(Paul POV)
With my vision clearing, I found myself in what seemed to be a white foggy location, with no end in place whatsoever.
I vividly remember having done some work and taking a nap. Shouldn't I be in bed at my inn?
Looking left and right, I didn't see anyone around.
"Hello there, Paul." An unknown voice suddenly spoke behind me, and I turned around to look at them.
The person seemed to be a man, wearing no clothes but barely visible due to blending into the surroundings so much.
His face had a bit of a mosaic to it, but trying to remember it turns hard, as I seem to lose memory of it the next moment despite it seeming blank.
"Hello~. Anyone there?"
The man seems to be talking to me, but this situation makes my mind lose strength because of the fogginess I feel.
"Umm… who are you? And... where am I?"
"Ah, great. So you can talk."
From what I can tell by the silhouette, he adjusted his posture by placing his forearms behind his lower back and straightening his back.
"I welcome you, Paul Greyrat. I am the Human God, Hitogami. I have summoned you here to lend you some advice."
"Human God?"
Never have I heard of such a title before. Usually, God titles are reserved for people who become heroes to their race or even considered the strongest ones in the generation of their tribe.
To claim to be one I never heard came off as bold to me, so I should be careful about this guy.
"Oh no. Do not misunderstand me; I'm not the kind of person you are thinking about right now. I'm an actual god. An actual deity who oversees the world you are living in."
I was surprised to see him claim something even more unbelievable than I initially had been. That's why I know that this is a dream.
"*Sigh* Like father like son. Rudeus was also doubtful about me at the beginning. Perhaps even more so since his encounter with Dragon God at the Red Dragon's Lower Jaw."
"Wait, you know Rudy? My son?"
"Know him, I do. I actually communicated with him like this a couple of times, lending him some advice along his journey. Y'know, it was actually me who told him to make a stop at Shirone. Otherwise, he would've passed right off that and missed the chance to save Lilia and Aisha."
"Passed right off?! Your advice actually did that?"
"That's what I just said. Now, do you want some advice regarding the calamity that is happening or not? Cause you sure aren't a top-rank Magician like Rudeus to change anything."
He is talking about the rainy season reaching even Millishion. The number of monsters that have reached city borders has increased dramatically. Even the towers are getting to their limits at this point, preventing the city from getting flooded.
Usually, the floods would come down the mountain, but with the flooding now happening directly in the capital, it had become a crisis. It's a phenomenon never before happening to the capital city Millishion.
"What do you know about it?" He is a god. He has got to know something, right?
"Your son's [Bright Sky Wave] did it." He said in a statement that sounded like he was amused by it.
Meanwhile, I was dumbfounded by this. How can he say it like that? Swarms of monsters have annihilated entire knight squads due to these unfavorable environmental conditions.
"You see, his attack wasn't just empowered by his own manapool; it used mana around the area to get that massive effect, covering the entire world's sky. Because of the massive lack of mana on the edge of Millishion, it created a vortex of sorts that sucked in the mana it was missing in that area.
Luckily the Holy Sword Highway generates its own mana ever since Saint Millis's attack, so the safety of the road is guaranteed even after that.
The amount used on it was tremendous, and it caused the rainy season from the Great Forest to expand much further southwest to the continent. Hence, what is happening in Millishion is a man-made mana calamity."
"R-Rudy caused that? From his…"
A tantrum. That's all it was for Rudy. And yet, it caused so much damage to the very nature itself. He probably doesn't even know that. I never imagined that something like that could even be possible. And to think that it resulted after our squabble.
"So~, want some advice to bring some shine back to your rain-filled days?"
"An advice to fix my relationship with my son? Sure, I'm listening."
Anything to prevent me from causing my son to harm nature further. Which has probably extended to the south of the Central continent already.
"Oh, sorry. I actually meant some advice for your upcoming predicament. Any advice I could tell you to get your son's liking back would worsen things between you two even more than they are right now."
Okay, hearing from a god just how terribly I messed up puts it at the top.
"Aw, come on. You need to get yourself together. Worrying about Rudeus while your two daughters are in danger isn't an appropriate time right now. Claire and the Demon Expulsion Faction will make things difficult for you soon."
"Wait, Claire? What is she going to be up to?"
He is talking about Zenith's mother, Claire Latriea, who is a part of the faction of the Millis Church that opposes any race that isn't human, especially the Demon race, saying that they are the impure and dark leftovers from when their god created life itself.
"I hate to say it, but little Aisha had made it her goal to surpass Norn in academics so much that it turned a bad light on poor little Norn, who has trouble learning quickly enough.
Because Aisha is an illegitimate child, Claire expected Norn to show Aisha her place in status, but you already know that the poor girl is a normal kid who doesn't excel at anything noteworthy yet."
"You are pointing out things I have noticed myself, and I try to raise them both without showing favoritism. I can call myself blessed for having not just Lilia, who already has enough banter to hear from Claire, but also Vierra and Shierra, who, at this point, have no obligation to stay since the team was disbanded a few months ago."
"I know, I know. But what's about to come for you and your family is more serious than you would think."
"What else is Claire going to try? Nothing she could say to me would be new. I already spent my life getting hated upon by friends and foes."
"You're also including Rudeus in that list, don't you?"
"…..."
"Anyway, back to what I tried to tell you. Not only will Claire attempt to take Norn away from you for good, but the Demon Expulsion Faction is about to take measures against Aisha for being a possible future world threat like Rudeus."
"Wait, I get why Claire wants to take Norn away from me, but why is her faction itself trying to do something against Aisha? And what connection does that have with my son?"
"It's because of his [Bright Sky Wave]. It can potentially destroy the world, and they fear that someone with such high intelligence like Aisha could utilize it to the fullest in the future."
"But that spell nearly killed him. They can't be that dumb to think that Aisha could be doing the same?"
"It was hard for them to accept that an 11-year-old caused a worldwide blast that covered the entire sky, so suspecting that one of his smart siblings could replicate it isn't far-fetched if they want to keep the people safe.
And it certainly doesn't help that Rudeus's appearance changed, letting them believe that he could be a Demon or, perhaps, Demon God Laplace's reincarnation.
In the end, if it's not about their own lives, they would sacrifice fewer lives to secure the masses."
I couldn't help but groan at that last part. It is a part of high authority most people abuse, and I hate how much of a truth it carries. Fear can make even the sanest people do things that seem right to them in the end.
"So, you said something about an advice?"
"Yes. I'm going to lend you some advice in order for you to avoid losing your family. However, I do have to warn you. As you stand right now, you have to choose what to do next quickly since it will be no easy task."
"Ha. When is ever something easy?" I retorted.
"That's life for you. People like you need a good wake-up call to realize that."
Great. Even more roastings from a god. Much like how I cheated on Zenith, my mistake with Rudy will forever haunt me.
Wait, he knows about Rudy, so does that mean-
"I know what you are going to ask, but I can't tell you where Zenith is. That information will come on its own to you in the future without my influence, so think about your daughters first and then the rest."
While I didn't get the kind of answer I wanted, hearing that Zenith's location will be revealed to me soon enough is reassuring. Maybe it's Rudy? He probably must have gotten hold of some information about her whereabouts.
"Please, tell me how I can save my daughters."
"Perfect! Now, listen carefully. You need to take only your family and... and..."
The god started to stagger on his words, looking behind me as his smile dropped slowly into a frown. Or at least I think it is a frown.
His hands started to bowl into fists, and he began grinding his teeth in what seemed to be anger.
"What the fuck are you doing here?! You shouldn't be here. This is my realm. You do not have permission to just barge into this place, Rudeus!"
Wait, what's happening? Why is he getting angry all of a sudden?
"Hitogami?"
Behind me resonated a weak but clear voice, and when I turned around, I saw several shocking things.
A white dragon and a black demon were chained up and seemingly sleeping in the air.
I followed the other end of the chains with my eyes to see a person on it, connected with both the dragon and demon.
It appeared that the individual was experiencing injuries all over their body. It seems that mostly the right half of his upper body is burned to the point where the red flesh is visible. The damage to the right eye appears irreparable for low-class Healing Magic, while the left eye seems to have sustained less damage. Most of the body was covered in blood and burned markings, more on the right side of his body.
The sight was horrifying to see. I haven't gotten injured like that, but even I can understand that they are suffering from all the pain.
But then my eyes darted on one part that made my heart race. This person- no, this kid, he has white hair.
I know only one person in this world with such a hair color, and I fear to find out the truth.
"Rudy?!"
Before my brain could process this any further, my mouth started calling him out, only for the person before me to react to it.
The next thing I knew, I ran over to him, disregarding getting attacked by the two monsters that floated above him.
Having approached him close enough, I examined his face to find more indications of his identity.
On the left side of his face was a diamond-shaped scar and a mole beneath his slightly reddened blue eye.
To be sure that it was real, I examined his body with my hands, only to be struck with the reality once I saw the purple veins on his arm.
"It… it really is you, Rudy."
Again, he reacted to the call of his name. He didn't seem to be able to see through his left eye, but he followed the direction of my voice to turn to look at me.
"Paul? Is that you?"
"Y-yes. What happened to you?"
"Oh, how lovely. A father and brat reunion."
The god behind me started to rant sarcastically, making his image turn upside down.
Rudy then suddenly turned his head to him and started screaming.
"Send me back right now!"
"I would if I could, but as I said, you came here without my permission."
"Bullshit! You just want to get back at me by letting Paul see my state."
"And it almost looks perfect. Just needs a little more death to it."
"I killed Death God and took his title after you sent him to me."
"Hah! Do you think that was my plan? The Red Dragon you are currently fighting was the actual plan. You will- huh?"
The god stopped mid-sentence as he looked at Rudy in shock.
Rudy started grunting as he went in more pain, and the two monsters connected to him began squirming as some kind of energy coursed through the chain into Rudy's chest.
"No, no, no, nooooo! How? Why do you always escape my plans?!"
"Rudy, what happened to you?"
I couldn't care less what the god is ranting about right now. The sight of my son falling into pain is more concerning at the moment.
However, his body started to heal as if Healing Magic was applied to him without the light; only white flames were coming from him.
The flames spread through his body, and because I stood so close to him, some of it got on my arms.
It didn't burn me or anything, nor did it hurt, but I felt something course from through me.
With his left hand, Rudy grabbed my shoulder and looked at me with a slowly healing left eye, returning to the blue hue I last saw on him.
"Whatever you do, don't listen to him. Do NOT under any circumstances say his name to anyone. And be careful of those who speak out his name as well."
The look in his eye was serious. He is putting lots of effort into warning me about this while he goes through some painful process.
"Wait, this is all confusing. What does that mean? Where-"
With a spark, he vanished from sight as white fire made him disappear.
My hands tried to grab the space he was just to see that he really was gone. Even the two monsters, along with the white fire on my arms, vanished.
I looked down at my hand as I tried to comprehend the scene I just saw.
Was this another nightmare? I still have them even after Lilia and Aisha arrived at Millishioon, but they are usually about Rudy asking me why I didn't stop him from leaving.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IIIIIIIT!!!"
I turned back at the god, who was having a tantrum as he stomped on the ground in anger.
After a few more seconds of cursing, he looked at me angrily with murderous eyes.
"Leave and die along with the rest of your parasitic family! I WILL MAKE SURE OF IIIIIIT!!!"
Once his shouting ended, I felt like I fell asleep forcefully as my vision blurred.
***
"Rudy!" I swung my upper body forward as I shouted out his name.
I looked around and saw that I was inside my room at the inn in Millishion. I never left the place.
My heart was still racing, and my body was burning hot. My breathing was ragged as I started to remember the events of that dream.
What part of it was real, and what should I do regarding what the god told me? Can I even believe him? Rudy said I shouldn't, but I don't know what part was real to believe.
But that god, Hitogami, was his name, and he said he always summons people like that. But that's going back to what Rudy told me.
"No. I should forget about that entire thing. It was just a dream. Nothing but a dream. Just a… dream..."
That's right. I woke up in my bed, and Rudy was still somewhere on the Central Continent and looking for Zenith. It can only be a dream.
Moving and stretching my body, I slapped my face to fully wake myself from this drowsiness. I need to get myself together.
No matter what, the dream made me realise one thing again that I couldn't get out of my head since the second [Bright Sky Wave] incident. Worrying about Rudy while my two daughters are with me is unfit.
I'm not just a father to Rudy; I'm a father to those two as well.
Getting off my bed, I headed out of my room to see what else I needed to do for the day.
But in the corners of my mind, the overly realistic picture of Rudy's injured state stayed rooted in my head. It will be a new source for another kind of nightmare, that's for sure.
///