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After having a comforting meal, we moved back home with my whole family. My room was big enough for Urbosa and Merkite to easily get comfortable there. I had to buy a larger bed for all three of us, but it was quite easy to do. The delivery said it would arrive in an hour or two.
As for Hekita, we decided to leave her in the other room that was unoccupied. After cleaning it with Kirby's help, as the room was rather dusty, we decided to make the whole room my cute daughter's new room. She was very happy about it and liked the big windows that let the sunlight enter, and she was constantly watching over the city.
"Mommy, I love this! Can we stay here, like, forever?!"
"Haha, I don't know if we can stay forever here, we'll need to eventually move between Tower Floors… But sure, if you want to, this can be your home as well, dear."
I caressed her fluffy hair as she giggled happily, hugging me.
She might be an adoptive daughter, but she really filled my heart with happiness. My sect did raise and help many children, but I never grew attached to any of them.
Perhaps I was afraid, back then, of making bonds. Maybe I thought I would lose them quickly. In a world where something like the Heavenly Will exists, you never know when fate will twist itself to ruin you.
And after learning that the Heavenly Will was definitely modifying fate to screw me over, I am still glad I didn't create any bonds, nor did I love anybody there, or, well, those that I once loved or cared for were already long gone.
I had friends, but even then, I couldn't allow myself to care for them much more. It was a lingering fear that they would one day be taken away.
And thanks to that, I can be sure that they're fine even now. The Heavenly Will knows that I never cared about anybody, so it won't punish these people, which could never move my heartstrings.
But it is different now; I am not in Murim, the Heavenly Will doesn't exist, and the Gods, as strong as they are, are still confined within their own worlds, inside the Tower.
I can allow myself some respite; I can allow myself to make bonds and to love and care for others much more than before.
"But it's all empty, though! When are the things we bought coming, mommy?" Hekita wondered adorably.
"Oh, you mean the pink bed you bought? Heheh, it's coming in an hour or two, I believe," I kissed her on the forehead. "Have patience, honey."
"I'll try, but I can hardly wait!" Hekita started running around the entire house after that, sniffing around and getting used to the scent and smell.
Naturally, beast people are very sensitive to smells, and going to a place whose smell they don't recognize might stress them if they aren't mature enough. Hekita had to get used to the smell quickly, so she started sniffing everywhere.
Urbosa and Merkite were much calmer, showing their maturity.
"It's truly an interesting building, it's even more beautiful and large than the buildings of humans back in Eclipse…" Urbosa said, wandering around while waving her tail in excitement.
"It's truly like a castle of our own! Isn't it, mother-in-law? I am so grateful for you inviting us to live here!" Merkite smiled adorably, thanking Mom.
"Oh, it's nothing, dear. I'm glad you find it good. It's an old building, but I suppose it was nicely refurbished some years ago," my mother smiled. "The pillars were reinforced to resist earthquakes and such. I thought you would find it a bit boring compared to your beautiful homes back in Eclipse, surrounded by nature. It's quite noisy in the middle of New York over here."
"Well, both houses are certainly different, but we are willing to learn and love the house of our beloved mate," Urbosa nodded. "There's certainly something unique and beautiful about this building, being so high in the skies and looking at the entire city... It makes me appreciate what your people have built; it shows your perseverance and incredible ability to work together."
"That's a bit exaggerated, but I get what you mean." Ruby nodded.
"Also, Hekita seems to love it, so I'm happy as well!" Urbosa smiled, hugging my arm. "Thank you for accepting us again, Bing Xue... I'm so happy with you now."
"Oh? Well, I'm also happy with you, my love," I kissed her lips, as she waved her tail around happily.
"Why don't we have fun in your bed for a little while?" Urbosa asked me while winking at me.
"Ooh? I suppose we could, but…" I muttered. "Well, I got something to do right now, and I think I've taken too long. I have a meeting with the Hunter's Association."
"Eh?! I didn't know! And you haven't gone to that important meeting yet? Was it for us? I'm so sorry…" Urbosa said.
"Nah, it's fine! I don't mind taking as much as I need to prepare things for all of you," I kissed her again. "I'll come back in a few hours; I suppose. Once I'm back, we can have some fun. How about it?"
"I'll gladly wait then~" Urbosa rubbed her nose on mine.
I couldn't resist and ended up hugging her a bit, caressing her fluff. She was so warm, and her scent was so sweet, I could hardly resist her charm!
"Take care then~" Merkite also gave me a little smooch. "Come back quickly, though!"
"Sure, sure~ Hekita, do you want mommy to bring you something? Like a snack?" I wondered as Hekita quickly ran to my side.
"A sweet! Like candy or chocolate!" she said.
"Alright~" I gently patted her little head, and then I decided to finally go. "Mom, sis, please, if they are curious about something…"
"Of course, dear, we'll guide them around the house and everything," my mom nodded.
"Just go already! I bet the chairman has already died of old age waiting for you!" Ruby reprimanded me.
"A-Ah, well, yeah… I've certainly taken too long, my bad," I quickly jumped out of the window, becoming pure golden light and disappearing from the scene.
Within a split second, I appeared in front of the Hunter Association.
"Well, finally here; let's get this done quickly…"
I swiftly walked inside.
However, on the way, I was quickly swarmed by all kinds of news reports, journalists, and the like.
"It's Bing Xue!"
"She's here, as the rumors said!"
"So the Guild Masters all gathered for her?!"
"Please, Bing Xue, any words on what happened just recently?"
"What do you think about being praised as the New Goddess of Earth?"
"Several religious groups are forming around you! Do you approve of their worship towards you?!"
"How strong are you?"
Did they know I was coming here? I walked around the city with my family, but I wasn't really swarmed by anybody back then, I guess they did indeed gather around here mostly.
Well, whatever the case, I had no time to waste.
"Sorry, I am quite busy right now."
I kept walking until I entered the building, leaving a wall made of light behind so they wouldn't be able to follow me inside.
"L-Lady Bing Xue?!"
One of the many receptionists greeted me as I walked to the counter.
"Greetings, I've come to the appointment I have with the other guild masters. I hope they are still here. I have taken a while to come back, my bad," I sighed.
"Y-Yes, of course, please follow me!"
The young woman quickly led me upstairs; there was a huge conference room. Once she allowed me inside, I found myself standing in front of a long glass table; surrounding it were several seats occupied by the Guild Masters, the Chairman, and Yanisse.
Most of the Guild Masters also came accompanied by one of their guild members. Except Yanisse and the chairman, who were independent due to their duties to the country. It wouldn't be incorrect to say that Nicholas and Yanisse were more like agents of the government than public figures.
"Bing Xue! You're finally here! Oh my god…" Nicholas sighed, looking really exhausted.
"Did you have to take two hours…" Yanisse sighed.
"Greetings everyone! And… yeah, I can't really justify it, I apologize for my late arrival," I said. "Shall we get to the point then?"
I sat down at the opposite end of the glass table, over a not-so-comfortable black chair, as all the hunters glanced at me at once. Maybe if it were me eleven thousand years ago, I would have certainly freaked out a bit.
"I am slightly pissed off about waiting, but I guess after you helped us all, I still feel more grateful than anything," Aiyana was the first to comment.
"Bing Xue! I want to talk to you later! Can we discuss more about magic formula creation?" Francisco called.
"Don't worry, the wait was definitely worth it, Bing Xue," John smiled. "This is the perfect opportunity! Will you join my Guild? I am even willing to make you into the vice guild master!"
"Hey John, are you for real?" sighed Jackes. "She's definitely going to reject you…"
"Well! You never know until you ask!" John laughed.
"Sorry, but I'm good," I rejected him as Jackes expected.
"A-Ah, I see… Very well," John sighed, looking dispirited.
"Anyway, there's a lot of things we need to discuss first. Although there was a main reason why I called you here, I want to first explain to you what has happened recently," I said. "Most of you have already guessed that the Raid we received recently wasn't even a Raid at all, right?"
"It wasn't?" John asked dumbfoundedly. "Wait, you're right! Where are my Raid Points?!"
"We indeed received no Raid Points, yes," Jackes nodded. "Then were those gigantic Gates, just that? Gates?"
"No, it was certainly something more, right, Bing Xue?" Aiyana wondered.
"Indeed, we were directly attacked by a God," I said.
"Eh?!"
Everyone gasped. It seemed that the whole concept of being attacked by Gods wasn't as well understood yet. Although most people speculated that the Gods of each Tower Floor seemed to have something to do with the invasions, it was never really stated by the System, so it ended up being just speculation.
"The Gods of the Tower, or well, the majority of them, have been constantly attacking our world and many other worlds similar to us through the Gates," I answered. "They are purposely made portals towards their own world's dungeons, bringing forth all matter of creatures. There is no gate out there that wasn't made by some God. If you see one, it was definitely a God who made it."
"You're saying that the Gods of the Tower… They're the ones trying to kill us all the time? I thought… Well, amongst the many theories, there was one that said that the Gates were a natural phenomenon and the Gods, and the System were assisting us in surviving." Nicholas muttered. "Were we always wrong about that?"
"Most definitely," I nodded. "I killed the two Gods of Eclipse, so I know how most of the Tower Gods work and function…"
"You did what?!" Aiyana screamed.
"Is that even possible?"
"Bing Xue…"
"W-What…?"
"Huh?"
"You're not joking, right?"
Francisco, Yanisse, Nicholas, John, and Jackes all responded in a similar way too.
It honestly felt really cute how they all reacted in shock.
"I'm not joking, Jackes," I nodded. "Let me display to you what the gods truly are; these are the memories they held; they directly show what they've been doing until now."
I showed them the memories of the gods in the same way I did for my mother. They were left dumbfounded and completely silent.
"As you can see, those two gods were responsible for attacking our world not once but several times," I said. "However, amongst the many gates we've faced, they only amounted to roughly ten percent of everything our planet has faced; the latest raid was hosted by the God of Deep Darkness, who I've slain personally."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Everyone looked devastated without saying a word. The sole thought of being mere prey to beings as incredibly powerful as gods was simply terrific to them—how they've always been just puppets, bags of energy, and souls to feed them.
"The Tower does not bring opportunities; it is merely a giant, astral relic that helps gods travel through other worlds, butcher their souls, and then completely consume the planets as usable matter," I explained. "The Gods are not our allies; they're directly responsible for everything we've faced so far."
"Everything we thought..." Yanisse muttered. "Was it all a lie?"
"I can't believe this…" Nicholas muttered.
"S-So even the gods helping us are actually after our souls too. I am an Avatar, you know?!" John cried. "D-Does that mean they're using me as a… puppet?"
"M-Me too…" Francisco muttered.
"Ugh, my head, this is not easy to process," Aiyana sighed.
"…" Jackes remained in silence, thinking.
I suppose it won't be easy for them to understand right away; I'll have to give them some time.
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