Roselia's eyes burned with anger as she glared at Kagariel. My hand remained wrapped around her wrist as she locked her gaze with the hydra, unfazed by his colossal form or vast authority.
"I almost lost Rania because of your carelessness."
The words still echoed.
After reuniting with Roselia, the very being who had controlled me throughout my entire mortal existence. I made sure to remain vigilant around her. I knew better than to forget how unpredictable she was, even now. Even as an Outer God with a defined function within the stratums.
However—
"Dormancy?" Roselia scoffed. "You truly believe I would accept your excuse for being dormant during that event?"
She laughed, sharp and humorless.
"How convenient. Truly."
Kagariel never refuted. He didn't even seem angry, let alone frustrated. Which only seemed to sharpen something in Roselia's eyes.
"Of course. What should I have expected? You are not even a complete being with its own 'self' just a Fragment who gained consciousness. A Fragment that learned to speak. Nothing more."
My grip immediately tightened around Roselia's wrist.
"Roselia, stop it." I whispered, pulling her away as I glanced at the looming hydra in front.
"There's no point in pinning the blame on others," I said. Then turned back at the failing Demiurge's Image.
The Four Sovereigns within the Image continued to decimate the rest of their oppositions. Not by killing, but more like restructuring their existence into something… reusable.
What exactly are they planning…?
Sensing my unease, Roselia seemed to cool down while Kagariel watched in silence, all three heads still.
"What are they doing this time?" Roselia muttered, stepping closer to the projection of the events inside the Image.
"I'm not sure…" I muttered, my brows furrowed as the sovereigns continued to restructure entire multiverses along with their sovereigns into an orb: a higher-dimensional construct resting in the Sovereign of Beginning's hand.
The Demiurgic Being is already beyond saving…
There no other way for them to stabilize everything else other than have a Demiurgic Being hold the threads once more…
I loosely crossed my arms, head down in thought.
Four Sovereigns wouldn't be enough to transcend into another Demiurgic Being either…
A pause.
My eyes immediately widened as I looked at the projection again.
"So that's what they're doing…"
Roselia glanced at me, her eyes narrowed.
"Did you figure something out? Or did you finally see what I'm seeing?"
I stared into the orb on the Sovereign of Beginning's hand as it gradually grew the more energy and material was stored inside it.
"If that's what they're planning…"
"They would be erasing their existence as it is…" I breathed.
"Integrating themselves into one entity… adding the contents within that orb,"
Roselia immediately cut in before I could continue.
"They're attempting to restructure their existence, yes. Something only we, the Outer Gods can do without any fatal repercussions." she stopped, looking down at the projection, her usual serene mask slipping back.
"It is, simply put, a quadric suicide. But instead of dying or falling into non-representation," she shook her head, a smile slowly curving on her lips.
"They leave behind a categorically different entity. Perhaps within the realms of Demiurgic Beings if they're successful."
"It's a desperate yet brilliant plan, quite frankly. And something that completely defies what the Law Weaver, our First Outer God established."
I paused.
"Anathasia…" I murmured.
"Overwhelming, is she not?" Roselia said with a chuckle, shaking her head gently.
Daughter of Absence… Law Weaver… The First Outer God… Tree Axiom Structure of the Authorial Rule… Anathasia Veridielle Augthoria…
How… many titles does she have…? No, those are not titles… they're roles, positions…
The projection suddenly glowed before I could properly put my thoughts together.
"Oh? They're already carrying it out?" Roselia immediately commented, now looking at the projection with interest.
Something she usually only shows when she's with me.
But this was an artificial Demiurgic Being being born, so it's understandable.
Everything around the light warped, realities within the Image flickering before the Four Sovereigns' transcendence into an artificial Demiurgic Being.
The immense structure formed from infinite multiverses under a single demiurgic framework rippled, the sheer energy of their transcendence slowly bled out of the Image itself.
"Hoh…" Roselia hummed, averting her gaze from the projection, looking directly into the Demiurge's Image itself.
"They're quite smart for doing this," she chuckled, her contempt with Kagariel already dissipated. "Figuring out a loophole in the Law Weaver's design…"
"A smart move indeed,"
Roselia, Kagariel, and I turned toward the voice.
No presence… no pressure… no ripple…
I squinted past Kagariel, a familiar girl stepped forward, clear white hair, the same ruffled red dress I could recognize anywhere.
This time… the stratum didn't even fold…
The girl smiled, walking past Kagariel while casually waving at us.
"Hey, what's gotten everyone so tense?" she added, glancing up at the hydra not far beside her with a smile.
"Ya, Kagariel. Slept well?"
Kagariel lowered all three on his heads, his draconic form buckling.
"I have, I am grateful that you have allowed me to remain in my dormant state for a long period of time," he paused.
"Daughter of Absence."
Anathasia simply smiled, turned back at me and Roselia, then spoke.
"This is rare, all four Outer Gods being present at once," she commented.
"Do we have a party here or something?"
Silence followed.
None of us spoke. Not me. Not Roselia. Even Kagariel, vast and absolute, said nothing.
Anathasia, meanwhile, simply stood there, unbothered, as a Demiurge's Image began to collapse behind me.
Or at least, that was what I thought.
The next moment, she was already behind me.
No displacement. No distortion. No ripple through the strata.
She stared past me, her gaze fixed on the failing Image.
"Hm…" she murmured softly. "This one's too close to his…"
Roselia and I turned just in time to see Anathasia casually lift the Demiurge's Image between her index finger and thumb.
The scale of it defied comprehension. A structure that housed countless multiverses was now reduced to something she could hold, inspect, and dismiss.
Cracks crawled across its surface. Paradoxical rot seeped through the fractures, bleeding outward as the Image struggled to remain coherent.
Anathasia squinted slightly.
Then, without another word—
The Demiurge's Image collapsed.
Not shattered. Not erased.
It simply folded inward, unraveling into something else entirely.
Future narrative material.
My breath caught.
What…?
"Anyway—get this, guys," she said, immediately brushing off what she'd just done as she turned back toward Roselia and me.
I glanced at Roselia. Sure enough, her face had gone pale.
None of us mentioned it.
Not me. Not Roselia. Not even Kagariel, who remained where he was—silent, colossal, a guardian looming over the absence where a Demiurge's Image had been.
"Remember that scheming girl we were watching a moment ago?" Anathasia continued with a light chuckle. "I actually ended up in the same group for our presentation."
She tilted her head slightly.
"With Kyle, too. So I've been doing my best to stay oblivious while she makes plans to practically stalk both of us."
She stifled a laugh.
As if she hadn't just collapsed a construct containing infinite totalities.