Five days later " generating public image " Argus showed how the public views Lily "A competent commander who was shown the desire for justice after finding out about the brainwash tampering on the elixir they consume"
Lily reads the rest of the text on her public image ' suspicion of having dirt because of what I said . This also led to them assuming that I have no dirt or some , but it's hard to find it . It'll put them on the edge even without the rebels targeting corrupt officials '
She wondered if this is how the stock market goes since the demand for the evolution serum is raising even more ' it's slowed down even more but thanks to that I can get a couple more now ' she has more keys to the seal now ' even though I have plenty of keys to different worlds it's best not to use them yet '
She already had that deal with the Labyrinth and even though she could give it the debt chains to replace her service ' I still have some use for these chains and now that I got the keys the Labyrinth will be more focus on the other keys instead but that doesn't mean I should give it away so soon . '
She thinks of the future use of the keys ' for now I need to make sure to reinforce the current worlds the one to the former dead world can be taken care of because we haven't expanded that much and I doubt Tanec would be returning soon , the natural force will take care of theirs even Rate's old world isn't a problem since Death will just get a few things from their '
" But for now , I should take advantage of this problem , the debt chains are my biggest assets . The rebels will eventually find value in my support and the evolutionary serum will eventually free the corrupt from whatever stress they are having . the only problem is what is next " Lily looked at the lands beyond the freed lands .
' Maybe it's time I ask Life for some help ' ... " Are you sure you want that ? " " Yes , eventually I'll get to make a choice , save just myself or become allies with the Labyrinth and save them too , we will go to the locations of the Labyrinth's true body " " You'll need a lot of soul crystals to copy these memories "
" I know that much and we have plenty to spare " " then we just need to move " " sure Mother can you help us with something " they appeared at the most recent location where the Labyrinth regained control over its body " It seems like Immortal is repairing this one as quickly as they can "
" It's quite big " " Only because it just appeared recently and the other unlocked areas have been slowly being sealed away again , so the Labyrinth will probably ask me for the other keys " Lily explained and Life starts recording the memories through it .
" Just to start a conversation , but how is your body doing ? " " It's getting ridiculously stronger , my weak cells are being replaced with new ones because of mother's self-devouring ability " " I'm glad that you were able to get that kind of ability , maybe you should try exploring Solaris's as well "
" Sure , they might get jealous if they understand that concept enough " Lily explores the other abilities she got while wondering what will appear when Rate gave her one " Maybe it'll be related to the arts he can use "
Lily senses her body and finds the stars inside her ' I already saw that when I was inside here , but it seems like if I want to use this ability , I need to want it ' as she used it , the stars inside her body are connected like how constellations are made .
' it's like chemistry but on a cosmic scale ' she watched the different stars that Solaris gave to her connect with hers ' It's amazing how this is going ' she observed the stars creating the power she wanted and manifested it in her hands .
She held the glowing staff , playing around with it ' It's not entirely solid if I swing it very hard , like torch without the firewood ' she was glad to have this kind of power and released it , watching the flames disappear .
" These are great , glad to have them here " " Transmission from mainland " A recording revealed the residents together with some monsters " What is it ? "
" Boss the monsters say they want to negotiate a deal with you " " did you at least get the hearts of the sealed beings yet ? " " We did , the monsters helped us get it , so they want to see if you could help them ? "
" Okay , show them to me " they moved aside to show a horde of monsters " Woah , so who's the alpha ? " ... " So you are the leader of these people ? " A voice echoed through the forest " Hmm you're existence should be similar to Woods ? Are you the entire forest ? "
" You are correct , I'm speaking on everyone's behalf , I am the former commander candidate of the backup frontline . We would like your help " " what's in it for me ? " " I've inquired that you wish to strengthen the forest you own " " Of course I do , I'm guessing you can help ? "
" I'm uncertain if I could , I'm already dying " " How curious , you're dying but you are speaking on everyone's behalf " " It's something that occurs when I was fighting for the position of the commander , I've received enough damage but you will enjoy benefits if you accept them "
" Okay but be aware that my residents did this because they wanted to , you were just something they decided to help out of compassion . So you will have to walk the journey back home . I'll be taking my residents away so that it doesn't look like we were involved "
" But how about directions " " I'll provide that much at least " " And protection against the Labyrinth ? " " You won't have to worry about that , I'll send something over " Lily looks at the sun in the sky and receives the coordinates of the horde .
She removes the seals on her eyes and takes control " There will be some spears falling from the sun , they'll fly towards a direction which you will be following "
The call ends
...
Lily grabs the growing debt chain of the forest " You'll be useful , but I'm really disappointed that you'll eventually die , it'll be great food for Woods " She reads the memories while Life waits with her " Are we done ? "
" I was waiting for you " Life said " Sorry that took a while longer than I thought , but I am surprised by how the monster forest lost " Lily walked by Life , who carried the soul crystals " I have no idea what you are talking about "
" Right right , It's not like there's a need to do it . It'll be in the briefing later anyways " ' But to think they would lose because the enemy used a faulty bomb , looks like those hearts I'm gonna get is going to be useful , I'll need a plausible story thought '
" If you had done something drastic like taking the other half of the backup frontline wouldn't it be a problem ? The rebels may view this as a plan to destroy them "
" Yeah the rebels will probably make some changes in their plan , considering that the Labyrinth is attacking , they will probably have to take different measures to bring in more forces , but because the Labyrinth won't be dragging them anymore . Whatever people that will come into this world will swear loyalty or remain neutral , too bad there won't be any rejects anymore " Lily said .
" No there will still be , The calamity beasts were technically rejects but they just needed a bigger world than their own . " " But that still means they can use special means like the debt chain and make them swear loyalty "
" That is true , but that requires some intricate spell , moreover they aren't aware of the debt chain at all " " they don't have it however they have alternatives , thankfully still not very efficient " Lily checks the information , finding more about the rebels' plans for the future .
' It's a little disappointing that they are doing exactly as I predicted , Maybe I used the divination too much ? ' " When do you want to see this ? " Life asked , referring to the soul crystal " I'll probably get it as soon as possible , maybe have Argus turn it into a movie theater for us to watch "
Life smiles hearing Lily's intention for the memory " You are very lively for someone who's lived for a long time " " I just feel younger after learning that my spouses are much older than I am " " Yes but if you consider your skills, you'd be much higher "
" Nothing they can do about it , my whole life was all about walking through the tightrope of life and death to the point it became a road between them " Life sighed and Mother came " Lily why do you have that giant stone with you ? " Mother asked .
" It's gonna be our new theater " Lily said " You should be a little careful handling this thing " Life said " Huh what do you mean ? " " It's not something that should make it romantic , in fact it should be banned "
" Guess I'll do it myself " there was some silence and Mother spoke " Hey Lily what were you talking to that weird glowy person ? " " Mmh , work " " Oh I won't bother you then " Lily chuckled , seeing Mother's avoidance of being involved with work .
...
Some hours later , while Lily is watching footage about the Labyrinth , the door opens and Rate comes in " Lily ? " " What are you doing here ? " Lily asked and Rate recounted what he learned from Mother .
" I'm more surprised she managed to remember all those words " Lily said " But do you really have to watch it on your own ? " Rate asked " Why not ? it makes understanding the Labyrinth's goal much easier and Life said it shouldn't be something you guys should watch "
" Why ? " " You know how you can summarize a story by saying , an evil god killed millions of people . if you want to know how it went it would be more gruesome " " So the test were also gruesome ? "
Lily nodded " It's a lot like the stories I've learned , this one is just like what I had told you guys about , Scholars mess with something and eventually something wrong happens . This one is no different "
" Can I at least hear it ? " Rate asked " Sure , the Labyrinth drifts through the space as a natural being , there were already others who tried but none succeeded as much as the ancestors of the descenders "
Lily clicked a remote to show footage of experiment logs " These are one of the tamer experiment logs , they would extract fluids from the Labyrinth's body into any living form . As you can see , most of them are infected and fall into the control of the labyrinth "
Rate was curious about how the Labyrinth was able to do such a thing " This is really valuable research isn't it ? " " Yeah too bad I can't share it to anyone " Lily said ' It could be possible if I make Scyan and Birch take piece and I deliver them the research data so they can save time on it '
" Maybe possible to show it " Lily said as the footage rolled " But it seems like the scholars here have tried to take advantage of the Labyrinth's ability and it's the usual thing that most people want . Control "
Lily showed footage of the affected subjects performing much better however , they do not have control of their body " It's like the Labyrinth puppets that the descenders refer to "
" But how does the Labyrinth improve it ? " " There are a lot of references we could use . Some spells turns someone into the user's kin . Usually the stronger one is the user , so the Labyrinth does such a thing . Fun fact , it's how I became Beryl's father "
" Oh that's interesting and how about how they lose control of their body ? " " Probably because the Labyrinth's overwhelming mental presence crushed it " " So what was the cruel part ? " Lily changed the footage , revealing the affected subjects being injected with some drugs .
" At first they tried to make the Labyrinth dependent on some drugs , but they later found that it was useless because they described it as pouring a drop of water into an ocean but they slowly used higher doses of drugs . This is actually what gave the Labyrinth its brainwashing capabilities "
Rate watched the affected subjects in great pain " Even though it looks like this , the Labyrinth isn't affected . It was like losing a few drops of blood but obviously it looks terrifying like this . The problem is they didn't give up , they still wanted control . they consulted beyond the science and tapped beyond material things and finally "
Lily showed another footage " Woah what is this ? " " An entire world being reorganized to support the experiment and this one required the strength of the soul against a giant Labyrinth " " But how will that work ? " " You'd be surprised "
The many parts of the world start to glow like city lights at night , except it was spread differently to create something " They tried to control the Labyrinth with this kind of plan , but even this was just a demonstration . They would eventually fail , which is when they are forced to do something else , they rose a hero "
" A hero ? " " Yeah something people usually do in stories with a great villain " Rate looked at Lily and asked " Did your world do the same thing ? " " They tried at least , but I just end up with some kids with my blood . They tried to say I was some cruel witch who kills her children , but I never made them "
" So who's the hero ? " " It wasn't a who it was a thing , a spell to be taught until someone was able to unleash it . But once they did , the Labyrinth drag their entire civilization into it , so the plan backfired into the world we live in " " Wow so what was the spell ? " " It was meant to create a pocket space in which we are inside of "
" But the Labyrinth we are on is supposed to be in the same kind of spell right ? " Lily nodded " But this one is like a weapon which Immortal is fighting with , as far as I can tell , the Labyrinth is intelligent and just wants to leave this cage and return to drifting in space "
" So you pity them ? " " Kinda , its goal is very small " Rate was surprised that she didn't say what he thought she would " You mean you don't care about the experiments they went through "
" I went through worse , moreover their goal is much smaller than mine is . It's like climbing a mountain , the moment you reach the peak , you walk back down without thinking that you could fly "
Lily turned to Rate " So you don't like it if the Labyrinth has little ambitions ? " Lily nodded " I have a great desire , in fact , it's why I ignored my hunger so easily . Guess that was kinda stupid of me . So while I don't like the Labyrinth just wanting out , I don't hate them thinking about their current needs first "
" Then what was your great ambition ? Is it to find your brother ? " Rate asked " No , brother wanted me to leave and holding onto that hope isn't healthy for me . I live cause I want and I will keep living , having power is just a means to end . Plus , I'm pretty satisfied with our current condition and just like the Labyrinth , I also want out and return to my world . And maybe explore others "
" That's a really nice ambition " Rate said " I wouldn't call it an ambition , just something to entertain me " Lily rolls the footage to learn more about the Labyrinth " By the way , Rate how is your mental training ? "
" It's going well " " Hopefully we can peel the layers soon , I wonder what's taking death so long in the other world ? " " Did you give him a key back ? " " Of course I did , maybe the underworld is that hard to get ? "
" Didn't you say he was supposed to get Mother's old friend ? to unseal the sealed bloodlines ? " " Yeah , why ? " " Mom says they are very curious "
Meanwhile , Death brought several ancient artifacts waiting by the gates to the underworld " Here I got everything you said you wanted " " marvelous now this would allow me to learn more about beings like you "
' Perfect another Birch and Scyan in the fray , But they're the only one who has what Lily wants ' When Death came to this world he immediately found all what he needed ' I thought this would go quickly, but why do I have to take much longer ? '
" Now , Strange manifestation of the underworld , take me to my old friends I have to see how well they are doing " ' I don't like having three of these fellows around ' But Death still bought them back . '
...
" So that's why you took that long ? " " Yes all that side quest that I have to go through just for the sake of their cooperation " Death told Lily " It sounds like a main quest of a game " " If you compare how big this world is compared to where I just went then it makes sense for me to call it a side quest "
" But you got all that I needed right ? " " Yes and this guy is as crazy as Birch and Scyan " " So , valuable " Death nodded hesitantly " Oh and can we get to the reincarnation device already they're been screaming at me "
" Sure , any request for what kind of body ? " " They wanted the body of a calamity beast said they'll seal the power when needed " " Okay you can handle that yourself "
" I will " Death leaves " Argus make sure to include information about the old friend in the briefings for the calamity beast residents "
Later , Lily lay her body on the bed and Rate opened the door to the new house Argus built for Mother " Lily ? " " Oh you're here early , wanna stay in bed with me " Rate blushed " It's more about what you got "
Lily chuckled and Rate sat on the side while Lily lay on the pillow " I heard from the updated briefings that you got mom's old friend back " " Yeah , you were right about their personality too "
" And Death bringing all those artifacts ? " " You don't have to worry about that causing a stir , in fact , Death just got rid of any tools that people could abuse and they're already in the modern progress level , so they don't need them "
" So they've already progress that much , I thought they would be in a more futuristic civilization level " Rate said considering his age " There's a lot to account for a civilizations progress in technology if war keeps happening , war can create technology but the more both grows the more each of them destroys each other "
Rate reflected on Lily's words , but was caught off guard when she grabbed him " Ahh " Lily pulled Rate to a hug " Mhhmm I really like this level of closeness " Rate blushed intensely and Lily let him go .
" Are you excited to get stronger ? " Rate thought about his body's sealed bloodline , thinking about the power that his parents always warned him about .
" Maybe a little bit , but I just wish it could be something that could help in the battle , when I was an egg , my parents wouldn't teach me combat abilities "
" Because you were an egg " Rate nodded " Even though I look forward to it I'm not sure how useful it will be " Lily looked at the back of Rate's head and grabbed his shoulder to turn him around " Rate it's not that you want to useful in battle it's more like you don't understand the value of non combat abilities "
" But I do , healing is important for wounds . But I don't have a lot of useful things other than not fighting " " You put too much admiration to combat combat-related abilities Rate ... plus you excel in other areas than in the field "
Lily watched surprise shape Rate's expression , his eyes widened and his mouth shook " Really ? Like what ? " " Don't know , I just know that I like the feeling when you're around and this isn't like that brainwashing thing "
" Ehh ? " Rate got confused by what Lily means " I like you a lot , you're personality and looks . then there's dreamland " " Ahh but Dreamland is just something Mother taught me she could also do it "
" I asked her and she said she wouldn't be able to do it as much as you did so stop downgrading your achievements already . Moreover , I'm sure you can do more than Dreamland "
Lily smiled and grabbed Rate " Let me sleep like this , it's like having a pillow but the right texture " Rate was lost in his thoughts to worry about being so close to Lily ' That's right , I do have other things I could use '
Rate recalls the amount of media he had consumed and thinks of the skills he had learned , he starts setting his body in a warm flame that doesn't burn and Lily opens her eyes " Hmm ? " " Uhm do you like this ? "
Lily looked at the warm lights and the sounds " Why is this so comforting ? " " It's just something I learned when I was an egg , most of life has been inside an egg , so mom and dad would always carry me around , I learned a lot of skills to make it easier for them "
Lily shut her eyes enjoying the sounds and temperature " This is nice , I wonder how you can do something like this " Lily yawns " Like I said I did it because I wanted to relive some fatigue , mom and dad are always worried about something , I think I even know how to digest fatigue myself too "
Rate continues explaining how he can help through different activities while Lily dozed off .
...
Next morning , she stretches and checks her body " Wow that was such a nice sleep " she looked at Rate , passively supporting the rest of Mother and Solaris ' Told you not to look down on your non-combat abilities '
Lily smiled and checked on the debt chains for updates ' Huh looks like they did make some changes ' she leaves the bedroom and waits downstairs ' for now let's make sure to get Solaris's backup plan for ressurection '
At Indus's research facility , he looked at the proposed plan that Argus had submitted " You want to do it in your facility ? " " Affirmative , both our researchers find too many problems in learning how to use your tools and language , thus they would like to bring a piece and submit it to you . We can take a small piece to show how it can work "
Indus wondered if Lily was just that confident in providing results ' She hasn't let me down at all , moreover , she must be in a hurry . But a star takes a very long time to burn out , is it because this star is that big ? '
" I'll agree to these terms , when they come here later , I'll hand them a piece " Back in the living room of their new house , Lily looks at the confirmation .
" So Indus accepted it , perfect , let's send this research to those two , they'll have to make fake reports to make it work properly " Lily receives some messages from the Labyrinth .
" Relax , Indus is someone trustworthy , he's only pursuing research on your body . Moreover it seems like most of this research is lost, so it would be beneficial for me to make use of it "
... " How about I make it up for you , you know those spears of the stars that are falling down ? I'll teach you how to absorb it " ' I've already understood the principle behind using the star's power , this kind of knowledge I gained from our marriage's benefits will be useful in the future . it's not something Indus will learn , but it's something I can use to pay '
" I'm sure Solaris wouldn't mind , It's like teaching a friend your spouse's much efficient plan " Lily gives the Labyrinth the knowledge and it starts eating some of the spears that fell .
" Lily , What are you cooking for breakfast " Mother asked " I'm not the one cooking and I probably shouldn't cook anything " Lily said " But I saw it on that TV , it looks so fun " " Yes , but the only cooking I know is in games "
Rate passed by hearing the conversation " I can do it " " You can ? " " Yeah I told you last night , didn't I " " Then show us what you got . I'll have Argus bring the ingredients for you " Lily said .
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