Traveling through the gaps between universes and worlds is boring. At least, Jibril was bored to the point of almost falling asleep.
Time and space didn't exist here. To be honest, if she didn't have Tet divine power protecting her, Jibril suspected she'd simply vanish silently into the gaps, becoming part of the ubiquitous energy, losing her independent will.
Basically, she'd be dead.
In short, she was bored enough that her Flügel brain began to overthink, and she entertained herself by watching the strange things in the void.
Countless worlds existed in the void, but they weren't as Jibril had imagined. Worlds were different—some were large and could birth absolute existences, while others... Jibril suspected she might burst the smaller ones just by entering.
Though she didn't care about a bit of slaughter, it was a waste of time and meaningless, so she gave up on the idea. After all, her goal was rescue... Heh, has this happened before?
Finding a bit of joy in the hardship, Jibril recalled the scene before her departure. Before she knew it, she had been "duck-driven onto a perch," declared free, and had instinctively accepted the God of War's words. Finally, she was sent out of the universe by Tet.
To another Flügel, such an order would lead to suicidal despair, but to her, it was a mix of many emotions... Only now did it seem to be sinking in. She finally felt... the loss.
Sadness, reluctance, confusion...
In the gaps between worlds, she couldn't even find someone to talk to.
Is this what it feels like to be a free life? Is this the price?
Everything was in her own hands. She no longer had to obey an existence without thinking; instead, she had to weigh gains and losses with her own will, considering success and failure, and bearing the consequences of her decisions... This was the first time any Flügel, including herself, had experienced this.
She would decide her own everything.
Freed from simple killing and battle... or perhaps, she had been freed long ago.
Had her Creator... already realized?
Jibril was lost in thought.
Tet power was protecting her and leading her toward the previous resonance—so how was that guy doing now?
According to Tet, he was battling an incredibly powerful opponent. If Tet analysis was correct, was her power enough to face a Creator? Even if her divine power wasn't exhausted after being sent here?
Can I be useful? Can I help him?
Also, is he hurt? And that Weed—the Weed that's practically one with him—is she still hanging on?
Jibril clenched her fists in irritation, but then relaxed and simply lay down... there was no point in being anxious, was there?
Time flows differently between worlds, which meant she might arrive early or late. According to Tet, He could only guarantee sending her to a time close to the resonance... but what if He failed?
It involved another universe, after all. Even a One True God could fail, right?
Furthermore, even Tet didn't know how much time had passed for Sū ěr since they left that universe. Maybe a few days, maybe longer than the three thousand years she had waited... Ten thousand years? A hundred thousand?
Even longer.
Anything was possible with that Weed, but would he still remember her?
Even that letter he wrote with his own hand—would the precious time in it be forgotten?
Worrying about gains and losses—such a mood had never, could never have appeared in a Flügel like Jibril.
She was the type who could smile with reverence while personally killing someone she admired, even keeping their head as a trophy.
Thus, right now, she was being far too... girly.
As if she weren't a winged Flügel, but a human walking the earth.
When everything happened in a single day, Jibril felt herself being crushed by a mountain of worries, unable to stop overthinking.
What if I'm not recognized?
Should I say hello and ask Tet to take me back? Can He even do that?
What if I can't beat his enemy?
Dying together before a powerful foe... that actually sounds okay. At least it's a death fitting of a Flügel. And dying together in battle against a strong enemy is quite romantic... yeah, that's the word, romantic.
Not bad.
It's just that the Weed would die with him, which is annoying... Why can't I get away from her? Just die already, okay!
Time drifted by as Jibril waited and overthought. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she finally heard a strange sound—partly the swan song of an intangible existence, partly a silent grief.
And the sound of something breaking—an explosion louder than thunder that could pierce the world.
She stood up abruptly, her wings flaring in vigilance. Her unique black scythe, capable of devouring light, appeared in her hand. In her sight, a skinless, naked existence was laughing maniacally, its body riddled with cracks and empty holes—hollow voids like black holes.
Crimson waves rose with her laughter and her uplifted arms, washing over the shattered universe. If Jibril wasn't mistaken, those waves were full of vibrant flesh... and amidst the nausea, she saw a firefly flickering in the tsunami of gore.
Wearing tattered, loose robes, radiating a comet-like light as it pierced through and dodged the waves—like a small boat in a storm. Struggling, yet strangely giving off a sense of security that it would never sink.
It was the one she had come for—Sū ěr.