"No means no-" Selzion was seconds away from slamming the door in my face when Prylos spilled the beans.
"Every 24 hours, a being known as the White Monster makes everyone that's still up and about go to sleep by force." He explained, "You then wake up without any prior memories. That's a new cycle."
"...WHAAAAAAT!?" I screamed.
T-The... But the...!? Wait, so you're saying-!? Augh, they really have a serious look on their face, so this isn't even a joke! No, you can't just toss that bombshell on me all of a sudden and expect me not to start panicking!
"Why did you tell her!?" Selzion berated him.
"What's she gonna do?" Prylos shrugged, "It'd get her off our lawn, and besides, it's already nearing the end of the cycle."
"W-Wait, tell me how to avoid it!" I begged, "That monster thing!"
"...Ahem, the White Monster has no weakness." Selzion cleared his throat, "Once you catch a glimpse of him, your face contorts to mimic its own. Then, whenever someone else sees you, they become the White Monster's Apostle as well."
"It's like a highly viral plague." Prylos chuckled, "Ehe, in hindsight, it's a really messed up way of resetting everyone's progress."
Hell yeah it is! Wait, how long has it been since I woke up? Ugh, even if I knew that, there's no guarantee I woke up on the exact start of this cycle...! I need to go find Sab, but ohh, they're too far away...!
"Dammit, I don't wanna get my memories wiped! Gasp, memories wiped..." I realized, "What Vastoria said! Seraphim don't get their memories wiped, right!?"
"Vastoria? And who is-?"
"Tell me how to become a seraphim!" I demanded, "You said it's already too late to try, so it won't hurt to just reveal the secret to me!"
"M.G, was it..." Selzion nonchalantly ignored me, "No, you cannot make it in time anymore. It would take anyone at least 5 hours before you can attain seraphim rank, yet there is not even an hour left before the White Monster's curse consumes all."
Shit! Stop making it sound so freaking scary! I don't wanna have to go toe to toe with such a scary thing! I don't wanna forget my memories of today! Sab, Vastoria, Elegy...! If I wake up tomorrow without even knowing their names, then... Wait, that's it!
"Thanks for nothing, idiots!" I ran under them and into their large house, "I'll just handle it myself!"
"Wait, get back here!" Prylos teleported me back.
"Hmph, did you really forget who you are trying to oppose?" Selzion gave a smug smirk.
"Hup!" I got back up on my feet to try again.
"Nope."
"Hyup!"
"Nuh-uh."
"Hop!"
"Mn."
"Hep!"
Each time I got sent back, I would just bounce back and enter the house again. I never got any farther than I did the first time, most probably because they were expecting me to try it after stopping me the first time, but I did learn quite a few things about their house with this. Namely, it's spacious, but completely empty. A large church like aisle, just without the seats, and in the central altar, something that looked to be a Book, though I couldn't quite make it out exactly. If I can just make it to there...
"Geez, stop already!" Selzion got annoyed and finally teleported me back one last time, grabbing my proportionately tiny body with an iron grasp, "If you wish to spend your last moments of this cycle annoying us, then you can rest assured that will not happen."
"Ptu-!" I spat on the giant fist that held me tight.
It's already useless no matter what I do, the White Monster or whatever they called it will come for me way before I even make it halfway to Vastoria's house, much less my own. I'm alone, and I can't rely on my friends for help. Friends... I'll forget all about them, and they'll forget about me. I wonder, just how many friends did I forget before this? How long has this cycle gone on for? The Gods are extremely cruel for this...
"You...!" Selzion squeezed me tight before tossing me up a bit to Materialize a Book, "Congratulations, you've proven yourself."
"Wait, Selz, come on! No angel deletion, remember!?" Prylos panickedly pleaded.
"Do you not see the disrespect being displayed here!?" He then Materialized a pen as well.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
While I was in the air, I could properly make out the inside of their house. The Book on the aisle's lectern was still there, indicating this wasn't the same one he held in his hands. But this is good, my plan worked properly, and I might've just saved myself by annoying them! The moment Selzion Materialized a pen from thin air, I latched onto it as I fell. The momentum sent both me and the pen crashing down on the floor.
"What's she doing now?" He addressed me as if I was nothing more than a mere fly.
Uuugh, t-the pen... Yes! It's still clicked open! It's huge, larger than my entire body, but the nib is just small enough for me to write a memo with! I don't have much time, nor space for that matter. I can't write everyone's names before Selzion takes the pen away from me. I need to think...
"Vastoria? No her name's too damn long!" I said as I pressed my shoulder up to the nib, "Elegy? Sab? But they're not really gonna be as helpful as Vastoria..."
It was then when an epiphany hit me. The perfect thing to write before time ran out. I didn't quite manage to write all of it, because in the next moment I was teleported to an empty space. A cold chill ran down my spine as I turned around to see it. A goat's skull staring down my soul. I blacked out without even thinking about resisting.
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***
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I woke up in some sort of house. The walls inside were Yellow, and the floor was absolutely covered with toys and other random junk. Two things immediately stuck out to me as I got out of my bed.
"Why am I topless?" I glanced down, "Eh? Writing?"
Guess I must've had one crazy party last night. Heh, just kidding. My skin is still White, which means that thing that happened with Heaven and the saws was real. In other words, if I check myself in the mirror...
"Whoa, golden spine..." I gawked, "And this writing, are these... directions?"
A line, or rather, some sort of map? Is this some kind of joke? Ah, I just realized I have no nipples as well. Holy hell, my head hurts, and nothing makes sense anymore... Too many questions, I think I'll just go back to sleep. Plopping back down on my bed, I slept pretty soundly. The bed was the comfiest damn thing I've ever slept on, at least that's what it felt like. It felt like a mother's embrace, and the sheets were just the perfect warmth. Makes you not wanna ever get up, but something kept me from sleeping through the entire day.
"These markings..." I kept peeking down at them, "They go from one shoulder to the other, directly over my collarbone. Tch, whoever wrote this must've really not wanted me to miss it."
I rolled around in bed, trying my best to find a position that would naturally hide it away from me and make me forget, but the location of the ink made it impossible to not constantly stay within my field of vision. Closing my Eyes didn't help either, because I just couldn't rest easily so long as it was there.
"Dammit, there's gotta be a bathroom here!" I jumped angrily out of bed.
Storming out of the bedroom, I stomped on over through the hallways, walked down the stairs, and finally found what most resembled a sort of bathroom. Slamming open the door, I turned on the faucet and grabbed what I think was a sponge for washing your body.
"...Tch." I stopped, realizing the sheer stupidity of tossing away such a possibly important tip, "I should at least check this place out, first."
It was annoying, but it had to be done so that I could get back to my beauty sleep. Memorizing the twists and turns on the mirror, I walked out of the house with a confident gait. A bustling street presented itself before me, and I found myself among the billions of yards and houses I had just a couple moments ago looked down upon.
"Yo, where'd you get them pants?" A naked guy from across the street asked.
"Pervert!" I flipped him off before walking away.
Geez, to think these people exist even in Heaven... Oh right, where was I? The map said to go straight ten blocks, then left three blocks, and finally make a right. After that, I should be at my destination.
"All these houses look the same..." I looked around nervously, "This is the seventh block... right? So then, 3 more before turning left? Or was it 4? It probably doesn't matter too much... Probably."
Though I knew roughly where to go, it was mostly my gut that led the way. The journey was long too, given I had to practically pass a whole 14 blocks in total, but this body is apparently in pretty good shape, since I didn't even get all that tired. Granted, it's just a bit of walking, but I feel like normally you'd get sore after the fifth block you passed.
"This?" I made an uncomfortable face at the house that the map pointed to, "No, I'm sure I got the right one... No, trust the process, me!"
Carefully, I approached the front door before knocking three times. No one answered the door, so I went to knock again. Still no answer, by this point I was about ready to leave. Still, it annoyed me that I had gone all the way here for nothing, so I just had to try a third time.
"What!?" A livid voice piped up from inside, making me jump back in surprise, "Stop knocking already, you're giving me a headache!"
"U-Uhm, I was told to come here." I hastily explained, "Could you please just tell me if you were the one who wrote all over my body?"
"Wrote all over-!? Ugh." He groaned as the doors pried themselves open, revealing a rather tired looking angel with large, golden wings that barely fit inside his house, "Okay, what the hell do you want?"
"Did you write this on me?" I asked, pointing down at my chest, "I woke up like this and apparently it pointed me to your house."
"I didn't write jack." He frowned, "And that map's on backwards, dumbass."
"Eh?" I yelped.
"See the giant house drawn way over there? That's the Gods' abode." He pointed to my right shoulder, "That's on the other side, not here. You forgot to account for the fact the image gets reversed when you look at it in the mirror."
...Oh, in other words, I went the complete opposite way. Meaning, not only did I waste time walking all this way, but I have to now walk double the distance if I wanna make it to the real destination.
"Got anything you don't mind being broken?" I asked as a vein popped.
"Even if I did, I wouldn't let you." He sighed, "Shit, just get in."
"I'm not entering a stranger's house." I cocked my head back.
"And I'm not gonna give you another opportunity." He merely walked back inside, leaving the door open as a way of inviting me in, "I imagine you didn't have a spare piece of paper to jot the directions down on, given you ended up here to pester me with your body markings."
"Don't patronize me!"
"Hm? Oh, sorry, I was gonna offer you a ride with my wings after writing the directions down on a proper sheet of paper." He turned around, waving said paper around with a maliciously compliant gaze, "But since you're so independent and secure, I guess I'll just back off."
"...Sorry to bother you." I hid my face away in shame, gritting my teeth almost as tightly as I clenched my fists.
I feel like I hit the jackpot when it comes to capable companions, but I sure as hell don't appreciate his attitude...