you die. In exchange, you will receive good food while incarcerated."

I could have done something like, "You do this or I kill you." That might have worked. But I wanted to test other approaches first.

The man was already on the verge of a heart attack just from being near me, terrified that I would kill him, so he signed without hesitation—even though it meant he would effectively expose all his crimes if questioned.

Not that I didn't already know them, of course.

The moment he signed the contract pact, I felt an invisible connection form between me, the Chalice, and the man's blood. It was subtle, but I could feel it easily—and as long as we were on the same planet, I could sense where the man was.

What was funny was that, in this case, it was a broadly defined pact that leaned entirely in my favor. At least, from my side.

He had very strict rules about never lying or omitting information under any circumstances, but what exactly counted as "good food"?

For a Terrarian, good food was very different from what would be considered good food for a scavenger animal or some kind of insect that fed on literal shit.

And it wasn't specified that it had to be food he considered good.

It wasn't even specified what would happen if I broke the pact…

The Chalice was already one of the most useful items I had just because of this ability alone. And this was its first—and most "basic"—ability.

That thing, at its peak, must have been terrifying…

[…]

One day before I accepted the Amalgam World mission, what I had predicted came true: Robyn grew a "fourth tail."

In this case, she went back to using her tail butt plug.

The excuse was that she had grown a third tail. Fourth, if you counted the Nightmare-energy one. Something that didn't seem all that abnormal, considering everything else; no one suspected or discovered anything.

The way Robyn could barely look me in the eye amused me greatly. She knew that I knew.

On the other hand, she barely cared about the stream. I had already explained the filters the broadcast used to her. I had even made a point of configuring one specifically for her, focused more on disorientation than concealment.

I also put a filter on Hyper Reality 4D to ignore words related to the plug if I happened to hear them by accident.

The only people who realized what the "third tail" really was were me, Jinn, and… Alalia.

Well, I was almost certain that Hirael, Helena, and Dylan would have noticed if they knew exactly what to look for.

But they had no reason to suspect anything, since Melissa and Alalia had inspected Robyn's second tail at her request, from what I heard.

Robyn must have gotten worried when a real tail grew and asked them to check it. The excuse was: "It feels a little strange and uncomfortable after the Blood Moon."

When in doubt, blame the moon. I agreed with that line of thinking.

The verdict was that there was nothing abnormal and that the discomfort was probably caused by the transformation that had fused her two previous tails into one, which had now separated again.

Another good excuse. Robyn thought fast…

As for why Alalia noticed, it was more or less impossible for a dryad not to tell the difference between a real tail and an anal plug—especially considering that she was the one who had examined Robyn before.

What was curious was that Alalia didn't react in any way. And I knew she had noticed—I could see her gaze drifting toward the fake tail a few times.

She had done that before the Blood Moon as well, but I had been too focused on preparing for the coming disaster to think much of it.

I didn't ask why, even though I wanted to. But, to my curiosity's delight, Robyn herself asked later when Jinn gossiped to her that both she and Alalia had noticed.

The blue-skinned woman made a point of saying she had figured it out on her own, and that I wasn't the one who told her, to avoid problems for me since I had promised Robyn to stay silent.

After Robyn nearly died of embarrassment, I could hear from a distance Alalia's doll-like response as to why she hadn't reacted: "Why would I react? You wear earrings, piercings, and other metal decorations all the time. You choosing to put something inside your ass instead of your ear is your choice."

Her voice was casual, and she even sounded slightly confused by the question.

She knew what it meant, of course. She simply didn't care.

To her, an earring in the ear was the same as Robyn's anal plug: metal decorations serving similar purposes of aesthetics and pleasure—one mental, from feeling prettier while wearing an earring, and the other physical.

And moments like that were what reminded me that, no matter how much Alalia acted like everyone else, she was the one with the most alien mindset among us.

…Or were we the ones with the alien mindset?

After all, Alalia was what was considered "natural" in Terraria.

[…]

("Why the Amalgam World and not another Rainbow mission? You still have two other tickets.") Jinn's voice came through the connection we shared.

She was inside the Spiritual Realm. The Relic of Knowledge stored in my inventory.

I was alone in my clearing. Millia was inside the Slime Staff, stored in the Voidbag, along with Lucy and Wilson.

Wilson was the name I had decided to give the fox. Now officially named.

I was going to leave the naming to the (CHAT), but after seeing names like Foxy, Kitsune, Kyuubi, and Inari leading the poll, I simply decided to name him myself.

They were even worse than me at naming things, holy shit… and that's saying something, considering I seriously considered calling the fox Kurama just to mess with the real Kurama when I eventually went to NARUTO.

In the end, the name Wilson came from Willow, the dog the team had adopted.

Both names came from characters in Don't Starve—not that Dylan knew that—and the fox and the axe became friends after meeting each other.

One thing led to another, and now I had a fox that walked around with a talking axe in its mouth, a pink slime princess floating above my head, and a thieving coin hovering around me.

Nothing but wins.

As for Lucy, the axe had been sleeping inside the Voidbag this whole time. I remembered her midway through the week and took her out.

"Because it's the best world among the three possible Rainbow worlds I have access to. Well… at least as a first Rainbow world," I replied to Jinn, starting to list my reasons, raising one finger for each point.

"First: it's a world I have some knowledge about, thanks to the mission description. The other two are tickets, and I have no idea where I'd end up."

I raised a second finger and continued:

"Second: the fact that I can return after one week is extremely useful. I know the other Rainbow worlds probably have that too, but this one is theoretically low-risk. It's basically an escape button if I need to run."

If I were in danger, I could always jump to another world by accepting a mission, sure. But this would give me a 'safe harbor,' so to speak.

It would be useful even when going to other Rainbow worlds or high-ranking missions. If things went south, I could just jump to the Amalgam World and then return to Terraria after a week.

There was also the fact that I wanted to see if I could get the third Pylon in that world. It was a world with multiple missions; getting a Pylon there should theoretically be easier.

If I managed to get one, it would be even better, since I could go from the Amalgam World to HOTD easily and finally see everyone else again…

On top of that, I could help the people on the island with supplies. Assuming I didn't just wipe out all the zombies by myself, of course. Or maybe even see if I could migrate everyone to the Amalgam World and abandon the apocalyptic world altogether.

I raised a third finger.

"Third: it's a mission on a modern Earth. I'll have access to more media. Anime, games, movies. Knowledge that could help in future missions."

Even with Jarvis in the (CHAT) and half of Akihabara inside my Voidbag, there were still types of media I simply didn't have access to.

Going to another Earth opened up possibilities to expand my "library."

And there was also the fact that it was my home planet—even if it wasn't really. I missed Earth and wanted to be on one that wasn't post-apocalyptic or a hundred years behind.

I just… wanted to go back to Earth. Even if it wasn't my Earth...

I cleared my thoughts and pushed the melancholy aside before pulling the Amalgam World mission screen in front of me:

-//-

[World Mission]

Rarity: Rainbow

World: Amalgam World

Time limit: None

Mission Description: A normal world, a normal Earth, with one small difference… It contains several 'Worlds' within it.

Animes, movies, series, cartoons—mostly Slice of Life, some with a certain level of power—a place full of surprises and random missions at every corner!

Explore the world as "The Streamer" wishes, meet the 'important beings' of the world, whether they are central to their stories or just side characters. Help them or ignore them, it doesn't matter. Follow your heart and have fun!

Objective: Enter the world!

Reward: Minimap Update (Missions). Mission Book.

[..]

NOTE: "BIG" worlds like MARVEL, DC, BLEACH, DXD, FATE, etc. are not included in Amalgam World!

NOTE: "The Streamer" cannot accept the mission while on an emergency mission!

NOTE: "The Streamer" can return to 'Terraria' after one week in Amalgam World and return to Amalgam World after one week in TERRARIA!

NOTE: Before the destruction of the "Wall that separates and seals the World," the maximum continuous stay in Amalgam World is 6 months!

-//-

Funny... Before, the possibility of staying six months away from Terraria would have thrilled me—I'd have been jumping for joy.

Now I couldn't even see myself doing that, especially after everything I'd discovered.

Now I had people who mattered to me in this cursed world…

("I can stay here if you want.") Jinn offered, before I accepted the mission. ("Having me here would ensure that at least part of your title's power and the stream would keep functioning even in your absence.")

That was something we had discussed before.

My title hid me and told "fate" to go fuck itself. With me out of Terraria, things would start happening the way they were 'supposed' to—at least in theory.

In fact, every time I left the world, something happened. I went to HOTD and came back—Jille happened. I went to Demon Slayer and came back—Winterhord happened. I went to Remnant and came back—the Blood Moon happened.

Every time I left, the gears seemed to start turning toward a specific end.

Simon himself had said it before: "Something blinded my master for nine months." I arrived in Terraria nine months ago. I also served as a form of concealment against the Cultists' clairvoyance.

Leaving Jinn in Terraria might have been the best option during my absence. She was protected by my title for being a member of the stream, even if to a far lesser degree.

"…No. Better not," I replied. "These next few weeks are meant to test the runes. This is the best time for that, too."

The Kingdom was secure, everyone was heavily armed and on high alert. We had also prepared escape routes and a 'safe house' that should hold long enough for me to return.

The Kingdom's barrier had also been slightly reworked with Anti-Foreign, Anti-Evil, and Anti-Maleficent runes. Everyone had artifacts with them as well, and I had left the Terragrim behind along with many other items.

That wasn't even counting the thousands of Nightmares I had left throughout the Kingdom. Robyn could command them thanks to her Nightmare-energy tail, and I had made a crown out of Nightmare Fuel that could control them as well…

"They have my phone. If something happens, I can rush back after a week."

I planned to stay more than a week in the Amalgam World, but if anything happened, I could return.

And there was also the simple truth that, sooner or later, I would have to be away from Terraria. They needed to be able to survive without me, at least to some extent.

When I finished explaining, Jinn fell silent.

Since I had nothing else to say—and I had already said my goodbyes hours earlier—I didn't hesitate this time and accepted the mission.

Unlike the other missions I had accepted, this one didn't send me directly to another world. Instead, it generated another screen, asking me to choose an archetype:

-//-

[Mission Archetypes]

Choose an Archetype to influence bonus rewards during this mission.

Your actions are not restricted — however, the more your behavior aligns with the chosen Archetype, the greater the extra rewards provided by the Stream.

Available Archetypes change with each mission.

Deviation from the selected Archetype proportionally reduces bonus rewards.

[..]

Archetype Selection (Random Generation):

[The Hero]

Act as a protector and symbol of hope.

Help others, intervene in conflicts, save lives, and put yourself in danger for the sake of others.

[..]

[The Watcher]

Maintain distance, analysis, and neutrality.

Observe events as they unfold, gather information, avoid unnecessary interference, and prioritize understanding over action.

[..]

[The Devil]

Act as temptation, pact, and inevitable ruin.

Offer power, shortcuts, and impossible solutions, charge hidden prices, exploit desires and weaknesses, and ensure that every choice carries a consequence.

[..]

[The Mercenary]

Act based on benefit, contracts, and personal gain.

Accept jobs, demand compensation, prioritize efficiency, and avoid actions without clear returns.

[..]

[The Wanderer]

Follow instinct and curiosity.

Explore freely, avoid prolonged bonds, stay in constant motion, and experience the world without fixed objectives.

[…]

[NOTE]:

Archetype effects apply mostly to bonus rewards, with some exceptions.

Behavior is continuously evaluated.

Extreme contradictions to the chosen Archetype may nullify bonus rewards.

[..]

Confirm Archetype Selection?

[YES] [NO]

-//-

I spent a few seconds calmly reading through the entire list.

It was basically what had been described in the update. The archetypes were more or less what I had expected.

…But the appearance of a "The Devil" was downright bullshit.

As I had promised earlier, I let the (CHAT) decide. I asked Jarvis to open a poll and set a ten-minute timer.

In less than ten seconds, the vote exploded, and two factions formed: one backed by Stark and the other by Serafall.

Stark's faction voted for the [The Hero] archetype, while Serafall's pushed hard for [The Devil].

Both of them started spending SP to buy memberships for their allies and influence viewers from the opposing side.

The fight lasted until the very end and was extremely close. But honestly, I wasn't surprised by the outcome in the slightest.

[The Devil – 46%]

[The Hero – 44%]

[The Watcher – 4%]

[The Mercenary – 3%]

[The Wanderer – 3%]

The moment [The Devil] appeared as a possible archetype, I was already certain that, unless I outright ignored the poll and chose something else myself, that archetype would win.

In fact… it was almost nostalgic.

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]

Sorry, DS. I tried, but I couldn't swing the vote to the Hero's side…

(Sad Iron Man emote)

"Don't worry about it. I appreciate that you tried," I replied calmly to Stark's message.

("You know you can just pick another archetype, right? Nothing is stopping you.") Jinn's voice sounded only in my head. ("No one is forcing you.")

("I know. Like I told Stark, don't worry. I'm not upset, angry, or disappointed.") I sent my thoughts back to her. ("You can feel my emotions — you know I'm not lying.")

I paused and added: ("Honestly, I'm actually glad this archetype won.")

After all, it would be way too strange to be on an Earth and not be the Devil in other people's eyes…

But if I was going to be the Devil, then I needed to dress the part.

With a thought, the simple clothes I was wearing were replaced by my new suit, and dress shoes formed on my previously bare feet.

I pulled a full-length mirror from the Voidbag and observed myself for a few seconds before putting it away. Only the eyepatch felt slightly out of place, but other than that, I could say I looked elegant.

…Let's see how well I can play this role willingly.

After selecting and confirming the archetype, I still wasn't sent immediately to another world. A third blue holographic screen appeared in front of me.

It was used to confirm the spawn point on Earth.

There were several options, but I ended up choosing the one that offered the best reward:

-//-

[Spawn — Random (Entire Earth)]

Completely random spawn in any region of the Amalgam World.

Entry Bonus:

Immediate location of an Initial Mission

Mission Ranking: [Green]

[..]

Confirm Spawn Point?

[YES] [NO]

-//-

All the other options offered White or Blue ranked initial missions. This was the highest, so I didn't hesitate.

Finally, after pressing the confirmation button, the world around me began to spin in a kaleidoscopic spiral of infinite colors.

Instinctively, I wanted to activate the Transparent World, but I forcibly stopped myself when my instincts screamed in terror, warning me that trying that would completely fuck me over.

Since I quite enjoyed not becoming a vegetable, I avoided staring into the Truth of Infinity and calmly closed my eyes, ignoring the cold sweat running down my back.

When I opened them again, I was no longer in Terraria.

The first thing I did after opening my eyes was look around. Or at least try to, because my body froze when I felt something at the extreme and absurd edge of my senses.

I looked up, focusing as hard as I could.

I ignored the blue sky and the sunlight. My vision blurred as the World became Transparent, and I ignored everything that truly existed within my sight, trying to look beyond it.

At the absolute limit of my perception, as if I were seeing a blurred image through frosted glass, I could make out the outline of something vaguely circular.

It was impossibly far away, yet at the same time, I felt like I could touch it with my fingers. I raised my arm upward and felt the tip of my finger brush against something I couldn't quite comprehend.

From behind what seemed to be a thick layer of clouds, I heard what sounded like a surprised feminine sigh and the beating of wings.

The sound was incredibly distant and seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Along with the sound came the scent. Something overwhelmingly sweet, yet somehow not cloying. My teeth tingled as Divine Anathema coursed through them.

Instinctively, I licked my lips. I could taste it on the tip of my tongue: a mixture of sugar, vanilla, icing, marshmallow, chocolate, white cake, pure cotton candy, honey…

It was a combination of sweets that should have made me want to vomit, but instead it was… divine. No. That word was wrong, wasn't it?…

"Angelic…" I murmured distantly.

Then I felt someone shaking my shoulders, and I snapped out of the trance I was in. I blinked, my focus returning, my senses dispersing.

"Huh? What is it?" I turned to the person shaking me. It was Jinn. She looked worried.

"Devas! By the Brothers, you're back to normal, thank goodness…" She let out a relieved sigh and stared at me before asking, "Are you okay? You just shut down. You were staring at the sky for a few minutes with a vacant, distant look and didn't respond when Ozma or I spoke to you. What happened?"

I pursed my lips for a moment, not answering.

I cast one last glance upward. The sensation was vaguer now, but it was still there. There was something up there. Then I looked back at Jinn, a gentle smile forming on my face.

"I wasn't looking at the sky… I was looking at Heaven," I answered calmly.

"This world has a Heaven."

[...]---[...]

The things that weren't explained in Terraria will be covered in an interlude later. I didn't want to put everything here for a few reasons.

Of course Devas would have to take on the role of The Devil. There was no way Serafall would let that slide, even if Stark tried to stop it by force...

"This world has a Heaven."

Good night to everyone, and enjoy the reading!

PS: Damn... I didn't even realize I posted this chapter right on Good Friday… nothing intentional, guys, just a coincidence.

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