"Oh? Is that so?" Sel asked, tilting her head slightly, her gaze sharp and curious.
"Yeah," he replied quietly, sitting on the soft grass beneath him. The blades brushed against his palms as he leaned back, his posture relaxed yet weighted with thought.
"I think they're after the archive or whatever," he continued, eyes lifting slowly to meet hers. "And they probably want to take me out in order to get to it." His gaze was steady, unwavering, fixed directly on Sel.
Sel pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing as she stared off into the distance, deep in thought. "Hmm… well, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought of this," she said softly, almost to herself, her voice carrying a mixture of caution and contemplation.
He sighed, staring down at the grass beneath him, his fingers brushing idly across the soft green blades. "I know this might sound foolish… but I think I'll need to go back to Earth." The words felt heavy, almost tangible, sinking into the earth beneath him as if anchoring his resolve.
"Huh? Didn't you hear what I just said?" Sel asked, her tone tinged with concern, her brows knitting together. The thought of him going back to Earth made her chest tighten, worry radiating from every line of her face.
"I know," he said calmly, lifting his head to look straight ahead. His eyes were firm, unwavering, radiating a determination that left no room for hesitation. "But either way… I need to do this, Sel." His face was set, unflinching, every feature etched with quiet resolve.
Sel let out a sharp, frustrated breath. "Hah… do you even have a plan? Do you have any idea how strong these gods are? Whatever your imagination is telling you right now, they are multiple times stronger than that!" Her voice rose slightly, a mixture of exasperation and fear.
He remained silent for a moment, letting her words wash over him. Sel continued, her expression hardening. "Knowing that… do you still want to go?"
Her gaze flicked to him, taking in his form—so small, so human, so unprepared. He was far too weak to even comprehend the power these gods wielded, let alone think of challenging them. It was like an ant attempting to resist the crushing weight of a full-grown adult stepping down upon it. Every shred of hope seemed to waver in the face of his decision. Sel could not accept it. This boy, foolish though he might be, was the only link she had left to her master. She could not simply stand aside.
"I know, Sel," he said softly, pushing himself up from the ground, the grass rustling beneath him. His movements were deliberate, grounded, every ounce of his resolve radiating from his stance. "But this is something I want to do."
Sel's eyes widened, and she stepped in front of him, planting her hands firmly on her hips. "This… this is completely foolish. Beyond foolish. You can't do the things I do. You're too weak—you wouldn't stand a chance against them." Her voice was sharp, urgent, carrying the weight of someone trying to protect what she could not bear to lose. "Even I wouldn't attempt something I knew I had no chance of accomplishing… so please, rethink this."
He lifted his chin, eyes meeting hers directly, unwavering. "And what? Leave the world to be taken by gods like that? You saw that world, Sel. In fact, you know more about those gods than I do, and you still want me to sit back and do nothing? Those worlds aren't ruled by gods—they're ruled by dictators who take pleasure in seeing humans suffer as slaves." His voice grew firmer with each word, conviction hardening like steel in his chest.
Sel blinked, absorbing his words. He continued, his tone calmer but no less resolute. "Judging all the gods based on one isn't right… but it makes me wonder. How much worse can they get than that? The chances of that god being the worst of all of them… are as low as my chances of killing him."
Sel tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she asked, voice quiet but cutting: "So…?"
"So what?" he echoed, matching her gaze, neither willing to look away.
Sel's expression darkened, her words blunt, sharp, carrying the weight of undeniable truth. "What gives you the right to judge what they do with their creations?"
"No one needs to give me the right to anything" he replied almost instantly to sels question. "Me being me is all i need to do what i need to do" he paused, taking a deep breath before continuing "You said it yourself, you wouldn't have served anyone weaker than yourself, right? he said with a faint smile.
Sel's clenched fist eased as soon as she heard what he had to say, she felt less burdened and less anxious about his decision but nevertheless she still felt uneasy about this.
"I have nothing else to say, ill just keep repeating myself until the end of time at this rate" sel with a sigh. "I doubt i can convince you to do otherwise"
Relieve washed over him as he heard sel's words, he fell to the ground beneath him with a thud followed by a sigh "I talked all that but i don't even have a plan" he said almost embarrassed.
"Hahaha" sel burst out laughing. "No but the way you were talking, you almost made be believe you knew how to accomplish your goal" she said while laughing, wiping tears of laughter from her face.
"Hey! don't make fun of me, i had some time to think about that" he said with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
"Yeah yeah, i know" sel said.
"Well going back as you are now will surely draw a lot of attention from the gods who are after you." sel said as her laughter faded.
"Huh? why?" he asked
"Well the last time you got sent into a random world which was already a problem on its own, i also followed you, which didn't help at all with our situation. At the time my memories and most of my powers where in the 'World view' so i forgot that something like that could even happen"
"So basically we only got caught because you followed me there?" he asked with a blank expression.
"Well kind off, my presence made our chances of being caught shoot up to 90%" sel said with a playful smirk.
"Well what is done is done" he said "So i could go back without any problems right?" he asked.
"Well not entirely, you could but it might still draw attention to you... Honestly you should just have me do this, i could go wipe out those gods at any moment" sel said with cheeky expression.
"Oh shut up" he said as he got up from the grass. he gotten the time to calm his nerves.
"Hah.. i am seri-" just as sel was about to finish her sentence, he cut in,
"I know, but you can't, can you?" he looked at sel with stern expression.
"Huh? what.. are y-you talking about?" sel replied nervously.
"I have read enough novels to know that god's who oversee the world can't physically interfere with the reality of that same world."
As he said those words, the entire world became silent, everything that was moving came to a stand still, not even reality dared move. A voice suddenly broke the silence, it was a low sounding voice, a nervous voice, a voice that carried 'uncertainty'.
"W-what are you talking about? y-you clearly saw me physically interfere didn't you? B-beside this is reality not some novel.. you can't possibly believe something as uncertain like some novel." sel said, still in a nervous tone.
'What the hell? why is she nervous? i simply asked because i just thought it was a funny story trope but it's actually true?.. wait then that means that..' he thought to himself as he looked at sel. his outward appearance remained unchanged.
"Did you even kill kael? was what you showed me even real?" he asked, his outward expression still unchanged.
"Yes i did" a sudden reply from sel.
Her answer came instantly. The tremor in her voice softened. The tension in the air slowly dissolved. The wind stirred again, brushing against their skin. Birds resumed their faint chirping. The flow of reality resumed its natural rhythm.
'Huh? She killed him? She doesn't seem to be lying. No—she isn't lying. She's just trying to hide something from me… then…'
"There is a penalty for interfering, isn't there?" he asked again, his voice quiet but direct.
The world fell silent once again, an eerie silence filled the world, not a single cell, not even a single atom dared move.
A voice cut through the silent world. "Who are you".