After a round of divine brawling, the victor was Febilia…
Febilia used an enhanced version of [Light Binding], namely [Holy Light Chains], to directly hard-cast on Althea, tying her up like a zongzi and hanging her upside down in mid-air.
As the Goddess of Life, most of Goddess Althea’s authorities were of the supportive type, and she couldn’t contend with Febilia, who could use the strongest light magic.
“Althea, put away your little schemes. Don’t let me catch you again! Or you’ll be in for it!”
“Wuwuwu… I was wrong, Senior Febilia~ I’m about to get a brain hemorrhage and die, please spare me…”
Althea, who had been hung upside down for an hour, was pleading bitterly. Elliris watched, thinking that posture must be truly uncomfortable…
Elliris watched from the side, not daring to make a peep.
When gods fight, mortals suffer. Besides, Althea actually dared to spout NTR talk right in front of Febilia, easily accomplishing what others couldn’t!
Seeing that Febilia was completely ignoring her, Althea put on a performance of tears flowing upwards, the droplets falling from her disheveled, hanging hair onto the ground. Then, as if grasping for a lifeline, she spoke to Elliris.
“Little Elliris, save me! Plead with your ancestor for me, wuwu! I’ll give you something good later!”
“Really? Goddess Althea?” Elliris was, in fact, moved by the goddess’s latter words.
“Really! Truer than true!”
“Huh?”
“Hurry up, really! It’s your trial completion reward.” Althea had already thrown image to the wind, begging a junior like this.
Elliris immediately spoke up to plead Althea’s case: “Ancestor, please calm down~ I won’t change, you can rest assured. The bonds I’ve gained these six years are precisely the goal I strive for. I don’t want to lose these precious things because of my changes.”
“Furthermore, being able to be a descendant under your protection is my honor.”
A genuinely satisfied smile appeared on Febilia’s face. Moved by Elliris’s sincere words, she then released Althea from her suffering.
Unfortunately, the release was too sudden. Althea almost didn’t react in time. Luckily, she braced herself with her hands on the ground, or she might have broken her neck…….
“Tch! I’m gonna…” The newly freed Althea was just about to retaliate fiercely against Febilia’s earlier dangerous actions, but seeing the cold, deathly gaze Febilia swept over her, she instantly shut up and behaved.
Althea got up dejectedly, sat back at the dining table, and continued drinking tea with a resigned expression on her face.
To ease the current awkward situation, Elliris looked pleadingly at her ancestor and then asked.
“Goddess Febilia, the [Holy Light Chains] you used earlier, that’s the same skill Mother used to save me, right?”
“That’s right, little Elliris,” Febilia said with a gentle, smiling gaze, her eyes full of affection for Elliris.
Even so, Elliris couldn’t help but clutch her chest, worried about her mother’s tearful words earlier. She then asked, “Goddess, Mother should be alright, right?… Mother’s state earlier has me a bit worried……”
“Little Felicitala was truly frantic when she noticed the third boss was a level ninety Banshee. She gave you a hint in the illusion, and at the critical moment of your successful challenge against the Banshee, she used her own Holy Light Chains.” Febilia answered Elliris’s doubt, but her following words did little to ease her anxiety.
“Poor little Ell. This attack used up all the faith power you had painstakingly accumulated before. I’m afraid it will be difficult for you to meet little Feli in your dreams again anytime soon.”
“Senior Febilia, it’s time to tell little Elliris the truth. Excessive gentleness is a poison in itself.” Althea, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke with a serious expression.
Letting out a long sigh, Febilia closed her eyes and frowned. After a pause, she stated a cruel fact.
“Little Ell, don’t expect little Feli to come help you the next time you’re in danger. Little Feli probably won’t meet you for two years. If she keeps overdrawing her already thin divine consciousness like this… she will disappear.”
“Mother…” Hearing this, Elliris couldn’t help but feel grief. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and slid down.
Having never experienced maternal love in her previous life, she craved it even more in this one. Learning that her mother would exhaust herself to save her made her feel an involuntary surge of guilt.
She was still too weak. If she were just a bit stronger, she wouldn’t have had to defeat the Banshee with such difficulty.
Febilia reached out and gently wiped the tears from Elliris’s cheek, comforting her: “Don’t worry, little Ell. Little Feli will be fine. You are both my excellent descendants. I won’t let that happen.”
Elliris sniffled, calming her emotions a bit, then smoothly changed the subject: “Goddess, the illusion I saw during my fight with the Banshee earlier, what exactly was that?”
“And the illusion the Banshee implanted in your mind earlier, it truly existed. It was the outcome for you and Sophia under different worldlines…”
“Ahem~ That worldline doesn’t exist anymore~ It was the ending I least wanted to see, for the you and Sophia who didn’t come to this world.” The cherry-blonde and white-haired goddess smiled, waving her fingers lightly as if it were of no concern.
That was probably the original worldline’s ending for Elliris and Sophia. The regional start in the original game setting was also due to Elliris’s subjective factors—laziness, contentment with the status quo, and a dislike for studying—which Sophia was also influenced by.
As the original native inhabitants, their thinking was quite rigid, always believing the Arden Forest barrier was unbreakable, which led to their ruinous end.
Honestly, this served as a warning for Elliris. Even though it was another Elliris, that immersive, real death was undoubtedly a wake-up call for her.
As the goddesses answered Elliris’s questions one by one, she became increasingly clear about what she needed to do.
Elliris thought, since she was here, she might as well ask the omnipotent deities beside her a few more questions. Consider it making this trip worthwhile.
“By the way, two goddesses, I have something I’d like you to explain. Last time, when I went to the Sky Lake at the Peak of Phantoms, I saw a strange soul form related to myself.”
“First, a man and a woman holding hands, then it turned into a female soul as tall as me. Please explain, goddesses!”
“Little Elliris, guess first. What do you think this signifies?” Althea walked over slowly, seeming quite expectant of her answer. Of course, this was also part of a goddess’s work, guiding Elliris step by step.
“Lady Althea, does this also foretell my future?”
“Correct! This is the necessary change you must welcome.” Althea stated decisively.
?!
(Huh? Why does this feel weird? Holy crap! Could it be…?)
“Sophia is fine. She’s a girl herself. The one with issues now is you~” Febilia added. She naturally understood what was going on.
“Two souls sharing one body, don’t you find that strange, little Elliris~”
(Kind goddesses, can you please spare me, spare Ai Lei? Ai Lei doesn’t want to collect his lunchbox yet! Um, Lady Althea, about our little elf boy plan, can we private chat in a few days?)
“I know what you’re thinking, little Ell. This state of yours can’t be maintained for long. I was planning to bring it up next time~ Since you mentioned it first, I’ll give you a helping hand!”
Althea’s eyes were sly. It didn’t feel like she was about to help Elliris solve a problem.
The current situation: a goddess was about to take action.
The foreseeable outcome: Ai Lei, at the age of 24+6 (that’s roughly how you could calculate it), finally meets his end…
Elliris really wanted to slap herself. She was already regretting why she kept asking questions like a machine gun.
Well, you reap what you sow. She had finally gotten herself involved.
(Ah ah ah! I don’t want to die yet! Wait, no, seems like I’ve been dead for six years? Ah, no! Who said who’s dead? You’re the dead one! Damn, what are you doing? Why are you cursing yourself?)
“Ah ah ah!!” Since she didn’t want to answer immediately, she’d cover up her panicked state by shouting loudly…
Seeing Elliris’s strange expression, clutching her cheeks and twitching, Althea had long guessed what kind of mental storm was raging inside her head. In reality, she was frantically battling between her left and right brain.
……
“Sigh~ Elliris, let me ask you one more thing. What I’m about to say is no joke. I hope you can answer me seriously.” Febilia, who couldn’t bear to watch any longer from the side, had a complicated look in her eyes, which then shifted to calm and gentle.
Yes, she hoped the descendant before her could give her ancestor an answer. She only sought a not-perfectly-complete answer, one that would satisfy Febilia somewhat.
“You and Sophia can never return to Blue Star. So, what is your choice? Let me tell you first, if you continue to maintain the dual souls within your body, your physical form will collapse before you turn eighteen.”
“To be precise, what Althea is about to do next is to solidify your male soul within this body. You will merge into one in the future. Don’t worry, that cowardly ‘self’ will always be there from now on. She already agreed to these things when you crossed over. Rest assured, the process is quick. It will be over in an instant.”
Elliris hesitated, but she had already considered many things before. Now she could accept these matters calmly.
She had been in this world for six years. The only person she missed from that world was her grandfather, who had already passed away.
Honestly, some of her hesitation was just her own stubbornness.
-…..
“Go for it, other me… I am with you… It’s okay. Let’s be like this from now on. I have already listened to Goddess Febilia’s divine oracle before today.”
An Elliris with a somewhat cowardly and unconfident voice, clearly gentler in tone, spoke from within her heart.
“You are!” This was the first time Elliris heard the call of her other self.
“I’ve always been watching. Thank you, other me. Without you, I could only be the me who was once completely defeated. I’m very happy to see those things—the story of the me from Blue Star and Sophia.” The original Elliris was expressing her feelings.
“Hmm~ So the other me is this mischievous, hehe. I don’t mind, though. Do you like my past, other me?”
“I do. These are feelings I’ve never seen before, feelings I yearn for. Childhood friends… truly enviable.” The original Elliris’s tone gradually revealed envy.
“Other me, don’t always stay silent. From now on, promise me, come out and chat with me when you have time, okay? I think we get along well.” Elliris’s heart was filled with joy. She had originally feared she had invaded the original owner, but now those thoughts were dispelled.
“Okay, other me, go for it! I promise I’ll come out to play with you often from now on. And, thank you. In the original worldline, I was even more self-destructive than what you saw in the illusion… Thank you for giving me the courage to live.”
“Please take care of me from now on, other me.”
“Okay, please take care of me too!”
“Well then, see you for now~”
———————
In a place unnoticed by the goddesses, the two Ellirises found their answer through communication.
“I will face my mission squarely. In the name of Omnia, I will do what I can for this continent. From now on, there is only Elliris Omnia. Goddess Febilia, Goddess Althea, this is my resolve!”
“Very good. This is the person I saw potential in. This is my proud descendant.”
“Then, I’m going to begin, little Elliris~”
Althea was about to activate her divine power. Elliris would also accept the transformation she had promised.
A vast surge of life force poured in. This life force bathed her like a warm forest drizzle, enveloping her. From now on, Elliris would also coexist with Ai Lei.
Just like that Narcissus, who spent all day lying by the river looking at his reflection, was misunderstood by the water nymph, Phrygia, as professing love to her (the prototype of the narcissus in Greek mythology). Perhaps everyone encounters another version of themselves in the moon in the water.
She would live earnestly, truly, in this world. She would treat her loved ones seriously.
Ai Lei might no longer exist. Who knows?
What remains here, of course, is only Elliris Omnia.