(MC POV)
The girl who looked like Lilith stood on top of the water, looking around her in confusion before her eyes settled on us.
Ah… She looked similar but there were slight differences like the colour of her eyes and her skin looked closer to pale blue than Lilith's pale white.
It seems like the old me didn't really bother making everyone unique when creating them and just gave them slight variations.
"Father?" She gasped, obviously surprised to see me.
Lilith also looked quite shocked at the girl's appearance, "Sister Lilia?!"
Unfortunately, before I got to ask what was going on, I felt the World around us start to fold into itself and collapse. It seems like it really is true that the World would break apart if an especially strong cosmic being were to try and break through the barrier between Worlds.
Good thing I could simply fix it with a simple thought so that's not an issue for this. The fact that she did this without caring about the consequences though… She better have a good reason for that.
"So it really is you, Father… Sister Lilith was not lying…" The new girl muttered.
Lilith frowned at her, "What are you doing here, sister Lilia? Don't tell me you also followed me here to find Daddy?"
She shook her head, "That's not it, I wasn't even expecting Father to be here. Do you not know? Brother Cain has faded."
Faded? Ah, that's the term that is used to refer to the demise of one that possesses divinity, since death is but a state of being for them.
But last I checked… Didn't I send Cain off safely? He should have returned in one piece right?
Lilith rolled her eyes, "So? Why should I care that brother Cain has faded? Good riddance to him I say."
The girl ignored her and instead, bowed to me, "Apologies Father. I, Lilia, offer Father my greetings."
I nodded in return to her greeting which prompted her to turn back to Lilith, completely ignoring Diao Chan who was busy hugging my arm.
"Are you not aware of what brother Cain's fading would cause, sister Lilith?" Lilia asked.
Lilith crossed her arms in front of her naked bosoms, "Hmph! Of course I do. He's one of the leaders of that stupid 'Mama Group' so if he were to perish, the 'Papa Group' would take the opportunity to crush them, right?"
…
What?
Wait, wait, wait… What?
I'm not hearing things right? Did she really just say 'Mama Group' and 'Papa Group'?
Lilia sighed, "It's an all out war, sister Lilith… Do you not care?"
"Hmph! I've never been part of their group to begin with and those sisters also didn't believe me when I said I found Daddy. So why should I care if they're beating the shit out of each other? Actually, why do you care? You don't belong to either faction either."
Lilia puffed her cheeks at her, "Did you forget whose territory is in between them?"
"Ah… You have my condolences then. I'm sure it'll blow away in the next few millennia or so."
"As if I can bear with it for that long!! "
Right… I guess I can piece together what happened…
The 'Mama Group' were obviously made up of my children who were infatuated with Iris while the 'Papa Group' were most likely children who were especially fond of me. These two groups have hated each other since the beginning and have been constantly engaged in fights to prove who was superior.
And since Cain has the power to manipulate emotional attachments, he was one of the central figures in the 'Mama Group' since he can easily get followers for their group.
With his fading, the followers that were forcibly recruited to their factions must be quite upset to have been manipulated and would cause quite a bit of chaos there.
The 'Papa Group' saw this as a chance to go on the offensive and the war between them is taking place in Lilia's territory. She must have come here to find out what exactly happened to Cain to cause him to fade.
I guess I can forgive her for coming here even if it meant collapsing an entire World.
Which reminds me…
"Iris?" I called out.
The cosmic being immediately appeared at the edge of the bath, not showing any reaction to our state of undress.
"Yes, Master?"
Lilia quickly bowed her head to her, "Mo… Lilia greets Mother…"
Iris continued to stare at me, completely ignoring Lilia's greeting.
Lilia must have expected it as well since she rose of her own accord without waiting for Iris's response.
"Did you End Cain?" I asked her.
I already guessed it was her and why she did it, but thought to confirm it from the person herself.
Iris's only reaction was to tilt her head at my question, "Who is Cain?"
…
Right… Of course. Why did I even expect her to know him?
I let the image of Cain slip into my mind, knowing she could see it.
Her response was another tilt of her head, "I do not recognise this thing, Master."
Damn, poor Cain. You tried so hard to get Iris's attention and when you finally got it, she saw you as some kind of troublesome thing and Ended you.
I considered reviving him again but stopped when I found no point in doing so. Even if I were to bring him back, the cons most definitely outweigh the pros.
I sighed, "Well… I guess that's the end for Cain, so what are you looking for when you came here, Lilia?"
She hesitated for a moment, "Umm… I was hoping to find the reason for brother Cain's fading and try to redirect the war here instead… Not that I would do that now since I know Father and Mother were the ones who made him fade!"
Both Lilith and Diao Chan relaxed upon hearing her hastily added words at the end, both of them were ready to fight her if she had still intended to go through with her original idea.
"Great, so now can you go home and leave us alone? Daddy was about to make me a woman until you showed up," Lilith grumbled while hugging my arm even tighter.
Lilia bit her lip, "Umm… Father… If it's not too much to ask… Could you help me with stopping their war? At this rate, several Worlds are going to get destroyed…"
Well… That definitely sounds serious…
"What do you need me to do?"
Lilith gasped, "Daddy?! Are you serious?"
I raised an eyebrow at her, "Why not? I believe all I need to do is just show up there and tell them to stop right? If I need to, I can just bring Iris with me to get them to stop too."
The demoness shook her head, "Daddy… Just as there are beings who adore you, there are also beings who wish to bring about the end of existence too. Right now, the majority of the Universe still do not know that you have returned, but they will if you were to show yourself…"
I frowned, "And what does that entail?"
"Daddy… You probably won't be able to return back here again without other divine beings following you here… The current life Daddy is living right now… It's not going to be the same anymore…"
I turned back to look at Diao Chan who was staring back at me, a look of uncertainty in her eyes.
"Master…" She whispered, clinging just a little more to me.
Well, if that's the case, then my choice is clear.
"Sorry Lilia, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with this."
"Eh?"
I looked up to see her staring at me like she couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Did… Did Father just… Decide to prioritise someone?"
Oh right… The old me would never have done that…
Lilith rolled her eyes at her, "Yes, Daddy did, now can you leave so that Daddy can make me a woman now? Or actually, stay, I don't really care. Can we have sex now, Daddy?"
…
Umm… Is the mood even right for that now?
