Chizuru Natsuyo kept her eyes closed, the faint trace of a smile lingering at the corner of her mouth. A fleeting thought about the future surfaced in her mind — then was gently swallowed by the warmth radiating from the god's body temperature, slowly settling into stillness.
The wind was still blowing.
But it was no longer quite so cold.
Time flowed past in a haze on this rooftop where the world had been put on pause.
Above: a pewter-grey sky. In the distance: a city consumed by war and fire. In her ears: nothing but the wind.
With her eyes closed, Chizuru felt as though she were floating in a warm, boundless ocean.
No need to wonder whether she'd be dead in the next second.
No need to worry about whether a mission had been completed.
She didn't even need to think about the coat she'd be scolded for if she accidentally dirtied it.
Just like that. Time trickled past, drop by drop.
Until the distant volley of gunfire and artillery, once dense and unrelenting, began to thin.
Only then did Haimer's voice drift down from above.
"Rested enough?"
His voice was soft.
Chizuru's eyelashes gave a small flutter.
As much as she wanted to go on lying there indefinitely, reason told her the dream had to end.
One could be willful in front of a god. One could not be greedy.
And so, Chizuru slowly, slowly raised herself upright, leaving that thigh with no small measure of reluctance.
It had only been a single hour.
And yet — it was the most peaceful sleep of her ten years of life.
"Mm."
"Thank you, Kami-sama."
Chizuru gave a small nod, reached up to straighten her slightly disheveled bangs, and settled back into her usual well-behaved, composed expression.
"I'm feeling sharp now."
"Good."
Haimer smiled, and rose to his feet.
"Now that you're fully recharged —"
"— it's time to go meet the others."
"After all, wanting to read books, wanting a comfortable chair out in the sunlight — wishing for it alone won't make it happen."
"We're setting out."
"Setting out?"
Chizuru blinked, caught off guard.
Her gaze instinctively drifted to Haimer's face — that face that had no bad angle from any direction. But the words hadn't even made it to her lips before those smiling eyes of his gently blocked them back.
"Come on."
Haimer stood without any unnecessary gesture, and simply extended his hand toward Chizuru, still seated on the ground — with a smile.
Chizuru looked at the hand reaching toward her.
Then raised her head, taking in Haimer's silhouette against the light.
She pressed her lips together.
She scrubbed the dust vigorously from her palms on her windbreaker — and then, with a certain solemnity, placed her comparatively much smaller hand lightly on top of his.
"Yes."
A large hand and a small hand closed around each other.
The next instant, golden radiance blazed to life beneath both their feet and swallowed the rooftop whole.
—
And so.
Tokyo Area. The Holy Residence.
This complex of buildings — the symbol of the highest authority in all of Tokyo Area — had not been reduced to rubble the way the outer districts had, but it was already a scene of thorough devastation.
Shattered glass. Collapsed walls. Stones and debris scattered across the ground as far as the eye could see.
The remnants left behind by the mob that had stormed this place.
But.
On the vast plaza directly in front of the Holy Residence — at this moment, an uncanny silence held sway.
Countless Gastrea lay prostrate in perfectly ordered rows along the plaza's perimeter. Each and every one of those tens of thousands of pairs of scarlet compound eyes was cast low, as though reverently awaiting something.
At the center of that ring of Gastrea stood a cluster of people.
——The Holy Emperor.
This ruler who had always appeared in an immaculate white gown, every strand of her hair kept in flawless order, not a thing out of place.
Right now, she looked truly wretched.
That signature silver-white hair hung loose and tangled over her shoulders.
Most arresting of all was the wound across her smooth forehead — still not entirely stanched.
She had been struck by a stone hurled from the mob while throwing herself in front of the children behind her.
Blood still crawled down her cheek, congealing into a stark crimson line on her skin before pooling at her chin and dripping onto the front of her gown.
But.
Even so.
The Holy Emperor's spine was still held perfectly straight.
That quality emanating from the marrow of her bones had not been diminished one fraction by the dishevelment of her appearance. If anything, the filth upon her had added a resilience she had never before possessed — something that could not have been manufactured, only earned.
Beside her were several dozen more "Cursed Children."
And — having already arrived here to regroup — Tendou Kisara and Aihara Enju, along with Hiruko Kohina, wearing a scowl and perched atop the head of a toppled statue.
The atmosphere was heavy.
No one spoke.
Only the howl of wind threading through the ruins.
— Hmmmm —
Then, without warning.
The air at the center of the plaza rippled — a distortion visible to the naked eye.
Then: a golden gate of light materialized from nothing.
The sacred pressure that needed no words to be felt instantly descended over the entire scene like a physical weight.
The Gastrea already pressed to the ground lowered their heads still further, not even daring to breathe.
The light receded.
Two figures appeared before the assembled crowd.
Haimer, hand in hand with Chizuru Natsuyo, stepped through the golden gate at an unhurried pace.
Almost in the very instant they laid eyes on Haimer — without any prompting, without any reminder — that reverence branded into the very marrow of their bones compelled every single person present to react.
"We greet Kami-sama."
The Holy Emperor did not hesitate for even a moment. She gathered the shredded remnants of her skirt and bent into a deep, full bow in his direction.
The movement was precise. Elegant. Beyond reproach.
Even as the wound on her forehead wept fresh blood from the motion. Even as her body trembled slightly with the pain. Her bearing remained impeccable.
The final dignity of a ruined sovereign, standing before her judge.
Behind her, the "Cursed Children" witnessing this fell into a brief, clumsy flurry. Most of them had received no formal instruction in etiquette, and could only do their awkward best to follow the Holy Emperor's lead — some bowing so abruptly they nearly headbutted the person in front of them, others so flustered they had absolutely no idea what to do with their hands.
Watching this scene — especially watching those "Cursed Children" straining so earnestly to show their respect — the equanimity in Haimer's gaze softened, instantaneously.
"Rise."
"I dislike speaking to people who are bent over."
"When you bow like that, I cannot see your faces."
Haimer raised a hand, and a gentle force lifted everyone upright in one motion.
Hearing those words, the Holy Emperor paused, then slowly straightened.
The children raised their heads one by one, though their gazes remained somewhat timid — none of them quite able to look Haimer in the eye.
The few "Cursed Children" standing slightly further back were especially so. These were Initiators, and they were still clutching their weapons with tight fists.
Earlier, they had cut their way through to save a number of lives while protecting the Holy Emperor. But now, facing the god who had delivered divine judgment, those same weapons felt like live coals in their hands.
They nervously tucked their arms behind their backs, trying to conceal the weapons. Their young faces were written over with anxiety.
After all — their actions earlier, fighting against the Gastrea to protect the humans, had been fighting against the god's own army.
Against the will of the gods.
What they had just done... was that not defiance of divine decree?
Would Kami-sama be angry?
Would they be punished?
"No need to hide them."
"I saw everything."
Haimer's gaze swept over the girls trying to conceal their weapons. The corner of his mouth curved upward — gently.
The girls stiffened the moment they heard those words and buried their faces lower still, like elementary-school students who'd committed an error and were bracing to be scolded.
"While it is true that what you did was a transgression..."
"But —"
"It took real courage."
Haimer paused, his tone carrying undisguised, unhesitant admiration.
"Facing an enemy that cannot be overcome, and still choosing to draw your blade. Fighting for what you believe to be right —"
"That requires tremendous courage."
"Therefore, not only did you do nothing wrong."
"On the contrary — you let me see the brilliant light shining from your souls."
"That courage is more precious than anything else."
"You did well."
"You have proven through your actions that you are the people in this world most deserving of life. Most deserving of happiness."
"I am proud."
"To have met children with courage such as yours."
At those words — every single one of those children who had been coiled tight with dread raised their heads at once. Their eyes went wide. Filled with disbelief.
Kami-sama... was praising them?
Not punishment. Praise?
The joy of being seen — of being acknowledged — welled up from somewhere deep inside, and the more sensitive among them felt their eyes sting red before they could stop it.
Even Tendou Kisara, who had kept her expression locked and guarded the entire time, found herself quietly moved by what she was seeing.
The Holy Emperor, standing at the forefront of the group, stared at Haimer with a slightly vacant look.
She had not expected it. This god who had brought down world-ending judgment with such decisive, thunderous force — to the children before him, he was nothing but gentle.
That gentleness was not performed.
It was a genuine, heartfelt affection. An acceptance that required no conditions.
Was this the breadth of a god's heart?
...
"Miss Holy Emperor."
Just as she was lost in thought, Haimer's voice sounded again.
This time, his gaze fell on her.
"I am here."
The Holy Emperor snapped back to attention.
"I find myself a little curious."
Haimer turned to face her fully. The warmth he had shown the children withdrew in an instant, his eyes sweeping over her disheveled state — over the stark, still-weeping wound on her forehead.
"Given that you already knew this old order was to be destroyed —"
"And that those citizens would be foolish enough to turn their violence against you —"
"Why did you remain here?"
"Going so far as to use your own body, in the final moment, to shield these children?"
"You should have known perfectly well — simply doing nothing would have been sufficient."
"Why subject yourself to this?"
Hearing his question, the Holy Emperor slowly lowered her head and fell into silence.
She raised her hand and lightly touched the wound on her forehead. The sharp sting made her brow furrow, but it also made her thoughts crystalline and clear.
"Because..."
"This is also my way of atoning, I suppose."
The Holy Emperor gave a bitter smile. The wind stirred her bloodstained hair. Her voice was a little hoarse, but it carried the calm of someone who had set down every last burden she'd been carrying.
"The me of before always sat in that lofty Holy Residence."
"Looking down at the crowds below through bulletproof glass."
"I devised the 'New Gastrea Law.' I called for equality, for coexistence."
"I believed that as long as I crafted comprehensive legislation, as long as I gave voice to fine-sounding slogans, everyone's hearts would come to hold goodwill."
"That this world would slowly become better."
"I believed I could protect them."
"The entire time, I was only indulging in my own self-satisfaction."
"But in reality..."
"I knew nothing at all."
"Without experiencing something firsthand, all theory is useless."
The Holy Emperor turned her head and glanced at the children now watching Haimer with reverent, adoring eyes.
"I don't know what hunger feels like. I don't know what it is to have someone look at you the way they look at garbage. I don't even know what it is to live a life where you might die forgotten in some alley at any moment."
"Until today."
"Only after I stepped down from my high seat myself — after I became wretched, after I was struck with stones — only then did I taste that truly helpless feeling."
"Only then did I come to fully understand —"
"Why you handed down this judgment."
"This world had long since rotted to its core."
"Patching it together cannot save it."
"Therefore —"
"Kami-sama."
With that, the Holy Emperor bowed deeply to Haimer once more.
"Whether as an incompetent ruler, or as an arrogant hypocrite —"
"I confess to both."
"I do not presume to seek your forgiveness."
"Only — I wish to know."
"How you intend to handle this world."
Haimer listened in silence until she had finished.
Admiration moved through his eyes.
Not only because of the substance of her words. But because on the system panel, the entry pertaining to the Holy Emperor was undergoing a subtle, quiet change — something interesting had appeared there that had not been there before.
"Miss Holy Emperor is curious about how I intend to handle this world?"
Haimer glanced at it with interest, and did not directly render a verdict on whether the Holy Emperor was guilty.
As a ruler, incompetence was indeed a sin. For it bore the weight of millions of lives.
But. Within the warped, broken framework of this world, what the Holy Emperor had been was simply overmatched — not wicked.
And so, Haimer gestured toward the children behind him — the ones now comforting one another and tending to each other's wounds.
"What does Kami-sama mean?"
The Holy Emperor blinked.
"The old order has collapsed. The parasitic figures of power have been purged."
"Every Cursed Child's virus has been cleansed. They possess strength. They possess courage. And most importantly — they possess a desire for peace more fervent than that of anyone else in this world."
"This wasteland is the perfect blank canvas."
"Therefore, I wish to let them govern it themselves."
"They will do it better than I ever could."
"The Gastrea, too, will serve as a source of labor — clearing the rubble, hauling stone, even tilling the earth. As workers, they are utterly without complaint."
Ah... so that was it.
The Gastrea as their force. The Cursed Children as their people.
An Eden — built from nothing, built for no one but the Cursed Children themselves.
The Holy Emperor understood.
At the thought of what this world might one day become, something flickered in her eyes — a glimmer of longing.
But just as quickly, it dimmed.
After all — there was no longer any place for her in that world.
"So then, Miss Holy Emperor — what are your plans?"
____
👻🔥Whant more?: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Re:Zero: Wrath Route Yandere Emilia Watches the Projection
Let's reach these milestones together:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 free chapter for all readers
👻 Walnut-chan on P...