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My perceptions twist as it returns to the quasi-omniscience that I had in the abyss outside of the universe. My demon shell had been thoroughly shattered by the paladin’s attack, easily enough to turn the stones that held its form together to tiny pieces of assorted dust and gravel.
Was it completely gone? No, I could reconstitute it at any time, but I have no desire to do that at the moment.
Honestly, that was a lot of fun. Most of the souls that I got have already been thrown back into the reincarnation cycle when their bodies were killed by the party. Some are still out there, but I really don’t care about that.
But now that I’m back, I should probably get check in on my side projects. The terran galaxy just passed 200 thousand years, my dream demons are developing nicely, and–
. . . What is that.
Did somebody poke a hole in my void?
And now they just throw someone through it. I’m a fucking trashcan now. Great.
Let’s just seal that real quick. None of that.
Taking a look at my newest roommate, she looks to be alright, a little rattled, which is to be expected.
I should probably do something about this.
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To say that the void was quiet would be incorrect.
For something to be quiet, there would first have to be sound.
She had been cast into an empty nothing, no gravity, no light, no sound. To give the lack of space a size would be wrong as well, for if it had a size then it would not be nothing.
Hifumi was the only thing in the empty un-space, alone in the void. If she was correct, she was in the abyss beyond the universe, banished like the Dark One, forever confined to a prison of absolute nothingness.
There was no ocean of the universe out here. No waves or currents of the creator’s will. Nothing but–
Something appeared in her vision. Enormous chains glowing like the sun, simultaneously too far to see and close enough to touch.
The void, already lacking sound, seemed to loop upon itself, the no–noise becoming deafening, and the un–atmosphere causing shivers to dance up and down her skin. The lack of feeling became worse, like the abyss she was surrounded by was ignoring her. The chains flexed like muscles, tightening around the nothing that they held, and then they were gone. The glow fading away, returning her to blindness once more.
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No. No. No, Hifumi was a god again! She would not be consigned to an existence of nothing! Her power twisted, pushing against the void, forcing it to her will.
A weathered and pitted rock the size of a castle sprang to existence in front of her, saturated with her own will, created by her own power. Already she could imagine towering spires and impenetrable walls forming from the stone, a fortress in which she would store the knowledge of millions of years as both god and mortal.
She was drained. To do such a thing without the ocean of the universe had exhausted her to her core. She felt herself drift to sleep, the lack of sensation soothing her aching body. She did not feel the nothing lift her form, placing her gently upon the rock of her creation, nor its ever–present non-gaze as she slept. Nor did she dream, for there was nothing for her to dream about.
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Expectations could be crushing for those not prepared.
Yuuki was prepared. She was always prepared. She had to be. The title of crown princess of the gods was no small thing. She wasn’t the oldest– that was her sister, Hifumi– but she was the one expected to be the guide for all the younger gods.
Sometimes she wished that she had refused the title, as her sister did. She wanted to explore every place that the universe had to offer, to find a place where she could relax, away from the expectations that had defined her immortal life. A place where she could rest in the arms of her older sister, where she could see everything, learn everything, do everything.
But that would never happen. Hifumi was dead.
She had felt it. The presence of her sister disappeared from the ocean of the universe. In an instant, she had flown to the place where it happened. A burned out mansion, where the agent of the grand creator was helping some mortals to their feet. Quickly, she disguised herself, appearing as a previously–unseen guest.
“What happened?” She did not hide the fear in her voice, worried as she was for her sister.
The agent of the creator spoke first. “Nothing for you to worry about ma’am, just a demon. It won’t be bothering anyone again.”
She knew he was wrong. It hadn’t been a demon. The universe had been tainted by madness, yes, but the source wasn’t that of a demon, at least not one she knew. Perhaps he simply couldn’t tell the difference, or maybe it was some previously–unknown kind?
“A demon? What did it look like?”
The agent paused. His eyes narrowed, scrutinizing her. Nothing to worry about. She had hid her godly presence well. “It had the appearance of an orc.” The dwarf– a healer, she could tell– “One of the servants owned by the family.”
An orc. Not a demon. Her sister was dead.
Rushing off, she hurried to the center of the ballroom, where the taint was the strongest. There was a slight tinge of holy magic, and the smell of death, left behind by what she could only assume was an attack.
An attack. An orc. Her sister was dead.
Hifumi liked to take the form of other races, live their lives, learn about them. Learning was her favorite thing to do.
Holy magic. Smell of death. Orcs died twice.
The agent of the creator. Orcs died twice. It won’t be bothering anyone again.
Her sister was dead.
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A shadow slunk away from the ruins. What it had seen was truly inspiring.
The drama! The action! Amazing!
It just couldn’t wait until the next invasion. It would ensure that Kranua was entertained. It would make the battlefields its stage once more, bringing all of the drama and action that it had seen in the mansion.
And so, Balta returned to the realm of the demons, mind on the future, and theatrics in her eyes.
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