Rae stared in awe at the towering figure before her. Up close, the celestial was just as majestic as she'd imagined, radiating an otherworldly presence that demanded both fear and reverence.
The celestial's voice broke through her thoughts, sharp and commanding. "What are you doing here?"
Rae hesitated, then asked, "...Are you a Celestial?"
"Yes, I am," the figure replied impatiently. "Now answer the question."
"I…" Rae faltered.
"Wait," the celestial interjected, narrowing his eyes. "Are you one of them?"
"One of who?"
"The Vampire Queens. That's what you call yourselves, isn't it?"
"And if I am?" Rae asked, crossing her arms defiantly.
The celestial smirked knowingly. "Of course, I didn't even have to ask. I can feel the power radiating from you. Looks like I have no choice but to deem you a substantial threat."
"Are you going to kill me?" Rae asked, her tone neutral but her fists clenching at her sides.
"Well…" The celestial paused, as if weighing his options. "That wasn't my plan initially, but now... I must. I'm doing this to protect my realm."
Rae scoffed. "Looks like Lucifer was right. You Celestials only care about maintaining your power."
"Of course. We are the superior race," the celestial replied without hesitation. "By doing so, we've kept the other realms safe—from themselves."
Rae's expression hardened. "Safe? That's what you call this tyrannical grip you hold over the realms?"
The celestial shrugged. "You misunderstand. We guide the lesser races. That's our role."
"Wow." Rae rolled her eyes. "You really have a superiority complex, don't you?"
"It's not arrogance—it's fact. We are far superior," the celestial said with unwavering certainty. "Even Lucifer would admit that."
Rae tilted her head. "Lucifer once told me we're not the original inhabitants of this world. Is that true?"
"Yes," the celestial admitted.
"So what did you do to them? Strip them of their power and kill them?"
The celestial chuckled, though there was no humor in it. "You think we're monsters. But no, we didn't kill them. We sent them to better realms."
"Better realms, huh? And is the shadow plane one of them?"
"Well… the shadow plane is unique. Unlike the others, it came into existence on its own."
"So the other realms… you created them artificially?" Rae pressed.
"Yes," the celestial said simply.
"Fascinating," Rae muttered, her voice tinged with awe. "Even if you're tyrants, you're certainly intelligent."
"Why did you move the original inhabitants?" Rae asked after a pause. "What was the real reason?"
"It was for the betterment of all parties involved," the celestial replied, his tone detached.
"Of course, you'd think that. But why?" Rae pressed further.
"When we first arrived, let's just say we weren't welcomed. Coexistence with the natives was impossible. To avoid war, we used our knowledge and resources to isolate them from us… creating the realms in the process."
The celestial's eyes suddenly shifted, focusing on something behind Rae. "Wait. What is that?"
Rae's heart skipped a beat. He'd noticed. She'd thought she'd done a decent job of distracting him.
"Is that… an AI? Is it yours?" he demanded.
Rae hesitated. "Well… yes."
"You're telling me you were born in this world? This kind of technology doesn't belong here."
"Technically, yes and no," Rae said cautiously.
"Oh? Explain."
"I was born on a planet called Earth."
The celestial's expression shifted slightly, curiosity overtaking his suspicion. "Earth? What was it like?"
"It was covered mostly by water. From space, it looked blue," Rae explained.
The celestial's eyes widened in recognition. "Our original planet was blue, too—more water than land. Our leader told us it didn't have magic but was advanced in science."
Rae's eyes lit up. "Science! Yes, Earth was like that."
The celestial's tone softened as he continued. "On our original planet, humans faced an extinction-level crisis."
"What kind of crisis?" Rae asked.
"He didn't say. Only that humans were at risk—not other species."
"Humans?" Rae echoed. "So your people were all human once?"
"Yes. We were the dominant species. The other creatures weren't as evolved."
"What happened next?"
The celestial sighed. "Humans came up with two solutions. One was to preserve their knowledge in the DNA of less-evolved species, hoping they'd inherit it someday. The other was to escape through quantum gates to other dimensions."
"And your ancestors chose the latter?" Rae asked.
"Yes. When we arrived here, we discovered magic. But as we adapted, we began to evolve—or mutate—into new races. Over time, memories of our previous world faded. Our founder saw this as a problem. The hostility from the natives was another. To solve both, he created the other realms and moved the natives there."
Rae's brows furrowed. "You said you were human once. I was reincarnated into this world. Could Earth and your original planet be the same?"
The celestial's eyes narrowed. "It's possible. If so, then the preservation faction succeeded, too…"
A beam of light suddenly pierced the air beside them. Another celestial appeared, his expression impatient. "What's taking so long? You should have finished this by now."
"I was just… chatting," the first celestial replied casually.
"Chatting? With a Vampire Queen? Are you serious?" The newcomer's eyes landed on Rae's AI companion. "Wait. What is that?"
"It's an AI that infiltrated our system."
"What's wrong with you?" the second celestial snapped. "Our leader forbade AI technology, especially one capable of infinite evolution. We're only allowed cybernetics confined to a single body."
"But look!" the first celestial argued. "It's already making corrections to our programs. With it, we could complete this mission."
"That's exactly the problem. It's rooted itself in our system! I'll make adjustments to take control."
"No!" Rae's voice rang out. "I won't let you destroy it."
The second celestial turned toward her, his expression cold. "Oh, you're still here…"
Before Rae could react, her body began to disintegrate. Pain surged through her as she realized what was happening. She couldn't move, couldn't speak. This was the end.
As her consciousness faded, a mechanical voice echoed faintly in her mind.
[Full control achieved. Systems fully merged. Upgrade complete. Backing up…]
And then, darkness.