Chapter 381: A New World | [Volume Four]
—
Humans in their base, are boring creatures. By base, she meant the humans back in the Prime Omniverse. In the Cube, however, humans were quite interesting. Living in worlds dreamed up by the Prime Humans as they do, they have higher ceilings and greater ambitions.
That didn’t mean humans were her favorite of existence – no – the Mistress had no favorite. Death kills all indiscriminately without biases, after all.
However, across the passage of time, she had taken likings to a few humans who were a cut above the rest. How she judged that was based on how they avoided death. It was always interesting to see them do it.
Neji Hado fell into that category, even if he cheated his way through with his Patron, Lady Luck. Mistress Death has been observing him from time to time, never following him in real time, but just checking on his battles here and there. She had in fact tried to contact him a few times too, like recently when he was fighting Ereshkigal a few days ago when she reached out a title – [Loved by Death] – to him. But he rejected it.
Yet now here he was, coming to her so that he can continue his mission. Mistress Death by no means felt arrogant by all this, it was merely… bad luck, that Lady Luck got herself into her situation, and she was offered the responsibilities.
– Knock~
Death was sitting on the surface of a desolate moon. The empty space was all around her because this place didn’t have an atmosphere. She sat on a throne, fully made of skulls and bones, while a grave of bones was splattered all around the terrain.
There was no door in this place. Yet, the sound of knocking spread in the air. Death smiled softly.
“You may come in.”
The fabrics of space and time split like an eye, revealing the figure of Famine Fatale, one of her most accomplished agents, followed by none other than Neji Hado himself.
Famine was dressed in barely any clothes, as usual, wearing a white bra-top, and a pajama that was cut in her hips.
Neji Hado was dressed in the same outfit he wore before. A golden armor ran down his waist, while his torso was revealed for everyone to see; blue marks of divinity were dancing around and glowing occasionally.
The split closed, and Famine kneeled, lowering her head and greeting her, while the oblivious human looked around the terrain and absorbed the scenery.
Famine frowned, sweating, as she nudged her elbow on his knee, causing him to turn around and blink. He quickly went on his knees as well, but Death just laughed and gestured for them to stand up.
“You didn’t bring your kitten? I was looking forward to touching her.”
Given the shift in his expression, as she gave him a weird look, she assumed she must have sounded a bit weird by human standards. Whatever, she could care less.
Neji and Famine stood up, and Death rested her chin on her right hand when her elbow rested on the armrest of her throne.
“I hope you have solved everything in that world. It’s time I fulfill Lady Luck’s request to take on her responsibility as your Patron. Not that you’d be representing me, I will just be safely sending you to your three remaining destinations. You will also not be taking over anybody’s existence, too bothersome for me. You will just be sent there with a pretty much waste-like background.”
As in, an NPC background, basically a nobody.
“You can do whatever else you want afterward. I will be observing you, so at least don’t finish your job in a day. It’s kind of boring that way. At least spend a week, yes? I will send Famine after you’re done, and the next world will be available to you right away.”
Neji listened to her in silence. Half a minute later, he gave her a short nod.
* * *
Lady Luck was a valuable asset. Neji loved her a lot obviously, as he still did, so he didn’t see her just as a patron, an asset. However, he had to admit she was very reliable, she helped him a lot.
Even when home arrested and with her power sealed, she provided more use than this woman. Well, it was stupid of him to assume she would help him as much as Luck… His Luck was more than just a sponsor, this woman wasn’t.
Mistress Death was just looking out for him, not looking after him. She was making sure he didn’t become what her enemy once was. She was doing so so that if she noticed him turning to that path even a bit, she could take action right away.
More than a sponsor, Mistress Death was like a government spy.
At last, Neji just gave her a short nod, accepting her words. Not that he had any choice. This was his only path.
“All right. Anything you want to ask?”
“Yes.”
The woman raised an eyebrow when he replied fast. He opened his mouth and slowly asked a question.
“Contessa Fate… why didn’t she stop this nonsense? Why didn’t she stop Lady Luck from getting thrown into prison?”
Mistress Death smiled mockingly. She appeared darkly amused. She scoffed as she shook her head.
“From what it seemed to me, she was the one trying hard to send Luck into the Prison. I have no idea what’s going through that woman’s head because the ‘crime’ that Luck did is nowhere near what my sister, Lady Life, had done. It doesn’t make sense why Luck would be sent to that prison.”
Neji blinked. Then he frowned. What was going on? Fate seemed to care about Luck a lot from what he noticed.
“I think it’s related to the Director,”
Mistress Death suddenly said, soon humming and nodding.
“Right, you were unconscious. Aren’t you curious how much time passed by the time you regained consciousness? Or where that magic coupon appeared? Oh, you may have thought I gave it to you since it’s a reviving power. But no, it wasn’t by me.”
“When you were unconscious, a force named The Director of the Last Act, the harbinger of Omniversal Apocalypse, came to stop Lady Celestine. I have no idea about what they talked about and only learned about her presence there after I descended. Her smell was still there, more so it was being radiated from the coupon you had.”
That made Neji pause.
The Director?
Why?
Why did a being like that come to stop Ceslstine? No, just how powerful was she that she could stop Celestine? And that title, harbinger of…
No way, just what was going on?
“I don’t know the details, before you ask me, boy. I don’t want to waste time talking about it either. Just know that whatever had happened, Fate had seen, and that scene made her heart change so much that she betrayed her own little sister. Could never be me.”
Neji stood still on his spot. He had no idea what to say or do. This wasn’t it… how was he supposed to work like this?
“Hey,”
Suddenly, Neji looked at Death. Her golden eyes were calming, they felt familiar because of Kurai’s similar eyes. So he could openly speak his mind.
“Contessa Fate and you… are from the same Class, yes? Can you remove the mark of herself that she had left within me? She calls it a blessing, but I don’t know. Can you remove it?”
Mistress Death stared at him. They were in outer space, with countless universes and multiverses visible in the far, and under all these dots of light, her silence was cold and long.
In the end, she sighed and snapped her finger. Immediately, Neji felt something inside him break apart, vanishing into essence.
“There you go. She may be a little mad at me for this, but screw it. Never liked her anyway. This incident of her betraying her own sister just made her impression worse to me.”
It seemed this woman loved her sister, Lady Life, a lot. She said she accepted Luck’s offer because she was doing the same sacrifice as Life. So it obviously angered her seeing what Fate did, as an older sister herself.
“We are twins, but I am the younger sister. It’s funny how different I have become since she left.”
“Ah.”
A few stars in the far exploded as Death snapped her fingers. A picture formed in the air, it was a younger Death from perhaps eons ago.
[Image Here]
