In a bedroom filled with warmth, the hazy, trance-like dream finally ended, and the young man known as the King opened his eyes.
"Hmm... Another world completed."
The ceiling before him was familiar and safe. A circular chandelier, blending modern craftsmanship with classical elegance, was embedded in the ceiling, its faint light diffusing outwards.
To be honest, while Ryuya didn't have strong opinions about his living environment, if possible, he preferred his bedroom décor to be simpler. The current bedroom felt a bit too extravagant.
Whether it was the residence prepared for him by Souji in the real world, or the building bought by Westcott and the manor built in the Date A Live World, Ryuya wasn't particularly fond of any of them.
If he had to say which residence he missed the most, it would probably be the Millennium Castle. He remembered that the Machine Gods Maid, Hope understood his preferences well, keeping the entire castle meticulously organized.
"Thinking about it, I'm actually looking forward to seeing what Hope is like now."
To be honest, Hope from his memories was, in terms of combat power, undoubtedly the strongest aside from Mio. Having absorbed the cores of two Machine Gods, while she might not match a Star God, she far surpassed planetary-level.
Taking a deep breath, Ryuya looked out the window and saw that the sky was still dimly lit with dawn.
The morning in Tokyo. The consistently dazzling sunlight fell from the sky, bringing a feeling of vitality.
Propping himself up lightly on the bed with his arm, Ryuya did not proceed with the third life simulation. He chose to save his points. Since he had already saved up so many, shouldn't he fulfill his old promise and get Yukino a cat that doesn't shed?
"Let me see if the system has anything to exchange."
Checking the Life Simulator System's shop, after these several simulation instances and a pile of rewards, Ryuya's points had once again reached a massive figure of 200,000.
Seeing the Zanpakuto like Ryujin Jakka and Hyorinmaru, priced at 100,000 or even more, and the Saiyan Bloodline, etc., this time he felt no urge.
He had already found his own path, the Star God path of the Kabbalah.
Although unstated, he was already using the Kabbalah as a starting point to integrate the bloodlines and powers within him.
For example, the power of the Clow Card – The Time was absorbed by the Kabbalah's Sephirah, Binah (Understanding).
The ability Marble Phantasm was absorbed by the Sephirah Netzach (Victory).
The Reality Marble Primordial Flame was absorbed by the Sephirah Gevurah (Severity), and so on.
Meanwhile, the five bloodlines of Lord of Three Realms, Earth King, True Sun God, King of Myriad Races, and Beast of the End, merged into one, creating an even more powerful EX-rank bloodline.
All paths diverge, all paths converge. In the end, everything would become part of Ryuya's most essential existence.
"Let me see... A cat that doesn't shed... Choose between Digimon and Pokémon, I guess."
Looking carefully at the system shop's recommended cats that don't shed and are well-behaved and obedient, Ryuya finally chose a pair of Digi-Eggs, one black and one white.
"You two it is."
Using his power to incubate the two Digi-Eggs, Ryuya placed a trace of the Beast of the End's bestial nature and authority into them.
After a moment, having absorbed sufficient energy for evolution, the Digi-Eggs directly shattered, revealing two incredibly cute and adorable cats.
"Master~ Master~"
Because the power Ryuya provided was quite substantial, the two little ones had already evolved twice at birth, going directly from Fresh/Baby level to Champion/Adult level, unmistakably Tailmon and BlackTailmon.
That is, the pre-evolution forms of Angewomon and LadyDevimon.
The moment they landed and saw Ryuya, the black and white cats with pure fur and high attractiveness quickly pounced into the man's arms, gently extending their little tongues to lick their master's hand.
"Tailmon, and BlackTailmon... Let me think, I'll give you two names."
Digimon names are usually their species names, same as Pokémon. Not wanting the two Tailmon to be without proper names, Ryuya thought for a moment and named them Zenru and Toru.
"Tailmon will be called Zenru, the elder sister, symbolizing light."
"BlackTailmon will be called Toru, the younger sister, symbolizing darkness."
"Zen-chan, To-chan, please take care of me from now on."
With the two little ones looking utterly delighted, Ryuya had finally fulfilled his promise to Yukino… to find her two highly intelligent, cute, non-shedding cats.
Or perhaps... two potential rivals?
Opening his eyes again, Ryuya noticed that outside the window, under the twilight sun, the pale golden hue of dusk lingered in the distance.
"Yukino...? Is that Haruno?"
Turning his head to look beside him, Ryuya saw the two Tailmon sleeping soundly next to him, and the familiar short-haired girl.
At first, he thought it was the younger sister, Yukino, but upon closer look, it was actually the elder sister, Haruno.
"Ryu? You're awake?"
Haruno, different from her sister Yukino, was a woman who surpassed her in both looks, figure, intellect, and wisdom.
Four years older than Yukino and Ryuya, she should theoretically be a queen, the center of attention for many, yet she had remained single until now.
Deep inside, she also had her own little secret… Haruno had always liked one person.
However...
'Yukino.'
Watching her sister only smile when near that person, watching her sister only feel at ease when near that person, Haruno found the medicine that could save her sister.
Unable to bear destroying her sister's happiness, she, who had always hidden her feelings, threw herself into her work. While still young, she formed a remarkably perfect partnership with Kaguya.
Later, everything that happened in Snowfield City, made Haruno worry endlessly for her sister Yukino, striving to let Yukino showcase her unique charm in front of those superhuman Heroic Spirits.
Feeling as if she had experienced a very, very long dream, Haruno looked at the sleeping Ryuya and unconsciously became entranced.
Noticing Ryuya was awake, Haruno smiled at him, her eyes filled entirely with his image.
"Haruno... nee."
Seeing much in Haruno's eyes, this was the first time Ryuya had gazed so intently at this elder sister who had grown up with him and Yukino.
He inexplicably recalled another elder sister, the fairy named Vivian, and realized that Haruno's eyes were so similar to Vivian's, truly, too similar.
So similar that both gave him a feeling of lingering, tender, deep love.
Gently meeting Haruno's gaze directly, a subtle, delicate atmosphere quietly arose.
As a faint blush spread across Haruno's exquisite face, sensing the aggressiveness, intensity in Ryuya's eyes, Haruno felt a flustered unease.
She slightly turned her head away, and under the sunset's glow, even her earlobes were tinged red.
"Ryuya, Yukino and the others are back from school. Everyone wants to eat traditional Japanese cuisine today. Get ready, we're going out."
After saying this, Haruno fled in a panic.
Leaving only Ryuya alone, sensing the fragrance Haruno had left in the room, and the faint, lingering warmth on his face...