A colossal floating island drifted above the clouds. It was covered in a sea of golden flowers, a miracle of God.
It was also the place of apotheosis prepared by a new God for himself. He, no, He! He would complete the final ascension ritual here, becoming a True God of Sequence Zero!
This would also be His Kingdom in Heaven!
It was a sanctuary for mortals, a destination for believers!
And amidst this boundless sea of golden flowers, an exceedingly beautiful woman, dressed in a golden gown and possessing long, golden hair as brilliant as the sun, was dancing spiritedly.
Then, with boundless joy on her face, this extremely beautiful woman approached a black-robed God.
He had not yet completed the final ascension ritual, but undoubtedly, He was still God, because the Uniqueness of His Sequence was already in His hands; all that was lacking was merely the final ritual.
She opened her arms to the God, then, with a face full of happiness, embraced her God.
And she half-hid her captivating face, capable of making the flower sea pale in comparison, into the God's embrace.
The woman, who was incredibly spirited and heroic in front of outsiders and believers, finally shed all her burdens and armor in front of her God, becoming completely and utterly a maiden in love.
The maiden, embracing her God, spoke in a soft, sweet voice that perhaps no one else could hear:
"It's a promise, alright? Once the final ritual is complete, you will be my God, and I will be your King. We will be the happiest couple in the entire world! We will be the most envied pair among all the Gods and Their Kings!"
God and King are companions, and also the most core and fundamental structure of this world. God is law, and King is humanity.
God and King are far more intimate existences than mere companions. For They truly depend on each other.
God cannot be without His King, and King cannot lose his God.
As she spoke, the maiden reached out to remove the God's hood. She wanted to imprint everything about her God into her mind, to become her most precious memory and treasure.
But her hand was grasped by her God's raised hand halfway through.
The black-robed God gazed quietly at the maiden in His embrace, then said earnestly:
"Not yet, I cannot let you see my appearance yet."
Upon hearing this, the golden-haired maiden's face showed a hint of petulant dissatisfaction, but she quickly asked again:
"Then hurry and complete the final ritual! At that time, I will be your King, and you will be my God. That way, you'll have no reason to refuse me!"
The black-robed God nodded and said:
"Indeed, the final ritual is about to begin. However, there is one thing I need to apologize to you for."
The golden-haired maiden tilted her head in His embrace and said, "Why apologize? Our relationship transcends everything; you absolutely don't need to apologize to me for anything."
Upon hearing this, the black-robed God fell into a brief silence, then lovingly raised His hand and placed it on the golden-haired maiden's cheek, stroking her cheek as He said regretfully:
"The final ritual of apotheosis for the Justice Sequence is very simple, and also very despairing. It doesn't require frenzied sacrifices, nor does it require complicated procedures."
As He spoke, the God's hand stopped at the maiden's forehead. With just a light touch, the maiden, even though she was a Sequence One Justice Angel, was completely unable to move.
"The ritual required for the Justice Sequence to ascend from Angel to God is merely a grand deception and death."
No further explanation was given, but everything was already clear.
Upon hearing this, the maiden's face first flashed with a moment of shock, then endless tenderness.
Even if her body could not move, even if words could not be conveyed, she still conveyed everything with her expression.
Just as she had said before, their relationship transcended everything; He did not need to apologize to her for anything, even if everything between them was just a deception.
Even if her appearance was merely to use her life, and even her soul, as the final stepping stone for His apotheosis.
Faced with such tenderness, even the black-robed God hesitated. After a long moment, He released the maiden's restraints, but only the physical restraints; her Sequence One divinity remained firmly locked.
The maiden, sensing this, made no retaliatory moves. She merely raised her hand, reaching for her God's hood. This time, the God did not stop the maiden.
However, regretfully, the maiden herself withdrew her hand halfway, with a slight hint of regret.
Then the maiden leaned back, using the God's arm wrapped around her waist as support, and was embraced by her God in a tragically beautiful posture.
"Please, become God!"
The God silently raised His hand upon hearing this, and the maiden closed her eyes contentedly.
She did not regret anything up to this point, even if it was all a deception; in fact, she was grateful that He had chosen her.
She was grateful that God had chosen her, who had nothing, and given her everything that someone with nothing should not have.
Since that was the case, it was her turn to repay everything.
The anticipated excruciating pain arrived as expected. A terrifying power, beyond her comprehension and understanding, tore through her chest.
She felt her soul would be ripped apart by this violent force.
But after a long time, the anticipated death did not arrive.
Instead, what came was a power far greater than she could have imagined.
It was the greatness called Uniqueness and Divinity!
This was indeed a grand deception and death, only the one deceived was indeed the maiden, but the one who offered death was her God.
The maiden opened her eyes in disbelief and looked at the black-robed God.
What she saw then was Him, with a large part of His chest missing. Having entrusted the Uniqueness to the maiden, He could no longer stand and fell to the ground with the maiden.
He fell into the maiden's embrace.
Their positions began to swap.
And the maiden, no, it should be said the Goddess, embraced her Uniqueness with a panicked expression.
Watching Him continuously dissipate in her embrace, the Goddess frantically poured immense divine power into Him, trying to reverse His death.
But it was useless. He was the stepping stone for the Goddess's apotheosis. Now that the Goddess had received the gift, His death was inevitable.
Realizing this, the Goddess wept profusely, tightly embracing her Uniqueness.
"No, it won't happen, it's impossible!"
"No, I absolutely won't!"
He gently raised His hand and placed it on the Goddess's exquisite face, softly comforting her:
"No need to cry. Everything is fine. Isn't it?"
The Goddess cried out loud:
"No, it's not good at all! Why, why?!"
She could accept all His betrayals, but she absolutely could not accept His death and departure.
Facing such a Goddess, He contentedly lay in the Goddess's embrace, quietly dissipating.
Only the golden-haired Goddess was left, weeping alone in the sea of flowers.
The maiden became God.
The Goddess lost her King.