High Heavens
The gods, with nothing to do, gathered and held a feast.
"[Greed], our temple's a bit tight lately..."
"That's not possible."
"Oh come on, don't be like that..."
"Isn't this the newest hot Nuvellz dessert? Where did you even get this from?"
"Haha, nothing special, our apostles..."
"These days, mortal beings on the surface are praising those outdated women just because they're in a game. Isn't that ridiculous? I’m the Goddess of Beauty, after all."
"““That’s true! It’s absurd!”””
"Then I went to the Dream Constellation to ask them to make me appear in the game, but they said they couldn't do it just like that. Really, it's so funny."
"““That’s right! It’s hilarious!””"
Having ascended as gods, most deities were bound to the heavens, unable to interfere with the mortal realm unless they consumed an astronomical amount of divinity. As a result, they spent most of their time confined to their celestial abodes.
The feast, along with the growing number of apostles on the mortal realm, was one of the most common ways gods alleviated their boredom.
"Our second apostle recently defeated a Drake..."
"That's impressive. But compared to the Orc Lord my child defeated, it's nothing."
"I only gave our apostle the final scraps of my power, and yet they managed to surpass the Sword Master! Didn’t really do much, but look at that!"
As usual, the gods boasted mindlessly about their apostles, but today, there was a new topic of conversation.
"Speaking of which, is it today, the official broadcast?"
"The Akashic Archive?"
Lately, a game that had become a huge trend, even among the gods in the heavens, was the subject of conversation.
"Let's take a look."
With a wave of a hand, a god condensed divinity and created a screen in the air.
"I hear the new character, Versia, is coming out."
"She's the first support character. I have to pull her."
"Considering the performance Versia showed in Story Mode, I think the difference between having her or not will be significant."
The gods, who had been chatting here and there, began to gather around the screen.
"What's this? Didn't you say you weren't going to play a game made by humans?"
"...Ahem. It’s not that I’m playing, but I was curious because others gathered here."
"Who could Versia be in real life?"
"Her real name is Versia, a Constellation... As far as I know, I haven’t heard of anyone by that name."
"Considering that the episodes so far have been about the best of the Constellations, it wouldn’t be too strange if she were real."
"I hope they write an episode about me next. My story [Wrath], is far more beautiful than that [Wrath Leader] guy."
"Is this the story about getting caught cheating and getting stabbed?"
"Oh, come on. That's all part of the narrative and hardship!"
"Do you remember almost dying that time?"
"Shh. It's starting."
Beep beep beep beep
As dozens of gods held their breath in anticipation, the online broadcast began with a countdown.
It was the first official broadcast by a mysterious company, whose identity was hidden, and not even its employees were revealed.
[Hello, future directors! Welcome!]
As the broadcast screen lit up, a stunning woman with a curvaceous figure filled the frame.
"Not an ordinary person, huh."
"Her face is hidden by divine power. She's refusing to reveal her identity. But with that body, she’s definitely worthy to be my wife."
[I’m Diabel, the host for the official Akashic Archive broadcast!]
"It doesn't seem like it's for communication. Judging by the chat, that seems correct."
[First, let’s look back at the memories we’ve built with our future directors over the past 10 weeks.]
The screen darkened, and videos started playing.
The players defeating abyssal monsters and queens with [Knight Ren].
The players standing against Orpheus with [Saint Kate].
The players embarking on adventures with [Demon King Perlerina].
And even the players on a date in the glorious city with [Loving Girl Versia].
[Did you enjoy the video? Thanks to all of you, the future directors, we have Akashic Archive!]
"This is... powerful."
"They really know how to stir emotions."
"Boohoo!"
"You said you wouldn't play a human-made game. Why are you the first to cry!"
Even the gods were no different.
[And now, the new character shown earlier, the Loving Girl! Versia!]
The new video began playing.
[My... researcher.]
The video showed Versia’s monologue, and the character PV played.
[Kyaaa!]
The cruel experiments carried out in the cold laboratory.
[Who... are you?]
Amid the experiments, love blossomed between the girl and the researcher.
[The researcher is my prince!]
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As the experiments reached their final stage, they were caught in a crisis due to the Research Director, but the girl’s sacrifice led to the Research Director’s downfall.
[I’m so happy. Is this really okay?]
Before vanishing, the girl enjoyed a dream-like date with the researcher.
[I’m so grateful. My researcher... my...]
As the girl disappeared in a light blur, a pendant fell to the surface.
The screen switched to
[...Prince?]
The video ended with a girl in an academy uniform tilting her head.
[Did everyone see that?]
"Ugh, seriously... was I really secretly playing the game?"
[That was the PV for the newly released character, Versia. She apparently has some very special abilities.]
Critical hit chance increase, critical damage amplification, damage increase, reduced damage taken, ...
A brief explanation of Versia’s skill effects quickly passed by.
[Additionally, DreamStory will be releasing official Akashic Archive merchandise! Wow!]
Several pieces of merchandise, created by the Goddess of Wisdom and Rian, appeared on the screen.
"There's a pillow to hug while sleeping! I have to buy this!"
"Pre-order! Online! Limited quantities! Apostles, hurry up and order!"
[We’re still preparing the official merchandise shop, so please wait a little longer.]
After the news about the merchandise launch, the final piece of information arrived.
[For this new update, Akashic Archive will hold its first event! A very special one? A Memorial Rite Event!]
"Memorial Rite?"
"Event?"
Since in the past, only package-type games existed, events like Halloween or Christmas were unheard of, making the term 'event' sound unfamiliar to the continent's people.
The Memorial Rite was a popular festival on the continent, but there had never been an event based on it in the game before.
The atmosphere quickly became eerie.
[The Memorial Rite inside the Akashic Archive! Something strange and scary is about to happen there! For more details, check the game!]
***
A Quiet Corner of the Heavenly Feast
A god with a neutral, androgynous appearance and brown skin lay on a sofa, making it hard to tell if they were male or female.
"Ahhh༺♥."
On either side, four goddesses were seated.
"Ah... haa."
The brown-skinned god opened their mouth after swallowing something.
"Did you say a game?"
"Yes♥."
"Why should I play that game?"
"Because♥ it's fun! You'll like it too♥!"
"Right♡ It's so fun♡! I think the new horror mode coming out will be fun too!"
The goddesses tangled themselves around the brown-skinned god’s body.
"Are you scared♡?"
"You don’t like scary stuff, like ghosts, right, darling♥!"
"Tch. Ridiculous."
The brown-skinned god sat up.
"Principle 8: If it's white, avoid it unless it's powder. A basic survival rule for Dark Elves."
"Principle 23: Don’t bet on something unless you’re sure of it."
"Bring it here. That game, I mean."
"Principle 24: If you're going to do something, do it thoroughly."
[The thief, overcome by lust, smiles faintly at the corner of their lips.]