Fallen Angel: Estasia (1)
A world where only two people remain.
But it seemed too big to call it that.
When I leaned on the railing of the rooftop with no people, I faced the face I didn’t want to face.
The goddess of harmony.
And the goddess of retrogression.
Meeting Estel, who had two faces, was entirely up to her will.
“Are you getting along well with that kid?”
Four days had passed in game time since the battle began.
The situation had been overwhelmingly in our favor.
And the time I spent with Estasia, who came to Earth, was much longer than that.
Since I started living with Estasia from the day I first learned the truth of this world.
So it wasn’t strange that Estel asked me if I was doing well.
“Don’t you already know without asking?”
“It takes a lot of effort to interfere with the divine realm.”
It would have been different if Estel and I had a rather tricky relationship.
The goddess in front of me seemed to have no sympathy for human thoughts.
But it was also true that there was no need to provoke her right now.
I would reveal the hidden blade when I was sure I could deal with the target.
It wasn’t time to show the blade yet.
“It seems like there’s something even a great goddess can’t do.”
“I’m no longer harmony here.”
The god of retrogression, Estel.
That was her name here.
She could be anything in the world beyond the smartphone, but what she carried here was nothing but the karma of an evil god.
The name of Estel in front of me confirmed that speculation.
“Did you say the name was important? Then Estel’s name means she’s a god of retrogression.”
“Name… Yeah. Name is important. It’s the only thing that can show who I am now.”
“So the only thing that can show yourself is your name… Is that so?”
Listening to Estel’s story made me feel complicated in my head.
God. World. And fate.
Only two people were left in this world — or so it seemed.
The world was too vast for such a name.
As I leaned on the empty rooftop railing, I came face-to-face with someone I wished to avoid.
The Goddess of Harmony.
And the Goddess of Retrogression.
It was her choice to confront me, Estel, who bore two faces.
“How is that child doing?”
Four days had gone by in game time since the battle started.
We had been dominating the fight ever since.
And I had spent even more time with Estasia, who had arrived on Earth.
I had been living with her since the day I discovered the truth about this world.
So it wasn’t surprising that Estel asked me how we were getting along.
“You know the answer without asking, don’t you?”
“It’s not easy to meddle with the divine realm.”
If only Estel and I didn’t have such a complicated relationship.
The goddess before me didn’t seem to understand human logic.
But there was no point in antagonizing her now.
I would only unsheathe my blade when I was certain I could finish her off.
It wasn’t time for that yet.
“You’re a great goddess, but you have your limits too.”
“I’m not Harmony here anymore.”
She was Estel, the God of Retrogression.
That was her name in this place.
She could be anything she wanted in the world beyond my smartphone, but here she carried the burden of an evil god’s fate.
Her name confirmed my suspicions.
“Did you say names were important? Then does Estel mean you’re a god of retrogression?”
“Name… Yes. Name matters. It’s the only thing that shows who I am now.”
“So your name is all you have to define yourself… Is that so?”
Her words made my mind swirl with thoughts.
God. World. Fate.
Big and complicated things were pressing down on my weak self before I knew it.
In the dizzying choices full of irrationality, I was forced to make a choice.
I just wanted a peaceful life.
There were too many things that I sacrificed for a moment of peace.
“That’s what it means.”
“Yeah. Those great gods live so complicatedly.”
Clear sky. The sun shone brightly on the rooftop below.
I sighed with mixed feelings and looked at the black girl next to me.
She was standing there as always.
The only thing that faded in my memory was my miserable self.
Estel smiled with her black eyes shining across the parasol.
“It’s okay. Special things stand out in a complicated world.”
“Seeing that you’re still alive, I guess I was special?”
“In some ways, you’re too ordinary, but in other ways, you can be seen as special.”
She was a capricious goddess.
The wind blowing over the railing shook her and my hair.
Beyond the swaying hair, I looked into Estel’s eyes that resembled black obsidian and asked.
“Why do you want to make me a god if I’m ordinary?”
“Because only you can do it here. The only thing I want from you is that.”
“What do you want?”
“When everything is over, I hope you make this world prosperous. You’re making a world where nothing is left the way you want it.”
It was all up to her from beginning to end.
She said she would give me a chance to escape, but it turned out that it wasn’t everything.
I could tell by the way she brought up the idea of rebuilding the left world.
There would be some consideration for me in there, and her intention to become a god of two worlds would also have a strong influence.
But there was one thing I realized as I listened to this story.
“Let’s make one rule between us.”
At least the descent was not irreversible.
It seemed possible for me to stay there or stay here if I wanted to.
It was her plan to make me rule over two worlds like her.
They would endlessly repeat the cycle of birth and death, depending on each other.
Gods who live together forever.
Not a bad proposal.
In the world beyond the smartphone, she advocated evil, and in the ruined earth, she advocated good.
“You bring light and prosperity to this world, and I destroy this world. That’s how we keep our own world forever.”
If she had made such an offer to me someday, I might have accepted Estel’s offer reluctantly.
If I wasn’t an evil god.
But since Estel made me walk the wrong way for the first time, I had been twisted and broken for a long time.
It was too late to pretend to be good now.
Dyed with emotions that seeped into my bones, I stayed here as I faded away.
“Do whatever you want. It was never my choice from the beginning.”
“Good. You’re a good kid.”
“Just grant me one wish.”
“What wish? If it’s not unreasonable, I can grant you one.”
So I lied.
With a look that had no sincerity left, suppressing the emotions burning in my chest.
I lied to deceive the god in front of me.
“Restore this world to its original state.”
“That’s difficult. I used too much karma. Even if I try, half is all I can do.”
“…”
“Of course, I don’t want to grant such a wish either. But if it’s a simple wish, it’s okay. Don’t you have any other wishes?”
I didn’t think she would grant it from the beginning.
It wasn’t what Estel wanted.
I turned my head away from Estel, who expressed her refusal, and looked at the distant mountains.
But I said something else to deceive her.
“…Then send Aronia here.”
“One angel wasn’t enough for you, huh? Fine. But it will take me a few days even if I start now.”
The sky was clear and blue without a cloud in sight.
But I had a feeling it would rain soon.
That was my intuition speaking.
I sensed a downpour looming under the darkening sky.
“I hope he gets here before the war ends.”
Of course, my intuition wasn’t very reliable most of the time.
***
The First Apostle,Eutenia Hyrost.
She felt exhausted from fighting for days on end, but she pushed through the fatigue and kept moving.
This was a war for her one and only god.
She couldn’t afford to fail her duty here and ruin his grand plan.
She couldn’t bear to lose sight of him whom she had longed for so long.
“…”
Clack. Clack.
Her footsteps echoed under the silent stairs.
The stairs led to the underground chamber of the Temple of Knowledge. It was a narrow and dark place.
Not everyone was allowed to enter there, as it housed the vital relics that sustained the holy land.
Only a few chosen ones could access this place in the holy land.
“So, the intruders have finally reached here.”
As Eutenia arrived at the end of the corridor after descending the long stairs, a voice greeted her.
It belonged to a woman.
A very old woman in her twilight years.
Her dim eyes that betrayed her age met Eutenia’s.
The elderly nun standing before Eutenia had no weapons in her hands.
She only held a thick scripture with both hands.
“Who are you…?”
“I am Aurora, the Holy Maiden of Knowledge who guards this place.”
She looked similar to Eutenia, who clutched the miracle bestowed by the great one, the Grimoire.
The only difference between them was that their faith had different endings.
Eutenia nodded coldly as Aurora introduced herself.
It was no trouble to grant her a chance to fulfill her role, as she wished to do her best until the last moment.
“Is that so.”
“Then may I ask for your name?”
“…The first servant of the great one,Eutenia Hyrost.”
“Eutenia. A fine name.”
Eutenia thought so too.
Her father must have gone through a lot of trouble to name her.
She used to hear that story often when she was young.
But now she had strayed too far to listen to such a story.
For her, who was stained with blood, the social life of a noble lady was a fleeting dream.
“It’s been a long time since I heard such a story.”
“I had a time like you too… but now too much time has passed.”
Aurora said that and gave a faint smile, looking at the empty glass tube.
It was a smile that seemed bitter and yet nostalgic for the glorious past.
The Holy Maiden of Knowledge gripped the scripture tighter in her hands.
A ring with a missing jewel was stuck between her thin fingers.
“Did you use the forbidden method?”
“…Everyone in the holy land agreed. We had no other way.”
“You called them worshippers of the evil god and despised them, but in the end you were no different.”
“I wanted to dream a little.”
There was a price to pay for going against reason.
It was even more so for opening the sky.
They were calmly using a method that only the cult that despised evil would use.
Clack—.
Eutenia left the hypocritical saintess behind and headed for the primal heart behind her.
“There’s no use in me stopping you here. This old woman has no strength left.”
The glorious era dedicated to the six goddesses was slowly coming to an end.
The faith of everyone hiding in the continent would not disappear in an instant, but as time passed, the old faith would gradually crumble.
The saintess of the old era facing Eutenia would also disappear in the fading history.
The only thing that history recorded was the story of the winner.
The flames that burned in the midst of conflicting beliefs would fade away, except for the most intense one.
“The great one is different from the fakes you serve. I’ve been working hard to see him.”
“…It would have been nice if someone like you became the next saintess of knowledge. It’s a pity.”
“It’s the right thing. He was the only one who reached out to me at that moment.”
The shadow that spread on the floor followed the sound of footsteps.
The shadow of the apostle that covered the ground soon took over the whole space.
Eutenia’s footsteps passed Aurora and stopped in front of the primal heart.
The huge jewel that contained light was more beautiful than any jewel in the world.
Eutenia reached out to the primal heart and asked Aurora behind her.
“Is the story over?”
“Goddess, guide us——.”
“Well, goodbye.”
At the moment when Eutenia’s last greeting to Aurora ended.
Thud, thump—!
Sharp spikes of shadow pierced Aurora’s abdomen.
Blood drops fell in the swaying darkness, and a heavy something fell with a thud.
