Chapter 52: The Shrine Maiden (1)
Somewhere within Shinshi lies a hidden floor: the Chamber of the Heavenly Stems.
Compared to the grand sanctum above, it is a humble space. No ornate decorations, no furniture. Only a single object floats at the center of the wide, hemispherical chamber, slowly rotating atop a raised pedestal.
Roughly ten meters in diameter, the object glows with a mysterious azure radiance. At first glance, the glow makes it appear spherical, but upon closer inspection, its form is not a perfect sphere.
Instead, it is a polyhedron—a regular dodecahedron, each of its twelve pentagonal faces inscribed with a different guild's name and crest.
Within, suspended in its hollow core, countless geometric figures drift and turn. Each one takes the form of strange, arcane letters—swimming through the ocean of azure light, each shimmering with its own unique hue.
This is the guild weapon: "The Twelve Heavenly Stems – World Engine."
Forged through negotiation with the GMs themselves, it is the union of twelve guild weapons into one, the ultimate armament of the Zodiac guild.
Its surface bears the crests of all twelve guilds, and its effects rival—perhaps even surpass—those of most world-class items.
But its purpose is not merely that of an item.
The World Engine is no simple weapon.
It is the foundation that sustains the Zodiac guild, a system that governs and observes all six layers of Shinshi, and—when the conditions are met—unleashes hidden functions beyond imagining.
Yet beyond power, it is also a reliquary of memory.
The World Engine is a monument to the guild's glory days, when the Twelve reigned together.
I step closer. Its gentle glow washes over me as it turns, face by face, crest by crest. I raise my small, pale hand—stripped of claws and scales in this human guise—into the soft blue radiance.
[Dini]
[Cowboy]
[Savanna]
[Tamun]
[Dragon's Nest]
One by one, my eyes trace the names and emblems etched into the dodecahedron's faces.
Twelve guilds. The proud union that once was the Zodiac. But those founding lords—the Beast Kings—and even the veteran guildmates… they are long gone.
One by one they left, and no new recruits came to replace them.
All that remains is me—one who joined late, left behind to carry the guild's final chapter alone.
A wave of emotion stirs in me. Perhaps it is the serene glow of the World Engine, or perhaps the calm that comes with wearing this smaller form, but my heart feels unusually quiet.
"Why did everyone leave…?"
The words escape my lips, hollow and pointless.
Once, I thought we would see it through to the very end together. But for each, there was a reason. Fatigue. Boredom. Life. And so they all vanished, leaving only me behind.
Perhaps it was inevitable. Unless one was like me—someone who valued this world more than reality itself—who would cling to a dying game so desperately?
And yet… here I stand.
Two hundred years have passed—mere hours for me, but centuries in this other world. Here, Yggdrasil has become reality. And I… I am nothing more than a child tossed into it.
What should I do?
It was to seek that answer that I came here. To meet her.
My own, my only Shrine Maiden.
"Welcome, my master."
From across the chamber, beyond the turning World Engine, the sound of soft footsteps echoed. Tock… tock… tock. A calm voice drew closer.
From the shadows of the radiant light, she emerged.
Even folded, her wings loomed larger than her body, radiating presence. Slender—almost too frail to bear such weight—yet beneath the thin veil of white cloth, her form was unmistakably full, a figure that exuded allure even hidden.
Her face was serene, lips curved in a faint smile. Her skin was pale, tinged with a faint blush, warmed by the sacred glow. She was beauty incarnate, like a goddess descended. Golden hair, soft as honey, cascaded over her shoulders and down her back.
Instead of garments, she was wrapped in a single sheet of white cloth embroidered with golden thread, fastened with a leaf-shaped brooch. Atop her brow gleamed a laurel-shaped tiara, studded with gemstones that shimmered in the azure light.
Her beauty alone was dazzling, but it seemed as if her entire body radiated with light. In truth—it was no illusion. A soft, sacred white glow spread gently from her back and wings, washing over the chamber.
It was the effect of [Holy Aureole], a passive skill belonging to one of the most exalted divine-type classes obtainable: Holy Priestess.
Only one thing seemed lacking: her eyes. The mystery of her beauty was heightened by the fact that her lids remained closed, as though in eternal sleep. One could not guess their color.
But I knew—because I created her—that beneath those lids, she possessed no eyes at all. She had no need for such an organ.
"Good to see you again, Ea. I suppose I should say it's been a long time?"
"Not at all. I have always been watching you, my master."
"Well, you have always been watching over the Zodiac."
"Though now, they all call it Shinshi, don't they? Fufu."
For her, the "eyes" that see Shinshi are nothing other than the World Engine itself.
No—that's not accurate. It's not that the World Engine is her eyes. She herself is the World Engine.
The integrated guild weapon Twelve Heavenly Stems (World Engine), born of the merger of twelve separate guild weapons. When the veteran guilds of the Zodiac were fading, I and the few still-remaining members called upon the GMs and negotiated.
The Zodiac had become a recognized nation within Yggdrasil's world of Jotunheim. If the guild collapsed, so too would the nation. Thus we demanded a union.
The result was this: the twelve guild weapons combined into a single entity, a guild weapon whose effects rivaled even world-class items, and—considering its special functions—perhaps comparable to the legendary "Twenty".
Was it broken? Perhaps. But when twelve top-tier divine weapons—each one on par with a world-class item—are used as raw material, it is hardly surprising.
Of course, the GMs had stuffed every guild-related system into this one object, to the point that its size and resource consumption made it utterly impractical as a "weapon." Ten meters across—who could possibly wield such a thing? Typical lazy Yggdrasil management, masking shortcuts as "special features."
The only part I truly liked was that they granted the right to create a custom NPC bound directly to the guild item itself. Since I joined the Zodiac later, I never had my own custom NPC. Others who had already made theirs were gone, and I couldn't bring myself to overwrite what they left behind.
So instead, I created her. Ea. A unique level 100 custom NPC, not tied to taming or standard guild systems, but bound directly to me and to the World Engine.
As the World Engine oversaw Shinshi in its entirety, so too did she. From the outermost first layer to the deepest sixth, there was nowhere her gaze did not reach. In truth, she was Shinshi's true overseer.
"…Strange. You don't call me a god."
"If you wish to be called one, I shall."
"No—that won't be necessary. 'My master' will do."
"Yes, my master."
…Why does my chest feel tight? What is this strange flutter—shame? Embarrassment?
A woman of goddess-like beauty, with angel's wings, calling me "my master." And somehow, the situation itself seems to demand I accept it.
What am I supposed to do? For most people, this is the kind of scene one never experiences in an entire lifetime. My thoughts are in disarray. My face feels hot.
I was calm a moment ago—was it because of my draconic form? Should I try transforming again into something else…?
"But master," she said suddenly, her lips curving into a faint smile, "you came here in such an adorably small form today."
With her eyes still closed, Ea gave a small, playful smile as she stepped closer. H-hey, stop that—when she moves, things start swaying. Wings, I mean. Definitely the wings. It's just that my lowered eye level makes them… impossible to ignore. The wings.
"U-uhm, this is the form I set up long ago… Should I change it if you dislike it?"
"No, this is just my preference. Your dragon form is magnificent too, but I like you better like this."
"Oh my, aren't you going to ask why?"
Though her eyes remained shut, her expression and voice overflowed with mischief. It didn't match her holy beauty or the radiant halo around her—no, perhaps because she was so beautiful, the playful air somehow did suit her.
…Wait, was this her intended personality? I did set it myself, but my memory's fuzzy. The last time I checked, it was only with the direct NPCs of the Twelve Guilds… I've never experienced anyone approaching me like this before, so I'm at a complete loss.
What exactly does she like about this? I wanted to ask, but stopped myself. Even beneath all that holy light, I could feel a shadow I'd better not touch.
"Yes, far more than your Dragonkin form. By the way, is that [Tarnhelm: Helm of Transformation] you're using?"
"Of course. There are racial penalties in Dragonkin mode… But wait—why do you know about that?"
"Because you created me this way, my master. Through the World Engine, I see all that happens within Shinshi. Why, I even know how many times you mumbled in your sleep during those two hundred years."
"…Hah? Why would you know that?"
"Because I'm an angel, of course. Since you are God, it's only natural that I, your angel, should watch over you. Fufu."
…Well, she is an angel.
I vaguely recall the details now. I'd stacked as many angelic racial levels as possible, filled her with divine spellcaster classes, and turned her into a holy-aligned superweapon. And yet here she was, acting like… this.
The culprit? Myself, obviously. I'd set it in her flavor text: "Since she is always watching Shinshi, she plays tricks on anyone who enters her domain." …What the hell was wrong with past me?
"What's wrong, my master?"
"…N-nothing."
Old memories resurfaced—back before the accident, when I was still in school. Staring at the girls in my class from afar, unable to say a single word to them. After the accident, hiding away in my room, half a shut-in, with only VR games and Yggdrasil as my contact with the outside world. I had zero tolerance for situations like this. Zero.
I forced myself to break the mood.
"Ahem! Ea, the reason I didn't announce my awakening to anyone else and came straight here is—"
"It's because of Monkyspanner's death, isn't it?"
"Yes, Monkyspanner's dea—wait, how do you know that?"
"Because I'm an angel. I know everything about you, my master."
"…"
"…Just kidding. As Overseer, I observed you waking, then saw you question Monkyspanner. From there, I used the World Engine's computational support to extrapolate what issue you would find most pressing at this moment."
…No words. I'd come here because I didn't think I could handle the other NPCs yet, and somehow ended up with someone even more unmanageable. It felt like fleeing from wolves only to stumble into a tiger's den.
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[The Angel Who Watches Over the City of God]
Name: Ea
Title: Sub-Master of the Twelve Branches
Administrator of the Guild Weapon
[Twelve Branches Heavenly Stems: World Engine]
Shrine Maiden of Shinshi
Alignment: Neutral (Karma Value: 0)
Height: 170 cm
Total Level: 100
Racial Levels:
Angel – 10
Archangelus – 10
Principatus – 10
Others – 40
(Total: 70 Racial Levels)
Class Levels:
Priest – 10
Holy Priestess – 10
Saint Offerings – 5
Others – 5
(Total: 30 Class Levels)
....
Overview
Ea is the NPC who holds the highest authority and position among the Twelve Branches. Despite technically not being a guild member, she exists in the strange position of being both outside and yet fully bound within the guild. Above all, she takes immense pride in being her master's sole possession, revering and loving him with unshakable devotion.
Though her build is a purely divine one, she is curiously aligned as Neutral, rather than Good.
....
Appearance
Ea embodies the archetype of the "golden-haired angelic beauty."
Her long, honey-blonde hair flows gracefully down past her waist.
A refined face, rose-tinted lips, and pale white cheeks touched with a faint blush.
Her eyes remain closed at all times, never opening, yet her beauty loses nothing from it.
Her body is wrapped in a single white cloth embroidered with gold thread, fastened at her shoulder with a leaf-shaped brooch.
Behind her, a pair of vast snow-white wings fold neatly, radiating a gentle aura.
A soft halo shines around her, an effect of her passive skill [Holy Aureole], belonging to the Holy Priestess class.
....
Personality
While her appearance radiates nobility and sanctity, her personality is far from solemn. Having spent all her existence sealed within the Heavenly Stems, she easily grows bored—often teasing those who enter her domain or playing pranks by manipulating the guild weapon.
What she considers harmless jokes often end up as disasters for the victim.
Her greatest joy, however, is simply being by her master's side.
.....
Origins
Her name derives from the Mesopotamian god Ea of the Enuma Elish.
She is the only NPC within Shinshi officially recognized as a "heroine on the Shinshi side."
A 100-level custom NPC, uniquely bound not just to the guild but directly to the World Engine itself.
Though she embodies divinity, her loyalty is intensely personal—she belongs to her master alone.
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