Max was led through the streets of Gluttony toward Bee's mansion. The massive building stood tall above the surrounding district, glowing with warm golden lights and decorated with banners from the earlier party.
He walked up the steps and reached for the door.
The moment his hand touched the handle—
Time stopped.
Everything froze.
The wind.
The lights.
The distant sounds of the city.
Even the air itself felt suspended in place.
Max didn't even turn around this time.
He just sighed deeply.
"I am getting really sick and tired of you and God messing with time so much."
A soft laugh echoed behind him.
From the shadows near the wall, Roo stepped out with her usual twisted smile. Darkness curled around her feet like living smoke.
"What?" Roo said playfully. "I just wanted to see you again."
A chair appeared behind her out of nowhere, and she casually sat down, crossing her legs.
"Unlike you," she continued, "God and I actually experience time normally while you fast-forward through your life like a highlight reel."
Max turned slowly and leaned against the door.
"So what do you want this time?" he asked. "Considering the whole immortality thing, I doubt anything that happens in a month or two matters much to you."
Another chair suddenly appeared behind Max, and he dropped into it with a sigh.
Roo poured herself a cup of tea from a teapot that also appeared out of nowhere.
"Well," she said casually, taking a sip, "I just wanted to give you some news."
Max narrowed his eyes.
"That never ends well."
Roo smiled.
"Remember Alice?"
Max blinked.
"The one you made for me to be with?"
Roo nodded.
"Well… she no longer exists."
Max paused.
Then leaned back slowly.
He wasn't going to lie.
He felt a little relieved.
That meant he wasn't automatically engaged to a demi-deity of chaos anymore.
But Roo wasn't done.
"I made a mess of time," she continued casually, like she was talking about rearranging furniture, "so I created a new one."
Max froze.
"…You what?"
"From ideas in your original world," Roo said. "From after you died."
Max stared at her.
If he had been drinking something, he would have choked.
"Don't you need God's permission for that?" Max asked. "It's his creation. And a demi-deity made by you is a very big problem."
He paused.
Then leaned forward slightly.
"And wait… you can go to my old world?"
Roo shrugged.
"We argued about it for a while," she admitted. "But his granddaughter is engaged—or will be engaged—to you."
She took another sip of tea.
"So why not allow one of my creations too?"
Max rubbed his temples.
"That is not a fair trade."
Roo ignored him.
"And yes," she added, "you technically can visit your old world."
Max's eyes lit up slightly.
"Really?"
"But you're technically not allowed to," Roo said immediately.
Max leaned back again.
"Of course."
He sighed.
"So what about your new creation?"
Roo smiled wider.
"Well," she said, "after your death, a new game became very popular in your old world."
Max frowned slightly.
"Oh no."
"It's called The Coffin of Andy and Leyley," Roo said happily.
Max immediately groaned.
"I remember hearing about that game," he said. "But it wasn't that popular when I was alive, so I don't know much about it."
Roo snapped her fingers.
Suddenly, a massive amount of information flooded into Max's mind.
Storylines.
Characters.
Events.
Psychological profiles.
Game endings.
Fan theories.
Max grabbed his head.
"Damn it!" he groaned. "Enough with the information overload!"
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, trying to process everything.
"And you seriously made a severely deranged girl with a brother complex who worships a deity called Entity?"
He slowly looked up at Roo.
"…Wait."
He pointed at himself.
"That's me, isn't it?"
Roo grinned.
"Ding ding ding!"
She leaned back in her chair happily.
"I also made it so her brother was separated from her in a very traumatic way."
Max already knew where this was going.
"So she turns to me," he said slowly, "because she needs an anchor."
Roo clapped.
"Exactly!"
Max rubbed his face.
"…You made a yandere demi-deity."
Roo shrugged.
"Technically, yes."
Max looked at her seriously.
"Won't that cause problems with the girls I'm already with?"
He paused.
"And she is very crazy."
Roo waved her hand dismissively.
"Not if you pay enough attention to her," she said.
She leaned forward slightly.
"Yanderes were actually my idea, you know."
Max blinked.
"…Of course they were."
"They usually come from fear," Roo explained. "Fear of losing someone. Fear of being abandoned. Fear of not being loved."
She pointed at him.
"So if you make sure she never feels abandoned, everything will be fine."
Max sighed.
"You say that like it's easy."
Roo stood up and stretched.
"Well, you'll figure it out."
She looked up at the frozen sky.
"Oh, would you look at the time."
Max rolled his eyes.
"You literally stopped time."
"Details," Roo said.
She started walking back toward the shadows.
"Anyway, you should try to meet her as soon as possible."
She smiled one last time.
"Think about it!"
Then she disappeared into the darkness.
Time resumed instantly.
Max's chair vanished, and he fell straight onto the floor in front of Bee's mansion door.
He lay there for a moment, staring at the sky.
Then he sighed.
"…For fuck's sake."
