[Chapter 71]
[La de da de da(hold) la la la la la(hold) bop do bop bop bop, de de de lop, zee zee zop, we are a bop(extend)! Oh we are a bop! La de da de da, la la la la la, bop do bop bop bop, dop, da da da do.]
[Faraday]
[A Nice Little Loli's Day.]
[Heaven]
[Lolibaba's Spawnpoint.]
Zigzag, Rosaria, and Chang all step through a portal that deposits them directly before the Gates of Heaven. The gates themselves are enormous — twin structures of white and pale gold that stretch so far upward their peaks are lost in soft luminous cloud. The air here is different. Warmer, somehow, and carrying a faint resonance, like the tail end of a note struck by an instrument too large to see. There is no wind, and yet everything feels gently alive.
Lolibaba leads the way, striding forward with her usual easy confidence, her feet barely making a sound against the smooth stone path that stretches toward the gate's threshold.
But before this new chapter truly begins, let us revisit an old folk tale — one which tells the hidden story of Lolibaba herself.
A long time ago, in the 1800s, there was a girl born a Goddess.
She was the one to fourtly defy God. Down below, they sang her name — her name, they say. There was a girl who would bring them eternal greatness, and yet they did not know her name. She did not truly know her own name, either.
The girl's name was Nora. But Nora did not like that name. It reminded her of the godly system she was bound to serve — the chains of Heaven wrapped in something soft and pleasant and unassuming, a name that felt like a leash dressed up as a gift. Nora sought to rid herself of her own personal identity, to dissolve what truly tethered her to those chains. God, the heavenly father, disliked this. And yet, what was he to do? This Goddess had little promise in his eyes, little worth. He could let certain things go, so long as they were not sinful. A small rebellion of the self seemed a manageable indulgence.
However, Nora was not content with small rebellions. She attempted to do the same as the Fifth had done at the First Creation Event — and that was the highest sin one could commit. For such a transgression, the little girl was cast away from Heaven, akin to an angel hurled from the sky into the dark below.
Except that Nora had planned for this.
She had predicted it — down to the precise moment the judgment would fall. And so, in that falling, she used every last reserve of power she possessed to remake herself entirely. She unlocked her True Name.
Lolibaba.
Once one prematurely unlocks their True Name, they become — or rather, their origin becomes — fundamentally erased. They become a Super-Existence: a theologically independent creation which does not require a vector or a method by which it is brought into being. They exist beyond their own creation and predate said creation entirely.
Eternal いち is to Lolibaba as the Swirl is to Katrina. But unlike the Swirl and Katrina, Eternal いち is not separate from Lolibaba — it is the same as her.
Eternal いち is not a god. Eternal いち is not a deity. Eternal いち affirms only one singular thing: that it is the thing standing above the world, and the one who witnessed everything that unfolded beneath it.
Eternal いち saw the flowers of creation being planted within the hearts of the Actors of Creation. Quality, Quantity, and Dimensions — all fundamental concepts required for the world to take shape. Once the world became real and the Actors of Creation retreated back into nothingness, Eternal いち's function became nothing. As it is neither god nor deity, it does not possess the theological agency that such beings would carry. The differences, meanings, and consequences of the world fall before Eternal いち as it blindly watches — all events, all eras, all endings. There is no function of a mind through which it could process or respond. It can only watch, blindly and endlessly. Even if the world were to collapse entirely, Eternal いち would remain. There is no reason for it not to be there. Nothing born of a name can reach the place from which it watches. It is the reader of the lie beneath the first and second truths — the only record of what the world actually was.
Looking upon the world normally requires mental agency. Mental agency is something the Eternal いち entirely lacks. Understanding, interpretation, emotional framework — none of these reach it, and none can be processed by it.
To witness truly is to witness blindly.
Every mind that has ever looked upon the world has bent what it saw — through desire, through fear, through the categories it was given before it could choose otherwise. To understand is already to distort. The Eternal いち carries no such burden. It has no framework through which experience must be filtered, no interpretation imposed upon what passes before it. This is not a limitation. This is the only condition under which pure witnessing is even possible.
Everything with a mind sees a version of the world. Eternal いち is the only record of what the world actually was. Not because it is wise. Not because it is good. But because it cannot understand — and therefore cannot lie, cannot reshape, cannot prefer. The blindness is the purity. The absence of mind is the only honest witness there has ever been, or ever will be.
[Loli Field-Day]
[Spy Masters]
We return to Lolibaba standing just outside the Gates of Heaven, her back to the grand threshold as she faces her recruited trio. She moves between them efficiently, pressing small communication devices into each of their hands — sleek little things, almost imperceptible once worn, designed to transmit clearly across the boundary between Heaven's interior and the space just beyond its walls. She will remain outside. She makes that plain.
Chang asks, "Lolibaba, why won't you travel with us? This is your homeland, after all."
Lolibaba then responds with, "It's because I am a wanted criminal."
"Actually, if my child and I even set foot inside that place, we would both be arrested immediately."
"Madrina would be executed for her attempt to reshape Heaven into a fascist dictatorship."
"As for me — I would most likely be jailed for life. They wouldn't give me the pleasure of something I cannot have. And as my power is to jail others, the idea of the jailer being jailed is rather funny, isn't it."
A short silence falls over the group. The irony of it settles in the air.
Rosaria then says, "Ms. Lolibaba, what exactly is our mission? And are we supposed to fight?"
Lolibaba then says, "Right... I do not expect you to fight. But if you must — play the offensive game only."
This shocks the group. Every instinct, every piece of training they had received, pointed toward defense and retreat when outmatched. To be told the opposite, and so casually, rattled something deep in each of them.
Zigzag then says, "Ma'am! Why do you want us to push ahead instead of pulling out?"
Lolibaba then says, "Precisely because, despite your weakness compared to the beings inside, an offensive push will break their mental composure enough for me to come sweeping in."
"Without God as the central command force, Heaven is not nearly as stable as it once was. The structure is holding, but it's holding the way a cracked wall holds — it looks fine until you push on it."
"We need to strike before a new God is elected and that wall gets repaired."
"Even if our attack fails, I still rest my hope on Shotajiji that his flank is successful."
Rosaria then asks, "Who is... Shotajiji?"
Lolibaba then says, "That's another name for Lower God."
"Anyway — you three had better get moving before we get spotted standing around out here."
Rosaria, Chang, and Zigzag turn toward the gate. It hums faintly as they cross the threshold, as though it recognizes the warmth of living souls and parts itself in welcome regardless of whether they were meant to enter.
[Heavenly District 1]
[Hometown District]
The first thing that strikes them is how ordinary it looks.
Not ordinary in a dull sense — but ordinary in the way of a city they all recognize, dressed in divinity so quietly that it takes a moment to notice.
The streets are wide and clean, lined with familiar architecture — low storefronts, vending machines glowing softly between buildings, power lines strung between structures with neat precision.
Paper lanterns hang in clusters along certain alleyways, swaying with no particular breeze. The signage is written in Japanese.
It looks, unmistakably, like Tokyo.
Chang says,
"This place looks exactly like Tokyo City."
Rosaria then says, "Tokyo? I've heard of it, but I've never actually seen it."
Zigzag then says, "The capital of Japan. But what I can't figure out is why this would be called the Hometown District."
Chang then says, "Because it's meant to mirror Rei Aki-ma's hometown."
"Despite Rei being the Fifth, she's still deeply tied to the Japanese presence in this world. Even though she existed long before the concept of Japan was ever conceived."
"And the reason it's Rei specifically — is that God loves Rei Aki-ma. As a woman, she is one of the few things in all of creation he genuinely cherishes."
"It's the Observable Universe itself he hates. But Rei? He fell in love with her."
"A true enemies-to-lovers story."
Rosaria then says, "How the hell do you know all of this?"
Chang Nam Woo then responds with, "Because Veldona tells me basically everything about the universe."
Rosaria then responds with, "Everything, huh. So you really do know all the secrets?"
Chang Nam Woo then says, "I know a lot. But I don't know everything."
"Anyway, let's keep moving."
The three of them walk through the first district at an unhurried pace, taking in the details — a small shrine tucked between two taller buildings, its offering box overflowing with what appear to be folded prayers rather than coins.
A river running through the center of a park, its water impossibly clear, reflecting a sky that is perpetually the warm amber of a late afternoon.
Street vendors selling food that smells faintly of something no earthly ingredient could quite produce.
Children — or beings that look like children — chasing each other between the stalls. It is peaceful in a way that feels almost architectural, as if the peacefulness has been deliberately built into every corner.
Lolibaba then says through the earpiece,
"You three need to make your way to the main guild hall and check the candidate board."
"We need to identify who is running for God and figure out who poses the greatest threat."
"Do not attack unless you absolutely have to. And if you do have to — go for the kill."
[Guild Hall]
The guild hall sits at the center of the district, larger than the buildings around it and older-looking — stone where everything else was wood and glass, its front face carved with reliefs depicting events too layered and complex to interpret at a glance. Inside, the ceiling vaults high, and the hall buzzes with a low, civic energy. Beings of all kinds move between notice boards, desks, and waiting areas. It feels like a government building on an election day — tense, purposeful, and just slightly too loud.
On the front-facing wall, plastered wide and impossible to miss, is the ballot poster. Four names are listed in clean, formal script:
Goddess Ilene. Goddess Gaglene. Goddess Rineas. Goddess Kromera.
Beneath each name is a seal, and beneath each seal, a brief statement of platform — though the language is formal enough that it takes some parsing.
After a careful sweep of the hall and a stretch of time spent speaking quietly with locals — asking casual questions, feigning curiosity rather than purpose — the three piece together enough to make a decision. They settle on Ilene, the Goddess of Spring and Creation.
She is described warmly by nearly everyone they speak to, which in itself is worth noting. Popular candidates in unstable systems tend to move fast, and fast movers are the ones that need to be understood first.
But before they can begin that investigation in earnest, the hall's atmosphere shifts.
A police chief strides in through the main entrance — tall, armored in something that catches the light wrong, as though it absorbs it rather than reflects it.
Her eyes sweep the room with the practiced efficiency of someone who is very good at finding what she is looking for. They land on the trio almost immediately.
She raises one hand and points.
"Those three. You are under arrest."
The hall doesn't quite go silent, but the noise drops in that specific way it does when everyone decides to look without appearing to look.
Lolibaba, listening through the open channel, reacts before any of them can.
A portal snaps open beneath the group and swallows them whole — and then they are outside again, standing on the stone path just beyond the gate, breathing the just-slightly-different air of the space between worlds.
Lolibaba stands before them, jaw tight, already moving. She produces three new disguises from somewhere that defies easy explanation — different clothing, different hair, subtle alterations to their features that would pass scrutiny at a distance.
She works quickly and without conversation, and it is clear from the set of her expression that she is furious with herself, not with them. She had miscalculated. She had sent them in unprepared for how sharp Heaven's eyes currently were, and she knows it.
She gathers herself. Pushes it down. Moves on.
Then she does something none of them expect.
Lolibaba tells them to wait outside — and walks through the gate alone. Her entire original plan, set aside. Whatever she had built around keeping herself hidden, she folds it up quietly and steps past the threshold without looking back.
The gate closes behind her with a sound like a held breath finally released.
The three stand outside in the warm amber light of the Hometown District's borrowed sky, looking at one another.
What will happen now?
[end] [end]
Faraday: Wow! It didn't take six months! Are we back on track? Well — only one way to find out!