At this time and moment, both Beatrice and Dante began to walk upon the fabric of space itself.
It wasn't like walking on a floor, there was no up, no down, no sense of direction, and yet, somehow, each step rippled through the space they step on. Like soft waves across a mirrored sea.
The newborn universe that Dante had created moments ago stretched endlessly around them, constellations still forming, nebulas pulsing with color, cosmic dust glowing like candle smoke suspended in time.
Beatrice followed beside him in silence. Her black heels didn't quite touch anything, but they made the faintest sound, a delicate click that echoed without a source.
She tried not to look overwhelmed, but her eyes betrayed her, as it open wide, shimmering with confusion, awe, and fear towards the entity before her all alike.
Dante's form, illuminated by the newborn starlight all over the interstellar space they found themselves in.
Beatrice eyes him readily, to her he looked human, painfully human, in contrast to the vastness he had shaped.
He moved with the composure of someone who didn't yet understand his own godhood, it confused her a bit.
But Outer Spirit from what her aunt said are weird being by nature, some a cruel, others are just, and some are like him, outright weird.
After a while, Beatrice finally broke the silence.
"What kind of Spirit are you?"
She asked softly, her voice trembling, not from fear, but disbelief. "No ordinary Spirit could… make this that much I know, so this alone proves your at the peak but different spirit bring different powers and abilities to the table, so what kind of Outer Spirit are is what I am trying to ask."
"Are you pheraphs something like the Outer Spirit of Decay. The Embodiment of Life Fears of Age and End. The keeper of Time and Space, the Arbiter of the Records!?" Beatrice asked, confused even.
'The fuck is that, sigh, so much I need to learn, hmm how should I answer this?' Dante tilted his head, watching the curve of a galaxy swirl in the distance. The question wasn't unreasonable. He had been wondering the same thing Despite him knowing his abilities and how it works. The bigger question is, how could he explained that kind of attribute in simple terms?
Well ultimately it didn't matter, for that reason his answer was vague.
"Think of me." He said finally. "As a Spirit that can make the impossible possible, to a degree of course."
"To a degree?" Beatrice echoed, her brow furrowing. "Yes to a degree." Dante replied, his tone calm but distant. "I can grant any wish… but only through effort. The world's I create is shaped by what people are willing to give for what they want. That's the best way I can explain it."
He didn't say more. He couldn't — not yet at least. The full scope of his ability, Administrator, wasn't something he was ready to expose.
Beatrice nodded slowly, though her confusion lingered. For her, this conversation already felt like a dream inside a dream. She was still reeling from the fact that an Outer Spirit — something whispered about in temples, fairy tales, and at the church had answered her calls.
To her, Dante wasn't just powerful. He was impossible outcome she did not see coming. And yet here he was, walking beside her.
"Where are we going by the way!?" She asked, and Dante responded. "You'll see, just keep following me." That was his only response.
"Ok!" She said, and Dante nodded his head. The stars dimmed slightly as they approached something out of place...a computer desk. Floating and stationed steadily in empty interstellar space, surrounded by infinite black with dots of stars and galaxies in the background. It was a simple setup, monitor, keyboard, rolling chair as if someone had dropped an gaming workstation straight into the middle of creation.
Beatrice blinked at the mere sight of it. "That's… a desk?" Dante smirked faintly. "Yeah... Don't ask... It's a long story." But before she could even open her mouth, he snapped his fingers.
Snap!
And in an instant, he made a large construct floating in space, and now they where in a high-end office space with a skyscraper view of th stars and galaxies outside.
A desk of dark glass materialized in front of them. Behind it, Dante's chair drifted up from nothing, followed by his monitor, on it.
Beatrice stared, breath caught in her throat. "This is, ahhh... Could I do that." But no answer came, as all Dante said was. "Much better, this should be more comfortable." Dante now finished with his creation, began taking a seat with casual ease. He gestured to the chair across from him. "Sit human." He said to Beatrice who complied instantly.
The leather of the seat felt cold, too real for a dream. Beatrice crossed one leg over the other, trying to mask her shaking hands.
Dante leaned forward, elbows on the desk. His eyes glowed faintly in the monitor's reflection as he look at her with pure curiosity.
"Alright." He said, his voice low, steady. "First things first. What are you willing to give in exchange for my power?"
The question hung in the air like smoke. Beatrice swallowed hard. She had known it was coming, but hearing it aloud still hurt. "I…" Her voice faltered. She glanced down, fingers tightening around her knees. "I don't have much left to give."
"Everyone says that." Dante replied, his tone not cruel, but logical, this was his first time but he made it sound like he has done this time and time again, and again, as he soon continue by saying. "Then they start listing things. Their memories. Their dreams. Their lifespan. So what is yours?"
For a long moment, she didn't speak. Then, quietly, she began.
"My life." That was her answer. "I have only my life left, and I don't means it like my lifespan, but rather my soul, my entire existence it the only thing I have that is still mine."
"..." Dante didn't answer and it made her nervous as he said with a laugh. "And what makes you think your life is precious, or rather useful to me?" He said, causing Beatrice to be fuel with rage, but she could say anything else. Dante said something else that suprise her. "Instead of your life, give me your time."
"My time... Like my lifespan, if so I don't have much left." Beatrice commented and Dante nodded, as he looked at screen as Virgil confirms she has 3 years left. A such he looked at Beatrice and said. "That's right, you only have 3 years to precise. But I only want a couple seconds."
"Ha!?"