Next, my father Otto will start to grow impatient. Wendy's joining St. Freya is a major destabilizing factor in his plans, and he won't allow his schemes to slip from his control.
"You mean Otto will accelerate his plans?"
Kiana sat on her bed in her room, softly discussing topics incomprehensible to ordinary listeners.
Exactly—but don't worry, this was expected. Theresa will inevitably go to the secret laboratory beneath St. Freya Cathedral to seek answers. All you need to do is secretly follow her there...
"Then I just pretend to be lost in the Illusionary Realm and lure the Class Monitor and Otto in, right?"
No... Your disguise might fool everyone at the Academy, but it won't deceive my father. After five centuries, he has witnessed countless transformations. He can see through any pretense of truth and falsehood with a single glance.
"So what am I supposed to do? Just release that arrogant insect-mouth freak?"
No need for that... What do you think I placed Muninn by your side for, Kiana? You need to leverage every resource available to you—friends, allies, bystanders, even enemies.
"Leverage... I don't like that word, Snow."
I know, but you have no choice.
"Because, from a broader perspective, it's for the greater good—for me, for them, for the world, right?"
The purest streams are easily muddied, and the straightest trees are the first to break. A blade that's too rigid shatters easily. If you dislike the word "leverage," think of it as "borrowing." Ha, you'll probably never accept the idea of "exploiting others."
-
"When you take it for granted to exploit others, manipulate hearts, and dominate everything—you become just like us, a monster."
"A monster that has haunted history for five centuries, desperately trying to rewrite it... A monster that single-handedly saved and determined the fate of civilizations..."
The girl murmured beneath the tree, her words never reaching the White-Haired Knight's ears. It was as if the blonde girl were speaking only to herself.
-
Muninn will create a false persona for you. This persona will lose all memories of the Trials you've experienced, moving forward according to the story's predetermined conclusion... As expected, this fabricated personality will crumble instantly when Fu Hua defeats her and the Herrscher of the Void awakens.
"A false persona based on a version of myself without any Trial memories... Indeed, there's no more convincing method to deceive people... After all, in a way, it is 'me'..."
Exactly... To deceive others, you must first deceive yourself.
Hmm, though I'm not sure if you were just mentioning it casually, another vessel for your other self is already prepared... It's also an Armed Puppet... Well... I hope she likes it? Ha ha.
"You actually went through with it? Guess I'll just stick her in, then. She'll make a perfect pair with Bella when I bring them along."
"By the way, what's the puppet's destructive power...?"
By then, you'll be able to suppress her with a single hand... Hmm... She'll be a bit difficult to capture, though. After all, she's essentially a mini-version of the Herrscher of the Void. Even if her Authority and Core fall into your hands, she'll still retain some remnants of her original power.
"Ugh... To be honest, even after she's caught, I don't know how I'm supposed to talk to her..."
Kiana shifted her position, sitting cross-legged on the bed as she stroked her smooth chin thoughtfully.
The desire for material things corrupts the heart... Kiana—if I put a bag of chips in front of you right now, you wouldn't pounce on it like you used to, but you'd still feel that familiar craving, wouldn't you
"Ah, no such worldly desires... As if! Your plan is to overwhelm her with all sorts of delicious food, drinks, and entertainment?"
Mhm, mhm, mhm! Exactly! And then we'll get her a gaming console—a Nintendo, a PlayStation, fully loaded! What Herrscher could withstand that kind of temptation
"I'm already starting to feel tempted myself..."
Huh
"I mean myself..."
Tsk tsk, go find Muninn—it's time for everything to begin
Just as Kiana was about to ask more questions, the communication was abruptly cut off.
"...Sigh."
The white-haired girl suddenly remembered something she had overlooked earlier—a point Snow had glossed over:
When the Divine Aspect is killed, the vessel containing its consciousness disappears—what will become of Snow as a "person"?
"Sacrifice... You once showed me a future where countless people would brave fire and water for their beliefs. Standing at the end of the story, you told me it hadn't happened yet—that everything could still be changed."
The White-Haired Knight murmured to herself, recalling the final moments of her face-to-face conversation with Snow:
You must kill the other "me," my Deified Self—when that time comes, don't let this face make you hesitate—not even for a moment.
But what about you...? You, whose consciousness container will be destroyed...?
When a person is killed—they die. Isn't that obvious? I will vanish from this world...
My Spirit will return to the Highest Heaven—
Her companion had worn a faint smile, her expression serene, her tone matter-of-fact, as if she were speaking of someone else's imminent demise, not her own.
"And what you ultimately asked of me... was still sacrifice—from them to you..."
"Snow, has anyone ever told you... that you and your father can be equally ruthless at times...?"
The white-haired girl's sigh went unheard, fading into the air without a trace.
-
You've overlooked something crucial...
An utterly detached, almost emotionless voice echoed in the blonde girl's mind.
Snow's expression shifted from shock to confusion.
"How intriguing... You're actually interested in matters of the material universe? What? No longer retreating into your solitary confinement at the end of time? Another... 'me'?"
"Every leaf on this tree, down to the tiniest grain within each leaf, originates from 'me'. Why shouldn't I be interested?"
The detached voice seemed incapable of comprehending the thought processes of its other self.
"Heh, then tell me—what have I overlooked?"
"The human heart—"
The "God" offered an answer that left the "Human" momentarily stunned.
"The human heart? Pfft! A God who doesn't understand the human heart claims I don't understand it?"
"And do you truly understand it? You've never revealed your full plans to a single one of them—not even your companion... and some among them have suffered terribly because of it."
The emotionless voice betrayed no hint of anger or amusement, seemingly unfazed by the mockery from its other self.
"We are the same... identical in essence, sharing this Authority, partaking in this glory, bound to this eternity—equally incapable of comprehending humanity... merely clumsy imitations."
The God's answer plunged the Human into silence... and this profound silence eventually transformed into bewilderment.
"Who are you (me)...?"
"..." The voice's owner fell silent, offering no further response.
He is the Father in Heaven, you are the Son on Earth, and I am the Spirit that binds you together. We are one, sharing this supreme glory and authority.
She concealed these words in her heart, never uttering them aloud.
Rather than saying you intend to kill me... it would be more accurate to say you plan to banish me, your guardian, back to the Imaginary Tree, to run away from home...
Heh—then do it... after all—fate is, by its very nature, such.
In the pure white sea of consciousness, a girl with the same face as Snow sat serenely on a white Throne, a faint smile playing on her lips as she sank back into her endless contemplation.