Above the clouds floated a massive island suspended in the sky.
Golden flowers bloomed endlessly across its surface. It was a miracle crafted by a god.
It was also the divine ascension ground prepared by a newborn god for the final ritual of apotheosis.
No... not "he."
It was "They."
Here, They would complete the final ritual of ascension and become a true Sequence 0 god.
This place would also become Their kingdom in the heavens.
A sanctuary for mortals.
A final destination for believers.
Amid the endless sea of golden flowers, an incomparably beautiful woman danced joyfully through the blossoms.
She wore a flowing golden dress, and her long golden hair shone with the radiance of the sun itself.
Then the beautiful woman approached a black-robed deity with boundless joy upon her face.
The final ascension ritual had not yet been completed.
But there was no doubt that They were already a god.
Because the Uniqueness of Their Sequence was already in Their possession.
All that remained was the final ritual itself.
The woman opened her arms toward the deity before happily embracing her god.
Her charming face, beautiful enough to eclipse the flower sea itself, buried shyly against the deity's chest.
Before outsiders and believers alike, she was a woman overflowing with heroic spirit and majesty.
But in front of her god, she finally cast aside every burden and every piece of armor she carried.
Before Them, she was nothing more than a girl deeply in love.
Holding tightly to her god, the girl spoke in a soft and tender voice so quiet that perhaps no second person in the world could hear it:
"We promised, didn't we? Once the final ritual is complete, you will be my god, and I will be your king. We'll become the happiest couple in the entire world! Among all the gods and their kings, we'll be the pair everyone envies most!"
Gods and kings were companions.
More than that, they were the most fundamental structure of the world itself.
The god represented law.
The king represented humanity.
The bond between a god and their king was even deeper than that of lovers, because they truly depended upon one another.
A god could not exist without Their king.
And a king could never lose their god.
As she spoke, the girl reached up, wanting to remove the deity's hood.
She wanted to engrave every part of her god into her memory and preserve it as her most precious treasure.
But halfway there, her hand was gently caught by her god.
The black-robed deity quietly looked at the girl in Their arms before seriously saying:
"Not yet. You still cannot see my face."
Hearing this, the golden-haired girl revealed a slightly pouty expression of dissatisfaction.
But very quickly, she smiled again and said:
"Then hurry and complete the final ritual! Once that happens, I'll become your king, and you'll become my god. At that point, you won't have any reason left to refuse me!"
The black-robed deity nodded and replied:
"It truly is time for the final ritual."
"But before that... there is something I must apologize to you for."
The golden-haired girl tilted her head while resting against Their chest.
"Why would you apologize? Our relationship surpasses everything else. You never need to apologize to me for anything."
At those words, the black-robed deity fell silent for a brief moment.
Then, with deep tenderness, They raised a hand and gently placed it against the girl's cheek.
Slowly caressing her face, the deity regretfully said:
"The final apotheosis ritual of the Justice Path is very simple."
"And also utterly despairing."
"It requires neither frenzied sacrifices nor complicated ceremonies."
As They spoke, the deity's hand slowly moved to the girl's forehead.
With only the lightest touch, the girl, despite being a Sequence One Angel of Justice, became completely unable to move.
"The ritual required for the Justice Path to ascend from angel to god... is merely a grand deception and a death."
No further explanation was needed.
At that moment, everything had already been made clear.
After hearing those words, surprise briefly flashed across the girl's face.
Then it was replaced by boundless gentleness.
Even though her body could not move, even though words could no longer leave her lips, she still conveyed everything through her expression alone.
Just as she had said before, their relationship surpassed everything.
He never needed to apologize to her for anything.
Even if everything between them had been nothing more than a deception.
Even if her very existence had only been meant to become the final step of His ascension through the sacrifice of her life and soul.
Faced with such tenderness, even the black-robed deity hesitated.
After a long silence, They released the restraints on her body.
But only her body.
The divinity belonging to her Sequence One status remained firmly sealed.
Noticing this, the girl did not attempt any retaliation.
Instead, she simply lifted her hand once more toward the deity's hood.
And this time, the deity did not stop her.
Yet regretfully, the girl herself withdrew her hand halfway there.
A trace of sorrow appeared in her eyes.
Then she leaned backward, using the arm wrapped around her waist as support, allowing herself to fall into a tragically beautiful pose within her deity's embrace.
"Please ascend to godhood."
Hearing this, the deity silently raised a hand.
The girl closed her eyes in satisfaction.
She did not regret anything that had happened until now.
Even if everything had merely been a lie.
In fact, she was grateful that He had chosen her.
Grateful that a god had chosen someone who possessed nothing and granted her everything she never should have had.
And because of that, it was now her turn to repay it all.
The agony she expected soon arrived.
A terrifying power beyond her ability to comprehend tore through her chest.
She felt as though her very soul would be ripped apart by the overwhelming force.
But after a long time passed, the death she anticipated never came.
Instead, what arrived was a greatness beyond imagination.
The greatness known as Uniqueness and divine authority.
It truly had been a grand deception and a death.
But although the deceived party had indeed been the girl, the one who offered up death... was her god.
The girl opened her eyes in disbelief and looked toward the black-robed deity.
What she saw was Him with a massive portion of His existence missing from His chest.
Having handed the Uniqueness over to the girl, He could no longer endure any longer and collapsed together with her onto the ground.
Into her embrace.
The positions between them had reversed.
And the girl, no, the goddess, frantically held onto her only one.
Looking at Him continuously fading away within her arms, the goddess madly poured immense divine power into Him, desperately trying to stop His death.
But it was useless.
He was the staircase upon which the goddess had ascended.
Now that the goddess had received the gift, His death had become unavoidable.
Realizing this, the goddess burst into tears as she desperately clung to her only one.
"No... no, this can't be happening...!"
"No! I absolutely refuse!"
He merely raised a hand gently and placed it against the goddess's impossibly beautiful face, softly comforting her.
"There's no need to cry. Everything turned out well... didn't it?"
The goddess broke down sobbing.
"It didn't! None of this is good! Why? Why?!"
She could accept any betrayal from Him.
Anything at all.
Except His death and departure.
Faced with the grieving goddess, He peacefully dissolved into nothingness within her embrace.
Leaving only the golden-haired goddess alone amidst the endless sea of flowers, crying in despair.
The girl became a god.
The goddess lost her king.