Chapter 460: The Figurines of Mystery
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The hyperverse: a cluster of worlds defying all logic, where forgotten drafts and unrealized worlds collided in a dizzying array of what-could-have-beens.
Neji, Eclipsia, and Lady Luck teleported to a corner of this realm, along with the Godmother. They found themselves on a floating piece of a broken world, drifting through this surreal space where disfigured monsters swam the stars.
They found themselves in outer space, surrounded by planets and stars, yet these celestial bodies were just a fraction of the spectacle. It felt like being inside a colossal attic, cluttered with remnants of unfinished stories and unrealized dreams. "Instead of the usual debris and space rocks, fragments of discarded realities floated around them, some no bigger than a town, and others as large as universes, all suspended in a void that hummed with the echoes of lost potential.
Beneath their feet, on the piece of charred land that they stood on, the ground was a mosaic of different landscapes. A stretch of green meadows merged abruptly into a patch of metallic, futuristic cityscape, and then, a piece of dream-like terrain. It was a haphazard patchwork that spoke of many worlds, all started but none finished. It was all weird.
But that wasn't nearly as surprising as the other things around them.
"What the…" Looking up, the sky was a swirling kaleidoscope of colors where stars appeared and vanished randomly. It was a sky unlike any they had ever seen, filled with the promise of wonders and terrors, a testament to the endless possibilities that lay within the minds of creators.
"That's surprising? Look around more." The Godmother snickered at their childish curiosity and said. Eclipsia looked down immediately, her multi-colored eyes shining and shaking.
"What is that…?" Even after the shock of what had happened earlier, Eclipsia, led by Nejire's personality, couldn't help a question. She pointed at the nearest star, a few billion miles away from here.
The creatures here matched the setting's bizarreness. In the large red star in the distance, enormous beings, like patchwork monsters from a child's weirdly overactive imagination, swam in the star as if it was a puddle of water. With her enhanced eyes, Eclipsa could see everything that swam in there.
Some were like dragons made of stars and nebulae, while others were indescribable, shifting and morphing in ways that made her head spin. They were the leftovers of an artwork never finished, existing in a state of perpetual incompleteness.
The air around them was heavy with a sense of creation and dissolution. This was a place where anything seemed possible but nothing ever truly happened. And since this happened on a hyper-cosmic scale, this was, in one word, quite horrific.
"Enough sightseeing, now. Follow me." the Godmother said when Eclipsia was too dazed at the sight. She began to walk and lead the others deeper into this chunk of land.
Throughout this entire exchange, Neji stood silent; as did Lady Luck.
* * *
Neji's mind was busy. He'd have jumped with a fury of questions at Godmother, but his mood didn't allow that leisure. So he just silently followed her.
For what it's worth, she didn't seem to be planning to kill or sacrifice him anymore. At least, for now.
"Hyper-verses can be perilous, especially for younger beings like yourselves."
The Godmother said, leading the way. However, her words fell on deaf ears as Neji, Eclipsia, and Lady Luck were lost in their own thoughts
The landscape continued to warp and shift around them, a surreal tapestry woven from the impossible and the unfinished
As they approached the center of the land, a castle came into view. It was an imposing structure, yet its appearance was as fluid as the world around them. One moment it was a gothic fortress with towering spires, the next a futuristic stronghold of gleaming metal and glass. Its ever-changing facade seemed to reflect the myriad possibilities of the hyperverse itself.
"We'll be resting in a safehold. Inside one of the many nexus points present in the hyperverse." Godmother explained while nudging her chin at the castle.
"What is that place?" Eclipsia whispered, her voice trailing off in awe.
"A nexus, like I mentioned. This castle is called the Dreamweaver's Fortress." the Godmother explained. "It is a focal point in this reality, a Faraday cage for the energy that flows through this realm. The castle's outer layer is a manifestation of all the dreams and stories that never got to see the light, it's a nexus, which allows the interior to be a lot safer than the outside world. Just follow me in."
Neji gazed at the castle, feeling a strange connection to it. It was as if the very walls whispered tales of grandeur and tragedy, each brick a silent testament to a creator's hope and despair. He realized it made his recently Mined dream-related abilities that he got from Great Red's body.
Usually, he'd start thinking about possible plans he could use this connection for. But right now, his mind was cloudy with empty thoughts. So he just followed her inside.
Lady Luck remained quiet too, her eyes scanning the horizon, seemingly deep in thought. The weight of their recent ordeal hung heavily upon them all, but this place, with its eerie beauty and haunting silence, seemed to offer a brief respite to her. She seemed a little relieved.
As they neared the castle's entrance, the doors swung open as if expecting them. As the Godmother said, the interior was less unpredictable than the exterior. It wasn't entirely normal—the hallway extended with doors on either side, each leading to a different realm, a different possibility, but as long as they didn't take the doors that would plunge them into small worlds, it looked relatively fine.
"The hyperverse is vast," the Godmother continued, "It'd be hard for the Abstracts to find us here. Moreover, if we hide in this place. Back in my younger days, I spent some time in this castle, along with the Director. We had some servants as well, but I doubt they're still around."
Neji regained some sense of mind to nod, the importance of their current location sinking in. It did hurt his ego that he had to hide once again, but what was ego in front of those entities?
"Allow me to lead you into a room. You guys want to talk, so we shall do that." The Godmother said and stepped inside.
As they ventured through the castle, Neji and the group navigated through a series of hallways that seemed to twist reality itself. But it wasn't as weird as outside, so at their current power level, Neji and the two girls didn't have any issue navigating.
In fact, the interior of the castle could be said to be a stark contrast to the chaotic exterior. It was bizarre, but it was less, yet still held an air of surrealism that could not be ignored.
The walls of the castle were adorned with paintings, looking like windows into many different, unrealized worlds.
"Godmother?"
"Welcome back, mother."
A few paintings spoke suddenly, those that held the artwork of demons. The old woman ignored them and simply nodded along.
Despite the castle's inherent strangeness, there was a sense of order within its walls to Neji's enhanced senses. It wasn't entirely chaotic, and honestly, it felt quite cozy.
While walking by a garden located inside the castle, Neji stopped. It was a patch of oddly normal garden amidst this chaotic hyperverse. It was too ordinary of a garden for where it's located.
The others walked for a few more steps before stopping when they realized Neji wasn't planning to follow along.
Godmother smiled, "Like it? I'm surprised it's still here. I used to grow them back in the day."
"...."
Godmother frowned seeing his silence. "What happened?"
"What did you mean when you called the Primordial… 'brother'?" Neji turned to her and asked, his voice tinged with a mix of tension.
The Godmother's frown melted. "Worried about small details, are we? It's alright, I'm not going to sell you off to him. We are siblings in the sense that we are one of the first beings to be born in the Omniverse. I am the child of an Eldritch Demon and the void, while he's the child of the void itself. So half-siblings. But on our scale, siblinghood does not hold much value. We are not on the same team."
Neji absorbed this information, trying to piece together this cosmic relationship. "But… Why are you helping me? Even if you aren't on the same team, you have no reason to stand up for me. At least, not after you tried to kill me just earlier."
She hummed, "Hmm, I'm unsure how to explain to you. I am simply following my gut, but since the Director didn't want to kill you, and now… she's dead, I have no plans for you. So I might as well help you out, either to compensate you for almost killing you or because I'm bored and want to have some fun by getting involved in this big incident."
That made sense. He couldn't bother to expend the emotional turmoil to get annoyed at her for potentially using him as a mere form of entertainment.
Rather, he threw another question at her, "Alright. Then the Director... who was she, really? You should know."
Instead of an answer, Neji met with heavy silence. The Godmother didn't answer, her gaze fixed on the distant stars visible from the garden.
"I have been on the Prime Omniverse for a long while recently. So I am not aware of what partook in the Cube. I'm not sure if this 'maid' you had was really her, or if it was her Avatar, or if it was someone else entirely. I'm sorry." she said at last.
"...."
Neji felt a surge of frustration but what could he do? If even she didn't know, he had no one else to ask. Not when the woman who could answer him was dead.
"Is she… really dead?" Neji asked just in case.
That made the Godmother smile. "Let us see… She did clash with the Primordial in the past, and we thought she died. But she managed to return. You see, people say a lot of stuff about the Director. Look at that wall." She pointed. "That wall holds a few compliments, some jokes, about her achievements. She hung it when we used to stay in this castle in the distant past."
Neji turned to the side. Before the huge opening that led to the garden, there was a wall to the side that held multiple framed texts. Neji hadn't paid attention to them but now that the Godmother pointed at it, he took a look.
The first quote gave Neji an insight into the nature of these jokes.
「The Director doesn't manipulate time; time changes its plans to accommodate her schedule.」
Neji wasn't in the mood for jokes. If this was the Godmother's sense of humor, in this situation, he didn't appreciate it. Still, his eyes darted down the list.
「Quantum particles don't exist in a state of superposition; they're just trying to be everywhere the Director might need them.」
「One time, the Director dusted off her hands by clapping, today people call it the Big Bang.」
「The speed of light was established when it was observed trying to keep up with the Director on a casual stroll」
"This is silly." Neji didn't bother reading after that.
"In truth, half of these aren't even jokes." The Godmother said, making Neji frown. "I am not lying. Because of that, I knew last time that she'd survive."
"What about this time?"
"She is very dead. Last time she fought the Primordial beside the First Gamer. They made a good team. And back then they didn't have the Abstracts teaming up with the Primordial." The Godmother said, squashing Neji's hope. "Even my existence would be in a bad shape if I was shot with that powerful breath directly to my face. That many times, no less. She was just… unlucky, I suppose. Even though she can fight at close range, she's not really a close combat fighter. Alas, the situation didn't allow her to rely on her powerful magic since she was surrounded."
The Godmother wasn't smiling anymore. But other than that, she didn't look that sad. For someone who wasn't only as old as time but also lived countless lives, perhaps the death of a single woman wasn't worth much to her. Neji felt sad for her.
"Don't feel bad for me. I'm used to it. You should worry about yourself. We can only hope that your maid isn't her, but I can't be certain." She said and Neji clenched his jaws.
"...."
He felt like shit. Why must he be kept in the dark? And now the only source of his answers was dead.
"Fuck!" Neji grumbled, stomping on the ground. Godmother just stared at him but Lady Luck flinched as she was broken out of her daze.
Neji swallowed his rage when he saw her vulnerable look.
This woman…
She had been pulled into this shit because of him. She was always trying to help him from the beginning, but now she lost everything because she chose his side…
Sighing out his anger, he gently pulled her into a hug.
"Sorry…"
"It's… okay, I was just dazed."
"No. I mean for everything." Neji sighed.
"Neji, no," She hugged him tighter and laughed. "You don't have to console me when you're like this yourself. I am much older than you realize, I can deal with this. And it's not like my older sister is really dead. She will be reborn, even if it's without her memories."
Unless the Godmother's promise about bringing Lady Life back with her memories intact stretched to Contessa Fate. It probably did since Fate too was one of the First Gamer's girls. Though then the question hung if the Godmother could really do it or if it was a bluff.
Neji sighed and kissed the top of her head. "I feel so useless."
"That was a battle between beings older than time. Aged to a degree that can't be spelled in words. You are what, 17? And you were younger in your last life. It's a miracle that you're this strong already."
Neji just hugged her.
….
A minute later, Neji let her go. She looked a lot better now, and Neji also felt better.
"Here," the fusion named Eclipsia, led by Nejire's mind, reached out a hand that held a doll. "The doll that the Director talked about. We found it a long time ago in the Tensura world. Like she said, use this. You should at least get some answers from it."
[Kimi Doll 5 - out of 6]
Neji accepted it. "Thanks. And-"
He started, but his body let out a light. It took a second for the light to disperse, but when it did, his cat ears and tail vanished and Kurai stood over his shoulder.
"Here is the other. I found it in Fate." Said Kurai, who was separated from the fusion due to the time running out.
[Kimi Doll 2 - out of 6]
"Thanks Kurai," Neji nodded. With this, he had all six of these.
Neji stepped into the garden, waving at them with his back facing them. "I'll use it here. Can you guys give me some space?"
The girls didn't reply and just nodded. They were led by godmother further into the castle, while Neji walked into the garden and stopped in front of a boulder.
….
Once the girls were further inside, Neji placed the dolls on top of the boulder. He placed them side by side, by order. The 1st was the doll that Rumi found in the Naruto world. The 2nd was from Kurai, and the 3rd and 4th were from DxD. The 5th was from Nejire, and the 6th was from the Director herself.
Neji felt a calmness wash over him. He was hopeful, but he calmed himself. He needed to prepare mentally for whatever he was about to find out.
Under his gaze, the dolls began to glow. Their six lights grew brighter and brighter and the lights merged together. It happened slowly, but deliberately. After seconds, the small dolls took the figure of a tall woman, sitting on top of the boulder with a calm expression.
The light vanished, and Neji realized the garden had turned into some kind of void, a subspace. The garden's colors were inverted, everything was white, while the time outside the garden seemed to be frozen.
But less than the fact that his surroundings had changed, his focus was on the woman herself. It's not like he hadn't expected this, but…
"...."
Neji wasn't sure if he liked the message to be some pre-recorded realistic hologram.
Before him sat a beautiful blonde female with cat ears and tail, her appearance both ethereal and lively. She was someone he knew, of course. It was Kimi… his Kimi, in her maid attire—down to her personal style of putting a tie between her cleavage.
[Image Here]
Neji sighed at her expressionless face, in the middle of this garden under the watchful stars of the hyperverse.
"Just why-"
"Voice Scan Completed..." The doll-like woman interrupted him.
"Mana Scan Completed."
"Iris Scan Completed."
"....Scan Completed."
"...Completed."
"...."
"....."
"Existence Confirmed. Initiating Mode-1."
Her lifeless eyes gained light and her lips stretched. The woman grinned at Neji and leaped forward, putting her arms around him.
'She's not a hologram?'
Still, she was a doll. So an android.
"Young master!" The… doll said as she rubbed her cheek with him. "Haaah, how much I missed you! Did you miss me!?"
Neji wanted to punch that Director. If she was the one who made this, he regretted that she died. He wanted to punch her two times before she passed away.
Why did she make this thing so much like… her?
Regardless, Neji found himself hugging the woman before he could even think.
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