INSTEAD?
This was something that even Leonel and Aina were still trying to figure out, let alone Anastasia who had only just truly gained her full sentience.
The husband-wife pair had spent most of their life chasing after "peace" so that they could finally have happiness. But it wasn't until recently that they realized that they had to carve out their own happiness.
With the end of the world bearing down on them all, it didn't make much sense for them to be having a child now. But they had still chosen to do so.
Sentience was, indeed, a burden. But it could be a blessing if you used it right as well.
"… How?" Anastasia asked curiously.
She had just recontextualized all her life just now. More owners than she cared to count, more experience than she cared to recall… too much heartbreak.
If there had been an answer, she would have certainly found it in there. But it wasn't. No matter how she looked, she found herself missing her old self.
She didn't believe that Leonel was just saying this for a chance to keep her current self by his side. She knew him more deeply than that.
He truly saw her as family. He might be willing to force the hand of his new Generals, trading off being an asshole in exchange for the greater good. But he wouldn't be willing to do such a thing for his own people. He would never.
That meant…
He really had a way?
Part of her wanted to believe it. But…
"Well, for starters…" Leonel smiled, looking to Aina who seemed to have already read his thoughts. She was also smiling, a sweet and bright smile. "… Would you like to be the baby's godmother?"
Anastasia's eyes widened.
Of all the things she thought Leonel would say, this was the very last on the list.
However, it was then that a wave of unfamiliar emotions swept over her.
That was right…
She came to a realization. Even if she recontextualized her life, she couldn't insert all the emotions that she would have felt back then had she had true sentience.
And right now, there were a whole host that she had never felt before.
Confusion, nervousness…
Sweetness, anticipation…
Happiness, embarrassment…
The colors of her eyes rapidly changed and eventually, she started crying. Almost like a baby that had been too overstimulated, she covered her eyes with her small hands, trying to hide herself from the embarrassment.
But it was then she felt two warm bodies wrap around hers. She barely registered the fact that Leonel and Aina were hugging her because she only had the energy to cry even harder.
"I think that's a yes." Leonel said.
Aina laughed in response.
**
Leonel stood in silence, his gaze flickering.
There were too many paths he could take right now, so many choices that it was overwhelming for him.
Having too many ideas was a problem too.
Anastasia was a World Spirit. It was in her bones to help creatures evolve and create.
Focusing on using her help to complete his Demon Army would be extremely helpful.
But then there was armor creation. As expected, the Morales were improving by leaps and bounds under Ramon's tutelage. Having a God direct you in their self-created Force was definitely a feeling of ease that was hard to find elsewhere.
Using Anastasia to mass-produce these armors would instantly raise their attacking prowess to another level. And because they were Morales, they would be very receptive to the new types of armor that Leonel and Aina could create together. After all, their Divine Armors were already semi-organic.
But then there was his own personal improvement. He couldn't neglect that as well.
Luckily, Nilrem had helped him reaffirm some things. But he still hadn't progressed his actual Dimension in too long.
'Am I overthinking it?'
This was a World Spirit he was talking about. They could manage an entire world, let alone several tasks at once.
He was still thinking about Anastasia like he had to direct every one of her actions, which was why he had been thinking that he had to choose just one. But maybe he shouldn't be worried about it so much?
If he was going to trust Anastasia, then he should trust her completely.
Anastasia suddenly appeared by Leonel's side. Before Leonel could speak, she spoke first.
"You're doing several… not very efficient things right now. You can just leave them to me."
Leonel raised an eyebrow.
"The reason evolution is slow in real life is because World Spirits are conserving resources and want only those that display the most talent over the longest period of time to have a chance to stand at the top.
"But I can trigger evolution whenever I want. I can force the same Hyper Evolution state of the Oryx on the Sea Gods, or your… Dream Demons, if you want to call them that."
Leonel chuckled. "What's wrong with my Demons?"
"A lot. They are a Race that would never make it in the real world.
"Your idea isn't bad, and Aina's support makes it workable. But the problem is that it's something you'd see in a comic book. You can't just slap two concepts that seem like they work together and hope for the best. It will inevitably cause problems."
"Oh?" Leonel blinked.
He thought that using the Dream Asuras as a foundation, and bolstering them with the Destruction Envoys, was the perfect plan.
But then Anastasia said something that hit him like a truck. owns all content.
"There's a reason the God Beasts of Creation only managed to successfully infuse humans with their Envoys."
Leonel's gaze flashed like lightning. That was right, how could he neglect such an obvious thing?
If it was so easy to fuse people's bodies with Envoy blood, there would be far more than just what remained of the Northern Star Lineage Factor.
The combination of he and Aina was amazing, and it could likely look down on all current Crafters, but it wasn't at the point of being superior to the God Beasts of Creation.
"I see… then what do you want to do instead?"