Loki Familia's home had exploded.
The blast began in a certain person's room and nearly took the entire Twilight Manor with it.
The cause went back a little earlier.
According to Shiro's original plan, he had intended to reshape the soul into something resembling a minor spirit, then imitate the contracts used by Spirit Arts Users. He would use his own existence as an "anchor" and create an environment around himself where the resurrected soul could survive.
But after gaining his new magic, there was no need to make things that complicated.
Instead, Shiro simply used Puck as a reference and created a soulless body in the shape of a cat.
After all, who could say no to a cat that could do backflips?
Of course, at his current level, Shiro still could not create a body that possessed a genuine soul of its own. He could produce all kinds of bizarre lifeforms, but fundamentally, they were merely extensions of his own limbs.
It was like playing an extremely advanced VR game.
Perhaps once he completely repaired his Incomplete Divinity, he would finally be able to create genuinely independent life.
Since the soul might still feel attached to its former human appearance, Shiro also gave the body the ability to freely transform.
However, transformation consumed Shiro's own Magic, so he added one restriction: the ability could only be used with his permission.
Otherwise, if the other person ended up loving the feature and treated it like a toy, even Shiro's enormous Magic reserves would eventually be drained dry.
The process of creating the body went unusually smoothly, as though he had practiced it thousands of times before.
Before long, a small and adorable cat with fine gray fur appeared quietly on his lap.
Its eyes were closed, and its stomach rose and fell gently with each breath. Completely defenseless against the outside world, it looked as though it were enjoying a pleasant dream.
For now, however, calling it a person would have been inaccurate.
At most, it was a living shell made from Magic.
Shiro opened the birdcage beside his feet and used his Magic to guide the flickering gray soul into the cat's body.
"By Orario's standards, I guess you could technically count as a Spirit now."
As the cat began showing faint signs of waking, an odd thought crossed Shiro's mind.
Spirits were a strange race created by the gods. They used miraculous power to guide heroes and lend them aid at crucial moments so those heroes could complete their destinies.
They were also the beings closest to the gods.
From a certain perspective, anyone Shiro resurrected using the magic granted by this Divinity could almost be considered a Spirit.
Then something went wrong.
"So noisy."
Those were the first words she spoke after awakening.
Her voice was low and calm, completely devoid of emotion, like the surface of a frozen lake.
Immediately afterward, Shiro sensed her trying to draw upon Magic.
Assuming she was instinctively attempting to alter her appearance and return to her original human form, he casually approved the request.
Then...
"Gospel."
That single word brought everything around them to an end.
The walls vanished.
The ceiling vanished.
In an instant, the room opened completely to the outside, revealing the vast sky streaked with white clouds and the sprawling city of Orario stretching all the way to the horizon.
Within moments, the only thing left standing in Shiro's room was a lonely bed in one corner.
If he had not immediately cut off her Magic supply, the entire Twilight Manor might have disappeared with it.
Once the violent surge subsided, the cat, now deprived of Magic and left weakly leaning against Shiro's leg, finally opened her eyes.
They were heterochromatic.
One was green.
The other was gray.
"This is... Orario?"
Only after looking through the missing walls and seeing the city below did the cat finally understand where she was.
Then a large shadow fell over her head.
She looked up and found Shiro staring down at her with a smile that was not quite a smile.
Only then did she notice the condition of her own body.
"So I was not merely resurrected. I have also been reduced to such a frail body."
"You're much calmer than I expected."
"What else would you have me do? Scream like some sheltered little girl?"
The cat let out a heavy sigh. Even with her cute appearance, Shiro could clearly see the deep exhaustion behind it.
"Spare me. Simply realizing that my road still has not ended is already tiring enough to make me want to stop moving."
"Then why was I resurrected this time? Surely you do not intend to make me serve as the foundation of the world again."
"Maybe I brought you back so you could repair my room."
"I admit my temper was somewhat poor immediately after waking, but please do not make such unpleasant jokes."
"A joke?"
Shiro raised a finger and deliberately guided her gaze toward the ruins surrounding them.
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
The cat's body visibly stiffened.
Seeing that reaction restored a small portion of Shiro's mood, which had been destroyed along with his room.
"Believe it or not, I resurrected you entirely because of the twisted sense of humor of a certain... group of gods."
"I had no hostility toward you. At least, I didn't before you blew up my room with magic."
"I see."
The cat calmly nodded.
"In that case, please return me to eternal sleep."
"You finally get resurrected and you already want to die again? There's nothing in this world you still care about?"
"Please do not expect a woman who experiences endless pain merely from breathing to still hold any hope for this world."
"Hm?"
Shiro tilted his head.
"Not even Meteria's child? Don't you want to see him?"
"He's already grown so much that you might not even recognize him now."
The instant the name Meteria left Shiro's mouth, the atmosphere seemed to freeze.
The cat's mismatched eyes locked directly onto his.
"How much do you know?"
"Relax. I haven't done anything to the kid. I just happened to meet him before because of a few coincidences."
"That is not what I asked."
Her voice remained quiet, but the pressure behind it sharply increased.
"That person went so far as to hide her name. Why do you know Meteria's name?!"
As she spoke, she raised one paw.
Killing intent erupted from her body, intense enough to leave no doubt that she wanted to tear apart the man who had struck such a sensitive nerve.
Assuming, of course, she had the ability to do so.
"You became a criminal and you're still worried about damaging your deceased sister's reputation, yet you don't hesitate for even a second before trying to kill the person who resurrected you."
Shiro caught her paw and lifted her until they were eye level.
"I honestly can't decide whether to call you deeply sentimental or completely heartless."
Then his expression turned slightly helpless.
"For humans, memory is one of the most important parts of what makes them who they are."
"If I wanted to put all your memories back into your head perfectly without looking through them first, that would be asking a little too much of me."
"One small mistake and something important might end up missing."
Shiro had more than enough personal experience to speak on that subject.
He still had no idea why the person who resurrected him had been capable of doing something so incredible, yet somehow failed to leave his memories intact.
The result was that Shiro constantly encountered things that looked incredibly familiar, only to find himself completely unable to remember their names.
After hearing his explanation, the killing intent surrounding the cat weakened.
Her expression, however, remained unpleasant.
Anyone would resist the idea of another person reading through their memories.
That was especially true for someone who had once been a young woman.
She turned her head away, doing her best not to look at Shiro's irritating face.
"Conditions."
"Hm?"
"The conditions."
Her voice remained flat.
"Do not make me repeat myself a third time."
"If you chose me instead of someone else, then I must still possess some value to you."
"This body is sustained by your Magic, correct?"
She looked back toward him.
"So what price do I need to pay in return?"
"You catch on fast."
Hearing that she was not the type to treat his effort as something she was automatically entitled to, Shiro smiled with genuine approval.
He lowered the cat back onto the floor, then extended his right hand toward her.
"But before we discuss that..."
"Welcome back to Orario."
Shiro smiled.
"[Silence] Alfia."
…