《Administrator's Assistant》


 Foreword

    Alright, so, first off let''s talk spoilers for other series:


    For The Outlands, things are rather more distant than Swarming Sovereignty, so the characters you see are going to be at the "end" of their arcs, so to speak. Their interpersonal relationships will be mostly set in stone relative to how they are in The Outlands, and you can expect some spoilers on their power levels and abilities. There are also some spoilers in regards to changes Amy has made on her planes because of the events of The Outlands, but these are relatively minor.


    For Swarming Sovereignty, this takes place in the immediate future; expect spoilers in relationship progress, in progress of their conquest, and some references to events that haven''t yet happened but will happen in the relatively near future (though, for the ones I can think of off of the top of my head, that they''ll be happening at all isn''t a spoiler, it''s pretty obvious that those things will happen). I half-expect to get to the point in Swarming Sovereignty where the events of Administrator''s Assistant occur, but in that case we''d be looking at different PoVs for those events and the focus being different. Really, we''d only have a few events overlap and what is focused on during those events will be different, since Administrator''s Assistant is focused on completely different things than Swarming Sovereignty, but there might be some overlap there.


    With that out of the way, I have one other thing I want to talk about, namely, the use of AI art for the cover. If anyone is wondering, I used Dezgo to generate it, and it took quite a while to get something I was happy with. Yes, that is Lilith in the picture, no, it''s not perfect, but it''s close enough.


    Now, I know there will be people that disagree with this decision, who believe AI art is unacceptable, and while I understand your opinion, I have to respectfully disagree. I have a few reasons and some responses to common arguments I see, but please, please keep discussion of this topic limited to this foreword only - if I see comments on it elsewhere, I will delete them. I''m also not going to take to the comments to debate the usage of AI art. I polled it already and the majority of people were totally cool with it, so I''m proceeding forwards. For now, here''s my take on the subject. It''s stream of thought and a bit rambly, so feel free to skip this if you don''t care, it''s really not important.


    First off, why should you care what I have to say on the topic? Well, I got my bachelors in computer science, meaning that I have taken classes on AI, and, unlike most people, I have actually coded a neural network. It''s a rather simple one that simply tries to identify handwritten numbers, and there was some class-provided code (namely, the "background" stuff like file input and other well-understood algorithms that we had either done before in the class or weren''t the focus), but I coded the logic, the "brain" myself.


    Which is all to say that I''m not your average random person on the internet, I actually have an academic background on the subject. Unfortunately, you''re just going to have to trust me on this one; I''m not going to post pictures of my degree so I don''t accidentally dox myself, but it''s not exactly an unreasonable claim either, so please bear with me on that.


    Anyway, I don''t see a problem with AI art at all. I know there''s a lot of fear regarding it, but at the end of the day, AI is just a tool, and it''s reaching a kind of people that haven''t had their work impacted in this way before. Or, at least, not to this scale. You may be interested to know that this isn''t the first of these scares to occur, not by far; with many big advancements in tech, people have their livelihoods impacted, and the kind of fear and outcry we''re seeing against AI has happened many times before.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The example I always like to use is cars; back when cars were becoming popular, the Teamsters'' Union, the people who dealt with transportation, had a really similar crisis. Everything was done via horses or train back then, so introducing a new, more convenient form of transportation naturally upended their work. There was a lot of commotion about it, but in the end things settled down, and I think that most people can agree that we would rather not go back to the time before cars. And, indeed, the Teamsters'' Union is still going strong (in the US) - they lived through it. In the same way, art, writing, music, and other creative pursuits will live through AI. AI is simply another way of creating something, and one that is more accessible to people.


    There will be changes. People will be forced to adapt to the new landscape, but they will adapt. And, no matter how advanced AI gets, there will always be a demand for human-produced goods; you can see it today, how there are still plenty of people who sell handmade goods, and often handmade goods go for a higher price than those made in a factory. People like the "authenticity" of it. I don''t say this from a position that is unaffected by AI, either; coding is hugely impacted by AI, just as much as art is. I''m not worried about losing a job or having my education become worthless because of it, though, not so long as I am flexible and learn how to integrate AI with my work.


    As for the validity of it as art, the picture I made took hours to get right, with dozens of iterations, some manual editing of the image, and toying with keywords and values to get what I want. In many ways, I would argue that that is just as valid a piece of art as any other; it wasn''t something I just generated and was done with, I had to put in work, and I''m sure there are artists who could draw or paint something just as good, if not better, in that time.


    One common thing I see said is that AI art is art theft because it was (probably) trained on art without the artist''s consent. And, if you hold this opinion, I''m sorry to inform you that you, too, are an art thief. In fact, we all are art thieves. We only know things based on our experience; if I was to tell someone to draw something in an anime style, it would be meaningless if they had not seen anime-styled art before. AI being trained on an image is, roughly, the equivalent to a human looking at it, the same sort of process happens. AI is not lifting pixels from an individual piece of art or anything, it''s generating probabilities and putting the most likely pixel in a place based on the instructions it''s given and what it''s been trained on. Most AI probably doesn''t even keep what it''s been trained on in any form of storage, it just tweaks numbers in its calculations and moves on.


    Now, I want to make clear that I don''t think AI art is never art theft, I just think the line between art theft and not is...basically the same as it is with a human. And, personally, I feel that if the art is out there on the internet, publicly available for anyone to see without a paywall, and the artist doesn''t explicitly say not to train AI with it, then it is completely ethical to train AI with it. Yes, that person probably didn''t give explicit consent for their art to be used for training, but they probably didn''t give explicit consent for you to view it. Private or paywalled content is entirely different, though, but I doubt any big AI is trained using that sort of content; there''s no need to pay for something when there''s a ton of free stuff elsewhere that''s just as useable for their purposes.


    Anyway, that''s all for me, I hope you enjoy this series, and thanks for reading!

 Chapter 1: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

    Lilith came to in a featureless void, standing on some unseen surface. She had just gone to sleep with her wife, Kali, so she assumed she was dreaming, but it didn¡¯t feel like a dream, it felt¡­real. Mae? Eve? Nuwa? She called out to her Parallels, alternate personalities that had become more like other people that she shared senses and memories with.


    They are not here, little one. A voice boomed, a calm blue washing over the void in front of Lilith. It is just us.


    Lilith frowned. ¡°Kali?¡± She questioned. ¡°Why are you pretending to be the Elder Gods again? We can just¡­talk.¡±


    Bursts of amused pink filled the space. She is asleep. Another voice said. And, though she might think otherwise, she never truly impersonated us. We simply made her believe she did. Ask her when she wakes; things are not as they seem, and she knows.


    ¡°She knows? And she didn¡¯t say anything?¡±


    She has yet to receive full confirmation, and did not wish to worry you. Yet another voice intoned. But that is not important; we have come to you, our kin, to warn you.


    ¡°Warn me of what?¡± Lilith asked cautiously.


    The world moves, the first voice boomed, a turbulent black with flashes of white suddenly enveloping the space, and you are our piece. The equilibrium will be soon broken, and you must prepare.


    ¡°What equilibrium? When?¡±


    Uncertain. The second voices said. We believe we are the first players to move, but we cannot be sure. Should we be correct, the balance will be broken when you choose. Should we be incorrect¡­you may have as short as decades or as long as millennia. Do not let it come to that; should the first move not be yours, your victory becomes less certain.


    ¡°So¡­there are other Elder Gods interacting with other people? And they¡¯ll be put at odds with me?¡± Lilith asked.


    There are two other groups, and they will likely be antagonistic. The third voice intoned. They wish to win our game, as do we.


    We have seeded your circle of influence with all the tools you will need to succeed. The first voice boomed. And we believe you are capable.


    ¡°What am I succeeding at? Do I even have a choice, if you can manipulate Administrators?¡± Lilith asked frustratedly.


    Survival. The second voice said. The board has been set, our manipulations finished. Even if that were not the case, you always have a choice. As our piece, you are our kin, and we cannot manipulate you. What fun is a game in which the outcome is known?


    If you so choose, you are free to ignore us entirely, or to work against us. The third voice intoned. We care not. We make no demands of you, no requirements. Our only advice is that you grow strong enough to trample over all that comes your way. Farewell, little one.


    And, before Lilith could speak again, the dream ended, and she bolted upright in her bed. Kali was snoozing peacefully next to her, and Eve was cuddled up next to her, also fast asleep.


    Lilith? Everything alright? Nuwa asked. You look unnerved.


    Lilith sighed mentally. I suppose. And you¡¯re up¡­why? It¡¯s five in the morning.


    I don¡¯t need sleep like you do, and I wanted to do a few more raids. Nuwa said defensively. She inhabited the body of the core of the dungeon they were in, and had, with Mae¡¯s help, integrated several computer components into herself, allowing her to effectively use a computer without needing hands or eyes or anything, and she more often than not spent most of her time there instead of paying attention to the dungeon proper.


    You will be getting your three hours, right? Lilith said reproachfully. You still get mentally tired, and none of us like the spillover that can have.


    I will! Nuwa replied quickly. I¡¯ve learned my lesson, promise. But, seriously, you good? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you wake up like that.


    Lilith shared the memories of the dream with her, and the was a period of silence. Oh. Nuwa finally said. Well, I can confirm that Kali was asleep the whole time. Yeah, let¡¯s get everyone up.


    Nuwa sent out a mental nudge of sorts, and Mae and Eve roused. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Eve moaned. ¡°I was having a good sleep there.¡±


    Lilith shared her memories with the two, and Eve¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°Kali, wake up.¡± She said, gently shaking their wife. ¡°It¡¯s important.¡±


    Kali groaned slightly as she woke. ¡°Huh?¡± She asked. ¡°Why are you two awake?¡±


    ¡°Kali¡­I¡¯m afraid I have bad news.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We should give you a moment to wake up before we talk, this isn¡¯t something we can afford to talk about while you¡¯re half-asleep.¡±


    Kali quickly got up, hopping off of the bed and moving towards the kitchen. ¡°Did Nuwa notice something? Did war break out? I know things have been tense down there lately, but I thought we¡¯d have a month or two before things started in earnest.¡±


    ¡°Nothing like that.¡± Lilith replied, following her wife into the kitchen. ¡°But it¡¯s almost certainly worse.¡±


    Kali turned back to Lilith, giving her the briefest of frowns. ¡°Worse? Did Levi somehow start rampaging? No one should be near him, and I¡¯ve got alarms set up for if he moves too far away from his lair.¡±


    Lilith sighed. ¡°Nuwa has some coffee ready, especially potent stuff.¡± She said. ¡°Drink up and we¡¯ll discuss.¡±


    Kali entered the kitchen, grabbing the mug that Nuwa had used the dungeon to create and downing it in one gulp. She shuddered briefly as the coffee kicked in, bypassing her natural resistances as a succubus thanks to some eldritch help, then sat down at the island. ¡°Alright. Spill it.¡±


    ¡°I¡­had a visit from the Elder Gods just now.¡± Lilith said. ¡°At first I thought it was you again, but they said that, apparently, you were actually never involved in my first conversation with them, they just gave you a false memory of doing it.¡±


    Lilith braced for some sort of objection, but Kali just sighed. ¡°I was afraid of that.¡± She said.


    ¡°They¡­said that you knew something was wrong but didn¡¯t want to worry me when you weren¡¯t fully sure of it.¡± Lilith prompted. ¡°What happened on your end?¡±


    Kali hopped off of her stool and began pacing back and forth. ¡°Tell me about your conversation first.¡± She instructed. ¡°I want to see how much of it can be corroborated with what I know or suspect.¡±


    ¡°Right. So¡­after they said they weren¡¯t you, they said they had come to warn me, and that I was their ¡®kin¡¯, whatever that means. They said that some equilibrium will soon be broken, and that they¡¯re the first ones to make a move, but they¡¯re not totally sure. If they¡¯re right, they¡¯re banking on me breaking whatever equilibrium this is, but if they¡¯re not, they say it¡¯ll be anywhere from decades to millennia.¡±


    Kali¡¯s face soured as Lilith spoke, but she didn¡¯t say anything, so Lilith continued. ¡°This is some sort of¡­game to them, and I¡¯m their chosen piece, apparently. There are two other groups, and presumably two other pieces, and they assume they will be antagonistic. Apparently, they¡¯ve ¡°seeded my circle of influence¡± with everything I need to ¡°succeed¡±, and succeeding is just¡­survival.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°They said that they won¡¯t be manipulating things anymore and can¡¯t manipulate me, and explicitly said there are no rules we have to follow; we can even try and work against them if they want. They said that their only advice was to ¡°grow strong enough to trample over all that comes your way¡±, and then left, and that¡¯s basically the whole thing. I¡¯ll create a memory replay of it later so you can analyze the exact wording, but that¡¯s the important bits.¡±


    Kali sighed again. ¡°Then it¡¯s basically what I was afraid of.¡± She said. ¡°It all started a year or two ago when I was talking with Connie, and she brought some very alarming facts to light. For one, I had completely and utterly forgotten that Mai had tried to mess with the eldritch before, and stopped because it was too dangerous. Yet, despite that, my first thought when making you a Perfect Chimera was to introduce you to the eldritch.


    ¡°That was already worrying, but Jerry is apparently of the opinion that something is manipulating reality in some way; for his system to break in a way that he usually would catch, and then for it to break and give the single most talented soul any of us have ever seen Worship, and for her to then solve not one but two problems he had been struggling with¡­he doesn¡¯t think it was a coincidence.¡±


    Understanding dawned on Lilith¡¯s face. ¡°They¡­seeded my circle of influence.¡± She said slowly. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s what they were referring to?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s part of it, I¡¯m sure.¡± Kali replied, pulling up a window and beginning to type out a message. ¡°I think we¡¯ll find more odd occurrences if we go looking for them. And the equilibrium they were talking about is almost certainly the equilibrium between the three major factions of Administrators. And if that breaks¡­life as we know it is over, one way or the other.¡±


    She finished her message and dismissed the window. ¡°I¡¯ve sent an urgent request to Jerry and Amy.¡± She said. ¡°They should be here momentarily.¡±


    And, sure enough, not even ten seconds later, Jerry materialized. The tall vampire rushed over to Kali, giving her a concerned look. ¡°Kali, what¡¯s wrong?! Is Levi acting up?!¡±


    ¡°We know what¡¯s manipulating things.¡± Kali said bluntly.


    Jerry¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You do!?¡± He asked excitedly. ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°The Elder Gods.¡± Lilith said. ¡°They came to me in a dream.¡±


    Jerry whirled around, dashing over to Lilith. ¡°Tell me exactly what happened.¡± He said, reaching up to grab her shoulders before thinking better of it. ¡°Don¡¯t leave a single thing out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll work on making a replay of the memory.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Amy¡¯s coming too, so we should probably wait for her.¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Jerry said, running a hand through his hair nervously. ¡°I assume this isn¡¯t good news, then.¡±


    ¡°There are very few ways it could be worse.¡± Kali said sourly. ¡°But, apparently ¨C¡±


    She was cut off by Amy materializing in the kitchen. Much like Jerry, the slime girl immediately rushed over to Kali, grabbing her and inspecting her carefully. ¡°Kali?!¡± She said worriedly. ¡°What¡¯s going on?! Are you okay?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Kali said placatingly. ¡°But we need to have an important talk. I wanted you and Jerry here because Jerry¡¯s the kind of guy who would know about this stuff and you¡¯re the faction head, but we¡¯re probably going to need to bring it to the rest of the faction.¡±


    The memory is done, mistress. Mae said, creating a small disc out of the body she and Lilith shared.


    Eve snatched the disc and walked over to the island. ¡°Nuwa¡¯s sealing the room, so we don¡¯t need to worry about people overhearing us.¡± She informed them, absentmindedly growing her legs so she could reach the island. She placed the disc down, then continued speaking. ¡°This is the memory exactly as it happened to Lilith.¡± She said.


    ¡°Mae¡¯s making copies for Jerry and Amy under the assumption that you¡¯ll want to watch this again later, but we¡¯re going to run through it here too. It¡¯s pretty short, only a couple of minutes, so don¡¯t interrupt; we can play it again if you want to revisit something, but we should go through it in full first.¡± She pressed a button on top of the disc, and the room changed, becoming the featureless void of the dream Lilith had been in.


    As the memory played, Lilith paid careful attention to the faces of the three Administrators. They, as people who ruled universes, were the ones most likely to be directly impacted by this, and she was curious what they thought of it. And, as expected, they each reacted differently; Kali frowned the whole way through, Amy watched with an impassive stare, and Jerry¡¯s face flickered between fascination and horror the whole time.


    The memory ended, and a palpable silence filled the room. There was a moment of tension, and then Kali spoke up. ¡°I hadn¡¯t told Lilith about any of our concerns.¡± She said. ¡°And if she says it wasn¡¯t just a dream, I trust her completely.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us were worried that it was just a dream.¡± Jerry said, shaking his head in wonder. ¡°Of all people, I think Lilith is the most qualified to tell Dreams from dreams.¡±


    Lilith frowned at the emphasis Jerry put on the first ¡°Dreams¡±. ¡°By Dream, I assume you mean something different than a normal dream?¡±


    Jerry nodded. ¡°Yes. The Elder Gods are heavily associated with sleep and dreams, sometimes being referred to as ¡°Dreamers¡±. You are the single most attuned with the eldritch of anyone I have ever heard of, and if you say it¡¯s not a simple dream, I¡¯m inclined to agree.¡±


    ¡°As am I.¡± Amy said. ¡°And this is¡­worrying. Very worrying.¡±


    Jerry¡¯s face went from that of a scholar to that of a traumatized war veteran as he stared ahead. ¡°War looms.¡± He said darkly. ¡°And we need to prepare. Amy, can I trust you to look into any odd happenings with the rest of the Administrators in the faction?¡±


    ¡°I will, and I even have one, I think.¡± Amy replied. ¡°Are you familiar with Tess?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s one of your Higher Beings, right?¡± Jerry asked. ¡°Fortune¡¯s daughter and Appointed, if I recall correctly.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Amy said. ¡°A decade or so ago I was taking another look at the Rewards Crystal that granted her her Class, and I came to the realization that Fortune¡¯s Blessing wouldn¡¯t have worked on it. Or, at least, it wouldn¡¯t work to give her a Class with that much Worship invested in it.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating.¡± Jerry breathed. ¡°But she¡¯s no different from an ordinary Higher Being, right?¡±


    ¡°I thought so, but I¡¯m not quite so sure anymore.¡± Amy admitted. ¡°I¡¯m going to look very carefully through Monster Breeder, I suspect there might be something to it that I was unable to notice before.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Jerry said with a nod. ¡°On my end, I¡¯m going to kick things into another gear with the swarm. I¡¯m not taking chances anymore, not when we¡¯re effectively guaranteed to be seeing another inter-faction war soon.¡±


    He paused, then turned to Kali. ¡°Kali, I have a plane I have yet to do much with.¡± He said. ¡°I want you to take it, make Lilith a Sub-Administrator, and I¡¯ll teach her how to make a system Amelia¡¯s way. Lilith is clearly the key to all of this in some fashion, and I want to see what a plane made by her would do. I¡¯ll even front all of the Worship needed for making her a Sub-Administrator, the creation of the system, seeding the plane with life, and fast-forwarding it to a useable time period.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Kali said hesitantly, ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t want to lose her to another set of planes.¡± She said. ¡°If she becomes a Sub-Administrator¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave either.¡± Lilith said firmly.


    ¡°Sub-Administrators don¡¯t have to become full Administrators.¡± Amy said gently. ¡°Jerry wouldn¡¯t suggest this if it meant tearing you two apart.¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­there¡¯s a real possibility that she might be able to work as a full Administrator and do everything jointly with you.¡± Jerry said thoughtfully. ¡°She already so different from normal Higher Beings and Administrators that I wouldn¡¯t be the least bit surprised to hear that. I¡¯m not saying we should immediately make her an Administrator or anything, but after she becomes a Sub-Administrator I¡¯ll look into the possibility.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± Kali asked excitedly. ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­well, it would almost be too good to be true!¡±


    ¡°Many things with Lilith are.¡± Jerry said, tapping at the air in front of him. ¡°But I¡¯m going to head back and get the plane transfer ready. In the meantime, here¡¯s the Worship needed to make her a Sub-Administrator. Just to be safe, I¡¯m giving you four times the normal amount, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need it.¡±


    He gave Kali a stern look. ¡°And to be explicit, I will not be accepting any returns for this.¡± He said. ¡°I know you, and I want you to know that this is not a gift, this is an investment in my survival. I want our side to be as overwhelmingly strong as possible for the upcoming conflict, and I am genuinely of the opinion that this is the best way to go about it.¡±


    ¡°But ¨C¡±


    ¡°No buts!¡± Jerry said sharply. ¡°I will not lose more to this war, and I cannot afford you saving Worship because you think you¡¯re in debt to me. This is a transaction; yes, you gain from it, but that is a side-effect; this is primarily an investment for the safety of me, my planes, and the multiverse as a whole. I refuse to let any of the other factions claim hegemony, the consequences would be disastrous. If I could do this on my own, I would, but I cannot, and so this is what we have to do.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t argue with him on this, Kali.¡± Amy sighed. ¡°You know how he gets about the war; he isn¡¯t going to take no for an answer. And, for the record, I think he¡¯s making the right call here; I might invest in this myself, and I suspect some others might too. This will serve as a test run for Jerry¡¯s new systems he¡¯s been raving about, and if it works, then it will go a long way towards our safety.


    ¡°We all have a vested interest in making this go as well as possible, so if I find that you¡¯ve sent Worship to others to ¡®pay them back¡¯ at any point in the future, I will make sure you receive double the amount in return, from my own pocket. This is not the time to worry about debt, this is the time to worry about using our Worship in the most efficient way possible.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Kali said. ¡°I won¡¯t pay anyone back. But in the future, when I¡¯m more established, I¡¯m going to be generous whenever possible, and help people like I¡¯ve been helped.¡±


    Amy¡¯s lips curled into a smile. ¡°Good.¡± She said. ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re built on, after all. Now¡­I¡¯m going home; there¡¯s much work to be done.¡±


    She disappeared, and Jerry followed shortly after. When they were gone, Kali sighed. ¡°Go lay down on the bed.¡± She instructed. ¡°We¡¯re going to get this done.¡±

 Chapter 2: Taking Action

    Connie stood next to her lovers, Lia, Rose, and Amelia, fidgeting nervously. ¡°Sorry again.¡± She said. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. I don¡¯t think we¡¯re in trouble, but¡­I don¡¯t know why else we would be called here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Lia said, giving Connie a reassuring pat on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯d imagine we¡¯d have gotten a warning if we were actually in trouble.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not.¡± Jerry said tersely, walking into the room. ¡°Or, rather, not in any more trouble than the rest of us. Everyone is in trouble now.¡±


    Connie studied his face carefully. She had seen that expression on him before, and he only got like that about one thing. ¡°You can¡¯t mean¡­¡±


    ¡°War.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°Or, rather, the prelude to war. We have at least a couple of decades and potentially up to millennia. That is if we don¡¯t act, however; our hope is to make the first move, and if we do, we¡¯ll do it when we¡¯re ready, which will likely be in a matter of decades to centuries. But make no mistake, there will be war, whether we want it or not.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± Connie asked worriedly. ¡°Things were stable, last I heard.¡±


    ¡°Lilith was visited by the Elder Gods in a Dream.¡± Jerry said, pacing about the room. ¡°They have some game going, and we are, unfortunately, all part of it. It seems that a champion from each faction has been chosen, and they are going to be given tools to ¡®win¡¯ the game. In our case, at least, our victory condition is to survive. Theoretically, we could attempt to broker peace once the war begins, but¡­¡±


    ¡°The other factions won¡¯t accept, right?¡± Connie finished.


    ¡°Exactly. We were told that they had ¡®seeded Lilith¡¯s circle of influence with all the tools she will need to succeed¡¯, so we need to start leveraging those, now.¡±


    A chill ran down Connie¡¯s spine as she realized what he was implying. ¡°Then the manipulation we theorized had happened¡­¡±


    ¡°Was almost certainly the Elder Gods.¡± Jerry confirmed.


    There was a brief lull in the conversation, then Lia spoke up. ¡°Um¡­sorry, I¡¯m a little lost right now.¡± She said. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why are the three of us here?¡±


    Jerry turned to face Lia, expression indicating that he had forgotten she was there. ¡°Right, right.¡± He said. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m more than a little out of sorts right now. To put it simply, I belong to one of three major factions of Administrators. Beings beyond our comprehension have tampered with recent events, leading to¡­well, for one, Amelia.¡±


    Lia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, I thought that was an accident?¡±


    ¡°Sort of.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°It is overwhelmingly likely that I was manipulated into making the mistake that allowed for the break in the system that led to Amelia, and then probability was altered so that she was the one who benefited.¡±


    ¡°That¡­would explain a few things.¡± Rose said thoughtfully. ¡°I did start to get the feeling that there were a few too many coincidences for everything to be totally¡­normal.¡±


    Jerry nodded. ¡°As did I. But, back on subject, it is almost certain that the other factions have received or will receive similar tampering, and that¡¯s going to break the tenuous balance of power and plunge us all into war again. So¡­we need to prepare.¡±


    ¡°And that involves us how?¡± Amelia said, narrowing her eyes. ¡°My deals with you didn¡¯t have anything to do with this.¡±


    Jerry sighed. ¡°It involves every single person living in almost every plane.¡± He said. ¡°The wars you¡¯re used to are no more than a light breeze compared to the raging tempest that the last war was. Entire universes were massacred or enslaved, and no one was safe from the devastation. As much as we might try to run, the war will come to us, and we must see to it that we¡¯re prepared.¡±


    He snapped his finger, and Amelia and Rose fell to their feet, breathing heavily. ¡°Effective immediately, there are no more bindings.¡± He said. ¡°Connie, you and any other god who support the swarm are free to meddle as much as you like, no restrictions on benefits you give. Your opponents will be given somewhat more of an ability to meddle, but only to the point where it is not a free victory for the swarm; I wish to train them, not annihilate them.¡±


    Connie wasn¡¯t given an opportunity to process that, though, as Jerry turned to her. ¡°Connie, take them back, and make preparations for them to be gone for three days.¡± He instructed. ¡°In one hour, return them here; I¡¯m going to make them Higher Beings.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Amelia wheezed, stumbling to her feet. ¡°What¡¯s a Higher Being? Don¡¯t we get a say in this?¡±


    ¡°Higher Beings are the broad category of people that the gods fall under.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Being a god is a more akin to a profession than an innate quality of a person; it is just a tool Administrators use to help mask what is happening behind the scenes. What Lia and Rose do with Blood Money and what Amelia does with Worship already put you at that level, I am simply making the process more efficient, among other benefits that will be explained later.


    ¡°For Lia and Rose, there will be no additional obligations for the time being. After the war is over and the dust has settled, we may end up revisiting that, but it is likely that your obligations will be to simply watch over the swarm. For Amelia, I¡¯m afraid our current arrangement will need to change. You will be required to spend twenty hours a week helping out Lilith, done in four-hour chunks on Monday through Friday. We will work out an exact schedule that will be followed each week, so you will need to begin planning around your absence.¡±


    ¡°I ¨C¡± Amelia began to speak, but Jerry waved a hand, and she was silenced.


    ¡°Lilith is going to be designing a new system using the advancements you made, and any unique properties she can imbue via her eldritch nature.¡± Jerry explained. ¡°I will, of course, be helping, but your assistance will be critical; if this experiment succeeds, we can begin the process of updating all systems to follow suit, and our chances of survival will increase dramatically.


    ¡°Due to the immense importance of this task, you will have no choice in the matter. Should you resist or otherwise attempt to sabotage the process, I will put you in a coma and use mind-reading to extract the relevant information. It would be less than ideal, but I cannot understate how important this is. If it helps, look at it as a learning opportunity; you will be exposed to many new concepts that you will be able to use to improve the swarm, it won¡¯t be something you gain no benefit from.¡±


    He gave her a look before waving his hand again. ¡°With Rose being unbound, the three of you made into Higher Beings, and the rest of the gods free to provide as much aid as they want, you don¡¯t need to worry over the swarm¡¯s wellbeing while you are away. Higher Beings cannot be permanently killed save by other Higher Beings or Administrators, and I will not let the gods do so, so your ultimate success is all but guaranteed. Do you understand?¡±


    Amelia was silent for a moment, then clicked her tongue in annoyance. ¡°Yes.¡± She said grumpily.


    ¡°Good.¡± Jerry said, turning to walk out of the room. ¡°Connie, please, take them away.¡±


    As he left, Connie gave her lovers an apologetic look. ¡°Sorry.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he has PTSD over the last war, and he always gets like this when it¡¯s brought up. But¡­he¡¯s right; we¡¯re in serious danger, and we can¡¯t afford to waste any time right now. So, let¡¯s get this done; the sooner we finish here, the sooner we can go back to our conquest.¡±


    <hr>


    Amy was torn away from her work by the sound of a knock at her door. ¡°Come in!¡± She called out.


    The door opened, and Tess walked in. ¡°Hey Amy, you wanted to talk to me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Amy said, dismissing the window she had been using to message the other Administrators. ¡°Can you sleep here tonight?¡±


    Tess raised an eyebrow. ¡°Sure. Why?¡±


    Amy sighed. ¡°I need to take a very long look at Monster Breeder.¡± She explained. ¡°I¡¯ll explain more in a general assembly tomorrow, but the long of the short of it is that Lilith was visited by the Elder Gods in a Dream, and some of the things they mentioned gave me cause to look over Monster Breeder again.¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­in danger, right?¡± Tess asked cautiously.


    ¡°Nothing of the sort!¡± Amy said quickly. ¡°Look¡­you remember about a decade ago when I told you that your mom¡¯s Blessing shouldn¡¯t have worked to give you Monster Breeder?¡±


    ¡°That sounds familiar, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Well, the Elder Gods have been meddling and setting up a series of improbable events, and I think you¡¯re one of them. And, because of that, I think there¡¯s more to Monster Breeder that we were physically incapable of noticing before. You and I both know that it¡¯s way stronger than it should be, but I think there¡¯s even more to it.¡±


    ¡°I¡­see.¡± Tess said slowly. ¡°Should I just sleep in my room, or would you rather I sleep in one of the examination rooms?¡±


    ¡°If you could, the examination room would be great.¡± Amy said. ¡°I can have Dreams put you to sleep if it would make it easier for you.¡±


    ¡°That would be great.¡± Tess replied. ¡°Give me a minute to let the wives know, and then I¡¯ll head over.¡±


    ¡°Thanks a bunch, Tess.¡± Amy said, giving her a nervous sort of smile. ¡°I know this is rather sudden.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just as important.¡± Tess said reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯ll have Dreams send you a message when I¡¯m ready for you.¡±


    Tess stepped out of the room, and Amy pulled up the window again. She had contacted roughly forty of the hundred or so Administrators in her faction, and none of them had had any improbably occurrences that they could think of off of the top of their head, but they all told her they¡¯d look into it and get back to her.


    As she talked with each of them, she informed them that she would be holding a faction-wide meeting in one month, and made it clear that failure to attend without an incredibly good reason would be met with expulsion from the faction. The threat was something she didn¡¯t like having to make, but she needed to make it clear just how important this meeting was, and she was confident that she wouldn¡¯t have to follow up; each Administrator in her faction had been handpicked for their trustworthiness and integrity, and she was sure they¡¯d understand the gravity of the situation.


    A few minutes later, she received a message from Dreams indicating that Tess was asleep. She hadn¡¯t expected Tess to go to sleep right away, but that was fine; bulk-messaging people like this was tedious work, and she could use a break. So, she dismissed the various windows she had open, and began making her way towards the examination room she had in the small plane she and the gods lived in.


    As promised, Tess was asleep on the large table in the middle of the room, Dreams hovering close by. ¡°I¡¯ll get out of your hair.¡± Dreams said, moving towards the door. ¡°She¡¯ll¡­be okay, right?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s safe.¡± Amy confirmed. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ninety five percent sure, anyway, but I doubt it would be anything harmful. I¡¯ll explain more tomorrow, when I know more.¡±


    Dreams nodded, then left the room. Once he was gone, Amy dragged one of the stools over to Tess¡¯s side and opened up her admin console, navigating to Monster Breeder, and beginning to take a close look at its construction.


    And, the more she looked, the more puzzled she became. The Class was¡­exactly as she remembered it being. She had had to do a lot of modification with it in order to get it to work right, and especially to get Descent to work right, but¡­


    Amy frowned. She had entirely forgotten that Descent didn¡¯t work right at first. It put Fortune at risk of becoming subservient to Tess, and after a while she had managed to tinker enough with the class to get it to just reinforce familial love instead of a master-servant relationship, but¡­that shouldn¡¯t have been necessary at all.


    At the time, everyone had just waved it off as being because Monster Breeder was made with Amy¡¯s Worship, but that wasn¡¯t necessarily even the case. As part of the transition to being a Higher Being, Monster Breeder had been folded into Tess¡¯s Domain, the thing she was ¡°in charge of¡± and received Worship for. As such, the Worship within had effectively been converted to Tess¡¯s, and yet¡­it still exhibited that mind-altering effect on Fortune.


    That shouldn¡¯t have been possible. And¡­even stranger, looking at the amount of Worship contained within the Class, even if Amy¡¯s Worship had been used, it shouldn¡¯t have affected Fortune, not with a passive effect like it exhibited. That could only mean that something within the Class was amplifying the power of the Worship contained within, or something else entirely was happening.


    Amy turned the focus of her search to that particular loyalty effect, but¡­nothing unexpected was there. So, if it wasn¡¯t contained there¡­the next step was to look at the other parts of the Class that interacted with that loyalty effect.


    She spent just over an hour going through the Class in that fashion, meticulously checking a portion of the Class before moving on to the parts of the Class that touched that part. Even so, she didn¡¯t find anything. She had checked every inch of the Class, and as far as the system was concerned, it should be doing what it was supposed to.


    At that last thought, she froze; as far as the system was concerned, it was normal¡­but the system likely wasn¡¯t the source of the anomaly, was it? Amy hopped off the stool, stretched for a moment, then locked the doors to the room, conjuring a sign that read ¡°Do not disturb unless we are literally under attack or there is an extremely important, time-sensitive matter¡± on the outside.


    She set all the rest of her notifications to a do not disturb mode, then made her way back to the stool. She pulled it over to a counter to the side of the room, used a bit of Worship to conjure up a mouse, and then got to work metaphorically poking at the mouse. She hadn¡¯t done anything entirely without the aid of any sort of system in a long time, so she wanted to give herself a quick refresher before going back to work on Tess.


    It was slow at first, but she quickly began to pick up speed. Before Jerry had invented systems, everything had been done like this, and Amy had been one of the best at it. She didn¡¯t regret the switch of methodology for a second, though; using a system was far easier and quicker, much like how using a calculator was far easier and quicker than multiplying two large numbers by hand. And, in all of her millennia of using systems, this was perhaps the only time she had had to inspect part of the system unaided.


    After she was satisfied with her skill, she teleported the mouse down to a random field in one of her planes, then brought the stool back to Tess. She took a deep breath, then began to dig deep, looking past all the trappings of the system and trying to drill down into the core of what was happening.


    It was hard. Everything the system had done was so interconnected that it was nearly impossible to tell where one thing ended and another began, but fortunately she had a clear target; she just needed to find the areas most saturated with Worship, and begin looking there.


    After a bit, she found Monster Breeder, and it immediately became evident what was happening. Right below where the system interfaced with Tess¡¯s soul, there was a very obvious foreign presence, adding to what the system gave to Tess. It was¡­kind of like Worship, but¡­not. She¡¯d have to have Jerry come take a look at it at some point; he¡¯d probably know better than her what to make of it.


    But Jerry was busy, so Amy put up all of her mental defenses, then prodded at the foreign power. To her surprise, there was no resistance whatsoever. In fact, once she poked at it, the power sort of¡­unfurled, and its workings became clear. She didn¡¯t have any idea what each individual pathway of power was for, or how she would even begin to reproduce it, but she nonetheless instantly understood what it did. It was sort of as if she had opened a book in a language she didn¡¯t speak, yet somehow knew what it said anyway.


    It was a fascinating sensation, but ultimately irrelevant. She ignored the knowledge that was forced onto her and tried to manually derive the function of the stuff, but she gave up after a short time; it was dizzyingly complex work, and completely and totally unlike anything she had ever seen. She couldn¡¯t even begin to comprehend it, so she sighed and withdrew from Tess¡¯s soul, left with no recourse but to trust the knowledge that had been given to her. Once out she was fully out of Tess¡¯s soul, she took a moment to use the system to undo the sleeping spell that had been cast on her, then gently shook her awake.


    ¡°Done already?¡± Tess mumbled, blinking a couple of times as she woke. ¡°That didn¡¯t feel too long.¡±


    ¡°It was¡­¡± Amy paused, pulling up a window to check to the time. To her surprise, she had been manually doing work on Tess¡¯s soul for over two hours, even though it really didn¡¯t feel like it had been that long. ¡°Three and a half hours in total. A bit shorter than expected, but I have an idea of what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°So, something is out of the ordinary with me?¡± Tess asked, sitting up.


    Amy nodded. ¡°It appears the Elder Gods changed how Monster Breeder works for you, and hid it outside the system so it was hard to see. I couldn¡¯t manually figure out what any of it did, but I had this strange understanding pressed onto me. I don¡¯t currently have any reason to think it¡¯s a lie other than the general fickleness of the Elder Gods, so take this info with a grain of salt, okay?¡±


    ¡°Is this a recent change, you think?¡± Tess asked.


    Amy shook her head. ¡°No. It¡¯s been this way for a long time, at least since you became an Appointed, but probably from the moment you got the Class.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s safe, right?¡±


    Amy sighed. ¡°For you, yes. In fact, you¡¯ve been using parts of this for quite a while. The effect is simple; if you kill a Higher Being or Administrator, they are absorbed into you as a core instead of being put into that weird stasis dead Higher Beings normally enter. There¡¯s basically a copy of Monster Breeder for all this stuff, so it won¡¯t use any of the slots for normal cores and abilities, but you can directly put stuff you obtain from these cores onto normal cores and vice-versa. And¡­yes, you can make attendants out of these cores or do anything else you can do to a core.¡±


    Tess¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What happens to their soul?!¡± She exclaimed.


    ¡°It comes with them, and is stored as an Attribute, as is their status as Higher Being or Administrator.¡± Amy said. ¡°All of their Worship is transferred to you as well.¡±


    Tess was silent for a long moment. ¡°And I¡¯ve been using parts of this? How?¡±


    ¡°Descent. It¡¯s why you can Descend for as long as you want; you already have a ton of room in you for extra souls, but it starts to apply the effects of Monster Breeder to Fortune. We¡¯re lucky it accepted the modification I made and let us alter how it changes her view.¡±


    ¡°But¡­Fortune was stuck in me after the first Descent.¡± Tess said. ¡°We had to make a workaround for her and everything.¡±


    ¡°It seems to be a side-effect of the process.¡± Amy said. ¡°None of this feature was supposed to be visible to any of us until now, but it was still working in the background. I imagine that, next time you go into Descent, you¡¯ll be able to use it ¡®normally¡¯. I don¡¯t think I need to say this, but don¡¯t alter Fortune without my permission first, even if she asks for it.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it.¡± Tess said. ¡°Um¡­do you need me for anything else?¡±


    Amy shook her head. ¡°No. Go get some actual rest, I¡¯ll figure out what this means and explain more at the meeting tomorrow, okay?¡±


    Tess nodded, then climbed off the table. ¡°I¡¯ll just sleep in my room here for the rest of tonight.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 3: A History Lesson

    When Lilith awoke, she felt a slight but noticeable itch in her mind, and the minds of the Parallels. It was sort of like the sensation of being on the edge of remembering a word or concept, but without having something to remember. It was distinctly unpleasant, but not to the point where she was anything more than mildly annoyed.


    ¡°How are you guys feeling?¡± Kali asked worriedly. ¡°Everything alright?¡±


    ¡°We have this weird sensation in our heads, but otherwise fine.¡± Eve said. ¡°Is that normal?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kali confirmed. ¡°I felt the same when I was made a Sub-Administrator.¡±


    Do you know when it¡¯ll stop? Nuwa groaned. This is annoying.


    ¡°A day or two, if I recall correctly.¡± Kali said. ¡°I believe Amy said it was something to do with your soul getting accustomed to the new power that comes with being a Sub-Administrator, it¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of, what is the difference between a Higher Being and a Sub-Administrator?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­a little complicated.¡± Kali said. ¡°The effect is much, much less pronounced now that we have systems and many management tasks can either be automated by the system or can be done via the system by Higher Beings, but you now have the capability to do¡­basically anything I can do here on our planes.


    ¡°It¡¯s mostly just plane management stuff. You can alter the physical properties of planes, mess with their magic and systems, speed up their time, that sort of a thing. Normally whatever changes you make would be sent to me to approve or deny first, but I¡¯ve already given you blanket approval to do anything at any time, so you should see results immediately.¡±


    Kali gave Lilith a happy little smile as she continued. ¡°That makes you effectively a full Administrator when it comes to our planes. The only thing you¡¯re really missing is full independence and the ability to interact with planes we don¡¯t own. You can¡¯t give away planes, accept new ones, or send mortals over to planes that aren¡¯t ours, and I can technically revoke your status at any time, but that¡¯s about it.¡±


    ¡°So, what now?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°Are we getting to work right away?¡±


    Kali shook her head. ¡°No, we¡¯re going to give it a day or two. Not only to let your soul settle, but to let Jerry get his affairs in order. He needs to work out a schedule with Amelia, make her and her wives Higher Beings, and get a couple of other things ready. In the meantime, I figured I could give you a crash course on Administrator politics, so you understand exactly what¡¯s going on and why this is a big deal.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡± Eve said. ¡°We¡¯ve heard bits and pieces, but we¡¯re lacking context.¡±


    ¡°Right, so¡­I guess we¡¯ll start at the beginning?¡± Kali said. ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a long story, but it¡¯s probably important?¡±


    ¡°We have time.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Kali nodded. ¡°So, I guess I should say that no one knows who the oldest Administrator actually is. Everyone alive right now remembers someone else older who isn¡¯t around anymore. But, back in the beginning, there were a lot fewer Administrators than there are now, only ten or twenty.


    ¡°Of those ten or twenty, the few that are still alive are the biggest names right now, the leaders of the three factions and many of the higher ups. For us, that¡¯s Amy and Jerry, and there are I think¡­five in total in the other factions? But, anyway, way back in the day things were a lot less civilized than they are now.


    ¡°There were only ten or twenty Administrators because people kept fighting with each other, taking over the planes of the Administrator who lost and growing ever stronger. After successfully defending her planes a few times, Amy got fed up with the status quo and got together with Jerry and a couple of their close friends and formed an alliance.


    ¡°This alliance proved to be more effective than they had ever thought; though they didn¡¯t go on the offensive, whenever one of them was attacked they all would retaliate and, eventually, they would kill the other Administrator and divide their planes amongst themselves. It wasn¡¯t nice, but they reasoned that that Administrator would eventually seek revenge or attack someone else. The people of their planes were well cared for, of course, but¡­those Administrators deserved no quarter.¡±


    Kali gave a sigh as she continued. ¡°It was a bad time, and it only got worse once people caught on to the alliance. Other alliances cropped up, and then aggressors began attacking in groups, and things only escalated from there. The smaller alliances were eventually wiped out, and eventually things progressed so that there were only the three major factions remaining.


    ¡°And this is where things got really bad. The conflicts became bigger in scale, and while the deaths of Administrators became rarer, mortal casualties rose, and they were treated in distinctly cruel ways. It was like that for a long time, until, finally, Jerry invented the first system.


    ¡°See¡­the thing is, systems aren¡¯t required for things to work, they¡¯re just a tool we use. Given proper guidance, people can learn to harness their innate Mana and produce all the same effects they would get from a system, but it¡¯s a lot harder. In fact, people who learned to do things without the aid of a system are often more efficient with their Mana than someone who has only used a system.¡±


    Kali reached down and grabbed a cup that hadn¡¯t been there before, then took a drink. While she did, Lilith gave her a thoughtful look. ¡°So¡­systems trade off power for numbers?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Kali said, giving Lilith a nod before setting down the cup. ¡°Even with an inefficient system, so many people get stronger that the power difference is overwhelming. With the introduction of systems, our faction gained enough power to strike a decisive blow in the war and broker for peace.


    ¡°And that¡¯s how the status quo came about. In peacetime, the population of Administrators grew, the competition for planes became more intense, and we set rules to help minimize the damage. Over time, the other factions came up with their own counterparts to systems, and now peace is held only by the fact that a war between any of the factions would leave both weak enough that the third faction could defeat whoever won, and none of the factions are willing to ally with each other.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°With the Elder Gods meddling, the other factions will try something with whatever they get. It¡¯s the best opportunity they¡¯ve had to change things in their favor, and that¡¯s something that would be catastrophic for everyone. The ideologies of the other factions are completely incompatible with ours; they¡¯re much crueler and stricter, and the quality of life for everyone but those at the top is dramatically reduced.¡±


    Lilith frowned. ¡°You seem to have a rather poor view of the other factions. I¡¯m not doubting you when you say that they¡¯re bad, but can you explain why?¡±


    Kali sighed. ¡°They¡¯re bad in different ways, but I think I need to provide more context on us first and why we can¡¯t agree with them. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got a vague idea on what we¡¯re about, but to be explicit, our faction is built on the idea that Administrators should help each other, and that mutual cooperation will make everything better for everyone. Of course, we understand that not everyone agrees with this, and as long as you don¡¯t bother anyone, that¡¯s fine too. And, since we are nominally the most powerful, we¡¯re the ones who will step in if neutral Administrators are attacked, though that has only come up once or twice.


    ¡°Of the three factions, we¡¯re the middle in terms of size. Amy is choosy in who she allows into the main faction, but not that choosy, and we¡¯re the only faction that uses Sub-Administrators in any significant fashion.¡±


    ¡°Wait, if other factions don¡¯t use Sub-Administrators much, how do they get members?¡± Eve asked, frowning.


    ¡°New Administrators pop into existence every few millennia.¡± Kali explained. ¡°When their presence is noticed, we attempt to make contact and let them choose what they want to do, as well as make them aware of the potential dangers they may find themselves in. As you might imagine, we think the biggest dangers to them are the other factions, but not everyone sees it that way.


    ¡°Of the two other factions, one is clearly much more dangerous than the other; for lack of a better term, we call them the Anarchists. They are essentially criminals, a group of Administrators with bad pasts who are held together only by a desire to return things to the lawless days of old and the knowledge that, as criminals, they wouldn¡¯t be afforded any protections alone. They¡¯re the smallest faction, and they don¡¯t receive new members often. However, the Administrators in that faction rank high in terms of individual power, so they can¡¯t afford to be taken lightly.¡±


    ¡°Does our faction have a name?¡± Eve asked.


    Kali paused, broken out of her flow by the unexpected question. ¡°What? Uh, not technically? None of the factions do, but we would I guess refer to ourselves as the Peaceful or something? The other factions call us¡­the Anarchists call us ¡°cowards¡±, and the Empire calls us¡­Dissidents, I think? Real rich, considering we¡¯re the ones that beat them into submission, but that¡¯s beside the point.¡±


    ¡°I was just curious, sorry.¡± Eve said. ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah, as I was saying, there¡¯s no need to explain why the Anarchists are dangerous; their faction is cutthroat and we¡¯re pretty sure a lot of extortion and the like takes place internally. What they do in there isn¡¯t something we technically have jurisdiction over, so we can¡¯t step in to defend people without starting a war. Even if we could, I doubt the victims would want us to, so it¡¯s not something we worry about.


    ¡°The other faction is the Empire, and they¡¯re dangerous in a different way. They¡¯re¡­basically a dictatorship with a really good welcome package. They take new Administrators, help them get going, then bleed them dry with taxes. They¡¯re the biggest faction, about three hundred strong, but the majority of those Administrators aren¡¯t even as strong as we are, and we¡¯re the weakest in our faction. Only fifty or sixty of them are stronger than us, but those fifty or sixty are pretty strong.¡±


    Lilith frowned. ¡°If conditions are so bad for the ¡®lower class¡¯, why don¡¯t they just leave? They¡¯ve already got the aid they need.¡±


    ¡°The ¡®lower class¡¯ don¡¯t know how to do anything by themselves.¡± Kali replied. ¡°Their system equivalents are all set up for them, and they really just report back to their superiors if there¡¯s a problem. Then they¡¯re fed all sorts of propaganda about how the other factions are worse, and it suddenly becomes very scary to strike out on their own. Still, some brave people have, and that¡¯s how we know what¡¯s going on over there.¡±


    Propaganda like what you¡¯re feeding us? Nuwa joked.


    ¡°Worse.¡± Kali said, smirking. ¡°If you listen to them, our faction and the Anarchists are just as bad as each other. They don¡¯t have to exaggerate much for the Anarchists, but it¡¯s a little harder to paint the ¡®let¡¯s all just get along¡¯ faction as bad without outright lying. And, I know you were joking, but this isn¡¯t propaganda as far as I¡¯m aware.


    ¡°I¡¯ve talked to a few of those Administrators myself, and the story checks out. To tell you the truth, if we were to lose to either faction, I¡¯d much prefer that we lose to the Empire; they may be authoritarian and there¡¯s a good chance most of our faction would be executed, but in the future life would probably be better for those that live. Not good, but at the very least they wouldn¡¯t be in constant war or fearing for their lives. They¡¯d just be¡­livestock, basically.


    ¡°And, even if this was all just propaganda, I have a very hard time imagining a better faction than ours; we¡¯re all just so¡­willing to help, and we wouldn¡¯t abuse our position of authority unduly.¡±


    ¡°And how would we guarantee peace without doing so?¡± Eve asked. ¡°If we want to prevent a situation like this from happening again, we¡¯ll have to do some distasteful stuff.¡±


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know.¡± Kali admitted. ¡°I think the hope is that, once the dust settles, only the non-disruptive elements will be left, and our dominance over the multiverse will be enough that no one feels safe trying to rise up. I imagine the neutral Administrators are rather happy with how things are and wouldn¡¯t want to change things, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be easy to drum up enough support to make any sort of actual rebellion happen.¡±


    ¡°But can we be sure they¡¯d stay happy with us if we go on the offensive here? We don¡¯t exactly have any evidence other than ¡®trust me, bro¡¯ to go off of.¡± Eve argued.


    ¡°If we were to go on the attack, we could probably get away with attacking the Anarchists, no one likes them and the world would be better off without them.¡± Kali mused. ¡°No one will blame us for that, and the Empire would probably attack afterwards, so then we can be on the defensive and retain public opinion of us.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that makes sense.¡± Eve said, drumming her fingers on the nightstand next to her. ¡°This is assuming that we¡¯ll be strong enough to deal with the Empire in the aftermath, right? Can we really be confident of that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can be one hundred percent confident, no.¡± Kali replied. ¡°But our odds will be better than if we allow either of the other factions to grow stronger.


    Eve sighed. ¡°I guess the prospect of being the police for the multiverse just feels¡­wrong to me.¡± She admitted. ¡°I know it¡¯s for the best, but it really feels like it goes against what we stand for, if I¡¯m understanding things correctly. We¡¯re supposed to be about peace and harmony or whatever, and doing that by force just seems¡­hypocritical.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Kali said. ¡°But that is, unfortunately, the choice we have to make. Between there being complete anarchy, a dictatorship, or a benevolent autocracy, I think the only real option is the benevolent autocracy.¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡± Eve said. ¡°Anything else we should know?¡±


    ¡°For background info, no. I was sort of thinking I could give you access to my full library, and you could go through and read some of the books on Administrator history and politics. They¡¯re written assuming you know what I just told you, so you should be equipped to read them now.¡±


    Lilith swung her legs off of the bed and fully got up, wincing slightly at the brief intensification of the itch in her head. ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± She said. ¡°Let¡¯s go let everyone know I¡¯m fine, and then I¡¯ll get started.¡±

 Chapter 4: Waking Up

    ¡°Mom!¡± Mai cried out, rushing up to hug her mother. ¡°Are you okay? What happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Lilith chuckled, scooping Mai up into her arms. ¡°I was being made a Sub-Administrator, so I could help your Ma out more.¡±


    ¡°Cool!¡± Mai replied, straightening up and giving Lilith a kiss on the cheek. ¡°What are you helping with?¡±


    Lilith couldn¡¯t help but smile at her daughter¡¯s exuberance. Mai and Aria, though they had only been her daughters for a few years, had become completely irreplaceable parts of her life. It was hard to believe that they had been anything other than the adorable kids they were now, but they, and Mai in particular, had once been the greatest threats on Kali¡¯s planes.


    Like Lilith, Mai was one of the Perfect Chimeras, special beings with a lot of Worship invested into them that took all the characteristics from each species found in Kali¡¯s planes, and she had gone into hiding after defeating Errus, the first Perfect Chimera, and brainwashing him. After Lilith had rose to power and the system had changed to allow people from Earth magic once more, Mai had launched into a campaign to take over the world, brainwashing everyone into her minions.


    Lilith had foiled that plan by turning the spell Mai was planning to use on Lilith against her, reducing her to the child she was now, both physically and mentally. Though she kept some vestiges of her past life, such as vague memories and some slight personality quirks, she had essentially become an entirely new person.


    The recoil of reflecting the spell and gaining all of Mai¡¯s abilities due to some of Lilith¡¯s own had knocked Lilith out, and in that time, Mai had taken the liberty of casting the same spell on Errus and making them identical twins that looked like a young Lilith, leading to Aria. She had also brainwashed the leaders of magical society and made all her minions loyal to Lilith, and after much debate, Lilith had decided to not undo any of Mai¡¯s brainwashing, both old and new.


    The whole incident was completely and totally secret so as to avoid widespread panic, and the people Mai had already brainwashed beforehand had been gone for so long that trying to sort out new lives for them while erasing their memories was infeasible, and the leaders¡­well, it was a pragmatic decision, more than anything.


    Lilith was the ¡°High Arbiter¡±, someone with the job of making sure the integration of the magical and nonmagical communities went well, and of being the one who would mete out punishment for crimes against sapient life made on a national scale.


    To that end, having a community of leaders in her pocket was an incredibly useful asset, even if she had used her newfound control over them incredibly sparingly. She wasn¡¯t seeking to alter their lives or dictate their policy, it was just insurance in case they tried to do something stupid like take over countries from Earth, which had been a large worry for quite some time.


    But, over the last few years, things had settled in nicely. Mai and Aria were attending kindergarten with Carmen, the daughter of Lilith¡¯s childhood friends who had ended up moving into the dungeon that Lilith had made, and they were doing well. Mai was a rambunctious bundle of energy, but not more than could be expected from a kid her age, and Aria was quiet but performed admirably in her academics.


    Well¡­admirably for what they were trying to do; both Mai and Aria had retained basic knowledge like how to read, write, and do basic math, so performing admirably was really just never forgetting to do her homework or complaining about how she already knew things; this was mostly a social exercise for the two of them, and she understood that.


    ¡°Mom?¡± Mai asked. ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Lilith replied, snapped out of her recollection by her daughter¡¯s words. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m still waking up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mom.¡± Mai replied. ¡°I was just asking what you¡¯re helping with.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Lilith said enigmatically. ¡°But it¡¯s something big. Where¡¯s Aria?¡±


    ¡°She went to find Mama.¡± Mai said. ¡°Anyway, can I help out too?¡±


    ¡°Maybe when you¡¯re older.¡± Lilith replied, setting Mai down.


    ¡°You always say that.¡± Mai pouted.


    ¡°And it¡¯s true.¡± Lilith said, smiling at her daughter. ¡°You have maturing to do before you¡¯re ready for this kind of thing, and that takes time. Don¡¯t worry, though, this isn¡¯t something that will be over before you¡¯re ready to help, it¡¯s going to take a very long time.¡±


    ¡°Fiiiine.¡± Mai said. ¡°I guess I can wait.¡±


    Lilith patted her head. ¡°Good, I¡¯m proud of you, I know waiting is hard.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m gonna go eat lunch now, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay, sweetie. Go find Raphi or Emily and see what they¡¯re making, don¡¯t just grab junk food from a pantry.¡±


    ¡°I ¨C I wasn¡¯t going to.¡± Mai said, averting her eyes from Lilith¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Your mother will be watching.¡± Lilith warned. ¡°So don¡¯t get any ideas.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Mai said, scampering around Lilith and heading towards one of the kitchens.


    Around that time, Aria came into Eve¡¯s view. ¡°M-Mama?¡± She said timidly. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am, squirt.¡± Eve said, pulling Aria into a hug. Eve was in her preferred form, that of an angel child, so from an outside perspective it looked more like two sisters hugging than mother and daughter, but no one who lived in the dungeon saw Eve as a child. Or at least, didn¡¯t after Eve had gotten angry a couple of times; that form was for confusing enemies, not her family and friends, and she was still more than capable of holding her own against the rest of the dungeon, sans Kali, combined.


    The form had its limitations, mainly to do with height, but Eve was more than capable of working around it by aging herself up or flying up to whatever she needed. And, of course, she never used it when she was getting frisky, but that went without saying; regardless of her actual age it just felt too wrong to even kiss with a child¡¯s body.


    ¡°G-good.¡± Aria said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I would have done if something happened to you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, but you¡¯re not getting rid of me that easily.¡± Eve chuckled, patting Aria¡¯s head. ¡°All four of us are fine.¡±


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Aria rested her head on Eve¡¯s chest. ¡°I love you, Mama.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m so happy you made me part of your family.¡¯


    ¡°Where¡¯s this coming from?¡± Eve asked, smiling gently. ¡°It seems a little sudden.¡±


    ¡°I was just worried. Even though Errus said you¡¯ll be fine, I couldn¡¯t help but think of everything that might go wrong.¡±


    Aria had a remnant of Errus¡¯s personality within her, a leftover from the very beginning of their time with her. They had decided that it was their moral obligation to see if Errus wanted his life back, as he himself had done nothing wrong, and had used a Skill to create another personality within Aria, similar to Lilith¡¯s Parallels.


    He had stated that, as far as he was concerned, he was dead, and that Aria deserved this life more than he did. His personality then went to sleep, to wake only when Aria called on him. He had become something of a grandfather figure to Aria, someone she could trust when she was scared or needed help and her mothers weren¡¯t around.


    Eve hugged Aria a little tighter. ¡°Remember, I¡¯m a Higher Being; even if I die, I come back after a little bit. You¡¯re stuck with me forever.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t strictly true, other Higher Beings or Administrators did have ways of permanently killing Higher Beings, but most ¡°normal¡± methods of killing one would end with them resurrecting in a year or two, using some of their accumulated Worship in the process. If they didn¡¯t have that Worship, then whatever Worship they would earn would be put towards that resurrection. The same went for Administrators, except all Worship that would be generated would go to them instead.


    ¡°Yeah, but¡­this is Administrator stuff, it¡¯s different.¡± Aria said.


    Lilith couldn¡¯t help but smile as Eve internally cursed Aria¡¯s perceptiveness. ¡°Well, it¡¯s all fine now. Are you hungry? Your sister is getting lunch right now, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have something for you.¡±


    ¡°Maybe later¡­can I hug you more first?¡± Aria asked.


    Eve gave a theatrical sigh and picked Aria up, aging up her body as she did. ¡°I suppose we can take as much time as you want.¡± She said, walking out of the room and continuing her trek towards the library.


    ¡°Where are you going, Mama?¡± Aria asked.


    ¡°Your mom and I are going to read some books on Administrators.¡± Eve replied. ¡°Pretty boring stuff, mostly.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I was¡­expecting some more exciting.¡±


    ¡°Not quite yet.¡± Eve replied. ¡°We¡¯ve got a bit more to learn before we¡¯re ready for more exciting stuff.¡±


    ¡°So¡­we¡¯re going to have to do school even when we¡¯re older, then?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Eve replied, taken aback. ¡°No, not at all. If you want to do something new, you¡¯re always going to have to learn how to do it before, but it¡¯s not like school unless you choose to go to a school for it. There¡¯s no homework or anything, and you can take things at your own pace. Your mothers and I have to be very careful with our stuff, since it affects entire planes, but for most things you won¡¯t need to do much more than look it up on the internet.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Aria said. ¡°School¡¯s boring.¡±


    ¡°I know¡± Eve said soothingly. ¡°Just give it a bit and you¡¯ll start getting into history and other stuff you don¡¯t know. If you really want, we can look into skipping you and Mai a few grades, and then wait until you¡¯re older to put you back in school.¡±


    ¡°What about our friends?¡±


    ¡°You probably won¡¯t be able to see them, sorry.¡± Eve replied.


    ¡°Then I can stay in school.¡± Aria said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose them, and Carmen will be lonely if we¡¯re not there.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sweet.¡± Eve said. ¡°You know you¡¯re allowed to think of yourself in these situations too, right? It¡¯s okay to be a little selfish from time to time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not just saying that.¡± Aria said. ¡°I really feel it.¡±


    ¡°Then, if that¡¯s what you want, we¡¯ll keep doing it. But if it gets to be too much, just let me know and we¡¯ll figure something out, okay?¡±


    Lilith reached the door to the library, and began to pay attention to herself once more. She entered the library, and to her surprise, found her aunt Judy already there, reading a book. Aside from Lilith¡¯s parents, she was Lilith¡¯s only living human relative, though she wasn¡¯t quiet human anymore.


    She had taken up an apprenticeship as an intelligence operative with Kali, and in the process had chosen to have her species changes, so as to better facilitate her work. She specialized in subverting insects, animals, and other creatures without a soul to becoming part of her ¡°swarm¡±, which she could manipulate at will.


    It was a little more complicated than that, something about being able to send her consciousness into them and receive information back from them, but, however it worked, she had become the go-to person for any information on events on either of Kali¡¯s planes, Earth or Haven.


    ¡°Hey, you. You¡¯re finally awake.¡± Judy said, looking up from her book with a twinkle in her eyes. ¡°You were trying to cross the border, right?¡±


    Lilith rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that one before.¡± She said. ¡°Right around when this all started.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Judy giggled. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a bit of an itch in our brains, but other than that we¡¯re fine.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Kali said it should go away in a day or two.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear.¡± Judy said. ¡°I assume you¡¯re here to study something?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Kali¡¯s given us full access to the library, and I¡¯m going to be reading up on Administrator politics. Eve¡¯s planning to study texts for new Administrators, and Nuwa¡¯s going to be looking for anything else useful.¡±


    In particular, I¡¯m looking for stuff on the eldritch. Nuwa added. It seems¡­quite relevant.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Judy said. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    Lilith sighed. ¡°It¡¯s something of a long story.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯re going to be having a meeting with the adults about it sometime soon, but the long of the short of it is that I got a vision form the Elder Gods and now we¡¯re pretty sure there¡¯s going to be an Administrator World War again, so we¡¯re prepping now. Jerry¡¯s giving us a plane and we¡¯re going to be working on making a system using some new stuff he¡¯s been theorizing about. If it works, we¡¯re in a pretty good shape.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­concerning, to say the least.¡± Judy replied. ¡°Why us? We¡¯re pretty weak as far as universes go, right?¡±


    ¡°I seem to be the ¡®game piece¡¯ of the Elder Gods for our faction. Jerry thinks having me and everyone else who was involved in the Elder Gods¡¯ meddling do it will be our best shot. I imagine that, if this works like he hopes, we¡¯re going to end up changing the system here again, because we really do need the strength in case we¡¯re attacked.¡±


    ¡°Joy.¡± Judy said sarcastically. ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s going to go over well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not looking forward to it. Ideally, it¡¯ll be something that will largely be unnoticeable, just under the hood stuff, but I¡¯m not holding my breath.¡±


    ¡°How are you planning to break the news to people?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lilith admitted. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to discuss it with Kali. My guess is that we¡¯ll claim something along the lines of the current system being a transitional one or something.¡±


    ¡°Something along those lines.¡± Kali said, walking into the room and giving Lilith a hug. ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out later. Right now, I have some business with Judy.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Judy said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°How much has Lilith told you about what¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°Just that the Elder Gods have given her a vision and war is likely.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so, basically, the Elder Gods have been meddling and giving nudges and ¡®gifts¡¯ to people, and while we assumed Lilith was the only one on our planes, Jerry found that the one he thought on his plane was not, in fact, the ¡®main¡¯ one, and was merely someone related to her. He¡¯s hypothesizing that there might be more people related to the ones we¡¯ve picked out that have been given alterations, so I¡¯m going through and checking everyone in the dungeon right now, just to be sure.¡±


    ¡°Any hits?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Myself, and our daughters.¡± Kali replied. ¡°Though I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t quite tell what they¡¯ve given us, I¡¯m not getting an instinctual knowledge like Jerry and Amy report getting, not unless I¡¯m looking at you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this procedure like?¡± Judy asked, standing up and walking over to Kali.


    Kali placed a finger on Judy¡¯s forehead, held it there for a moment, then withdrew it. ¡°Done, and it looks like you¡¯ve got it as well. I¡¯ll have Jerry come take a look at us when he visits here in a couple of days, but I highly doubt it¡¯s anything harmful. As far as we can tell we¡¯ve had them our entire lives, and they do seem to want to ¡®win¡¯ this game they¡¯re playing, so it¡¯s¡­probably fine?¡±


    ¡°And¡­no one noticed, not even Administrators?¡± Judy said flatly.


    ¡°Yup, just like people didn¡¯t notice that Lilith was gone when I made her High Arbiter.¡± Kali said. ¡°The Elder Gods wield a power foreign to us and are capable of influencing our actions or making us forget things, we have no reason to believe they can¡¯t make us unable to notice something.¡±


    ¡°That¡­makes sense.¡± Judy said slowly. ¡°So, what now?¡±


    ¡°Now, I go check everyone else.¡± Kali said. ¡°You two keep reading, we¡¯ll have a meeting about all of this tomorrow, okay?¡±


    Lilith leaned down and gave her wife a quick kiss. ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    Kali gave her a happy smile. ¡°See you later.¡±

 Chapter 5: Inter-Universal Introductions

    Lilith held Mai close, waiting patiently for their guests to arrive. It was something of a big day, as Jerry was going to officially transfer a plane to Kali, as well as hold a gathering to meet with all the people they had confirmed as being touched by the eldritch.


    ¡°Mama, what are we doing again?¡± Aria asked apprehensively.


    ¡°We have some guests coming over.¡± Eve said gently. ¡°And you and Mai have a secret power in you that your Ma can¡¯t figure out, so we have the experts here to take a look at it.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not in danger, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Eve replied. ¡°You¡¯ve had this ever since Errus was born; it¡¯s totally safe.¡±


    ¡°What kind of power?¡± Mai asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure, that¡¯s why we¡¯re having the expert check it out, but it¡¯s from the same place some of my powers come from.¡± Lilith explained. ¡°You don¡¯t have to use it if you don¡¯t want to, of course, but we think it would be good to know what it does.¡±


    ¡°I think so too.¡± Mai said. ¡°I¡¯m really curious, when are they getting here?¡±


    ¡°They should be here any second now.¡± Lilith said.


    And, only a minute or so later, a rather large group of people appeared in the room in front of them.  ¡°Everyone, thanks for coming.¡± Jerry, a tall blond vampire, said, stepping out of the group of people and turning to face them. ¡°I understand this is short notice, but I felt that it was important that you all got to know each other, as I think you¡¯ll end up working together fairly often in the future. So, for the sake of those of you who haven¡¯t met, let¡¯s make introductions! Kali, would you like to go first?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Kali said, stepping away from Lilith¡¯s side. ¡°Hi everyone, most of you know me, but for those of you that don¡¯t, I¡¯m Kali Clements, the Administrator of these planes! As you might be able to see, I¡¯m a succubus, and the distant aunt of Maven. I grew up in Amy¡¯s planes and worked as a Sub-Administrator there before becoming a full Administrator. I¡¯m happily married to Lilith, and if any of you ever need any advice or anything, feel free to give me a call, I¡¯m always up to chat! Uh¡­I guess we should do the rest of us now. Lilith?¡±


    ¡°Hey, like Kali, most of you know me already, but my name¡¯s Lilith. I am, unfortunately, the one the Elder Gods chose to make their ¡®piece¡¯, and I¡¯m¡­something of an eldritch being myself now. It¡¯s a little complicated, but Eve here is also me, and there are two others you won¡¯t be seeing much; Mae is working as a biological supercomputer in my body, and Nuwa is the dungeon we¡¯re in now. We¡¯ve all got different personalities but share memories and senses, so talking to one of us is as good as talking to any of the rest of us.¡±


    ¡°Let me make one thing clear,¡± Eve said, ¡°I am not a child. I use this form to make my enemies underestimate me. I work as Queen of Monsters here on these planes, so don¡¯t think you can get away with treating me like a kid; I¡¯m just as capable as Lilith. The two kids that look like Lilith are our kids, Mai and Aria, and they¡¯re here mostly to let Jerry take a look at them; we¡¯re not letting them do any serious work until they¡¯re older, much as they might want to.¡±


    ¡°Hi!¡± Mai said cheerfully. ¡°I¡¯m Mai!¡±


    ¡°A-and I¡¯m Aria.¡± Aria said, hiding behind Eve as best she could. ¡°N-nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Guess that just leaves me.¡± Judy said. ¡°I¡¯m Judy Clements, Lilith¡¯s aunt and Kali¡¯s apprentice. I work as head of intelligence for the planes here, keeping everyone in the know about goings-on. I¡¯m not a Higher Being or anything, but I¡¯ll do my best to help where I can.¡±


    ¡°We should probably fix that.¡± Jerry mused. ¡°I¡¯ll transfer the Worship for it to you later, Kali, as well as some for your kids. I think that everyone who¡¯s been touched by this should at least be a Higher Being.¡±


    ¡°Jerry, I ¨C¡±


    ¡°Kali, just let it happen.¡± Amy said, smiling slightly. ¡°He¡¯s not going to budge, trust me.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Kali groaned.


    ¡°I suppose, speaking of me, while I think I¡¯ve met all of you at least once, but just as a refresher, I¡¯m Jerry, a vampire as well as one of the top Administrators and the lead scientist in our faction.¡± Jerry said. ¡°I don¡¯t seem to have any eldritch abilities given to me specifically, but I¡¯ll be doing my best to help everyone make sense of everything. If anyone notices anything strange, please let me know at the first opportunity and I¡¯ll come look into it. Connie?¡±


    Connie, a tall human woman with short brown hair gave a nod. ¡°Like Jerry, I think I¡¯ve met all of you at least once, but I¡¯m Connie Yggdrios, a human, Jerry¡¯s Goddess of Commerce, and wife of these three. I¡¯m not totally sure why I¡¯ve been given eldritch stuff, but I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    After a moment, a kitsune with orange hair and fur spoke up. ¡°Um, I¡¯m Lia Yggdrios, a kitsune.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­used to all this stuff but, apparently, I have some kind of special power? I don¡¯t totally get what¡¯s happening but I¡¯m not against helping out, I think.¡±


    A shorter vampire woman with blonde hair spoke next. ¡°I¡¯m Amelia.¡± She said flatly. ¡°And let me make one thing clear: I have no intention of being friends with any of you. I¡¯m here because I¡¯m forced to be here, and I think there are much better uses of my time.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Amelia.¡± The last of their group, a tall, voluptuous, human woman said gently. ¡°This is something that is bigger than us. We¡¯ve been more than fairly compensated, and we¡¯re going to be actively helping secure our future.¡±


    She looked up at the assembled people. ¡°I¡¯m Rose Yggdrios, a¡­dryad, I suppose? The ¡®Personification of the World Tree¡¯, to be precise. I¡¯m more than happy to get along with all of you, and to talk at any time. The three of us here,¡± she motioned at herself, Lia, and Amelia, ¡°are new to the whole ¡®Higher Being¡¯ thing, so please forgive us for our inexperience.¡±


    ¡°And, Amelia, I feel it pertinent to remind you that over half of the people in this room could permanently kill you.¡± Jerry said. ¡°You are not the strongest person in the room, and the only way for you to break into their level is to work hard here and learn what you can from them.¡±


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Amelia snorted derisively. ¡°I find that a little hard to believe.¡± She said. ¡°I did all this system innovation or whatever, I can tell you¡¯re just trying to scare me.¡±


    ¡°H-he¡¯s right, Amelia.¡± Connie said shyly. ¡°I don¡¯t think you quite understand the kind of thing you¡¯re dealing with here; you¡¯ve been a big fish in a small pond.¡±


    ¡°I beat you, though.¡± Amelia argued. ¡°You can¡¯t exactly call that a ¡®small pond¡¯ if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°Lilith, Eve, would you please put a little humility in her?¡± Jerry asked. ¡°Kill her if you have to, she¡¯s got a bit of an overinflated ego and needs to realize that she isn¡¯t the top dog, even if she¡¯s not restricted.¡±


    Lilith let go of Mai, and Amelia immediately began to cast some sort of spell, but Lilith was faster and teleported next to Amelia. Admittedly, Lilith could feel that Amelia had a lot of Mana, more than Lilith, but that was before taking any of the Parallels into account. So, Lilith began to squash Amelia¡¯s spell with her Mana, pouring more and more into it as Amelia tried to escalate.


    While she was distracted, Mae analyzed Amelia, figured out how much health Amelia could take, then poured one point of their extra Mana and Stamina into Judge, Jury, Executioner, one of their Higher Being abilities, before pouring most of the rest into a second use of the ability. The ability allowed them to force a target to obey a command or take a large penalty, in this case ¡°immediately die or take the penalty¡±, with the penalty being losing as much HP, Mana, and Stamina each as the total amount of HP, Mana, and Stamina Lilith put into the ability.


    By pouring one point into it, it activated Righteous Indignation, an ability that doubled Lilith¡¯s stats against those who had committed a major crime or directly disobeyed Lilith within the past year, allowing the rest of the Mana and Stamina for the ¡°real¡± hit to be more effective. And, finally, she chose to make the penalty nonlethal, leaving Amelia at one HP, no Mana, and no Stamina instead of killing her outright. Due to Amelia¡¯s innate resistance as a Higher Being with Worship, Lilith was only able to convert about half of what she put in to an actual effect, but that was plenty.


    Amelia¡¯s eyes widened as Lilith worked, and she tried to marshal some Worship to counter the ability, but Lilith squashed it with some of her own, forcing her to take the hit. The moment it connected, Amelia crumpled like a marionette that had had its strings cut, wheezing as she fell to the floor.


    Lilith healed her using Kindness¡¯s Kiss, one of her Virtue abilities, then teleported back to the place she had been before. ¡°I could have made that lethal.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Remember, this is the kind of war we¡¯re going to end up fighting; there is no such thing as overpreparation.¡±


    ¡°Then how are we supposed to do anything?!¡± Lia blurted out. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even make sense of what you did!¡±


    ¡°With time and practice.¡± Jerry said calmly. ¡°Though, I must say that that caught even me a little off-guard; it was far more efficient a use of Worship than I had thought you were capable of.¡±


    Lilith frowned. ¡°I didn¡¯t use Worship, though? Just Mana and Stamina?¡±


    Jerry¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You translated it to Worship, though.¡± He breathed. ¡°Just like Blood Money¡­fascinating. How?¡±


    ¡°The ability just lets me do it.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Ask Kali, she¡¯s the one that gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t put that in there.¡± Kali said. ¡°It must have been a tweak from the Elder Gods or just her subconscious doing it and putting it in the ability description.¡±


    ¡°I suppose we can chalk it up to her eldritch nature putting her more in touch with the base mechanics of universe than we had thought.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Lia, not everyone you fight is going to have something like that; Lilith is an exception. Still, as you get used to your status as a Higher Being, you¡¯ll learn to use Worship more efficiently and practically, which will let you break into these sorts of fights.


    ¡°That¡¯s why this work is so vitally important; if the Higher Beings of a plane are not able to fend off invading Higher Beings, then those invaders are free to trample over the mortals, who don¡¯t have any way of fighting back. And from then, it¡¯s only a matter of time before invading mortals occupy the plane. But¡­we¡¯ve gotten off track, sorry. Amy, if you would introduce your group?¡±


    Amy, a green slime woman, gave a nod. ¡°I¡¯m Amy, slime girl and head Administrator of our faction. Like Jerry, I don¡¯t have any eldritch stuff on me, but I¡¯m doing my best to help make sense of things and prepare us for the inevitable war. If you need something from me, give me a call, but only if it needs to be me exactly; Jerry is better at this stuff than I am, and I¡¯m busy so I won¡¯t be able to get to you for a bit unless it¡¯s really important. After all this is over, though, do feel free to hit me up whenever, I¡¯m happy to help or chat or whatever. You four, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± A blonde human woman said. ¡°I¡¯m Fortune, mother of Tess and Goddess of Fortune on Amy¡¯s planes. I¡¯m not much of a fighter, but Tess tends to pick up the slack for me.¡±


    Another blonde woman gave a nod. ¡°And I¡¯m Tess Los, Fortune¡¯s Appointed as well as the wife of these two.¡± She said, motioning at the other two people in Amy¡¯s group. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    A black-haired succubus that looked remarkably similar to Kali stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯m Maven Los, Appointed of Dungeons and Kali¡¯s distant niece.¡±


    ¡°Are you our cousin, then?¡± Mai asked excitedly.


    Maven nodded. ¡°Of course. So, if you ever need something, don¡¯t be afraid to ask us!¡±


    The last member of their group, a redheaded human, gave a smile. ¡°And that just leaves me. I¡¯m Ellie Los, wife to these two beauties and Appointed of Life and Death. Pleasure meeting you all.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s everyone we know of for now that¡¯s been touched by the eldritch.¡± Jerry said. ¡°The other Administrators in our faction are looking, but we haven¡¯t found any others yet. Give it a few months, though, I¡¯m sure there will be one or two more groups. I¡¯m going to go give Kali the plane and take care of a couple of other things like checking out what the Elder Gods have done with their group, why don¡¯t the rest of you all get to know each other a bit better?¡±


    Kali grabbed Mai¡¯s hand, and collected Aria from Eve. ¡°We¡¯ll be back in ten or twenty minutes, okay?¡± She said. ¡°Judy, you come too. Lilith and Eve, you stay, it¡¯s not you we were needing to check on, and we can always check on Nuwa if we end up wanting to look.¡±


    They left with Jerry, and Amy took her leave shortly thereafter, leaving everyone standing there sort of awkwardly until Rose stepped forward. ¡°Okay, so it seems you all have met each other before, but we¡¯re still strangers. So¡­I was thinking we should explain our lives to each other, how we got here, that sort of a thing. We¡¯re going to be working together in the future, so we might as well get to know each other. Lilith, you in particular seem to be what this whole thing is revolving around, would you like to start?¡±


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m not sure we can properly fit my story in the time it will take for Jerry to get back.¡± Lilith said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. ¡°I mean, I can give the abridged version, but we¡¯ll probably end up going over it in detail later anyway. Perhaps it¡¯d be better if you all told us a bit about yourselves? The three of you are the only ones the rest of us haven¡¯t met, after all.¡±


    ¡°The three of us?¡± Rose said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you¡¯ve met Connie, then?¡±


    Connie nodded. ¡°Did I not mention it? Fortune and Kali gave me a lot of advice right around when I entered the relationship, and I met everyone at Lilith and Kali¡¯s wedding. I know their stories, broadly speaking, and they know a bit of mine.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Rose said. ¡°Well¡­I suppose you have a point, there. Lia, do you want to start?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Lia asked, blinking in surprise.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one this is all revolving around, and I doubt Amelia wants to do any explaining, so I feel it¡¯s better you go. I¡¯ll do it if you don¡¯t want to, though.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Lia said, taking a deep breath. ¡°So, it all started a few years ago¡­¡±

 Chapter 6: Eldritch Modifications

    Lia had just finished talking about their conflict with their Lord of Monsters when Jerry came back, Kali and Judy in tow. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t see what any of their stuff does.¡± He said. ¡°Or, rather, I don¡¯t get the instinctual knowledge I got when looking at the people from my planes. I suspect it¡¯ll be the same if I look at the people from Amy¡¯s planes. Lilith, have you looked at them yet?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Or, at least, not well enough that I felt there was a point in doing so.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll teach you.¡± Jerry said. ¡°And we¡¯ll have you inspect everyone once you learn, there might well be things you can see that we can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s possible.¡± Lilith admitted. ¡°So¡­what now?¡±


    ¡°Now, I want to openly talk with everyone and get a grasp of how everyone is feeling, explain a bit more about what we do know and what we¡¯ll be doing. So, to start with, I want to hear concerns that we might have regarding our operation here. Does anyone aside from Amelia have any?¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Amelia protested. ¡°My opinions are valid too!¡±


    Jerry gave her a flat look. ¡°Everyone who knows you knows that you¡¯re going to complain about this taking too much of your time.¡± He said. ¡°If you have any other complaints, I would be willing to hear them, but you have made that particular complaint clear multiple times now.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Amelia harumphed, folding her arms. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to say when I think of one.¡±


    ¡°Amelia, this really is that important.¡± Connie said gently. ¡°Jerry¡¯s just concerned about all of our futures, and is trying to protect everyone as best he can. I know this doesn¡¯t help us in the short term, but long term this is the most important thing we can be doing.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know.¡± Amelia said grumpily. ¡°I just wish it hadn¡¯t been so sudden or that I had been given a choice.¡±


    ¡°You and me both.¡± Jerry said sadly. ¡°But war seldom gives you an opportunity to prepare, or a choice on if you wish to participate.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Amelia replied. ¡°Get on with it.¡±


    ¡°I did have a concern, actually.¡± Rose said. ¡°I¡¯m unsure how helpful most of us will be here; perhaps our time might be better spent preparing our own planes instead of helping in this new one.¡±


    ¡°Ah, my apologies, I must have given the wrong impression.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Only Amelia will be regularly helping with this new plane; I simply plan to have the rest of you meet up from time to time to discuss things and check on our progress. For now, I wanted to get everyone up to speed with my findings and conjectures, and I wanted to see what you thought of them.¡±


    ¡°Conjectures?¡± Tess asked. ¡°What kind of conjectures?¡±


    ¡°Looking over the circumstances of the people who have been touched, and the effects they have been given, I¡¯ve noticed some commonalities. Firstly, effects; to give everyone a quick rundown, Ellie had her soul tweaked so as to more efficiently process Mana, which manifested as her system giving her maximum stats when it could. Maven was the ability to better understand others, to know what they want even if they themselves don¡¯t. Fortune simply received bonuses to the strength of her luck manipulation, and Tess was given the ability to treat Higher Beings as monsters for her Class, allowing her to easily permanently kill them, steal their abilities, and even convert them to her side.


    ¡°Rose was given a great aptitude for teaching others and learning new things, and Connie was made able to process Worship more efficiently, extracting large amounts of energy from even the small amounts Blood Money gives. Amelia received very little tampering besides the manipulation of events that led her to her current position, and Lia was made more persuasive and proficient in manipulating others. People are more willing to listen to her, her words are more persuasive than they would otherwise be, and her mental magic is greatly boosted for the purpose of overcoming the natural resistance Higher Beings have to it.¡±


    ¡°Wait, are you telling me I¡¯ve been brainwashing people my entire life any time I so much as say hi?!¡± Lia asked, taken aback.


    ¡°Not quite.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°It¡¯s more like people are predisposed to feeling comfortable around you; it¡¯s sort of like how being well-dressed or otherwise carrying an air of authority makes people more inclined to listen to you, just more pronounced and impossible to notice without actively looking for tampering that wouldn¡¯t trip magical detection. People who are hostile to you from the start aren¡¯t going to suddenly not be hostile, but people who are on the fence will likely want to hear you out first. You just haven¡¯t seen much of that because most people are hostile to you the moment they know who you are.¡±


    ¡°O-oh.¡± Lia replied. ¡°That¡¯s¡­better, I think? I mean, I¡¯m brainwashing people anyway but it¡¯s good that it¡¯s not happening without my knowledge or the ability to¡­not do it. Still not super enthused about it and what it means for the foundations of my relationships, but¡­not much I can do about it.¡±


    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I don¡¯t think it really impacts the formation of any sort of intimate relationship.¡± Jerry said. ¡°It¡¯s about persuasiveness and obedience, not feelings of affection or the like. Perhaps it¡¯s a boost initially, but afterwards it¡¯s really not a factor. Besides, if it¡¯s an innate aspect of yourself¡­does it really matter how it affected your relationships? Your relationships are also affected by your physical appearance, the sound of your voice, and other such things, why is this different?¡±


    ¡°It just is.¡± Lia said uncomfortably. ¡°But we can unpack this later, we¡¯ve gone off-subject.¡±


    ¡°Right, right, sorry.¡± Jerry said. ¡°We¡¯re unaware of the full extent of what Lilith has, but we know a few things. For one, she is able to actively use eldritch abilities with no effort or any threat to her sanity, and as such has access to materials that we¡¯re unable to easily replicate. She gains all abilities of anyone she is remotely ¡°in charge of¡±, has the ability to automatically understand any form of communication, and can even grant safe, if watered-down, versions of eldritch abilities to others.


    ¡°Taking everything into account, I have found some similarities in the abilities gifted to us and the circumstances of those who hold them. In terms of circumstances, I couldn¡¯t help but notice the prevalence of male to female sex changes amongst those granted abilities and those close to them, as well as a predisposition towards lesbianism.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that holds any importance for our work going forward, and I think it¡¯s just the whim of the Elder Gods who are ¡®backing¡¯ us, but if you happen to interact with other Higher Beings and Administrators in our faction, keep an eye out for those signs; it might be worth investigating people that both of those apply to see if they have been touched by the eldritch.


    ¡°On a more immediately relevant note, I believe that we have been given ¡®themed¡¯ abilities, for lack of a better term. Aside from the abilities that are straight up power boosts, most of the abilities granted to us seem to center around other people in some fashion, and especially facilitate and incentivize having others join us, be it through persuasion or force. If this is true, then I think it¡¯s safe to assume that the other factions will have similarly themed abilities; probably raw combat power for the Anarchists, and¡­probably some kind of buff or mind control emphasis for the Empire, though I can¡¯t be quite as sure for them.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Great.¡± Eve said dryly. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that we get the power of friendship while everyone else gets the power of violence.¡±


    ¡°But, Aunt Eve, if we flip some of their people, then we get the power of violence too.¡± Ellie pointed out, smirking slightly. ¡°Though I can¡¯t help but agree that we¡¯ve got the short end of the stick here.¡±


    ¡°We also have a huge head start and have been given the capability to make a breakthrough with systems; the Elder Gods believe a game in which the outcome is certain is boring, so we must have a pretty decent chance of coming out on top if we work hard.¡± Jerry said. ¡°We¡¯re potentially even favored to win if we make the first move as we hope we will.¡±


    ¡°But¡­we need to completely overhaul everything to conform to the new system, and that¡¯s a lot of work.¡± Eve said. ¡°You have to actually make the update, prep your planes for the update, and get people used to it after, and that takes a lot of time.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Jerry said. ¡°So, we¡¯re starting ASAP. For those of you that aren¡¯t Lilith or Amelia, I¡¯d like it if you took some time and deeply examined yourselves, try to get a feel for what is the eldritch power given to you and what is ¡®normal¡¯. It is entirely possible that, as you learn more about the eldritch and experiment with what you¡¯ve been given, you may unlock even more aspects of the ability we don¡¯t know about.


    ¡°I imagine most of you won¡¯t get anything new, but even so, it¡¯s good to learn how better to control this in preparation for the future. The better you can use it, the better our chances of survival are. As for prep, your Administrators will be the ones handling the prep for the system overhaul, so don¡¯t worry about that unless they ask for your help, just focus on yourselves.¡±


    ¡°What does this mean for people like me?¡± Ellie asked. ¡°I just have more efficient Mana processing, apparently, and I¡¯m not sure how to even go about ¡®training¡¯ that.¡±


    ¡°Ask Amy for help.¡± Jerry said. ¡°She¡¯ll be able to guide you to figuring out how to differentiate between the eldritch and the normal. Once you have that figured out, you can begin refining the ability and exploring its potential. Even the straightforward effects are significantly more complex than you would think at first. A significant amount of work goes into even just making you process Mana more efficiently, so there is plenty for you to learn.¡±


    Ellie nodded. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll mess around with it, then.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, what are we supposed to do?¡± Rose asked, motioning at her wives. ¡°We have a war going on, we don¡¯t have a huge amount of free time.¡±


    ¡°I know, your group will have the hardest time, but I¡¯ll help walk you through it, and the war will provide plenty of time to get used to using your power. Besides, the war will take no more than a decade and a half now that I¡¯ve lifted restrictions on the gods that are on your side, and you¡¯ll have decades and decades afterward to dedicate to this training.¡±


    ¡°If we have those decades, we should be given time to take care of this war and then you can make me come do all this plane development nonsense.¡± Amelia grumbled. ¡°Surely fifteen years won¡¯t make a huge difference.¡±


    Connie put her hand on Amelia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It can, and it very well might. The sooner we finish our work, the more likely it is that our opponents are caught unprepared. And if they¡¯re caught unprepared, then things become infinitely safer for us.¡±


    ¡°Amelia, just remember that doing this will help us too.¡± Rose said. ¡°Just like when our system was updated before, we can expect our own strength to grow as you innovate here and bring the results back to our system. And I¡¯m sure that, if the time comes that you¡¯re too lonely, some of us can come with you from time to time.¡±


    ¡°Lilith¡¯s a nice woman.¡± Connie added. ¡°I¡¯m sure you two could get along if you put some effort in.¡±


    ¡°For the record, I¡¯m more than willing to be friends.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We¡¯re going to be working together in the future, I would much rather be on good terms than be at odds with each other.¡±


    ¡°Can you try, for us?¡± Lia asked Amelia. ¡°Please? I know you would rather be doing other things, but this seems really important, and it¡¯s not their fault that we¡¯re in this situation.¡±


    ¡°Believe me, if we could resolve this peacefully, we would.¡± Jerry said. ¡°But we can¡¯t. The other factions are warmongers and will conquer us at the first opportunity. The world of Administrators is eat or be eaten, and ideals of peace can only be enforced by being stronger than everyone else. It only takes one would-be conqueror to embroil society in chaos.¡±


    Rose nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the exact reason I¡¯m okay with what the swarm is doing. We can¡¯t really complain when you phrase it like that.¡±


    Amelia sighed. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll try.¡± She huffed. ¡°But these three are always my first priority, and that won¡¯t change, no matter what ¡®important thing¡¯ we¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t expect it to.¡± Lilith said. ¡°In fact, I would be concerned if it did.¡±


    There was a moment of silence, and then Fortune spoke. ¡°Well¡­I think that¡¯s all the questions everyone on our side has.¡± She said. ¡°If no one else has any, I think I¡¯d like to head back and start preparing.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was hoping I could talk with Lia a bit more.¡± Maven said. ¡°I think there¡¯s a decent synergy between our two abilities, and I wanted to explore that.¡±


    ¡°M-me?¡± Lia asked in surprise. ¡°I-I¡¯m not sure how helpful I¡¯ll be, I don¡¯t know like¡­anything about Higher Beings or the eldritch or any of this. I only know what I¡¯ve learned from listening to Connie.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Maven replied. ¡°I can teach you as we go, there aren¡¯t that many differences between Higher Beings and normal people for our purposes.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Lia asked skeptically. ¡°The difference between gods and people seems pretty large.¡±


    ¡°From the sound of things, you were already most of the way there before this, the ability to use Worship is the biggest difference between Higher Beings and normal people.¡± Maven explained. ¡°It kind of sounds like you don¡¯t have a Domain yet, and that¡¯s where most ¡®god powers¡¯ that aren¡¯t normal uses of Worship come from.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s been given Domain over the swarm, shared with Rose, Amelia, and Connie.¡± Jerry said. ¡°In the future, we¡¯ll probably end up expanding that and giving her, Rose, and Amelia more unique Domains and abilities.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Maven replied. ¡°Still, not a huge change, I don¡¯t think. You¡¯re plenty qualified for this, Lia. Don¡¯t sell yourself short.¡±


    ¡°I always tell you that, and you never listen.¡± Rose said, smiling and elbowing Lia playfully. ¡°You¡¯d think after all this time it¡¯d set in that you¡¯re not just fourth fiddle to the three of us.¡±


    ¡°But you and Amelia are so strong, and Connie¡¯s a god, and ¨C¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re basically a god too, now.¡± Tess interrupted. ¡°And, from what I¡¯ve heard, you were more than capable of defeating her in combat before all this. I get where you¡¯re coming from, I had similar thoughts myself for a time, but you can¡¯t let them get to you; no matter what happened to get you to where you are, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re there now, and I have no doubts that you can catch up in power with them in no time.¡±


    ¡°Easy for you to say.¡± Lia mumbled. ¡°You don¡¯t understand just how monumental Rose and Amelia are for our planes, that¡¯s not something you can catch up to in ¡®no time¡¯.¡±


    ¡°S-she does, actually.¡± Connie said. ¡°Or¡­she¡¯s been through similar? She doesn¡¯t act it, but she¡¯s the strongest non-Administrator Higher Being in our faction, and she took the spot in only fifty or sixty years.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that, as of late, Lilith¡¯s dethroned me, though I can¡¯t be totally sure without sparring with her.¡± Tess said. ¡°And Mom deserves credit too, since neither of us would be where we are without each other.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but you and I are sort of a package deal when it comes to this.¡± Fortune said. ¡°There¡¯s no circumstance where we would be fighting apart, and you do most of the hard work, so you get the spot.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re getting off-topic, though.¡± Tess said. ¡°Lia, from what I understand, you¡¯re the ¡®main¡¯ recipient of eldritch power from your planes, just like Lilith and I; give it some time and you¡¯ll outshine everyone else from your planes, that¡¯s practically a guarantee. When I was starting out, I was depressed because I perceived myself as weak, and constantly compared myself to all the people around me. But, after some of my dear friends and family showed me that I was just getting in my own head and snapped me out of the funk, I realized there were things I could do, and I really began to blossom from there.¡±


    ¡°Give me a day or two after we get home.¡± Jerry said thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could whip together something that would help bring out your latent potential.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Lia said slowly. ¡°That¡¯s not really mine then, is it?¡±


    ¡°In that case, you would have to argue that much of my power isn¡¯t my own either, and I¡¯m pretty sure you don¡¯t think that way.¡± Rose objected.


    ¡°We can make it something you have to work to activate if it makes you feel better.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Something that would give incremental benefits but help accelerate you towards your theoretical limit.¡±


    ¡°If we can do that, why don¡¯t we just do it to everyone and dispense with this whole pretense?¡± Amelia asked impatiently.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s expensive.¡± Jerry replied calmly. ¡°I can¡¯t afford to do it to everyone, or I would. Lia, however, is important enough to warrant such a thing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Lia said. ¡°But¡­that sounds fine, I guess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get to work as soon as I¡¯m done here.¡± Jerry said. ¡°And I think we¡¯re done with questions too, so¡­let¡¯s everyone but Amelia, Lilith, and Kali are dismissed, thank you for taking the time to come out here tonight. Let¡¯s plan on meeting up every month or so, okay?¡±


    There were some nods, and everyone began to go their separate ways. Jerry and a rather reluctant Amelia walked up to Lilith and Kali, and Jerry gave them a smile. ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s about time we got into the fun stuff. Shall we go?¡±

 Chapter 7: Mana, the Foundation of Everything

    ¡°So, we¡¯re in a room that appears to be sunk in the middle of the ocean¡­why?¡± Amelia asked, clearly unimpressed.


    ¡°This is my viewing room.¡± Kali said. ¡°We¡¯ll be using it to look over the new plane as we work.¡±


    There was a stirring in the water in the distance, the enormous silhouette of a giant beast turning to face them. It began to grow and grow, rapidly speeding towards the room before opening its mouth and swallowing the room whole. After a brief moment of looking at the inside of its mouth, the room had teleported a mile or so away, the beast still easily visible thanks to its sheer size.


    ¡°What was that?!¡± Amelia exclaimed. ¡°And why does nobody care that it just tried to eat us?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just Levi.¡± Jerry said dismissively. ¡°He was a pet project I was working on a few thousand years ago, and I gave him to Kali with a plane I gave her. This room should be invisible, but he can detect the trace amounts of Worship in it, so he thinks it¡¯s a fun game to try and eat it.¡±


    ¡°It was shocking my first couple of times too.¡± Judy said, a nostalgic smile on her face. ¡°But he can¡¯t do anything to us in here, so I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about it.¡±


    ¡°I forgot I had the room set to his area.¡± Kali said apologetically. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to think about what we¡¯re going to do with him now that there¡¯s a war brewing, it seems like such a waste to just leave him unused. I¡¯ve considered giving him a soul like I did Anna¡¯s dogs, but it¡¯d be a lot of babysitting to get him to a point where he¡¯s not a danger to everyone around him.¡±


    As Levi approached the room again, Jerry gave him a thoughtful look. ¡°Lia might be able to help there, actually.¡± He said. ¡°She¡¯s unusually adept at giving souls to monsters, provided they¡¯re members of the swarm. Though, that would require you giving him back to me, at least for a time, so if you don¡¯t want to do that, I understand.¡±


    ¡°Take him.¡± Kali said, watching impassively as Levi attempted to eat the room once again. ¡°I¡¯m not really qualified to work with him, and if Lia can make him useful, then it¡¯s better than him just sitting around doing nothing like he is now.¡±


    Jerry nodded, then waved a hand. Levi vanished, and there was a deafening roar as an unfathomable amount of water rushed to fill the space he had occupied. ¡°I¡¯ll cocoon him myself, I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll be safe otherwise. If we can get Lia to make him¡­presentable, I¡¯ll gift him back to you, the capability to make other things part of the swarm removed, of course.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s really not necessary.¡± Kali protested. ¡°He¡¯s your project.¡±


    ¡°And I gave him to you along with Haven. You are currently one of our most important Administrators, and you need all the defenses you can get.¡±


    ¡°Sure, don¡¯t even ask Lia first.¡± Amelia harumphed. ¡°Real polite.¡±


    Jerry rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not like this takes more than a few seconds for her, and we both know she¡¯d say yes. Furthermore, converting him will give her enough experience to evolve several times over, and likely unlock some incredibly potent evolutions for her. It¡¯d make getting her on-par with you and Rose significantly faster.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Amelia grumbled. ¡°Let¡¯s just carry on with what we were doing.¡±


    ¡°Give me a moment here¡­¡± Kali said, placing her hand on a globe near the center of the room. A moment later, the view shifted, becoming an aerial overview of a wide, barren expanse of dirt and rock. ¡°This here¡¯s the plane we¡¯re going to be working with.¡± She said. ¡°This is one of the planes that¡¯s a blank slate, the only life being monsters. We¡¯ll be building a ¡°normal¡± ecosystem and a civilization from the ground up.¡±


    ¡°And there are monsters why?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°How do they survive without anything to eat?¡±


    Kali gave Amelia an inquisitive look. ¡°Where do you think monsters come from?¡±


    ¡°They form out of excess Mana, obviously.¡± Amelia said. ¡°But that wouldn¡¯t explain why there are monsters here now; without consistent sustenance they should be dying out way too quickly for there to be any sort of monstrous presence on this plane aside from one or two apex predators.¡±


    ¡°And what happens to monsters who die?¡± Kali prompted.


    ¡°Depends? Usually, their bodies just decompose, but under some circumstances they vanish instead.¡±


    ¡°Almost correct, but you have it backwards.¡± Kali said. ¡°In the absence of other factors, monster bodies will vanish, returning to Mana; Administrators are the ones who create the systems that allow monster bodies to remain, using the Mana that would otherwise be released by their deaths to instead keep the body physical.


    ¡°And, without anything else nearby, the Mana goes straight back into the atmosphere, and there¡¯s a net neutral. Of course, if there¡¯s another monster nearby, it gets the Mana instead, but the Mana will eventually return to the atmosphere, all the while the plane continues to generate the Mana it¡¯s ¡®missing¡¯ from the ambient energy. In essence, the plane will never have less than a certain amount of monsters, leaving it quite a hostile place.¡±


    ¡°But it would also be quite a good place to train, then, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like all planes are like this, so why waste a good one when there¡¯s something that already has a pre-existing ecosystem we can work with?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no. While it is true that it¡¯s an ideal place for those who know what they¡¯re doing, the same can¡¯t be said for most people.¡± Jerry said, turning his gaze to Lilith and Judy. ¡°How much do you two know about the nature of growing stronger as a person?¡±


    ¡°Outside the context of our system, not much.¡± Judy said.


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Lilith agreed. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been relevant.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°It¡¯s like this; levels, stats, and other artifacts of a system are simply representations of the base level of Mana a soul has. This base level of Mana is something that everyone has the capability to increase by absorbing Mana, which our systems represent as increasing stats. This base level of Mana is what the soul returns to when their Mana is depleted, and the base level cannot be decreased except when a soul is made conscious.¡±


    ¡°Made conscious as in¡­being born?¡± Judy asked.


    ¡°Being born is the most common way it happens, but anything that permanently resets the soul¡¯s memory will do. It¡¯s quite the vexing thing, really; it would be preferable if we could easily prevent this reset of a soul¡¯s base Mana, but the universe simply doesn¡¯t work that way. As Kali and Lilith can attest to, preserving a soul¡¯s memory while putting them back in a physical form is significantly more challenging than you might expect.¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Amelia raised an eyebrow. ¡°I never had any issues, and Lia hasn¡¯t either.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯d be willing to bet that has something to do with the eldritch.¡± Lilith said, the slightest hint of defensiveness creeping into her tone. ¡°There¡¯s no way two untrained people could get it right every time they try without even taking any precautions.¡±


    ¡°Have you considered the fact that Lia and I are just¡­better than you at this?¡± Amelia said smugly. ¡°Seems like you tried and failed, but just because you can¡¯t doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s something hard for everyone.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t.¡± Kali said, stepping forward. ¡°I did. When¡­look, long story short, decades ago Lilith was my dead lover, and I tried to reincarnate her the same way Lia reincarnated Rose. It was only a partial success, and her personality was preserved, but not her memories.¡±


    ¡°Though, with Lilith being who she is, we can¡¯t rule out eldritch interference there, either.¡± Jerry pointed out. ¡°And I believe Lilith is correct; it is overwhelmingly likely that Lia¡¯s proficiency with reincarnations was in some way influenced by the eldritch. Whether that be choosing a soul to influence that just so happened to have the knack, or directly modifying the soul to give it the knack, it doesn¡¯t really matter, but there are far too many precautions that have to be taken for someone to get it right without even trying to reincarnate someone, even helped as it was by me.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just let her have the achievement?¡± Amelia complained. ¡°It¡¯s always eldritch this, or eldritch that, never just letting it be¡­hers.¡±


    Jerry sighed. ¡°Amelia, you¡¯re thinking about this in the wrong way.¡± He said. ¡°No matter what we may try, what the eldritch has done is intimately tied with the souls of the people they¡¯ve touched. In my eyes, it might as well be her achievement; it is as much a part of her as anything else, and at the end of the day she is the one reincarnating those souls, not the Elder Gods. Does it matter if her way of ¡®learning¡¯ to do so is different? You wouldn¡¯t decry her skill with magic because you were the one that taught her things, would you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, but that¡¯s different.¡± Amelia said. ¡°She had to put in the effort to learn.¡±


    ¡°Then, assume a natural prodigy for, say, music composition. If they were never classically trained, and their first works were excellent, does that take away from their skill? It is an unrealistic scenario, yes, but so is this. In fact, you are in the same position, and you never have any complaints about assuming that the eldritch influenced your skill in crafting systems.¡±


    Amelia was silent for a moment. ¡°I could have complaints and just have not voiced them.¡± She said eventually.


    Lilith chuckled. ¡°Amelia, I¡¯ve known you for only a couple of hours, and even I can tell that you aren¡¯t the type to keep your complaints bottled up.¡±


    ¡°Fine, whatever.¡± Amelia said, throwing her hands up in defeat. ¡°Let¡¯s just get on with this boring explanation or whatever we were doing.¡±


    ¡°Where was I again?¡± Jerry asked.


    ¡°Discussing a soul¡¯s base Mana?¡± Judy prompted.


    ¡°Thank you. So, to finish the tangent on reducing the base level of Mana, I believe that the Mana reduction is somehow used to help keep the universe running, but I can¡¯t be sure and that alone wouldn¡¯t account for everything, so it¡¯s really something to study after this war is done. For our purposes, we¡¯re more concerned with increasing a soul¡¯s base Mana.


    ¡°There are three main ways that this happens. The first and least common is for the soul to live on a plane with a higher level of background Mana than the soul¡¯s base level of Mana. Over a period of decades or centuries, the soul will very slowly begin to acclimatize and increase its level of base Mana.


    ¡°With our systems, this generally isn¡¯t easily shown, but it¡¯s an edge case we need to handle, so we generally like to handle it by giving the person experience from sources that normally wouldn¡¯t, or silently increasing the stats gained upon leveling up. If people knew how to measure and utilize their base Mana, they would be able to display increased power regardless of their level increasing or their stats changing, but that¡¯s beside the point.


    ¡°The second, more common, way of increasing base Mana is to use it. Like a muscle, as a soul empties their base Mana, it refills to an ever so slightly larger amount. In many systems, this is expressed as skill experience or something similar, but it¡¯s important to remember that, at the end of the day, skills, experience, titles, levels, stats, everything in a system, is just expressions of a soul¡¯s Mana. We could redistribute that any way we want and it would work just fine.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°I mean, yes, it¡¯s all Mana, that¡¯s obvious, but not all Mana is the same.¡±


    Jerry frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t follow.¡± He said. ¡°As far as I¡¯ve been able to tell, there are no qualitative differences between different bits of Mana at the fundamental level. I¡¯ve run a lot of experiments, and I¡¯ve never once proved anything like that.¡±


    Amelia shook her head. ¡°No, the Mana¡¯s the same, but¡­not. It interacts with the soul differently.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Jerry asked, genuine curiosity in his tone. ¡°Again, I¡¯ve tried a lot of things with a lot of different souls, but I couldn¡¯t find a difference.¡±


    ¡°It just¡­it just does.¡± Amelia said frustratedly. ¡°It¡¯s really, really, really subtle, and the effect manifests differently with every soul, but it feels like the Mana is expecting to be used in a certain way. The issue with your system I kept running into was that it was too rigid. I followed the Mana, I could feel where it wanted to go, and there were times when your system forced it to go a different way.¡±


    Understanding dawned on Jerry¡¯s face, and he broke into a wide smile. ¡°I¡­see.¡± He said thoughtfully. ¡°I had chalked your circuitry¡¯s strange patterns up to you being unfamiliar with system architecture, but you built it with the Mana in mind, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± Amelia said. ¡°I didn¡¯t build any circuitry. I just tweaked things so that Mana could ignore the places your system wanted it to go. The pattern¡¯s different for every soul, I couldn¡¯t just build one circuit and be done with it.¡±


    Lilith could practically see the gears in Jerry¡¯s head turning as he spoke. ¡°And by doing so, you improved the efficiency of the Mana. You¡¯ll need to teach me how to detect where Mana wants to go, because that sounds vitally important.¡±


    ¡°It is, but it won¡¯t matter until we start making a system.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry this up, we can talk about this later, at home.¡±


    ¡°Right. Carrying on, the last way to increase base Mana is to absorb some when something nearby dies. Unaided, this is highly difficult to do, especially in the heat of battle, and that¡¯s one of the huge benefits of systems; it automatically does so, provided both parties are subject to the system.


    ¡°And that¡¯s the big catch of using these planes to train; systems don¡¯t just work for free; they need to be maintained, and every additional plane you apply the system to, the larger the maintenance cost is. It¡¯s not a linear scale, fortunately, it¡¯s a lot cheaper to extend an existing system to a new plane than it is to run a copy of the same system on that plane, but that running cost needs Worship.


    ¡°Usually, that Worship is generated by people who live under the system. It bites rather significantly into the Worship that they would give to the Administrator and Higher Beings, but we find the long-term gains to outweigh that maintenance cost. It¡¯s much harder to justify for an uninhabited plane that won¡¯t make back the Worship you¡¯re spending, so realistically that leaves us with only the people who are able to manually absorb Mana being able to train in planes like these.


    ¡°At that point, it¡¯s better to use these planes for other purposes. These types of planes are highly prized by Administrators because they¡¯re complete blank slates, allowing us to tailor even the smallest aspect of the plane to our liking, so it¡¯s just highly inefficient to use one for just training.¡±


    Jerry waved a hand and a table with several stacks of papers appeared to the side. ¡°That all being said, it¡¯s time to discuss foundations. I¡¯ve prepared a bunch of lessons and hands-on examples with system basics, similar to what we¡¯d use to teach new Administrators. Amelia, when we come across something that seems wrong to you, please call it out and we can discuss why it¡¯s wrong and hopefully innovate and further refine our process. If everyone would go grab the top paper of a stack, we can get started with learning to ¡®read¡¯ system abilities!¡±


    Lilith nodded, walking over and grabbing a paper. Admittedly, she wasn¡¯t looking forward to the beginning parts of the process, where she was learning the basics, but they had to be done. So, there was nothing to do but put her head down and get to work.

 Chapter 8: Mana Literacy

    ¡°Okay, I think I¡¯m ready for the first practical lesson.¡± Lilith said, setting down the paper she had been reading. ¡°How are we going about this?¡±


    ¡°Already?¡± Jerry asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s only been half an hour or so.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Lilith said, slightly confused. ¡°Is that surprising? It didn¡¯t seem particularly complicated, just introductory stuff.¡±


    ¡°Most people take an hour and a half or more to get to this point.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°If you truly are ready, you have an unusual knack for this, though¡­I suppose it would be more surprising if you didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I mean, I haven¡¯t really had any trouble learning anything new since I became able to speak all languages, as long as someone is trying to communicate something to me it just¡­clicks. It¡¯s why having Mae as a biological supercomputer even works at all, really, since math is technically a language.¡±


    Jerry shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think ¡®speak all languages¡¯ is the most apt description for that particular ability.¡± He said. ¡°It may have been what you originally desired, but what you have is far, far greater.


    ¡°There are many abilities that provide what most would think of when they hear ¡®speak all languages¡¯, but they tap into the system or the collective unconscious of a society. You¡­do not. I don¡¯t know how what you have works, but it seems to tap into something on a much more fundamental level than anything I know how to work with, getting to the meaning and intent of what is being said precisely. But¡­that¡¯s irrelevant to us at this particular juncture. For now, come over here and we¡¯ll practice reading something¡¯s Mana to see how it¡¯s being used.¡±


    He manifested another table, this one containing a small green slime. ¡°This is my training dummy equivalent.¡± He said, motioning at the slime. ¡°It¡¯s not sentient at all, or capable of any sort of locomotion, it¡¯s just a blob with Mana. This is a pretty simple one, with the Mana channeled into only one passive effect. Go ahead and give it a go, see if you can tell me what the effect does.¡±


    Lilith walked over to the slime, then sent a questing tendril of Mana into it, following the instructions that had been set out in the papers. As she did, the metaphorical landscape of the slime¡¯s Mana spread out before her. ¡°It seems to be related to absorbing physical trauma of some kind.¡± She mused. ¡°Were this to be in a system, I would peg it as a flat reduction to physical damage, say¡­fifty percent? Something large but not overpowering. The Mana doesn¡¯t seem to be altering the thing¡¯s physical or magical traits otherwise, just the one ability.¡±


    Jerry snapped his head up, starting at Lilith intently. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen this before, right?¡±


    Lilith shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s my first time trying to do this, and I¡¯ve never seen nor heard of your training dummies. Why?¡±


    ¡°That was¡­eerily spot on.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Exactly how I constructed it in my planes, a single fifty percent reduction to physical damage and nothing else, no stats or anything. For you to recognize it that quickly, with that level of accuracy is¡­unheard of. For first times reading Mana, most people take somewhere in the realm of five minutes to realize that this has a physical damage reduction at all, and don¡¯t get any numbers on it or touch the stats.¡±


    Lilith scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. ¡°Well, I¡¯m kind of cheating here.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not that great.¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand.¡± Jerry said emphatically. ¡°This, by all rights, should be impossible, ability or no. Even Amelia took longer when she was learning, and she¡¯s far and away the most talented person I¡¯ve ever seen with regards to Mana constructs.¡±


    Amelia looked up from the paper she was reading. ¡°I also didn¡¯t have a precise guide.¡± She said. ¡°If I did, I would have been faster.¡±


    ¡°Amelia, you took one minute your first time consciously looking, I went back and timed it.¡± Jerry said flatly. ¡°That was a record for anyone, guide or no. Even now you generally take ten or twenty seconds to get a full read of something, not¡­instantaneous like this. Lilith, what did this feel like to you?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­kind of like reading a book?¡± Lilith ventured. ¡°It¡¯s not an exact comparison or anything, but it all seemed pretty plain to me. I just figured it was so easy because this is for training.¡±


    Jerry frowned, stowing away the slime before taking out another. ¡°Try this.¡± He instructed.


    Lilith complied, and once again the slime¡¯s Mana spread out before her. This time, it was significantly more complicated, like she had jumped from reading a picture book to reading Shakespeare. The Mana twisted and turned in on itself in obtuse ways, but she was able to nonetheless decipher it with relative ease.


    She began to narrate her findings, stopping and starting as she changed effects and had to trace the Mana back to its origin so she didn¡¯t repeat herself. It was relatively slow going due to the sheer density and complexity of the dummy¡¯s Mana, but she was able to get through the whole thing in ten or fifteen minutes, much to Jerry¡¯s delight.


    ¡°Excellent work.¡± He said. ¡°That was my final exam, so to speak, and you did it faster than even I could. I think we can safely say that you have reading Mana down pat, how about constructing it?¡±


    ¡°That¡­I don¡¯t know.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°I can remember exactly what the circuits you made look like, but I have no clue how to actually copy them over, much less how to invent my own.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least my ego remains somewhat intact.¡± Jerry said, giving her a smirk. ¡°If you had known how to do even that, then I wouldn¡¯t have anything to teach you. Give me a second, I¡¯ll get the relevant papers and we can get you practicing.¡±


    ¡°I want to practice too.¡± Amelia said. ¡°I already know everything in these papers and it¡¯s boring.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you a training dummy too.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°I would advise trying something new with it, instead of sticking to system constructs you know. You¡¯ll learn more that way.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine.¡± Amelia said. ¡°It can¡¯t be that hard, right?¡±


    <hr>


    Amelia frowned, magically prodding at the slime in front of her. As it turned out, it could be that hard, not that she would let Jerry have the satisfaction of knowing that. Making something without the aid of a system was just¡­hard. Amelia hadn¡¯t realized how much she relied on the structure her system provided until now; without that structure, Mana tended to spill out and do things she really didn¡¯t want it to do.


    Even making a simple effect such as increasing the slime¡¯s stats was hard. The moment she stopped focusing on sculpting the Mana, all her progress was undone as the Mana collapsed in on itself, and that was less than ideal, to say the least. If she wanted any effect to stick, she would have to create some construct that would either make use of the movement of the Mana to reapply the effect, make something that would force Mana to stay in place, like a system, or provide a channel with which the Mana could be reset into a channel at a whim.


    Each of those had upsides and downsides, and it got her thinking about what she could combine with what she already knew. Making use of the movement of the Mana¡¯s collapse to reapply the effect was an intriguing thought, as it would result in something she really hadn¡¯t seen before. The strength of the effect would ebb and flow as the Mana fell apart and reapplied itself, but if she added something that would slow the collapse of the Mana, then she could create some really unique abilities.


    The constructs needed to channel the Mana required relatively little Mana to construct, meaning the peak of each effect was stronger than what she would get if she used something like a system to keep the effect constant, but they were also a lot more difficult to construct. Without a feel for how Mana wanted to move, the constructs would be horribly inefficient, and though she hated to admit it, she could see why Jerry might not have noticed that Mana had ways it wanted to move; the effect was normally so slight that it was nearly imperceptible to even Amelia, but in a situation like this it just didn¡¯t seem to happen, or, at least not in a capacity that Amelia could see. It seemed that there needed to be time for the Mana to set or¡­something.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Regardless, while she wasn¡¯t particularly interested in making abilities that increased and decreased in strength, what she could do with it was create constructs that would create entirely different effects when Mana collapsed, and create a circle of those. Then she could have abilities that changed every so often, trading consistency for more powerful and varied effects.


    But that wasn¡¯t something she wanted to make as a basis of a system, it was only something she would use supplementally. For one, creating something that would automatically create those constructs for each soul would be a nightmare, centuries of work to get something that actually worked well for everyone, as Mana worked slightly differently for each soul, and that slight difference could have a huge difference when repeated over and over again for each ability on a soul.


    She filed it away as something to try back at home on an individual basis, and got back to thinking about the other ways. The system was still likely her favorite way of doing things, as it provided a solid, consistent way of keeping power up that required little in the way of complex Mana management or decision making from the user; they didn¡¯t have to worry about their abilities not being active or something on a regular basis, and could just use them.


    Yes, sometimes that did happen, but it was an exception, not the way everything worked on a fundamental level. And, while the Mana to power ratio of a system was, technically, the worst of the three, it made up for it in ease of use and the fact that effects that really needed to be consistently active were. It was simple but elegant, and everything she was looking for in this regard.


    But that didn¡¯t mean she should disregard everything else entirely. The last method was something she had actually been thinking about for a while, and had tried to implement with the swarm, but had failed due to the limitations of the system already in place. It boasted the greatest Mana to power ratio of the three methods, but traded that for ease of use.


    To be able to use the constructs she would make, a person would have to have some knowledge of their internal Mana, how to circulate it, and how to activate the constructs that would be engraved upon their souls. In essence, each ability would require the user to train with it before it could be properly used, but it would come out more powerful than an equivalent ability provided by either of the other methods she was considering.


    She suspected that this was the way in which most people who used magic without external aid did it; over long periods of time, repeated activations of Mana in a particular fashion would condition the person¡¯s Mana to expect to be used in that way, and it would become quicker and easier to use. In essence, practice would form a ¡°natural¡± version of these circuits, and they would likely be more efficient than most ¡°artificial¡± versions, since they would be tailored to that person¡¯s soul.


    Of course, the flaw with that was immediately obvious; it took time. To develop a single ability would take years of effort, years in which someone with a system could develop dozens of abilities. Those dozens of abilities would be weaker, yes, but they could also build upon themselves, becoming greater than the sum of their parts.


    Satisfied with her experimentation, Amelia pushed the slime away from her and looked over at Lilith. Lilith was studiously reading the papers Jerry had given her, a slime not dissimilar to Amelia¡¯s waiting by her side. A quick inspection revealed that some work had been done on the slime already, but it was amateurish at best. The pathways she had carved into the creature were shaky and of inconsistent strength, leading a great deal of Mana to spill out before the ability was ¡°complete¡±.


    ¡°Don¡¯t judge her too harshly.¡± Jerry said, placing a hand on Amelia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s doing better than a great many Administrators do their first time. Even you had a time when you were at similar levels of skill.¡±


    ¡°If there was such a time, I don¡¯t remember it.¡± Amelia whispered dismissively.


    ¡°You were barely older than three, and you were unconsciously experimenting with it. You don¡¯t remember learning to talk or walk, but there was a time when you struggled nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°Well, if she¡¯s so great, then why isn¡¯t she so good at this already?¡± Amelia asked sulkily. ¡°I¡¯m gifted, and I could do it as a toddler, so certainly an adult should be better.¡±


    Jerry sighed. ¡°Amelia, your world hasn¡¯t done research on it yet, but it¡¯s well documented that children learn languages much quicker than adults. I imagine this would apply to Mana manipulation as well; it is learned quite similarly to how languages are learned.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Amelia replied. ¡°And if you¡¯re so worried about her feelings, why aren¡¯t you being quiet? I¡¯m at least making an attempt.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not being quiet because there¡¯s no point.¡± Jerry said, giving Amelia a quizzical look. ¡°Surely you know that, right?¡±


    Amelia frowned. ¡°What?¡±


    Jerry frowned back at her. ¡°Surely you examined her Mana.¡± He said. ¡°You do that to everyone.¡±


    ¡°I did, and?¡±


    Jerry¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°Then you should know full well that she can hear and see us.¡± He said, then lowered his voice to a nearly inaudible whisper. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Lilith?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Jerry.¡± Lilith said, not looking up from her papers. ¡°I was wondering why Amelia was whispering myself.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be true!¡± Amelia protested, an odd twinge of guilt running through her. ¡°I looked you over, you don¡¯t have anything that would let you do that!¡±


    Lilith laid down her papers, looking at Amelia and giving her a puzzled glance. ¡°I have at least five different things that would let me hear you, and more that let me see you?¡± She said quizzically. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be one of the best at this, surely you would have picked that up early on? I have a lot of organs that normal people don¡¯t, that doesn¡¯t just work without Mana.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not transformed, though, and you don¡¯t have any Mana constructs that would facilitate that.¡± Amelia said matter-of-factly. ¡°I don¡¯t buy it.¡±


    Lilith raised an eyebrow. ¡°This isn¡¯t exactly my base form.¡± She said. ¡°In fact, most of my body isn¡¯t what I would consider my base form, it¡¯s almost all been transformed in some way.¡±


    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll prove it.¡± Amelia said. ¡°I¡¯m going to throw my best dispel at you, and when you don¡¯t change, that¡¯ll settle things.¡±


    Curiosity filled Lilith¡¯s eyes. ¡°Shoot.¡± She said. ¡°I can redo this all pretty easily.¡±


    Amelia quickly whipped up a powerful dispel, stuffing it full of Mana and even a little Worship for good measure, then hurled it at Lilith. And, as expected, it just fizzled out, leaving Lilith looking exactly the same as she had before. ¡°See?¡± Amelia said. ¡°Base form.¡±


    ¡°Uh, no?¡± Lilith said. ¡°Amelia, most of my insides aren¡¯t even technically mine.¡±


    Amelia gave Lilith a blank look. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°This body is two bodies merged into one.¡± Lilith replied, flexing an arm. ¡°After getting eldritch abilities, most bodily functions became pretty obsolete, so Mae used her body and effectively turned it into a symbiotic organism, replacing most of my organs with things like brain tissue or organs that give me senses I shouldn¡¯t have. Theoretically, that spell should have split us back into two bodies. You have to have something wrong with however you¡¯re doing things.¡±


    ¡°This always works!¡± Amelia protested. ¡°You¡¯re the first person it¡¯s failed on!¡±


    Lilith¡¯s body twitched, writhing for a moment before shifting completely; her wings became insectoid scythes, and a thick black carapace covered her skin. ¡°Look again.¡± She said.


    Amelia shrugged, and prodded at Lilith¡¯s Mana. She stared at it for a moment, a frown deepening as she did. ¡°That¡¯s not right.¡± She said. ¡°It says this is your base form.¡±


    ¡°It is her base form.¡± Jerry said. ¡°So was her previous.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Lilith and Amelia said in unison, turning to look at Jerry.


    ¡°My Skill descriptions mention my base form as something separate from the transformations.¡± Lilith pointed out, returning to her normal appearance.


    ¡°Then your Skill description lied.¡± Jerry replied calmly. ¡°The fact that you had one for an eldritch ability is unusual in and of itself. Likely, you were subconsciously trying to display the information in a way that made sense and didn¡¯t interfere too much with the way you understood the world.


    ¡°I think it would be more proper to say that you don¡¯t really have a base form, not in the way normal people do. If you did, the transformations you just did would have taken significantly more effort, and likely some Worship. As Connie can attest to, it is rather expensive to change the base form of a Higher Being, and you did so without a thought. Did it even cost you anything to do that?¡±


    Lilith frowned. ¡°I haven¡¯t put much thought into it, it¡¯s always been inconsequential enough that the numbers haven¡¯t really mattered.¡± She rapidly shifted parts of her body into all sorts of different things, then shook her head. ¡°If it is costing me anything, I regenerate Mana fast enough that I can¡¯t notice it.¡± She said, once again shifting back to how she usually looked.


    ¡°I thought so.¡± Jerry said. ¡°As far as I can tell, the Elder Gods, and by extension you, operate on a different axis than regular people. What they do can¡¯t be explained by anything we have yet to understand, though I hope that in the aftermath of this ¡®game¡¯ we will be better equipped to understand it.


    ¡°Amelia, take this as a lesson.¡± Jerry continued, turning his eyes towards her. ¡°With the eldritch involved, you cannot rely on the tools you would use normally. And, with that being the case, remember that there is always something you will not know. With each passing day we can endeavor to learn more, but I believe that to completely and fully understand this universe is beyond the capabilities we have. If one was capable of doing so, they would be next to omniscient, and I¡¯m not sure one mind can handle that amount of knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Not and remain¡­the same as we are now.¡± Lilith said. ¡°They would be completely divorced from the experience we¡¯ve come to know.¡±


    ¡°They would be eldritch.¡± Jerry said, giving a nod. ¡°But¡­that is reaching too far into the theoretical for today, I think. We really should focus on you, and you learning how to weave Mana. Amelia, you can return home for the day, you¡¯re just sort of messing around anyway and it seems you¡¯ve reached a bit of a stopping point in that. Lilith, if you¡¯re alright with it, I¡¯d like to continue here for a while longer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more than happy to keep going.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I was just getting into the good stuff anyway.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m more than happy to leave.¡± Amelia replied. ¡°I have wives to love and planes to conquer.¡±


    She began mustering the Worship to leave, then stopped, that odd sense of guilt from earlier rearing its head once again. ¡°Bye. And¡­um, sorry for calling you bad at this, I think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Lilith said reassuringly. ¡°I really am much worse than this at you. I¡¯ll do my best to catch up so I¡¯m not holding you back, okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡­yeah.¡± Amelia replied, finishing gathering the Worship and fleeing back home to her wives.

 Chapter 9: Levia

    Lia jumped as her evening was interrupted by Jerry¡¯s voice in her head. Apologies for contacting you like this, but do you have a bit to help me out with something important? It shouldn¡¯t take more than an hour and a half.


    Um, yeah. Lia replied. I¡¯m not really doing anything right now. But, are you sure you need me, not Amelia?


    Yes. Please meet me in the god¡¯s domain. Do you remember the spell we taught you?


    I think so. Give me a minute to let everyone know and then I¡¯ll be over.


    Thank you, Lia.


    Currently, Lia was the only one in the living room, so she chose to let her wives know via telepathy instead of physically finding them. Hey guys, Jerry needs me for something, he said it won¡¯t take more than an hour and a half, but don¡¯t panic if I¡¯m not around when you get back or something.


    Did he say what? Rose asked curiously.


    No. Lia replied. Just that it¡¯s important.


    I think I know what it is. Amelia said. But I¡¯ll let it be a surprise. If I¡¯m right, it won¡¯t be anything bad.


    I¡¯ll come with. Connie volunteered. Do you need help with the transport spell?


    No, I think I remember. Lia replied. I¡¯ll let you know if I have trouble, though.


    Okay, just making sure. Connie said. I¡¯ll see you in a minute.


    Lia put down the book she was reading, then stood up and began to focus on her Mana. It took her a second to get the image of the spell right, then put a tiny bit of Blood Money in as a catalyst. A moment later, the world shimmered, and she found herself in a sitting room in the domain of the gods.


    Connie rushed over, and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. ¡°Jerry should be here in a second.¡± She said. ¡°Knowing him, this is probably something related to the whole eldritch situation.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Jerry said, walking into the room. ¡°Lia, I need your help in giving a soul to something, as well as converting it in the process.¡±


    ¡°You need my help giving something a soul?¡± Lia asked, taken aback. ¡°Surely you¡¯re better at it than I am.¡±


    ¡°To tell you the truth, I¡¯m reasonably sure you¡¯re the best person in our entire faction at giving things souls.¡± Jerry said. ¡°You have as much a knack for it as Amelia has for system crafting, as well as a rather large amount of experience doing so.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only done it¡­a dozen or so times, I think.¡± Lia said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call that a lot of experience.¡±


    ¡°Comparatively speaking, it is.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°In my long life, I have tried it only five or six more times than you have, and I am by far the most experienced amongst our faction. It usually isn¡¯t a particularly common event, to say the least.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Lia said quietly. ¡°Um, what am I giving a soul?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall if I mentioned it earlier today when I introduced you to everyone, but when I gave Kali that plane, I gave her one of my pet projects with it. Unfortunately, as it is, it¡¯s not well-suited to aid in our war, and it is my opinion that converting it into a more convenient form and then granting it a soul will be the best way to make it useful for the war effort. Once we¡¯re done, I plan to give it back to her, but I think you¡¯ll find that the experience you¡¯ll get from converting it will be well worth the time you spend here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re letting a member of the swarm loose on Kali¡¯s planes, and Levi at that?¡± Connie asked, taken aback. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s¡­wise? Kali knows about this, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take away all capability to produce modeling wax or convert others before giving Levi back, and I¡¯m going to see if Amelia can undo the conditioning on it.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Were this not the easiest way to modify Levi¡¯s form into something more usable, I wouldn¡¯t be doing it. Of course, if they so desired I would be happy to allow the swarm to spread to their planes, but they do not want it, so I¡¯ll be carefully watching to ensure no such thing happens.¡±


    ¡°Are they gonna even work properly if they¡¯re not connected to our system?¡± Lia asked doubtfully.


    ¡°It won¡¯t have the capability to analyze things or gain experience in the normal ways, but I designed Levi in a way that allows it to natively absorb Mana from things it eats. It was originally an experiment in making a sort of self-contained system that was abandoned for being too Worship-intensive, so most of that should theoretically transfer over. Just in case I¡¯ll be personally overseeing the conversion once it¡¯s underway, though.¡±


    ¡°So¡­do you need anything special from me in the conversion process?¡± Lia asked.


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°I¡¯ve personally prepared the cocoon in such a way that the first option should be the most preferred one. Just select that, let the conversion happen, and provide the soul when you¡¯re done. Then you can head on home and you¡¯ll be ready to evolve, so you can do that at your leisure.¡±


    ¡°You think so?¡± Lia asked. ¡°It¡¯s been quite some time since I evolved, and I¡¯m not exactly close to another evolution.¡±


    ¡°It should be enough to evolve you several times over.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Levi would be capable of standing toe to toe with Rose in a fight, and potentially even winning. Between converting something of that caliber and becoming a Higher Being, you will have such a massive amount of Mana that I expect this evolution to put you on par with Amelia and Rose, or at the very least get you close.¡±


    Lia raised an eyebrow. ¡°If you say so. Anything else I should know before we do this?¡±


    ¡°Just read over the description first and make sure that it will have a reasonably-sized humanoid form like I hope it will.¡± Jerry said. ¡°And be prepared, it¡¯s big. I¡¯m going to teleport us over to it now, so be ready.¡±


    Lia nodded, and Jerry snapped his fingers. A moment later Lia found herself in a large field of some sort, an absolutely gargantuan cocoon in front of her. Save for the World Tree, it was the single largest living thing she had ever seen, provided the bulk of the cocoon¡¯s size was coming from Levi and not whatever else Jerry would have put into the cocoon to supplement the conversion.


    ¡°How¡­how big is this thing?¡± Lia breathed. ¡°It¡¯s¡­enormous.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s grown since I gave it to Kali, but I would estimate it to be somewhere in the realm of a kilometer and a half long.¡± Jerry said. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be the apex predator of whatever ocean it finds itself in, and it does that job admirably. Regardless, it¡¯s awaiting conversion; all you need to do is start the process.


    Lia gave a nod, turning away from Jerry and placing her hand on the cocoon. She pulled up the list of options, resisting the urge to scroll down the list further to see what could have been, instead focusing on only the top one.


    <table width="100%">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="100%">


    Herald of the Abyss:


    In the deepest, darkest depths of the abyssal seas, there lurk predators beyond the bounds of what the landlocked consider possible. This unique Heroic race is the ascension of one such predator, given form to walk amongst the surface people without raising suspicion or compromising its abilities. This particular abyssal predator was handcrafted by an Administrator, and has significant experience traveling between worlds and operating without the benefit of a system. Strengthened by the myriad otherworldly and eldritch items converted with it, it has become a beacon of its own system, treating all creatures within a ten kilometer radius as being under the swarm¡¯s system for the purpose of experience, levels, and the application of abilities. Other swarm members within the radius may likewise interact with all other creatures within the radius as if those creatures were part of the swarm¡¯s system.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°I think it¡¯s what you want?¡± Lia said questioningly. ¡°The description implies that it¡¯ll be humanoid, and it definitely retains the system stuff you were worried about. Um¡­do you want me to read off the exact description?¡±


    Jerry nodded. ¡°I can see the window, but just in case it looks different for you, I would appreciate that.¡±


    Lia read off the description, and Jerry gave another nod. ¡°Perfect. Get the process started, and I¡¯ll be back for you once it finishes. In the meantime, do whatever you please, but please stay within the domain of the gods in case something goes awry and I need you.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I give you the full tour?¡± Connie suggested. ¡°We already gave you the quick overview, but it can¡¯t hurt to be more familiar with this place; you¡¯ll be coming here more often in the future, after all.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± Lia replied, beginning Levi¡¯s conversion.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you on your way, then.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Enjoy your tour. Oh, and while you¡¯re at it, Connie, will you give her my contact information? It¡¯d be nice to be able to text her instead of intruding upon her mind whenever I need her.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even think of that.¡± Connie said. ¡°I¡¯ll give it to Amelia and Rose, as well.¡±


    ¡°Perfect.¡±


    <hr>


    True to Jerry¡¯s word, an hour later Lia received a notification that she had gained a massive amount of experience from Levi¡¯s conversion. Then, almost before Lia had finished reading the short notification, her phone buzzed. She took it out of her pocket to find a text from Jerry, saying that he was ready for her again. ¡°How did he know my number?¡± Lia asked, sending a quick reply that said he could pick them up whenever.


    ¡°Probably just looked for it.¡± Connie said. ¡°Administrators get to cheat a little when it comes to clairvoyance for stuff like this, especially when we¡¯re in the realm of the gods.¡±


    Their surroundings blurred, and they found themselves in that field once more, the gargantuan cocoon no longer obstructing the view in front of her. In its place was a tall, voluptuous, woman with dark blue hair in a similarly colored dress. Even so, Lia couldn¡¯t find it in her to appreciate the woman¡¯s beauty; the woman practically oozed danger, her blood red eyes sharp and focused, tracking every motion Lia made.


    Lia felt all the hair on her body stand on end, and she couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something incredibly dangerous was standing not even twenty feet away from her. The woman took a step forward, and Lia unconsciously took a step backwards, her instincts screaming at her to get as far away from the woman as she physically could.


    Yes, she could feel that this woman was a member of the swarm, but it really didn¡¯t help when Lia knew that the conditioning that applied wasn¡¯t foolproof when faced with extremely strong-willed and powerful beings.


    And then the woman knelt down, and the pressure that Lia was feeling dissipated. She let out a breath she didn¡¯t know she had been holding, and only then could she spare the time to properly look at her surroundings. There were previously unseen mountains in the distance, yes, but more immediately noticeable was the fact that Jerry wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°Thank you for cooperating with me, Lia.¡± A melodic woman¡¯s voice said from behind her. ¡°We¡¯re almost done.¡±


    Lia almost spun around, but at the last second her instincts forced her to stop, and she ended up awkwardly turning to the side so that she could see both Levi and woman behind her. Though she couldn¡¯t get the greatest view with the way she was positioned, the woman was of average height, with long blonde hair tied up neatly in a ponytail, revealing her pointy ears.


    Lia¡¯s brain, still operating half on instinct after the scare Levi had given her belatedly began to put two and two together, but Connie reacted before Lia could finish her thought. ¡°Jerry?!¡± She exclaimed.


    The woman nodded. ¡°The process went off without a hitch, so I had an hour of free time.¡± She said. ¡°I said before that I¡¯d be changing my form to better align with the swarm so as to maximize my Worship gains, and since I needed to be right here the whole time just in case something did go wrong, this seemed to be a productive use of my time.¡±


    ¡°Just like that?¡± Lia asked, dumbfounded. ¡°You¡¯ve been alive and a man for¡­eons, I guess, and you¡¯re willing to just change?¡±


    Jerry shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t really care about sex or gender in any significant fashion.¡± She said. ¡°Not for me, not for others. The mindset I give all of my freshly-created Higher Beings in this regard is simply an extension of that; it¡¯s optimal to be able to switch if something like this comes up, so I made sure that, at least at the time of their creation, they wouldn¡¯t care. So¡­yes, I am willing to change. This is going to get me the most Worship, which increases our odds in this war, so I¡¯m doing it.¡±


    ¡°What should we call you?¡± Connie asked, already seeming to have recovered from the surprise.


    ¡°Jerry is unisex enough, so I see no reason to change my name.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°We can discuss this more later, though; Lia is looking a little on edge, so we should finish this up as quickly as possible.¡±


    Lia nodded slowly, eyes flicking back to Levi. ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s safe?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Absolutely.¡± Jerry confirmed. ¡°Levi never had much of a strong will or anything, and I¡¯m more than capable of keeping you safe even should you be attacked. Just go ahead and give Levi a soul and then I¡¯ll take her away.¡±


    Lia gulped, turning back so she was facing the still-kneeling Levi. Though the primal fear Levi had caused her was gone, the memory of it remained, and Lia had to force herself to take each step towards her, ignoring her instincts as she moved.


    After what seemed like an age, she arrived at Levi, and for the first time made eye contact. It was like staring into a bottomless abyss; she got the impression that something old, powerful, and hungry was looking back at her, something she could never understand the true nature of.


    And then Levi bowed her head, breaking the eye contact and ending the spell. Hesitantly, Lia laid her palm on the woman¡¯s hair, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and gave her command. ¡°Be enlightened.¡±


    Lia hadn¡¯t granted something a soul in quite some time, and certainly not since becoming a Higher Being, and the sensation was¡­different than she remembered. There was still that momentary pause, the feeling that her words carried more weight than they had the moment before, but now she could feel as a soul was provided to her, the rush as she passed the soul to Levi and the void in Levi¡¯s mind was filled.


    Lia withdrew her hand, and Levi looked up, a new intelligence in her eyes. ¡°Thank you, my Queen.¡± She said softly, her voice deep and comforting. ¡°Please, call me Levia.¡±


    ¡°I¡­yes. It¡­it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Levia.¡± Lia squeaked out, unconsciously taking a step backwards.


    ¡°Are you alright, my Queen?¡± Levia asked, standing up. ¡°You seem unwell.¡±


    ¡°F-fine.¡± Lia replied. ¡°Just a little overwhelmed.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Levia.¡± Connie said. ¡°You¡¯re exerting a lot more pressure than she¡¯s used to.¡±


    Levia blinked, tilting her head in confusion. A second later, understanding dawned on her face, and the feeling in the air shifted yet again. While only a moment prior Levia had been a cool, intimidating beauty, she now felt like only a somewhat shy-looking young woman. ¡°Sorry, my Queen.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not used to holding myself back.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Lia said. ¡°Um¡­how much do you remember?¡±


    ¡°From Levi¡¯s life? Most of it. From mine? Little.¡± Levia said. ¡°I feel like I was no one of significance, but rest assured; I have full control of what remains of Levi, he was little more than a beast.¡±


    ¡°You are correct in that regard.¡± Jerry said. ¡°You were no one the world would have considered important; you simply had an extraordinary will and sense of self. That made you the perfect candidate to control Levi¡¯s power.¡±


    Levia paused, giving Jerry a quizzical look. A moment later, the veins in her arms began to glow a bright red, the bioluminescence running up to her torso and then down her back before vanishing entirely. ¡°You are¡­my creator, yes? You look¡­different, but have the same¡­¡± Levia floundered for a moment, clearly looking for the right word, ¡°feel as he did.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°Like I mentioned, I needed to change to better prepare myself for the coming war. A war we are hoping to use your power for.¡±


    ¡°I would be honored.¡± Levia said. ¡°What would you have me do?¡±


    Lia couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised that Levia showed so much deference to Jerry. Almost every single member of the swarm would have asked Lia that question instead of Jerry, but Levia hardly seemed to consider it.


    ¡°Do you remember the other universe I sent Levi to?¡± Jerry asked.


    ¡°I do.¡± Levia said, nodding. ¡°Do you wish for me to conquer it?¡±


    ¡°Far from it.¡± Jerry replied, smiling. ¡°I want you to become one of its most stalwart defenders; the Administrator there is a dear friend of mine, and her, her wife, and her universe are the keys to winning our war. Please wait here for a moment; I¡¯ll be calling in the creator of the swarm to remove its conditioning from you before sending you back to them. I will give further instructions while we wait, okay?¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Levia replied. ¡°If need be, I will lay down my life for them.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡± Jerry replied, giving Levia a smile. Then, she turned to Lia and Connie. ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± She said. ¡°I imagine you¡¯re somewhat keen to go evolve now, so please, don¡¯t let me keep you for any longer than I have.¡±


    ¡°Right. Um, thank you too.¡± Lia said. ¡°I¡¯d like to go evolve, yes.¡±


    Jerry gave her a smile. ¡°Though it may not seem it to you, you¡¯ve helped us far more than I¡¯ve helped you. Thank you again.¡± With that, she waved her hand, and Lia found herself back in her house. She took a moment to let Amelia and Rose know that she would be evolving, then went to her bed and started to look through her options.

 Chapter 10: Levias Worries

    Lilith¡¯s time practicing writing Mana circuits was interrupted by Kali walking into the room.


    ¡°Lilith, Jerry is going to be coming back here in a few minutes with Levi, I¡¯d like you to be the one to let him in this time.¡± Kali said, closing the door gently behind her.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°How do I do that?¡±


    ¡°First, you need to learn how to tell when another Administrator is trying to enter your universe.¡± Kali said. ¡°Unfortunately, there¡¯s not a good way of practicing that, so we¡¯re sort of going to have to learn it on the fly. I¡¯ve let Jerry know you¡¯re going to be doing it to learn, and he¡¯s fine with it, so don¡¯t worry if it takes you a bit.¡±


    Lilith nodded, using spatial magic to put the slime she was working with into storage. ¡°Where do I start?¡±


    ¡°So, you have to start by feeling the boundaries of our universe.¡± Kali said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain, but you basically have to read the Mana of our planes. It¡¯s gonna take a little bit to find it, like it did when you first had to find your personal Mana, but once you¡¯ve found it, feeling it out should start to come as naturally as feeling out your own Mana. Once you¡¯ve found it, do a reading like you would any other Mana, and then we¡¯ll be in business.¡±


    ¡°I should be looking externally for it, right?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°Since it¡¯s not my Mana?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­yes, but actually no.¡± Kali replied. ¡°It¡¯s like¡­halfway? Obviously, the Mana isn¡¯t ours and we can¡¯t like¡­use it like we would our Mana, but it¡¯s also connected to us through Worship, and we can check it even when we¡¯re in other universes. So, I guess, look for something that¡¯s connecting you to the universe?¡±


    Found it. Mae said. Give me a moment to share the memory of the discovery. True to her word, a moment later Lilith received Mae¡¯s memories of searching for the universe¡¯s Mana, and finding it. And, once Lilith knew where to look, it was pretty trivial to find again.


    ¡°Good work, Mae. Now what?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Look for the edge of the Mana, and then wait. Once Jerry tries to get in, you¡¯ll feel a disturbance, and then you sort of¡­open the Mana at the spot. It¡¯s kind of hard to explain, you might need to try a couple of times to get it. After you know the sensation, it should be pretty obvious, and you¡¯ll be able to feel something wrong in the back of your mind whenever anyone tries. If someone tries to forcibly break in, it¡¯ll be even more obvious, so don¡¯t worry about missing it if someone¡¯s invading.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll just wait here until Jerry¡¯s ready?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll let him know you¡¯ve found the Mana and are ready for him.¡±


    A minute or two later, Lilith felt a sort of¡­pushing against the Mana of the planes, the sort of magical equivalent of resting your hand on a screen door and feeling someone on the other side push against it. She tugged at the Mana, trying to let Jerry in, but it didn¡¯t yield like normal Mana would.


    It took a couple minutes of poking and prodding, but eventually something gave, and the prodding stopped. A flood of Mana rushed in, and a moment later the mana of the universe returned to normal.


    ¡°He should be in the entryway of my old place.¡± Kali said. ¡°There¡¯s a default entry point for visitors, and that¡¯s ours. We¡¯re probably going to need to move it to somewhere more secure now that war is on the horizon, but we¡¯ll do that later.¡±


    Lilith gave her a nod, and the two of them left for the entryway. They exited the room Lilith had been practicing in, went down the hall, and opened a door at the end, revealing a small teleportation pad. They were, of course, in Lilith¡¯s dungeon, and the dungeon was large enough that simply walking everywhere would simply take too long.


    It was the sacrifice they had to make for the scale everything was on; the dungeon had only grown and grown over time as Nuwa added new facilities and improved existing ones, leading to the total size of it being more akin to a small city than a standard living space. You could walk everywhere if you really wanted to, but if you were even mildly pressed for time you basically had to use one of the teleporters.


    Lilith mentally directed the teleporter to take them to the dungeon core room then activated it. There was a brief flash of light, and then they were in the teleporter room near the core, a small sign on the wall indicating that they were indeed in the right place.


    They exited the teleporter room and walked through the dungeon core room to a small door in the back. This door connected them to what had once been Kali¡¯s personal plane, and was now more or less unused space. Kali had moved into the dungeon with Lilith once the dungeon had been made, and over the past few years she had slowly moved everything important there for convenience¡¯s sake.


    At first, she had wanted to keep her stuff separate, as Lilith didn¡¯t have permission to use everything yet, but as Lilith solved the outstanding problems on their planes and got more and more adept with her power, those restrictions were lifted. And, once there was no longer a reason Lilith couldn¡¯t access something, there was no reason to keep them so far away. So, Kali just had Nuwa create some rooms that only certain people could access, and moved them all there.


    She had not, apparently, moved the default entry point for their universe, but that was probably for the best. They would just need to move whatever stuff they Kali still had there into the dungeon, and then they could disconnect the old plane from the dungeon and fortify it. Lilith made a mental note to bring the subject up with Kali after Jerry had left, then opened the door and stepped through.


    Once they were both in Kali¡¯s old plane, there were only a few small rooms until they reached the entryway, where two unfamiliar women, one with dark blue hair and one with blonde hair, were waiting. Or¡­no, not two unfamiliar women, but, one unfamiliar woman and one eerily familiar woman. ¡°Jerry?¡± Lilith ventured.


    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± The blonde replied, smiling. ¡°Now that I¡¯m fully committed to having the swarm take over my planes, I need to alter my image if I want to maximize my Worship gains. And, seeing as how a war is brewing, I do quite want to maximize those gains. I would have changed anyway, of course, but this just provided extra incentive.


    ¡°And, since Levia¡¯s conversion went so swimmingly, I had a bunch of time while I was monitoring it that I couldn¡¯t do much technical work in and figured I might as well use it. To pre-empt some questions, no, I¡¯m not changing my name, and yes, I would prefer if you use female pronouns now. I don¡¯t care about my gender, and would prefer to fully commit to the change.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re not going to judge.¡± Kali said. ¡°And I assume Levia is Levi¡¯s new name?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± Jerry said. ¡°I had Lia give her a soul that has particularly strong mental fortitude, then had Amelia erase the swarm¡¯s conditioning. And, for good measure, I¡¯ve disabled everything that would let her make more members of the swarm, though if you ever wish for that I can reenable those features.¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be necessary.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We have no plans to let the swarm expand onto our planes any time soon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I though.¡± Jerry replied, nodding. ¡°Levia, would you like to introduce yourself?¡±


    The other woman, Levia, nodded uncertainly. ¡°Y-yes.¡± She said. ¡°I am Levia, and I¡¯m going to, u-um be h-helping protect you from n-now on.¡± She said shyly.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure, Levia.¡± Lilith said, flashing her a smile.


    ¡°U-um, likewise.¡± Levia said, then turned to Kali. ¡°Um, Levi¡­I tried to eat you before, r-right? S-sorry.¡±


    Kali froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. ¡°Is that what you¡¯re nervous over?¡± She asked. ¡°I can¡¯t exactly hold that against you; Levi was just acting on instinct, and even if he wasn¡¯t, you¡¯re not Levi, not exactly. You may have his memories, but the one in charge, your soul, is different. If that wasn¡¯t the case, you wouldn¡¯t be acting nearly so meek, believe me.¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡± Levia said. ¡°You, um, really don¡¯t mind me? Levi was kind of a pain at times.¡±


    ¡°Are you planning to be a pain?¡± Kali asked.


    ¡°A-absolutely not!¡± Levia replied enthusiastically.


    ¡°Then we have no reason to mind you. Come here, we¡¯ll show you how everything works around here, okay?¡±


    Levia took a tentative step out from behind Jerry. ¡°Alright.¡± She said. ¡°Um¡­thank you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem at all.¡± Kali laughed, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°You¡¯re doing us the favor by helping defend us.¡±


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know how g-good at that I¡¯ll be.¡± Levia admitted. ¡°This body is quite unlike either I had before, I¡¯ll need a lot of time to get to the point where I¡¯m any stronger than you two.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Kali said. ¡°We¡¯re not expecting you instantly be better than us, and I¡¯m not sure we ever expect you to outstrip Lilith, what with¡­everything going on with her.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, speaking of,¡± Jerry interjected, ¡°have you looked at any of the abilities you all possess, Lilith?¡±


    Lilith shook her head. ¡°No. I was waiting until I was fully sure of myself before attempting to do so.¡±


    ¡°As you are now, you should be even more capable than I am if it¡¯s just looking.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Please, give it a try, and report your findings when Amelia and I visit tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I can do that, then.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Oh, um, Levia, are you familiar with the current situation?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes.¡± Levia said. ¡°Jerry taught me about Administrators and H-Higher Beings, and about the eldritch. I¡­might have some questions, but I s-should have the basics down.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°We¡¯ll make sure to answer any questions you have, and there are plenty of ways we can help you train.¡±


    ¡°T-thank you.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose I¡¯ll be leaving her in your capable hands, then.¡± Jerry said. ¡°I¡¯m going to go back home, probably spend a little time drafting a notice to send to other Administrators about my changes, and then get back to work. If you need me, give me a call, I¡¯m always willing to help.¡±


    With that, Jerry gave a little bow then teleported away, leaving Levia alone with Lilith and Kali. ¡°Um¡­now what?¡± Levia asked. ¡°Is there something you¡¯d like me to do before we start?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Kali said solemnly. Levia tensed up, and Kali smirked before continuing. ¡°I¡¯d like you to tell us if there¡¯s anything we can do to make you more comfortable.¡±


    Levia stared at Kali blankly for a moment. ¡°Um¡­I don¡¯t know¡­nothing, I guess?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound very sure.¡± Kali replied. ¡°I¡¯m going to give you one more chance before I read your mind and find out what you actually want.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then, um, is there somewhere with a lot of water? Like¡­a lake or something that might have fit Levi? I don¡¯t intend to live there or anything, but I¡¯d like to be able to swim there often.¡±


    ¡°There are some outside the dungeon, but that¡¯s pretty inconvenient so I¡¯ll just make one inside the dungeon for you. Maybe even make a whole park area surrounding it so that the kids would have somewhere to play¡­and perhaps even begin work on a faux city of sorts in case people from outside our planes want to stay for a while¡­¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s fine, I can just go visit the ones outside! That¡¯s far too much work for the convenience that this would be!¡± Levia said quickly.


    ¡°Too late, I¡¯ve already made the lake and park, the city can come later.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I¡¯ll show you where while we¡¯re giving you the tour.¡±


    ¡°What? When? I didn¡¯t feel a thing from you!¡± Levia said. ¡°Not to brag, but Levi was even able to tell when Jerry did things, and that skill translated to me! Did you use some sort of eldritch ability?¡±


    Lilith was about to say no, but realized that, technically, she had. ¡°Sort of? One of my other selves did it. She¡¯s the dungeon around these parts, and her existence means we can make a lot of big changes for relatively little expenditure. It¡¯s quite handy, really.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a dungeon? But those aren¡¯t sentient at all. At least, not where¡­¡± Levia trailed off, then shook her head. ¡°I suppose I shouldn¡¯t apply the common sense I know to this universe.¡± She said. ¡°If you say dungeons are sentient, then I suppose they are.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I made them a little differently here.¡± Kali confirmed. ¡°Though, admittedly it was mostly for Lilith¡¯s benefit. Still, I¡¯m happy to say that I¡¯ve seen good results from it, so it was all worth it.¡±


    ¡°I¡­see.¡± Levia said. ¡°And, um¡­where should I live? I¡¯m fine with wherever.¡±


    Kali blinked in surprise. ¡°I was just assuming you¡¯d live in the dungeon like most people who are involved with all this.¡± She said. ¡°But if you want to live somewhere else, we can totally arrange that for you, we¡¯ll just need to teach you how to get here.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­the dungeon is fine.¡± Levia replied. ¡°I just thought it wouldn¡¯t be fair to impose myself upon you, so¡­whatever is easiest for you.¡±


    ¡°The dungeon it is.¡± Kali said firmly. ¡°Would you prefer to be closer to everyone else or to live in this makeshift town Lilith is setting up? It¡¯ll probably be lonelier in the town, but you¡¯ll also have a bit more privacy and won¡¯t have to worry about the kids getting in your way.¡±


    Levia thought on that for a moment. ¡°I think I would like to live in the town for now.¡± She said. ¡°It¡¯s not that I would be annoyed by your presence or by the kids, I rather like kids, but¡­I¡¯d like to get to know everyone first before I move in closer.¡±


    ¡°What would you like us to tell the kids about you?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°If they know you¡¯re here, they¡¯re bound to come visit once or twice, and I know that could be awkward, especially given your history with them.¡±


    ¡°My¡­history with them?¡± Levia said, frowning. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve met any children from this universe.¡±


    ¡°Oh. It¡¯s a long story, and we¡¯ll tell you the full thing later, but the short version is that they used to be other people, who were trying to turn me into a child and sort of scramble my memories so they could raise me as they wished. I turned it back on them, and am raising them now. Levi fought with one of them briefly, and while I don¡¯t think she remembers it yet, she will eventually.¡±


    Levia¡¯s frown grew deeper. ¡°Why go to that much effort? Deep mind control magic would be easier; Amelia and the swarm are proof of that.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not as talented as Amelia.¡± Kali replied. ¡°They didn¡¯t have the capability to alter someone¡¯s base mental state with just magic, so they settled for doing it the ¡®old-fashioned¡¯ way: breaking down someone¡¯s personality so it could be rebuilt from the ground up. Then, as that person¡¯s old experiences trickled in very, very slowly, they would all be recontextualized with their new personality and eventually the old person would be essentially dead and gone. It¡¯s an excruciatingly slow process, but it does work.¡±


    ¡°That makes a bit more sense, I suppose.¡± Levia said. ¡°But, back to the original question, tell them whatever you want about me; I¡¯d be happy to talk with them or whatever they want.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll do that, then.¡± Lilith said, giving her a nod. ¡°Now, it¡¯s almost time to give you the grand tour, but first, would you like something to eat? And tell the truth, or we¡¯ll read your mind and force it out of you; you¡¯re one of us now, and we¡¯re going to treat you just like we treat everyone else who lives here.¡±


    ¡°And¡­how do you treat them?¡± Levia asked hesitantly.


    ¡°We treat them as well as we possibly can. Free room and board, the world¡¯s entertainment at your fingertips, the best training facilities this universe has to offer¡­anything you want just so long as it¡¯s not something that would require a lot of Worship.¡±


    ¡°But, I ¨C¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any room for complaint.¡± Kali said firmly. ¡°We¡¯re going to treat you like royalty, and you¡¯re going to like it. You¡¯re providing a valuable service to us, and we can¡¯t let that go unrewarded.¡±


    Levia, growing ever more flustered, shook her head. ¡°But Lilith¡¯s stronger¨C¡±


    ¡°Who said it was about protecting us?¡± Kali asked. ¡°That¡¯s a huge plus, yes, but there are a ton of other things you¡¯ll be accidentally helping us with just in the process of trying to get stronger.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s best not to resist.¡± Lilith said, an amused smile rising to her lips. ¡°We¡¯re not going to budge on this, okay? Now, are you hungry?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Levia said, hanging her head. ¡°Um¡­do you have something with fish?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± Kali said encouragingly. ¡°And if you can think of it, we either have it or can make it trivially. Now¡­let¡¯s eat!¡±

 Chapter 11: Levias Resolve

    Lilith, Kali, and Levia entered one of the kitchens, only to find it already occupied. ¡°Hi, Mom and Ma.¡± Aria said shyly, looking up from a sandwich. ¡°Um¡­who¡¯s with you?¡±


    ¡°This is Levia.¡± Kali said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you remember Levi, but we had Jerry help us get Levi into a more useable state, since the old Levi was, uh¡­too big and clunky to help much.¡±


    Levia took a knee in respect. ¡°Princess, despite our troubled history, I will do my utmost to protect and serve you. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°P-princess?¡± Aria said, taken aback. ¡°And¡­have we met?¡±


    ¡°You are the daughter of the Administrator of this universe and its most influential figure; I believe princess is an appropriate title. As for our history, I was told that in our past lives the two of us did battle once. Or¡­Levi did battle with you, anyway. I am admittedly unsure how much I should consider myself to be him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an interesting question, and one highly dependent on how you were reincarnated. In your case, your soul was reincarnated in a way that you would eventually recall all of your memories.¡± Kali said. ¡°And, since you were specifically chosen for your outstanding mental fortitude and sense of self, I maintain that you are only barely more Levi than I am.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­what about the dogs, then?¡± Aria asked. ¡°You gave them souls, right? Are they still the dogs?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s different.¡± Kali said. ¡°I gave them fresh souls, the type that would go into a newborn, and then sculpted them to fit the dogs¡¯ personalities. I would say that they are the dogs through and through.¡±


    ¡°You gave dogs souls?¡± Levia asked confusedly. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but they¡¯re not actually dogs.¡± Kali explained. ¡°They were a collection of this universe¡¯s most renowned and feared monsters, given the form of dogs by Eve, and they were tamed and given to one of our close friends to help keep her safe. Due to their large presence in the culture of this world, the system was spending quite a relatively large portion of its processing power giving them full personalities and intelligence.


    ¡°And, as they would now be in constant contact with people who would notice the shortcomings of system-granted intelligence, I decided that granting them souls would serve to prevent that from happening and free up some of the system.¡±


    ¡°But¡­they¡¯re being kept as pets.¡± Levia said weakly. ¡°They¡¯re people now, aren¡¯t they? That¡¯s what having a soul means.¡±


    ¡°Technically, yes, but they¡¯d be the first ones to rebel against that classification.¡± Kali said. ¡°They¡¯re exceedingly happy with the life they have now, and they wouldn¡¯t wish to change it for a perceived notion of freedom. They¡¯re basically free to do whatever they want anyway, and we make sure they¡¯re happy, so the situation works.


    ¡°The only mechanically weird part of the situation is that I had to spend a bit of Worship to let them continue being classified as monsters instead of people. Still, that was a one-time cost, and we haven¡¯t had any problems with it yet, so it¡¯s no big deal.¡±


    ¡°I¡­I see.¡± Levia said, turning back to Aria. ¡°Regardless, I am at your service.¡±


    ¡°Um, thank you?¡± Aria said. ¡°I, um, uh, yeah. Does, uh, Mai know about you yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, Princess.¡± Levia said. ¡°We came to this kitchen so that I could eat before we introduced me to everyone.¡±


    ¡°I, um, see.¡± Aria said. ¡°You, um, might not want to call her, or, um, me, Princess.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± Levia asked.


    ¡°Um, Mai gets a little, um, excited about this sort of thing. She might, um, get weird about it.¡±


    Lilith nodded in agreement. ¡°I think she¡¯s right, Levia. Mai has something of an easily-inflatable ego, and she¡¯d probably start thinking she¡¯s more important than everyone else and start ordering them around.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, then I will refrain from using the term ¡®Princess¡¯.¡± Levia said. ¡°How would you like me to refer to them?¡±


    ¡°Just use their names.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We don¡¯t tend to do strict hierarchies around here outside of a couple specific cases.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Levia replied. She paused for a moment, then spoke hesitantly. ¡°Do you think it would be wise to introduce me to Mai now, since Aria already knows?¡±


    Lilith shrugged. ¡°If you want to, but Mai is rather energetic, and she¡¯ll likely want your attention for quite some time. If it were me, I¡¯d eat first, just in case.¡±


    ¡°In case of what?¡± Levia asked.


    ¡°In case Mai hogs your attention for the next hour. Like I said, she¡¯ll probably want your attention for quite some time.¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m almost done eating, I can keep her distracted while you eat.¡± Aria volunteered.


    ¡°Thank you, Aria.¡± Kali said, patting Aria¡¯s head affectionately. ¡°That¡¯d be a big help.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Ma.¡± Aria said. She smiled shyly, then finished the last of her sandwich and left the room.


    ¡°She¡¯s rather mature for her age, so she doesn¡¯t show it much, but she¡¯s got a lot of anxieties and is quite shy.¡± Kali said. ¡°I¡¯d advise being a little extra gentle with her, she¡¯s much more delicate than Mai is. Mai¡­you¡¯ll understand when you meet her, but you need to know when to set boundaries with her. If you¡¯re not careful and just agree with everything she says, she¡¯s liable to try and make you into her sister in some way.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve tried to get her to break that particular habit, but she¡¯s been remarkably persistent; she wants a younger sibling, and she doesn¡¯t quite get how consent works.¡± Lilith explained. ¡°She can understand being told yes or no, but when circumstances get murkier she defaults to asking for forgiveness rather than permission.¡±


    Lilith paused for a moment, then spoke hesitantly. ¡°If she asks you that¡­respond however you want. If you want to be returned to childhood and raised as their younger sister, we¡¯re more than happy to accommodate. Of course, there¡¯s no pressure to do so, but we¡¯ll respect your wishes, whatever they are. If you think that¡¯d make you feel more comfortable, then that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡±


    ¡°Lilith and I discussed this possibility for a while.¡± Kali added. ¡°And in the end, this is what we decided. We¡¯ve been considering the possibility of having another kid for a while now, so you wouldn¡¯t be putting us out or anything if you said yes. And know that everyone here will love you just as much as if you were ours biologically; one of Lilith¡¯s abilities helps in the formation of family ties, and we genuinely would see no difference between you, the twins, or any kids Lilith and I will have in the future. If that¡¯s what you want, let us know, and we¡¯ll make it happen.¡±


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Levia stared at the wall for a few moments. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­I¡¯ll think on it.¡± She said. ¡°The offer is¡­significantly more tempting than I thought it might be.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re worried about training and being a protector for us, don¡¯t be.¡± Lilith said. ¡°You¡¯ll keep all of your abilities, and you¡¯d train as you grew, just like Aria and Mai. We don¡¯t estimate anything drastic happening in the thirteen or fourteen years it would take you to grow back to adulthood, and if push came to shove¡­well, we could figure something out.¡±


    Lilith stopped for a moment, observing Levia carefully. Deciding that Levia probably wanted to drop the topic for the moment so she could think, she changed the subject. ¡°That aside, do feel free to browse the pantry and fridge as much as you want, the kitchen is completely open at all times.¡±


    Levia nodded distractedly and opened the fridge. She rooted around in it for a while before pulling out what appeared to be a completely intact trout that, save for the fact it was motionless, looked for all the world like it had just come out of the water. ¡°Do you¡­normally keep this sort of thing in the fridge?¡± Levia asked, tilting her head in bewilderment.


    No, I put it in there for you. Nuwa said, causing Levia to jump in surprise. Oh, sorry, forgot you¡¯re not used to me. I¡¯m Nuwa, the Parallel in charge of the dungeon. I can see just about everywhere except for private spaces like your room or the bathroom, but I¡¯m not paying attention to everywhere at once or anything. So, uh, don¡¯t be too creeped out, I guess? Sorry, I can only help my nature so much. Anyway, yeah, I wasn¡¯t sure how you liked your fish so I figured you¡¯d know best what to do. If you want a specific dish, let me know, I can whip it up no problem.


    ¡°Nice to meet you?¡± Levia said hesitantly. ¡°I¡¯m¡­actually not sure what kind of meal I want with this. Part of me wants to just eat it whole but I think that¡¯s just Levi not knowing how to cook?¡±


    I could make some sushi. Nuwa suggested. It¡¯s basically raw fish, might scratch that itch and it¡¯s, you know, not just ripping into an intact animal. There are a whole bunch of toppings and sides that can help with the flavor, too.


    ¡°That would be¡­nice, I think.¡± Levia said. ¡°If it¡¯s not too much trouble, could you ¨C¡± She was cut off by the fish disappearing from her hands, replaced with a plate of various types of sushi. ¡°Oh. Thanks. I¡¯ll¡­get started on this, I guess. Is there a specific way I¡¯m supposed to eat it?¡±


    She made her way to the table where Aria had been eating, and sat down at it. As she did, Nuwa filled her in on sushi culture, pointing out what sauces went well with what dishes, when she should use her hands and when she should use chopsticks, and anything else Nuwa thought it was necessary for Levia to know.


    While Nuwa spoke, Lilith and Kali grabbed some food of their own. By the time they had gotten their food and sat down, Nuwa had finished talking, and they fell into a somewhat awkward silence. Things proceeded like that for about five minutes, and then the silence was broken by Levia suddenly speaking up. ¡°How¡­how much of myself would remain?¡± She asked quietly.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, but I¡¯m optimistic that most, if not all, of you would remain.¡± Lilith admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve studied Mai¡¯s work at length, and in terms of personality, it really just makes you more¡­moldable. Seeing as how you were picked specifically for your strength of will and sense of self, I think you would make it through and end up almost exactly like you are now.


    ¡°As for your memories of your life before this, I don¡¯t believe it should interfere the process of regaining them; that seems to be a property of your soul, and this magic simply blocks memories from recollection so they can be drip-fed to you later. My assumption is that you would ¡®regain¡¯ your memories normally, but just be unable to remember them until you¡¯re older.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Levia said, staring intently at her sushi. ¡°I¡­I¡­¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t decide now.¡± Kali said gently. ¡°This is a very, very big decision, and emotions are running high. Give it a night or two to rest and for you to meet everyone else before you make a choice. It¡¯ll be difficult to impossible to take this back, and it wouldn¡¯t do to make a choice in the heat of the moment.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡± Levia sighed, pushing away her plate. ¡°I¡¯m just so¡­out of sorts right now.¡±


    ¡°I totally understand.¡± Kali soothed. ¡°You¡¯ve had a very long day.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only been a few hours.¡± Levia replied, smiling wryly. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can even call it a day at that point.¡±


    ¡°That may be, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s felt like much longer.¡± Lilith said. ¡°You¡¯ve had more stuff happen to you in those few hours than some people have in their entire lives. Being reincarnated, moving between universes, getting a crash course on the politics of Administrators and the eldritch¡­almost everyone would be tired and overwhelmed at that point. I know I would be; I was overwhelmed just learning that magic existed, much less all of that.¡±


    ¡°You were unaware of magic¡¯s existence at some point?¡± Levia asked curiously. ¡°How did that happen? Magic isn¡¯t exactly something subtle, and you¡¯re so¡­adept with it now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very long story, but I made some poor choices when my planes were facing a crisis that threatened to devastate society, and made an entire plane where the people didn¡¯t know about magic. Lilith was reincarnated into that plane for reasons I¡¯ll explain when we have more time, but she¡¯s not new to magic in the same way most people from that plane are. She just thought she was.¡± Kali explained.


    ¡°Unfortunately, not everyone is quite as adept as Lia in reincarnating people.¡± Kali continued, smiling sadly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to preserve her memories like Lia can. Still, all the important bits of her are there, so it worked out in the end.¡±


    ¡°How does that feel?¡± Levia asked. ¡°To know you were someone else, but not have any of the memories that people would expect? Do you ever¡­do you ever feel like an imposter? Someone wearing the fa?ade of someone else? Because I already kind of feel like that and I do have those memories.¡±


    Lilith raised an eyebrow at the unexpectedly forward question. ¡°At first, yes. I got over that pretty quickly, though; for all intents and purposes, I am her. I have her looks, her soul, her personality, even some of her feelings about people¡­I¡¯m just missing her memories. It¡¯s no different from being an amnesiac.


    ¡°And, for your situation¡­well, I understand where you¡¯re coming from. Levi was this big presence, and, if I¡¯m not reading you wrong, you feel like you won¡¯t be able to measure up, right?¡±


    Levia stared at Lilith in shock. ¡°How did you know?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Well, the biggest clue was how you kept comparing yourself to him.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°It was mostly a hunch after that. But I want to make one thing absolutely clear: we don¡¯t want Levi. If what we wanted was Levi, then we would have had no need for all of this, we would have just kept Levi as he was.


    ¡°And, we may have said this before but I really want to emphasize it, we want you, Levia. It doesn¡¯t matter if you have even one tenth of the strength that Levi had; just by existing you provide more benefit to us than Levi ever did. At times Levi was a burden, something we had to monitor and worry over, but we don¡¯t really have to worry about that with you. We trust Jerry¡¯s estimation of your character, and from what I¡¯ve seen of you so far you seem like an absolutely lovely young woman.¡±


    Levia stared down at the plate of sushi for a few moments, then looked up at Lilith, a determined expression on her face. ¡°Do it.¡± She said.


    ¡°What?¡± Lilith asked, taken aback.


    ¡°Do whatever it is you need to do to make me your kid.¡± Levia explained. ¡°I know you said to wait, but I¡¯m sure. I get the feeling I¡¯ve always wanted to know what a family is like, and you already seem like the kind of people I would want in mine.¡±


    There was as a silence as Kali and Lilith processed that. ¡°Very well.¡± Lilith said. ¡°But I won¡¯t do it until the morning. If you feel the same way,¡± Lilith held up a hand, forestalling Levia¡¯s comment, ¡°and I¡¯m not saying you won¡¯t, your face is telling me you¡¯ve made up your mind, but if you feel the same then we¡¯ll go through with it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll feel the same.¡± Levia said determinedly. ¡°I¡¯m not the type to change my mind so easily.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m sure that, in the morning, we¡¯ll be ecstatic to welcome a new member of the family.¡± Kali said, smiling gently. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s finish off your dinner, and we¡¯ll put you up in a guest room for the night. In the morning, when your decision is made, we¡¯ll move you into more permanent housing. If you¡¯re going to be part of the family, we¡¯ll move you to a room in our wing, next to the twins. If not, then we¡¯ll move you wherever you want.¡±


    Levia nodded. ¡°I think I¡¯m done eating for now. I¡¯m not really tired, though, could you perhaps give me some books on the history and culture of this universe? I¡¯d like to study up on what I can. I don¡¯t know how much help it will be given¡­what we¡¯re planning on doing, but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡±


    I¡¯ll leave some in your room. Nuwa said.


    ¡°Thank you, Nuwa.¡± Levia said. ¡°I really do appreciate it. Um¡­if it¡¯s not too much trouble, could you show me the way now?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Lilith said gently. ¡°Follow me.¡±

 Chapter 12: Knowing the Unknowable

    After Lilith and Kali had showed Levia to the guest room, they retreated back to their own room. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting her to be so receptive to the idea.¡± Lilith said. ¡°She¡¯s really not your average person.¡±


    ¡°If she was, she wouldn¡¯t be able to suppress Levi¡¯s personality so fully.¡± Kali replied, smiling slightly. ¡°That sense of self and iron will was almost certainly the result of a hard life, and if we can give her a better one, then I¡¯m all for it. That matter aside, I believe Jerry wanted you to check us for eldritch stuff?¡±


    Lilith nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± She said. ¡°I think I¡¯d like to try on myself first, just to make sure the process works fine and doesn¡¯t hurt anyone. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to see any of my stuff, since my enhancements are different from everyone else¡¯s, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a particularly large concern.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure we¡¯ll get a full grasp on what they¡¯ve done to you before the war is over.¡± Kali agreed. ¡°If you truly were made to be like one of them¡­then, well, you¡¯ll be beyond what any of us are used to, and it¡¯ll require a lot of study to truly figure out.¡±


    I¡¯ll go fetch Judy. Eve volunteered. Meet me in one of the living rooms.


    ¡°Eve says she¡¯ll get Judy.¡± Lilith relayed. ¡°And that we¡¯ll meet in one of the living rooms. I figure we¡¯ll deal with the kids once we¡¯re sure this actually works.¡±


    Kali linked an arm with one of Lilith¡¯s. ¡°Please, lead the way then, Ms. Administrator¡±


    Lilith rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not one yet.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m just in training.¡±


    ¡°Eh, you¡¯re close enough.¡± Kali said, leaning up and giving Lilith a peck on the cheek. ¡°Just give it a couple thousand years and we¡¯ll have you there.¡±


    Lilith shook her head in amusement as the two began to walk towards the nearest teleporter. ¡°You know, I still get amazed by your sense of time. To say something like that so casually is¡­well, I¡¯m just not used to it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty normal.¡± Kali giggled. ¡°You¡¯re the weird one for being not used to it. You¡¯ll find people who don¡¯t age just about everywhere, and most of us are like that. After a few while you sorta lose track of what mortal people think is a long time. You¡¯ll be like that too someday, just give it¡­we¡¯ll say two thousand years.¡±


    ¡°So¡­what you¡¯re saying is that you¡¯ve gotten old and out of touch?¡± Lilith teased.


    ¡°Could an old person have done the things to you that I did last night?¡± Kali teased back.


    Lilith blushed slightly, but maintained an otherwise straight face. ¡°Apparently yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, if we count the before times, you would be plenty old too.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I am.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°I never said it was a bad thing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re incorrigible.¡± Kali said, letting out a theatrical sigh, though her smile betrayed her true feelings. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I love you.¡±


    ¡°Funny you say that, because I was just thinking that myself.¡± Lilith replied, leaning down and giving Kali a quick kiss. ¡°Great minds think alike, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so incredibly, unbelievably happy that I can be with you like this.¡± Kali said quietly, leaning into Lilith slightly. ¡°I know I¡¯ve said it before, but I really can¡¯t say it enough. It¡¯s like a dream come true.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ll never wake up.¡± Lilith said firmly. They reached the teleporter, and Lilith quickly sent them off to one of the living rooms, where Eve was waiting. ¡°I rather like being alive, and I can¡¯t imagine being without you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop flirting you two.¡± Eve said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Judy will be here any second, and it¡¯s embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll never flirt with you again.¡± Kali sniffed.


    ¡°Y-you don¡¯t have to go that far!¡± Eve protested. ¡°Just¡­not in public!¡±


    ¡°But what¡¯s the point if we can¡¯t show off to everyone?¡± Kali asked, a teasing smile on her face.


    Eve rolled her eyes. ¡°For our own enjoyment? We don¡¯t need to care what anyone else thinks.¡±


    ¡°Then it shouldn¡¯t embarrass you, right?¡± Lilith teased. ¡°Since we don¡¯t need to care what they think.¡±


    ¡°You two are impossible sometimes, you know that?¡± Eve said. ¡°Can¡¯t you let me have this?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Kali said, moving over to Eve and giving her a kiss on the forehead. ¡°I¡¯m gonna love you and there¡¯s nothing you can do to stop me.¡±


    ¡°I thought I was supposed to be the villainous one.¡± Eve groaned. ¡°I suppose I have no choice but to accept your advances for the time being, then.¡±


    One of the other doors opened, and Judy stepped in. ¡°I¡¯m not interrupting, am I?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Not at all!¡± Eve said hurriedly. ¡°Do come in!¡±


    ¡°So, we¡¯re doing that thing where Lilith was going to try and read our eldritch stuff, right?¡± Judy asked, walking in and taking a seat next to Eve. ¡°Have we had any success?¡±


    ¡°Jerry says that she should be even better at this than he is.¡± Kali said. ¡°But we¡¯ve yet to start, because she wants to read herself first to make sure she isn¡¯t doing any harm to anyone.¡±


    Lilith nodded. ¡°If we determine that I can, in fact, read our eldritch abilities, we¡¯ll call in the kids. If it turns out that I can¡¯t do it, I don¡¯t want to get them all worked up over nothing. So¡­no point in wasting any more time, I suppose. I¡¯m gonna get started.¡±


    After waiting a moment to make sure no one had any objections, Lilith began to turn her attention inwards. She took it extremely slowly, making absolutely sure she was doing things properly and not messing with stuff she shouldn¡¯t be messing with. And, in response, the landscape of her Mana began to open up before her.


    It was strange, looking at it in this way; she was so used to seeing her abilities through the lens of the system that seeing them stripped of all the system¡¯s syntax was almost disconcerting. And, though she could clearly read them, there was a distinctive lack of any of her eldritch-based abilities, not even a hint of the Mana within her.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    That wasn¡¯t right; as far as she had heard, those modifications were rather noticeable to those who could read them, presenting themselves and their effects much like how Lilith¡¯s translation ability worked. No, it just wasn¡¯t¨C


    Lilith¡¯s train of thought was cut off as she encountered something so entirely alien that she couldn¡¯t help but freeze up for a moment when she saw it. The shape of it pressed against her mind, the scope and impossibility of it almost hurting to witness.


    ¡°Lilith, are you alright?!¡± Kali exclaimed, bringing Lilith¡¯s attention back to the physical world. ¡°Can you hear me?!¡±


    Lilith withdrew from her mind, shaking her head to clear it. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just¡­found my eldritch stuff, and I wasn¡¯t prepared for it.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine mentally.¡± Eve added. ¡°It was just so¡­overwhelming. Even I got a bit of it, and I wasn¡¯t even looking.¡±


    Kali frowned deeply. ¡°Do you mind if I look for a second?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Just be prepared.¡±


    Kali laid a hand on Lilith¡¯s forehead, concentrated for a few moments, then withdrew it. ¡°It¡­doesn¡¯t feel that way to me.¡± She said. ¡°I can clearly see it if I know where to look, but it feels small and self-contained, even if it¡¯s incomprehensible. Basically everyone else¡¯s stuff feels the same way, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to tell you¡¯re special if I just looked at the abilities I can see.¡±


    ¡°It definitely did not feel like that.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It was like¡­like¡­um¡­¡± She floundered, seeking for a proper way to describe what she had just witnessed, but wasn¡¯t able to find one.


    Imagine that reading regular Mana is like reading a book. Mae said. If we normally write two-dimensionally, this was like writing using four dimensions, like letters and symbols that simply wouldn¡¯t be possible to express using three dimensions. It is so different to everything we have ever seen that it stopped us cold.


    Kali shook her head. ¡°None of us ever felt anything like that when looking at eldritch stuff.¡± She said. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re seeing, it¡¯s not what we see. Can you make any sense of it?¡±


    Lilith took a deep breath. ¡°Let me try.¡± She said, diving back into the recesses of her Mana where the eldritch stuff lived. She quickly found the impossible construct that had been etched into her soul, and this time she was able to withstand looking at it. Unfortunately, her translation ability didn¡¯t seem to apply here; the construct was huge and daunting, but¡­not unfathomable.


    The construct was clearly partitioned like normal Mana constructs, and upon looking at those individual partitions, she could make out bits and pieces that she knew what they did. Mae had made a point of studying Jerry¡¯s notes carefully, and Lilith found small sections repeated within the construct, even if they were often built in ways that would accommodate the different landscape of the Mana.


    And, with some effort, she was able to categorize each and every one of those partitions. She couldn¡¯t tell exactly which abilities most were, not yet, but she could narrow the possibilities down. But, standing out amongst those abilities was an outlier that could only be Zoan¡¯s Barrier, a skill that allowed her to absorb or reflect any attack or ability, provided she had enough Mana to match whatever she was absorbing or reflecting. It was the only one that held the Mana construct she knew was a reflector, and with that she had an in.


    ¡°I can sort of tell what things do.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It¡¯s not automatic, not like reading Mana, but I can see things I sort of recognize and work things out. I¡¯m almost certain I¡¯ve identified Zoan¡¯s Barrier, and I think that, given enough time, I can reverse engineer what each part of it does and use that to help decipher the rest.¡±


    ¡°Check me.¡± Kali said. ¡°Just to make sure it¡¯s the same for anyone with an eldritch ability. If so¡­then we¡¯ll need to spend a lot of time studying this, it could prove instrumental in the future.¡±


    ¡°If you insist.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Here goes nothing¡­¡± She laid a hand on Kali¡¯s head and slowly peeked in on her wife¡¯s Mana. And, sure enough, after a bit of searching, she came across another eldritch construct. It was only a fraction of the size of the one Lilith had, but in terms of how it was built and its comprehensibility, it was the same.


    ¡°Yeah, it feels like mine but smaller.¡± She said. ¡°We¡¯re going to need to spend some serious time on this, I feel. Mae, what do you think?¡±


    I do not believe I would be a good choice for this, but I can try. Mae said. I am afraid this is somewhat out of my area of expertise, and I do not know how much time I can spare for this.


    ¡°I think it¡¯d be for the best if we made another Parallel dedicated just to understanding this.¡± Lilith said slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us currently have the temperament or time necessary to spend years studying this and this alone, and¡­well, having another set of hands can¡¯t be too bad.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Judy asked worriedly. ¡°That¡¯s a rather dramatic step, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Lilith agreed. ¡°But we live in dramatic times. I can¡¯t afford to approach this half-heartedly, and this is far and away the most efficient solution.¡±


    There was a prolonged silence that was eventually broken by Kali. ¡°I understand.¡± She said solemnly. ¡°Let¡¯s go hash out the specifics.¡±


    <hr>


    Levia¡¯s contemplation was interrupted by a knock on the door. ¡°Y-yes?¡± She stammered, setting down the book she was reading.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt you, but there¡¯s been a bit of a development, and we¡¯re going to make a new Parallel.¡± Kali said. ¡°It¡¯s not something that happens very often, so we thought we should give you the opportunity to watch if you want, but you don¡¯t need to.¡±


    Well¡­this new Parallel would be one of her mothers, so it would make sense for her to make herself acquainted with the new Parallel. And, admittedly, Levia was extremely curious as to what the process was like. ¡°I will.¡± Levia said, swinging her feet off of the bed and heading over to the door. She unlocked it and opened it, revealing a rather nervous Kali.


    ¡°Oh, good.¡± Kali said. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Levia debated asking Kali about what was making her so nervous, but in the end decided it wasn¡¯t her place, and quietly followed Kali. They walked in silence for a while, long enough that Levia couldn¡¯t help but jump when Kali spoke. ¡°Do you have any questions about the process?¡±


    ¡°U-um, yeah.¡± Levia said. ¡°How does this¡­work?¡±


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m less sure than I used to be.¡± Kali said. ¡°Initially, the Skill I designed worked one way, but it was folded into Lilith¡¯s eldritch stuff, so I can no longer be confident that how I thought it works is how it actually works. Still, what I know is probably at least seventy five percent right, so it¡¯s better than nothing.


    ¡°Basically, as far as I¡¯m aware, when Lilith is under the effect of something that would completely change her personality or psyche, that effect is compartmentalized and Lilith can choose to try and make it into a Parallel. If all Parallels agree to make the new personality another Parallel, it gets made one into one, and Lilith gets the ability to manifest a new avatar, which the Parallel can use as a body.


    ¡°Theoretically all avatars should only share a portion of Lilith¡¯s Mana, but as Lilith has grown that restriction has sort of evaporated. As things are now, all Parallels have just as much Mana as she does, and I¡¯m guessing that this new one won¡¯t be enough to put her over the edge. Give it two or three more, though, and then the avatars will start weakening as the Mana is shared between them.¡±


    Levia frowned. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you pushed that limit yet?¡±


    ¡°Because there hasn¡¯t been a need, and because we are of the opinion that Parallels are, in essence, their own people. Bringing another person into this world isn¡¯t something we take lightly at all, so we shy away from it unless we feel it absolutely necessary.¡±


    Kali paused for a moment, then continued. ¡°I suppose there¡¯s also the theoretical possibility of Parallels rebelling, but we very carefully craft their personalities so they¡¯re content with their jobs, recognize Lilith as in charge, and have¡­well, some semblance of peace between them. Eve and Nuwa may fight, but it¡¯s more of a playful thing, if they had an actual problem with each other, they¡¯d say it.¡±


    ¡°So¡­why are you making one now?¡±


    Kali sighed, guiding Levia through one of the teleporters. ¡°Lilith can only kind of read eldritch stuff. Unlike everyone else, she seems to actually have the capability to potentially understand it herself, without the aid of whatever translation tool the eldritch gave Amy and Jerry, but she¡¯s going to have to reverse-engineer it based on what she already knows.¡±


    They exited the teleporter, and Kali led Levia through a hall as she continued to talk. ¡°And that¡¯s going to take a lot of time spent bashing her head against a wall of ignorance. Not only do we not have time to spend on that, none of the Parallels, save perhaps Mae, have the mindset that¡¯s needed for something like that. And Mae¡­well, she¡¯s doing other things, but my hunch is that she¡¯s a little too¡­grounded for this sort of work.


    ¡°She¡¯s much better with researching existing data and working with hard facts instead of figuring things out as she goes. And this kind of work will probably be unlike anything we¡¯re familiar with, so some creative thinking is going to be needed. So, we decided that making a new Parallel was the best course of action.¡±


    Kali opened a door, and motioned for Levia to enter. ¡°Please, after you.¡±

 Chapter 13: Pandoras Box

    Levia entered the room Kali had led her to, unsure of what exactly awaited her. And, to her surprise, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the room at all, it was just a normal living room.


    A human woman, who was reading a book in one of the chairs, looked up. ¡°Levia, thanks for coming.¡± She said warmly. ¡°I¡¯m Judy, Lilith¡¯s aunt and Kali¡¯s apprentice. Lilith¡¯s asleep at the moment,¡± she motioned to a couch, where Lilith was laying, ¡°but don¡¯t worry too much about it, we always have her sleep when we¡¯re making a new Parallel.¡±


    ¡°I¡­I see.¡± Levia said. ¡°How does this usually go?¡±


    ¡°I come in, work the mental magic on her, and then once I¡¯m done, we wake her up and the magic happens, so to speak.¡± Kali said. ¡°Expect the process to take ten to fifteen minutes; I like to be thorough when making the new personality, and that takes time.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you come sit and we¡¯ll have a chat while Kali works?¡± Judy suggested.


    Levia hesitantly walked over, and took a seat in a chair next to Judy¡¯s. ¡°Um¡­it¡¯s nice to meet you, Judy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you as well!¡± Judy said. ¡°So, I¡¯ve heard a bit about you from Lilith, but I¡¯d like to get to know you myself as well. Still, I understand it¡¯s not fair for you to be the only one sharing, so if you would like I can tell you a bit about myself as well. Of course, if you¡¯re not comfortable with either of those, then I¡¯m more than happy to let the topic drop and we can do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Oh, um¡­no, that¡¯s fine.¡± Levia said. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, would you tell me a bit about yourself first?¡±


    ¡°Of course I don¡¯t mind!¡± Judy replied. ¡°What would you like to know about first?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­I¡¯m guessing that you¡¯re a bit more¡­involved with the whole situation than the rest of Lilith¡¯s family.¡± Levia said. ¡°How did that happen?¡±


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m not quite sure myself.¡± Judy admitted. ¡°But, I¡¯m not really that much more involved than her parents are, they just don¡¯t live here. Though, I guess, with the eldritch stuff¡­¡± Judy trailed off, frowning slightly. ¡°Come to think of it, did we check them?¡±


    Kali, who hadn¡¯t quite started work on Lilith, jumped. ¡°No, actually, good catch.¡± She said. ¡°They sort of slipped my mind as candidates because they don¡¯t live here anymore. I¡¯ll check them when they come over for dinner tomorrow. That being said¡­I¡¯m going to start on Lilith now, and I¡¯m going to cast a sound dampener on myself so I can¡¯t hear you. If you really, really need me for something, come wave your hand in front of my face or something, but only do that if it legitimately is a matter of life and death.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± Judy said, then turned back to Levia. ¡°Anyway, it all goes back to when Lilith was growing up. Right around when she was born, back when she was only a month or so old, my husband and I got into a car crash. I was pregnant, and¡­well, of the three of us, only I lived. I had lost everything, and Lilith¡¯s parents, worried about me and what I might do if left alone, invited me to live with them for a while.


    ¡°And, so, while they worked, I would watch Lilith, and over time, my depression started to recede, and my love for her grew, to the point where she felt like my own child. And, as I started to regain my confidence and take control of my life back, I invested in property, and ended up pretty well-off. I was the owner of the house Lilith was living in when everything happened, and I was there with her in the early days.


    ¡°One thing led to another, and by the time I was here, I felt like I wanted to do more. So, I asked Kali to make me her apprentice, and she agreed. I asked her to make me something more than just human, because I felt that wouldn¡¯t cut it in these situations, and I ended up not dissimilar to the swarm you¡¯re a part of.¡±


    Judy held her palm out in front of her, and a number of insects emerged from within it. The insects arranged themselves into a smiley face on Judy¡¯s palm, then retreated back within her. ¡°The main difference is that the swarm is all me, there¡¯s no autonomy for the members. I control millions of insects, and thousands of larger animals, and I use them to keep tabs on everything important that¡¯s happening.¡±


    ¡°How do you handle that?¡± Levia asked curiously. ¡°Surely that must tax your mind?¡±


    ¡°It should, but it doesn¡¯t, and I¡¯d bet good money that whatever eldritch ability I have helps with it.¡± Judy said. ¡°That being said, no more than an infinitesimal fraction of my attention is given to any individual part of my swarm unless I¡¯m consciously choosing to focus on them.


    ¡°Otherwise, I basically have certain triggers that will cause my swarm to alert me that something is going on, at which point I can shift my focus to them And, if you¡¯re wondering, I can pay attention to around ten perspectives before I start losing detail on any of them, but I generally only have two or three up including my own; it¡¯s just not necessary most of the time. But, I¡¯ve gotten off track, did that answer your question well enough or do you want more info?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s plenty.¡± Levia replied. ¡°Um, did Lilith and Kali tell you about their, um, proposal regarding me?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Judy said, shaking her head. ¡°What proposal?¡±


    ¡°Well, um, we met Aria, and then we were talking about Mai and they said that Mai would probably want to make me her sister and that I shouldn¡¯t feel pressured to say yes to her and that if ¨C¡±


    ¡°Slow down, Levia.¡± Judy said, a faint smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m not quite understanding you. You were talking about the twins, and Mai, right? And what you should do if Mai asks to make you her sister?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah.¡± Levia said. ¡°And, um, they said that if I, um, wanted, they wouldn¡¯t be opposed to the idea of me accepting Mai¡¯s offer.¡±


    Judy¡¯s face stayed neutral as she looked at Levia. ¡°And, what are your thoughts on the matter?¡±


    ¡°I, um, said yes?¡± Levia ventured, unsure how exactly Judy was taking this. ¡°I was unsure at first, but then the more we talked the more that I felt that I¡­I wanted to know what a family was like, and they seemed like the kind of parents I always wanted. They want me to wait until morning to make sure it¡¯s not just the heat of the moment, but I know myself, and it¡¯s not.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have all my memories of my life as a person, but I know it wasn¡¯t easy or pleasant, and I didn¡¯t have people to rely on. And Levi didn¡¯t either, so¡­yeah, I want this. It¡¯s an opportunity I¡¯ve always dreamed of, you know? I just¡­I wonder if everyone else will be alright with me barging into your lives like this.¡±


    ¡°Levia, they are going to adore you.¡± Judy said, giving her an encouraging smile. ¡°Everyone came around to Mai and Aria pretty quickly, and they were infinitely more worrying than you are. Most of the people who live here lived through the world as we know it changing forever; we learned to become pretty adaptable after that.¡±


    ¡°You really think so?¡± Levia asked hopefully. ¡°They won¡¯t be mad that I just inserted myself without asking?¡±


    Judy waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Not at all. The twins will be overjoyed to have another sister, and Lilith¡¯s parents have already said how they¡¯d love to have another grandkid. As for everyone else¡­well, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a huge difference between you now and you as Lilith¡¯s kid.¡±


    ¡°And what about you?¡± Levia said quietly. ¡°How do you feel?¡±


    Judy blinked in surprise. ¡°Oh, sorry, I thought I had said. I¡¯m all for it, if that¡¯s what you think will make you the happiest. To me, it doesn¡¯t really matter either way; if you join our family, it¡¯ll feel like you¡¯ve always been there, if you don¡¯t, you don¡¯t, we¡¯ve got plenty of people staying here who aren¡¯t directly related to us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll¡­feel like I was always there?¡± Levia asked.


    ¡°One of Lilith¡¯s Skills, one that is probably eldritch related in some way.¡± Judy said. ¡°Basically, when someone joins our family, everyone¡¯s perceptions of them gets updated to that of their role in the family. So, the twins feel like they were Lilith¡¯s kids from the start, and one of Lilith¡¯s mothers joined their relationship late, but it feels like her and Lilith¡¯s other parents all married each other at the same time. That sort of a thing. It¡¯s weird and abnormal, we know, but it works for us, so we don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Judy paused, studying Levia¡¯s face. ¡°If that makes you uncomfortable, it¡¯s not too late to say no.¡± She said. ¡°It¡¯s not something that everyone is okay with.¡±


    Levia was silent for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s¡­fine.¡± She said eventually. ¡°I mean¡­it¡¯s just a shortcut, right? The swarm on Jerry¡¯s planes has something similar built in, and that wasn¡¯t too bad, so I imagine this won¡¯t be bad either.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, basically.¡± Judy confirmed. ¡°As someone who went through it myself, I can confirm that it really doesn¡¯t feel like a big deal. Just see it as insurance that you won¡¯t be treated any differently in the slightest; even Lilith and Kali aren¡¯t immune to it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Levia asked. ¡°That¡¯s¡­powerful.¡±


    A thoughtful expression crossed Judy¡¯s face as she considered that. ¡°Well, perhaps Lilith would be able to resist, theoretically. She¡¯s the source of the ability, after all. And Kali might as well, since Administrators are tough with regards to mental manipulation, but¡­neither have tried, so we can¡¯t say for sure.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Levia replied. And from there, the conversation sort of died for a while, until Judy spoke again.


    ¡°Is there anything you remember about yourself that you¡¯d like to share?¡± Judy asked. ¡°If not, that¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just curious.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Levia said. ¡°To tell you the truth, I don¡¯t remember much that I haven¡¯t told you. It¡¯s only been a day or since I was reincarnated, and though things are coming back faster than I was told they should be, I¡¯m only getting flashes when something comes up. I was told my memories would get fuzzy after¡­whatever you call the process, but that they would come back over time, so I haven¡¯t been trying too hard to remember things ever since I made that decision.¡±


    Judy nodded. ¡°That must be strange, being without most of your memories but still being so¡­functional. No one would ever know if you didn¡¯t mention it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit weird.¡± Levia admitted. ¡°But it¡¯s just a matter of time, so it¡¯s no big deal. I can¡¯t control what I can¡¯t control, and worrying about that would be a waste of brainpower when I have other things I need to focus on.¡±


    ¡°An admirable mindset.¡± Judy said. ¡°I wish I could be the same. It¡¯s just¡­so hard to ignore some things, you know?¡±


    ¡°I was like that for a while too, I think. But I learned pretty quickly to prioritize things. You have to do what you have to do to survive, you know?¡±


    The conversation died for good that time, but fortunately they didn¡¯t have to wait very long. Levia wasn¡¯t keeping track of the time or anything, but it only felt like a few minutes before Kali stopped her ministrations and turned to face Judy and Levia. ¡°All done. I¡¯m going to wake her up, okay?¡±


    Judy nodded. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    ¡°Um, me too.¡± Levia said.


    ¡°Alright. Waking her up in three¡­two¡­one¡­¡±


    Kali snapped her fingers, and Lilith began to stir. She sat up, looking around her, then stopped moving for a moment. Then, to Levia¡¯s shock, a clone of Lilith appeared in the room with them, standing only a few feet away from the couch where Lilith was laying. ¡°Hey.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m the new Parallel. Gimme a few minutes, I needa think up a name and appearance.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going with that one?¡± Judy asked.


    ¡°I could, but it¡¯s just kinda boring, you know? And it¡¯s also a little confusing, having two people who look so similar around. I mean, there are some obvious differences, thanks to Mae,¡± the new Parallel said, cupping her chest, ¡°but it¡¯ll still be annoying. It works for Mae and Nuwa since they don¡¯t use the spare avatar much, but I fully intend to use my own body, so I want it to be mine. Anyway, I¡¯m out, be back in a few minutes.¡±


    The new Parallel disappeared before Levia could quite process everything that had happened. ¡°Um¡­is it always this¡­¡± Levia paused, searching for the right word, ¡°abrupt, when new Parallels are made?¡±


    ¡°Basically, but some more than others.¡± Kali said. ¡°Mae and Nuwa were relatively tame, but there was a lot of¡­excitement with Eve. This falls somewhere between the two of them.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, you were half the reason there was that excitement in the first place.¡± Lilith said, smiling faintly.


    ¡°You and I both know she was just playing it up.¡± Kali replied, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°If she had actually been against it, she would have resisted way harder. She barely even put up a fight, and she never actually seriously told me no.¡±


    ¡°But¡­that means she said no, then, right?¡± Levia asked. ¡°Are you sure she wasn¡¯t being serious?¡±


    She wasn¡¯t. Nuwa said. You haven¡¯t met her yet, but she¡¯s a bit of a¡­special case. Normally, you would be totally right and you should always listen when someone says no, but Kali and Eve both knew that if Eve actually wanted to say no, she would have been very, very clear that she wasn¡¯t kidding around. Eve likes to pretend to be all edgy, but she¡¯s a softie on the inside, and almost always likes that kind of stuff.


    The door was thrown open, and Levia whirled to face it. Standing in the doorway was what appeared to be an angel child, a very annoyed expression on her face. ¡°Oi!¡± she said. ¡°Stop telling the new girl things she doesn¡¯t need to know!¡±


    Yeah, but if she¡¯s gonna be part of our family she should know. Nuwa protested.


    ¡°She¡¯s right, Eve.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t do for her to get the wrong idea. Anyway, Levia, this is Eve, the other Parallel that uses her own body. She works as the Lord of Monsters for this universe, and she likes to play into the role.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Eve said. ¡°I¡¯d go with something more grandiose, but apparently everyone wants to ruin my fun.¡±


    ¡°Um, nice to meet you too?¡± Levia ventured. ¡°Sorry if I ruined something.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t!¡± Eve said quickly. ¡°They¡¯re right, I just like to grumble.¡±


    Levia¡¯s attention was pulled away as the new Parallel sudden reappeared. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± She said. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    The new Parallel had, to Levia¡¯s surprise, decided to take the form of an arachne. From the waist up she looked much the same as Lilith, though she lacked wings, and from the waist down her body was that of a giant spider, a black widow if the red hourglass on the abdomen was any indicator.


    ¡°Looking good, but¡­isn¡¯t the hourglass supposed to be on the underside of the abdomen?¡± Kali asked, smirking.


    The new Parallel shrugged. ¡°Eh, I thought it looked better this way.¡± She said. ¡°I mean, who¡¯s gonna see it if it¡¯s on the bottom? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m gonna be hanging out on webs or other places where you can see the underside. That being said, the plan is to mix it up every once in a while, try out new forms every few months until I find one I really like.¡±


    ¡°I approve.¡± Eve said. ¡°What¡¯d you decide for your name?¡±


    ¡°Pandora.¡± The new Parallel replied. ¡°It seems fitting.¡±


    ¡°I can see it.¡± Judy said. ¡°Nice to meet you, Pandora.¡±


    As the others began their greetings, Levia leaned over to Judy. ¡°Why is Pandora a fitting name?¡± She whispered. ¡°Does it mean something?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Judy whispered back. ¡°One of the ancient cultures on Earth had a legend about a woman named Pandora. She had been given a container that contained all sorts of evils without being told what was inside, and was told not to open it. Eventually, she opened it out of curiosity and released all those evils into the world, and though she closed it quickly, the only thing she could keep inside was the container was hope.


    ¡°It turned into an idiom, and when people say that someone has ¡®opened Pandora¡¯s box¡¯, it means they¡¯ve caused a bunch of trouble or problems, often unknowingly. In this case, though, I suppose we¡¯re aligning more with the original myth; we don¡¯t know exactly what we¡¯re getting into with these eldritch abilities, and though we could possibly be opening Pandora¡¯s box by doing so, we have to know.¡±


    ¡°Basically that.¡± Pandora added. ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t think that just knowing could do us more harm than being totally unaware of what we¡¯ve got within us, but maybe I¡¯ll accidentally uncover some secret of how the universe works that we would rather not know or something. Hopefully the legend will turn out better this time, but¡­well, who can say for sure?¡±


    ¡°Y-you could hear that?¡± Levia asked. ¡°Um, sorry for talking behind your back.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Pandora laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not like you were badmouthing me, you were just looking for context on something you had no way of knowing about before.¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, thanks.¡± Levia said. ¡°Um, it¡¯s good to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Pleasure meeting you as well!¡± Pandora said. ¡°Oh, and just in case you weren¡¯t aware, I do have all of Lilith¡¯s memories, as well as those of the other Parallels, so you don¡¯t need to worry about reintroducing yourself or anything, I already know everything you¡¯ve told them. I know it¡¯s a little hard getting used to someone who looks totally different knowing everything you told someone else, but you¡¯ll get used to it after a bit.¡±


    ¡°I¡­did sort of forget.¡± Levia admitted. ¡°I guess I just sort of figured you were like me, without memories but with basic knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, hard to get used to.¡± Pandora replied. ¡°But, yeah, any questions you have for me before I go introduce myself to everyone else?¡±


    Levia shook her head. ¡°No, thanks for asking. Um¡­see you tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°See you tomorrow!¡± Pandora said cheerfully, giving her a wave.


    ¡°Do you need a guide back to your room?¡± Eve asked. ¡°I know it¡¯s kind of a maze sometimes.¡±


    ¡°That would be great.¡± Levia replied. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Right, just follow me then.¡± Eve said, walking towards the room¡¯s exit.


    Levia followed, hurriedly catching up to the young-looking woman.


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s a brave thing you¡¯re doing.¡± Eve said once they were out of earshot of the room. ¡°Not many people would be willing to try something like this.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Levia asked. ¡°Oh, um, the whole kid thing, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I know you were talking with Judy about it a bit, and let me say that I promise we will do our best to raise you with the most love and care we can if you do decide to go through with it.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Levia said resolutely. ¡°My mind doesn¡¯t change so easily for things like this.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it doesn¡¯t.¡± Eve replied, turning and giving her a smile. ¡°I can respect that.¡±


    ¡°Um, thanks.¡±


    Eve gave a nod in reply, then continued leading Levia down the halls, eventually stopping next to the door to the room where Levia had been staying. ¡°Here you are.¡± She said, then reached into a pocket and pulled out a button, which she handed to Levia. ¡°When you wake up, just press this, it¡¯ll let us know you¡¯re awake and one of us will come and pick you up so you don¡¯t have to wander around aimlessly looking for someone.¡±


    Levia took the button gratefully, then opened the door to the room. ¡°I¡¯ll, um, see you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Right, see you tomorrow. ¡°Eve said cheerfully. ¡°Have a good sleep.¡±


    And with that, Levia closed the door and sat down on the bed. She looked at the book she had been reading, considered picking it back up, then decided against it. It had been a long day, and she was getting tired, so she tucked herself into the covers, and let herself drift off to sleep.

 Chapter 14: Fresh Starts

    ¡°Hello everyone!¡± Pandora said brightly. ¡°I¡¯m Pandora, the newest Parallel. We decided to make me because Lilith and all of us Parallels can potentially understand what eldritch stuff does, but we¡¯d have to work to decipher it. So, that¡¯s going to be my job, painfully reverse-engineering what all those abilities do. I¡¯ll be cooped up in a lab most of the time, but I¡¯m more than happy to spend a little time with you whenever, I doubt a few hours here or there will make a massive difference in the grand scheme of things.¡±


    ¡°Woooow!¡± Carmen exclaimed. ¡°You¡¯re a spider!¡±


    ¡°I am!¡± Pandora laughed, scooping Carmen up into her arms and then placing her on her abdomen. ¡°I¡¯m gonna change my species every little bit until I find a species I really like, and I¡¯m starting with arachne.¡±


    ¡°What else are you considering?¡± Anna asked curiously.


    ¡°Basically anything that isn¡¯t humanoid.¡± Pandora replied. ¡°At least for now, if it turns out I hate it, then I¡¯ll switch to checking out different humanoids. Basically, I just want somethin¡¯ comfortable to research in that isn¡¯t too boring.¡±


    Aria nervously approached her. ¡°Um¡­what do we call you?¡± She asked.


    ¡°How about Mum?¡± Pandora suggested, picking Aria up and hugging her tightly. ¡°And if there¡¯s anything you want to see me as, let me know, I¡¯ll try it for you.¡±


    ¡°Me too, Mum!¡± Mai added, rushing over to Pandora¡¯s side. ¡°I have things I want to see you as!¡±


    Pandora grew another pair of arms and grabbed Mai with them, hugging her as well. ¡°Alright. Just gimme a list and I¡¯ll do it for you, kay?¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡± Mai said, snuggling up to Pandora. ¡°We should do a fashion show later!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll do that, then.¡± Pandora said, looking back up at the other people. ¡°So, any questions for me?¡±


    ¡°How long do you think this is going to take?¡± Jameson asked. ¡°Not trying to hurry you or anything, I¡¯m just curious because making a whole new Parallel seems like a rather drastic step.¡±


    ¡°Hard to say.¡± Pandora said. ¡°My hope is that I can get the broad strokes of things pretty soon, within a year or two, but getting into the fine details and fully understanding what they do? Decades, centuries even. But, by doing so, I would hopefully be able to reproduce the stuff we¡¯ve been given and make my own.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Emily, an elf girl who was currently working as a maid in the dungeon, said. ¡°Would you mind if I helped look over your research from time to time? It sounds fascinating.¡±


    ¡°Knock yourself out, but lemme just warn you now, I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re even physically capable of understanding this stuff. I mean, I¡¯ma try my best to help you out, but this stuff is like, different. You¡¯re gonna have to approach it in a completely different way, and I mean¡­you¡¯re gonna have to know how to read Mana first¡­basically, don¡¯t get discouraged if you can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Emily said. ¡°Still, I would like to try.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll letcha know when I have something that¡¯d be good to show ya.¡± Pandora said. ¡°But it¡¯s gonna be a hot minute, so you¡¯ll have to bear with me, sorry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re going to have a research room of some sort, how should we clean it?¡± Raphi, an angel girl who was working as the other maid in the place asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Pandora said. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it myself. Probably. There¡¯s probably gonna be a lot of papers and stuff in there, and it wouldn¡¯t do to have things get out of place. It¡¯ll be messy, but it¡¯ll be my mess, you know?¡±


    ¡°Quick correction.¡± Kali said. ¡°Please do clean up any dishes or snack bags or whatever stuff she¡¯ll leave behind in there. Just not the papers.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll clean those up myself.¡± Pandora said, turning her head away from Kali.


    ¡°And I¡¯m secretly aiming to destroy all of existence.¡± Kali said sarcastically. ¡°We both know stuff unrelated to research is going to be forgotten about and just left lying around.¡±


    ¡°Okay, fine, you can clean up that stuff. If it¡¯s important to my research, I¡¯ll leave a note or something so you¡¯ll know not to clean it up.¡±


    ¡°None of this stuff is¡­hazardous to us, right?¡± Alex, a catgirl and Raphi¡¯s adoptive mother, asked.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be.¡± Pandora answered. ¡°Not to look at, anyway. It¡¯ll probably hurt your head a bit of you pay attention to it, but no more than Zoan¡¯s Barrier. It should be fine to just peek at, and if it¡¯s not¡­I¡¯ll seal the door so you can¡¯t see it. And, also probably seal the door if I¡¯m experimenting on something sensitive or something. Just like¡­don¡¯t poke around in there without supervision and you¡¯ll be perfectly safe, you won¡¯t even be able to tell it¡¯s there.¡±


    There ended up being a few more questions, but it ended up being stuff like Pandora¡¯s likes and dislikes, which weren¡¯t that exciting. Like all the Parallels, her personality had been crafted so that her specific task was the thing she enjoyed most, so the answers tended to revolve around her work in some way or another.


    She liked learning new things, the thrill of finally solving a tough problem, the feeling of discovering something that no one else had, that sort of thing. And, for hobbies¡­well, she hadn¡¯t really tried anything as herself, so she didn¡¯t really know yet, but she suspected she¡¯d be fine with whatever.


    As for what she didn¡¯t like¡­she hated giving up, of leaving something less than perfectly solved, and people who knowingly perpetuated false information. She, of course, didn¡¯t mind when people didn¡¯t know something wasn¡¯t true, she herself was likely guilty of spreading false information simply because science hadn¡¯t grasped the truth yet and she didn¡¯t know better. But, once that misunderstanding was corrected and someone did know better¡­her sympathy evaporated.


    Still, it made her happy that the residents of the dungeon took an interest. It was nice to have people ask her about her, and not assume they knew things based off of their knowledge of Lilith and the other Parallels. She had assumed they would react the way they were reacting based off of how they acted when Eve was first introduced, but it was still nice to see it happen.


    So, she let herself relax and enjoy the moment. A week or two later, once things had settled, she¡¯d begin her research in earnest, but until then she would just hang around and let everyone get used to her, especially the kids, and she couldn¡¯t picture herself being happier than she was in that moment.


    <hr>


    ¡°So, you¡¯re sure about this, then?¡± Eve asked, staring at Levia and trying to read her face.


    ¡°Even more than I was last night.¡± Levia confirmed. ¡°Do it.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°In that case, do you have any requests about your appearance?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°If you want to be similar to the twins, I can do that, if you want to be more similar to how you are now, that¡¯s doable as well, and if you want something completely different¡­well, that¡¯s fine too. And please, don¡¯t hold back if you think you¡¯d be asking too much, it¡¯s not a hard thing to do and it¡¯ll affect your life in a large way.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­would you be capable of like¡­making me your biological daughter?¡± Levia asked shyly. ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t matter, but I want to¡­well, play the part for my fantasies, so to speak.¡±


    ¡°Easily done.¡± Lilith replied, waving a hand. ¡°Mai and Aria are, and at this point Mae is much more competent when it comes to our biology than those two were when they did it. Though, fair warning, we won¡¯t be able to make you a Perfect Chimera like the twins or me and the Parallels.


    ¡°Due to the way Levi was made, and the fact that you¡¯re on an entirely different system than us, the process would be exceedingly risky and would likely cause conflicts within you. Still, it doesn¡¯t affect DNA in non-magical ways, and the offspring of Perfect Chimeras aren¡¯t Perfect Chimeras anyway, so you¡¯ll still be biologically ours, just not technically the same species. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah, I wasn¡¯t expecting you to go that far.¡± Levia said. ¡°So that works great.¡±


    ¡°Any other requests?¡± Eve asked. ¡°Really, we¡¯re more than happy to oblige, you¡¯re family now, and we don¡¯t hold anything back when it comes to family.¡±


    Levia gave her a nervous smile. ¡°Um¡­make me cute?¡± She ventured. ¡°I know it¡¯s vain, but I don¡¯t want to be ugly.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll make you the cutest kid in the world.¡± Eve laughed. ¡°I presume you would prefer a look that would, you know, age well? Make you a real stunner when you grow up, that sort of a thing.¡±


    ¡°You can do that?¡± Levia asked hopefully. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°As long as you eat right, and don¡¯t do anything that would hamper your growth, we effectively rig things so you end up looking good.¡± Eve said. ¡°We have the capability to test out what different genes would lead to in a final appearance, so to speak, and that gives us a lot of ability in this regard.¡±


    ¡°Then, um, please.¡± Levia said, blushing. ¡°And, um, thanks. I don¡¯t have any other requests, so¡­I¡¯m ready.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to magically put you to sleep during the process, okay?¡± Lilith said. ¡°It¡¯ll help mitigate confusion. If you would rather, we can do this while you¡¯re awake, but I would recommend being unconscious.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please.¡± Levia said quickly. ¡°See you then.¡±


    Lilith snapped her fingers, and Levia instantly fell asleep. ¡°Mae, if you would, would you begin simulating some gene combinations for her? I¡¯m accepting her request for entrance into Familial Bond now.¡±


    Eve felt the telltale welling up of love within her as Levia was properly allowed into Familial bond, and then Mae began to speak. Nuwa and I are already on it. She said. We have a program up to expedite the process, but we¡¯ll be sure to check the result on an actual test body.


    ¡°Excellent work, thank you.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I¡¯ll get to work on the spell, Eve, will you prepare some outfits for her?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± Eve said. ¡°Let¡¯s get this done.¡±


    And so, they did. They took their time, being slow and deliberate so they would be absolutely sure they wouldn¡¯t have any accidents during the process. Mai may have made it quick during the time she had tried to use it on Lilith, but that was prone to failure, especially since Lilith wasn¡¯t quite as experienced with the spell as Mai.


    So, the process took a few painstaking hours, but they weren¡¯t going to spare any effort when it came to their daughter. But finally, the time came that they were ready to actually execute the magic. Lilith and Mae worked on channeling the spell, Nuwa on fueling it with Mana, and Eve and Pandora watched like hawks, looking for any sign of something going wrong and ready to act as backups if they felt it necessary.


    Lilith and Mae began their work, and Eve focused her attention on Levia, observing the flow of the Mana around her and watching as her body began to shift. After a few moments, Eve turned to Pandora. ¡°I think we¡¯re going to need more Mana than we have.¡± She whispered. ¡°I think we¡¯re going to need to dip into Worship for that extra oomph.¡±


    Pandora surveyed Levia for a moment more, then nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± She said. ¡°Let Nuwa know, I¡¯ll keep watching.¡±


    Eve gave a nod of her own, then turned back to watch Levia as she contacted Nuwa. Nuwa, Pandora and I believe we¡¯re going to need to use Worship. We¡¯re not getting this to stick with just Mana.


    I was just thinking the same thing. Nuwa said. I¡¯ll start juicing it up. Let Lilith know.


    ¡°Lilith, we¡¯re switching to Worship.¡± Eve said. ¡°Be ready.¡±


    Lilith gave a terse nod, and the flow of the Mana began to change, the already large pathways widening in preparation for an even greater power. The moment they had finished, the flow of Mana intensified, the spell being effectively supercharged as its power source was changed from just Mana to a mix of Mana and Worship.


    With the increased intensity, the process sped up dramatically, and the Parallels all fell into an intense silence as they devoted all of their attention towards keeping the spell¡¯s construction solid. In the planning stage they had recognized that they may well be required to use Worship, and had made a rather extensive outline for what would need to happen if they switched to Worship.


    Unfortunately, the spell Mai had devised simply wasn¡¯t built with Worship in mind, and while Worship could be used as a substitute for Mana, that wasn¡¯t without its consequences. Normally, those consequences could be ignored; Worship was, in many ways, just stronger Mana, and as such it multiplied the effectiveness of something when used as a substitute for Mana.


    For this spell, however, controlled output was of utmost importance; unlike Mai, they were trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, leaving as much of Levia¡¯s personality intact as possible, and simply reducing her mental age. Unfortunately, the spell was the single most complex one that Eve had ever seen, and their modifications weren¡¯t as solid as the rest of the spell.


    That meant that, if they just switched to Worship and made no adjustments for it, their modifications would fail, and the spell would return to its original form or go out of control entirely. That was something they obviously couldn¡¯t afford, so reinforcing the spell required their full intention.


    It was an incredibly precarious process, one that required Eve and Pandora to constantly shore up different parts of the spell, bending the power to their will and forcing it to do what they wanted and nothing else. Fortunately, the increased power of the spell increased the speed of its work, and it only took around a minute for them to finish the process. And, once they were done, they let out a collective sigh of relief, taking a moment to relax and collect their thoughts.


    ¡°That was one hundred percent eldritchly influenced.¡± Pandora burst out. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you guys noticed, but parts of that spell were using constructs we¡¯ve only seen in some of the eldritch stuff we looked at, and it wasn¡¯t our parts. It¡¯s theoretically something that could be made without the eldritch, but it¡¯s really pushing the boundaries.¡±


    I thought something about it was odd, but I could not put my finger on it. Mae said. I believe you are correct.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to get a look at everyone¡¯s eldritch stuff before drawing any conclusions, but if Mai has similar structures in her abilities¡­well, we can assume this was sort of given to her by the eldritch.¡± Pandora said. ¡°And¡­actually, we never checked Levia for eldritch stuff, did we? Considering how close she is to us now¡­I think there¡¯s a chance she might have something.¡±


    ¡°You might be right.¡± Lilith said, stroking Levia¡¯s head lovingly. ¡°Let me check real quick¡­yeah, she has something. I¡¯ll send you the memory of it later, Pandora, but for now, should we wake her up? I¡¯ve given her the knowledge of what to call each of us, so we should be ready now.¡±


    Eve gave Levia another look-over. The girl was unrecognizable from her previous self, having become a child of four or so. Furthermore, her species and general appearance had changed, bringing her more in line with how Lilith looked. Though, unlike Mai and Aria, who looked like younger versions of Lilith, Levia was more of a mix between Lilith and Kali.


    ¡°I think we should wake her up.¡± Eve said. ¡°I¡¯m excited to see her.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Pandora said. ¡°No point in stalling further.¡±


    Lilith snapped her fingers, and Levia stirred on the bed she had been laid on for the transformation, then opened her eyes. She sat up, yawning cutely and rubbing her eyes as she did. ¡°Mom?¡± She asked sleepily. ¡°Are we done?¡±


    She paused for a moment, then her eyes widened. ¡°M-Mom? I¡­I¡­¡± She trailed off, reaching up to wipe her moist eyes.


    ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Eve asked worriedly, rushing over to Levia¡¯s side. ¡°You¡¯re feeling fine, right?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine, Mama.¡± Levia said, holding her arms out for a hug. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­happy. So, so happy.¡±


    Eve aged herself up slightly so she was better suited to pick up Levia, then grabbed her, pulling her into a tight embrace. ¡°Good.¡± She said. ¡°That¡¯s the idea.¡±


    ¡°Mmm.¡± Levia responded, resting her head on Eve¡¯s chest. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d do anything for you.¡± Eve said. ¡°Anything.  But for now¡­are you up to being introduced to the rest of the family, or do you need some time?¡±


    ¡°Just another minute.¡± Levia said, snuggling further into Eve¡¯s embrace. ¡°Then we can go.¡±


    ¡°Take as much time as you need.¡± Eve said tenderly. ¡°Just let me know when.¡±

 Holiday Special 2023

    Lilith¡¯s studies were interrupted by being unceremoniously transported to the party once again, her comfortable pajamas having morphed into a party suit. This time, however, instead of it just being her and Kali, Eve had joined the two of them.


    ¡°Oh, sick, I get to come too.¡± Eve said. ¡°This is gonna be interesting.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose we should start by meeting up with everyone else.¡± Kali said. ¡°And¡­it¡¯s making more sense why we were paired up the way we were before.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lilith agreed. ¡°Though, again, that calls into question the nature of this party¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh, just let it be.¡± Eve said. ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re gonna get answers if this place doesn¡¯t want us to get any.¡±


    ¡°Believe me, I¡¯ve tried for a long time.¡± Jerry, who was, surprisingly, female, said. ¡°Maybe sometime in the future when you¡¯ve grown stronger we can actually get real answers, but until then we¡¯re going to have to just wonder. I mean, I¡¯m not going to stop trying, but ¨C¡±


    A trolley bumped into Jerry¡¯s legs, and she let out a theatrical sigh. ¡°I know, I know.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m here to drop off the squad, as usual. Unlike me, these four are from a few years back, so they¡¯re not caught up to date with current events. Anyway, I¡¯m going to go wander around until I find where I¡¯m supposed to be, I trust you can handle these four?¡±


    Behind Jerry was Lia, Rose, Amelia, and Connie, in varying moods. Connie and Rose were pretty relaxed, Lia was nervous, and Amelia was grumpy.


    ¡°We¡¯re not kids.¡± Amelia harumphed. ¡°We don¡¯t need handlers.¡±


    ¡°T-though, um, I won¡¯t say no to being watched over.¡± Lia said. ¡°It¡¯d be nice for my peace of mind.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this about being watched over?¡± Tess asked, walking up to the group with Ellie and Maven following close behind. ¡°Oh, more people this time, nice to meet you!¡±


    ¡°Ah, you were so cute when you¡¯re young, I forgot!¡± Connie said, smiling at Tess. ¡°What are you three up to at this point? What year is it for you?¡±


    ¡°We are in the middle of our final exam for our training with The Rumors.¡± Maven said. ¡°I presume you are from our future, like the other members of your group?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, I forgot how stiff you were back in the day.¡± Connie said. ¡°Yes, everyone else here is from fifty to sixty years in your future.¡±


    ¡°Why does everyone feel the need to comment on how cute we are?¡± Ellie asked. ¡°We¡¯re basically fully grown, we can¡¯t have changed that much.¡±


    Eve chuckled. ¡°Physically, maybe. I think it¡¯s just the contrast between the you in our time and the you from your time being so big that people can¡¯t help but notice. And yes, you¡¯ve changed a little physically, but it¡¯s mostly attitude and how you hold yourself that does it.¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± Tess said. ¡°Anyway, who are the new people?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m Jerry, if you couldn¡¯t tell.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Things are happening in the future, you¡¯ll understand in a while. But really, I should be going, Kali, are you coming with?¡±


    ¡°No, I feel like my place is here today.¡± Kali said. ¡°You go enjoy, though!¡±


    Jerry nodded, then left the group alone. There was a moment of silence, then Eve spoke. ¡°Well, you guys met me briefly during that sparring session last time, but I¡¯m Eve, one of Lilith¡¯s Parallels. Dunno why I¡¯m here today, but I¡¯m not gonna complain about a free party.¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m Connie.¡± Connie said. ¡°I¡¯m the girlfriend of these three, and god of commerce for Jerry.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to Amelia, and after a moment she sighed. ¡°I¡¯m Amelia, and we don¡¯t need protecting. I¡¯m more than capable of beating any of you, so don¡¯t test me.¡±


    Eve snorted. ¡°That¡¯s what you said when we met in real life. You were¡­just about the fourth weakest person in the room, then. And yes, you were fully unbound, and even more powerful than you used to be.¡±


    ¡°Fourth weakest?!¡± Amelia said indignantly. ¡°I find that hard to believe.¡±


    ¡°U-um, who was in the room?¡± Connie asked.


    ¡°Everyone who¡¯s here now plus Jerry, Amy, and Fortune.¡± Eve said. ¡°It took Lilith about five seconds to kill Amelia. Or¡­effectively kill, we kept it nonlethal.¡±


    ¡°As if!¡± Amelia said. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯d lose that fast!¡±


    ¡°Um¡­sorry, Amelia, I think you might.¡± Connie said.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be taking my chances with her, unbound or not.¡± Rose added. ¡°I could see myself having a chance at beating you, I can¡¯t see myself having a ghost of a chance against Lilith fighting all-out.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah.¡± Lia said. ¡°You didn¡¯t see her fight, she¡¯s¡­different.¡±


    ¡°More different than we thought.¡± Lilith said. ¡°And Eve, stop antagonizing Amelia, you know how she gets.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know me.¡± Amelia said flatly. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you met, but it couldn¡¯t have been me.¡±


    Connie sighed. ¡°Amelia, they¡¯re literally from our future.¡± She said. ¡°There¡¯s a possibility that they¡¯ve met you.¡±


    Eve snorted. ¡°We haven¡¯t just met her, we¡¯ve been spending hours every day studying with her and attempting to make friends. While I will admit she¡¯s a little feistier now than she is in our time, it¡¯s still definitely Amelia.¡±


    ¡°S-so, we do get to know you in a few years?¡± Lia asked. ¡°How?¡±


    Lilith, Kali, and Eve shared a glance. ¡°Probably best not to say.¡± Kali said. ¡°But it¡¯s under friendly terms, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Lia let out a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk about this over food?¡± Tess suggested.


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Eve said. ¡°I¡¯ll go save the table.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see you all in a bit, okay?¡± Kali said, linking arms with Lilith and dragging her towards the buffet tables. ¡°I¡¯m so excited to be here with you instead of with the other Administrators.¡± Kali said, giving Lilith a happy smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been really curious what you guys get up to without me, and it¡¯s not like we have an opportunity to chat about it after.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve mostly just sort of chatted and tried everyone¡¯s hobbies.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It¡¯s not particularly exciting, to tell you the truth. The only kind of exciting thing that happened was last time when Tess and I sparred.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Kali said. ¡°How¡¯d that go?¡±


    Lilith launched into a retelling of the fight while they gathered their food. Meanwhile, at the table, Maven found her way back far before everyone else, a nervous look on her face as she sat across from Eve.


    After a few moments of watching her, Eve spoke up. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so nervous around me.¡± She said. ¡°We¡¯re family, and I happen to rather like you.¡±


    ¡°The, um, future me.¡± Maven said slowly.


    Eve waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Same difference.¡± She said. ¡°You¡¯re just less stiff in the future, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Maven squirmed in place for a moment, looked around, then leaned forward. ¡°Um, is it true that in the future I¡¯m married to Tess and Ellie?¡±


    ¡°What brought this on?¡± Eve asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Well, Aunt Lilith made a joke about it last time, but lately I have been¡­questioning myself.¡± She said. ¡°And it¡¯s really thrown me for a loop these past few weeks.¡±


    Eve sighed. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna enjoy this party unless you know, are you?¡±


    Maven shook her head. ¡°I will likely spend most of it thinking about the future.¡± She said.


    ¡°Well¡­I guess, in that case, it¡¯s fine to level with you.¡± Eve said. ¡°Not like you¡¯ll remember this anyway. Yes, you get married to them, and pretty soon after where you guys are, too. I think a year or two?¡±


    Maven stared at Eve. ¡°But¡­but¡­I¡¯m¡­¡±


    ¡°Not attracted to women?¡± Eve finished. ¡°You¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°Then ¨C¡±


    ¡°Not sexually attracted.¡± Eve said. ¡°Romantically, you¡¯re bi. Or¡­pan? I don¡¯t know the word, but the point is that romantically speaking you don¡¯t care about gender. And, once you made that realization, you decided to get some magical help to make those orientations match. In your case, you determined that you would rather have your sexual orientation changed to match your romantic orientation instead of the other way around.¡±


    Eve could practically see the gears turning in Maven¡¯s head as she processed the information. ¡°And¡­I am happy?¡± She said.


    ¡°Incredibly happy.¡± Eve confirmed. ¡°And you¡¯re a lot more confident, too. After Kali helped you through this the two of you got close, and you even ended up being the maid of honor at our wedding.¡±


    Maven¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I¡¯ve got a meeting with her about this tomorrow.¡± She whispered. ¡°My life¡¯s going to change from that, won¡¯t it?¡±


    Eve got up and walked over to Maven, aging herself up so she could pull the girl into a hug. ¡°And you¡¯re going to love it.¡± She said. ¡°Believe me, the future is incredibly bright for you.¡±


    Maven let herself rest on Eve¡¯s chest. ¡°Thanks, Aunt Eve.¡± She said. ¡°I appreciate it.¡±


    Lilith and Kali arrived a couple of moments after that setting down their food next to where Eve had been sitting. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Kali whispered, looking at Lilith. ¡°Some family bonding?¡±


    ¡°Last time we were here I jokingly told Maven she was married to Tess and Ellie in the present. She said there was no way back then, but apparently, she¡¯s been questioning herself lately. Eve decided to clue her in on things so as to lift her mood for the rest of the party. Apparently, she has a meeting with you scheduled for her tomorrow, and she realized that her whole life is going to change from it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the meeting where we first met!¡± Kali said brightly. ¡°I remember it fondly. Yeah, she¡¯s going to have a confusing few days, but you know how it ends.¡±


    A few moments later, Lia and her group arrived at the table. ¡°Woah, Eve?¡± Lia asked. ¡°Is that you?¡±


    Eve separated from Maven, giving Lia a quizzical look. ¡°Of course it¡¯s me.¡± She said. ¡°Who else would I be?¡±


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Eve, you¡¯re older right now.¡± Kali reminded her.


    ¡°What? Oh, right, sorry.¡± Eve aged back to her usual age, walking back over to her spot. ¡°I was giving Maven a hug and needed to be bigger so I could give a better hug.¡± She said. ¡°So, I made myself older, no big deal.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Amelia demanded. ¡°You didn¡¯t use any magic, and if you actually know me, you know I can tell.¡±


    Eve smirked. ¡°Sure didn¡¯t. I¡¯ve got full and complete control over my form, to an extent you can¡¯t even imagine.¡± She jerked a thumb at Lilith. ¡°Most of Lilith¡¯s body is composed of brain matter, pretty much everything that wasn¡¯t the heart and the lungs was removed for it. And, the best part is, we don¡¯t even have to use Mana to do any of this, and whatever we turn into is our base form. You were quite confused when we showed it to you for the first time.¡±


    Lilith grew another set of arms, her suit morphing to allow for the extra appendages. ¡°Hit me with your best dispel.¡± She instructed. ¡°That should clear things up.¡±


    ¡°Grow another.¡± Amelia said. ¡°How do I know that you don¡¯t normally have four arms?¡±


    Lilith shrugged, growing yet another set of arms. ¡°Suit yourself.¡±


    ¡°Woah.¡± Tess said, stopping next to Eve as she and Ellie arrived at the table. ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re explaining to Amelia just how different we are from everything she knows.¡± Eve said. ¡°Watch.¡±


    Lilith could feel as Amelia marshalled some Worship, collecting it into a spell that she fired at Lilith. The dispel, of course, did nothing, just as it had when Amelia had tried it in the real world. ¡°See?¡± Lilith said, removing her extra arms. ¡°Base form.¡±


    Amelia immediately cast the spell again, and once again nothing changed. ¡°That¡¯s not¡­I¡¯m unbound here, I shouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    Connie laid a hand on Amelia¡¯s shoulder, shaking her head. ¡°Lilith doesn¡¯t play by our rules.¡± She said. ¡°In that sense, she¡¯s almost like an Administrator, just¡­ignoring different rules.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s an Administrator now too!¡± Kali said happily. ¡°Or¡­sub-Administrator, pending full status once she finishes her training.¡±


    ¡°Or never, if we can¡¯t find a way for Kali and I to share our planes.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Look, things are happening in the future, and things are moving fast because of it.¡±


    Connie gave Lilith a wary look. ¡°Does this have to do with why Jerry¡­?¡±


    Lilith sighed. ¡°Yes. Yes, it¡¯s what you think. No, it¡¯s not projected for centuries or millennia, we just know it¡¯s a certainty at this point. We¡¯re pretty sure we¡¯re the only faction that knows right now, so we¡¯ve got a huge head start, and by the time the others realize we¡¯re hoping to be too far ahead to be stopped. Don¡¯t worry about it for now, it¡¯s under control for the moment.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Connie said quietly.


    ¡°What¡¯s she talking about?¡± Lia asked.


    ¡°Administrator politics.¡± Connie said. ¡°There¡¯s one thing in particular that would cause Jerry to act like this, and it¡¯s not the most ideal thing.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it, not any of you.¡± Eve said. ¡°We¡¯re very optimistic about things, and your future selves are thriving. Just enjoy the party for now, okay?¡±


    ¡°If you insist.¡± Connie said.


    They had small talk while they ate, and Lilith couldn¡¯t help but find the whole situation odd. For the first time in one of these parties, she had had significant interactions with the future selves of the others, and every so often one of them would ask a question they already knew the answer to in the present, or say something that was ever so slightly at odds with their current way of thinking.


    Still, she had much less trouble with it than she had expected; perhaps it was the party helping smooth things over in her mind, so that no really awkward situations came up, or maybe she was just better at it than she thought she would be, but it all went¡­fine.


    And, to Lilith¡¯s surprise, Amelia began to relax and open up as the evening went on. Perhaps it was that the situation wasn¡¯t as stressful, perhaps it was that her wives were there to help, but whatever the case she soon reached a point where she was actually asking about others and listening to their opinions.


    And then the dinner ended, and Amelia stood and gave Lilith a look. ¡°I want to duel.¡± She said. ¡°Prove you¡¯re not just all talk.¡±


    Lilith shrugged, looking at the others. ¡°Only if everyone else is fine with it.¡± She said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stall everyone else out on account of us.¡±


    ¡°I, for one, would be interested.¡± Rose said. ¡°Jerry aside, Amelia is the strongest person I know, and I would like to see how you compare.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­as long as you won¡¯t be mad when you lose, Amelia. I promise, promise, promise you that you can¡¯t beat her.¡± Connie said.


    ¡°She¡¯s just a god, you of all people know I can handle gods.¡±


    ¡°She handled three at once last time and didn¡¯t break a sweat.¡± Tess said. ¡°I don¡¯t think she showed even half of her full potential.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but five seconds?¡± Amelia said. ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad.¡±


    ¡°If the party allows, we can settle that here and now.¡± Lilith offered. ¡°It has no collateral damage whatsoever.¡±


    There was a sort of feeling of acknowledgement, and Lilith began her Judge, Jury, Executioner routine. And, just as it had happened in the real world, Amelia tried to cast a spell, Lilith squashed it with Mana, and then Judge, Jury, Executioner activated, and Amelia crumpled like a ragdoll.


    ¡°I could have made that lethal just as easily.¡± Lilith said calmly. ¡°To paraphrase what Connie said when this happened in my time, you¡¯re a very big fish in a small pond.¡±


    ¡°Was that that instakill you mentioned last time?¡± Tess asked. ¡°It looked like nothing happened and then she just¡­fell.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I didn¡¯t use it last time because I felt like it would be unsporting, but¡­Amelia wanted me to prove that it only took five seconds.¡±


    ¡°I told you, Amelia.¡± Connie said quietly. ¡°Lilith is in the running for the most powerful non-Administrator in our faction.¡± She paused, looking up at Lilith. ¡°Is that decided by your point in time?¡±


    Lilith shrugged. ¡°Not really? We haven¡¯t dueled, not really, but she says she¡¯s fairly certain I¡¯ve eclipsed her.¡±


    ¡°Is this someone we know?¡± Ellie asked curiously.


    ¡°Sort of.¡± Lilith said, smiling wryly.


    ¡°Sort of?¡± Maven said. ¡°So, someone we have heard of but have not met?¡±


    ¡°Should we tell them?¡± Lilith asked, looking at Kali and Connie.


    ¡°Eh, why not.¡± Kali said mischievously.


    ¡°Might as well, I suppose.¡± Connie added.


    ¡°It¡¯s Tess.¡± Eve said. ¡°It¡¯s why we were so confident we¡¯d beat her last time, her older, significantly stronger, self told us that she wasn¡¯t sure she could win.¡±


    Tess stared at them, eyes narrowing. ¡°You¡¯re messing with me.¡± She accused. ¡°You¡¯re what, fifty years in the future? There¡¯s no way I¡¯m stronger than people like Gramps by then.¡±


    ¡°All three of you are.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I haven¡¯t met Evan personally, so I can¡¯t truly compare, but everyone I¡¯ve met points to Tess as the strongest, and the two of you as second and third. Of course, this is counting Descent in the mix, but at this point it¡¯s generally accepted that Appointed and their gods are treated as one unit for this purpose.¡±


    ¡°The other two can¡¯t, but you can beat Descended Evan even without Descent.¡± Kali added. ¡°It turns out that Monster Breeder was far, far, far stronger than anyone had any way of knowing.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Connie asked.


    ¡°Things are happening and we learned some new stuff recently that we flat-out couldn¡¯t have known earlier.¡± Kali said. ¡°You remember that conversation we had right before you started dating those three?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°We now know for sure that it wasn¡¯t a coincidence, and those three,¡± Kali motioned at Tess, Ellie, and Maven, ¡°Fortune, and even you were part of it as well.¡±


    Connie froze, staring at Kali with wide eyes. ¡°O-oh.¡± She said.


    ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡± Amelia wheezed, getting back to her feet. ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate all this cryptic talk.¡±


    ¡°We really shouldn¡¯t say more.¡± Eve said. ¡°Honestly we probably said a bit too much already. For now, just be content knowing that it¡¯s a huge boon to you in the short term.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Amelia sighed. ¡°What were we going to do again?¡±


    ¡°Games?¡± Lia suggested. ¡°They have a bunch of stuff we¡¯re not used to here.¡±


    Tess and Ellie shared a look. ¡°I¡¯d kind of like to try laser tag with all of us.¡± Tess said. ¡°It¡¯ll be more interesting than when it was just five of us.¡±


    ¡°Laser¡­tag?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°A game from their universe.¡± Rose said. ¡°Lia and I played it with them during our first meeting at these parties.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s in some of the other planes in our universe too.¡± Connie said. ¡°So, I know the gist.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s worth a try, I guess.¡± Amelia said.


    So, the group set off to find the laser tag arena again. Like before, they found it fairly quickly, and were starting a game in no less than ten minutes. This time, the teams ended up being significantly more evenly matched, and the results were as well. Or¡­were until they tried playing without any stat equalization or Skill limitation.


    That game was, in a word, chaos. They were free to do any terrain-alterations they wished, as the participants were kept safe by magical shields that prevented them from taking any damage, and the arena would reshape itself every so often. The moment the game started things immediately went off the rails. Rose flooded the arena with thick roots, which were immediately stopped by a spell from Amelia, Eve just flat-out bulldozed her way through walls on her way to the target, and Maven began altering the arena using some sort of dungeon manipulation ability.


    In the midst of this all, Lilith noticed that Lia, a member of the opposing team in this round, had pressed herself into a corner, crouching down and staring around with wild, fearful eyes. Lilith approached slowly, putting up her hands as she walked over to her and sat down next to her. ¡°Hey, you okay?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°What? I mean, yeah, I just¡­I¡¯ve never been in a place with this many high-leveled abilities being thrown about willy-nilly.¡±


    Lilith nodded, laying a comforting hand on Lia¡¯s arm. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s overwhelming, I know.¡±


    ¡°You think it¡¯s overwhelming?¡± Lia asked incredulously. ¡°Surely you¡¯re more used to this than I am.¡±


    ¡°Admittedly, yes, I am quite familiar with this sort of thing.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Battles against my tutors often went like this. But, in the beginning, I was just as overwhelmed as you are.¡±


    ¡°I find that hard to imagine.¡± Lia said. ¡°You¡¯re so¡­so¡­cool and collected.¡±


    Lilith shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve been through a lot., and I¡¯ve learned to just sort of take things in stride. For you, just do your best and everything works out.¡±


    Lilith stretched a hand forward, casually using a spell to stop one of Rose¡¯s roots from coming near the two of them.


    ¡°Easy for you to say.¡± Lia said sulkily. ¡°I feel so powerless right now, I can¡¯t participate in much of our war because I¡¯m too weak while being a huge target, and I have to just watch everyone go while I stay back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m from the future, remember?¡± Lilith said. ¡°I know it works out. You told me it works out.¡±


    ¡°What? I did?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You mentioned this frustration before, but said that you were able to find your place after a while. You may not have totally caught up to Rose and Amelia by the time we met, but you¡¯re pretty comparable nowadays.¡±


    ¡°I¡­am?¡±


    Lilith smiled. ¡°Yes. You did us a favor and converted a¡­how do I put this¡­big project Jerry had been working on and had previously gifted to Kali, then gave her a soul and sent her back to us. Well, after Jerry removed the swarm conditioning and the capability to make modeling wax or convert things.¡±


    ¡°I find it hard to believe that a conversion would give me so much power.¡± Lia said dubiously.


    ¡°Levia was an exception among exceptions.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Imagine an entire system self-contained within a monster that would be able to give me a real fight, even if I use my instant-kill stuff. That¡¯s what you converted. I imagine that, given a few months, you¡¯ll be well on your way to eclipsing both Rose and Amelia in terms of power, you¡¯re still pretty low-leveled in that evolution.¡±


    Lia stared blankly at Lilith. ¡°You¡¯re not poking fun at me, right?¡±


    ¡°Nope, serious as the grave. She¡¯s my daughter now, by the way, and I¡¯m super, super grateful to you for helping bring her into our lives.¡±


    ¡°Jerry could have just as easily ¨C¡±


    ¡°She couldn¡¯t.¡± Lilith said, cutting Lia off. ¡°Believe it or not, you are the best and most experienced soul-giver our faction has, by a lot. It¡¯s an¡­innate talent of yours.¡±


    ¡°But¡­when people are born¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mostly automated and the soul is wiped clean. You preserve the memories, which is incredibly hard to do. In fact, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve told you this in these parties, but I myself was an attempt at a reincarnation like you do. It¡­didn¡¯t work right; my soul was split into two, my memories were irreversibly lost, it was a huge mess. You managed it on your first try, on accident. Believe me, I hold a great deal of respect for you and your abilities, and just about everyone else does as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Lia said quietly.


    There was a buzz, indicating the round was over. Lilith stood, offering a hand to help Lia to her feet. ¡°Chin up, okay? You¡¯re gonna do great.¡±


    Lia accepted the hand, but the gesture ended up being mostly meaningless, as the two were teleported back into the lobby before Lia could finish getting up. As they did, Amelia gave a sigh of relief, rushing over to Lia. ¡°There you are!¡± She said. ¡°I hadn¡¯t seen you in a while and was getting worried.¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah, I was a little overwhelmed, but Lilith helped calm me down and keep me from the worst of it, so it¡¯s fine now.¡± Lia said.


    Amelia stopped, then turn to Lilith. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said, nodding her head in acknowledgement. ¡°I appreciate you being there for her when I wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more than happy to help.¡± Lilith said. ¡°You guys are my friends in the future, and it hurts me to see you hurting. Anyone would do the same, really.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s reassuring to know we¡¯ve made such a potent friend.¡± Connie said. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just me, all of us are friends in the future.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°There¡¯s a reason this group was picked to be together for the party.¡±


    There was a silence, then Tess spoke. ¡°Well¡­that¡¯s probably enough laser tag for now, then. Perhaps we should try something less stimulating for a bit?¡±


    ¡°Mini golf?¡± Eve suggested. ¡°It should keep us moving but it¡¯s not exactly¡­hard work.¡±


    ¡°That sounds good.¡± Lia said. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Mini golf?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very simple game, I¡¯ll explain it to you on the way over.¡± Rose said.


    And so the rest of the evening went. They played a few more games together, watched a movie, and generally ended up chatting until, finally, Lilith felt the sort of tugging that indicated that the party soon would be over.


    ¡°Right, well, I suppose I¡¯ll see you all at the next party, and, failing that, I¡¯ll see you all¡­well, for me, probably tomorrow, for you guys¡­decades to a few years, depending on when you¡¯re from.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Pleasure hanging out with you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Kali said. ¡°It was a lot of fun!¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Eve said. ¡°Keep up the good work.¡±


    Lilith turned the page, stifling a yawn as she did. After a moment, she blinked, frowning down at the page. It felt like she was missing something, like something really important had slipped her mind, but she couldn¡¯t fathom what that would be.


    She focused on the sensation for a while but it continued to elude her. So, she wrote a quick reminder to herself to think on it later, but for now she needed a break. Maybe she would get up, have some food, and check up on her daughters¡­whatever the case, she put a bookmark in the workbook then closed it, turning out the lights as she left the study to continue the rest of her day.

 Chapter 15: Anxieties Assuaged

    Aria shifted from foot to foot nervously, not quite sure what was going to happen next. After she had met Levia the previous night, she had gone to go distract Mai while Levia ate, but Nuwa told her that introductions would have to wait until the morning and that Levia had gone to bed. Then, in the morning, her mothers had called for a family-only meeting to introduce Levia, making Aria even more nervous.


    Something big had clearly happened, but Aria just wasn¡¯t sure what. Maybe Levia gone rogue, or accidentally ruined something important or¡­something. Whatever it was, though, Aria was sure it wasn¡¯t anything good. Then, finally, the wait was over; the door opened, and Eve stepped in, carrying Aria¡¯s sister. Wait¡­sister? That was¡­was¡­


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sure you all felt it.¡± Eve said, interrupting Aria¡¯s train of thought. ¡°This is Levia, and we¡¯ve officially made her into our daughter. We weren¡¯t expecting to, but when we offhandedly told it was a possibility, she jumped at the chance. We gave her some time to cool down and her determination only grew, so we went forward with it.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡± Mai breathed, rushing over to Eve and Levia. ¡°We get a younger sister? Awesome! I¡¯m Mai, your big sister, nice to meet you!¡±


    ¡°Um, hi.¡± Levia said shyly. ¡°I¡¯m Levia. Um¡­thanks for allowing me into the family.¡±


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you just the cutest little thing?¡± Jessica, one of Aria¡¯s grandmothers, said. ¡°I¡¯m Grandma, it¡¯s nice to meet you!¡±


    ¡°And you can call me Nana.¡± Siph, the other of Aria¡¯s grandmothers, continued, smiling broadly. ¡°And if you ever want to spend time with us, just let one of your moms know and we¡¯ll be right there.¡±


    Levia looked over at Mike, the last of Aria¡¯s grandparents. He gave her a smile and crouched down so he was at her eye level. ¡°I¡¯m Grandpa, and while I¡¯m not as excitable as your grandmothers, if you ever want to talk to anyone about anything, I¡¯ll be here for you.¡±


    Then, to Aria¡¯s surprise, Levia¡¯s eyes began to water. ¡°T-thank you.¡± She stuttered, reaching up to wipe her eyes. ¡°I¡­I¡­sorry for crying, I¡¯m just really happy to meet you. I always wanted a family, and now, I, I¡­¡± Levia wasn¡¯t able to finish, devolving into full out tears before she could.


    ¡°There, there.¡± Mai said, standing on her tiptoes so she could pat Levia¡¯s head. ¡°We¡¯re gonna be the best family you could ever ask for.¡±


    ¡°Do you want a hug?¡± Jessica asked, holding her arms out.


    Levia nodded, wriggling out of Eve¡¯s arms before rushing into Jessica¡¯s. ¡°Thank you, Grandma.¡± She said. ¡°I love you.¡±


    After a few moments, Aria cautiously approached Levia. ¡°Um¡­hi.¡± She said. ¡°If I had known last night I wouldn¡¯t have run away.¡±


    ¡°Last night?¡± Levia asked. ¡°I¡­don¡¯t remember, sorry.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Aria said, unsure how to feel about that. ¡°Um, then did you¡­?¡±


    ¡°She went through the same thing you and Mai did.¡± Eve confirmed. ¡°And she knew exactly what she was getting into with it. She only found out about the possibility after you left, though, so it wasn¡¯t something you could have known about.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Mai said, shooting Aria a quizzical glance. ¡°You met her last night and didn¡¯t tell me?¡±


    ¡°Um, sort of?¡± Aria said. ¡°I was getting a snack and we talked for a bit. Um, Mom was going to introduce her that night so I wanted to wait until they were ready, but then apparently, she made her choice and we delayed to this morning?¡±


    Levia stopped hugging Jessica and nervously approached Aria. ¡°I¡­I¡¯m sorry if I made you mad.¡± She said, looking down. ¡°I know I did something really selfish. I hope that we can still be friends.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Aria asked, taken aback. ¡°Um, no, I¡¯m not mad at all, just surprised.¡± She tentatively reached out for a hug, and Levia happily obliged. ¡°I¡¯m¡­happy, I think. I always thought it would be nice to be a big sister, I just wasn¡¯t expecting it to be¡­now.¡±


    Yes, now that the surprise was wearing off, Aria was increasingly sure this was good news. Levia seemed like a calm kid, and that was something that Aria was really missing; she loved Mai and Carmen, but she couldn¡¯t keep up with their energy, and they couldn¡¯t sit still long enough to enjoy stuff like reading. Aria wanted someone around her age that she could share books with, and she had a suspicion that Levia might be that person.


    And, hugging Levia now, Aria felt an odd desire to protect welling up within her. She hadn¡¯t really understood how Winston, her previous self, had felt about keeping people safe until this very moment, but now she did. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll keep you safe.¡± She whispered, almost unconsciously. It just sort of¡­escaped from her mouth without her realizing it.


    ¡°I¡­I think that¡¯s my job.¡± Levia said. ¡°I, um, don¡¯t remember much, but I feel like I need to do that.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Aria said stubbornly. ¡°You¡¯re my little sister, and it¡¯s the big sister¡¯s job to protect the little sister.¡±


    ¡°Um, okay.¡± Levia said. ¡°If you say so, it must be true.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± Mai said. ¡°We¡¯re gonna be the best big sisters ever and that means we have to keep you safe.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Levia said, letting go of her hug and going over to hug Mai. And, after a few moments of that, she proceeded to go and hug each other person in the room in turn, a contented smile on her face as she did. And, the more Aria watched, the more Levia grew on her; things were going to shake up, but that was fine. All Aria needed to do was watch over her little sister and make sure nothing happened to her. And if that meant tapping into her power as a Perfect Chimera¡­then that was what she¡¯d do.


    <hr>


    Fortunately, introducing Levia to the dungeon¡¯s inhabitants went smoothly. The only concern with the family had been Aria, and she had warmed up to Levia pretty quickly, and those who weren¡¯t part of the family didn¡¯t mind at all. That only really left Jerry, and Lilith had to admit she was a little nervous about that; after all, they had wildly departed from the original idea of what Levia would be.


    Before they had begun their work on Levia, Lilith had let Jerry know that they needed a bit more time that day, and that things would need to be postponed, and now it was finally time to begin. She kept a careful eye on things, waiting for the moment Jerry requested access to their universe, then let Jerry in.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Ah, that was quick.¡± Jerry said, appearing alongside Amelia. ¡°I wasn¡¯t keeping you waiting, was I?¡±


    ¡°I was only here for a minute or two.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Been a bit of a busy day.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I ask why?¡± Jerry said curiously.


    Lilith kept herself from gulping as she looked at Jerry. ¡°Well, one thing led to another and Levia wanted to go through the same process Mai and Aria did, and then for us to adopt her. We gave her some time to cool her head and she wanted to go through with it, so we did.¡±


    To Lilith¡¯s surprise, Jerry smirked. ¡°Yeah, once she sets her mind on something, she¡¯s not the type to stop.¡± She said. ¡°How¡¯s she settling in?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s over the moon about it.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Keeps talking about how much she always wanted a family and is so happy to have one.¡±


    ¡°Well, she deserves it.¡± Jerry said. ¡°She had a tough life back on my planes. I¡¯m glad she¡¯s settling in okay.¡±


    ¡°Sorry that we¡¯ve deviated from the original plan.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure she¡¯s going to be up to protecting anything for a decade or two.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got time for that.¡± Jerry said, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting her to fully acclimate to her new body for significantly longer. This is, in a way, the ideal situation; she forms a much deeper attachment with this universe than she would otherwise have, and she gets to acclimate in a much more natural fashion.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Lilith said, motioning for Jerry to follow as she led her and Amelia towards the study room. ¡°Well¡­good. I also took a look at some of the eldritch stuff like you asked. And we realized that we might have let my parents slip through the cracks, so Kali¡¯s checking them now. Oh, and I think you¡¯ll be interested to know that Levia has some modifications too.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating.¡± Jerry breathed. ¡°I checked her before I sent the soul over, and she was clean. It¡¯s likely that my perception was blocked on that for some reason, but I suppose we¡¯ll never really know for sure. Anyway, how¡¯d your examinations go? Can you read the abilities?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know what they mean, but I can understand bits and pieces by using what you¡¯ve taught me as a base. I see¡­more than Kali does, if that makes sense.¡±


    Jerry¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I see.¡± She said. ¡°We¡¯ll need to have you focus on deciphering that, then; it¡¯ll be imperative in our future work.¡±


    ¡°Already on it. We made a new Parallel named Pandora who will be focusing on that avenue of things full time. We¡¯ll introduce you later, but for now just know that she wants an exhaustive list of all Mana constructs you¡¯ve made and what they do that she can use for reference.¡±


    ¡°Does this stuff even work like normal stuff?¡± Amelia asked disinterestedly. ¡°Seems like it¡¯s doomed to fail to me.¡±


    Lilith shrugged. ¡°Maybe? Some of it does, at least, and we¡¯ve been able to identify one of my abilities from constructs we¡¯ve seen in our study. It¡¯s like¡­if normal Mana constructs are two dimensional, then these ones are four dimensional. That¡¯s not totally accurate, but I don¡¯t think we have an accurate way to describe what I¡¯m seeing. Just know that we¡¯re almost completely confident that we can reverse engineer my abilities given enough time.¡±


    ¡°You recognize some of the constructs?¡± Jerry asked curiously. ¡°That¡¯s strange, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s a single standard way to make them, for them to use the same constructs as me is¡­unlikely, unless they purposefully did so. Perhaps they were trying to leave you hints?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Pandora¡¯s theory is that they want us to be able to make our own eventually, and they¡¯re using this as training.¡±


    ¡°My thoughts exactly.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Would you mind if I went to talk to her immediately after dropping off some materials for you? It seems that the two of us have quite a lot to talk about.¡±


    Tell her I¡¯ll meet up with you guys. Pandora said. I¡¯d like to talk with Jerry as well.


    ¡°She says she¡¯ll meet up with us.¡± Lilith relayed. ¡°It seems she wants to talk with you too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Jerry said, rubbing her hands in anticipation. ¡°I¡¯m dying to learn more. In the meantime, would you mind reading Amelia¡¯s Mana just to see if you can access her eld¨C¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Amelia said firmly. ¡°That¡¯s my Mana, and I don¡¯t want people unnecessarily looking at it in case something goes wrong. I didn¡¯t really have a choice with you, but whether or not she can read my eldritch stuff doesn¡¯t make any difference until she¡¯s skilled enough at reading it to do something with that information.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Jerry said. ¡°I¡¯m sure one of the others would be happy to oblige, we can wait a while until they¡¯re available.¡±


    ¡°Really.¡± Amelia said flatly. ¡°You¡¯re really going to try and pull that on me?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Jerry asked, frowning deeply.


    ¡°Obviously I wouldn¡¯t be fine with someone reading their stuff, either, you¡¯re just trying to use them to get me to agree, aren¡¯t you?¡± Amelia replied venomously.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it at all.¡± Jerry said quickly. ¡°If you don¡¯t want her looking at you or your lovers, that¡¯s fine too. I can just ask people from Amy¡¯s planes, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Well, don¡¯t do something like that in the future, I won¡¯t stand for it.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Jerry promised. ¡°I prefer to keep our relationship good.¡±


    Lilith bit back the urge to ask what Amelia could do if push came to shove, and just gave a nod. ¡°For the record, I won¡¯t try anything like that either. If I ask for something and you say no, that¡¯s the end of it, I won¡¯t pester you any further.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Amelia sniffed. ¡°I don¡¯t have patience for these types of games.¡±


    The group fell into a silence until they reached their destination a half minute or so later. Thankfully, Pandora and Kali were already inside, and they were able to break the awkward silence.


    ¡°Jerry, it¡¯s so good to meet you as myself!¡± Pandora said warmly, rushing over to the group. ¡°I¡¯m Pandora, and I¡¯m super pumped to work with you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Jerry said, giving her a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure the two of us have a lot we can learn from each other. Would you mind giving me few minutes to get these two set up before we go to work?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll wait as long as you need. Just lemme know when you¡¯re ready and we can start.¡±


    ¡°Kali, will you help out as my substitute for today?¡± Jerry asked.


    ¡°Me?¡± Kali asked, surprised. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly a paragon of system design, you know.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be, we¡¯re just going over the basics of plane management. We can¡¯t start on system work until they know what the aim is and some things they need to keep in mind.¡± Jerry replied. She held out a hand, and a few papers appeared within her grip. ¡°Here are my lecture notes, you should be more than capable of teaching the stuff within.¡±


    Kali accepted the papers. ¡°Um, I¡¯m going to need a few minutes to look these over.¡± She said. ¡°You two just sit tight for a minute, okay?¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Amelia harumphed. ¡°But I don¡¯t see why I need to know this stuff, I¡¯ve already made a system that fixes a lot of the problems with current systems.¡±


    ¡°And that system needed my fine tuning to truly shine.¡± Jerry reminded her. ¡°And that only modified an existing system; to design a truly robust system from the ground up you need to do a lot of planning around concepts you didn¡¯t even know existed back then.


    ¡°I¡¯m confident that, with knowledge of the basics, you can design a system far more potent than any I¡¯ve made, but we need to make sure you¡¯re addressing the right things first. Of course, if there are priorities you feel aren¡¯t properly addressed or are meaningless, do let me know and we can discuss them; we¡¯re trying to avoid getting stuck in the rut of conventional designs, but we need to have reasons for these departures.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this over with, then.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your cooperation.¡± Jerry said, giving her a smile. ¡°I promise it¡¯ll be worth your while.¡± With her piece said, Jerry went over to Pandora, and the two of them began an animated conversation on eldritch Mana structures.


    Since Lilith was currently waiting for her wife to finish reviewing the lecture notes, Lilith took a seat and motioned for Amelia to do so as well. ¡°We have some time,¡± Lilith began, ¡°so why don¡¯t you tell me a little more about yourself and Lia? I understand that you did some rather incredible things for the sake of love, and I¡¯d really like to see what sort of person would motivate someone like you to do such crazy things. I¡¯d ask Lia herself, but I get the feeling she¡¯d downplay her good points, so I want to go to the expert on the subject, so to speak.¡±


    ¡°Why do you care?¡± Amelia asked, a smidge less coldly than usual.


    ¡°I just want to understand.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I want to know you and her better; she sounds like an exceptional person, and I can¡¯t get the full picture by just asking her what she thinks of herself; she seems to think less of herself than those around her do.¡±


    ¡°Got that right.¡± Amelia snorted. ¡°But, fine, we have time to kill so I¡¯ll bite. It all started when we were young¡­¡±

 Chapter 16: Planar Planning

    Amelia was midway through a rather animated retelling of a tale from her childhood when Kali asked if they were ready to begin the lesson. Lilith hadn¡¯t been super interested in the details of how Amelia and Lia had met, or, at least, not interested in this level of detail, but she was still glad she asked. She had finally gotten Amelia to open up about something in conversation, and she hoped that it was the first step in becoming friends with the woman.


    Amelia didn¡¯t seem like a bad person, per-se, just¡­prickly, especially towards Jerry. And, from what Connie had told Lilith, she had every right to be; the systems that Jerry had put in place on Amelia¡¯s home plane had had a severe negative impact on Amelia¡¯s life until recently, effectively robbing her of all emotions except for a select few she made herself with Worship.


    And, between that and being seen as no more than a tool by those in power, Amelia had cultivated a mindset of trusting no one but herself and a very select few, and especially distrusting those in positions of authority. According to Connie, Amelia was essentially ¡°in rehab¡± as Amelia¡¯s lovers worked on slowly improving her mindset and getting her accustomed to real emotions. They were apparently near the end of the process, but Amelia was still learning to trust, as her behavior towards Lilith had shown.


    ¡°Can I finish this story?¡± Amelia asked, looking up at Kali with an annoyed expression.


    ¡°Take your time.¡± Kali said patiently. ¡°We¡¯ve got all day.¡±


    Amelia finished her story, and finally it was time for the lesson to begin. Kali shot a glance at Pandora and Jerry, who were still talking animatedly in a corner, then moved over to the globe that controlled where the viewing room they had appropriated as a study was located. After a moment, the surroundings outside the room morphed into that of a misty forest, high up on some mountain.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to look at the new plane for now, so I figured something relaxing would be best.¡± Kali explained. ¡°So, let¡¯s start from the very basics. Amelia, what is the goal of running a plane?¡±


    ¡°To get more Worship and a stronger army, I guess?¡± Amelia replied disinterestedly.


    ¡°You¡¯re half-right.¡± Kali said. ¡°If we in were one of the other factions, you would be completely right, but not for us. Our main concern is the wellbeing of the people we preside over; Worship and armies are simply byproducts of this. We need that Worship and those armies in order to ensure the safety of our people, but we otherwise have no real need for them.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but we¡¯re going to be in a war.¡± Amelia pointed out. ¡°And we¡¯re explicitly doing this to power ourselves up in preparation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but we have to think about after the war, too.¡± Kali replied patiently. ¡°We don¡¯t want to end up with planes full of miserable people just because we need to win. If we do, then we¡¯re no better than the other factions. There are still plenty of ways of strengthening planes without becoming dictators or creating death worlds like the other factions do.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, I guess.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°To that end, when designing our plane, we need to be very cognizant of the environment and what kind of challenges it imposes upon potential residents. Foremost among those challenges is, of course, monsters; generally, a good way to start is to take measurements of the average strength of monsters on the plane over the course of a long time, but Jerry¡¯s already done that, so we don¡¯t need to repeat the process.


    ¡°Then, you consider how you¡¯re using the plane. This plane will be kept separate from my others for the time being, but often planes are integrated into a preexisting network of planes. Unfortunately, on large planes like the one we¡¯re using, keeping it separate is harder than plugging it into an existing network; people are significantly weaker than their potential when their society has yet to develop, and the monsters that appear on large planes are stronger.¡±


    ¡°So¡­we need to create some sort of safe harbor for them, then?¡± Lilith asked slowly. ¡°But we¡¯ll also need to make sure they don¡¯t just¡­stay there forever like what happened in Haven.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Kali said. ¡°And that¡¯s where the real difficulty comes in. We need to make a space that can safely harbor people as they begin to develop proper societies and culture, but there has to be some reason to push beyond that boundary.


    ¡°There are a few ways to go about that, but most of those methods involve work once civilization is established, so we¡¯ll focus on what we can do now.  Fortunately for us, that¡¯s the fun part of planes like this; we need to carefully sculpt the plane¡¯s ambient Mana and design an ecosystem such that we have the safe haven we need.¡±


    For the first time since Lilith had met her, Amelia looked genuinely intrigued. ¡°How?¡± She asked. ¡°I tried for ages to change ambient levels of Mana but I could never get anything to stick.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s to be expected.¡± Kali said. ¡°To get the Mana to stay the way you want it to, you have to modify all the areas around it, too. If you wanted to arbitrarily raise an area¡¯s ambient Mana, you¡¯d need to decrease the ambient Mana in the areas surrounding it, and then you¡¯d need to hold it in place for a while.


    ¡°This is really, really hard to do normally, since it requires near constant attention, but through millennia of trial and error, Jerry developed tools we can use to hold the Mana in place for us. Still, mistakes happen and they¡¯re expensive to fix, so to minimize those mistakes, we need to carefully map out what we want this plane¡¯s Mana to look like.


    ¡°Which brings me to the other part of plane design; we need to create an ecosystem that works with the Mana field we want. The concentration of Mana in an area will drastically change what can survive there, and so if we want certain kinds of life to be in an area, we have to consider the Mana as well.


    ¡°Now, you can mostly just seed the planet with the beginnings of life and let evolution do its thing, but in our faction, we often like to make sure a set few species emerge, to ensure that people have relatively stable sources of food. Think stuff like grains, vegetables, fruits, livestock¡­lots of staple foods will be the same in most planes in our faction, simply because they¡¯ve been proven to work and simplify the process of making sure people can eat.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Ah, I wondered why I was seeing familiar foods in other planes.¡± Amelia mused. ¡°I suppose that would have to be purposeful thinking back on it, but I hadn¡¯t dwelled on it at the time, I was too busy.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Kali said. ¡°So, we need to foster an environment where those plants and animals can get established without local flora and fauna outcompeting them. They¡¯re pretty hardy by default, but they do need a bit of a push. Usually, we provide that by making a ¡®cradle¡¯, an area with an extremely low level of ambient Mana for the plane, but that comes with its own issues. Lilith, can you guess what one of those issues is?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Lilith thought on that for a moment. ¡°People who live there will be weaker than everyone else?¡± She ventured. ¡°Since they¡¯ll be born somewhere without a lot of Mana.¡±


    ¡°Half credit.¡± Kali said. ¡°Regardless of where someone is born on a plane, their base level of Mana remains relatively the same. And, in fact, as long as the plane someone is born on has a permanent connection to another plane, they¡¯re born with the same amount of Mana as they would if they were born on the plane with the highest base Mana in the system.


    ¡°And by permanent connection, I don¡¯t just mean a portal between the planes; there¡¯s a special¡­grouping feature that Administrators have access to, allowing them to group planes together. The way our systems work hijacks this mechanism in part, meaning that, at least for our faction, all grouped planes must use the same system. It¡¯s entirely possible to have planes with permanent portals connecting them that aren¡¯t ¡®grouped¡¯ in this way, but we don¡¯t like to do that.¡±


    ¡°And why not?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°It¡¯s worked just fine for us.¡±


    ¡°The swarm is different. Jerry has done some rather complicated work to allow multiple systems to be on a plane, but your system sort of¡­cannibalizes theirs, it¡¯s not something that would work in the long term.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try it.¡± Jerry called out, looking away from her conversation with Pandora. ¡°I could only barely manage to do it, and that¡¯s only because I know exactly how the mechanisms they co-opt work and exactly how the system does said co-opting. It¡¯s also super Worship intensive, and I¡¯m operating on a net-negative gain of Worship right now, so it¡¯s not something I can keep up for more than a few decades.¡±


    ¡°There you have it.¡± Kali said. ¡°But, back to the topic at hand, people who are born there aren¡¯t weaker, but people who are raised there are; there¡¯s not as much ambient Mana to absorb and not as many strong monsters to fight, so growth is slowed. And if we let civilization start there, they¡¯d be deathly afraid of leaving.¡±


    ¡°They still could, though.¡± Amelia pointed out. ¡°Eventually someone would try and then things would snowball and they¡¯d leave.¡±


    ¡°Amelia, for the entire history of your plane until you appeared, people avoided that one area you set up shop in.¡± Kali replied. ¡°You were only able to live there because you were so much stronger than everything else that it wasn¡¯t an issue for you. Holing up in a safe area is a well-documented phenomenon, and one I experienced myself with Haven. So, how would you suggest we get around that?¡±


    ¡°Make some event that forces them out?¡± Amelia hazarded. ¡°If the problem is that they won¡¯t leave, then we just make them leave.¡±


    ¡°But if we do that, then they won¡¯t be strong enough to survive.¡± Lilith pointed out. ¡°We¡¯ll just be driving them to slaughter.¡±


    ¡°As long as some of them live, that¡¯s enough.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Once they repopulate then the problem will be solved.¡±


    ¡°And what would Lia think of that plan?¡± Jerry asked, once again looking away from her conversation. ¡°Ask yourself what she would suggest in this situation.¡±


    Amelia frowned. ¡°Right.¡± She said. ¡°Well¡­in that case, we don¡¯t necessarily have to start them in the cradle, right? We can just make small cradles that aren¡¯t suitable for sizeable habitations, and have society develop in a somewhat stronger area that isn¡¯t too overwhelming. It¡¯ll be a lot slower, sure, but I suppose it¡¯s safer.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Kali said. ¡°But, in doing so, we have to be very careful in the early stages of their development. We¡¯ll likely need you or Lilith to move behind the scenes in times of crisis so we avoid them being wiped out completely.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t they just move once they find these cradles, then?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°After a generation or two we¡¯d be in the same situation as before.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes they try, but we can incentivize them not to.¡± Kali said. ¡°One popular way is to make the cradles small enough that they aren¡¯t enough to sustain more than a city. Then, even if some people do move, others will be forced to stay behind. And, so long as we nudge the right people towards the cradle, we can get them to bring back the species they find within for use elsewhere. They¡¯ll need a little push to bring back livestock, since that¡¯s more complicated than plants, but there are plenty of ways to do that.¡±


    ¡°So, can we start talking about how to sculpt ambient Mana now?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°This big picture stuff is nice, but I think we get the gist, and we can¡¯t actually do anything about that until we know how to sculpt that Mana.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s your first mistake.¡± Kali said. ¡°Even just changing the ambient Mana in one area has effects that can ripple out to the entire rest of the plane. In almost all situations, you want to have a detailed plan for the final Manascape of an entire plane before you even think about doing any modifications. Still, you do have a point; we should start talking about how Mana works on a planar level. Amelia, I imagine you know much of this already, but please feel free to interject if you have a question or correction. So¡­when outside of a soul and in the absence of Mana constructs, Mana flows from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration¡­¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Ugh, you have no idea how glad I am to be home.¡± Amelia said, giving Lia a huge hug. ¡°It was so boring today. I learned a couple of new things, but for the most part it was just stuff I already knew.¡±


    ¡°Good job at sticking with it.¡± Lia said, happily returning the hug. ¡°I know it¡¯s boring, but Lilith does need to get up to speed on things.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know.¡± Amelia said. ¡°It¡¯s just that it¡¯s all so basic, so I usually just end up sitting there bored out of my mind. It¡¯s getting a little frustrating.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m proud of you for being patient. Have there been any fights or anything?¡± Lia asked. She was a little worried, given Amelia¡¯s temperament, but Amelia had made great strides in the past couple of years, so Lia was hopeful that nothing big had happened.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve been trying hard and we¡¯ve been fine. Actually, I had a long chat with Lilith before the lecture today, and I think we started to get a long a little.¡±


    ¡°Really?! What about?¡± Lia asked, pleasantly surprised.


    ¡°You, actually.¡± Amelia replied. ¡°About our past, what kind of a person you are, that sort of a thing. And, by the way, she thinks that you undervalue yourself too, so it¡¯s not just us; everyone around you can see it but you.¡±


    Ah, that made sense. Lilith must have been using the topic of Lia to break the ice, and it seemed to have worked. And, if that was the case, Lilith probably talked Lia up a bit more than she otherwise would, just to keep the conversation running smoothly.


    Regardless, Lilith had made a huge first step; Amelia warmed up to people relatively fast once the initial wall had been breached, so Lia was sure things would only get better from here as long as Lilith didn¡¯t do anything to make Amelia angry in the near future.


    ¡°Amelia, you¡¯re back!¡± Rose said warmly, walking into the room. ¡°Connie and I have dinner ready, why don¡¯t you come eat and you can tell us all about it?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Amelia said, letting go of her hug with Lia before giving one to Rose. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 17: A Cordial Visit

    Rose brushed herself off as she arrived at Kali¡¯s planes once again, accompanied by Amelia, Lia, and Jerry. They had, of course, invited Connie, but she had been busy tending to matters at home, so she had declined.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Lilith said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Lia and Rose? To what do I owe the pleasure?¡±


    ¡°We were hoping to talk with you after the lesson.¡± Rose said. ¡°It was simply more economical to bring everyone here at once, so Lia and I brought a couple of books that we can use to pass the time whilst we wait.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t want to talk with this me specifically, Eve would be happy to talk with you.¡± Lilith suggested. ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, it¡¯s basically the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, I forgot about your whole¡­alternate personality thing.¡± Lia said, looking up at Rose. ¡°Well, that suits us just fine, I think.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that works, thank you.¡± Rose said. ¡°We appreciate you giving us some of your time.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even mention it.¡± Lilith said, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°I like to socialize, and Eve¡¯s just watching the kids today, so she has time to chat. You two just chill here and she¡¯ll come pick you up in a minute, okay? I¡¯m gonna go take these two to our lesson room.¡±


    ¡°Thanks again.¡± Lia said. ¡°What should we do when we¡¯re done talking?¡±


    ¡°Assuming you¡¯re heading back together with Amelia and Jerry, you can go explore the place or do basically whatever you want in the dungeon, so long as you don¡¯t cause any trouble. When it looks like it¡¯s time to wrap things up, Nuwa will get a hold of you. You can talk more about it with Eve when she gets here.¡±


    With that, Lilith took Amelia and Jerry away, leaving Rose and Lia on their own in the empty room they had appeared in. They weren¡¯t alone for long, though, as only half a minute later an angel girl walked in through the door Lilith had left through. ¡°¡®Sup.¡±  She said.


    ¡°¡®Sup?¡± Rose asked. ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    Eve blinked. ¡°Right, I forgot, sorry. It¡¯s slang here, it stands for ¡®what¡¯s up¡¯, it¡¯s just an informal greeting, kind of like updog.¡±


    Lia frowned. ¡°Updog? What¡¯s updog m ¨C?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much, how about you?¡± Eve said, shooting Lia a pair of finger guns. ¡°Classic joke from here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­oh, it¡¯s ¡®what¡¯s up¡¯ with dog at the end.¡± Lia said. ¡°What do dogs have to do with this?¡±


    ¡°Dawg, d-a-w-g, is just another way of referring to someone informally here.¡± Eve explained. ¡°Don¡¯t know where it started, but hey, that¡¯s just the way the cookie crumbles.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re doing this on purpose, aren¡¯t you?¡± Rose asked, chuckling.


    ¡°Yeah, I sure am, figured it¡¯d help break the ice since Lia seemed a little nervous.¡±


    ¡°I-I did?¡± Lia asked.


    ¡°Yeah, you hid it before I got here but I saw it through Lilith before you did.¡± Eve said. ¡°Got all jumpy when I was mentioned. I¡­didn¡¯t do something to offend you, right?¡±


    ¡°No, s-sorry.¡± Lia replied. ¡°I¡¯m just a bit nervous around the Lord of Monsters still. I know it¡¯s a bit silly since we¡¯ve already dealt with one and have rather good relationships with them now, but you grow up your whole life fearing something and it just sort of¡­sticks.¡±


    ¡°If it helps, don¡¯t think of me as one.¡± Eve suggested. ¡°Because I¡¯m really not, not in the same way that you¡¯re thinking. I was born and grew up as a normal person just like everyone else, and just took this up as a side gig for convenience¡¯s sake. I spend ninety-nine-point nine percent of my time as an adventurer and a mother.¡±


    Lia paused, looking Eve up and down. In response, Eve aged up suddenly, going from a childlike appearance to a fully adult one in a matter of moments. ¡°I know, I¡¯m not very motherly like that.¡± She said, her voice a touch deeper than it had been before. ¡°I use this when I take them out or when I do anything¡­adult.¡±


    She returned back to her normal age, flashing Lia a smile. ¡°This is for confusing my enemies and everyday use. I find being really distinct from Lilith to be easier on everyone involved.¡±


    ¡°I¡­see.¡± Lia said.


    ¡°We should probably take this talk somewhere comfier.¡± Eve suggested. ¡°This place is way too¡­bare.¡±


    ¡°What is this place, by the way?¡± Rose asked curiously.


    Eve turned and motioned for them to follow. ¡°It used to be Kali¡¯s old residence. The equivalent of whatever Connie lived on. Then she moved into the dungeon, and it became unused. We haven¡¯t moved the default plane entry point yet, and I¡¯m not sure we will until after the war, so it might be good to get familiar with how to get to the dungeon from here.¡±


    Rose raised an eyebrow, but followed Eve anyway. ¡°You say that as if we can just come in uninvited.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you or Kali would be there to escort us most any time we come here.¡±


    ¡°I mean, yeah, there¡¯s that, but consider this my formal permission to come over whenever you want, whether or not you check with us beforehand. One of us will have to let you in, yes, but one of us is awake at any given moment and it doesn¡¯t take more than half a second to let you in.¡± Eve said, leading them down a hall as she talked.


    ¡°I was thinking that we might as well make this place a hub for those of us that have been touched by the eldritch.¡± Eve continued. ¡°I think building close bonds between us is the way to go, and the dungeon has basically anything you could ever want with the added benefit of being extremely private. This invitation extends to your family and close friends too, but if they¡¯re not Higher Beings it¡¯ll probably be a bit tricky.¡±


    ¡°As tempting as that sounds, I¡¯m not sure we can afford the Worship costs to just¡­come over whenever we want.¡± Lia said.


    ¡°Based on my studies, I¡¯m pretty sure there are ways around that.¡± Eve said, opening a door and gesturing for them to step inside. ¡°This is a teleporter room, it¡¯ll take us to near one of the living rooms.¡± She explained. ¡°The dungeon is too big to walk everywhere all the time.¡±


    Once everyone was inside, she pressed a button on the wall, then opened the door to reveal an entirely different room, decorated much like the ¡°modern¡± rooms Rose had seen after the swarm invaded other planes. There was plush carpet, several couches centered around tables or stands upon which large and thin black boxes rested. Eve walked over to one of the couches and collapsed into it, waiting for the others to do the same.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Once Rose and Lia sat, she continued. ¡°Anyway, as I was saying, I think there¡¯s a way to pay a lump sum so you can travel to a set of planes whenever you want, perhaps even a way to allow us to mark you as an ¡®auto-accept¡¯ so you can just come in without our having to give the okay.


    ¡°Though, I¡¯d have to make sure we could revoke those privileges, since if your powers are any indication, there are some potential mind-control shenanigans going on and we¡¯d want to make sure you couldn¡¯t just come in if you were compromised. But¡­I¡¯ve been talking for too long, you two came to talk about something, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah.¡± Lia said awkwardly. ¡°We, um, wanted to check in on how Amelia is doing, make sure she¡¯s not being too much of a bother. And, uh, to thank Lilith for her efforts in getting along with Amelia.¡±


    Eve nodded, crossing her legs. ¡°I¡¯m not going to sugarcoat it, Amelia¡¯s been a bit of a pill.¡± She said, then raised a hand to forestall further comment. ¡°If you don¡¯t have that saying, it means that she¡¯s been grumpy and irritable. But, as much as she¡¯s been a pill, me, Lilith, and the rest of the Parallels sympathize; much of what our lessons are about currently is stuff she already knows. It¡¯s kind of hard to expect anyone to be excited to review this sort of thing for hours every day.


    ¡°We also understand that she¡¯s in a unique situation due to her position as a Hero on your planes, and that she¡¯s still not quite fully developed emotionally. Given the circumstances, we think she¡¯s been relatively well-behaved. Really, all it boils down to is her making some snide comments at times, but if we couldn¡¯t handle snide comments then we wouldn¡¯t be cut out for the position we¡¯re in.


    ¡°That all being said, Lilith¡¯s been paying a bit of attention to this conversation in the back of her mind, and she wants to say that she appreciates that you notice her efforts. She also wants to know if either of you have any advice on how to help keep things going smoothly.¡±


    ¡°Talking about Lia, Connie, or I is a good start.¡± Rose said. ¡°As self-centered as it may sound, her world essentially revolves around the three of us. I don¡¯t know if she told you all the details, but she¡¯s magically enhanced her feelings towards the three of us as a way to combat some of what being a Hero did, and even now that she¡¯s feeling again, we remain her number one priority.¡±


    ¡°And, um, you might have to talk us up a bit more than you actually think of us, like you did with me.¡± Lia added. ¡°I ¨C¡±


    Eve rolled her eyes, holding up a hand. ¡°Let me stop you right there.¡± She said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what exactly Amelia told you, but unless she dramatically misrepresented the conversation, we didn¡¯t talk you up at all, Lilith truly meant what she said. Look, Lia, it¡¯s nice that you don¡¯t have a big ego when you literally rule multiple planes, but that doesn¡¯t do you good if you underestimate yourself.


    ¡°I¡¯m not one to give false complements, and I think that there is a lot to you that you simply aren¡¯t giving yourself credit for. Combat power isn¡¯t everything, and you¡¯ve done an admirable job for someone who was thrust into things with little warning. And even if power was everything, I have absolutely no doubts that you¡¯ll be able to catch up to the rest of us quickly. So just¡­listen to others when they give you a compliment, okay?¡±


    ¡°See?¡± Rose said, giving Lia a smirk. ¡°We told you it¡¯s not just us.¡±


    ¡°I¡­guess.¡± Lia said. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Eve replied. ¡°But I did rather rudely cut you off, so please continue what you were saying.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, um, basically, I¡¯ve found that people other than us have a lot more success talking to Amelia when they don¡¯t tell her ¡®no¡¯. You have to sort of¡­it¡¯s hard to describe, but basically subtly disagree instead of outright saying she¡¯s wrong. It¡¯s something we¡¯re still trying to work on, but she¡¯s stubborn and doesn¡¯t like to admit when she¡¯s wrong, so telling her that she is will often turn the conversation into an argument.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that sounds about right.¡± Eve said. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Other than that, just¡­don¡¯t be rude, I guess.¡± Lia said. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any sensitive topics other than badmouthing the people she loves, and once she likes you, she gets a lot easier to talk to. So¡­just keep at it and it¡¯ll eventually become easier. Oh, and you and Lilith will probably have to ¡®make progress¡¯ separately. I don¡¯t know how connected you two are, and Amelia probably doesn¡¯t either unless it directly impacts her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a hard question, to be fair.¡± Eve said. ¡°If you ask Lilith, she¡¯ll tell you that we¡¯re basically different people. If you ask the rest of us Parallels, we¡¯ll tell you we¡¯re more or less the same underneath it all. For your purposes, just know that anything you tell any one of us will be relayed to the others in real time. And, at the end of the day, we share our memories including how each of us felt in the moment, so¡­yeah, a lot more connected than any two normal people, but we¡¯re not exactly the same, either.¡±


    ¡°I think I get it.¡± Rose said. ¡°You get all the same stimuli, but react to them differently. I suppose if the topic comes up you can just tell her that you¡¯re sort of like Ophelia or Nailah if their bodies had separate personalities. She¡¯ll get the picture.¡±


    ¡°Good to know.¡± Eve replied. ¡°Well¡­anything else?¡±


    Rose shared a glance with Lia. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± Rose said. ¡°Not on the subject of Amelia, anyway. I was sort of wondering how Levia was doing, though.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Eve said, face cramping slightly. ¡°About that¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Lia said quickly. ¡°I can tell her off for you, that¡¯d probably make things easier for you.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± Eve said quickly, waving her hands in front of her. ¡°She¡¯s been a delight. It¡¯s just that things have¡­changed since you last saw her.¡±


    ¡°Changed in what way?¡± Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Well, I mean, the thing is, one thing sort of led to another and she sort of wanted us to adopt her and we said yes?¡± Eve ventured. ¡°And in the process, we might have reduced her to a more childlike state? She did ask for it though, we wouldn¡¯t have done it if it wasn¡¯t what she wanted.¡±


    Rose and Lia stared at Eve for a few moments. ¡°What?¡± Lia finally said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s weird, I know.¡± Eve sighed. ¡°How this even ended up being an option is a long story, but she said she had always wanted a family and we had been thinking about having a third kid for a while so everything just sort of lined up. But¡­I think it¡¯d be easier to show you than to explain, do you want to see her?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah, I guess?¡± Lia said.


    ¡°Alright, give me two minutes and I¡¯ll be back with her, okay?¡± Eve said, standing up and hurrying over to the door they had come into the room from.


    Once she was gone, Rose turned to Lia. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I wasn¡¯t expecting that.¡± She said. ¡°I can¡¯t help but be curious what she¡¯s like, though. You said she felt rather overwhelming when you converted her, so I¡¯m having a hard time imagining what a childlike version of that is.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Lia said. ¡°But¡­I think she wasn¡¯t trying to be overwhelming? She just sort of¡­was. She just had a presence about her, you know? Kind of like Matthew did when we fought him, but less controlled.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Rose said. ¡°Though I suppose that Lilith and the Parallels would probably not be affected by something on that level; they¡¯re clearly a few steps above Matthew as is.¡±


    They chatted for a couple minutes more, and then the door to the teleporter room opened again. Eve stepped through, followed closely by a young girl who looked remarkably similar to the two children Rose had been introduced to during her first visit to this plane.


    ¡°This is Levia now.¡± Eve said, turning to Levia. ¡°Levia, do you remember these people?¡±


    Levia nodded shyly and approached Lia. ¡°Um, Miss Queen, thank you.¡± She said. ¡°I, um, I¡¯m really happy now thanks to you.¡±


    Lia stared at her in wonder for a few moments, then smiled. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, but I really didn¡¯t do all that much.¡±


    ¡°No, it had to be you.¡± Eve said. ¡°You¡¯re the best our faction has at giving people souls, stop selling yourself short.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what Mama said!¡± Levia added.


    ¡°See?¡± Eve said. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna argue with such a cute little girl, right?¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine.¡± Lia said. ¡°Levia, how are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Really, really, really good!¡± Levia said happily. ¡°I always wanted a family and now I have one! I¡¯m gonna grow up big and strong and be the best protector the world¡¯s ever seen!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will.¡± Lia said, still smiling. ¡°Just be a good girl and listen to your mothers and you¡¯ll get there in no time, alright?¡±


    Levia gave a nod, then turned to Rose. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t think I remember you, sorry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite alright.¡± Rose replied, giving Levia an encouraging smile. ¡°We never met, so I wouldn¡¯t expect you to recognize me. I¡¯m Rose, one of Lia¡¯s wives.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Levia said brightly. ¡°I think I heard Mom mention you before! It¡¯s nice to meet you!¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you too, Levia. Lia and I are going to be staying until Amelia leaves, so if it¡¯s alright with your mama, I think it might be fun if you showed the two of us around.¡±


    Levia turned to Eve. ¡°Can I, Mama?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Sure, but only if I come too.¡± Eve said. ¡°So, where would you like to show us first?¡±


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s this really cool play place that Mai took me to¡­¡±

 Chapter 18: Faction Meetings

    Amy shifted nervously, letting in Administrator after Administrator as they requested access to her planes. It was finally time for the faction wide meeting she had called to discuss the impending war, and she couldn¡¯t help but worry about how it would go.


    After much discussion with Jerry and the rest of their ¡°inner circle¡±, a group which would soon be expanded to include the adults that had been touched by the eldritch, they had decided that it would be too risky to divulge the full extent of what was happening to the faction at large. Amy would like to believe that it was an unnecessary precaution, but¡­just hoping for something wasn¡¯t enough, not when the consequence for being wrong was the total eradication of their faction.


    Yes, almost every single Administrator in the faction had been handpicked for their integrity, but as some of Amy¡¯s gods could attest to, time had a way of changing people. And, if even one Administrator leaked this information, they would lose their head start, and their chances of winning the war would decrease dramatically.


    So, they had instead chosen to go with something close enough to the truth that the faction could make preparations, but far enough from it that no important information would leak in the event there was a traitor in their midst. And, since it didn¡¯t really matter to the average Administrator that the eldritch was involved, they had chosen to leave that aspect of the story out of it altogether.


    Their cover was that they had received information from one of the newer neutral Administrators that had prompted them to go on an investigation. From this investigation, they had drawn the conclusion that there was a high chance that the other factions were gearing up for something big.


    It wasn¡¯t an uncommon occurrence in the grand scheme of things, with a scare popping up once every millennium or so, so it wouldn¡¯t set off alarms for any of the other factions. They might become warier themselves if they catch wind of it, but Amy doubted it would be to a significant enough level that it would matter in the grand scheme of things.


    It rubbed her the wrong way, lying to her faction members like this, but that was the unfortunate nature of their situation. Until she could be absolutely and completely sure that no info would leak to the other factions, she couldn¡¯t afford to put out information that could potentially compromise their position.


    As the last of the Administrators filed in, Amy took a deep breath and walked over to a microphone. She launched into her prepared speech for the vent, carefully surveying the assembled Administrators as she did. None of their reactions seemed to be out of the ordinary, there was the usual concern and even a couple looks of boredom, but nothing that would worry Amy.


    As usual, once she finished talking, she opened up the floor to questions and answered those she could, and the whole thing wrapped up within an hour or so. After it ended, she waited for almost everyone to leave, then met up with Jerry and Kali. ¡°So, did you two see anything? She asked.¡±


    ¡°All¡¯s quiet.¡± Jerry said. ¡°As far as I can tell, everyone seems to think it¡¯s just a regular alert.¡±


    ¡°Same.¡± Kali said. ¡°But¡­do you really think we might have a traitor in our midst?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t discount the possibility.¡± Jerry said gravely. ¡°Not when so much is at stake. I know it seems harsh, but that¡¯s the reality of war.¡±


    ¡°I understand, I was just¡­surprised.¡± Kali said. ¡°I¡¯ll still need time to get used to this way of thinking.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s perfectly fine.¡± Amy said. ¡°It¡¯s distasteful, and I hate it too. You don¡¯t need to get used to it, just¡­tolerate it. Hopefully we¡¯ll be through this war in a couple thousand years, but¡­until then we¡¯ll have to put up with it. So, hang in there, all right?¡±


    Kali nodded. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll try.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Now, we¡¯ve kept you from your wives for too long, go get some rest, okay?¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ve kept you from your research.¡± Amy said. ¡°Let¡¯s call it a day here and we¡¯ll meet again soon, okay?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Kali said. ¡°See you later.¡±


    <hr>


    And so, a few months passed. Lilith learned about common pitfalls Administrators experienced, accumulated knowledge on the basics of plane manipulation, and, most importantly, got hands on experience with small-scale versions of the plane manipulation techniques she was taught.


    Over that period of training, things went both better and worse than Lilith had hoped. On the one hand, Levia had integrated with her new life better than Lilith had expected, and everyone else quickly grew to love her. Furthermore, they had figured out how to make it so people only needed a one-time sum of Worship for free travel to their planes, and had successfully gotten those from the other planes to come and hang out more.


    But, on the other hand, her relationship with Amelia had sort of stalled. Amelia hadn¡¯t gotten more hostile, but she also hadn¡¯t gotten any friendlier either.


    Lilith tried using the techniques that Lia and Rose had told her, but that didn¡¯t really lead anywhere. She could get some good conversations going, but outside of those conversations Amelia was the same as she always was. Still, Lilith wasn¡¯t discouraged; after further discussion with Lia, Rose, and Connie, Lilith had come to the conclusion that it currently wasn¡¯t a great time for bonding with Amelia. Amelia wasn¡¯t very happy with being brought over every day for lessons on stuff she either already knew or wasn¡¯t interested in, and that resulted in her being rather grouchy and not in the mood to make friends.


    By the estimation of Amelia¡¯s wives, though, her mood would probably take a turn for the better once they started actually applying the stuff they had learnt. She was apparently significantly easier to talk to when she was in a good mood, and Amelia had told them she was looking forward to getting near-total freedom during the system creation process, so Lilith was cautiously optimistic.


    But that would have to wait; a few days ago they had finished up the book learning and small-scale experiments that Jerry had assigned them, and Jerry had called for a short break while she worked on something with Pandora. Lilith and the other Parallels were burning with curiosity, but Pandora had elected to detach herself from the near-constant sensory link the others were in for the duration of those few days, and didn¡¯t share her memories, either.


    Lilith had been surprised at how fast Jerry and Pandora had bonded; nowadays it seemed like, outside of lesson time, the two were together for at least half of the day, working on some problem or another. What they were working on varied from day to day, but broadly fit into one of three categories: Pandora attempting to chart out eldritch constructs in a way that was sort of almost understandable to people who couldn¡¯t see them, further exploring some of the discoveries Amelia had made, or working on long-unsolved problems and equations that Jerry knew of.


    Whatever they were doing, though, they seemed to find the work fulfilling, and having a partner seemed to help speed up the process. According to Pandora, they were simply making the most of the fact that the two of them were in the same location anyway to do some work together, and once Jerry wasn¡¯t coming over every day, she would return to working alone.


    The whole experience was disorienting in a way that none of the other Parallels had been; while Lilith received the knowledge that Pandora had, and even received the feeling of having made those strides, she also felt like the more she saw of the process, the more she was sure she couldn¡¯t do it. It was just strange, feeling like she had no way of doing something while simultaneously doing that thing.


    And it wasn¡¯t because Pandora was inherently smarter than her or anything, Lilith and the Parallels shared all their knowledge so each of them was theoretically just as smart as any of the others, but that Lilith simply didn¡¯t think in the ways that were required for that sort of work. Setting the enjoyment of the work aside, Pandora made logical leaps and guesses that would take Lilith significantly longer to stumble across.


    Lilith supposed that, in a way, that could be called being more intelligent, but it was only limited to this one specific topic; if the subject was, say, computing, then Mae or Nuwa would be significantly more adept, while Lilith and Eve beat all three of them in social situations. Regardless, Lilith was exceedingly glad that they had chosen to make Pandora, because she was sure they would be significantly farther behind in their understanding of the universe had they not.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    And, apparently, she and Jerry had made some big breakthrough or something, and it had turned into something of a production. From the bits she had managed to pry from Pandora, it seemed that Jerry had invited all of the Administrators from their faction to attend a presentation she was holding on Amy¡¯s planes.


    Not hosting it on Jerry¡¯s own planes had sounded weird to Lilith, but apparently it was simply a matter of convenience; Amy had infrastructure to handle so many Administrators coming and going, and had become the de-facto meeting place for any sizable gathering of Administrators from their faction.


    This presentation was to be held in a couple of hours, so Lilith was currently on her way to talk with Kali about etiquette and other things she might need to know about travel to other universes. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t take too long to find Kali, who was currently relaxing in one of the living rooms.


    ¡°Oh, Lilith, good to see you.¡± Kali said, looking up from the book she was reading. ¡°Are you ready to go?¡±


    ¡°Sort of, but I had a few questions.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Like¡­is there anything I should know about going to other universes?¡±


    Kali shrugged. ¡°It should mostly be pretty straightforward, I think?¡± She said. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about being rude, we treat it the same as we would going to someone else¡¯s house. I plan to be with you and Eve most of the time, so don¡¯t worry about making a faux pas, just be yourself and it¡¯ll work out.¡±


    ¡°And¡­about the process itself, how does that go?¡±


    ¡°Think of it like teleporting.¡± Kali suggested. ¡°I mean, it is teleportation, but in terms of how you actually do it the process is really similar. If you make a mistake the spell will just fizzle, so that won¡¯t be a problem, either.


    ¡°The only thing I might want to warn you about is that most people experience moderate discomfort their first few times in other universes, but it should go away after a you¡¯ve traveled for long enough. It won¡¯t be debilitating or anything, though, so just keep a stiff upper lip and you¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s kind of like¡­like you¡¯re suddenly put into an environment with much greater pressure than you¡¯re used to, like you went to the bottom of the sea¡±


    ¡°Would you mind teaching me a bit now? I¡¯d like to practice before we do the real thing.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Kali said, conjuring a bookmark and sliding it into her book before placing it down. ¡°So, first you start with a basic teleportation circle¡­¡±


    <hr>


    Lilith braced herself as the teleportation went off, preparing for the uncomfortable feeling Kali had described earlier. Yet, to her surprise, it didn¡¯t come, at least not in the severity she had been expecting. It was little more than a minor annoyance, and even that went away after only a few seconds.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Kali asked worriedly, looking Lilith up and down. ¡°It¡¯s not too overwhelming, right?¡±


    Lilith shook her head. ¡°I felt funny for a couple of moments, but I feel perfectly normal now.¡± She said, reaching out a hand and experimentally casting a small spell. ¡°Yup, nothing out of the ordinary.¡±


    ¡°I thought that might be the case.¡± Jerry said, walking over to the two of them. ¡°Pandora reported similar feelings, and we believe it to be due to the nature of Perfect Chimeras. They¡¯re significantly more adaptable than either of us had expected, and we¡¯ve got a couple of suspicions we¡¯re looking into in the moment, but we¡¯re not going to say anything until we¡¯re sure we¡¯re not just seeing things that aren¡¯t there.¡±


    ¡°Aunt Kali, Aunt Lilith!¡± Amara, Maven¡¯s distant grandmother and one of Kali¡¯s less distant nieces, exclaimed, rushing over to them. ¡°It¡¯s so good to see you!¡±


    ¡°Ah, Amara, perfect timing.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Do you mind if I give Lilith some of your Mana?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    ¡°For a little test. Don¡¯t worry, Pandora and I have made sure it¡¯s safe.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Amara said, turning to Lilith. ¡°Are you okay with this?¡±


    ¡°If Pandora and Jerry say it¡¯s safe, then I have no issues with it.¡± Lilith replied.


    Jerry gave a nod, then laid a hand on Amara¡¯s arm. She held it there for a moment, then brought the hand over to Lilith and placed it on one of her arms. A strange, unfamiliar warmth flowed from Jerry¡¯s fingertips, spreading throughout Lilith¡¯s body before dying down after only a second or so.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s as we thought.¡± Jerry said, eyes sparkling with curiosity. ¡°Fascinating.¡±


    ¡°What is?¡± Lilith asked.¡±


    ¡°Do me a favor and check your status.¡± Jerry said enigmatically.


    Lilith tried, but she felt an odd resistance, and the status refused to pop up. ¡°It¡¯s not appearing.¡± She said.


    ¡°Use a tiny bit of Worship.¡± Kali suggested ¡°We¡¯re in another universe, remember? Our system doesn¡¯t reach this far so we have to use Worship to access it.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Lilith said. She reached into her reserves of Worship, but before she could do anything she felt a sort of¡­snapping, and a window appeared in front of her.


    <table style="width: 100%; border-style: solid" border="5" width="100%">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 99.8989%" colspan="4" width="623">


    Name: Lilith Clements


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 99.8989%" colspan="4" width="623">


    Level: #^*!%$ (^$#/#$ EXP)


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 33.1648%" width="208">


    HP: 12,205.60/12,205.60


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 33.5693%" colspan="2" width="208">


    Stamina: 10,944.44/10,944.44


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 33.1648%" width="208">


    MP: 17,327.05/17,327.05


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 33.1648%" width="208">


    Power: 1,666.66


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 33.5693%" colspan="2" width="208">


    Defense: 1,530.11


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 33.1648%" width="208">


    Agility: 1,613.48


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 33.1648%" width="208">


    Magic: 2,423.45


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 33.5693%" colspan="2" width="208">


    Magic Defense: 2,201.56


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 33.1648%" width="208">


    Luck: 1,501.09


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 99.8989%" colspan="4" width="623">


    Growths


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 99.8989%" colspan="4" width="623">


    HP: 107.3/111.7/115.1/120.9/150.7


    Stamina: 103.7/107.4/110.0/116.1/144.3


    MP: 155.1/160.4/165.1/169.6/221.2


    Power: 10.5/13.7/15.6/16.2/25.5


    Defense: 10.1/11.4/14.8/17.2/26.1


    Agility: 10.4/11.1/13.4/16.0/24.6


    Magic: 20.9/21.7/25.3/28.9/35.9


    Magic Defense: 19.4/20.2/24.1/27.7/34.0


    Luck: 12.3/13.3/17.4/18.8/26.8


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 99.8989%" colspan="4" width="623">


    Skills


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 99.8989%" colspan="4" width="623">


    #$*%#


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 49.9494%" colspan="2" width="312">


    Classes:


    #*))%


    </td>


    <td style="text-align: center; width: 49.9494%" colspan="2" width="312">


    Titles:


    %$^(*


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°What in the world¡­¡± Lilith breathed. ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Jerry, what are you doing?!¡± Amy asked, appearing out of nowhere. ¡°My system started setting off alarms, and¡­¡± she trailed off, looking at the window in front of Lilith. ¡°Why? How?¡±


    ¡°I gave Lilith some of Amara¡¯s Mana and asked her to open her status.¡± Jerry said calmly. ¡°It would appear she has gained the ability to access your system. Don¡¯t worry about the alarms, Pandora and I did it with my systems and it¡¯s perfectly safe.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Amara said. ¡°That¡¯s not¡­huh?¡±


    Amy sighed, reaching a hand up and pinching the bridge of her nose. Her slime visibly distorted, then snapped back to its original shape the moment she stopped pinching. ¡°Lilith, if you¡¯re wondering, this is the screen people in my universe see when they look at their status, and it¡¯s very broken. It¡¯s trying to read the data from your soul, and it¡¯s not directly compatible; it¡¯s a miracle it¡¯s as legible as it is.¡±


    Amy rounded on Jerry, grabbing one of her pointy ears and beginning to tug her away. ¡°You¡¯re coming with me, missy.¡± She said. ¡°Stop messing with things and let these folks have their family reunion.¡±


    ¡°Uh, right, as I was saying, it¡¯s really good to see you two!¡± Amara said. ¡°How have you been?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been hectic.¡± Kali said. ¡°You know how it is, what with¡­everything. I¡¯ve had to start making preparations to change my system again as well as work on integrating a new plane, so I¡¯ve been busier than usual.¡±


    Amara nodded. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve been busy too. It¡¯s been a long time since any of us have had to deal with anything on this scale, so we¡¯ve been working hard getting everything back up to snuff.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Kali said. ¡°How are things with Paumen?¡±


    ¡°Going great.¡± Amara said. ¡°Taru¡¯s continued to do a fine job as king, and the people are happier than ever. Recently, he¡¯s been working on easing democratic systems into the government, much to the horror of his father.¡±


    ¡°High time someone did it.¡± Kali snorted.


    ¡°He decided to strike while the iron was still hot, so to speak. He figured that if the matriarchal system was changing, then it would be a good time to sneak some other progressive stuff in. Though, I won¡¯t lie, Maven, Tess, and Ellie have not been insignificant elements in these changes; Tess and Ellie in particular have brought an outside perspective to him and helped him realize that democracy can work, even in a society with unaging people.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, where are they?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°I figured Maven would be around too if you were, but I haven¡¯t seen her or her wives.¡±


    ¡°Some stuff came up on Mael and they had to go deal with it, but they should be getting here any moment now.¡±


    ¡°Anything concerning?¡± Kali asked. ¡°We can help if you need.¡±


    ¡°Just monsters bunching up near some unprepared cities.¡± Maven said, walking up from behind Amara. ¡°Mael is still lagging behind militarily and every so often we¡¯ll catch wind of some potentially catastrophic monster spawns and have to go deal with it. Fortunately, there are three of us and the monsters that spawn on Mael are nowhere near strong enough to challenge even one of us, so we can split up.¡±


    ¡°Good work out there.¡± Kali said. ¡°How are things?¡±


    ¡°Overall going well, though the gods and Appointed have been much busier since we¡¯re preparing to shift the gears into subtly preparing people ready for war.¡±


    ¡°If I can help with anything, let me know.¡± Kali said. ¡°I¡¯m more than happy to help.¡±


    ¡°Aunt Kali, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re even busier than we are.¡± Maven said, smiling slightly. ¡°We can handle things, don¡¯t worry. Anyway, do you two know what we¡¯re here for?¡±


    ¡°No idea.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Pandora¡¯s been pretty secretive about it, so we just know it¡¯s something big.¡±


    ¡°Well, the wives want me to save some seats for us, would you like to come?¡± Maven asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯d love to sit next to you instead of some strangers.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Kali said. ¡°Lead the way!¡±

 Chapter 19: On the Nature of Worship

    Lilith, Kali, Maven, and Amara had just gotten to their seats when Tess and Ellie arrived. ¡°Aunt Lilith, do you know what this is about?¡± Tess asked curiously.


    ¡°Not much, except it¡¯s something big.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Pandora¡¯s been pretty cagey about it, she hasn¡¯t been sharing her senses or memories with the rest of us for the past few days.¡±


    ¡°Surely you must have some idea, though.¡± Ellie said. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine this would have happened overnight.¡±


    Lilith scratched her chin thoughtfully. ¡°Unfortunately, Pandora and Jerry have about ten different things that they¡¯ve been working on that would be big enough. We can probably scratch off eldritch stuff, I don¡¯t think they were particularly close to any breakthroughs there, but that only knocks off like five things.¡±


    ¡°Sheesh, that much?¡± Ellie said. ¡°They¡¯ve been busy, haven¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They apparently want to make the most of the time when Jerry is coming over every day to do research together. Once the whole plane-building lesson business is completed, they¡¯re planning to go back to researching separately most of the time. I think they still intend to do joint research sessions once a week or so, but not every single day like it has been recently.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s nice to see Jerry find someone she connects with so well.¡± Amara said. ¡°I think the company is doing her good, and it certainly seems to be doing her research good, if this whole event is any indicator.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty clear that she¡¯s been having a blast with Pandora.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I can¡¯t say that I personally enjoy the research process, but that¡¯s part of the reason we made Pandora in the first place.¡±


    ¡°To tell you the truth, I used some personality traits from Jerry as inspiration when I was crafting Pandora¡¯s personality.¡± Kali said. ¡°Mostly in respect to her attitude towards research. I guess it¡¯s not a huge surprise that they¡¯re getting along so well, especially since Pandora¡¯s a bit more¡­¡± Kali paused, clearly searching for the right word, ¡°easy to work with than Jerry. Socially speaking, she takes after Lilith more than Jerry, and I think that probably makes her a better lab partner. If they were both exactly like Jerry then I don¡¯t think their partnership would work out.¡±


    ¡°Well, as long as everyone¡¯s happy, I see no reason to complain.¡± Maven said. ¡°How are things at your place, by the way? I haven¡¯t been able to drop in as much as I would have liked.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re going great.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Levia¡¯s fit in real nicely, and I think everyone¡¯s enjoyed having more people over, it¡¯s a real breath of fresh air. Just the other day Lia and ¨C¡±


    Lilith was interrupted by the sound of Jerry clearing her throat, magically amplified so as to reach the whole of the large audience chamber they were in. ¡°Thank you for taking time out of your days to come here.¡± She said. ¡°I promise you that you will find it worth your while. First off, I would like to take a moment to introduce my research partner, Pandora.¡±


    Pandora, having moved on from being an arachne and now taking the form of a lamia, slithered onto the stage. ¡°Hello everyone!¡± She said brightly, voice amplified just like Jerry¡¯s. ¡°My name is Pandora, and I¡¯m one of Lilith¡¯s Parallels. If you¡¯re not familiar with our situation, well, it¡¯s complicated, but for now just know that I¡¯m one of the many facets of one of Kali¡¯s Higher Beings. Recently I¡¯ve been researching all kinds of things with Jerry, and we¡¯re happy to say that we¡¯ve made a rather important breakthrough!¡±


    Jerry nodded, snapping her fingers and causing a large machine to appear next to them. ¡°Specifically, we¡¯d like to say that we have finally proved Mana-Worship equivalence!¡± She paused for a moment to let that sink in. ¡°We¡¯ve postulated for many millennia that the two are connected in some fundamental way, but thanks to Pandora we were able to successfully turn Mana into Worship!¡±


    A murmur washed across the room at that. Even Lilith found herself a little stunned; she couldn¡¯t think of a bigger breakthrough they could have made. Depending on how efficient the process was, being able to turn Mana into Worship had the potential to change life as they knew it, effectively trivializing one of the biggest resource bottlenecks Administrators faced.


    ¡°Unfortunately, this process if not yet practical for day-to-day use.¡± Pandora said. ¡°It takes a significant amount of time and effort, and is by no means efficient, but it is possible for anyone to do. It is our hope that you all will take some time to experiment with it, and hopefully find something slightly more efficient in the process.¡±


    ¡°To that end, we¡¯re going to a do a demonstration.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Behind me is a Worship measurement device, calibrated to read out the Worship Pandora has on her. For the sake of this demonstration, she¡¯s cut herself off from most Worship she has access to, so there should be little to no background Worship muddying the results."


    Pandora laid a hand on the device, and a screen near the top displayed a ten. ¡°As you can see, I have ten units of Worship at the moment.¡± She said. ¡°Now, Jerry has with her some Blood Money, which she will be handing to me momentarily. I¡¯m sure most of you are familiar with it, but for those that aren¡¯t, Blood Money is a warped, distorted, and heavily diluted form of Worship created by Amelia, one of Jerry¡¯s Higher Beings.


    ¡°It is notable for being received not from the usual channels, but when the holder of a specific ability kills another creature, regardless of whether or not that creature has a soul. Their internal Mana is siphoned and converted into Blood Money, and we estimate that it takes around fifty thousand or so Blood Money to equal the power of one unit of raw Worship. In terms of the Mana used, that comes out to somewhere in the ballpark of twenty or thirty million standard Mana units to a single unit of Worship. Jerry, if you would?¡±


    Jerry laid a hand on Pandora¡¯s arm. ¡°I am transferring fifty thousand units of Blood Money to Pandora right now.¡± She informed the audience. ¡°Notice how it does not register upon the device.¡± She removed her hand, and true to her word the device didn¡¯t register a change in Pandora¡¯s Worship stores.


    ¡°Now comes the tricky part.¡± Pandora said. ¡°I have identified several key parts of the structure of Blood Money that, when removed, start a chain reaction. This does away with the trappings of the Blood Money, stripping the extraneous information away from it and converting all units of it in your possession into raw Worship.


    ¡°Due to my nature, I am able to cheat a little at this process and do it significantly faster than normal, but rest assured that this is possible for everyone, it will just take longer. I¡¯m going to begin this process now, and while I do, Jerry is going to talk a little more about what we¡¯ve found.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Jerry said. ¡°You see, just the existence of Blood Money itself is meaningless for proving Mana-Worship equivalence; the tech behind it was something of a black box for a while, and it was entirely possible that the worship that was being ¡®created¡¯ was simply bits of my system being siphoned and turned into something else.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°However, with Pandora¡¯s help, I was able to demystify the process, and confirm that the kernel of Worship contained within each unit of Blood Money is indeed produced from raw Mana. And, once we knew how the creation of Blood Money worked, it only took a little while longer to create a process that didn¡¯t require any of the other effort that went into obtaining it; no ability or killing required, simply raw Mana and someone proficient in the methodology.


    ¡°I have a large number of instruction manuals and workbooks that I will be handing out to each of you after this meeting, that will guide you through the processes we¡¯ve created. Once you have worked through that material, you should be able to both extract Blood Money from raw Mana and convert it into usable Worship.


    ¡°This may seem daunting, but we have had several of my Higher Beings go through these books, and most were able to pick it up within a day or two of practice. With that in mind, I am confident that all of you will have little issue learning this process, but do know that I am more than happy to help give advice if you¡¯re struggling. Just be aware that I am quite busy at the moment, and it may take some time for me to get back to you, but I will get back to you and help you out.¡±


    ¡°Finished!¡± Pandora said brightly. And, true to her word, the counter on the device ticked up from a ten to an eleven. ¡°Currently this process is rough; we would like to be able to skip the Blood Money stage and transition directly to Worship, but in the short time since we¡¯ve made this breakthrough, we have not yet been able to do so.


    ¡°Still, we are very confident that it is possible to skip the Blood Money stage; in the conversion to proper Worship, we are simply exploiting quirks in the end structure of Blood Money to reduce it to its true state, we aren¡¯t actually changing the material to Worship. That happens in the creation of Blood Money itself, and we think that there is something in the creation process that we simply have yet to be able to isolate and deduce what is responsible.¡±


    Jerry gave a nod. ¡°With that in mind, we would ask each of you to spend just a small amount of time tinkering with things once you¡¯ve learned the process; we do not need you to spend days on end grappling with this, but just a bit of time here and there. And, if your Higher Beings can do so as well, that would be optimal, though we understand that many are busy and won¡¯t have time for it, so it¡¯s by no means required, just nice to have.


    ¡°Once you have, please send a report to me or Pandora on what you have tried and the results, and we¡¯ll send updates out periodically on our findings. Our hope is that having so many different eyes on the problem will help us unravel this mystery just a bit faster, and we appreciate any cooperation you can give us. And¡­that is all we have prepared for you today. Please proceed to the stage in an orderly fashion, and I¡¯ll hand out the practice material to each of you.¡±


    An excited murmur filled the room as the audience stood, and Lilith was about to stand as well, but was interrupted by another set of senses sliding into her awareness. Hey, I¡¯m back! Pandora said. You don¡¯t need to get up, obviously, you¡¯ll be receiving my memories of the thing tonight, so no worries there. How many people are with you, though? I¡¯m going to come say hi and I might as well bring the books with me.


    Lilith did a quick headcount. Five others. She said. Maven, Tess, Ellie, Amara, and Kali.


    Perfect, be there in a sec.


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t need to get up.¡± Lilith told everyone. ¡°Pandora¡¯s bringing stuff to us.¡±


    ¡°Oh, did she finally rejoin the connection?¡± Kali asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I sure did!¡± Pandora said, teleporting next to Lilith with a stack of books in her arms. ¡°And boy am I glad to be back; I¡¯d forgotten how lonely it is to be on your own.¡±


    ¡°You know, some of us live like that all the time, Aunt Pandora.¡± Amara said, smiling wryly.


    ¡°Well, be glad you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re missing.¡± Pandora said, beginning to hand books out to everyone. ¡°It¡¯s like having two computer monitors; once you upgrade from one, you never want to go back.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the rest of us would feel that way.¡± Maven said, smiling slightly as she accepted her book. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the rest of us would be pretty overloaded.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the swarm have a few people like that, though?¡± Ellie asked. ¡°They share a similar sentiment, apparently.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but they¡¯re all¡­different.¡± Maven said. ¡°You know, like¡­all hopped up on Amelia¡¯s modified system, who knows what shortcuts it¡¯s using to make things easier. And even then, they don¡¯t have multiple personalities, just multiple bodies, I think.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourselves.¡± Pandora said with a shrug. ¡°Anyway, what did you think of the presentation?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m kinda floored.¡± Tess said. ¡°I knew something was in the works with Blood Money, but with how Jerry had been talking, I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be unraveled for decades yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m cheating, remember?¡± Pandora said, tapping her head. ¡°I¡¯ve got that whole comprehension thing going on, and this process doesn¡¯t use any eldritch stuff in it, so I got to read it all. It still took quite a while to get through, the thing was incredibly complicated, but we were able to skip years of work thanks to that bit of cheating. After that was just trial and error, and a little bit more cheating to determine how best to unpackage the Worship.¡±


    ¡°So¡­you mentioned you get to make the unpackaging process faster, right?¡± Amara said curiously. ¡°Is it enough for you to use personally?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid to say it¡¯s not.¡± Pandora said. ¡°While it would be faster than just waiting on natural Worship gain, that¡¯s only because our planes have so few people. And even though spending all day doing this would triple the personal Worship supply for Lilith and us Parallels, it¡¯s not even half as much as what Kali gets, and we just don¡¯t need that Worship at the moment. Our time is better spent on other things.¡±


    ¡°That bad?¡± Amara asked.


    ¡°That bad.¡± Pandora confirmed. ¡°Like we said, this whole thing just isn¡¯t practical to use right now unless you are doing nothing else and desperately want an extra point of Worship every half day or so. But this is only the early stages of this, we¡¯re really hoping that in the next few decades or centuries we¡¯ll be able to get the process into a significantly more practical state.¡±


    ¡°But not for now.¡± Kali said, grabbing Pandora¡¯s hand. ¡°You have been far too distant these past few days. The kids and I really want to spend some time with you, so for all of tomorrow you¡¯re going to be with us, okay?¡±


    ¡°I suppose I can take time out of my busy schedule.¡± Pandora said, sighing theatrically as she leaned down to give Kali a kiss.


    Lilith let them kiss for a moment, then broke them up. ¡°Okay you two, we should probably stop flirting in front of our nieces.¡± She said.


    ¡°You guys are cute.¡± Maven said, smiling fondly. ¡°It makes me really happy to see you like this.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re sweet.¡± Kali said, walking over to pull Maven into a hug. ¡°It makes me feel lucky to have such good nieces.¡±


    They chatted for a while more, and then Kali turned to Amara. ¡°Amara, I realized I never formally invited you over to my place like everyone else.¡± She said. ¡°You are free to come over at any time you want, no warning, no nothing. If you want, we can show you how to pay a lump sum of Worship so that you won¡¯t have to use any more to go between our planes, and then you can just show up.¡±


    ¡°But what if you¡¯re asleep or something?¡± Amara asked. ¡°I¡¯d hate to wake you up if I came at a bad time.¡±


    ¡°At least one of the Parallels is awake at all times.¡± Pandora said. ¡°We should pick up your request within half a second. But, yeah, we¡¯ve got a lot of unused space in the dungeon and we¡¯re trying to turn it into a sort of hangout place for everyone so¡­involved in the situation. And, of course, though you may not have any¡­additions, you¡¯re family, and we¡¯d love to have you over whenever.¡±


    ¡°Well, that does sound pretty nice.¡± Amara said. ¡°How much Worship are we talking about for the lump sum?¡±


    ¡°Around thirty.¡± Kali said. ¡°A little steep, we know, but it¡¯s for the rest of time and the hope is that it¡¯ll pay for itself if you come over enough.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Amara said, a hint of disappointment in her tone. ¡°I¡¯ll need to save up a little, then.¡±


    ¡°Here, this should help.¡± Pandora said, transferring some Worship to Amara. ¡°Consider it your allowance.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Amara said gratefully. ¡°Thank you!¡±


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s all just extra Worship I got in the process of testing this junk out.¡± Pandora said. ¡°So really it¡¯s no biggie, it was just laying around. It¡¯s certainly worth having family come over more often. Now, if you would like, I could teach you how to pay that sum now, it¡¯s not hard.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡± Amara said.


    ¡°Perfect. So, first, pretend you would be going to the plane normally¡­¡±

 Chapter 20: Attempting to Remember

    Lilith frowned as she looked down at the note she had left on her chair, an uncomfortable itch in the back of her mind as she read. She was forgetting something important, and it wasn¡¯t just an idle thought; she knew deep in her gut that whatever she had written this note about was something that she couldn¡¯t afford to forget.


    It was made all the more maddening by the fact that none of the Parallels remembered what it was. What was even weirder was that Eve also had the sensation, but none of the other Parallels did. Pandora and Jerry postulated that there had maybe been some event that only Lilith and Eve were part of, and it had somehow prevented them from sharing their memories and the other Parallels from noticing anything amiss.


    Lilith wasn¡¯t quite so sure. What would be able to abduct her and Eve, wipe their memories, and make sure no one else noticed? Why would something capable of that do it, when nothing seems to have changed otherwise? Of course, it could be that something was radically different and everyone¡¯s memories of the past had been altered, but going down that line of thinking without more concrete evidence would only lead to madness.


    So, she sat and puzzled on it, trying to remember as best she could. And that didn¡¯t mean just sitting and thinking hard; it meant carefully using magic to prod the depths of her mind, probing for even the slightest inconsistencies. It was a painstakingly slow process, and one that required her full attention.


    She was so absorbed in it her work that she didn¡¯t even fully process that Jerry and Amelia had arrived, not until Amelia entered the room and called out to her. ¡°And what are you doing that¡¯s got you so engrossed?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°Usually you¡¯re more prepared for these sessions to begin.¡±


    ¡°What? Oh, sorry.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Did Jerry not tell you about the situation?¡±


    ¡°No, what situation? Is it something I need to worry about?¡±


    Lilith gave her a quick rundown of the situation, and as she did Amelia frowned deeper and deeper. ¡°You know,¡± Amelia said once Lilith had finished, ¡°I felt something similar once. I did a deep scan of my mind and couldn¡¯t find anything, and this was right after I was freed from the Urge, so I just chalked it up to lingering remnants of that. But¡­for you to experience the same thing¡­I¡¯m not so sure anymore.¡±


    ¡°You¡­have?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°That¡¯s¡­concerning, to say the least. Have you felt it recently at all?¡±


    Amelia shook her head. ¡°It was just the once.¡±


    Lilith stood up and began to pace along one of the room¡¯s walls. ¡°Okay, so this isn¡¯t an isolated incident.¡± She said. ¡°We need to get with the others and see if they¡¯ve felt anything similar.¡±


    ¡°Already on it.¡± Pandora said, skittering back into the room. She had, after much deliberation, chosen to return to the body of an arachne for the foreseeable future, claiming it felt better than the other things she had tried. Instead of cycling through forms, she was working on ¡°upgrading¡± her body so that it was more convenient.


    Those upgrades were generally not visible until the time came for them to be used. For instance, she had implemented mechanisms that made retrieving things from the ground easier, greatly increasing the range of motion of her legs and making the ends able to become sticky on command. When there was something she wanted to pick up, she¡¯d simply put a front leg on it, make it sticky, then rotate the leg so it pointed up instead of down, allowing her to grab the object with her hands.


    ¡°I only got a few responses so far, but it looks like no one else has felt anythin¡¯ like this.¡± Pandora continued. ¡°Really, though, I¡¯m more curious why Amelia¡¯s felt it. I mean, we assumed our eldritch-ness is what let you and Eve feel it, but Amelia¡¯s not eldritch like we are.¡±


    ¡°I might just be the most experienced person alive when it comes to modifying your own mind.¡± Amelia said, a touch of pride in her tone. ¡°At first it was giving myself emotions, and then it became adding increasingly strong layers of security and alarms to make sure my mind stayed my own. I¡¯m not letting anything like the Urge take hold of me again, much less more¡­pedestrian manipulation.¡±


    Pandora¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You have?¡± She said excitedly. ¡°May I see the work you¡¯ve done? I have this hypothesis I¡¯ve been kicking around, and if I¡¯m right then your warding will both prove it and let us know why you felt it.¡±


    Amelia paused, eyes narrowing as she looked at Pandora. ¡°That¡¯s a big ask.¡± She said. ¡°What¡¯s in it for me?¡±


    ¡°Twenty points of Worship. Or one million Blood Money, if you want it that way.¡± Pandora said quickly. ¡°And I won¡¯t touch or anythin¡¯ without asking, just look. The moment you feel like I went too far, lemme know and I¡¯ll stop.¡±


    Amelia though that over for a moment. ¡°Fine.¡± She said. ¡°Payment first, in raw Worship.¡±


    ¡°Done and done.¡± Pandora said, laying a hand on Amelia¡¯s arm. ¡°Alright, gimme a bit, this is gonna be a bit fiddly. I¡¯m gonna have to poke pretty thoroughly at your work, since what I¡¯m looking for is subtle, so don¡¯t freak out. But, if I¡¯m right¡­¡±


    Amelia rolled her eyes. ¡°Just do it.¡± She said. ¡°And don¡¯t take too long about it.¡±


    ¡°No promises, you make some pretty intricate stuff, and you need time to properly appreciate work like that.¡± Pandora said distractedly. ¡°Now¡­I¡¯m going to poke at one of your alarms, I want to see what it looks like when it trips and I try to suppress it, that cool?¡±


    ¡°Is this necessary?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°I would rather you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna use an eldritch ability to poke at it, I wanna see what it looks like when it goes off. And, no, I¡¯m not looking in the normal way, it¡¯s in the like¡­weird eldritch way that only Lilith and us Parallels can see. I think there might be some artifacting left since your wards are trying to process information they¡¯re not ready for.¡±


    ¡°My alarms have teeth, but if you¡¯re brave enough then go ahead.¡± Amelia said, giving Pandora a smirk.


    ¡°Many thanks.¡± Pandora replied.


    There was a moment of silence, then Amelia¡¯s smirk turned into a frown. ¡°Are you not even going to react?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Pandora asked.


    ¡°Surely the alarm did something to you.¡± Amelia said.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Oh, that, yeah.¡± Pandora said. ¡°Sorry, Jerry and I have been testing some pretty funky stuff on me, so this isn¡¯t that bad by comparison. I¡¯ve got a lotta really heavy-duty wards on my brain at the moment, and your trap only took off a layer or two. And no, not traditional wards, I¡¯m talking really strong, eldritchly-enhanced wards. The fact that your trap even scratched them is impressive, let alone taking a layer off.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Amelia pouted. ¡°Did you find what you wanted?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­maybe?¡± Pandora replied. ¡°I¡¯m gonna have to take this back to the lab later to look at it for sure though.¡±


    ¡°You are not taking me back to a lab!¡± Amelia said sharply.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, nah, I don¡¯t need you in the lab, I basically took a screenshot and I¡¯m taking that to the lab. Or, will take it back to the lab when I¡¯m done poking around in here.¡±


    ¡°Are you not done?¡± Amelia groaned. ¡°What else do you want?¡±


    ¡°Well, for one, I need pictures of all of your constructs. If one of them has been messed up, then I can¡¯t exactly tell unless I have pictures of all of them.¡±


    ¡°And how would you tell without knowing how it looked before?¡± Amelia asked impatiently. ¡°For all we know it might have even been the construct you poked at and we wouldn¡¯t even know because you messed it up!¡±


    ¡°I took a before picture too. And I can just trip another alarm and I can use that to find commonalities between the changes.¡±


    ¡°Just be quick about it.¡± Amelia sighed.


    ¡°Look, do you want to remember whatever it is we¡¯re forgetting or not?¡± Pandora asked.


    Amelia paused. ¡°I¡­suppose I want to know.¡± Amelia admitted. ¡°I¡¯m just not a fan of this method of finding out.¡±


    ¡°If you have a better suggestion, I¡¯m more than happy to oblige.¡± Pandora said patiently. ¡°I just thought this was the best way to find out. I know you¡¯re uncomfortable with it, but it¡¯s not something you absolutely won¡¯t do either, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess not.¡± Amelia admitted. ¡°I just feel so vulnerable, it¡¯s making me antsy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be as quick as I can, okay?¡± Pandora replied gently. ¡°But this could have huge consequences for everyone, including you and your wives, so I¡¯d ask that you bear with it for just a bit more, for their sake if nothing else.¡±


    Amelia was silent for a while, then nodded. ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t complain anymore, just¡­be gentle.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Pandora said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you, just¡­find answers.¡±


    The process ended up taking about an hour, but by the end of it, Pandora was feeling quite optimistic that she would be able to tease something out of what she had found. That was all well and good, but as the process went on, Lilith couldn¡¯t help but get more and more concerned. Amelia was acting¡­different; she was still prickly, but she didn¡¯t have the edge to her that she usually had.


    Maybe on another day Lilith might have ignored it, but today wasn¡¯t any other day; Lilith couldn¡¯t afford to ignore a sudden shift in behavior, no matter how minor. Perhaps Amelia¡¯s lovers had talked to her, and she was making an effort to change more or something, but Lilith just had to ask her about it, so after Pandora had finished, she pulled Amelia aside.


    ¡°Amelia, are you okay?¡± She asked worriedly. ¡°You¡¯ve been acting different.¡±


    Amelia frowned. ¡°It¡¯s probably because you were just probing my mind. I tend to get a little snippy about stuff like that.¡±


    Lilith shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s the problem.¡± She said. ¡°You weren¡¯t as snippy as I expected. And¡­well, given what we¡¯re investigating right now, I can¡¯t help but worry that it has something to do with this.¡±


    ¡°Well, I felt that thing ages ago, so it wouldn¡¯t affect my behavior now, right?¡± Amelia pointed out. ¡°So, what¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡°The problem is that we don¡¯t know what this feeling actually signifies.¡± Lilith said. ¡°For all we know, it¡¯s a sign of the eldritch messing with our souls. Perhaps I got something similar to what Lia has, and it¡¯s affecting you?¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be it.¡± Amelia replied. ¡°Or, if it is, it¡¯s significantly more subtle than what Lia has. After Jerry told us about Lia¡¯s eldritch stuff, I took some time and was able to isolate the results of the effect on me, so I can at least detect when it¡¯s active, even if I can¡¯t see what exactly it does.¡±


    ¡°What if our events are connected in some way?¡± Lilith asked, beginning to pace the room once again. ¡°And they¡¯re like¡­resonating or something.¡±


    Amelia raised an eyebrow. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­what if your event was dormant until I experienced mine? And then it got set into motion or something.¡±


    Amelia mulled that over for a bit. ¡°That¡¯s possible.¡± She said. ¡°But I feel like that¡¯s not the case. And, if it is, it should run up against some of my wards, and Pandora will hopefully be able to see any remnants of that.¡±


    ¡°I guess. I just¡­worry about you, you know.¡±


    ¡°I-I can take care of myself!¡± Amelia said, turning her head to the side and blushing slightly.


    ¡°I know you can, but it doesn¡¯t stop me from worrying.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Especially when it¡¯s something neither of us fully understand.¡±


    ¡°W-whatever!¡± Amelia said quickly. ¡°Let¡¯s just get to work, okay? We can discuss this once Pandora¡¯s finished.¡±


    <hr>


    Pandora flitted about her lab, carefully arranging devices and cross-referencing snapshots of Amelia¡¯s wards and eldritch constructs. As she had suspected, Amelia¡¯s techniques were eldritch-adjacent. They didn¡¯t actually dive into that sort of extra dimension that eldritch Mana constructs were made in, but it was almost as if she had taken patterns that Pandora had seen and flattened them, condensing them down so they fit in the space that normal people could work in.


    Of course, her techniques didn¡¯t correlate exactly to anything Pandora had seen, and when she had tried to ¡°expand¡± them into eldritch space they sort of fell apart, but they were similar enough that Pandora couldn¡¯t ignore that.


    Fortunately, that came with an upside; though Amelia¡¯s wards wouldn¡¯t actually stop an attack by someone sufficiently talented with the eldritch, they did interact with it, something that Pandora hadn¡¯t seen anywhere except in constructs specifically made to deal with the eldritch. In this case, Amelia¡¯s wards sort of ¡°reached out¡± into eldritch space, warping and distorting as they tried to do something to the eldritch attack.


    It didn¡¯t impact the functionality of the wards against regular magic in any significant capacity, and it wasn¡¯t visible from the point of view of someone who couldn¡¯t see into eldritch space, but it did happen. And, as luck would have it, Amelia¡¯s wards had significant self-repair capacity built into them. Normally this would mean that anything that happened in the past would be next to impossible to see on the wards, but the self-repair didn¡¯t really work with the eldritch.


    Or, it did, but it worked extremely slowly. The effect was almost imperceptible, but over the hour Pandora had worked she was able to document a very slight change in the distortion of the ward she had prodded. Following that, Amelia had allowed her to poke a few other wards with different intensity, and she found that the intensity of her prodding didn¡¯t change the intensity of the ward¡¯s response.


    In short, provided the event had occurred within¡­roughly ten years, give or take a couple of years, Pandora was confident that she could backdate such an event through Amelia¡¯s wards. And that was all well and good until Pandora went to look at the distorted wards she hadn¡¯t touched.


    The response was¡­bizarre, to say the least. The ward in question was stretched in ways that just didn¡¯t make sense; it was as if there had been an event that occurred both three to four years prior and simultaneously occurred just yesterday. It wasn¡¯t something a case of the ward reacting once in the past and once now, she had tested what that would look like, but that both events had happened at the same time. Parts of the ward were quite repaired while others were fresh.


    Pandora really wanted to call that impossible and move on, but she couldn¡¯t, not with the eldritch. The eldritch didn¡¯t respect the normal laws of time and space, and though it was violently counter-intuitive, Pandora couldn¡¯t discount the possibility of there being a way to have an event happen at the same time in two different time periods.


    Unfortunately, she had no way of testing that conjecture at the moment. Time manipulation on that scale was far beyond her skill level, and she suspected it would remain that way until after the war at the soonest, if she ever even reached that level.


    Still¡­Pandora was getting even more data than she had hoped. It would take some time, and she¡¯d probably have to drag Eve along for several long sessions where they probed her mind, but Pandora was optimistic that they could find the block on their memories. And, once they found that, it was only a matter of time before they could remove it. It was just a matter of time, really, so Pandora redoubled her efforts, smiling contentedly as she did.

 Chapter 21: Time Flies

    Lilith sat back, content as the last of her changes impacted the new plane. The past month or so since Pandora started working on that odd sense of forgetting something had been mostly filled with the more menial work of prepping a new plane; making the cradle, seeding the plane with life and the other things that needed to be done before they could start putting people on it.


    There was still the matter of making a system, but that was next on their list. According to Jerry, they were going to put the plane in a state of massively accelerated time while they worked on the system, allowing roughly one hundred million years to pass on the plane for each month spent in real time.


    Apparently, that fast-forwarding could all be done at once, but that had a couple of downsides that made it significantly less attractive than doing it relatively slowly. For one, it was more Worship-intensive to do it that way, but two, it was much harder to guide the plane if its growth happened over the course of a moment.


    Yes, three or four million years per day was a lot, but it wasn¡¯t completely unmanageable. According to the numbers Mae ran, they were looking at approximately forty years of time passing per second, and that wasn¡¯t long at all on an evolutionary scale. If Earth¡¯s own time was put to that level, it would be roughly five and a half months from the start of the Cambrian explosion to current day, and that was¡­workable.


    So long as they slowed things down every so often to make sure nothing had gone too awry, and the process was completely slowed whilst they were sleeping, it was relatively risk-free, if attention-demanding work. Kali was going to be the one in charge of that particular aspect of the plane, and while Lilith had to admit she was glad she wasn¡¯t doing it, it also meant that their time together would be cut down as well, so it wasn¡¯t all upside either.


    ¡°I¡¯m done!¡± Lilith called out.


    ¡°Finally!¡± Amelia said. ¡°I finished an hour or so ago.¡±


    ¡°Excellent work, ladies.¡± Kali said, looking up from her book. ¡°I¡¯ll call Jerry in and we¡¯ll give it a once-over before we start speeding things up.¡±


    Tell them I¡¯ll send her your way in a minute. Pandora said.


    ¡°Pandora says she¡¯ll send Jerry our way in a minute or so.¡± Lilith relayed. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re in the middle of tugging on one of the blocks in Eve¡¯s mind.¡±


    ¡°How is that going, by the way?¡± Kali asked.


    ¡°So-so?¡± Lilith said. ¡°We¡¯ve gotten bits and pieces, but they don¡¯t exactly make a lot of sense.¡±


    As Pandora had worked, she rather quickly found that there were indeed traces of tampering in the minds of Lilith, Eve, and Amelia, and she and Jerry had dropped some of their other projects to focus on the matter. The wards Amelia had placed on her mind had turned out to be great assets in their quest, allowing Pandora to reverse-engineer some of the techniques that had been used against them.


    It wasn¡¯t perfect by any means, but she had successfully managed to block a memory from her own mind using eldritch means. She still recalled details around the memory, such as that the event happened at all, what time the event happened, and even a few context clues from the surrounding memories, but it was a huge step in the right direction.


    And, using that as a base, she had sniffed out the blockages placed on Lilith and Eve¡¯s minds, and had begun working to undo them. Still, they weren¡¯t quite sure that they were getting accurate information out of it, because what they did uncover was simply baffling.


    ¡°For one, we¡¯re getting images of Maven and her wives when they were young.¡± Lilith continued. ¡°And Amelia and her wives as they were a couple of years ago, around the time you and I got married. Oh, and everyone¡¯s in formal party wear for some reason.


    ¡°Even ignoring the obvious time discrepancies, the fact that everyone is relatively relaxed and we¡¯re all seemingly dressed for a party makes the whole thing absurd. I mean, to be abducted for some sort of party and then put right back with no memory of it? I can¡¯t fathom what the motive behind such an act would be.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that you¡¯re somehow picking up memories from before you reincarnated?¡± Kali suggested. ¡°It would explain Maven and her wives.¡±


    ¡°We considered that for a moment, but we don¡¯t think so.¡± Lilith said. ¡°For one, you¡¯re there too, and you have your wedding ring on, and we have scenes of Maven and Amelia¡¯s groups together. We only have stills at the moment, though, so we¡¯re hoping that things will start making more sense once we get a chunk of unbroken memory.¡±


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t we tug at the memory from my end?¡± Amelia volunteered, prompting shocked looks from both Lilith and Kali. ¡°¡­What? I want to know what this is too, and the time frame you just gave for me and my wives would put us at around when I felt the feeling. If I also have memories like that, then we know it¡¯s not just an error in the process. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve seen pictures of Maven and her wives when they were younger or anything, so it shouldn¡¯t be a corruption of existing memories either.¡±


    Tell her to make time for us tomorrow. Pandora said. This will actually be easier than working on you or Eve, since her mind is less tangled with eldritch background noise and she also probably mitigated the effects of whatever happened. Anyway, Jerry left a bit ago, she should be there any second.


    ¡°Pandora says that we¡¯ll do it tomorrow, and that she¡¯s pretty sure that your work on your mind will make it a lot easier than working on Eve and I. And Jerry should be arriving here soon, she¡¯s on her way.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡± Amelia said. ¡°It¡¯s been driving me crazy, the sooner this is put to rest, the better. I doubt this party theory is correct, it¡¯s probably just false memories implanted to cover up whatever actually happened.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure.¡± Jerry said, walking through the open door and into the room. ¡°We considered the possibility ourselves, and everything we found pointed to the memories being real. For one, none of the constructs we reverse-engineered had anything to do with creating false memories, and two¡­should we find that the memories we get from you match, then who¡¯s to say it didn¡¯t happen, even if the event never actually occurred?¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Amelia narrowed her eyes. ¡°That makes no sense.¡± She said. ¡°If it didn¡¯t happen, it didn¡¯t happen.¡±


    ¡°You would be tempted to say so, but I would posit that, though it didn¡¯t happen in actuality, in effect it might as well have. If we assume that the event is just a party, and had no meaningful consequences outside of it, then so long as everyone involved remembers the event, and those memories match and don¡¯t have inconsistencies with real life, it might as well have happened.¡±


    ¡°You could say the same thing about mass delusion.¡± Amelia pointed out.


    ¡°Perhaps so.¡± Jerry replied. ¡°But most mass delusions have inconsistencies with how things really are. Now, let¡¯s say the memories we unlock contain accurate information that the person would have no way of knowing otherwise, what then?¡±


    ¡°Then whatever is hiding things from us has successfully convinced us to stop digging for the truth.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Seriously, why are you even considering this whole ¡®party¡¯ notion? It¡¯s absurd.¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯d be entertaining.¡± Jerry said. ¡°That¡¯s the entire reason we¡¯re in this situation; the Elder Gods are bored, and playing a game with us. The party idea is outlandish and absurd, yes, but that¡¯s exactly what makes me unable to discount it. Of course, we¡¯re not going to stop digging once we uncover the whole ¡®party¡¯ memory, but if progress stalls significantly after that then we¡¯ll have to call it there. Regardless, we¡¯ve gotten off-topic; I believe we were going to do our final checks on the plane?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kali said. ¡°Buckle in you two, this is gonna take a while.¡±


    <hr>


    After hours of boring work, the double check of the plane was finally finished, and it was time to speed up its time. Lilith watched in fascination as the view of the plane became distorted, the movements of individual monsters becoming essentially unnoticeable due to the highly-increased flow of time. For the most part, all she could really see was the growth of plants and the occasional instance of a monster or group of monsters setting up large, long-lasting nests.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it from here.¡± Kali said, collapsing into a plush armchair. ¡°The rest of you go have fun.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave, then.¡± Jerry said. ¡°Let me know if you have any troubles. Amelia, I believe your wives are currently relaxing somewhere around here, so I would not be too hasty in returning home.


    ¡°Thanks for letting me know.¡± Amelia said. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go find them now.¡±


    She and Jerry left, but Lilith lingered for a bit longer. ¡°Do you want company?¡± She asked. ¡°I¡¯m more than happy to stay here with you.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Kali sighed. ¡°In fact, it¡¯s probably better if you don¡¯t stay with me; I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get distracted, and I don¡¯t want to miss something important, not when so much rides on this plane.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Lilith said dubiously. ¡°But if you ever need a break, let me know and I¡¯ll be happy to take over for you.¡±


    Kali turned and gave her a quick smile before returning to watching the plane. ¡°I appreciate the sentiment, but I really should be the one to handle this. I do barely any work under normal circumstances, so it isn¡¯t fair if I shirk my work now. Besides, you and Amelia will have your hands full designing the system for this plane, so I¡¯d feel bad if you took on part of this work, too.¡±


    If I think it¡¯s affecting you too much, I will take over a shift or two. Nuwa said. I¡¯m not helping out with the system in any significant fashion, so I might as well reduce the burden on you if I can. If we truly are going to share Administrative responsibilities over these planes, then we can¡¯t split it fifty-fifty between you and the rest of us; there are more of us Parallels than there are of you, and we can handle more work, so we should naturally get a larger share of work.


    ¡°Alright, fine.¡± Kali said. ¡°But only if it¡¯s seriously affecting me. If I¡¯m just tired, then leave it be; it¡¯s part of the job, and I want to actually feel like I¡¯m doing my part.¡±


    You say that now, but we¡¯ll see how you¡¯re feeling after a few weeks. Nuwa replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. Just let me know if you need to go nap for a shift or two and I¡¯ll take over, okay?


    ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± Kali said in mock-exasperation.


    As long as you understand. Nuwa said. I¡¯d hate to see you work yourself to the bone when I¡¯m sitting here doing nothing.


    ¡°It¡¯s really not that strenuous,¡± Kali said, ¡°it¡¯s just tedious.¡±


    Tedium is my duty. Mae said. I would also be willing to oversee things for a while, provided I am not doing anything else at the time.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m taking the first shift, no matter what.¡± Kali said firmly. ¡°Now why don¡¯t you go see what everyone¡¯s doing in the common rooms? I do believe at least one of Maven¡¯s wives is here too.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t bug you about it anymore today.¡± Lilith said, walking over and planting a kiss on Kali¡¯s forehead. ¡°Love you.¡±


    ¡°I love you too.¡± Kali replied contentedly.


    As Lilith left, she reached out mentally to Nuwa. Where is everyone right now? She asked.


    In the living room closest to the kids¡¯ rooms. Nuwa replied. It looks like they¡¯re watching a movie.


    Lilith made her way over to the room, where Lilith¡¯s daughters, Amelia and her wives, Maven, and Tess were all watching what seemed to be some sort of poorly-acted action movie.


    ¡°Oh, Mom, are you coming to watch too?!¡± Mai asked excitedly, pausing the movie.


    ¡°Why not, I guess.¡± Lilith said, walking over to one of the couches. ¡°What are we watching and what¡¯d I miss?¡±


    ¡°Something called Swordguns 2: Sword Zombies.¡± Tess said. ¡°It¡¯s some straight to video movie that Mai suggested. And you didn¡¯t miss much, it¡¯s been twenty minutes and it seems that the main character¡¯s ¡®swordgun¡¯ was turned into a zombie and she has to try and avoid using it or else turn other weapons into zombies.¡±


    ¡°And zombie weapons do¡­what, exactly?¡± Lilith asked, sitting down. The moment she did, she found her lap occupied by Mai, and her sides by Levia and Aria.


    ¡°Beats me.¡± Tess replied. ¡°So far as I can tell it just makes them green.¡±


    ¡°I¡­think it¡¯s supposed to make them break easier or something?¡± Lia ventured. ¡°Marcy keeps talking about having to be careful or her weapon will break.¡±


    ¡°Her weapon has taken like five hits that would have broken an actually brittle weapon in the first ten minutes alone, though.¡± Connie argued. ¡°Whoever made this has clearly never handled a weapon.¡±


    ¡°It could be magically strengthened.¡± Lilith suggested.


    ¡°This came out before the Merge, and there are no other signs of magic here, aside from the zombies.¡± Aria said quietly.


    ¡°And she¡¯s being way more careful than she was in the first movie.¡± Mai added. ¡°She blocked a cannonball with her sword in that one.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­I think we should just not question it.¡± Levia suggested. ¡°I, um, don¡¯t think we¡¯re supposed to think about any of this.¡±


    ¡°I think half the fun in watching a movie like this is questioning it.¡± Rose said. ¡°I certainly don¡¯t think we¡¯re watching it on its merits alone.¡±


    ¡°Whatever the case, let¡¯s get back to the movie.¡± Amelia said. ¡°We¡¯ve spent far too long discussing this as is.¡±


    Mai nodded, then unpaused the movie. The movie was, in a word, terrible. The acting was bad, the special effects were terrible, the plot made no sense, and it overall wasn¡¯t a good experience. It wasn¡¯t even so bad it was good, but the company was good, so it made the movie bearable.


    ¡°Please tell me there¡¯s not a third.¡± Amelia said. ¡°If that did well enough to merit a sequel, then I¡¯ve lost all faith in your universe¡¯s entertainment industry.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s not.¡± Mai said. ¡°Thanks for watching with me, everyone!¡±


    ¡°It was our pleasure.¡± Maven said, giving Mai a smile. ¡°It was nice to get away from it all and relax.¡±


    ¡°I have a lot more movies I want to watch, so let me know if you want to do this again!¡± Mai said happily. ¡°But I¡¯m hungry, so I¡¯m going to go get a snack now, bye!¡±


    ¡°I suppose we should get going as well.¡± Tess said, standing up. ¡°Ellie¡¯s probably finished with her work by now.¡±


    ¡°It was nice to hang out with you guys.¡± Maven added. ¡°We¡¯ll talk to you soon!¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll head out too.¡± Lia said. ¡°We¡¯ve been away for long enough as it is.¡±


    Everyone said their goodbyes, and soon Lilith was left alone with Levia and Aria. ¡°Um, can we watch another movie?¡± Levia asked shyly. ¡°I want to spend more time with you.¡±


    ¡°Of course, sweetie.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°I¡¯d love to.¡±

 Chapter 22: Memories Unlocked

    Lilith was taking a walk down a hall when she was interrupted by Raesn, a dwarf that she had Blessed a few years prior when they were doing the Queen of Monsters thing. He was one of four ¡°heroes¡± they had appointed, with intent to have them participate in the battles for planes if they agreed. As such, he knew about Administrators and Higher Beings, and he sometimes dropped by the dungeon to workshop new inventions with Nuwa.


    ¡°Is everything alright?¡±  Raesn asked, giving her a worried look. ¡°The atmosphere here feels¡­tense.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to sugarcoat it, Raesn, it¡¯s not really alright.¡± Lilith sighed. ¡°We¡¯re gearing up for war, and it¡¯s got us all on edge.¡±


    ¡°War?¡± Raesn asked worriedly. ¡°With who?¡±


    ¡°Everyone who isn¡¯t our ally. The Elder Gods have been playing games, and are trying to pit the three main Administrator factions against each other. We¡¯re the first to know, so we have the advantage of time to prepare, but once the others know it¡¯ll be an Administrator world war. As you can imagine, we¡¯re not exactly thrilled at the prospect.¡±


    Raesn frowned. ¡°Why not use this time to lay the groundwork for peace, then?¡±


    ¡°We would if we could, Raesn, we would if we could. The other factions are warlike, and the current peace is only held by what is effectively mutual assured destruction. The moment the other factions find out that the Elder Gods broke the balance of power, it¡¯s going to become chaos.


    ¡°Right now, I¡¯m working on creating another new system using breakthroughs we¡¯ve recently made in system technology, and we¡¯re going to test drive it on a new plane one of the other Administrators gave us.¡±


    ¡°Do the others know?¡± Raesn asked.


    ¡°Bruce and Ava do, they visit fairly regularly, so they found out a while ago. We asked them to keep it on the down-low for now, we wanted to get things a bit more¡­settled before we started any sort of intensive training or anything. And Anala¡­well, you know she never fully forgave me for the whole Queen of Monsters thing, so she hasn¡¯t been in touch since this whole thing started a few months ago.¡±


    ¡°One of these days we¡¯re really going to need to get her to reconcile with you.¡± Raesn sighed. ¡°Even she shouldn¡¯t be too stubborn to admit that it did, eventually, turn out well.¡±


    ¡°If you have any ideas, I¡¯m all ears. I¡¯ll probably need your help, though; pushing her on this myself is just going to backfire.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll touch base with Bruce and Ava and we¡¯ll figure something out. I thought I¡¯d let things heal with time before, but¡­if the situation is as you say, then we can¡¯t afford that right now.¡±


    Lilith gave him a smile. ¡°I appreciate it, truly, I do. Anyway, what were you here for?¡±


    Raesn stroked his beard thoughtfully. ¡°I was going to talk with Nuwa about an idea I had, but it seems painfully unimportant compared to what you¡¯re doing now.¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°In fact, we recently made a new Parallel to work exclusively on experimenting with the eldritch. Her name¡¯s Pandora, and she¡¯s got a laboratory that I think you¡¯d find very interesting.¡±


    Raesn¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Is that so? And she won¡¯t mind me interrupting?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯d welcome it.¡± Lilith confirmed. ¡°She always loves to hear outside opinions and ideas, especially since the eldritch is so¡­out there. Frankly, just about everyone around here isn¡¯t good enough to keep up with her, and her other research partner, an Administrator named Jerry, is often busy.¡±


    ¡°In that case, where can I find this lab?¡± Raesn asked. ¡°I¡¯ll head over there now, if it¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°Should be in the multipurpose wing.¡± Lilith said. ¡°The door has a bunch of warning signs on it, can¡¯t miss it.¡±


    Raesn paused. ¡°Should I be worried about that?¡±


    ¡°Not really. Those are more there to keep people from just randomly walking in, and to remind the kids that it¡¯s dangerous. As long as the indicator is green, you¡¯ll be fine to go in, and Pandora knows you¡¯re coming, so she¡¯s wrapping up what she was doing.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of, how are the kids doing? No¡­relapses?¡±


    ¡°Mai is as much a handful as ever, but nothing worrying, just normal rambunctious kid stuff. Well, normal if kids had more power than most militaries, but it¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t handle. Oh, and we recently got another daughter, it¡¯s a bit of a story, though, so it¡¯s probably best if Pandora tells you. She can fill you in on the details of the situation as she goes, because Levia¡¯s kind of caught up in it all.¡±


    Raesn frowned, stroking his beard. ¡°Why does that name sound familiar?¡± He asked. ¡°Is she someone like Mai and Aria?¡±


    ¡°Sort of. She¡¯s Levi.¡±


    Raesn stared up at Lilith with a surprised look on his face. ¡°I thought Levi was little better than an animal.¡±


    ¡°Was little better than an animal. Like I said, it¡¯s a bit of the story, and I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have the time to tell it to you here, sorry.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, I was the one taking up your time, anyway. I¡¯ll head off the lab, talk to you later.¡±


    Lilith gave him a smile and a wave as she saw him off, then returned to her walk. She was currently on her way to their training room, where they were finally going to start the process of creating a system. Fortunately, Raesn hadn¡¯t made her late or anything; she had been heading there slightly early, just in case of something exactly like this.


    So, after another five or so minutes, everyone had gathered in the training room, and Jerry began to speak. ¡°So, as you might imagine, the first step to creating any competent system is planning it out. If you don¡¯t plan your system out extensively, it¡¯s easy to make small mistakes that compound into a big problem down the line.¡±


    Jerry procured a stack of papers and a pen, and gave everyone an expectant look. ¡°So, ideas?¡±


    ¡°We should make it like the system we¡¯re using for the swarm.¡± Amelia said immediately. ¡°And¡­actually, Lilith, Kali, I¡¯ve been discussing things with my wives, and we have a proposal for you.¡±


    Lilith raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? Do tell.¡±


    ¡°What would you think about becoming co-leaders of the swarm? In essence, this would mean that you become part of our relationship, become members of the swarm, and also allow it to spread to your planes. I can handle making sure we¡¯re in love with each other, and the mental changes barely worked on Connie, so there¡¯s no way you two will be affected.


    ¡°I know this sounds like a crazy step to take, but if you think about it, it¡¯s just upside for everyone involved. Lilith, you have that ability that gives you all the abilities of your subordinates, so you¡¯ll suddenly have multiple planes unambiguously become your subordinates. Plus, it¡¯ll save you a lot of Worship and effort when you update your system, since you won¡¯t need to update your system.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Well, not really. I plan on updating the swarm¡¯s system to match what we¡¯re doing here, but even then, we can just pool Worship for it so it¡¯s not a big deal. Anyway, it¡¯ll let you connect more with Levia, unify your planes, increase our fighting potential in the coming war by letting more people convert enemies, and give you more people to love!


    ¡°We¡¯re going to be giving the same offer to Tess, Ellie, and Maven, though we can¡¯t get the swarm to their planes, so just be aware that they might be involved in the relationship too, if you accept, which I think you should.¡±


    Lilith raised an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s a very generous offer, Amelia, but ¨C¡±


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t reject it out of hand.¡± Kali said quietly. ¡°Amelia¡¯s right, there are upsides in it for us, and we have to consider that when we¡¯re facing a war in the future. Let¡¯s discuss this alone after they leave, it¡¯s not a decision to be made lightly.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Kali.¡± Amelia said, giving her a smile. ¡°We understand that it¡¯s a big step, but we really do hope that you¡¯ll agree that the benefits really do outweigh any perceived downsides.¡±


    ¡°Now, let me be clear, Amelia, it is significantly more likely that we do not accept your offer, and it is the direction I am leaning.¡± Kali said. ¡°But it is also isn¡¯t something that we should reject without thinking through it first.¡±


    Amelia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what we expected, but we figured we might as well make the offer. Anyway, as I was saying, the system I made for the swarm should be a good starting point. It allows for significant and varied growth, and avoids several common pitfalls such as having multiple sexes.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lilith asked, taken aback. ¡°How is that a pitfall?¡±


    ¡°The sex of a body has effects on the way a soul¡¯s magic power flows.¡± Amelia explained. ¡°So, to maximize the system¡¯s efficiency, it¡¯s optimal to just make everyone the same sex. While it theoretically doesn¡¯t matter what the sex is, I¡¯m significantly better at working with women, so I believe we should do that.¡±


    Lilith frowned. ¡°But having there be men and women has worked so well, and we¡¯d have to make other concessions to allow for reproduction. Plus, when we bring this system over to our current planes, it¡¯s going to cause complications because half the population is of a different sex.¡±


    ¡°Then just turn everyone into women when you update the system? Besides, is there an actual need to have multiple sexes aside from it being what you¡¯re used to? It¡¯s pretty trivial to create a way for women to reproduce with each other. In fact, I believe your planes already have such a thing, do they not?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not changing all men into women.¡± Lilith said flatly. ¡°Not unless this efficiency increase is so massive that we¡¯d be significantly limiting our potential by ignoring it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like¡­three to five percent? So, it¡¯s quite large in the grand scheme of things. I mean¡­we¡¯re talking about millions or billions of lives saved over the course of a war of this scale. I suppose we can make do without, but I would strongly recommend it.¡±


    Lilith sighed. If Jerry was right and the eldritch beings sponsoring their faction had some sort of twisted agenda that drove them to turn as many men as possible into women, then Amelia was their perfect spokeswoman. Lilith hated that her logic had some merit to it, but¡­still, it was just wrong to do. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it while we¡¯re talking about the swarm.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Since bringing the swarm here would entail that anyway.¡±


    Amelia nodded. ¡°That bit aside, do you have any other issues with how the swarm¡¯s system is run? I feel confident that most outstanding issues it currently has will be solved by being able to design it from the ground up instead of having to piggyback off of an existing system.¡±


    ¡°Do you have the design specifications?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to look over them.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Jerry volunteered, pulling a stack of papers out from some sort of dimensional storage and handing them to Lilith. She then produced an identical set of papers for Amelia and Kali, then one more for herself. ¡°Amelia, if you would look this over and make sure there are no mistakes, that would be ideal. Lilith and Kali, familiarize yourself with the system, if we¡¯re to consider it a prototype of the system we¡¯re designing, then it¡¯ll help to know it well.¡±


    Lilith began looking over the documents, but her attention was soon pulled away by Pandora.


    ¡°Raesn, you¡¯re a genius!¡± Pandora said excitedly. ¡°I found the blockage!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± Raesn said, scratching his beard embarrassedly. ¡°I just provided a guess with next to no knowledge of how any of this works.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s exactly why it¡¯s so helpful!¡± Pandora replied happily. ¡°The eldritch doesn¡¯t work on the level of things we¡¯re used to. I¡¯ve found it¡¯s often quite helpful to have people who don¡¯t have all the preconceived notions I do gimme their input. Fresh new approaches are the name of the game here.¡±


    ¡°Glad I could help, then. Um¡­what now?¡±


    ¡°Now, we go test it. Eve¡¯s in the middle of adventurer work, but Lilith is just reading over some documents, and the people she¡¯s with would want to know anyway.¡± Pandora said. And, Lilith, I see you¡¯re listening, let Jerry and Amelia know that I¡¯m pretty sure Raesn helped me figure out the whole memory blockage thing.


    Got it. See you soon.


    See ya soon!


    Lilith cleared her throat, looking up from the papers. ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but Pandora thinks she has solved our memory problem.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± Jerry said, standing up excitedly. ¡°How?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, you¡¯ll have to ask her, she¡¯s on her way here now. It seems Raesn helped give her some fresh perspective or something.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, she told me about him.¡± Jerry mused. ¡°Is he coming? I¡¯d love to meet him.¡±


    ¡°Yup, brought him here with me!¡± Pandora said cheerfully, crouching down a little to let Raesn off of her spider body. ¡°I wanted to get here as fast as possible, and figured you¡¯d want to meet him.¡±


    ¡°Um, hello.¡± Raesn said. ¡°The name¡¯s Raesn.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Raesn. Now, if you would come to the side with me, I¡¯d love to hear about your idea while Pandora tests it out.¡± Jerry walked over to Raesn, and the two moved over to the side of the room while Pandora approached Lilith.


    ¡°Okay, this is probably gonna be a little uncomfortable, but bear with me here¡­¡± Pandora said, placing a finger on Lilith¡¯s forehead. ¡°Aaand¡­done.¡±


    Lilith experienced a brief but splitting headache, and then she remembered. She remembered not just the party she had been sent to last, but two others as well. She reeled for a moment, processing the information, then nodded. ¡°Yeah, I remember.¡± She confirmed. ¡°There were two others, too. Both Kali and Jerry were there, by the way, we¡¯ll need to do¡­whatever that was to them, too.¡±


    Pandora beamed. ¡°I think that should inoculate you from future tampering of this variety, too.¡± She said. ¡°Essentially I put a trigger on your brain that detects eldritch memory influencers and injects them with some of our power. As evidenced by the fact that you and Amelia had even a faint memory of it, the blockage is quite flimsy and folds to even the slightest pressure once you find it.¡±


    Lilith grimaced. ¡°Yeah, I can see why.¡± She said. ¡°This is certainly going to complicate matters, and I¡¯m sure our ¡®sponsors¡¯ will be wildly entertained by it.¡±


    ¡°Well? What are you waiting for?¡± Amelia asked impatiently. ¡°Do us, too.¡±


    Pandora nodded, tentacles growing from her back and reaching out to Amelia, Kali, and Jerry. ¡°Alright you three, one second, this will sting, but it¡¯ll be over quick, just bear with me.¡±


    Kali hissed as Pandora performed her work, then grimaced as well. ¡°You know, I almost wish I didn¡¯t remember.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯ve talked with people from the other factions at these parties, had dinner with them, made friends with them. But¡­I know them, and I know we¡¯ll have to fight anyway.¡±


    ¡°No wonder we¡¯ve been allowed to remember.¡± Jerry agreed. ¡°This will make the war that much more interesting to watch for them.¡±


    Amelia seemed to be frozen, then she suddenly stood and gave Lilith a bow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for how I¡¯ve been treating you.¡± She said. ¡°I was upset at being made to do this and took it out on you, and then I was too stubborn to let myself open up. Seeing how you treated Lia in that game even though it was completely to your demerit and would not have any actual consequences outside¡­it made me realize you don¡¯t have ulterior motives and really do just want to be our friend.


    ¡°And¡­on a personal note, this time, I think it would be nice if you accepted our proposal. I was personally ambivalent towards it, aside from the benefit it would bring the swarm, but now I would like to get to know you better, and this is the best way.¡±


    ¡°Amelia, we don¡¯t have to be in love to get to know each other.¡± Lilith chuckled. ¡°We can just spend more time together.¡±


    ¡°That is true, but this speeds up the process significantly. Connie and I did it, and we¡¯ve been happier than ever since that time. Lia and Rose were wary of the love magic, but they agreed that if it was you guys, they¡¯d be willing to give it a shot. I think I¡¯m starting to see why.¡±


    ¡°Again, we¡¯ll think about it, but expect a no.¡± Kali said. ¡°And knowing my nieces, they¡¯ll probably say no as well.¡±


    ¡°And, again, we figured as much.¡± Amelia replied. ¡°Just wanted to make the offer.¡±


    ¡°Alright you guys, I¡¯ma head out and restore everyone else¡¯s memories, so I¡¯ll talk to ya later! Have fun designing the system! Oh, and Raesn, just wait in the lab, it¡¯ll only be like fifteen to thirty minutes.¡±


    ¡°We should get back to work as well, thanks, Pandora.¡±


    ¡°Anytime!¡±


    With that, Lilith went back to the diligently studying Amelia¡¯s system, soaking in as much knowledge as she could.

 Chapter 23: Deliberation

    Later that night, Lilith, all the Parallels, and Kali sat down in their bedroom to talk about Amelia¡¯s offer. ¡°So, you wanted to discuss Amelia¡¯s proposal?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear why you think we shouldn¡¯t just dismiss it out of hand.¡±


    ¡°I mean, as much as I don¡¯t want to accept, Kali¡¯s got a point.¡± Eve said. ¡°If this is something that would significantly increase our chances of winning this war, then we have to consider it. If the effect is only minor, though, we absolutely reject it. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m ready for a poly relationship, much less one with people I don¡¯t love in that way. Well, love yet, if we accept then it won¡¯t be an issue, but you know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Eve.¡± Pandora said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do this, but we are against something bigger than us. Though¡­I would point out that we¡¯re kind of in a poly relationship already.¡±


    ¡°It certainly feels that way to me.¡± Kali chuckled.


    ¡°I mean, it feels weird to call it poly when I have memories of every single thing Kali¡¯s done with any of us.¡± Eve said. ¡°But I get the point. Besides, that¡¯s just semantics, my point stands.¡±


    I¡¯d rather not enter into this relationship. Nuwa added. More so than any of you, I think. Personally, I believe there are better ways we can increase our chances of winning, and we should only take it if we end up thinking that we¡¯re way behind where we want to be.


    I have no opinion either way. Mae said. Do as you will.


    ¡°And, for the sake of completeness, I¡¯m with Nuwa on this. This should be last-resort only.¡± Lilith said. ¡°That being said, if you have persuasive arguments, I¡¯m willing to change my opinion.¡±


    Kali shifted uncomfortably. ¡°Honestly, I would really rather not accept, but I thought it¡¯d be a mistake to just say no without properly thinking it through first.¡±


    Lilith nodded. ¡°In that case, does anyone have a concrete advantage we would get from accepting?¡±


    ¡°Unity.¡± Eve offered. ¡°If we join the swarm, we¡¯ll add our planes to the swarm, and that would make things significantly more harmonious. Plus, the swarm has a great deal more coordination than most armies when it comes time to actually fight.¡±


    ¡°Counterpoint, doing that involves irrevocably changing the bodies and minds of our people, and that¡¯s morally bankrupt.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be watching over the mortals, not twisting them into something else entirely.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, in terms of personality, they¡¯re mostly the same.¡± Pandora said. ¡°Their morality and loyalties shift, but morality¡¯s a social construct in the first place. Few things are intrinsically wrong.¡±


    ¡°And altering people¡¯s minds is one of those things.¡± Lilith said flatly. ¡°It¡¯s preferable to letting them die or get conquered by tyrants who don¡¯t care for them, but that¡¯s absolutely a last resort.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fair.¡± Eve replied. ¡°But if we have other reasons to accept the offer, this comes into play. It¡¯s not close to worth it on its own, but it is a factor.¡±


    Alright, name another benefit, then. Nuwa challenged.


    ¡°It¡¯ll make the system transition a lot easier.¡± Pandora supplied. ¡°We¡¯ll dodge the problem of whether or not we want to design a system around the idea of a single sex world, and when everyone becomes part of the swarm their system changes anyway, so it¡¯ll make our lives a lot easier.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s also not worth it on its own.¡± Kali pointed out. ¡°Even if it is convenient for us, that¡¯s all it is, and convenience isn¡¯t worth too much consideration in this discussion.¡±


    By the way, I wholeheartedly support Amelia¡¯s single sex world idea. Nuwa said. I have some plans to make the transition easier for Earth and Haven while not forcing anyone into anything.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that after this.¡± Kali said. ¡°Back on topic, one thing it will do that we can¡¯t easily replicate is greatly shake up how our system works. Obviously we could try that anyway, but it would be really, really taxing on the people and would permanently damage our reputation. They¡¯ve been conditioned to think about magic and systems in one broad way for a long time, and the swarm provides an opportunity to change that in a safe way.


    ¡°I made a lot of mistakes in system design, and while most of those can be rectified, the general shape of the system can¡¯t be. I¡¯m rather fond of the whole evolution thing the swarm has going on, and I would like to be able to replicate that here, but we can¡¯t just drop that on people with this new system update, not without throwing the world into chaos.¡±


    ¡°The societal benefits are nice too.¡± Eve said. ¡°We¡¯d take a huge bite out of discrimination and inequality, and war and hunger would basically be a thing of the past. And that¡¯s a concrete thing that we just couldn¡¯t get otherwise.¡±


    There was a silence for a few moments. ¡°I¡­don¡¯t think that¡¯s enough.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Does anyone disagree or have more benefits?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t disagree and I don¡¯t have any more benefits.¡± Pandora said.


    ¡°Yeah, same.¡± Eve replied. ¡°Kali?¡±


    ¡°Sounds like we¡¯re not accepting that offer, then.¡± Kali said. ¡°Onto our other topic of discussion, a single-sex oriented system. Nuwa, you seem passionate about this, care to explain?¡±


    Well, it seems pretty straightforward. The whole two sexes thing is just culture among Administrators, it¡¯s not any more ¡®natural¡¯ than there only being one sex, not when we decide what¡¯s natural. The only downside with it is when we update our current system to match, but there are ways to handle that and no ways to replicate the increase in system efficiency.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like telling half of the population that we effectively consider them to be less important.¡± Lilith said, frowning. ¡°If we weren¡¯t in a situation where we have to take our current planes into account, then yes, I would have no issues with a single-sex system, but right now it feels like it goes against the equality I¡¯m supposed to promote.¡±


    Well, to an extent, it kind of does, but there are a lot of ways we can soften the blow, with the eventual aim of everyone being¡­well, I¡¯m assuming we¡¯re going to go with female as our single sex, just because that¡¯s what Amelia¡¯s most familiar with, but which we pick doesn¡¯t really matter.


    So, to start laying the groundwork, with the system update we just make it so the Y chromosome isn¡¯t passed on, and remove any magic that would make someone male. And, of course, we make a built-in way for two women to have kids. That alone would mean that over time the population ratio would dramatically skew towards female, but it still doesn¡¯t solve that issue you brought up.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    So, we be honest and tell them that we¡¯re anticipating a multi-universal war in the future and that this is the best way to increase the odds that they come out of it safely, since it lets us make a stronger system. Then, we just flat-out bake the option to change yourself into the system. The change would make your base form that of a biological woman if it wasn¡¯t already, change your gender identity to female, and make you attracted to women if you weren¡¯t before.


    Of course, most people won¡¯t take that deal, so we sweeten the pot. A complete rejuvenation the moment you choose to change, any injuries or problems you had with your body, gone. If you¡¯re older than twenty, your body is now twenty. We even make it so you get to pick what you look like, species, looks, height and weight, everything.


    And, finally, we level all their current stuff up by a lot. Max the levels of their Skills, increase the starting level of their first Class or Job or whatever we¡¯re calling it in the new system, and buff all their stats by a bit. This will also slow their aging by quite a bit, so it¡¯s a huge win in basically every way. I¡¯m sure that¡¯d make a lot more people take the deal, especially women. And the people who don¡¯t¡­well, we gave them the option, they can¡¯t complain too much. The only real downside is that it¡¯ll be quite Worship intensive, but I think it¡¯s worth it.


    ¡°You underestimate the capability of people to complain.¡± Eve grumbled. ¡°We could give all of that to them without any of the changes to their sex or mind and some people would still whine about it. But that being said, I like it a lot. I¡¯ll throw my support in behind that idea.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Pandora said. ¡°I mean, it really is best for our future, and if Jerry thinks we¡¯re gonna be one of the powerhouses of our faction, we¡¯re gonna wanna get the most outta our system that we can.¡±


    It does seem optimal. Mae agreed.


    Kali nodded. ¡°I think it¡¯s a good enough compromise.¡± She said. ¡°Lilith?¡±


    Lilith gnawed on one of her knuckles, thinking deeply on it. ¡°I really, really don¡¯t like this.¡± She said. ¡°Even if we give them the option to change, it feels like we¡¯re telling them ¡®we don¡¯t like you as you are¡¯, and I don¡¯t think most people are going to understand or fully believe us when we say that having a single-sex oriented system is optimal. It¡¯ll damage our reputation a lot, even if we try and soften the blow. And, even that aside, did we not just reject the idea of transforming our mortals entirely when we decided not to accept Amelia¡¯s proposal?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s different, and you know it.¡± Eve said. ¡°The important element here is choice. If people choose to stay male forever, they can do that. If they want to transform, that¡¯s entirely up to them.¡±


    Kali laid a comforting hand on Lilith¡¯s arm. ¡°And we¡¯re not getting out of this without damaging our reputation in some way,¡± She said, ¡°just changing the system again will do that. But remember that at the end of the day our reputation is only a means to an end. It makes our job easier to be perceived positively by the public, but we can still do just fine if they hate us.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of like being a parent, when you think about it. Sometimes we have to do things the mortals don¡¯t understand, and they might get mad about it, but we¡¯re doing it for their own good. This sort of situation is why Administrators usually keep themselves in the shadows and use gods as their public front; people are generally less upset with someone who is an object of worship.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, I know of at least three large religions that worship us.¡± Eve said. ¡°It¡¯s amazing what having an actual physical presence will do for belief.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not big enough.¡± Kali replied. ¡°And, unfortunately, my mismanagement has ended up taking the option of normal gods away from us, so we¡¯re going to have to deal.¡± Kali gave a sigh. ¡°I wish I had spent more time with Amy instead of rushing off the moment I could.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you did.¡± Lilith said, slinging an arm over Kali¡¯s shoulder. ¡°If you didn¡¯t, we never would have met.¡±


    ¡°That is quite the silver lining. But, back on topic, don¡¯t worry so much about our reputation. It¡¯s going to take a hit, and doing this won¡¯t be that much worse.¡±


    Lilith gave a sigh. ¡°Fine, you all have convinced me. We¡¯ll go through with it, but I¡¯m not happy about it.¡±


    So¡­who¡¯s gonna tell Amelia? Nuwa asked.


    ¡°I will, tomorrow.¡± Lilith said. ¡°No need to tell her right away. Anyway, I¡¯m a little stressed after that talk, what do you say we go relax and watch some TV?¡±


    <hr>


    Tess shifted nervously in front of the door to Lilith and Kali¡¯s room. This was the first time she was meeting her after getting her memories of the party back, and things just felt¡­different. She hadn¡¯t actually had proper time to get over her younger self¡¯s sense of awe about Lilith, what with forgetting about the encounter afterwards, so the emotion was still somewhat fresh in her mind, despite her not feeling anything of the sort just a few hours prior.


    ¡°Ah, if it isn¡¯t three of my favorite nieces!¡± Kali said happily, opening the door and giving each of them a hug. ¡°Come on in!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too, Aunt Kali.¡± Maven said. ¡°You¡¯ve got a little time to talk, right?¡±


    ¡°For you three? Always.¡± Kali motioned for them to follow her inside, then led them to some couches towards the side of the large room. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­Amelia proposed to us.¡± Tess said awkwardly, silently thankful that Lilith wasn¡¯t there. ¡°And she said she proposed to you guys too? Have you, um, decided yet?¡±


    Kali frowned. ¡°Tess, are you okay?¡± She asked. ¡°You¡¯re acting oddly.¡±


    Tess sighed. ¡°Yeah. Getting my memories of the party back is just messing with me, I keep getting these feelings from my younger self, I just need a little more time to work through them so they¡¯re not so¡­fresh. Give it a day or two and I¡¯ll be back to normal.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorta getting the same, to tell you the truth.¡± Ellie admitted. ¡°Mostly in regards to Eve. I remember getting thrashed to an embarrassing extent, and even though it was when I was fifty or sixty years younger, it still kind of feels like the me of now. I mean, I¡¯m sure I¡¯d still lose to her, but I think I can at least give her a fight now.¡±


    ¡°You certainly would.¡± Kali replied, giving her a smile. ¡°If you¡¯re still feeling like this after a day or two, let us know and we¡¯ll take another look at our magic and make sure we didn¡¯t make a mistake.¡±


    ¡°I doubt you did, but we¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡± Maven said. ¡°Anyway, we got a little off track. So, have you decided?¡±


    Kali gave her a nod. ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re not taking her up on it. There¡¯s not enough benefit to justify essentially assimilating our planes into the swarm, regardless of whether or not we¡¯re part of the swarm¡¯s leadership.¡±


    Tess shot her a relieved look. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. We¡¯re going to decline too, but we were thinking of reconsidering if you guys were going to accept.¡±


    ¡°You were going to reconsider? Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, you guys would probably have a good reason for accepting, and also it¡¯d be slightly awkward to be the only ones left out¡± Ellie explained. ¡°We were ninety-nine percent sure you wouldn¡¯t accept, but just in case¡­¡±


    ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Lilith?¡± Maven asked curiously. ¡°Usually, she¡¯s here for stuff like this.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s off breaking some news to family and the dungeon residents.¡± Kali said. ¡°While we didn¡¯t accept Amelia¡¯s proposal, she suggested that having a system designed around a single sex would be more efficient, and after some deliberation we agreed. So, in a few years here once we¡¯ve worked out all the kinks in the new system, we¡¯re going to implement that new system in our current planes and give people the option to switch sexes along with some heavy incentive to do so.


    ¡°By this point, most of our family and the dungeon residents are either women or have a female form that they spend some amount of time in, so I imagine most will just decide to go full-time now. The only one we¡¯re really concerned about is Siph¡¯s father, but¡­well, I¡¯m sure his wife will get him to come around.¡±


    ¡°Huh. You¡¯re¡­sure about this, right?¡± Maven asked.


    ¡°Mostly.¡± Kali sighed. ¡°According to Amelia, it¡¯s a roughly three to five percent increase in power, and considering the sheer scale of the war we¡¯re going to fight that¡¯ll probably translate to tens of billions of lives saved. It¡¯s¡­not an easy choice by any means, but if Jerry thinks our planes will become powerhouses thanks to Lilith and Amelia, then a boost that large is not something we can ignore. At worst¡­well, our planes are only about ten billion strong at the moment, and five billion people getting inconvenienced and having their feelings hurt is just not worth the lives we can save.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Tess said. ¡°Kind of an annoying decision to even have to make, but I get it.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­enough about that for now. Since you guys are here, why don¡¯t we hang out for a bit? I was just about to head to bed, but I haven¡¯t had much social interaction what with watching over the new plane, so I can spare an hour or two of time if you guys can.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be great.¡± Maven said. ¡°What were you thinking?¡±


    ¡°I dunno, something active like mini golf or bowling or something? I¡¯m mostly just sitting around all day so it¡¯d be nice to move my body.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling mini golf.¡± Ellie volunteered.


    ¡°I think mini golf sounds fine.¡± Tess said.


    ¡°Mini golf it is, then.¡± Maven confirmed. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 24: Reconciliation

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± Lilith exclaimed, bolting upright in bed.


    ¡°Whazzat?¡± Kali said sleepily, shifting the covers as she sat up.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve still been thinking hard about the whole ¡®one gender system¡¯ thing, and I think I know what we¡¯re missing. Really, we¡¯ve been looking at it wrong the entire time; the problem is that we¡¯ve been taking Amelia¡¯s words at face value, and just assuming that that¡¯s how it is, that having one gender is the only optimization we can make in that regard, but we¡¯ve been disregarding a few crucial things.


    ¡°Most importantly, we¡¯ve been disregarding the fact that this information comes from Amelia. She may be incredibly talented when it comes to systems, but she¡¯s very immature as a person. She said that Mana flows differently based on a person¡¯s gender, and that¡¯s true, Pandora¡¯s tested it. But, even though that¡¯s true, we didn¡¯t properly consider other options.


    ¡°Yes, Amelia has already optimized a monogender system, but I¡¯m willing to bet she hasn¡¯t even tried optimizing anything else. Mana flows differently based on gender, sure, but that¡¯s not necessarily something that we can¡¯t use to our advantage. We¡¯re just using raw Mana output and efficiency as our only metric, and that¡¯s a gross oversimplification of how the world works.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± Eve said. ¡°I suppose we should go tell everyone again. I¡¯m glad that you at least made sure everyone knew that we hadn¡¯t finalized it, but it¡¯s still gonna be awkward to go to everyone and tell them we figured out a better way literally the day after we told them.¡±


    ¡°Well, as much as I hate to admit it, this is still contingent upon us actually landing upon a solution that¡¯s worth the tradeoff in efficiency.¡± Lilith said. ¡°And admittedly it¡¯ll be rather hard to make a system that¡¯s fair and doesn¡¯t promote gender-based discrimination if we attempt to minmax the way Mana flows, but I think it¡¯s doable for sure.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s discuss it more in the morning.¡± Kali yawned. ¡°We¡¯ll have Jerry and Amelia there to weigh in on it too, so it¡¯ll probably a bit more productive. I¡¯m gonna go back to sleep now, though. G¡¯night.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m too awake now.¡± Lilith said, teleporting herself out of bed. ¡°I¡¯m going to go take a walk and think about this.¡±


    Kali and Eve didn¡¯t protest. As she was now, Lilith didn¡¯t actually need that much sleep, and it was really more to heal mental fatigue than it was physically necessary. Likewise, eating, drinking, and even breathing was sort of optional as well; thanks to her eldritch abilities, all she had to do was absorb biomass from somewhere and she could break it into nutrients or use it to oxidize her blood, though using it to oxidize blood was incredibly inefficient.


    She had lost track of how much mass she had stored up, but it was a lot, easily in the millions of kilograms, potentially pushing even tens or hundreds of millions. With the dungeon able to spawn enormous monsters that would just sit still and let themselves be killed, it had become trivial to farm up mass. Mae would often spend time using the spare avatar simply sitting in that room and farming monsters over and over again to increase their biomass.


    And in a sense, that truly did make her a classic eldritch abomination. The bodies she had walking around were linked to this horrifying mass of every conceivable material that a living being could be made of, and killing one of those bodies was only a temporary setback. With the leaps and bounds in understanding that Pandora was making with their abilities, they reckoned that in a pinch they could transfer their consciousness to said horrifying mass, and with the aid of a little Worship rebuild their destroyed bodies. Pandora had even puppeted a body made entirely from the mass and not an Avatar, though she wasn¡¯t able to do so with any particular skill yet.


    But, regardless of whether or not it was required, she forced herself to stick to regular human behaviors like eating and sleeping even when it was inconvenient. It was one thing to go without food in an emergency situation, it was another to eschew it altogether in favor of just absorbing mass through her fingertips. It was just a way to keep herself grounded, remind herself that she was not like the Elder Gods. She was, at her core, human. Or¡­demon, and then a human. Reincarnation was weird like that. Regardless, whatever the core of her being was, it was ¡°normal¡±, and she would be keeping it that way.


    As she rounded a corner, heading to one of the kitchens, she was surprised to see Levia walking sleepily towards the same kitchen Lilith was headed to. Lilith walked up to her daughter, scooping her into her arms and hugging her tight. ¡°Can¡¯t sleep?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Levia replied, snuggling up to Lilith. ¡°I was having a nightmare about the time when Aria and I fought while I was still Levi. Ma didn¡¯t teleport Errus away as he was falling, and then he turned into Aria and I ate her. It was awful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Lilith soothed, stroking Levia¡¯s hair gently. ¡°I¡¯ll never let anything like that happen again.¡±


    ¡°But¡­what if I get really hungry, and then Levi comes out and I can¡¯t control him, and I hurt someone?¡± Levia asked in a small voice.


    ¡°You¡¯re the strongest girl I know, Levia.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure that you¡¯d be able to handle it, no matter what. And even if the impossible happens and you can¡¯t control your hunger, I¡¯ll be there to make sure you don¡¯t hurt anyone. So, you don¡¯t need to worry about it, okay?¡±


    ¡°I know, I just¡­can¡¯t help it.¡± Levia said.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, we all get like that sometimes. But, whenever that happens, come tell one of your mothers, okay? We¡¯d like to be there for you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Levia said. ¡°Thanks, Mom.¡±


    ¡°Anytime. Now, why don¡¯t we go get you some food?¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°So, what¡¯s going on?¡± Anala asked curiously, looking around the room. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since all four of us met up like this.¡± Currently, she was in Bruce and Ava¡¯s home, sitting in the living room with them and Raesn. The four of them were all the ¡°heroes¡±, people that had been picked by the High Arbiter to fight against the threat of the Queen of Monsters.


    Of course, now she knew that it had all been a sham. The High Arbiter and the Queen of Monsters were more or less the same person, and the whole thing had been some infuriating way to ¡°boost confidence¡± and ¡°get people stronger¡±, totally ignoring the fact that hundreds had died and thousands more had their lives uprooted by the capture of the frontier villages.


    And that wasn¡¯t even getting into all the trauma, fear, and other damages the incident had caused. And yet they still had the gall to claim that it had been for the betterment of people, that, in the long run, more lives were saved by the incident than they had taken.


    Bruce waved a hand, and the front door locked, followed shortly by the feeling of an anti-magic field settling over the area. Anala¡¯s eyes narrowed, her hand straying to the sword at her side. ¡°Explain, now.¡±


    ¡°We need to have a serious talk, Anala.¡± Ava said. ¡°About you and Lilith. And we didn¡¯t want you just leaving because you don¡¯t want to deal with it.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been over this.¡± Anala said tersely. ¡°I refuse to associate with her, not after what she¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°Things have changed, Anala.¡± Raesn said, an unusual sharpness in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s time to put your pride away and settle your differences.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s so different now? Is it because they¡¯ve cooked up some other hairbrained scheme that will kill thousands?¡± Anala said sarcastically. ¡°I don¡¯t see why we can¡¯t just stay apart and let each other live in peace.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s going to be war, Anala.¡± Raesn said. ¡°War between the factions of Administrators. The Elder Gods have decided that they want to make a game of this war, and there¡¯s going to be no avoiding it.¡±


    ¡°And how do we know Lilith isn¡¯t just making this up again?¡± Anala accused. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time she¡¯s lied to us about something like this.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know her like we do, Anala,¡± Bruce said, ¡°she¡¯s genuinely worried about this. And even if you claim it¡¯s just her acting, then she¡¯s lying to all the other residents of the dungeon, her parents, her daughters, everyone. She made a new Parallel for the express purpose of figuring out the eldritch, too. And it¡¯s not just her, Higher Beings and Administrators from other factions are constantly visiting to prepare for this. She¡¯s even in the process of readying a new plane and making a new system. It¡¯s serious.¡±


    Anala hesitated for a moment. ¡°What proof do we have that these other people aren¡¯t just random people Lilith and Kali picked up, and that she hasn¡¯t ¨C¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Anala.¡± Ava snapped. ¡°I¡¯ve had it up to here with your digs at her. You have to admit that she was right, that the death toll around the frontier towns has taken a nosedive since the incident, and that the people of Haven are expanding beyond the three cities. If you credit the incident for that, then the lives saved have already surpassed the incident¡¯s death count. She also gave people ample time to evacuate, so the ones who died did so knowing full well the risks they were taking.¡±


    ¡°Ava¡¯s right, even if she is being a touch too harsh.¡± Raesn said. ¡°It seems to me that you¡¯ve refused to let yourself see any of the good the incident has caused because you¡¯re blinded by the bad. The world isn¡¯t black and white, and people in power have to make tough decisions. This is exactly the kind of scenario that the incident was supposed to prepare us for. Can you put aside your feelings this one time and look at the situation logically?¡±


    ¡°They could have done all of that without the convoluted Queen of Monsters nonsense.¡± Anala argued. ¡°They didn¡¯t have to do it in a way that would leave people dead.¡±


    ¡°And what about independence, huh?¡± Ava asked. ¡°Do you want the solution to everyone¡¯s problems to be pleading with them to do something about it?¡±


    ¡°No, but this problem is their fault in the first place.¡± Anala replied. ¡°If they just made Haven so it didn¡¯t have monsters that strong, then there wouldn¡¯t be a need for this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, Anala.¡± Raesn replied. ¡°The strength of the monsters on a plane is a function of the plane¡¯s average Mana, which itself is a function of size and if it is connected to larger planes in any meaningful capacity.¡±


    ¡°Then how do they keep the monsters around the frontier towns so weak, huh? Explain that.¡±


    ¡°Eve does it.¡± Ava replied. ¡°She spends a large portion of her working time culling any stronger monsters that generate from the ambient Mana. The only reason the weak ones keep appearing is that they¡¯re breeding naturally. That¡¯s why she¡¯s not a higher ranked adventurer than she is now; most of her work is off the books.¡±


    Anala paused for a moment. ¡°And she didn¡¯t tell me this why?¡±


    ¡°Because you made it clear you had no desire to speak with her, and she respected your wishes.¡± Bruce said. ¡°Even now, she didn¡¯t ask us to contact you or anything. She has said she wants to make up with you, but she hasn¡¯t done anything because you told her you didn¡¯t want that, and because she knew it would make things worse if she tried. You and her may not see eye to eye on everything, but that doesn¡¯t make her a bad person, and at the end of the day you both want what¡¯s best for the people.¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡± Anala said. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me a fan of her methods.¡±


    ¡°And you don¡¯t have to be.¡± Raesn replied. ¡°But we would appreciate it if you would at least be willing to work with her on things like this, where it¡¯s clearly bigger than all of us.¡±


    ¡°And what am I supposed to be doing, then?¡± Anala asked. ¡°If war is an inevitability, how am I supposed to help? I¡¯m not even a Higher Being.¡±


    Raesn shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sure Lilith would have use for strong people like us in getting the new plane up and running, and if not, you can probably just help on training the people of our planes so we aren¡¯t at a massive disadvantage if the fight comes here. We are, apparently, among the weakest planes, so we would have little recourse if we were attacked in our current state. Honestly, though, just talk with her, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d have something for you to do.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll go talk with her tomorrow, happy?¡± Anala said testily. ¡°But I¡¯ll decide myself whether this is actually real or if you all are being duped.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be with you.¡± Raesn said firmly. ¡°I don¡¯t want there to be any misunderstandings or anything, this is too important.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that unreasonable, but if you insist.¡± Anala replied, rolling her eyes.


    ¡°Good.¡± Ava said. ¡°And¡­sorry for snapping at you; I just hate seeing my friends fight and not even try to reconcile.¡±


    Anala raised an eyebrow. ¡°Was she actually serious about being friends? I thought she was just trying to mess with us.¡±


    Ava sighed. ¡°No, she was absolutely serious. She¡¯s¡­lonely is perhaps a strong word, but she has precious few people she can interact with normally, so she cherishes every person that she can connect with. Why did you think she was trying to mess with us?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding? She dropped that on us right after telling us our entire quest was a lie. You¡¯ll have to forgive me for being wary.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­actually not the worst point.¡± Bruce admitted. ¡°But, yes, she and the other Parallels really are genuinely happy to spend time with us.¡±


    ¡°You know, we could just go talk with her now.¡± Ava suggested. ¡°Unless you have a specific reason for wanting to do it tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you need to let her know first?¡± Anala asked. ¡°We can¡¯t exactly waltz in uninvited.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what we do, actually.¡± Raesn said. ¡°We have full license to enter whenever we want.¡±


    ¡°And if she¡¯s in the middle of something?¡±


    ¡°Then one of the Parallels will talk to us. She¡¯s usually free around this time, though; it¡¯s right around when she wakes up.¡±


    ¡°Alright, fine.¡± Anala said. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Bruce nodded, then stood up and sketched a magic circle on the floor. Once he was finished, everyone got inside and he activated the circle, and suddenly they were in a sort of featureless room, empty save for a couple of doors. Bruce led the group through one of them, and soon they were in a hallway that was built similarly to the room Anala had been in after they had defeated Eve.


    Oh, hey guys¡­wait, Anala?! A voice rang out in Anala¡¯s mind. Okay hold on one sec, I think I see what¡¯s going on here. Uh, just head to the nearest living room, Lilith will meet you there.


    ¡°Got it. Thanks, Nuwa.¡± Ava said.


    Yeah, anytime. And¡­it¡¯s good to see you again, Anala.


    ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± Anala said awkwardly. ¡°Where¡¯s this living room?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just around the corner.¡± Ava said. ¡°There are a bunch around here.¡±


    The group rounded the corner and emerged into a fairly normal, if large, living room. As they were sitting down, Lilith entered the room from another hallway, dressed in what seemed to be pajamas. ¡°Anala, it¡¯s good to see you again! To what do I owe the pleasure?¡±


    Anala fumbled for a moment, caught off-guard by the sheer incongruity of seeing one of the world¡¯s most powerful and supposedly serious people in such casual attire. Then, she rallied herself, and looked Lilith in the eyes. ¡°I hear you¡¯re claiming that there¡¯s going to be some big war or something? I came to see for myself if you¡¯re just baiting us again.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s face fell somewhat. ¡°Unfortunately, there isn¡¯t much concrete evidence at the moment that doesn¡¯t amount to basically being my word. I can show you the vision I was given, but I know that could easily be fabricated. Our faction has been given a head start because we¡¯re the one that needs it the most in order to make this sick ¡®game¡¯ fair, so most of what we¡¯re doing is preparing.


    ¡°The best I can really offer is to have you wait until the people I¡¯m working with show up later. Specifically, it¡¯ll be the pioneer of magic systems and her¡­prot¨¦g¨¦ is the wrong word, but someone who¡¯s made a breakthrough in system tech. I¡¯m helping them engineer a new system for a new plane, and if all goes well then we¡¯re going to port it over to Earth and Haven when we integrate them with the new plane, which should mean a marked jump in power for people. The current system is¡­less than optimal, to say the least.¡±


    Anala sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s see this vision, then.¡± She said.


    Lilith nodded, and a DVD appeared in her hand. ¡°We have copies of this because some people wanted to rewatch it and look for anything they could.¡± She explained. ¡°They¡¯re straight copies from my memory, though, so don¡¯t be put off by the way we¡¯re storing them. This is just convenient for us.¡±


    Anala nodded, and Lilith inserted the DVD into a player connected to one of the TVs. As the DVD began to play, Anala studied it intently, looking for anything incongruent. It began with Lilith in a featureless void¡­

 Chapter 25: A Meeting of Heroes

    Lilith watched Anala nervously. Even though it had been a couple of years since the Queen of Monsters incident, the woman still seemed to be in a state of flux when it came to her feelings. She had periods of time where she was indifferent to Lilith, and periods of time where she was hostile. The most progress Lilith had really made was when Anala came to her wedding, and she offered a curt ¡°congratulations¡±, but in the months following Anala had returned to her usual distaste.


    Lilith wasn¡¯t totally sure if that was just how Anala¡¯s ¡°base personality¡± was or if it was a symptom of some sort of emotional or chemical imbalance, but there wasn¡¯t a lot she could do aside from staying respectful and being friendly whenever the chance arose. So, she sat, studying Anala¡¯s expression as the woman watched the recording of Lilith¡¯s meeting with the Elder Gods.


    As always, she seemed split. On the one hand, Anala clearly understood the potential danger if the recording was accurate, but on the other she also clearly didn¡¯t trust Lilith. And, to an extent, that was fair; Lilith had lied about some rather serious things, and, whether it was in service of saving more lives or not, she had indirectly caused the deaths of thousands.


    While Lilith had tried to be as honest and open as possible after that, she couldn¡¯t really blame Anala for being wary. Well, couldn¡¯t blame her up to a point; even Lilith had to admit that it was a little frustrating to have her every action second-guessed and analyzed for potential duplicity, even something as simple as inviting her out for dinner.


    The video ended, and Anala remained silent, biting her lip in thought. Lilith hesitated, unsure if she should say something, but fortunately she didn¡¯t have to make a decision, as they were interrupted by the arrival of Jerry and Amelia.


    ¡°Who are these people?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°You busy or something?¡±


    ¡°No, these are the heroes we made for the Queen of Monsters thing we did a while back.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°We¡¯re getting them up to speed on everything that¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Amelia, and the one next to you is Jerry, right?¡± Raesn asked. ¡°My name¡¯s Raesn, we met briefly a while back, if I recall correctly.¡±


    ¡°You do.¡±  Jerry replied. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Jerry, and this is Amelia. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet the rest of you in person.¡±


    Amelia frowned. ¡°These are your Heroes?¡± She asked. ¡°They¡¯re¡­not as good as I thought they would be.¡±


    ¡°Amelia, you¡¯re thinking about this from the wrong perspective.¡± Lilith said patiently. ¡°They¡¯re not like the Heroes you¡¯re familiar with. Our heroes aren¡¯t the singular, overpowering, type, they¡¯re people with just a couple of Blessings and a bit of an edge over normal people. Also do remember that your standards are still skewed, and that this universe is still one of the weakest in the faction. To expect them to be anywhere near your level is unreasonable.¡±


    ¡°I¡­yes, Lilith.¡± Amelia replied meekly, looking down. ¡°Sorry, you four. Where I come from, Heroes are¡­a really big deal.¡±


    Jerry raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re feeling alright, Amelia?¡± She asked. ¡°It¡¯s not like you to act like this.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Amelia said, face burning red. ¡°I¡¯ve got to pay Lilith at least a little respect! As much as I hate to admit it, she¡¯s stronger than me, and she¡¯s a good person!¡±


    This time, Lilith was the one to raise an eyebrow. ¡°Did the party really leave that much of an impression on you?¡±


    ¡°Of course it did! What you did with Lia isn¡¯t the kind of thing a lot of people would do, it didn¡¯t benefit you at all. And, I have to respect that, especially given the circumstances!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the people you¡¯ve met, but it¡¯s pretty normal for friends here.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It was just a game, it¡¯s not like it meant anything.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but as far as we knew, we¡¯d forget it all.¡± Amelia argued. ¡°You might as well have just carried on as you were, it would have had basically the same outcome as far as you were concerned.¡±


    Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by Anala, who seemed more than a little annoyed. ¡°We can¡¯t be that far below her standards!¡± Anala protested. ¡°We still beat Eve that once, even if she was holding back, and you¡¯re supposed to be super strong, right!¡±


    ¡°Uh, if what Eve¡¯s told us is right, Amelia would barely need to lift a finger to demolish us.¡± Bruce said. ¡°We may be strong be our standards, but that doesn¡¯t mean much.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s already thoroughly analyzed your capabilities.¡± Lilith said. ¡°And trust me, she¡¯s in the running for our faction¡¯s strongest, you wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.¡±


    ¡°You and Tess still have me solidly beat.¡± Amelia said. ¡°But not for long, I¡¯m going to catch up, just you watch! And, uh¡­speaking of the circumstances, have you come to a decision on my proposal? I asked Tess and her wives before I came and they said no, just so you¡¯re aware.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re also going to have to say no.¡± Lilith said. ¡°While we do like you and your wives, we¡¯ve already tried polyamory and it wasn¡¯t to our taste. We¡¯re also not willing to allow the swarm to enter our planes, despite the immediate advantages. We just don¡¯t want to subject our people to that level of change without their consent.


    ¡°Likewise, I think we should table the prospect of a mono-gendered system until we¡¯ve explored alternatives a bit more. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re correct in that it¡¯s more Mana-efficient, but I suspect you haven¡¯t looked at anything else, right?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t necessary.¡± Amelia replied. ¡°It suited my needs and was better than our current system, so I went with it. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to reconsider, though? This seems like a lot of extra work for little benefit.¡±


    ¡°The benefit is that our people potentially won¡¯t need to upend their lives even more over the system change.¡± Lilith said. ¡°And who knows? We could find something even more useful than just better Mana efficiency.¡±


    ¡°Hold up.¡± Anala said. ¡°What¡¯s this about a mono-gendered system? You couldn¡¯t seriously be thinking of forcing that on us, right?¡±


    ¡°To be fair, she did reject the idea outright when I proposed it.¡± Amelia said. ¡°The only reason she was even considering it was because Kali insisted that they needed to properly weigh its benefits and drawbacks first.¡±


    ¡°Is this the greater good again?¡± Anala asked, eyes narrowing.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Yes. And I won¡¯t lie to you, we were actually going to go through with it before I realized that Amelia likely hadn¡¯t explored other options.¡± Lilith said. ¡°The hope is to turn our planes, Earth, Haven, and the new one, into one of our faction¡¯s powerhouses, and even just an increase in mana efficiency could mean hundreds of billions or even trillions of lives saved.


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have forced anyone to change, it would have been something you could choose to do in exchange for some benefits, but the new system would hopefully still increase everyone¡¯s strength overall, even if men would be weaker comparatively. But, that¡¯s a moot point for now; unless we find that there simply is no other alternative that provides a similar increase, we¡¯re not doing it.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s completely unfair to half the population!¡± Anala argued. ¡°They didn¡¯t do anything that would warrant being treated as lesser!¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why they¡¯re not immediately doing it.¡± Jerry said. ¡°But, young lady, I don¡¯t think you fully understand the gravity of the situation we¡¯re in. We¡¯re about to enter a war that will make anything you¡¯ve seen or heard of look like two infants play-fighting. To say that such measures are unwarranted is an ignorant, even dangerous view.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve had world wars, and weapons of mass destruction have been used.¡± Anala said stubbornly. ¡°Don¡¯t assume you know everything about what I¡¯ve heard of.¡±


    Jerry sighed. ¡°I¡¯m quite familiar with your world wars; Kali asked me for advice during the second. Likewise, I¡¯m familiar with all your weapons of war, I made a point of studying the history of these planes. Nuclear weaponry, awe-inspiring and terrifying though it may be, is nothing compared to the sheer brutality of an Administrator war. I once saw an entire universe of six planes completely annihilated for sport. Every last scrap of life was cleansed before the conqueror took the planes for herself. That is what we risk by not taking every opportunity we can to strengthen ourselves.¡±


    ¡°That makes no sense.¡± Anala said. ¡°Who in their right mind would go through the effort of completely wiping out a plane when, pragmatically speaking, the worst they would need to do is wipe out sapient life. It¡¯s completely unrealistic.¡±


    ¡°She wasn¡¯t in her right mind.¡± Jerry said flatly. ¡°She had a god complex and thought that it would be fun. This isn¡¯t about just retaining autonomy, it¡¯s about survival, and I refuse to watch my friends be butchered like livestock again. If I have to get my hands dirty to stop that, then I gladly will. Perhaps, that way, others can keep their hands clean.¡±


    ¡°The road to hell ¨C¡±


    ¡°Is paved with good intentions. I know. I have no intention of claiming that my choice is morally correct. Perhaps this is all completely unnecessary, and I may well be overreacting, but if there¡¯s even the slightest chance that what I¡¯m doing will save the lives of those I love, then I¡¯ll do it.


    ¡°And it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m committing genocide or similar atrocities; my people will see benefit from this, the methods are just less than tasteful. And yes, only these types of methods will suffice for the benefits my people will reap. Judge me if you wish, but know that you have only ever seen comparative peace.¡±


    Anala paused, clearly taken aback by Jerry¡¯s sudden intensity. ¡°Was it really that bad?¡± She asked in a small voice.


    ¡°Worse.¡± Jerry confirmed. ¡°And the only reason we were able to stop the war was because I made systems and our faction became overwhelmingly more powerful than the others. And this is exactly why it¡¯s so vital that we don¡¯t cut corners here; the consequences for failure could not be more dire.¡±


    ¡°And¡­do you have any proof that you are who you say you are?¡± Anala asked. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ve been burned by this sort of thing once before.¡±


    Jerry shrugged. ¡°I could take you to my planes, if Lilith is willing to pay for your passage. Fair warning, it¡¯s not going to feel good; travel between universes is hard on people who aren¡¯t used to it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m willing to pay.¡± Lilith told Anala. ¡°So it¡¯s up to you if you want to take Jerry up on the offer.¡±


    ¡°You know what, sure.¡± Anala said. ¡°Take me over, and if you have any video or pictures from the war, show them to me. If you can, then I¡¯ll believe you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take her now.¡± Jerry said. ¡°I have a few recordings from back then, and it shouldn¡¯t be more than an hour. In the meantime, Amelia, why don¡¯t you get to know these people more? It can¡¯t hurt to broaden your horizons.¡±


    Amelia sighed. ¡°If my wives hadn¡¯t told me the same thing, I wouldn¡¯t agree.¡± She said. ¡°But, since they did, I¡¯ll humor you.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything I need to know about traveling between universes before I go?¡± Anala asked warily.


    ¡°Just that it¡¯s okay to throw up. I¡¯ll have a bucket prepared.¡± Jerry replied, then walked over and grabbed Anala¡¯s hand. ¡°Brace yourself.¡±


    The two of them vanished, and Amelia walked over to the group. ¡°So, I suppose now is the time to swap stories.¡± She said. ¡°Tell me a bit more about your fight against the Lord of Monsters.¡± She said. ¡°You obviously didn¡¯t fight Eve at anywhere near full power, she would have absolutely destroyed you, but I¡¯m intrigued to see how she compared to the one my wives and I fought.¡±


    ¡°I assume Lord of Monsters is what your Queen of Monsters equivalent?¡± Bruce asked. ¡°Oh, and I¡¯m Bruce, and this is my wife, Ava.¡±


    ¡°You already heard, but I¡¯m Amelia.¡± Amelia said. ¡°And yes, I think it¡¯s the same thing, just under different names.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Lilith confirmed. ¡°Eve just wanted to stylize herself that way.¡±


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s rude to talk about people when they¡¯re not there.¡± Eve said, walking into the room with Levia and Aria trailing close behind. ¡°And yes, I limited myself quite a bit. You won¡¯t have any direct way of comparing, but in terms of raw strength I was almost certainly operating at a level that was under the Lord of Monsters you fought. He would have increased his power to account for you and Rose.¡±


    ¡°She.¡± Amelia corrected. ¡°After everything started going down, she¡¯s hopped the gender fence.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Ava asked. ¡°What does all of this have to do with gender?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all about Worship.¡± Eve explained, taking a seat on one of the couches and aging her body up so she could fit both Levia and Aria in her lap. ¡°Because the swarm only has women, and Jerry is letting the swarm take over her planes, the Higher Beings will need to shift their forms to ones that more closely align with how people will be seeing them.


    ¡°It¡¯s by no means required, it¡¯s probably a ten to twenty percent increase in Worship gain, but Jerry is all about efficiency, and purposefully chose to make her Higher Beings not care about their gender when she made them for exactly this reason. So, for most of them, it¡¯s really not a big deal.¡±


    ¡°Connie compares it to changing clothes.¡± Amelia said. ¡°They shift their appearances to best suit their needs.¡±


    ¡°But why not just take that appearance when they appear to people?¡± Ava asked. ¡°Surely it should have the same effect, right? Unless physical appearance actually impacts Worship gain.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t tell you.¡± Amelia replied. ¡°It¡¯s probably just more convenient for them. But I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if your base form has some impact on Worship, since you¡¯re conceptually leaning into being one way, and Worship¡¯s even more about conceptual links than regular magic.¡±


    ¡°Wait, conceptual linking is actually a thing, not just some folk belief from Earth?¡± Bruce asked. ¡°The wider magical community always called it bogus, so I just sort of assumed¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a thing, and it¡¯s really hard to pick out at first but once you notice it, you¡¯ll never stop noticing it. You have to be really in tune with Mana to fully grasp it on your own, and even then it¡¯s probably system dependent to an extent, so I¡¯m not surprised no one in your planes noticed it. I was one of the first, if not the first, in Jerry¡¯s planes to do so. I can show you, if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°Please do!¡± Bruce said enthusiastically. ¡°I¡¯m always open to learning more about magic!¡±


    ¡°Okay, so, this is easier if we have a monster to train on¡­shall we move to the practice rooms?¡± Amelia suggested.


    ¡°Lets.¡± Bruce said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay here with the kiddos, if anyone wants to stay with me.¡± Eve said. ¡°I was sort of expecting this conversation to be a bit more¡­stationary.¡±


    ¡°We can go, Mama.¡± Levia said shyly. ¡°We¡¯re not that tired.¡±


    ¡°But then I won¡¯t get to snuggle you like this.¡± Eve said, pulling her and Aria a little closer. ¡°Isn¡¯t this nice?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to stay.¡± Aria said quietly. ¡°I like snuggling.¡±


    ¡°Um, I didn¡¯t mean we had to go, I just meant if we were causing trouble we could go.¡± Levia said. ¡°We did sort of just follow you here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not trouble.¡± Eve said, leaning down and giving Levia a kiss on the forehead. ¡°I like spending time with you like this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay and chat with you.¡± Ava said. ¡°It sounds nice.¡±


    ¡°As for me, I want to see this conceptual stuff.¡± Raesn said. ¡°You¡¯ve got me curious.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Follow me, then.¡±

 Chapter 26: Shocked Hero

    Roughly an hour later, Jerry returned with a visibly shaken Anala in tow.


    ¡°What¡¯d you show her?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°I have footage of every major conflict from the war, bar some of the earlier ones.¡± Jerry explained. ¡°As well as footage for all postwar engagements I have been involved in, such as the battles for planes. I keep them around for the purpose of analyzing our enemies¡¯ strategies. It¡¯s not perfect, especially since it¡¯s been so long since there was a true conflict, but information is key.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you good?¡± Lilith asked, walking over to Anala. ¡°You¡¯re not looking so hot.¡±


    ¡°I¡­I understand, now.¡± Anala replied hollowly. ¡°This is why, right?¡±


    ¡°Uh, run that by me again?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°Why what?¡±


    ¡°The whole Queen of Monsters business. It all boils down to stopping what I was just shown, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, I haven¡¯t actually seen the footage myself, but yes.¡± Lilith confirmed. ¡°At the time, peace was only held by mutually assured destruction. Now¡­we can¡¯t afford that.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Anala said bluntly. ¡°And¡­if you can¡¯t figure out a better system than a monogender one¡­do it. If doing it helps avoid what I just saw, then it¡¯s worth it.¡±


    Lilith frowned, looking at Jerry. ¡°Seriously, what¡¯d you show her? This is¡­not like her.¡±


    ¡°She wanted to see the war. I showed her the worst of it.¡± Jerry said. ¡°I showed her the mass genocide I mentioned an hour ago, I showed her the cruel things done to one of our leaders when he was captured, and many others. And before you ask, I have that footage because it was broadcast to us, either as psychological warfare or because the woman who did it got a sick thrill from it.


    ¡°To be honest, one of my greatest regrets from the war is not being able to visit vengeance on that woman. She simply was not a high priority target and I could not let personal grudges interfere with the war. And, by the time we were in a position to do something about her, we had already signed the peace treaty. Still¡­all I need is one excuse to bait her into some sort of duel, and she¡¯ll get at least part of what¡¯s coming to her. Now that I know war is inevitable anyway, we can afford to rock the boat at least a little.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you need any help, give me a call.¡± Eve said. ¡°I¡¯d be more than happy to cave in the skull of some psycho if needs be.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Jerry said, chuckling darkly. ¡°Believe me, I will. Anyway, shall we gather everyone? I think it¡¯s high time we got underway.¡±


    I already let Amelia know you¡¯re here, she¡¯s on her way. Nuwa informed them. Anala, you can stick around or go home or whatever you were planning on, we¡¯re not going to keep you here if you have plans.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t.¡± Anala said. ¡°And I need a minute. Do you mind if I sit here for a while?¡±


    ¡°Take as long as you need.¡± Lilith said. ¡°If you¡¯ve forgotten, we¡¯ll show you how to get to and from here once you¡¯re ready to leave.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I keep you company?¡± Eve asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to try and clear the air a bit more between the two of us.¡±


    Anala sighed. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± She said. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s something that needs to happen.¡±


    ¡°Right, well, we¡¯ll be out of your hair in a moment, then.¡± Jerry said. ¡°I wish you luck in reconnecting.¡±


    ---


    There was a long silence after Lilith and Jerry left, one Anala wasn¡¯t quite sure how to break. Everything felt¡­surreal, like she had at some point in the day been silently transported to another reality. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t the most apt comparison, seeing as how she had literally been transported to another reality just an hour prior, but her sense of scope had been completely thrown off, and she was still reeling.


    Anala wasn¡¯t quite sure what to make of the events of the past hour. Jerry very clearly had something at least PTSD adjacent when it came to the war, and¡­Anala had to admit it was probably justified. She was a stubborn woman, she knew that, but past a certain point even she would admit things weren¡¯t as simple as she thought.


    The truly paranoid part of her wanted to say that this could still be some sort of trick, but her rational mind knew that if she called what she had just seen a trick, then she wouldn¡¯t be able to trust¡­anything. There was no other proof that could be offered that would be satisfactory save for legitimately being embroiled in a war.


    This was simply on a different scale than the Queen of Monsters incident. Jerry had shown her all of her planes, shown her the different systems that were in place, all of it. And, when she was satisfied that she truly was in a different universe, Jerry showed her footage from the war. It was, in a word, horrifying. The devastation was on a scale so large that Anala had a hard time comprehending it, and Anala didn¡¯t even want to imagine what it would look like if her home was thrust into that situation now.


    It had forced her to rethink things. Earth and Haven simply could not withstand a conflict like that as they were now. And¡­people had been relatively content with their situation before the incident. There wasn¡¯t any pressing need to go out into Haven more, there wasn¡¯t a drive to get stronger. People had felt safe with Lilith backing them, had gotten complacent. And if Lilith truly was this¡­chosen champion or whatever, Earth and Haven would become targets.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Eve began, shifting nervously in her chair, ¡°I don¡¯t want to force you if you don¡¯t want to, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got a lot to think about, but¡­um, just let me know when you¡¯re ready to talk, okay? I¡¯m ready whenever.¡±


    Anala sighed. ¡°Now is as good a time as any, I guess.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m going to level with you, your deception messed me up, a lot. I¡¯ve had trust issues ever since, I feel like I can never be sure that people I talk to are who they say they are, and aren¡¯t some other entity trying to manipulate me for their own gain. I trusted you, Eve, you were one of the people I thought would always have my back, no matter what.


    ¡°And, when you revealed that you were the person I had been actively fighting against for months, and that you had orchestrated that entire thing in concert with the person who was supposed to be the world¡¯s protector, I felt deeply, personally wronged. Now that I understand the stakes, I see your motive better, but it doesn¡¯t make it sting much less.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Eve said meekly. ¡°We¡­I didn¡¯t think about the effect that would have.¡±


    ¡°Why did you travel with us the whole time, anyway?¡± Anala asked.


    ¡°Officially, to make sure the expedition went about as we hoped it would. I could minimize casualties and manipulate the feelings of the participants so that the only people who made it to the end were people who could handle fighting me. I had kinda hoped it would be more than just you four, but¡­well, with Sariah¡¯s help we had the appearance of a large group making it, and really that was what was important.


    ¡°Unofficially¡­I had grown attached. It¡¯s hard to articulate just how difficult it is to truly connect with people in my situation; there are precious few people that I can be me around. Outside of the residents of the dungeon and my family, there¡¯s really only one person I can think of who both knows who we are and knows everything about our situation. I knew you four would eventually be looped in on everything, so I let myself grow close emotionally. And¡­I wanted to help you out and stay with you for as long as I could. We¡¯re just¡­lonely is the wrong word, but we can¡¯t meet anyone new without putting on an act.¡±


    ¡°And how do I know you¡¯re not acting now?¡± Anala asked reflexively.


    Eve flinched, her face falling. ¡°You don¡¯t, and you can¡¯t. It¡¯s¡­well, like how things were before the Shift, you can¡¯t truly know if anyone is just acting unless you can read their mind.¡± She admitted. ¡°But, that being said, beneath it all, this is me. I¡¯m not using my usual bravado, but¡­that¡¯s something of an act too. I get embarrassed much more easily than Lilith, and it helps me cope. And¡­well, at this point just about everyone I interact with regularly knows that it¡¯s an act, but I have to admit it¡¯s fun, too. But, for a serious conversation like this¡­I¡¯m not going to force it.¡±


    ¡°And how much of the Queen of Monsters was an act?¡± Anala asked. ¡°It clearly wasn¡¯t all an act.¡±


    ¡°It mostly was, but I won¡¯t deny that there are kernels of truth in it.¡± Eve admitted. ¡°I have no grudge against society as a whole, they¡¯re just doing their best to navigate a new world. But¡­you have to admit that you¡¯ve been frustrated with things from time to time, right? This was something of an outlet for that frustration, and if you ever played pretend when you were younger¡­well, you know that sometimes it¡¯s fun to be the bad guy when you know that, at the end of the day, you¡¯re not actually bad.¡±


    Eve paused for a moment. ¡°Well, I suppose being ¡®bad¡¯ is a matter of perspective, but I like to think the results have vindicated me. I can¡¯t know for sure how many more people would have died had I not done the Queen of Monsters bit, but I think that we¡¯ve saved lives as a result of having weaker monsters about to let people get stronger quicker.¡±


    Anala let out a sigh. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know if we¡¯re ever going to go back to the way we were before, but I think I can at least bury the hatchet. Don¡¯t expect me to come over for game night or anything, but I¡¯ll at least attempt to be reasonable and cooperate with you on important stuff.¡±


    ¡°How would you feel about helping with the next Queen of Monsters appearance in one hundred years or so?¡± Eve asked. ¡°You can help ensure it stays reasonable.¡±


    Anala froze. ¡°You¡¯re doing it again?¡± She asked.


    Eve nodded. ¡°It loses the driving force behind it if it¡¯s a one-time thing. We¡¯re going to make sure people know it¡¯s not over for good and give them time to prepare, but it will happen again. Having your input will help us to avoid any mistakes.¡±


    A couple of hours prior, Anala would have blown up at Eve over that. But¡­she couldn¡¯t shake the thought of the things she had just seen happening to her home. ¡°Give me some time to think about it, I don¡¯t like being one of the architects behind this whole thing, but¡­that sounds reasonable.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it. Um¡­do you have any questions about the world beyond our planes? I¡¯d be happy to answer.¡±


    Anala debated it for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Tell me more about these factions.¡± She said.


    ¡°Okay, so there are three big ones¡­and maybe a couple of little ones? I don¡¯t know, but the point is that there are only three that are going to be any sort of major players in the foreseeable future¡­¡±


    ---


    ¡°Alright, if you don¡¯t want to go with a monogender system, what¡¯s your alternative?¡± Amelia asked, crossing her legs and sitting back in her chair.


    Lilith shrugged. ¡°Not sure, we¡¯re going to have to research it first. I have a few preliminary ideas, but there¡¯s no way to know for sure if they¡¯ll work until we actually put in the effort. And, if we can¡¯t figure something out by the time the new plane is about three quarters of the way through the accelerated time, we¡¯ll go with the monogender thing. That should give us a few months of hard research, and if we need to delay getting the system installed for a few months of real time, that¡¯s not exactly a huge deal.¡±


    ¡°Give us your first idea.¡± Jerry prompted. ¡°I think it¡¯s good to explore alternate options.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­if the major issue is due to Mana wanting to flow certain ways based on the shape of a person¡¯s soul, and gender factors into that, then¡­can¡¯t we make a system that is predisposed to act in different ways based on a person¡¯s gender? Obviously we can¡¯t catch every gender if we¡¯re not enforcing a gender via the system, but we can do the big ones, at least.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s about twice the work and twice the cost for effectively no benefit, though, since we¡¯d end up doing two different things for the same efficiency increase.¡± Amelia argued. ¡°In terms of maintenance and future modification, it¡¯s just strictly worse than a monogender system.¡±


    Lilith shook her head. ¡°No, not like that. I mean¡­like, the genders are optimized towards different things. Like, and I don¡¯t think this is what we should be doing, but just for the sake of example, men trend towards more magically-oriented roles, and women towards more physically-oriented roles. Again, this is not at all what I think should be the case, it¡¯s just an example, but surely we could do something more subtle, and in a way that people can ignore if they really want to.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a big ask, but I guess research beats sitting around and just theory crafting.¡± Amelia replied.


    ¡°I agree.¡± Jerry said. ¡°To begin with, let¡¯s do some practical experimentation with Mana flowing in a few different environments, I have a couple of practice tools here with me, if you give me a moment I¡¯ll mold them to imitate gender¡­¡±

 Holiday Special 2024 Part 1

    One moment, Lucas was studying at his desk in his room, the next he found himself standing in a large room, dressed in formal party attire. His response was to do the only logical thing ¨C check and see if he was dreaming. After a moment, however, he found that none of his reality checks were working, and he was far too lucid to be dreaming. Or, at least, too lucid to be dreaming when all his reality checks had indicated that he was awake.


    As he looked around, though, he became less and less sure that he was awake. The room was filled with all sorts of mythical beings, angels, demons, centaurs, beastkin, people made of slime¡­the list just went on and on. Yet, despite how outlandish it all was, there was a strange sense of familiarity about the situation, one he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on.


    He stood there slack-jawed for what must have been a minute before he was snapped out of his trance by a tap on his shoulder. He whirled to find himself facing four people; an oddly familiar demon, the one who had tapped on his shoulder, a half-demon, half-angel woman who must have been the demon¡¯s sister, an angel who appeared to be a child, and yet another oddly familiar demon.


    A pang of unidentifiable emotion ran through him as he looked at the last one, but that was something to unpack later. ¡°Um¡­can I help you?¡± He asked warily. ¡°And, uh¡­do I know you?¡±


    The demon who had tapped on his shoulder gave him a warm smile. ¡°Sort of! I¡¯m the Ghost of Christmas Past!¡±


    Lucas stared at her blankly. ¡°Pardon?¡±


    The demon giggled. ¡°You heard me! I¡¯m the Ghost of Christmas Past, these two¡±, she motioned at the hybrid and the angel, ¡°are the Ghost of Christmas Future, and she,¡± she motioned at the last demon, ¡°is¡­Scrooge, I guess? Except in this scenario Scrooge is also married to the ghosts, so¡­well, look, the metaphor is falling apart, but our mom didn¡¯t raise a quitter so I¡¯m going to keep at it.¡±


    Lucas frowned, feeling yet another pang of unfamiliar emotion as he learned ¡°Scrooge¡± was married. ¡°You¡¯re missing the Ghost of Christmas Present. And, uh, Marley, but if Scrooge is already here then he isn¡¯t super necessary, I guess.¡± He said.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re the Ghost of Christmas Present.¡± The demon said. ¡°And, yeah, there¡¯s no Marley, but we¡¯re out of people. Did I mention that the metaphor is falling apart?¡±


    ¡°You assigned two people to the role of the Ghost of Christmas Future, and I¡¯m not married to ¡®Scrooge¡¯.¡± Lucas pointed out.


    ¡°Sort of.¡± The demon replied.


    ¡°He¡¯s not going to get it.¡± The hybrid said. ¡°Lucas, everyone here aside from ¡®Scrooge¡¯ is you. She,¡± the hybrid motioned at the demon who had been speaking, ¡°is us before we were reincarnated. We,¡± she motioned at herself and the angel, ¡°are you in the future. Properly speaking, my time is the present and you should be the Ghost of Christmas Past with the old us, but the metaphor doesn¡¯t really even work in the first place, so it¡¯s not important.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lucas asked, dumbfounded. ¡°Is this some sort of scam?¡±


    The angel burst into laughter, rapidly aging as she walked forward and clapped a hand on Lucas¡¯s shoulder. ¡°No, it¡¯s not a scam. You¡¯re not paying for anything tonight, and there are going to be no repercussions in the real world. Or¡­well, I guess this is technically the real world, but no one is going to remember this until like seven or eight years from where you are in time.


    ¡°By way of introduction, the demon who talked to you first is Lilith. Yes, that Lilith, and no, you don¡¯t have to worry; demons as a whole were the losers of a war and were subject to a merciless propaganda campaign by angels. As one of the most important demons, we were naturally given a rather unflattering role in revised history.


    ¡°The other demon is Kali, our wife and¡­well, for the sake of time, consider her to be god. Not quite capital-G God, but she¡¯s the one in charge of Earth and related planes. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re feeling all sorts of weird things looking at her, and that¡¯s because, despite our memory being permanently wiped with our reincarnation, many of our feelings remained. When you first meet her again in ¡®real life¡¯, you¡¯re going to feel a lot of these same feelings again.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s¡­¡± the angel faltered for a moment as she looked at the hybrid, ¡°well, us. She¡¯s also going by Lilith. And me, I¡¯m¡­¡± The angel paused, biting her lip as she seemed to think for a moment. ¡°Look, it¡¯s really complicated, but I¡¯m Eve, and I¡¯m basically an alternate personality with a body of my own. I share all the ¡®main body¡¯s¡¯ memories, and we usually share senses too, but I have a separate thought process and emotions. I¡¯m almost another person, but also in every single way that matters in a metaphysical sense I¡¯m the same person.


    ¡°For the sake of tonight, just know that whatever you say to me will be instantly heard and understood by Lilith and vice-versa. Again, it¡¯s complicated, and even a lot of people who know magic have a hard time wrapping their heads around it, so don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pull both of the old me aside for a moment.¡± Future Lilith said. ¡°Kali, do you mind going with Eve and finding out where everyone is while I¡¯m gone?¡±


    Kali gave a tentative nod. ¡°Yes, but¡­what are you going to talk about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you know in a bit.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Depending on what we decide, we¡¯ll need your input.¡±


    Future Lilith nodded, then towed both Past Lilith and Lucas away. She looked around for a moment, then took a deep breath, turning towards Past Lilith. ¡°Okay.¡± She said. ¡°This¡­is not a conversation I ever expected to have, but the idea got in my head and I just have to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Um, what¡¯s going on?¡± Lucas asked, confused. ¡°Why do you need me here?¡±


    ¡°This affects you as well, in a way. You¡¯re here¡­more for courtesy than anything, because I know how you¡¯ll react, but it just felt right, you know?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve intrigued me.¡± Past Lilith said. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­you know that Kali couldn¡¯t keep our memories when she reincarnated us, right?¡± Future Lilith said. ¡°I¡­was hoping that I could copy yours and take them for myself.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Past Lilith replied, chuckling. ¡°I¡¯d be overjoyed if this works, but we forget everything, remember?¡±


    ¡°We figured out a way to remember.¡± Future Lilith said. ¡°And, well, that¡¯s not really the thing I wanted to ask. There¡¯s a real possibility that, in the future, I¡¯ll be able to pull off some time shenanigans and¡­fix the mistake. Let us keep our memories through reincarnation by implanting the copy I get from you. It¡¯ll alter the course of history in an unpredictable way, but I have faith things will turn out more or less the same. And, since this is really your life we¡¯re talking about, I felt it best to give you the option if that ever becomes something I can do.¡±


    Past Lilith nodded sagely. ¡°Well, I get the feeling that this isn¡¯t the whole of it, but for now, would both of you humor me? If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Lucas, why don¡¯t you go first, since you¡¯re the younger one?¡±


    Lucas took only a moment to think. ¡°I¡¯d keep things as they were, no time shenanigans.¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯d be essentially killing the future me, which seems wrong, and also who knows if things would turn out worse afterwards? Plus¡­well, it¡¯s basically just temporary amnesia, right? Since I¡¯d be getting the memories back in however long?¡±


    ¡°Not quite.¡± Future Lilith said. ¡°The memories won¡¯t be quite the same. I¡¯ll have the memories of the old life, but it¡¯ll feel less¡­¡± Lilith paused for a moment, clearly thinking for the right word, ¡°real. The way I was thinking of doing it, the memories and personality that I¡¯ve cultivated in my current life will still take center stage, and the rest would be¡­older, less important, even if the memories will still have some emotion to them.


    ¡°Alternatively,¡± Future Lilith continued, turning to face her past self, ¡°I can take a snapshot of your consciousness as it is now and make you into a Parallel like Eve, or I can just invert the process and make your frame of mind the ¡®default¡¯ instead of mine. Those are the other options, the ¡®whole of it¡¯, as you were saying.¡±


    ¡°I see. But you haven¡¯t given me your answer yet; in my situation, what would you do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d¡­I¡¯d do the same as Lucas for the time altering-thing.¡± Future Lilith said. ¡°And I think it¡¯d feel odd just coming back as a Parallel and it would throw a huge wrench in relationships, I wouldn¡¯t want to do the inversion thing, because I¡¯d be killing future me, just like I would if I accepted the time deal. I¡¯d be happy just getting my memory back; people change over time, and having a second childhood would likely do exacerbate that anyway, so it¡¯s not a huge deal.¡±


    ¡°There you have it, then.¡± Past Lilith said. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I would have said, and that alone tells me that I don¡¯t need to worry too much about personality shifts. Like Lucas said, I can just think of it as temporary amnesia. Lucas, I assume you¡¯re still content with your choice, knowing the other options?¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°I am, yeah.¡± Lucas said. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be my life to live. And I definitely don¡¯t need a copy of my mind taken right now, since there¡¯s no memory gap or anything after¡­whatever happens to make me like that, right?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s not.¡± Future Lilith confirmed.


    ¡°Well, then it looks like this is your life to live, so enjoy it.¡± Past Lilith turned back to Future Lilith. ¡°Let¡¯s get started then, shall we?¡±


    Future Lilith laid a hand on her past self¡¯s forehead, there was a brief moment where everything felt more intense, more real, and then she took the hand away. ¡°Done and done.¡± Future Lilith said. ¡°Kali¡¯s waiting to walk with us to one of the groups we¡¯ll be hanging with, and Eve¡¯s going to fetch the other. Let¡¯s go tell her the good news, shall we?¡± She strode off back in the direction they had come from, and, lacking anything else to do, Lucas followed.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re back!¡± Kali said, hurrying over to them. ¡°Are you three okay? What was this decision?¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Future Lilith said, giving Kali a quick kiss. ¡°I just realized that, since we all were here, I could snag a copy of past Lilith¡¯s memories for myself. She¡¯s from what appears to be the literal instant before you reincarnate her, so it¡¯s a full copy, too. I was just asking her permission for it, and she gave it.¡±


    Kali froze, looking up at Future Lilith with a complicated expression. ¡°R-really?¡± She stammered. ¡°But¡­why would you need my input?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to give her and Lucas some options. If we become able to mess with time like this party seems to be able to, I offered to fix the issues with the reincarnation and let her keep her memory. I also offered to take a snapshot of her mind and make her a Parallel, or to sort of reverse how the memory transfer is done so it seems more like she got all of my memories instead of the other way around.


    ¡°If she had said yes to any of those alternate options, I would have met with you, and if you had said yes, we probably would have met with people back home and asked their opinions on the matter, but she said no, so I went ahead and did the transfer. So¡­yeah. I remember everything now.¡±


    Kali¡¯s eyes filled with tears as she looked between Future Lilith and Past Lilith. ¡°I¡­I¡­I don¡¯t know what to say, I never thought¡­¡±


    Past Lilith walked over and gave Kali a hug. ¡°You did your best.¡± She said. ¡°And look, it worked out in the end, so it¡¯s fine. Even without my memories, it wasn¡¯t like you two had any trouble getting back together or anything.¡±


    Lucas stood there awkwardly, not quite sure what he was supposed to be doing. It was sort of a surreal feeling; he had been told that two of the three people involved in the conversation were him in some form or another, but he felt¡­different. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was, but both Past Lilith and Future Lilith had something that he lacked, and he couldn¡¯t shake that feeling, no matter how he tried.


    Though they all three of them shared some commonalities, the two Liliths were more similar to each other than they were to him. They carried themselves more confidently, like they had come to terms with who they were and what their lot in life was. That was something that Lucas just¡­didn¡¯t have yet, and he felt a strange sort of jealousy towards that. And that was odd in and of itself; he didn¡¯t get jealous like other people did, or¡­rather, he got jealous from time to time, but it generally took something big, and this wasn¡¯t anywhere near that level.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Kali said, laying a hand on Lucas¡¯s shoulder.


    Lucas jumped, heart fluttering in his chest as Kali touched him. ¡°Uh, hey, sorry. Um, I¡¯m Lucas.¡±


    ¡°I know who you are, silly.¡± Kali giggled. ¡°I¡¯m married to your future self, remember? I was just coming to say sorry for sort of excluding you like that. This is all probably a lot for you to take in, and I was too caught-up in my emotions to make sure you were fine.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± Lucas said. ¡°Um¡­what was that about other groups that Lilith mentioned earlier?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. We¡¯ve got two groups from other universes that we tend to meet up with at these parties. I¡¯m guessing they¡¯ll have people from their pasts there too, and you¡¯ll likely have more than a few things in common with some of them.¡±


    ¡°Actually, Lia¡¯s group is just over there.¡± Future Lilith said, pointing somewhere behind Lucas. ¡°It looks like one of the Amelias is causing a problem.¡±


    ¡°Not surprised.¡± Kali said. ¡°Let¡¯s go say hi, get you to meet some people. Once the other group, uh, not the one we¡¯re going to walk to now, the one Eve is getting, meets up with us, look for the guy; his name¡¯s Thomas, and he¡¯s in basically your exact situation, minus the whole reincarnation thing. But, you know, he¡¯s from a world with no magic, his future self is also a woman¡­I think you¡¯ll be able to have a nice chat.¡±


    Kali gently took Lucas¡¯s hand, and he let her pull him off towards the other group of people. Once there, Future Lilith began chatting with them, and Lucas began looking the group over. They only had two people there that were obviously inhuman, two kitsunes that were likely the same person from different time periods, but other than that they seemed¡­normal. Or, no, normal was the wrong word, humans were vastly outnumbered by nonhumans in this place, but¡­they seemed like people he would be able to find anywhere on Earth.


    He was prepared to stand around for a while longer, but fortunately that wasn¡¯t what happened; after only a little bit, Eve appeared, a group of seven people in tow. While Future Lilith greeted them as well, Lucas took the opportunity to slip away and head towards the one guy in the group, which¡­actually, including him, was one of only three in all of the groups, and apparently both Lucas and this other guy would become women in the future, so in a weird way it was almost like there was only one man amongst the three groups.


    Lucas pulled up next to the guy, Thomas, and began to speak. ¡°You¡¯re¡­also from a place with no magic, right?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah.¡± Thomas said. ¡°Who¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, right, sorry.¡± Lucas said. ¡°My name¡¯s Lucas, I¡¯m apparently the past version of Lilith. I heard a bit about you from her, and seeing as how you¡¯re the only guy here aside from that one important-looking dude, I thought I¡¯d introduce myself.¡±


    ¡°The name¡¯s Thomas, and there are a lot of women here, now that you mention it.¡± Thomas admitted. ¡°Strange.¡±


    ¡°If you only count the future versions of people like us, he¡¯s the only man in this group.¡± Lucas said. ¡°It¡¯s downright uncanny.¡±


    ¡°He becomes a woman too.¡± A blonde human woman said, glancing back at them. ¡°And it¡¯s uncanny, but it¡¯s not an accident, either; most of the people in each group are romantically involved with each other in some form or another, and many of them are attracted to women only. So, yeah, not that big of a deal, but ¨C¡±


    She was cut off by Future Lilith clapping her hands and gathering the attention of the group. ¡°Okay, there are a lot of us here today, and this is the first party for half of us, so I think it¡¯s prudent we get any questions out of the way now.¡± Future Lilith began. ¡°This place is¡­well, it¡¯s complicated to explain, especially since some of you here haven¡¯t even been exposed to magic, but we¡¯re in sort of a place outside the regular flow of time. Every so often people get whisked away here, we have a party, and then get plopped back wherever we were, none the wiser.¡±


    Future Lilith paused, smirking. ¡°Or, that was the case. As of my time, we have figured out a way to keep our memories of this place, and we¡¯ve made a point of making sure all of you get yours back. You won¡¯t get them back until my time period, so it¡¯s anywhere from three to fifty or sixty years off, depending on which group you¡¯re in, so it won¡¯t affect your lives immediately, but just don¡¯t do anything embarrassing because you think you won¡¯t remember it.


    ¡°A couple of you are probably already wondering if I have knowledge of future parties from your future selves, and the answer is no, we¡¯re ninety percent confident those haven¡¯t happened yet. Don¡¯t worry about it too much right now, this place is way outside the normal rules of time and it¡¯s not worth hurting your head thinking about it right this second.


    ¡°Alright, now, the big one. There¡¯s going to be a lot of talk about Higher Beings and Administrators; to keep it short, you can think of Higher Beings as the gods and Administrators as the head of the gods. The three main groups here are from planes ruled by three different Administrators that are in an alliance with each other. Full disclosure; my wife Kali and I share the duty of Administrator for our planes, but you don¡¯t need to worry about standing on ceremony or anything.¡±


    Lucas froze when he heard that. He had known Kali was in this sort of role, but his future self was as well? That was¡­unbelievable, something he really wasn¡¯t ready for, but¡­perhaps his future self was?


    Future Lilith continued, unaware or uncaring of Lucas¡¯s musings. ¡°As of my period in time, all of you are Higher Beings. It may seem strange, but you absolutely have the qualifications to stand on this sort of stage. Even if you weren¡¯t Higher Beings in the future, just being here makes you more important than even some Administrators. I¡¯m not kidding; only seriously important people get an ¡®invite¡¯ to these things.


    ¡°All that being said, I¡¯m getting the feeling that we should split into groups for this one. This party has a way of drawing you to where you need to be, just walk in a general direction and you¡¯ll end up with the right group. And don¡¯t try and fight it either,¡± Lilith said, looking between two women Thomas had yet to meet, ¡°whether you like it or not, you¡¯ll end up where the party wants you to go. People have tried, it never works and generally makes for an annoying and unfun night, so just go with the flow. Alright, now¡­let¡¯s get to it, I guess!¡±


    ¡°Do we really just walk off and it¡¯ll work out?¡± Thomas asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Yup, and I feel like going¡­this way.¡± The blonde woman replied, picking a seemingly random direction and walking off.


    ¡°Funny, I was going to go the same way.¡± Lucas said. ¡°Well¡­nice talking to you Thomas, maybe I¡¯ll see you around? I guess¡­if not then we¡¯ll meet again in the future? Kind of?¡± He headed off after the woman, leaving Thomas behind. ¡°Um, excuse me, I didn¡¯t catch your name.¡±


    The woman looked back at him. ¡°Oh, right, sorry!¡± She said brightly. ¡°I¡¯m Fortune, Goddess of Fortune in my home planes and the future adoptive mother of Thomas. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier, I forgot you wouldn¡¯t know me yet. You¡¯re Lucas, right?¡±


    ¡°You know me?¡± Lucas asked.


    ¡°I know Lilith, and I¡¯ve seen a couple pictures of you.¡± Fortune replied. ¡°Unlike most everyone here, I¡¯m actually from Lilith¡¯s time, and we work together relatively closely, so I hang out in Kali¡¯s planes from time to time. Fun fact: Kali is actually from my home planes, and if you see a Maven around, she¡¯s actually Kali¡¯s lots-of-greats great niece.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Lucas said. ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t know that Administrators¡­came from other planes, I guess I assumed they just sort of¡­appeared.¡±


    ¡°Some do, so you¡¯re not totally wrong.¡± Fortune replied, stopping at a seemingly random spot. ¡°Anyway, while we wait for everyone to get grouped up, do you have any questions? I¡¯m totally down to answer anything.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­I guess I have a couple.¡± Lucas said. ¡°For one¡­what¡¯s it like, being a goddess?¡±


    ¡°While I was never mortal, my understanding is that it feels more or less the same on a physical level. There¡¯s some social isolation that comes with the territory, but there are ways to handle that. For example, the anonymity of the internet means it¡¯s a great way to talk to people who aren¡¯t gods¡­¡±


    As Fortune spoke, Lucas found himself letting out an inner sigh of relief. For a goddess, Fortune was quite friendly and not even the slightest bit arrogant, and it was almost like she had practice talking to people who didn¡¯t know anything about magic. She seemed to know when to explain things and when to just keep talking, and overall was just¡­pleasant. If the rest of the group was like this, then maybe the night wouldn¡¯t be so awkward, after all.

 Holiday Special 2024 Part 2

    Lilith waited for whoever else would be in her group to show up. Unfortunately, she and Kali felt like they needed to be in different places, so for now she just with Eve. Still, it was fine; Lilith had a lot of stuff to process anyway, so in a sense it all worked out.


    It had been a shock to the her from before she had reincarnated, but even more of a shock to see her past self. She had always assumed that the memories from before her reincarnation had been permanently lost, but¡­she had them now. It would take some time to acclimatize herself to them, but her hope was that, eventually, they would seem as real to her as the memories from after she reincarnated.


    She had made those offers to her past self in the heat of the moment; she had encouraged her daughter to do much the same, so it had felt highly hypocritical for her to not extend the same courtesy to her past self. She had assumed that this would be the outcome, as everything she had heard about her personality in her past life had indicated that she felt the same as Lilith did now on most subjects, but it was still a little nerve-wracking nonetheless.


    But, as scary as that all was, she hadn¡¯t realized how utterly unprepared she was to meet Lucas. He was just¡­different than how she remembered herself being; it was almost like looking in a funhouse mirror, or hearing a recording of her own voice. The body was the same as she remembered, but the way he talked and walked weren¡¯t; he just felt so¡­unconfident and unsure, and it had forcibly reminded her of just how much she had changed when her fractured soul had been healed.


    ¡°Hey, Lilith, Eve.¡± Rose said, walking up to the two. ¡°How was meeting your past self?¡±


    ¡°Strange.¡± Lilith admitted. ¡°But I think it¡¯s going to make Kali really happy; I was able to regain the memory of the time we spent together before I was reincarnated.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it was the past past you?¡± Rose asked. ¡°Not the more recent past you? Or was it both? Amelia briefly had both for a moment.¡±


    ¡°It was both.¡± Lilith confirmed. ¡°Lucas is still here somewhere, but¡­let me tell you, I almost feel like I have more in common with old Lilith than I do with him. It¡¯s strange, because my memories from that time are more integrated with my sense of self, but he and I are just¡­well, he¡¯s only half of me, you know?¡±


    ¡°Not going to lie, it was kind of uncomfortable.¡± Eve admitted. ¡°I just felt¡­bad for him the whole time, and that was weird, because it¡¯s not like I felt anything wrong when I was him, but now that I look back, I can see all the little things that just make him¡­incomplete.¡±


    ¡°Mind explaining further what you mean by that?¡± Rose asked. ¡°I vaguely recall you mentioning something about reincarnation, but that was a couple parties back and it¡¯s been a bit.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Basically, when Kali reincarnated me, she messed up and split my soul in half. My memories were gone, my personality was fractured¡­it was a mess. Luckily my other half resurfaced shortly after I became a Perfect Chimera, and we were able to heal the split soul thing, but the memories were forever gone. Or, were until today. Honestly, this sort of thing is half the reason Lia is so special; she¡¯s literally the best in our faction at reincarnating people, full stop.¡±


    Rose raised an eyebrow. ¡°Better than Jerry?¡±


    ¡°Jerry¡¯s the one who said she is.¡± Eve replied. ¡°She wasn¡¯t even trying and she did a better job than most Administrators could if they spent a long time preparing. Keeping memories past reincarnation, even if they¡¯re fragmented at first, is a monumentally difficult task, and she can do it like no other. She is to reincarnation as Amelia is to system construction.¡±


    ¡°W-what do you mean by that?¡± The past version of Lia said, peeking out from behind an Amelia, though Lilith couldn¡¯t tell which one.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious as well.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Though I didn¡¯t realize it was that special.¡±


    Judging by that tone of voice, it must have been the Amelia from after she had reincarnated Lia; the Amelia from before wouldn¡¯t have been so cordial with Lilith. Lilith turned to Lia, giving her a smile. ¡°Lia, I know it doesn¡¯t feel this way to you, but when it comes to reincarnating people, you¡¯re the very best, like no one ever was. Yes, even Higher Beings and Administrators; reincarnating someone is a very difficult process, and you make it look effortless.¡±


    ¡°I-I do?¡± Lia squeaked.


    ¡°You do.¡± Lilith confirmed. ¡°Lia, you¡¯re not just some random person, as much as it may feel that way to you right now. You¡¯re no less important than anyone here, it just takes you some time to grow into the role.¡±


    ¡°See?¡± Amelia said. ¡°I told you that you don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡±


    Rose walked over to Amelia and Lia, giving them a smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here with me,¡± she said, grabbing one of Lia¡¯s hands between her own, ¡°and they¡¯re right; you¡¯re a wonderful woman, and you don¡¯t need to feel lesser than anyone here.¡±


    Lia blushed, squirming slightly. ¡°B-but, I¡¯m not your Lia.¡± She protested faintly. ¡°I¡¯m not the woman you love, I¡­I don¡¯t even like women in that way, I have a boyfriend and everything. So, sorry, but I can¡¯t really be her for you, not now.¡±


    ¡°And I won¡¯t expect you to.¡± Rose said, letting go of Lia¡¯s hand. ¡°And your boyfriend¡­Liam, right?¡± She waited for Lia to nod before continuing. ¡°At least for tonight, I¡¯d advise forgetting about him; he¡¯s literally only with you for your body. You don¡¯t have to be lovey-dovey with anyone or anything, but I just don¡¯t want you feel weird about hearing you¡¯re in a relationship with other people in the future; you and him weren¡¯t meant to be.¡±


    Lia looked down at herself, a look of disbelief on her face. ¡°But I¡¯m not even that pretty.¡± She said. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense. I mean¡­you¡¯ve seen the other me, you know I¡¯m nowhere near that level.¡±


    ¡°From what you¡¯ve told me, it¡¯s true.¡± Eve said. ¡°My understanding is that he was constantly trying to push you into sex, and then when you died, he didn¡¯t go to your funeral, had a new girlfriend a couple of days later, and had the gall to hit on your sister about a year after. You deserve way better.¡±


    ¡°And, back on subject, even if you don¡¯t talk to me for the rest of the night, I¡¯ll still be glad to have you here.¡± Rose said. ¡°Seeing you when you¡¯re younger than I¡¯m used to is a treat in and of itself.¡±


    Lia blushed harder, ducking behind Amelia once again. ¡°I¡­oh. Um¡­thanks.¡±


    There was a moment of silence, and then Maven spoke up. She had walked up while Rose and Lia were talking, and given her slightly anxious and uncomfortable demeanor, she was probably the Maven from further in the past. ¡°I feel like I should be here, is that correct?¡± She asked.


    ¡°If you feel that way, then it is.¡± Lilith replied, giving her a smile. ¡°I think this is everyone, so let¡¯s head to the tables and get some food.¡±


    ¡°I saw some on the way to get Tess¡¯s group. I¡¯ll show you where they are, and I¡¯ll save the table, if you want to get my food, Lilith.¡± Eve volunteered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that.¡± Lilith replied, beginning to walk towards. ¡°Maven, would you like help getting food? I can show you how it works here, it¡¯s a bit different than normal parties since it¡¯s making the food in real-time as you look for it.¡±


    ¡°That¡­would be acceptable, yes.¡± Maven said.


    ¡°Perfect, let¡¯s head on over now.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Eve can bring the rest of you to the table, and I¡¯ll bring Maven back when I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°Um, do you know where the table is?¡± Lia asked.


    ¡°We constantly share our senses.¡± Eve explained. ¡°She saw the tables when I did.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that get¡­overwhelming?¡± Lia asked. ¡°Like¡­what if you¡¯re trying to sleep and the other you is still awake?¡±


    ¡°We can turn off the link whenever we want to.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Also, our brains are built a little differently, so it was more a matter of getting used to seeing from multiple perspectives and not as much about sensory overload or anything. We actually have two or three more bodies back at home, so this is relatively tame. And, before you ask, no, I can¡¯t properly describe to you what it feels like, at least not in the little time we have.


    ¡°Just think of it like there being two computer monitors¡­wait, you don¡¯t have computers yet¡­uh, imagine you¡¯re looking at two pictures, and can switch focus whenever. That¡¯s not really that close, but it¡¯s good enough for the purposes of tonight. Anyway, Maven, are you alright heading out with me now, or would you like to wait until we all get to the tables?¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°Now is fine.¡± Maven said politely.


    Lilith took her niece away from the main group and towards the serving tables. ¡°So, the main thing is that almost everything is covered. Just lift up a cover and there¡¯ll be whatever you want with an appropriate serving utensil. Don¡¯t worry about germs or anything, we¡¯re pretty sure this place sanitizes them for us. The uncovered dishes are for if you want to try something new; just grab however much you¡¯d like, they¡¯ll refill by themselves.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Maven said. ¡°What is the proper etiquette at this event?¡±


    ¡°Nothing special.¡± Lilith replied. ¡°Just eat in whatever way is comfortable for you. The you of my time has mentioned that when you were younger you preferred to be more formal in dining situations, and if that¡¯s what makes you feel better, do it. If you feel better treating it like a buffet or something, that¡¯s fine too.¡±


    ¡°I have never been to a proper buffet, so I am afraid I do not know quite what you mean.¡± Maven admitted. ¡°But I think I will eat formally, so long as it will not make others uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t care.¡± Lilith confirmed. ¡°Well, there¡¯s a low chance that Lia might, because she might think that she¡¯ll need to be more formal to match, but Amelia and Rose will take care of that, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    There was silence for a moment before Maven spoke. ¡°Miss Los mentioned that you were my aunt?¡± She ventured. ¡°But from what I gather you seem to be from some sort of other universe, so I fail to see how that works.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that.¡± Lilith chuckled. ¡°My wife, Kali, is from your universe, and was second in line for Paumen¡¯s throne at one point. In fact, I think she still has her portrait in your family¡¯s hall of portraits or whatever they call it. Anyway, by the time Amara was born, I think she was studying to be an Administrator, and I think she was just about to start managing my universe when Fortune was born. Don¡¯t quote me on those times, though, I¡¯m not totally sure on the specifics, I could easily be off by a few thousand years.¡±


    ¡°You can do that? Study to become an Administrator?¡± Maven asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Some Administrators just¡­appear out of nowhere, but many are trained by other Administrators.¡±


    They reached the serving tables, and Lilith grew an extra pair of arms to grab Eve¡¯s food with. She couldn¡¯t help but chuckle slightly at Maven¡¯s astonished expression, giving her a smile. ¡°It¡¯s not transfiguration magic.¡± She explained. ¡°I can just do this, it¡¯s part of the whole ¡®eldritch abomination¡¯ thing. You¡¯ll notice that Eve and I are a lot more casual about modifying our bodies than most people, and it¡¯s because it¡¯s not using any Mana or Stamina.¡±


    ¡°I¡­see.¡± Maven replied. ¡°My apologies for staring.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± Lilith laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not bothered by it in the slightest. If I was, then I wouldn¡¯t be so brazen about doing stuff like this.¡±


    There was silence for another long minute as they piled food on their plates, before Maven once again spoke. ¡°Am I¡­really married to those two in the future?¡±


    Lilith laughed a little before catching herself and stopping. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said, ¡°but during the last party, you asked Eve the same thing. We had teased her about it the party before that, and this her was from just before she had made things official and was questioning herself. Yes, you do. No, you¡¯re not sexually attracted to women, but you are romantically attracted. You get your sexual orientation updated to match and things go from there.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Maven said quietly.


    ¡°Your life is going to go through a lot of changes in the coming year, but it¡¯s going to be a very fulfilling year for you, too. So don¡¯t stress about it, just enjoy your night and think of it like a break from your duties.¡±


    ¡°I will do that.¡± Maven said, then resumed getting food.


    Once the two had finished dishing themselves up, Lilith guided Maven over to the table that Eve had saved for them, gave Eve her food, then took a seat next to Eve. ¡°Sit wherever you¡¯d like.¡± Lilith told Maven. ¡°No one picked any specific seats or anything.¡±


    Maven nodded and took the seat next to Lilith. After a few moments more, Lia, Rose, and Amelia arrived at the table, taking the remaining seats at the table. ¡°So, how have things been, Lilith?¡± Rose asked.


    ¡°They¡¯ve been fine. It hasn¡¯t been too long since the last party, but things have more or less been the same as then, with the exception of figuring out how to keep our memories. Just lots more studying and preparing. How about you?¡±


    ¡°The war¡¯s progressing.¡± Rose replied. ¡°We¡¯re still in the early stages of it, prospects are good, I think. Did the future us tell you that they¡¯re planning to do experimentation on their own soldiers to try and figure out how the swarm works?¡±


    Eve made a face. ¡°Disgusting. Uh, no, I don¡¯t think you did.¡±


    ¡°Not the Glens, don¡¯t worry.¡± Amelia told Lia. ¡°They¡¯ve long since surrendered to us. In fact, Brom and Owen are helping teach you how to rule, and they¡¯ve been a great help in other ways, too.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good.¡± Lia said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d be able to handle learning that the Glens was just as bad as everywhere else.¡±


    ¡°In fairness, they feel cornered.¡± Rose said. ¡°This is obviously still reprehensible, but they tried summoning a Hero, and now that Hero is working for us. They feel that, if they don¡¯t take drastic measures, they¡¯re going to fail all their subjects. Funnily enough, this move is going to backfire on them, since even the gods who don¡¯t agree with us can¡¯t complain too much when we raid the facility and take everyone there for ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Will you be okay?¡± Lia asked tentatively. ¡°I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re going to have really tight security, right?¡±


    ¡°Our Administrator bound the status of Amelia and I, because if we weren¡¯t bound, then we¡¯d likely be enough to win the war with just the two of us.¡± Rose said. ¡°We¡¯re going to be fully unbound for this raid; our Administrator does not tolerate this sort of thing, we¡¯re basically divine punishment.¡±


    ¡°Well, you know what they say; play stupid games, win stupid prizes.¡± Eve said, leaning back in her chair. ¡°When I get home, I¡¯ll have to ask how it went. Hopefully the answer will be that it was a proverbial slaughter and that those resources were immediately put to more ethical use.¡±


    ¡°More ethical use is perhaps a stretch, but I¡¯d like to think that it¡¯s at least not more unethical.¡± Rose said.


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s fine, you¡¯ve got their best interests in mind, as opposed to literally experimenting on them.¡± Eve replied.


    ¡°Eve has a bit of a point, but she is a little biased.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Back when she was doing her Queen of Monsters bit, I seem to recall her reading a story someone wrote where she took over the world and made everyone into half-monster hybrids and gave it rave reviews.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, ri¨C¡± Rose began, but Eve was faster.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to tell them that!¡± She hissed. ¡°Think about our image! You¡¯re going to feel this embarrassment later, you know!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± Lilith replied, smirking. ¡°Besides, you were barely even trying to hide it. I¡¯m sure there are ways you could have kept it from us.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­is the Queen of Monsters¡­¡± Lia began, giving Eve a somewhat fearful look.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the Lord of Monsters equivalent.¡± Eve said, sitting back up straight and adopting a pompous stance. ¡°Tremble in fear, mortal! Your fate was sealed the moment you met me!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you helped us adopt a kid and we¡¯re eternally grateful.¡± Lilith added. ¡°Truly the worst fate imaginable.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Lia asked, staring at Lilith dumbfoundedly.


    Eve sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a lot more complicated than that, but yes, if you simplify it all, that¡¯s basically what happened. You reincarnated someone we would go on to adopt.¡± She paused, looking at Rose and Amelia. ¡°And, for what it¡¯s worth, the conversion she did in the process singlehandedly rocketed her up to the level of the two of you.¡± She said. ¡°She basically converted a self-contained system that Jerry had cooked up and donated to Kali along with a plane. It really gave her a power boost.¡±


    ¡°You¡­live a complicated life.¡± Lia said.


    ¡°So will you.¡± Eve shot back. ¡°Everyone here will.¡±


    The conversation continued from there, interrupted only briefly when Lilith¡¯s past self walked up to the table. ¡°Hey, we realized you¡¯re not going to get my memories from tonight, but I feel like there¡¯s a pathway in the back of my mind that¡¯ll let me transfer them later. Kali says you¡¯re the expert here, do you want to check and make sure that it¡¯ll work?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, excuse me for a sec.¡± She said, standing up and walking a short distance away from the table with her old self. ¡°Alright, just gonna take a scan here¡­¡± Lilith put a hand on her old self¡¯s forehead and began to look through her mind, and she found the pathway that had been mentioned almost immediately. ¡°Honestly, this is pretty similar to what I have with the Parallels.¡± She said. ¡°Just focus on sending tonight¡¯s memories through and they¡¯ll reach me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good.¡± Her past self said, giving her a relieved smile. ¡°Kali¡¯s all worried about it, she said she doesn¡¯t want to do anything that feels even remotely like cheating.¡±


    Lilith chuckled. ¡°Tell her I said she¡¯s cute, and that even if I can¡¯t get your memories from tonight, it¡¯s fine. At the end of the day, we¡¯re both me here, right?¡±


    Lilith¡¯s past self grinned. ¡°You couldn¡¯t be more right.¡± She replied. ¡°Alright, thanks, I¡¯m going to get back to them now.¡±


    Lilith bade farewell to her past self, then returned to the table and the conversation they had been having. When everyone was done eating, they opted to go and watch a movie together instead of playing games; Lia was liable to be too overwhelmed by anything too active, and Lilith figured it would be a nice novelty for her. After some telepathic deliberation with Eve, they opted to pick one they knew Rose, Lia, and Maven had all liked, and privately told Amelia that they knew both Rose and Lia would probably like it, since they had liked it in the future.


    That got Amelia to agree to the movie without much fuss, so they were soon in a private theater of sorts, watching the movie. And, when it finished, Lilith felt that feeling that meant she was about to be taken home. ¡°Well, everyone, it was fun, but I think my time here is just about up.¡± She said. ¡°You won¡¯t remember this until my time, but I hope you at least had a nice evening.¡±


    ¡°I did, yes.¡± Maven said, giving Lilith a smile. ¡°Thank you for having me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly our party, but you¡¯re welcome.¡± Eve chuckled.


    ¡°U-um¡­it was nice.¡± Lia said. ¡°S-sorry I don¡¯t¡­know all the things the future me does yet.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need those memories.¡± Rose said gently. ¡°We¡¯re just happy spending time with you.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Amelia agreed.


    And with that, Lilith found herself back in her bed, lying next to Kali, memories of her old self¡¯s time at the party streaming into her consciousness.


    ¡°It¡¯s strange, not forgetting.¡± Kali said, rolling over and giving Lilith a quick kiss. ¡°But I like it. And¡­thank you, for getting the memories of your past self. This may sound selfish of me, but I really am glad they weren¡¯t lost forever. And, um, did you get tonight¡¯s memories too?¡±


    ¡°I did, and I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.¡± Lilith replied, smiling at her wife. ¡°I¡¯m really happy as well; it just makes our time together feel that much longer.¡±


    Kali let out a sigh of agreement, resting her head on Lilith¡¯s chest. ¡°I love you.¡± She said.


    Lilith kissed her wife¡¯s forehead, smiling happily. ¡°I love you too.¡±