After Yuki's playful teasing had passed, they were confronted with what to do next. Until now, her purpose had been simple and straightforward. Now, not so much. Yamato had been rather vague with his plans for her, which of course made it difficult to anticipate what her life would be like going forward.
"Master~, I was wondering, what do you wanna do now? Normally, I would judge over you now, and decide whether you go to heaven, hell or if you'll be reincarnated or whatever. But that whole thing's kinda over now, isn't it? Unless you wanna spend eternity watching me keep doing just that… Which would be fine, because I look fabulous while doing my, or any job for that matter!"
Despite her eyes still being full of excitement and teasing, a serious note accompanied her question. However, whatever Yamato decided she would be fine with. This was however, his first "order" to say. So, naturally she was a little nervous and excited at the same time. Any experience that could be labeled "a first time", was something special, she thought. While he appeared to have thought about it for a moment, he had already made up his mind during their game.
"I have some things we need to clarify first, before we can move on. So, since you are an angel, does that mean there is a god too?"
While she looked surprised by that rather natural question, she answered with no hesitation and surprising motivation.
"There is! Why do you ask? Does that bother you, per chance~? I bet it bothers you~!"
Yamato looked away for a moment, where she could spot the faintest micro-expression of annoyance. However that look disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.
"I see… Well, whatever. I guess it would have been weird if it was just you… To my next question. As an angel, what exactly can you do?"
She got exited when he asked about her abilities. Taking pride in her capabilities as the best at everything, except chess apparently. She obviously liked talking about herself.
"I am so glad you asked, Master! I, your super angel Yuki, am the angel directly under God, and therefore posses skills that befit a position such as that! I can such as summoning the Sacred Time Sword! It's shiny but only in the dark!"
He looked at her with an indifferent expression. Knowing she expected him to ask what that was, but not doing so just to test her reaction.
"Okay."
She was devastated by his lack of awe for a moment. Then continued again with the renewed enthusiasm.
"…I will explain it whether you ask about it or not! The Sacred Time Sword is a sword that can hit its target before it is even swung. It does so by cutting through time and hitting in the past, so you still have to make the swing eventually. However during a fight, it would be as if an invisible, unstoppable force attacked! Because it hits your body in the past, it is effectively impossible to deflect in the present!"
Yamato looked intrigued by that but still had a rather disinterested look.
"I see the value in that... But who would you fight with that?"
"True evil!"
"As in…?"
"I don't know. Whoever you want, I suppose!"
"…Does it have any restrictions I should know about?"
"Well... You see... I can only use it for about two minutes... Otherwise it gets dangerous for everyone involved, including me. I'm truly sorry for being such a disappointment…"
Yamato just looked at her with a neutral gaze, not finding that to be much of a set back, considering the advantages.
"I see… That's alright. I suppose much longer won't be necessary anyway to defeat uhh… True evil?"
She looked relieved at that and nodded happily.
"That's right, Master! I can do lots of other cool stuff, like move super fast, be indestructible, look amazing at any place and time, but I will tell you more about it later! Is there anything else you would like to know?"
"I wanna talk to God."
She tilted her head in confusion at the sudden request, not seeing the reason behind it, since he already had her, and she was obviously sufficient for any task he may have.
"Master... Meet God? But that's... Well, it is not impossible. But he does not just meet with people like that, you know? Only those who are the most devoted and stuff, whose faith is the greatest... And I don't really think you need to… Cause you have me~…?"
Putting on a sad and overly cute facade, it seemed she was trying to test whether she was already potentially in danger of replacement, which of course would be met with retaliation.
"I'm not trying to get God in the same position as you, so relax. Just tell me everything you know about him."
She paused for a moment, thinking about how to respond to such a question without being too vague.
"Well, God is as he is generally defined by humanity: the immortal and omnipotent creator of the universe. His wisdom and benevolence are beyond human comprehension. He is the source of all light and goodness, and his ultimate goal is to protect and guide humanity towards salvation. That's like the standard phrase I have in my head, but in all honesty, that sounds a little dramatic. To show how he trusts and loves us, we are not observed in heaven, despite him being "omniscient and all seeing". So he would not be aware of our current conversation, even though you might think he should be. He also refuses to see into the future in general, because he thinks it also contradicts with free will."
Yamato felt like he had a pretty accurate understanding of God now, or at least the picture Yuki had of him.
"Uh huh… When you say immortal, does that mean he can't die no matter what?"
"I'd assume so...? I never really thought about it, I'm sorry."
"That's alright… So you couldn't kill him if you tried?"
She blinked at him a few times. When she finally managed to respond, it was only a confused counter question.
"...W-what?"
"If that's not an option, do you think he could kill himself? As in, pushed into suicide?"
At first she thought she missheard him. But that clearly was not the case. She was flabbergasted, to say the least. But then she noticed how he switched to this topic immediately after learning that God did not hear them. So she assumed he was thinking about something like that from the start. Though she did not understand what made him go there in the first place.
"You're... Trying to make God want to kill himself? I just told you not even I could hurt him, so what makes you so sure he can even die at all?"
His response came so fast, she wondered if he was prepared for that question. Making her further wonder how much thought he gave to this question.
"Well, you said he is omnipotent. If he can do anything, he should be able to harm himself, no? Otherwise, he would not be omnipotent."
His thoughts seemed rather dark and that in a frighteningly casual way. She still could not come up with a single reason as to why he would want any of this in the first place.
"I mean, I guess… But… Not being able to harm yourself, and "just" being able to do anything else still makes you functionally omnipotent… So there's no guarantee that this reasoning would hold up… Also, why? What do you gain from all this? And isn't he supposed to be all love? How could he ever even think about something like that…? It just seems highly improbable, Master..."
"Yet you don't seem outright against it."
"I still can't say I think this is a good idea… How would you even do that?"
"It's just a thought experiment to me, really… Though I could think of a way or two."
"It just seems like a huge waste of time…"
"I have plenty of time."
"But you could instead just focus on me~!"
"…What?"
"Why are you so focused on some God you don't even believe in when a cute little me is right here~!?"
"…"
"Fine! Go to your God or whatever then."
"So you will take me to him?"
"Yes! Just so you see that I am far more interesting and worthy of attention!"
"Why, thank you... I seriously doubt the greatness of this God. But I'm open for a surprise too."
"Whatever..."
"Are you… angry?"
"Nuh uh!"
Remembering that she originally did not want to bring him to God, Yuki felt like that whole suicide conversation was just to throw her off so she would eventually agree to bring him to there. But since she had no proof of that, she discarded the thought.
She began with closing her eyes, put her hands together and began praying. At first nothing happened. But then, once Yamato blinked, all suroundings had changed. Once he opened his eyes again, he was now standing on clouds that felt solid, yet fluffy and soft. Surounded by pillars, and a long staircase that appeared to go on forever, it seemed they had arrived in heaven.
"Yuki, is this heaven?"
"It sure is, Master. Looks the part, does it not? You can eat the clouds, they taste like cotton candy!"
"That seems made up."
"It is!"
Yamato crouched to the ground and poked the cloud he stood on. The way it felt under his foot was completely different from how it felt to touch. A softness unlike anything he ever experienced. As he tried to rip a piece off to look at more closely, he found that it was much harder to separate than it looked.
"Interesting…"
"It may look like a cloud, but it's probably best described as something like magic~"
"What an unhelpful description…"
"Well, would you rather know which elements it is made out of? Because all the elements I can think of right now begin with L and end on ove~"
"I would like to know that, actually."
"Really? Okay… Uh, way to ignore my flirt, meanie… Maybe another time then. It seems we are found."
He stood up from the ground, and looked around. Suddenly, a light appeared in front of them. It was warm and comftable, much like the feeling around Yuki at first, which he now noticed had gradually disappeared over time, making him assume it was something like an artificial aura or temporary thing with divine beings. The light then changed forms into an old man. He had a long white beard and was in a white robe. Looking at Yamato and Yuki with kindness in his eyes. But Yamato just looked back with the bored, cold and empty gaze which seemed to be his default, but came out for this interaction specifically, since he had not been as cold with Yuki a moment ago.
"So this is God..."
"Yes, I am. I sense that you desperately wish to engage with me?"
Yamato remained calm and collected. The presence of God did not seem to affect him at all, but Yuki began growing accustomed to that about him.
"You say that as if you were expecting us."
"Haha, indeed I was. I already know why you are here and how your relationship to Yuki is. Quite the contest, the two of you had. I never expected her to be invincible, of course… But to think a little boy would be what brings her down… She was on somewhat of a winning streak ever since she existed, y'know?"
"That's weird, because I had heard that you don't do spying on anyone. Guess that was just a straight up lie then, huh, old man?"
Yuki remained silent during them throwing words back and forth. Her trust in Yamato was absolute. Whether or not that was based on her experience with him, or feelings of a different kind, ultimately did not matter. Fact was that she truly believed that he would win, although nothing that could be called a competition had begun yet. God seemed to think so as well, as he was not taking offense or being competitive at all.
"Calling me an old man, not many would dare that…"
"Since you took it upon yourself to call me a little boy, it seemed to be a fitting response. Especially considering your age and appearance."
"Well, Yamato, that seems fair indeed. But you should know that my appearance simply matches your picture of me. I could have looked very different, but chose this form just for you. Yuki here for example, if I had gone after her image, we would have looked alike now."
Yamato looked over at Yuki who was just innocently standing behind him, now waving at him. He awkwardly waved back before turning around to face God again.
"…Okay, point taken."
But enough of that… Let's stop this silly talk and instead move to what really matters."
"What would that be, in your opinion?"
God smiled at that.
"Well, the reason you wanted to talk to me, of course. When I see into peoples eyes, I also see into their souls. I hope to find kindess, empathy or love, of course but... Unfortunately, when looking at you, I see nothing. Nothing good at least. You also seem to lack a reason for that pitiful state you are in. I never met someone quite like you, and I literally met everyone who ever lived. But then again, you pride yourself on your uniqueness, don't you? Though, I never really intended to create something like you. Yuki, you really found someone extraordinary… Let me tell you about this person just a little bit, alright?"
Yuki looked over at Yamato, who seemed interested as well in what God had to say about him, so she felt obligated to ask on his behalf as well as her own.
"Okay then… Tell me about him."
"He sees us, you, me, everyone and anything really, as inherently inferior to himself. The reason he wanted to talk to me was to convince himself of the simple fact that he is superior to even God himself... But this view goes beyond a simple god complex. It is not simply the belief that he is better, or worth more. It is the belief that he is the only one that is even worth anything. A being inherently above all creation, because in his eyes creation itself has become meaningless in comparison. I don't think calling him a mere narcissist does him justice."
"…"
"Now that you have understood that, what do you think of him, Yuki? Are you still planning on betraying me, even though I am all you have ever known? Given you life, and everything you ever had?"
"That's… How absolutely… Beautiful…~!"
As God waited for Yuki's response, expecting her to cast Yamato aside now that she was confronted with his true self, he was, for the first time in his entire life, truly surprised by what happened. Yuki's eyes, usually graceful and proud, suddenly filled with something that could only be described as absolute obsession. Accompanied by a wide grin that was visible even though she cupped her cheeks in a lazy attempt to cover her face.
"…What?"
Completely irritated and out of his element, God looked at the usually calm and rational person that he thought to know as Yuki, smartest and strongest angel of them all.
"He is beautiful, to his very core! I was only speculating at first, but now I am certain! Within his deep, dark heart, lies a capacity to love me like no one ever could! I must have it, at all costs, and keep it all to myself forever and ever~! To tell the truth, my heart had been racing the very moment we met! So when you tell me creation has no value compared to him, I can only agree! To think we will spend the rest of our lifes together no matter what, I think I'm dreaming~…."
Yamato on the other hand, felt rather awkward being talked about so highly in a romantic way, while being right next to them. So he chose to just ignore Yuki's whole speech, and focus on what God had said before about him.
"…Ahem, you are correct. Impressive... But expected of someone claiming to be all knowing. The boring thing about perfection is that it means everything is always the same. If something is perfect, it is flawless. Something flawless will, as it already says by definition, never have anything to improve or change upon. But isn't that itself already a flaw? It made me curious… If being flawless is a flaw, then there is no such thing as flawlessness in the first place. And by that logic, you aren't perfect. But neither am I… So, what is to strive for? What truly is the line between humanity and godhood, if not perfection? The answer is simple… There cannot be a definitive line that seperates you from myself. Which is why I will surpass you, and all other beings claiming inherent supremacy, and serve as that line myself. The definition of the state closest to perfection, is my goal!"
Both Yuki and God seemed to be genuinely fascinated by the degree of grandeur Yamato thought to posses.
"...You really are an impressive young man... But isn't this flaw of flawlessness you speak of just the way mortals comprehend it? Because of your mortality, humans will always comprehend perfection as unreachable, as it is mortality that brings limitations to your existence. You out of all people might just be able to understand that."
"I think not. Someone who is immortal is more object than living thing. Only death defines what can be considered alive. Lacking the ability to die therefore makes you an object. So only the view of mortals matters in this. A talking object has no true comprehension or appreciation of life, and what it means to reach perfection as a being. You say I speak out of the view of an mortal, and try to imply that this view somehow is flawed or incomplete. But in reality, you are the one that is inherently more flawed than anything else."
God sighed at that, not really knowing how to respond but he tried anyway.
"Your logic is somewhat sound, but… To think that you are so heartless, truly is a waste of a life... just imagine all the good you could have done. You even go out of your way to make up an entire philosophy that you don't even believe in yourself, just to objectively me and categorize me beneath you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Are you actually asking that? Immortality is something you clearly strive for yourself. Your words are purely meant to make me feel bad. But you should try to learn that your psychological tricks reach their limits when it comes to a god. Although they seemed to have a limited, yet uncontrolled effect, on Yuki."
"Big talk for someone who praises himself all loving and caring, while having natural disasters and illness roam freely, taking the precious lifes you act I should protect."
"If I take all the struggles of life from humanity, what does the life they have even matter? If you can't overcome a problem, how could you truly grow? Truly live? Since you like to define things, how about that one… Life is by definition a cycle, as you would say. Without challenges such as death, you would be just as much of an object as I am by your definition."
"Well, in that case, why should I do any good? Helping others would, by your logic, just prevent them from growing by overcoming it themselves. You place yourself outside the system, and I do the same."
"Hm... I guess that's fair. But placing yourself outside that system only brings you solitude… That is why pride is such a tricky sin, my boy. You harm yourself as much as you leave others behind, only causing mutual destruction in the end."
Yuki felt like an awkward spectator, however she could not help but love Yamato even more every second she watched them talk. Seeing him talk to god on equal ground truly made her heart race. She only looked at Yamato and failed to imagine him losing to even God. Better yet, she did not even see God anymore, only Yamato.
"You talk much and accomplish nothing."
"I could say the same to you, Yamato. But you are right, this leads nowhere. We only move in endless circles. However, I cannot ignore that you turned an angel against me… I wonder what to do in this situation, really..."
"Maybe just give up?"
"Haha... Yeah, I expected you to say that. You truly are an anomaly. All that I see in your eyes is boredom and lack of appreciation... My world was not that appealing to you, huh?"
Yamato looked away in thoughts. Staring into the endless sky heaven seems to be the center of.
"I guess so… I thought meeting you would bring my boredom to an end. Yet... You failed to make me feel anything. You are nothing but a disappointment."
Yuki could not help but smile, and be happy at that comment. While she could have added an "I told you so", she chose to merely hear him say what in her ears sounded like "Yuki is all I need, you are not interesting to me at all".
"Calling God a disappointment, huh… You're such a rude young man. But maybe I can help you... I want to bring you into another world. One I think would be less of a bore to you. What do you think about that?"
"Why, do you feel threatened by me? That's quite pathetic for a god... I accept your proposal though. Under one condition."
"Ah... Caught me. I want to get rid of you, it is nothing personal though. Please just don't cause me any more trouble than you already have. I do find it interesting that I do you a favor and you are making demands or else you won't accept it. But very well, what is that condition?"
Yamato looked over to Yuki, who remained silent throughout this whole conversation, and pointed at her.
"I want her to come with me."
Both Yuki and God where taken aback by that condition. Yuki got flustered and blushed, while God looked surprised.
"What? Even after that outburst earlier? Maybe you are truly made for each other… I won't stop her from going if that's what she wants."
"I have another condition. I want the world to be free from your influence. There can be religion but from the moment I and Yuki arrive, you lose all influence on that world."
"I want nothing to do with it in the first place."
"Great."
"That was quick… You can't wait to get out of here, huh… Alright then. I have one question though. Nothing with a hidden agenda behind it, I promise. I was wondering, what do you think of the concept of god? You already told me a lot, but I'm curious how you respond to that directly."
"That seems like a weird question coming from you. But if you must know. I find you quite… Repulsive. The very idea of something just being defined as above everything makes me want to puke. That hierarchy… Who defined that? Was it you? Was it humanity? In either case, it is a pathetic display of insecurity from either yourself, or humanity's right to exist without the approval of some entity. I reject you. And I promise, that I will make everyone else reject you as well."
"Hahaha… Please, do try."
Suddenly, they were pulled into a light which manifested in front of them, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared.