“Uhh... where am I?” the bright light from the new environment blinded my eyes as I opened them. There is something not right that is happening here. Confusion as to what happened clouded my head entirely. This isn’t part of the conversion from the Physical Equivalence, is it? I felt like waking up from a bad dream and into another. I seem to be lying down facing the blue sky with a few clouds here and there scattered like a generated image. My senses started to return as well as my sight adjusting to the brightness.
“...what.?” I looked around still lying on a… gold leather couch? What?! I straightened my body to see better what was around. All I could see is the sky bright as day but there is no sun anywhere to be seen and a ground that is entirely made of white. It was almost perfectly reflective that even with the opaqueness of the floor, I could see my face staring at it. I kept staring at the ground with my head almost touching like bowing down on a couch as I see more things that are not should be.
“Wait… that face. How is that even… That’s me! The REAL me! Captain Kato Aori, still wearing my uniform?..” I could see no HUD in my eyes. None of those state-of-the-art technologies is present anywhere in my body. I returned to my original face and body in the flesh. It was nostalgic to see myself again for a long time floating in space.
“Well… that is the real you before you got here” An enigmatic voice started to speak in this barren reality. There was nothing there to indicate anything where the voice could come from. Only then she appeared the moment I started to blink, trying to see if something else happens in this non-sensical… dimension.
“I hope you’ll forgive me for interrupting the conversion of your machine body…” A bright light of golden white appears to take shape in front of the couch I am sitting on. The light imitated the corporeal shape of a human body that is sitting directly in front of the couch. Another couch appears to take from facing mine as the light appears to sit on it. It slowly became dimmer and clearer as it took color with some aberration around it. It reflected light almost like a prism as it finally finished to fully conjure. With the eyes, white dress, and two mountainous assets, it did take too long to see the resemblance.
“Arika?! Why are you here?!” Only one thing is incorrect from her form… she looks like a small young girl now instead of an actual motherly-looking demon lord that is teeming with life in those two specific ‘features’ I envy of!
“I came to see you after the moment I returned back to my omnipotent form! I know I look similar to Arika, that's because we do not have a certain form other than the orb of light that turned human right in front of you.” She smiled around sitting like a well-behaved little girl instead of bouncing around like an actual child would do when meeting someone familiar.
“You look… far younger than Arika.” I expressed my observation.
“I made myself look unique other than the Arika back in Infernia that has recently passed. Other than that, I am Arika Aineura in the flesh, or at least what replaced the original Arika.” She took her head back on the couch, laying it upright as she slowly appeared emotionless after replying to me.
“The real Arika Tenevris Aineura died centuries ago in your new world. I took the opportunity to control her body as she passed into another world. You could say I went down in heaven to live among my own creation. My real name is Solvea Lactea. Goddess of Domain Infernia.” More questions came to me than answers. Why would a goddess like her come down from her heaven just to live and die with her ‘creations’? I guess gods and goddesses do get bored sometime or another sitting up there, or up here which I assume to be some sort of domain she has as a god. My body started to move on impulse to check parts of my body to see if what I think has transpired back there indeed happened.
“Do not worry, you are not dreaming or perhaps dead… time is currently halted from moving in your world right now as I brought you here as your soul.”
“Well… that is reassuring.” No, it isn't, I am still confused. I placed my body to rest back lying across the couch. As if trying to get back to the original position as I was in when waking up here.
“I know you have a lot of inquiries about what happened to the real Arika, but that topic must be set aside for and discussed at another time. For the moment, I must ask you a favor on top of what Arika… or I told you about protecting Natan at all cost if you so wish to prevent this universe or my domain from being taken down.” Arika or… what was it. Solvea? moved closer, and created a serious pose while at it. Although, I can’t take her seriously like that… she is like a little girl mimicking her father on some business meeting. It was cute but I reminded myself that she is a goddess right here showing herself and speaking to me.
“Okay…Go-.. Goddess Solvea?!” I sat straight back up and bowed panicky after the thought of her being a god finally cemented into my mind.
“I am one of the many lesser gods that have different domains such as this one. For one, you must have come from another god’s domain where magic seems out of their boundaries. The system of reincarnation is a constant law on all of the domains and another higher god manages this system.” The view of the blue skies disappeared and the next blink moved us just above a familiar planet with a massive storm cycling through the center.
“Each god must have a species in which they create on their own to manage and flourish within their own domain. For mine, I created the demon race, the race in which only one remains in my world Infernia exists. Should he die whilst being the last of his race without passing his bloodline to another, the ‘system’ will sense it and the Angels will arrive to bring me down as I have failed his people as a god.” Everything she has said may be crystal clear but there are some things I do not get.
“If you are the creator of the demon race, couldn’t you just create more of them and no one shall even know they were brought there by your divine grace? Oh, goddess Solvea.” It may not appear like it but I am prostrating myself by bowing while sitting like a disciple.
“There is no need to call me Goddess, you can call me just little Vea…or even Arika if you so wish. I am the youngest of the gods after all. However, it is not that simple as one would think!” the little girl Arika suddenly appeared irritated in a good way I believe.
“If it were that simple, I would not have been there as Arika in the first place and neither will you appearing here!” A tea set appeared along with a wide glass table held by gold stands, where little goddess Lactee here calms herself while drinking from the cup that appeared in full.
“There are laws made by the higher gods which we must not defy at any cost. One of which was there shall be no direct divine intervention that must happen in any circumstances toward one’s created life. Indirect intervention is possible as long as the work is not done by the gods themselves. Gods’ willed it but they did not do it! Miracles are merely pure coincidences!” Her face goes red again as she continues to speak.
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“Another of the rules was about the created life. Gods and goddesses cannot add more of their main species directly after a man and a woman is already made and alive in their world. The two people of the main race must proliferate on their own without adding or removing directly. Their count must also not reach zero. For if it were to happen, the world and the god perish along with their creation. Indirect intervention may be needed in order for them to survive.” Ahhh that makes sense now! I guess our god in my original world only happened to add two people as well in the beginning.
“I came down as Arika Aineura to find what has happened to the race that I created. The presence of the elves, humans and other races here was nothing of what I remembered after returning from visiting another god’s domain. Here I shall ask you to find out what happened to the demon race around 3000 years ago and where did all of these other races come from. None of my complaints reach any of the higher gods or any of my fellow lesser gods. Every time I cast Telegraphy Divine Skill, all I would hear is nothing as if they are all gone ignoring their Divine Skill for reminding them that there is a message from another god.” Even gods have some sort of LIN.E skill that allows them to contact each other. How far are they even to use such as ‘divine skill’?
“I could do that as you want, but what do I get from this? Even if without your ‘indirect intervention’ now, I would have built walls to protect Natan from the other nations that want the demon race dead as you said. Natan could have mated with Kyushi even though she is a structure and preserve his body like a machine…”
“That…That is not enough! I cannot live as a goddess that is depending on one single life of their creation. Gods must always make sure they proliferate!” little Arika continues. The entire teapot is empty for that after drinking so much of the tea.
“I could help you find your family from the reincarnation system records and arrange for the God of Reincarnation System to reincarnate you and your family into a new world where peace is much more guaranteed.” Finding Aki, Eriya, and Aya would be difficult from the start to begin with and I did not even think of that since I was too busy dealing with some invasion force against the demon race. I do not even know if they are still alive or not, or whether they have reincarnated in the same world as I did here.
“How did you know that I have a family?” I asked in hopes to know more about their whereabouts.
“Well… I am a god after all. I could read your history like the one you used at me, Digital Scan or the more magical version of it was the Appraisal.” Well, she makes a valid point and proof of being omnipotent.
“Well, I shall take your will to me back to Infernia. I’ll see what I can about it. After all, I seem to quite enjoy exploring this new world. Reincarnation in another world was a dream for my people in another world. As long as I don’t get killed that's all.” As long as Japan still stands there, reincarnation is always a dream they wished to be a reality. Well, they are right about it being a reality. Ignorance is a double-edged sword, after all, one could be in greater bliss if information about it wasn’t ignored.
“Then it is settled. I must leave my domain again to complain face-to-face about this issue of random races that appear on the lesser gods' worlds. The other god domain I came from also happens to experience the same thing but his main race managed to deal with it completely.” Lactee, I would call her Lactee from now on since it suits her better at that age, stood up, and reached out for my hand to shake in agreement. I stood up and answered the handshake.
“What about Natan? Is it fine for Natan to mate with a non-main race that you have made?” There must be some solution to make the demons remultiply else this world would be experiencing apocalypse by now.
“It can be done as long as his demon blood runs through their child’s veins. That’s what the other lesser gods would have done as one did it. Their main race was to be only some human-like animals that walk on two legs but they were almost killed off by disease. There was another race there that emerged more powerful than the original race and mated off with the last of the main race. They managed to save his world completely and ask the higher gods to change their main race. They approved. I could have done that as well being Arika, however all of them seem to be bent on the extinction of my race.” Well fine, she is right. All of the other races in this world of hers seem to hate the demons more than anything. I cannot judge what the demons might have done to provoke them because I don’t even know what happened and neither does Lactee. I guess that is where I come in. That implied that the lesser gods seem to have a life of their own with not that really all-knowing at all. She was not here when to see whatever happened 3000 years ago. There are more things from her world that I do not know of like why the demons seem to have technology revolving around machines. With the humans, elves, and other races still living with the age of sail, I find it hard to believe the demons would lose their conflicts without something aiding their enemy.
“One last thing before I send you back there, you must use Appraisal or Digital Scan on everyone that you may encounter in your journey. If you must happen to find an error in their name or one of the created life may call it, a ‘glitch’, there might be a chance that being is a reincarnate. They may happen to be one from your world. It may also be me as only the Creator of this world and the reincarnates could live here as they please. ” So that was it! Those glitches when I was doing a Digital Scan on Arika back when we were heading to the center of the storm were just the reincarnation system hiding their previous names and marking them as reincarnates. The glitches were hinting at it from the start, and I failed to notice it.
“I will take that in mind, Lacte-... little Vea.” Panic gripped me again.
“...Lactee? AHH!? No…Uhmm… Just call me Arika again or Little Arika. That would be better.” She was holding a teacup just after just talking about that one last thing about reincarnations. The warm tea vibrates as her hands failed her and the cup left her fingers.
“...A- as you wish, Lact-... Little Arika.”
“Reincarnates are mostly the higher gods’ system of balancing out the souls and energy throughout the universes. Some of the lesser gods say that reincarnation changed their world for the better forever. Some ended their world because of it. Being given one means the best for me. Whatever you might do, I am glad you came into my world, Kato Aori, or should I say, demon lord, Ai. As I appraised your recent life, you died protecting what you love and that is enough for me to say you are not going to do evil in your new world.” Little Arika stood up from her seat on the couch and went to take my hand. I expected her to raise it up and cover my hand between both of hers, but it did not happen. My hand was instead moved on top of her head and dragged repeatedly like I was patting her. Surprised, I looked down to indicate my confusion to her but someone else was there. She took the form of Kato Aya, presumably from my memory to comfort me. She must have known by all of that appraising that I was…lonely and depressed about not seeing my family again. I barely had the time to see them in my previous life. Despite being already dead in that world, regret still lingered with me the thought that I should have retired a long time ago to take care of Aya and Eriya. I should have persuaded Akihiko, my husband who is ever loyal to me.
“Thank you… Little Arika.” My eyes met with Aya once more. My entire vision then went back to pure white like there was some flash that just went off in front of me. I found myself returning to my blue liquid state made by the construction lights during the conversion. My vision returns to the sight of Kyushi towering behind me.
“Kyushi, how long have I been in this state?” I thought to ask just to make sure that time was indeed stopped during that entire dream sequence with little Arika.
“Yes?!... You just did that a second ago mother. Is there something wrong?” Ahh, that’s good to know, at least I never have to worry about meeting with little Arika in the skies anytime. Time pauses here for it, or does it happens too fast?
“There is nothing wrong, Kyushi.” I let the conversion to continue its course. After it was finished, both of us were surprised about what the result was.
“Mother… my Digital Scan shows you are… a structure?! ‘AI-controlled structure’.”
“I can see that… Something called a ‘Mobile Construction Yard’? I could create more structures?!” The structures and units menu just became accessible. All the icons in this menu are… people?!