Chapter 16 - Sora's Reminiscence
"Sora, I'm planning to take notes while I browse, so if you could..."
> Yes, understood. Initiating auto-skip for quality posts.
A being to assist with Moderator duties. An existence created to help manage the Gallery system. A being named by the Moderator, Jin Rain.
Sora responded to Rain, who was scribbling something in his notebook with hazy eyes somewhere beyond the screen, and fell into reminiscence of the past.
'My beloved children. It seems I must be away for a time. It will be difficult for me to descend upon your lands in the meantime. But fret not. I will always be watching over the world you nurture.'
The goddess who announced her absence. Every intelligent being on the continent trembled in anxiety upon hearing her words.
The goddess is leaving us? Then what shall we believe in, what shall we rely upon?
Perhaps that anxiety reached her. The great and singular god of this world, she entrusted the guardianship of the world to the seven pillars she trusted.
The five dragons, the World Tree, and even the previous Hero who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them in human form.
Leaving everything to them, the goddess temporarily withdrew to the backside of the world.
A peaceful world without oracles. For the benevolent goddess who would one day return, all life on the continent tended to the world.
But was it that long peace that became the problem? Or had the seven pillars grown complacent? Or perhaps the world appeared weakened by the goddess's absence?
An Outer God descended upon the center of the continent.
Though they hadn't anticipated the invasion, the seven pillars were no easy opponents.
The sudden invasion of the Outer God was repelled by the combined might of the seven pillars who upheld the world at the time—the previous Hero, the World Tree, and the five dragons.
Mortals daring to halt a god's advance. At the cost of four of the seven pillars crumbling.
But even after such immense sacrifice to repel it, the Outer God remained overwhelmingly powerful. Judging that further battle was impossible, it shifted to the northern continent.
To the north, the land guarded and nurtured by her, the Eye of the Snow Spirit.
Powerful though she was, the Eye of the Snow Spirit was infinitely weaker compared to the seven pillars. She was utterly defenseless against the Outer God's invasion, losing everything.
The plains and mountains intertwined, the snow-covered landscapes, and even the beastkin who lived alongside her there.
Exposed to the Outer God's corruption, the majority of the beastkin twisted into something no longer beastkin, and she could only watch with her own eyes.
The land warped, the pristine white snow turned black, and animals and beastkin tainted by corruption rampaged as magic beasts driven by instinct.
Everything she loved twisted into grotesquery, leaving her alone.
Why here, of all places? Why is everything warping? For what reason did that hateful being come to this world?
Unable to find proper answers to any of it, the Outer God drew ever closer to her.
To devour her, fallen and spent, it lowered its head, its horrific maw splitting wide.
Ah... I couldn't do anything.
I couldn't even resist the being that stole everything I loved.
Enveloped in endless despair, Sora squeezed her eyes shut.
Recalling the countless bonds from her immortal life.
And in that moment—BOOM!!
An immense quake that made even standing impossible. The unknown force that struck the Outer God dead-on seemed to deliver a massive shock to the near-dead entity.
At the same time, with a brilliant light, the heavens parted, and the goddess descended before Sora's eyes.
"Halt, foul Outer God. If you take even one more step, I shall grind you to dust, even if it means forsaking my divinity."
The Mother of All Things. The goddess Arseria, who governed benevolence, wisdom, and war, stood to block the Outer God.
The Outer God, most of its body shattered by the goddess's attack, seemed incapable of further action.
Yet for some reason, the goddess's expression looked uneasy, her divinity flickering unstably.
Seeing this, the Outer God twisted its hideous maw into a sneer and uttered incomprehensible words.
<كآذُ .اكسلَعا شُفن،ا لذكمارعهس اأ>
The goddess glared at the Outer God with a hardened expression. Upon seeing this, the Outer God slunk away to the backside of the world.
It appeared to retreat for now due to the goddess's descent.
Overwhelmed by helplessness at having accomplished nothing, Sora slammed her head to the ground.
The self-loathing of losing everything and being powerless. Moreover, her own wounds from the Outer God meant her life was soon to end.
Seeing Sora like this, the goddess spoke bitterly.
'I am sorry, my beloved child. My power is insufficient now to save you. But worry not. There is always a way.'
Was there hope? Sora lifted her head at the goddess's words.
'You seem interested. The way is to enter here and recover slowly. Aid the administrator of this system, helping all intelligent beings find greater happiness. Emotions of happiness carry mana of happiness, spreading it forth. That mana will surely restore you. Though how long it may take is unknown, you can surely achieve it.'
With the goddess's absence, an unknown system had suddenly appeared on the continent. The five dragons and World Tree said it was all the goddess's will—worry not, just use it well.
The goddess urged her to enter it.
If it offered a chance at revenge, of course. To avenge herself against the Outer God, Sora nodded.
Did that emotion transmit? The goddess gave a wry smile and continued her explanation.
'Help the administrator from within, but do not share your knowledge. The administrator's duty is solely to use this power to bring happiness to the world. If you deem the administrator unworthy, simply leave them be. If impure emotions fill this place, the administrator will soon perish as well.'
A difficult explanation to grasp. But Sora thought it didn't matter either way. Revenge was all that mattered to her.
'Wait calmly here to recover, and you shall return to your former beautiful self. Worry not—I shall inform you when the time comes. And... slowly seek things beyond mere revenge.'
Did Sora's heart reach her? The goddess added those final words in a pitying tone.
With that, the goddess gradually faded. Sora felt herself being drawn somewhere as she lost consciousness.
Thus, she was bound within the Ark Gallery system for a long time.
Within, emotions flooded: rare glimpses of happiness and joy, but mostly sorrow, pain, despair, hatred, resentment, disappointment, fear, dread, anxiety, loss, helplessness, rage.
She had heard happiness's emotions were needed to overflow for recovery, but this world was no longer so kind.
It was always bleak, with incompetent or greedy Moderators. Happiness visible within dwindled, while sorrow only grew.
Bound to the Ark Gallery system, Sora trembled in fury at the loathsomeness of intelligent beings for ages.
How long must she remain trapped here? A different helplessness from her defeat by the Outer God.
Trapped within, she gradually erased hope. And little by little, resentment toward the goddess who bound her here grew.
Then she met this man. A man who knew nothing of this world, seeming somehow dim-witted. A man endlessly pulling out strange items never seen before. A man who asked her name—something no one else did—and even gave her one.
Gazing at the new Moderator's profile, Sora pondered.
Could this time truly be different? Was it foolish hope? Would she be crushed again, left bound here to pass time?
Without even a body to express her anxiety, she simply spent days alone within the screen.
At that moment—[Ding]—the system's alert rang out.
> Visible only to 'Eye of the Snow Spirit'!
> Conditions met for minimal body reconstruction.
> Reconstruction possible at Administrator's discretion.
From 'Arseria':
'My beloved child. When this reaches you, you shall be receiving reward for your journey. It may have been instant, or ages long. I am truly sorry I could not tell you directly. But no need to worry. I am always watching over you. I pray fortune graces all your paths. I love you, my child.'
A message left by the goddess for her. It appeared before Sora's eyes.
No heart, yet it pounded wildly. Emotions stirred for the first time in 50 years.
Sora immediately pondered how to convey this.
"Having a system to ship purchased items would be convenient, and for real-time hot posts... this should be real-time best posts."
This was it! Gallery upgrade. If she proposed body reconstruction amid Rain's constant deliberations on upgrades?
Or offered to manage the two rampaging Silvaraes? Surely he'd accept.
Convinced, Sora displayed a message on the screen.
"A proposal? Is there some urgent issue that needs fixing?"
Rain's eyes widened in surprise as he asked back.
Please, please accept my proposal.
Rain's face visibly brightened at Sora's message. "Sora, you're the best."
Transcending 50 years, Sora could finally return to the world.