(MC POV)
I laid in bed, completely naked without a shred of cloth on me.
Lian Li and Manami were snuggled against my sides with their hands draped over my chest. Below, Diao Chan and Eris were hugging my legs like a body pillow, their faces pushed up against my thighs.
Scattered around my bed were the rest of the girls, all of them just as nude as I was and wearing faces of unconscious bliss.
It was already the middle of the night but I didn't really feel like sleeping yet so I teleported myself out from the bed, leaving behind a copy of me for my disciples to cuddle.
Xun Guan immediately leapt up from the ground and formed into my clothes around me, clothing me without any commands.
I then made my way outside and into my courtyard, looking for one person in particular.
"Ara, ara? Out for a late night walk, Master?" Iris asked with a smile on her face.
She was seated inside the pavilion, facing my direction like she already knew I would arrive here.
"Why, Iris?" I asked.
"Ufufufu~ Why what, Master?"
"Why were you still trying to revert me back to my old self?"
"Ara, ara? Why shouldn't I, Master? That was the time where you were perfect, of course I would want to help Master return to your former glory~" She replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Even though I already told you I have no wish to return back to my former self?"
Iris stood up from her seat and floated towards me, stopping just out of reach.
"Master… When someone is sick, the medicine to make them feel better might be bitter. But you still have to make them take it regardless to help them recover, yes?"
"I am not sick."
"Ufufufu~ That's what you think, Master~ To me, you are very, very sick. That's why even though you might not like the medicine I'm trying to give you, it is necessary."
"Iris… What's wrong with me loving things unequally?"
She shifted her gaze to the building my disciples were currently sleeping inside of, "What if I were to say that I wish to End their existence right now?"
I stepped to the side to block her view, "Then I will stop you."
"But why? They are mere specks within the Universe and utterly unimportant. Even the Gods are replaceable, what makes them so special?"
"Because I care about them."
"Ara, ara? Does Master not realise? Your care for them is nothing but an illusion. You are only attached to them because of your physical body's needs for social interaction. If you were to just shed your mortal shell, you would find that such emotions are unbefitting of your divine self."
"Then that just gives me even more reason to stay as I am. Why would I even want to live a life where I love no one?"
Iris reached out her hand and snapped her fingers and all of a sudden, the entire courtyard was plunged into darkness. I looked down and realised both of us were currently naked though she didn't seem to mind it.
I tried to check if Xun Guan was there but she seemed to have disappeared as well.
She sauntered closer to me, "I just Ended the World and everything in it, Master. Tell me, what do you feel?"
I opened my mouth to scold her, only to realise that I felt no anger… Not even a little bit.
"Why? I know I should be angry… Why do I feel nothing?"
"Because deep inside you, you know they are worth nothing to you, Master. When even the Universe is worth nothing, how can a few beings like them be worth anything?"
"Iris… Stop this. Bring everything back."
"Ara, ara? Do you actually want that, Master? Do you not feel free right now without them holding you back? The feeling of having been freed of such burdens is liberating no?"
I couldn't answer, I didn't even want to think about it for fear that she would be right.
She came closer to me and took my hand, both of us shivering from the perfection of the touch.
Iris looked at me with those iridescent eyes of hers, "Master… You don't need anyone else, do you? You don't even need me. You can just fly free and out into the Universe without anything or anyone holding you back. No mortal, no god, no pesky little moving sacks of flesh to distract you… You just need to let go…"
"But… That would mean letting you go as well, wouldn't it?"
"Ufufufu~ And that would bring me the greatest pleasure, Master. I do not need anything else. I am The End, for everything that has a beginning must have an End. And when it's time for this Universe to End as well, I shall be there with Master to End it."
I looked upwards into the darkness, feeling the emptiness within that abyss.
Unbidden, memories of how I would float along in the vastness of space came to me, reminding me of how I would watch the universe go by while not even caring about anything going on within it.
Stars would be born and then snuffed out. Life would start somewhere and then end. Galaxies would be created and then devoured. Nothing mattered as I watched all of this happen without minding them at all.
Then following behind me would always be Iris, her gaze always locked on me despite me never looking back at her.
Do I want to go back to such a time?
A time where I didn't need to care about life, death, politics or even taxes?
A time where despite being able to do anything I wanted, I was well and truly alone?
The answer is simple then…
I tightened my grip on Iris before I snapped my own fingers, shattering the illusion she had placed on us and depositing the two of us back in the centre of my courtyard.
"Ara ara? It seems Master still chose those little sacks of flesh over the Universe. Was I not convincing enough?"
"No… It's just that the old life I lived sounds really, really boring. There's a reason why I made myself mortal, Iris, and I most certainly wouldn't return to such a boring life if given a choice again. Besides, aren't you enjoying your time here as well?"
Iris blinked a few times at me before pulling her hand away, "It seems it is still not enough… I suppose I shall try again at a later date then, Master."
I frowned at her, "Did I not tell you to stop already? Are you disobeying me?"
"Ufufufu~ Hardly Master. I already said that I would stop, but the real question would be whether you would be willing to stop later? Perhaps if I were to ask you this question at a later date, you might be more accepting of it?"
With those cryptic words, she strolled past me and entered my bedroom, leaving me alone with Xun Guan outside.
"I still don't like her, Master…" My slime girl whispered.
For once, I didn't have anything to say to defend her.
