T-That was... honestly shocking in a way I didn’t even have the vocabulary for at first. I just stood there, letting the realization punch its way through my skull piece by piece. I never—not even once—thought that my mana could be that potent. Potent enough to literally breathe so kind of life into sothing, or at the very least, give sothing a sense of emotion, awareness, or... soul? Whatever it was, it made the whole thing feel unreal. And yet, at the sa ti, it felt stupidly obvious, like it had been staring in the face and I was just too dense to acknowledge it.
It suddenly made sense why Anne felt like she was slowly changing. The subtle reactions, the small hesitations, the tiny flickers of sothing almost human in her voice and expression. All those tis I thought I was imagining things... turns out I wasn’t crazy after all. I wasn’t hallucinating her gaining feelings—I was actually watching her evolve. And that was way more terrifying and awe-inducing than anything I had prepared myself for. The fact that my mana did that... yeah, that was a whole new kind of surprise.
But even if my heart jumped and my brain flipped inside-out at the thought, another part of weirdly accepted it. Like so instinct deep in my bones whispered, Of course this would happen. Maybe it was because of my connection to Lilith. Without that connection, I probably would’ve been screaming into the dirt or pacing around like a lunatic. But sohow, thanks to her, my mind just... settled. As if all this insanity fell right into place.
"Lilith is a powerful being, capable of destroying this planet with her breath alone. She’s sothing that couldn’t be controlled, because she’s so powerful that common sense doesn’t even apply to her," Agneis said.
When she spoke those words, there was a strange calmness in her tone—like soone narrating a truth so ancient and so terrifying that even fear got tired of reacting to it. And the weird thing? It sounded like she was speaking from experience, not from so old legend she read on a dusty scroll.
Agneis... she really did know more about Lilith than I gave her credit for. That realization crawled over slowly, like a cold hand on my spine. She wasn’t simply talking like a historian—she talked like soone who had seen Lilith, or soone who had at least lived long enough to understand the truth behind her power. Considering Agneis had lived for centuries, maybe even longer, it wasn’t impossible she had crossed paths with Lilith personally. Maybe they had so kind of connection. Maybe they fought. Maybe they didn’t. Either way, it fit. Agneis wasn’t young—not by any standard.
"Well, that is why the Seven Deadly Sins subjugated her. That fight between those seven and her was the deadliest battle ever recorded in history, but unfortunately, the historians couldn’t even watch it closely enough to know how the Seven Deadly Sins defeated and killed her. No one knew how she died, or how she was defeated at all. There was simply no person capable enough to witness it," she continued. "Which is why that part of history was erased completely. No one has any idea about that part of history. Maybe they were afraid to even acknowledge that terrifying piece of the past. Well, I suppose that’s only natural. That’s the nature of everything in between."
Her voice carried a weight—sothing older than her, older than this world. A heaviness that didn’t scream or tremble, but settled over everything quietly, like a fog. What she said made sense. The world always hid the events too frightening to record, too dangerous to leave behind for the next generation to stumble upon. Knowledge could be deadly. And maybe, in that case, ignorance really was rcy.
She was right. Even those who were considered geniuses, scholars, sages—those who spent every second of their life studying and learning—didn’t know everything. Even those who had lived hundreds of years couldn’t possibly uncover all the secrets scattered across the universe.
Even Agneis, as old and as wise as she was, couldn’t claim to understand what had happened across the infinite threads of existence. She couldn’t understand the entire boundaries of the world. No one could. Knowledge didn’t have an end—but people did.
"Well, anyway, Sirion, I hope Anne is going to be in good condition as soon as possible," she said, shifting back to a calr tone. "Thankfully, the people I assigned to fix her have real talent. And Filia is extrely skilled as well. I don’t think you have to worry about Anne at all," Agenis added with a small, reassuring nod.
Then she turned and walked away, her footsteps echoing lightly as she left. I watched her go, the strands of her hair swaying with her movents, and I let out a slow breath.
She was right. I didn’t need to worry.
***
Filia’s POV
"What is this complex wiring? I have never seen anything like this," said one of the dwarves I’d grown close with over the days I’d been here.
His brows were knitted together so tightly that I could practically see the stress lines forming. He poked at one of Lady Anne’s open circuitry panels like it might bite him.
Lady Anne’s circuitry was... insane. It was like staring into the insides of a star, or the veins of sothing alive. It was technology so advanced it felt magical, and since she was literally from another world, I guess that made sense.
"Unfortunately, Little Filia, we don’t have any expertise in this kind of circuitry, so we can’t help you much. But we’ll do our best. Just tell us what you need and we’ll patch it up for you," another dwarf said, patting his chest.
They called Little Filia, even though I towered over all of them. Being half-human ant I was way taller than pure-blooded dwarves, but the nickna stuck, and honestly... I didn’t mind. It felt affectionate.
"O-Okay..." I muttered, even though anxiety was squeezing my lungs.
The truth was... I didn’t know that much about this kind of circuitry either. I only had basic understanding. A small piece of knowledge I picked up from being around certain people—like Lady Amon, who always seed to understand things way too fast. Or Master, who inspired everything I created just by existing. Or Miss Chloe, a researcher from a whole different world, or Miss Zoey, who was brilliant in her own right.
They were all smart. And sotis, when I was lost, I could just ask them anything. But that didn’t an the fear went away. Sotis I was too scared to approach them and I was afraid I’d be a bother or sound stupid.
But right now wasn’t about fear. Master needed my help. And more importantly, Lady Anne needed .
So I took a deep breath and faced the dwarven artisans.
"Now then..." I said, clearing my throat.
I explained everything I needed, step by step, the best way I could. The master forgers and artisans leaned in, listening closely, ready to work.
***
Anne’s POV
I could feel my system coming back online, like a quiet hum rising through my body. Sothing inside was being repaired, replaced, upgraded—sothing shifting into a newer form. My eyes opened slowly. It used to be so easy to open them, but now it felt like trying to lift sothing heavy.
Nothing was wrong with my system. Nothing was wrong with my circuits. My body simply refused to move. It felt... heavy. Like gravity had multiplied around .
"You don’t have to worry, Lady Anne. I’m going to fix you right up," said a woman with long ears and a serious face.
I recognized her imdiately. My mory system flickered, scanned, processed her features, and then confird it—Miss Filia.
"I’ll do anything I can," she said, voice steady and determined.
And sohow, even though my body felt like stone, I felt safe.
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