Chapter 302: Karma (XX)
"Luntheris, you cannot defy your fate."
Upon a mountain of corpses, a man sat like a king on his throne of death.
His long, silky white hair gleamed faintly in the moonlight, his piercing blue eyes glowing with unholy radiance.
In his hand rested a massive violet scythe, its edge dripping with the divine ichor of countless gods.
Before him stood thirteen deities, their combined presence shaking the heavens.
Chronos, the God of Time.
Seraph, the Goddess of Reincarnation.
Livia, the Goddess of Light.
Lucifer, the God of Darkness.
Cecilia, the Goddess of Fate.
And much more...
For the first time in countless ages, they had set aside pride and rivalries, uniting for one single purpose... eliminating the man before them.
However, even at his weakest point, Luntheris laughed, actually laughed, causing the gods to hesitate on attacking them.
"Ah... this is so fucking funny," he slowly stood up from the pile of corpses.
All of them were corpses of gods at the eight-star level, and Luntheris had effortlessly dealt with them.
"My dear Cecilia, you and your so-called fate... haven’t you grown tired of it, yet?" He looked towards her, his blue eyes shining sinisterly.
"You don’t understand," Seraph snapped, pressing a hand to her chest. "No matter how many times you return, we will end you again and again. That is the cycle!"
"Ah, yes..." Luntheris tilted his head, as though humoring a child.
"This must be... what, my ninety-eighth reincarnation? I’m sick of it. Marching down the same paths, living the same damn story over and over... all because I had no memory of the last. For that, I should applaud you, Cecilia. You forced me into your little play."
His eyes glinted slighly.
"But this time... my next life will be different."
"Different?" Chronos scoffed, slamming the butt of his staff against the ground.
"How many times have we heard those words? Your ninety-ninth reincarnation will be your last. The Moon Goddess’s ancient hourglass has nearly crumbled from overuse. You’ve squandered a divine artifact on your pathetic struggle."
Such a precious artifact, and it was used on someone like Luntheris. Chronos was beyond enraged.
"You dare mock me?" Luntheris raised his scythe, pointing its tip at Chronos.
His smile widened into a merciless one.
"All of you, thirteen nine-star gods, united to kill one eight-star god. Tell me, who is truly pitiful here?"
"If I reach nine-star... I would erase you all. Not one of you would remain."
At his words, Lucifer threw back his head and laughed madly.
"And yet, you’ll never reach it. You’ll die here, Luntheris!"
"Maybe not now," Luntheris murmured.
His aura stirred as a violet aura enveloped his body.
"But enough talk. Let’s just end this, already."
"Finally!" Lucifer roared.
The thirteen gods raised their weapons, divinity blazing, their combined might shaking the sky itself.
But then, something in Luntheris’s eyes shifted, a sharp, cold brilliance, like the moon reflected on the edge of a blade.
His lips curled into a whisper that froze even gods in place:
"Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art..."
『 Seventh Move!
(✯ Absolute Zero Eclipse ✯) 』In an instant, the battlefield was swallowed in blinding white. Space froze, time stilled, and the gods themselves felt the chill of annihilation bite into their bones.
But in the end... after a long struggle, Luntheris was finally defeated, taking nine of the thirteen gods with him.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Luna?"
The moment my brain analyzed the received memories, I instinctively called out.
"Yes, dear?" Luna, the Goddess of the Moon, looked at me with her frozen ocean eyes... her expression was no longer cold, and instead, she even had a small smile on her lips.
Honestly... my memories were a damn mess.
I guess that’s what happens when you reincarnate over 99 times...
"Did the ancient hourglass break?"
"...It did," she stretched out the palm of her hand, and then, a small hourglass, albeit broken, hovered in the air, with silver sand dripping out.
I nodded slighly before smiling faintly.
"Worthy it."
"Huh? Why?" Luna raised an eyebrow at my happy expression.
I instantly rubbed her chin, something I always did to her, and she liked it very much, almost like a puppy begging its owner for attention.
"This reincarnation was different indeed...," I couldn’t help but lick my lips.
Never had I thought that I’d actually fuck the Goddess of Light’s avatar. That’s quite funny, but based on Livia’s personality...
"Tsk..."
She probably wants me to become her husband because of her obsession with cleanliness.
Also... I really found the [Midnight] sword?
How come I’m so lucky in this reincarnation? The other times, they weren’t in the Yggdrasil tree, nor on the Nether or the Divine Realm.
Oh...
And Kagetaro actually revealed that she was a woman?
There’s also Ella, who actually turned into Yennefer much earlier than intended, not to mention that Christina actually betrayed the Goddess of Light.
And Eleonora... she was forced to ascend by Yennefer.
What do the two of them have on mind?
"...I guess breaking Chronos’s staff was worth it, that way he couldn’t really track me down through the timelines," I sighed in relief.
That fucker was always the most difficult to deal with.
"But hey, what’s up with the last peek into the future?" I asked Luna, who was desperately clinging to my body.
"... You weren’t the only thing that changed this time," Luna declared, peeking out her head and wiping the drool from her lips.
"The Gods decided to create an academy for newly ascended gods, and because of that, they found you much sooner than expected. But well, since I granted you that system, I was able to give you a glimpse into the future and use Chrono’s power to finally let you meet me, which is why we’re here..." she explained.
I took a look around.
"The Domain of Nothingness, huh?"
I waved my hand and pulled my status window towards me.
"Wait... I’ve awakened Chaotic Energy this early?" I muttered with widened eyes.
"Sweet."
So, my combat power should reach the peak of the god realm.
That’s a great start indeed, as I normally got my memories during the time I was simply an SS-rank awakener.
It’s crazy that such a small thing changed everything.
I guess that’s why they call it... the snowball effect.
Other than that... I should start training the others seriously since I’ll be leaving for the Divine Realm.
I’m sure that Vivian is strong enough to protect everyone, but Christina... she’s a ticking bomb that I’ll need to keep under my watch.
Or...
I could bring her to the Divine Realm.
She would be pretty useful since she already possesses Divinity, while I can only get Divinity when I become a true god.
Now that I think about it... should I take Lilith to visit her mother?
By that I mean using the Succubus Queen to meet the Succubus Goddess... that could be worth a try since I actually subdued Lilith.
But again, I don’t want to make trouble with the Nether Queen anytime soon.
So... the only thing remaining to do is train my little servants and lovers.
"Luna, I’ll be leaving now..." I said, stretching my arms and yawning.
My wings rustled softly behind me, ready to take flight.
She froze immediately.
Her head tilted, her icy hair falling over her shoulders like waves of moonlight. Her big ocean eyes narrowed.
"Leaving? Leaving?" she repeated, her voice sharp and high-pitched, almost like she couldn’t believe it.
"Yes... I need to... check a few things," I said, trying to sound casual.
"No!" she shouted suddenly, slamming her small hands onto the floor. I almost stumbled back from the force.
"You cannot leave! Do you hear me? Cannot!"
I blinked.
Not again...
"Uh... Luna, it’s just for a little while. I’ll be back."
She let out a dramatic huff, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"A little while? You’re saying it like... like you’re going shopping! You’re leaving me alone, Aestrea. Do you know how traumatizing that is for me?"
"I... it’s not traumatizing," I said slowly.
"I’ll come back. I promise."
Her face scrunched up like she was about to cry.
Then she stomped a tiny foot on the floor, making a faint thud.
"Promises? Promises mean nothing without me seeing you! You’re going out there, doing... whatever you do, and you’re not even taking me with you. This is... this is outrageous!"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Outrageous?"
"Outrageous!" she repeated, pointing at me with both hands.
"Do you know how lonely I get? Sitting here, waiting for you, staring at this boring... boring nothingness!" She waved dramatically at the empty, gray space around us.
"Do you have any idea how boring this is? Huh? Huh?!"
"...I guess it is kind of empty," I admitted.
"Kind of empty?" she shrieked.
"Kind of empty?! This is a void! It’s a prison without you! You’re leaving, and I... I... I have to sit here alone and twiddle my thumbs while you’re off being... you or... whatever! This is unfair!"
I blinked.
Honestly, I’d fought gods and survived apocalypses, but Luna yelling about loneliness was... different.
She crouched down suddenly, pouting like a child.
"If you leave, I swear... I’ll... I’ll... I’ll hide your shoes! Or... or your wings! Yes! I will tie your wings together so you cannot leave! You’ll be stuck here forever!"
I couldn’t help but let out a snort.
"Tie my wings... Luna, you can’t tie my wings."
"Oh, I’ll find a way!" she said, bouncing a little on her heels.
"I’m the Moon! I can do anything! You think you can just walk out and leave me here? Ha! Not happening!"
She jumped onto the edge of my lap suddenly, wrapping her arms around my neck like a tiny blanket.
"You’re not leaving. Not for a single second. I don’t care if the gods come knocking, I don’t care if Chronos himself shows up—I will keep you here!"
I tried to shift her gently, but she clung tighter. Her legs swung around my waist.
"No. No. No! You cannot leave me! You’re mine! My precious, perfect, annoying Aestrea is mine! And I don’t care what anyone says!"
I gave a short laugh, shaking my head.
"You are... ridiculously spoiled, you know that?"
Her face scrunched up again, and she shoved a finger into my chest.
"Ridiculously spoiled? Me? You’re the one who’s going to leave me here to die of boredom! How dare you!"
I raised my hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay! I won’t go... for now."
Her eyes sparkled, and a wicked little grin appeared.
"Good. Smart choice, Aestrea. Very smart. And you’d better not even think about leaving me again, I’ve already waited more than 98 lifetimes for you!"
I nodded slighly.
I understood how she felt... because I wasn’t the only one experiencing these regressions, as Luna was also the co-owner of the ancient hourglass, so she too experienced them.
...And thousands and thousands of years waiting for me, must be... a literal pain.
But yeah...
I clenched my fists tightly.
This time... it will be different.