118 Communication and the Road Home

—The tall, black-haired beauty appearing on the other end of the screen was none other than the Earl D, who had parted ways with Kurama just a few days ago amidst the chaos.

Watching the myriad expressions flicker across the fox’s face—surprise, relief, confusion, curiosity, and so many more—the Earl couldn’t help but curl the corners of his mouth. The heavy anger and resentment that had been building within him over recent days began to dissipate significantly.

“Kurama, the Temperate Consort of the Warm Palace.”

He smiled warmly and nodded slightly toward the fox on the screen. The moment his gaze caught the pair of silver fox ears standing softly upright atop the fox’s head, his eyes sparkled unmistakably.

“It’s such a relief to see you safe and sound. How is Mokona? Is he unharmed?”

Though the Earl could reasonably guess that since Mokona was already able to communicate with Yuko’s side, the chances of his being injured were slim, he still asked repeatedly with a hint of worry in his voice, as if he wished he could instantly tear through time and space, rush over to where Kurama was, and carefully inspect the little creature from head to toe.

Kurama’s eyes curved into a gentle smile as he returned the Earl’s concern with softness.

“Mokona and I are both fine,” he said softly. “But Earl, did you sustain any injuries during that attack?”

Because the process of their time-space teleportation hadn’t been interrupted, Kurama and Mokona had escaped the Earl’s pet shop right after a wave of assault. Kurama did not know whether those assailants had continued to harass the Earl after their departure.

Harboring some doubt about the Earl’s combat strength, Kurama leaned closer to the screen, seemingly intending to scrutinize the Earl’s physical condition.

The beauty with heterochromatic eyes responded with an even warmer gaze.

“I’m fine,” he replied with a smile. “Aten and the others are by my side, and with their abilities, those people cannot harm me. The reason they were able to break into the pet shop so easily before was that we were all focused on seeing you and Mokona off, causing our awareness of the outside world to dull just a bit. That’s how they found their chance.”

Then the Earl briefly explained the circumstances that led to the gang’s assault on his pet shop, prompting a mixture of amusement and exasperation from Kurama.

As for the Earl’s evident disdain and contempt for the methods and style of Tokiba, Kurama remained noncommittal. The fox, who held fundamentally different values from Tokiba, preferred not to meddle in such matters.

Had that attack not involved Mokona and nearly caused serious harm to his white companion, Kurama might have simply turned away and forgotten the incident entirely, rather than quietly taking mental note and waiting for an opportunity to repay it double.

When the Earl finished describing the situation on his end, Kurama pondered for a moment before beginning to recount his own experiences following the unexpected sudden attack.

At that moment, Yuko signaled to black Mokona, who adjusted the screen’s angle. Then, the witch and the Earl sat together around an antique circular sandalwood table, sipping tea as they continued their conversation.

“So… Mokona found ‘His’ lost relic left behind in another world?”

Upon hearing about the golden tablet, Yuko’s previously languid and indifferent expression vanished instantly, replaced by one of grave seriousness.

Kurama nodded solemnly in response.

“Yes. And this world is different from the one where I once witnessed the Holy Grail War. Here, the ancient gods—those who once only existed in myths—still appear before mortals even today.”

“And these gods seem to possess some knowledge concerning the Creator God.”

“Though their knowledge has dwindled over time and the surviving information is fragmentary, they apparently still hold items or scrolls imbued with the Creator God’s aura or depicting His form. One of the goddesses’ warrior guardians, whose divine office involves war and wisdom, immediately mistook Mokona for the Creator God Himself…”

After roughly describing the supreme honors Mokona received in the sacred realm, Kurama paused. Seeing the thoughtful expressions on Yuko’s and the Earl’s faces, and their quiet attentiveness, he continued.

“The relic Mokona guards in the sacred domain—the golden tablet I mentioned earlier—emanates a strong aura belonging to the Creator God. Because of this, Mokona changed his plan to leave the sacred realm immediately. Instead, he stayed to gather intelligence and secretly decipher the information contained within the tablet.”

“Earlier on the day I went to retrieve him, he finally completed the decoding. The final message Mokona uncovered…”

“Rather than ‘information,’ it was more like a ‘message.’”

“A message addressed to Mokona and me.”

At this, Yuko and the Earl both subtly stiffened in surprise.

“A message for you and Mokona?”

Yuko blinked, quickly regaining composure and unconsciously furrowing her delicate brows.

“So this isn’t just coincidence? All the experiences you’ve had so far were orchestrated by the Creator God?”

She murmured this, but almost immediately dismissed the notion herself.

“No, that can’t be. Even the Creator God wouldn’t be capable of such perfect planning—foreseeing events set to occur far in the future, manipulating everything from start to finish with impeccable timing, so precise it defies belief.”

The Earl, now understanding, frowned and nodded in agreement from beside her.

“Yuko is right. Moreover… the Creator God isn’t the type to take pleasure in manipulating others’ destinies.”

“It’s far more likely that He foresaw something in the cosmic fate of this star world but, unable to directly interfere, chose to deliver a pre-prepared message at the right moment through an appropriate opportunity, to guide your next steps.”

Kurama nodded in accord.

“The Earl’s reasoning makes sense. Mokona and I came to the same conclusion—largely because of the message left by the Creator God on the tablet.”

Without waiting for Yuko or the Earl to prompt him, he continued explaining.

“In the message, the Creator God says He knows that after creating this world, in a distant future, a traveler searching for the way home will journey across various worlds and eventually arrive here.”

“He says He has roughly foreseen the difficulties and obstacles the traveler might face, and has simultaneously provided a relatively safe and reliable solution. It may take time, but it’s far more effective and accurate than blindly searching through each world by chance.”

“The Creator God is willing to offer this method to the traveler, but requires a promise in return—a promise to provide a ‘small favor’ near the end of the journey.”

“The message doesn’t specify the nature of this favor, but kindly notes it may require some sacrifice, though nothing so great as to cause irreparable harm or unbearable suffering.”

At this point, Kurama paused. Seeing the gravity on Yuko’s and the Earl’s faces ease somewhat, he smiled gently at his two friends, who had sincerely worried for and cared about him.

“Mokona and I have discussed this at length. Although we don’t fully understand what this ‘sacrifice’ entails or to what extent it must be fulfilled, we believe the Creator God’s promise is genuine—after all, He is the very source from which Mokona was born, and shares Mokona’s nature and character.”

“I trust Mokona, so… I am willing to trust the Creator God because of Mokona.”

“Most importantly, the message’s solution includes a condition that is the hardest to meet, and now… it stands right before me.”

“A ‘favored one’ who possesses both the ‘gift of this world’ and the ‘gift of another world.’”

***

While Kurama, Yuko, and the Earl were engaged in their conversation, deep within the center of the Pure Land’s Underworld King’s temple, in His Majesty’s private chambers—

Hypnos stared wide-eyed in astonishment, barely daring to believe what he had just seen.

What had he witnessed just now?!

It was as if a beam of noble black light, infused with infinite microcosmic power, had pierced through the boundless starry expanse, swiftly traversing countless planets, reaching even the legendary edge of the cosmos—where not even gods dared to tread, and some doubted its very existence—and without losing any momentum, shattered the invisible but solid barrier at the universe’s edge, shooting beyond into the endless chaos of time and space, heading for another reality…

—the power to break through the fabric of space-time!

Belonging to… His Majesty!

The golden-haired god gazed almost dumbfounded at the scene His Majesty had displayed within the microcosm—frozen in place, utterly stunned.

After an unknown length of time, the God of Sleep finally snapped out of his petrified shock. As his raised eyes met the Underworld King’s calm, unflustered emerald gaze—which seemed to regard such overwhelming power as nothing to boast of, the sort of strength that would surely provoke jealousy from Zeus himself—Hypnos seemed to be scorched by those steady green eyes and hastily lowered his eyelids.

“Your Majesty…”

Countless questions clamored on the tip of his tongue.

How did His Majesty acquire such immense power?

When he earlier asked if Hypnos wished to see the true nature of the world, was it because His Majesty himself had already seen this so-called “truth”?

When had all this begun? Had His Majesty deliberately concealed it from everyone, including Hypnos and his twin half—Danadus?

And what of that mortal whom His Majesty treated with such indulgence… no, that fellow hardly seemed mortal anymore—was there any connection? Could it be that part of the power His Majesty now displayed came because of that person’s arrival?

An overwhelming rush of tangled thoughts flooded Hypnos’s mind, nearly robbing him of his ability to think.

Yet, His Majesty’s radiant golden eyes only briefly flickered in distraction before returning to their inscrutable stillness.

“Your Majesty.”

Hypnos bowed deeply, offering his utmost respect to the king he served.

“Then please, take me with you.”

“To see this world’s… true nature.”

The Underworld King regarded him silently for a few moments, then suddenly curled the corners of his lips into a faint smile.

“Bring Danadus along.”

He said softly.