"Finally, Master! Are you okay?!"
Aerisse heard that familiar voice — panicked, dramatic, and accompanied by hurried footsteps.
Wait... what was this soft, warm thing wrapped around her? It felt like... cat fur?
She opened her eyes lazily.
Ah. An animal pelt blanket. And that overly emotional voice? Her ever-faithful disciple.
"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to wait for me? It hasn't even been a week yet!"
Her limbs felt heavy — she definitely needed more rest.
"Uh... Master," the boy sniffled, "it's been a month! We've all been worried sick! You didn't tell us the divine backlash was this bad! I thought— I thought you'd never wake up again!"
Aerisse sighed. So that's why she hadn't told them. Because this exact drama was guaranteed. She rolled her eyes hard enough to see her own brain.
"Master... are you dying?"
Well. That was one way to phrase it.
"Yes," she replied calmly. "Everyone dies. Eventually."
"Are you dying now? Because of divine power? You're the goddess's vessel, right? Can't she do something? I mean— If She's so powerful, there has to be a way to—"
"Stop it, Myrhael." She raised a hand, cutting off his endless spiral. "There is no way. No goddess can save me. So stop thinking about useless things."
He froze instantly. Like a statue.
Perfect.
Now, back to work.
Time to head into the portal — destination: the newly populated Central Kingdom.
"Your Holiness, welcome back."
Zaryne bowed respectfully, her tone polite but colder than a frozen sunbeam.
Aerisse glanced at the crowd. So many new faces — so many species. She hadn't personally summoned them; the automatic affinity system she'd installed long ago was clearly doing its job.
"Thank you, Zaryne. Let's talk in private."
Inside the grand palace, Aerisse admired the architecture — the outside looked celestial and harmonious, just like before. But the interior? It screamed Zaryssa's taste: dark, elegant, and intimidating enough to make lesser beings rethink their life choices.
Hopefully, the "shadow" would like it too.
"Now that you have your kingdom, your people, and a loyal knight to protect you—"
(of course, that knight was her dear brother)
"—I present to you this divine stone."
She held it out dramatically. Delegation always felt so official.
"Your new task: visit every human kingdom, show them a small taste of divine power, and make them submit to the Central Kingdom. You'll represent them in the Universal Peace Accord — signing on behalf of all humankind."
Zaryne blinked, clearly processing how insane the mission was.
Aerisse didn't say it was easy — that's exactly why she didn't want to do it herself.
Delegating divine labor was the most intelligent form of survival.
And she was so tired.
"I accept, Your Holiness."
Zaryne bowed again, arms extended to receive the holy relic. Her eyes gleamed with barely contained ambition.
Yep. Greedy as ever.
Perfect for the job.
Minutes later...
"Take care of yourself, Master. I'll come visit you in the tower from time to time."
"You won't, actually," Aerisse said flatly.
Myrhael blinked, confused.
"I set up an extra barrier on your travel artifact. You won't be able to reach me unless I want you to. So don't even think about it."
"But Master, I—"
"There are no buts, Myrhael."
He immediately clamped his mouth shut. Good boy.
"I'll see you again once I'm feeling better. In the meantime, take care of your sister. And don't let her use the divine stone for selfish reasons — it'll backfire, literally. I'm off."
And just like that, she was gone again.
Time to rest this ridiculous mortal body until she actually felt new again.This time, no one was going to wake her.