"Huh?" I opened my Eyes.

"Did we make it?" The others followed suit before donning an equally mortified expression, "Oh no..."

This is... the Gods' Abode. What are we doing here? We were-... We were supposed to be back in the World of the Living.

"The End, my foot!" Gale yelled at a random wall, "Nice going, author! Really jinxed us there!"

Most of the people in the room didn't pay him any mind, but I definitely do sympathize with that anger he's letting out. The Gods somehow stopped us from escaping at the very last moment. Somehow... They got one over on us again.

"Ooh! So close!" The God of Meditation mocked us, "Luckily, you have us to thank for saving you."

"Phah! Who said we needed saving!?" Sab crossed his arms.

"We did." The Knowledge God's voice thundered throughout the room, "For you obviously know not of what you had just attempted."

Pretty sure we just tried to dig down from Heaven to the Vast World. Not much to get wrong.

"When will you understand?" Prylos pinched the bridge on his nose, "You are dead. Ergo, you are only souls. You can't be in the Living World without a body."

"We could try-!" Gale refuted.

"You would merely fall through." Selzion shook his head, "You would phase through the ground until the world's gravitational pull took you to the very center of the planet."

"Explaen ina' languidge we can oll undastand." Twintails groaned.

"A fate equivalent to that of Hell." Prylos said in layman's terms.

"N'oh, wudn' wont that."

"Yeah, you wouldn't." Prylos crossed his arms like a tired babysitter, "So don't try it again."

Not like we can, since the pickaxe melted. Oh wait, so did all of our golden parts, too! I was too preoccupied with these guys that I totally forgot to check!

"Yes, your gilded parts..." Selzion noticed me inspecting my body.

"Will they return?" Gale asked.

"No, you've permanently messed that up." Prylos sighed.

Messed up? Isn't this good, though? The only place where not having gilded parts on you would be bad is the Shrine, and we've cleared it already. Right, they just don't wanna admit it, but this is a noticeable upgrade from before—from hereon, we're all invincible in Heaven 2.0!

"You do realize you're just fanning the flames here, don't you?" Sab smirked at the Gods.

"In fact, we are practically bending over backwards to accomplish the exact opposite." Selzion explained, "We called you here not just to save you from yourselves, but to also call upon a truce."

"Truce?" Hats tilted his head.

"It means when two opposing parties..." Gale began explaining.

"I know what it means!" Hats fussed, "I'm asking what they mean to do with it."

"Hm." Prylos cleared his throat, "We have tried lying to you, threatening you, among other horrible things. In hindsight, we should have expected these ideas to not work."

Shocker, I know.

"So, we now wish to try a different approach." He continued, "Return to your district—all of you—and never attempt to leave again. You have everything you can ever need inside, there is no reason to explore further out."

"We don't got wings..." Sab muttered angrily.

"Consider this a fresh start, then." Selzion reasoned, "No seraphimhood, no wings, no threats. You may enjoy your endless afterlife in bliss and fulfilment. Even luckier, you have each other for company."

"Eh? Nerys is in G district too?" Gale turned to Twintails.

"Aye." She nodded briefly enough.

A fresh start with everyone, huh? One without any great powers or great responsibility. Just a simple restart, then. Heh, to think it actually sounds enticing if you ignore the most obvious part...!

"Then, what about Vastoria?" I piped up.

The Gods went silent. They refused to give an immediate answer, unlike how they've been doing thus far. As expected, they claim they can give us everything, but then this is suddenly a problem?

"Yes, this issue has been brought to our attention before." Selzion finally spoke up.

"It has?" Hats asked, "By who?"

They glanced at each other, nodded once, then stepped aside to reveal something. A corpse, or rather, just its skin. The horrifying sight made my stomach churn, but it was only when I recognized the golden scars on it that I finally let out a scream.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"S-Sheep!" I ran to the body, "Oh Gods, what have you done!?"

"Oh, crap...!" Gale pulled out his sword.

"Dun' look, boye'." Nerys blocked Hats' Eyes, "This soight ain' pretty..."

Lifting up the lifeless flab of skin with my hands, I could only clench it in my frustration before glaring heavily at the Ones responsible. I reached for my Flasher before being reminded of a grim detail.

"Energy!" I jolted, "He's...!"

"Still here." He replied from inside my clothes, "Albeit noticeably less shinier."

Phew, I forgot I put him there during the freefall. I was sure he had dissipated with the rest of our gilded parts, but I guess all that happened was that his brain got turned pure White. I gotta wonder how he's still talking through brainwaves or whatever.

"Everyone, step back!" Gale ordered, "These bastards killed Sheep. I don't know about you, but I'd rather die fighting than stand kneeling!"

"Hmph, of course YOU'D say that." Prylos snickered, "But we do have some good news, in that regard."

Just then, we heard his voice speak to us. It was close, yet distant. An unfamiliar feeling different even from Energy's case. Sheep was here, his presence could be felt, but also not. The Gods could hardly contain their laughter as they pointed behind us.

"Hey, you guys seriously don't recognize me?" He asked with a carefree chuckle, "Look, I'm a-"

"M-Monster!" Hats screeched, hiding his huge body behind the comparatively tiny Nerys.

"What are my Eyes looking at!" Sab covered them.

"I feel like I'm going insane just looking at it!" Gale had to drop his blade.

Hundreds—nay, thousands of wings stuck to one another in a most grotesque way. Eyes peering into my very soul from all angles, I could hardly count half of them before my mind started getting fuzzy. This being is supposed to be the friendly, lovable Sheep? This is nothing but a beast...

----------------------------------------

***

----------------------------------------

"Though his latest change in appearance may seem... unsettling, at first—we assure you that your friend is the same Shopkeeper as ever." Selzion explained.

"Huh? Migu, that thing behind you...?" The bundle of Eyes and wings slowly approached, "Whoa, is that my old body? Freaky..."

"What the hell happened to you, man?" Sab dared to ask.

"I'm doing my part." It somehow smiled, "This is all to save Vastoria. The Gods said I'm stronger than a seraphim now."

"And you trusted them, just like that?" Gale shot back, "Dude, have you seen yourself in the mirror?"

"Eh? What's wrong with...?" He turned to a glossier part of the marble floor to inspect himself before freezing up, "O-Oh."

"Mutton shore didn' look like the wooly fellas ye' see on tha' fields before, bot nau 'e definitely dosn'." Nerys joked.

"In any case, you have him to thank for bringing you back from your perilous descent." Prylos added, "At least someone in your little ragtag group is responsible and sensible."

"Eh?" We turned to Sheep, "You were the reason we got teleported here...?"

An overwhelming rage befell us all. We wanted to beat him to a pulp, we wanted to chew him out for hours on end. Damn him, you're saying we would have actually made it to the Living World if it wasn't for Sheep making a damned deal with these lousy Gods!?

"Wipe that proud smirk off your face, you idiot!" Gale yelled.

"You fucked everything up, man!" Sab added, "Should've just done what we told you instead of trying to go above and beyond like you did!"

"Aye, Mutton! Oi'd be long sailin' tha' seas had it not bin f'yer antics!"

"H-Huh? Guys, what are you talking about?" He backed away slowly and anxiously, "Didn't you get brought here to safety at your most inopportune moment?"

"Inopp-!?" I gasped.

I gasped, but then I felt a different feeling. I was beyond livid by this point, but something inside me told me not to go through with these emotions. Yeah, now that I think about it, ever since we got to Heaven, we've been doing nothing but bickering and getting angry at one another over dumb misunderstandings. Of course, Sheep was just trying his best to make us all happy. Besides, he did more for Vastoria's sake than any of these bozos shunning him. He even went so far as to ruin his body to bring her back...

"Sheep, thank you." I exhaled.

"Huh!?" Sab raised an Eyebrow, "Migu, are you crazy? We're still stuck in Heaven because of this moron!"

"You heard the Gods, we'd be stuck in the center of the world had it not been for him." I explained, "We need to remain calm and think about what to do next."

"Indeed, you are finally learning." Prylos praised me, "But you have already been given a task to fulfill."

"What do you mean?" Gale inquired.

"Live your afterlives in peace within the borders of district G." Selzion reminded us, "That is all you can do, and all you should do. As an archangel, the Shopkeeper is the only one who can actually heal Vastoria now."

"But what will happen to him?" Hats asked, "He's not gonna be able to continue to live normally looking like that."

Of course, in solving one issue you've only succeeded in substituting it with another. The Gods are only causing more trouble for us after all.

"It's okay, guys." Sheep assured us, "I'll manage just fine. In fact, being able to fly and see in all 360 degrees at the same time is actually pretty convenient!"

"You sure you're alright with this?" Gale asked just in case.

"So long as you're all alive and happy, I'm happy too." He smiled, "Heh, besides—not like I can take it back now anyways."

His voice feigned indifference, but he wasn't fooling anybody. This body, even he was grossed out by it, but he's holding out for our sakes. Is he planning to shoulder all the burden on himself? There's no way I'll stand for that.

"Sheep." I decidedly raised my hand, "Take me with you."

"Huh!?" The gang gasped in unison.

"You will provide nothing of value in his endeavors." Selzion warned.

"He's saving a friend, I'm saving a lover." I explained, "Deadweight or not, I'm not gonna let him take all the credit for this."

The room was speechless. It was only after a few moments of awkward silence that Sheep finally broke out with a roaring laughter. The ground quaked beneath us, and horns could be heard in the background harmonizing with the hardy laugh. He really did get more powerful...

"I don't mind." He accepted.

"Shopkeeper, you mustn't bring her along." Prylos warned, "It will be dangerous for her! She will die without fail!"

"If I do, so be it." I grinned back at them smugly, "The others can take it from there."

"Huh? We're not coming along too?" Sab asked.

He wanted to protest, but stopped once he noticed me winking back at them. Of course, did you think I was just doing this to be annoying? To begin with, I'm accompanying Sheep to make sure the Gods don't try to silently dispose of him or whatever. I know they won't save Vastoria, they'll just send him on a wild goose chase before telling everyone they didn't make it. Thankfully, I've already learned enough about how Heaven 2.0 functions to know there indeed is a way.

"It'll be tough, but I'm sure we can do it." I smirked at the Gods, knowing full-well they can't stop me, "So long as we stick together, right~?"