"What is it... Carthanalenia?"
Carthanalenia met her gaze. Calm, composed. A perfect mirror of her own.
For a moment, she said nothing. Then, after a quiet breath, she spoke.
"I am aware that you are searching for Father," she said evenly. "So... I would like to take over maintaining this reality. That way, Mother can focus on your search."
Her expression didn't shift.
Anathasia's gaze lowered slightly, thoughtful. One finger rested beneath her chin as she looked toward a distant star system shimmering faintly beside Carthanalenia.
"I suppose that would be possible," she murmured, lifting her eyes again.
"You are, after all... someone I personally guided."
A brief pause.
Then she nodded.
"Very well. I'll leave it to you."
Without another word, she turned away.
"I believe you're more than capable of handling it," she added, just before her form dissolved completely, vanishing from Carthanalenia's sight.
Silence followed.
For a long moment, Carthanalenia remained where she stood, staring into the void ahead, where even light bent as it passed through.
"This is fine..." she muttered quietly.
"Mom will understand. Eventually."
She turned away, her thoughts still drifting.
Dad... I'm counting on you...
A faint smile touched her lips as her form began to dissolve.
Mom just needs to find him...
And I...
There was a pause.
I'll keep watching over everything.
Like a good first daughter.
Her body scattered into faint particles, dissolving completely into the fabric of the cosmos. Leaving behind nothing but specks of her existence drifting among stars, dust, and distant light.
And time moved on.
She watched.
Observed.
Maintained.
Occasionally, she drifted closer to planets—curious, but distant.
Until-
She stopped.
A rocky world revolved around a blue giant star, its surface strange. Unfamiliar.
"...?"
Her gaze narrowed slightly.
"What is this...?"
She focused.
And saw them.
Thin, levitating films drifting across the planet's surface.
"They're... alive?"
But then-
Something shifted.
A dense mixture of gases swept across the surface from the far side of the planet.
Carthanalenia's brows furrowed.
She flickered instantly, appearing on the opposite side.
And what she saw-
"...Self-destruction?"
The film-like beings drifted toward a gathering of those same gases, now condensed into liquid form.
The moment they made contact-
Their bodies ruptured.
Some burst apart instantly.
Others dimmed, dissolving slowly as their forms broke down.
Carthanalenia watched in silence.
Even from beyond the planet's boundary, she could see everything.
Before she fully realized it, Carthanalenia had already descended onto the planet's surface, causing everything around her to freeze in place.
Her gaze swept across ruined structures first, then shifted to the floating films hovering nearby. Their flat forms tilted and adjusted, all pointing toward her as if drawn by instinct.
She stood still, arms folded over her chest.
"...They use signals. Frequencies to communicate?"
Her head tilted slightly as she observed them.
A brief silence passed.
Then she raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
In an instant-
"A Deity...?" one of them spoke.
"Huh? My thoughts... the signals... I can make sounds?" another followed.
"And I can hear them too... wait, why do I understand what hearing is...?" a third added.
Carthanalenia finally spoke, her voice calm.
"It goes beyond your biology."
She looked over them, expression unchanged.
"But I gave every intelligent being on this planet the ability to hear... and to speak."
They stilled.
Their forms shifted faintly, subtle distortions rippling across their surfaces.
Then, all at once, they began moving toward her.
They spread out across the ground at her feet, lowering themselves in unison.
"You must be... the Ein Sof."
"We bow before your greatness..."
Carthanalenia froze.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked down at them. Countless forms stretched outward, filling her vision.
"I'm not a God," she said quickly. "And I don't intend to become one."
The creatures stilled at once, falling silent.
She let out a soft sigh, shaking her head.
"Your planet is falling apart because of war. The group from earlier that jumped into that liquid..."
A voice spoke up.
"They were our world leaders."
Silence followed immediately after.
Carthanalenia paused, then gave a small nod. Her gaze hardened for a moment before smoothing out again.
"Societies..." she murmured under her breath.
I've seen how they function... especially the more advanced ones...
Her eyes drifted across the strange, flattened structures around them.
This is similar to Earth in the future-
She stopped.
...Why do I know that?
Her body stiffened slightly, but she pushed the thought aside.
"The priority right now is stabilization."
Her voice carried across the area, firm and absolute.
At once, every being responded.
"Understood."
They moved without hesitation.
Some began repairing structures, reshaping damaged sections. Others gathered the hazardous pools of liquid, burying them beneath layers of radioactive soil to prevent further spread.
Everything fell into motion.
Carthanalenia watched for a moment-
Then she shifted her focus upward.
For her part, she began adjusting the planet itself, raising its temperature gradually with each passing day.
Before long, five years slipped by in what felt like a blink.
Carthanalenia stood near a massive volcano at the planet's upper pole, her gaze drifting toward the sky before her eyes slowly closed.
Far away-
Within a distant supercluster.
Inside a spiral galaxy near its outer edge.
A star system came into view. At its center, a yellow star. Around it, nine planets. And the third-
A blue world.
Her focus narrowed.
Closer.
Into a scattered archipelago facing a vast ocean, far southeast of the mainland.
And there-
She saw her.
The same white-haired woman. The same crimson eyes.
Leaning quietly against a man on a bench.
Carthanalenia's gaze lingered-
But just as she tried to focus further-
Darkness swallowed her surroundings.
A low hum vibrated through space, followed by a deep, rolling rumble.
Her eyes snapped open.
Before her stood an entity vast enough to engulf an entire star system.
It loomed silently.
Oppressive.
Endless.
Carthanalenia narrowed her eyes and raised her hand, ready to snap-
But the entity collapsed instantly.
Gone.
Just like that.
She paused, lowering her hand slightly, one brow lifting in quiet confusion.
"...Please," a voice echoed softly.
"I only wished to offer my gratitude..."
Her gaze shifted.
Upward.
Across the sky.
Then down-
Until she found the source.
A white-haired girl knelt before her.
Head lowered. Hands trembling slightly.
When she finally looked up, sapphire-blue eyes met Carthanalenia's crimson ones.
"You are...?"
"I... am Egrathiel, great Ein Sof," she answered weakly.
But instead of easing, Carthanalenia's brows furrowed.
Egrathiel flinched.
She immediately lowered her head again, almost pressing her forehead to the ground. Only to stop just short, as if something unseen prevented her from touching it.
"Don't," Carthanalenia said simply. "I'm not angry about that."
She lowered herself slightly, reaching out toward the kneeling girl.
"But I am curious how you managed to mimic my appearance."
A faint smile formed.
"And to choose my own mother's form too... how bold."
Egrathiel froze completely.
Not a single movement followed. Not even a breath.
Carthanalenia tilted her head, arm still outstretched. The faint curve on her lips remained, but something about it was different.
"Well, Egrathiel... was it?"
Silence.
It stretched.
Then stretched further.
Egrathiel didn't move. Nor speak let alone lift her head.
Carthanalenia's fingers twitched slightly.
...Why is she still...
"It was... a coincidence, milady!" Egrathiel blurted out suddenly.
"I said it's fine..." Carthanalenia replied, a trace of exasperation slipping into her voice.
Then-
She reached out, grabbing the back of Egrathiel's dress. Effortlessly, she lifted her off the ground and set her back on her feet.
"There," she sighed. "Now... what exactly did you mean by expressing your gratitude?"
Her gaze drifted briefly toward the stars before settling back on the girl in front of her.
Still fidgeting.
Still avoiding her eyes.
"By appearing as a primordial eldritch entity?"
Egrathiel stayed silent at first, her body trembling slightly.
Then, slowly, she looked up.
"That is... I was... trying to appear as presentable as your form... Ein Sof-"
"Carthanalenia is fine."
"I mean—Lady Carthanalenia..." she corrected herself quickly. "I did not mean to offend you in any way..."
Carthanalenia inhaled softly, then gave a small nod.
"That's... understandable, I guess. Coincidences happen."
She didn't linger on it.
Instead, she turned away, her attention shifting toward the cities below the volcano.
Egrathiel remained where she stood.
Confused.
Unmoving.