-----
"P-Please co back one day! I will wait for you for eternity!"
Seleneum had beco utterly captivated by Maria.
When Maria opened her eyes, everything truly had been part of a mindscape, just as Seleneum had said.
"Ugh... my head..."
The intensity of those sensations still left her with a throbbing headache.
After sharing a joyful feast with her family, she decided to depart quickly.
Especially because Seleneum kept sending waves of pink light toward her.
"H-Hurry! Let’s go!" Maria urged, more anxious than usual, stepping through the portal while hearing Seleneum one final ti.
"Take care, Maria! I hope the Relic proves helpful! If you ever wish to experience this again, co back! I will gladly embrace you."
"I’m good, thanks."
"What was that?"
Lucifer glanced at Maria in confusion, but she pretended she had said nothing.
FLASH!
They pierced through the dinsional mbranes. Maria sighed in relief, tinged with the faintest regret.
"Why did I even do that? Damn it."
She looked at the moon-shaped mirror now residing within her Consciousness, which she had transferred to her Dantian, placing it near the Sand Hourglass and Bobo.
These three items represented different things yet were deeply connected to aspects of her own self.
As they floated within her Nebula, she felt their power gently spread through her body and soul.
She felt herself approaching sothing.
"Hm?"
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself on the next floor, looking around in confusion.
"The hell?"
Maria saw a white floor lined with endless aisles of packaged food, furniture, clothing, and more.
The tower stood directly behind them, piercing the ceiling of what appeared to be...
"A huge convenience store? No, wait—a supermarket or sothing like that?" Maria muttered.
"Wow, they’ve got everything!" Nyx exclaid, eyes wide as she looked around.
"It feels strange. Why would this be a world? Is it like the hospital?" Lucifer asked.
"Hm, Nyx, don’t go too far!" Maria warned, watching the girl grab so snacks and dart back.
Then she noticed sothing even stranger.
The odd white mannequins scattered throughout the store began to move.
Dressed in employee uniforms, they charged toward her like wild beasts.
"HMMM...!"
They emitted strange, guttural groans as they lunged at Nyx.
"Eh? Aah!"
Nyx dodged as the mannequins tumbled to the floor in a heap, but more and more appeared, chasing after her relentlessly.
"What do you want?! Who are you?!"
"HMM...!"
"HM..."
"HMMM!"
They were faceless—completely featureless!
Maria and Lucifer rushed to protect their daughter.
As the creatures closed in, both struck them hard.
BOOOM!
Their blows were powerful enough to shatter the mannequins into pieces of white, translucent flesh.
Their "blood" was a sticky whitish liquid.
Yet more erged from the seemingly endless store.
"Nyx, drop the food now!"
"Ehh?!"
"Do it!"
The girl reluctantly let the stolen items fall. The mont she did, the creatures stopped attacking her, retrieved what she had taken, and returned it to its place before walking away and standing motionless once more.
"What was that?! Did they get angry we didn’t pay?" Nyx asked.
"This is the Bulkvoid. Sorry we didn’t warn you—we didn’t think you’d go out of your way to steal anything..." Ferleen sighed. "It’s an endless store, as you can see, filled with tempting objects. But it’s all a trap. When you take sothing, these mannequins attack."
"I’ve seen people die!" lianna added. "So don’t rob them!"
"That’s all there is to it?" Maria asked.
"Yeah... besides, this place is endless, but the path to the second and then the third floor is straight ahead from here..." Ferleen nodded.
"Hmm..." Maria scanned the surroundings, sensing no Mana or any other energy.
It would be difficult for beginners to fight those things; they were as tough as S-Rank Monsters.
Another "newbie trap," and apparently it spanned three floors.
"For so reason this place keeps expanding," Ferleen explained.
"So say the Bulkvoid used to be only one floor, but it absorbed two entire worlds, and they turned into this," lianna added.
"It can do that?!" Maria asked in disbelief. "All right, let’s get out of here as quickly as possible... try not to touch anything, okay?"
Maria and her family began walking, moving steadily and as swiftly as they could.
The children were the most tempted to grab snacks, but Maria’s stern gaze stopped them.
After about an hour, they progressed from Aisle 3 to Aisle 2, reaching Floor 22.
It was all the sa, silent, eerie.
Maria did not simply walk; she investigated.
She sent hundreds of ghosts in every direction to asure the true scale of this world.
As she suspected...
The sa sight repeated endlessly.
When she tried to pierce the ceiling, she erged in the sa place. There was no floor above or below, it was all a straight, infinite line.
Piercing the floor led back to the ceiling, and the ceiling to the floor.
It was utterly bizarre.
"Let’s get out of here..."
Once they reached Aisle 1, they finally saw a door leading outside.
When they opened it, a flash of white light carried them downward.
Toward Floor 21.
The scenery changed instantly.
Maria smiled as she took in forests of peach blossoms, towering mountains, and flowing rivers.
The air carried the sweet scent of fruit, flowers, tea, and rice.
Vast rice fields stretched into the distance, farrs working tirelessly as they did every day.
Farther away, a grand castle stood atop a hill, surrounded by a magnificent city.
Maria recognized this world imdiately. It was where the surviving gods from that shattered realm had settled.
A vast land ford by rging their divine realms.
"Floor 21, Zipangu, right?"
Floor 48 Onsenkai and Floor 46 Blossomveil had also been created by mbers sharing the sa origin.
On Floor 46, Maria had t the little goddess who ruled that place and shared her plans and the alliance.
She had already contacted her family here, the two Ruling Kami, Amaterasu of the Sun and Tsukuyomi of the Moon, to discuss these matters in person.
"All right, everyone. Let’s head to that city and see what’s happening."
Maria crossed the rice fields and plum blossom forests, leaping over rivers until she reached the grand Edo Japan–style city.
Most inhabitants were human, though Players were scattered among them.
People wore traditional Edo-period clothing, including samurai with their distinctive, shaved-top hairstyles.
The children were enchanted, darting from food stall to food stall.
Eventually the group settled at a restaurant and inn, deciding to spend the night.
Their dinner was a lavish feast of classic Japanese cuisine: sashimi, sushi, ran, and more.
When night fell and everyone else was asleep, Maria stepped outside and ascended toward the ceiling.
-----
User Comments
0 comments from readers