Chapter 710: Chapter 710: Was That Real?
The white glow of the void that was the Divine Realm intensified sharply, forcing my eyes shut and overwhelming my senses...
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The brightness abruptly faded, giving way to complete darkness, before a faint, dim light hit my eyelids. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking a couple of times as my vision blurred and took a moment to adjust.
"Nice, it worked, we’re back-...huh? Wait...wait, hold on, what...what the hell was I...?" Came Aria’s voice from my left, a perplexed look on her face as I glanced at her.
"W-Woah...what is this? Was that real? I don’t...," Muttered Jaden, looking disoriented.
Mhm, as fake as that reality was, it was very much real.
"Hey, guys," I greeted them with a wry smile, a wave of relief washing over me.
"Glad you aren’t trying to attack us anymore," Remarked Cleo, as she glanced at Jaden.
"W-Wait, that was-...oh, shit. Was I...was I brainwashed?" Frowned Aria, her face going pale.
"I feel so...so disconcerted and unsettled. I don’t like this, so creepy," Responded Jaden, dusting himself off as he got back onto his feet, the rest of us following suit.
Yup, no doubt about it, this is the spot where we were pulled to the other world from, it’s the site of the Final Dungeon. There are a bunch of buildings under construction surrounding us, but it’s definitely the same spot, just with significant renovations in progress.
"Kai, I...I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t-...," Began Aria, a remorseful look of her face, before trailing off as I pulled her into a hug and patted her head.
"You’ve got absolutely nothing to apologize for. Reality was twisted and altered by literal Gods, your memories were changed. So, none of us are going to hold what happened against you, you aren’t to blame in the slightest," I assured her with a soft smile.
"Yeah, what he said. You did nothing wrong. Same goes for Jaden. We should probably explain exactly what happened, huh?" Chimed in Ciel.
"Oh, right. Just because you two have kept your memories of the altered reality doesn’t mean you know why it happened. Basically, because of how the rest of us benefited from Samsara’s whims, a couple of other Gods decided that we needed to clear a trial in order to earn those blessings.
We had to defeat three Angels who replaced us in the altered reality as a part of the group that defeated the Demon Lord. And we succeeded, so now we’re back to the moment at which we returned from the other world. That’s about it in a nutshell," I informed them.
"Huh. That’s wild, the reality of the entire world was changed? I mean, I experienced it for myself and all, but even so, it’s hard to wrap my head around that," Frowned Jaden, looking overwhelmed.
"Yeah...and thanks to those altered memories, I’ve already been through this. Though, in those altered memories, it was those imposters here instead of you there. In a few minutes, some representatives from the Sanctuary Alpha Union should show up, if things play out the same as in these memories," Sighed Aria, rubbing the sides of her head.
"Oh, yeah, that’s right. Crap, guess that means we have to do that press conference again," Grumbled Jaden in exasperation, before adding as he glanced at Cleo, "By the way, that fight was fun! You totally caught me off-guard with that speed blitz at the end!"
"Huh? Oh, right...fun isn’t exactly the word I’d use. We were kinda fighting for our right to exist, you know. If we’d failed the trial, we would have been erased completely," She sighed wistfully.
"That’s so harsh and unfair...sure, you guys benefited from Samsara’s blessings or whatever, but it’s not like you asked for them. I feel so creeped out, my memories of those Angels...they were complete strangers, but in the altered memories I’ve retained, I regarded them as close friends. So creepy...," Shuddered Aria with an unsettled look on her face, before adding as she glanced at me, "Oh, who was that guy who tried to attack me? The one you were about to kill before I suddenly found myself here."
Right, Jaden and Aria weren’t brought to the Divine Realm, so after we cleared the trial, they must have suddenly found themselves here.
"The three of us weren’t the only ones subjected to the trial, there were two others. Like Cleo and I, they died in the past and were reincarnated in this era, though a bit more recently than we were. One of them is nice enough, but the guy you mentioned...tch, I wish I managed to kill him when I had the chance," I muttered with a frustrated click of my tongue.
"Well, let’s set all that aside for now. We’re finally back for real, we can return to our lives!" Grinned Ciel cheerfully, stretching her arms up.
"Yeah, that’s definitely a major relief," Cleo nodded in agreement.
"Hm...hey, wait, what about your mom, Kai? She was in the surveillance footage from your battle with Baraqiel-...ugh, it’s still creepy how familiar those three Angels feel thanks to these fake memories...-but she wasn’t around in the next battle," Remarked Aria with a concerned look on her face.
"Oh, she’s fine, she’s in the Pocket Dimension. After our first win, the Gods decided to sideline her, the Apostles and the Spirits, we could still use Spirit Fusion but no summoning. Also, speaking of Baraqiel, uh...he’s in the Pocket Dimension too. Apparently, he requested to return to Earth as a reward for participating in the trial. So, yeah, there’s that."
"Huh. Not sure how to feel about that. I mean, I don’t really feel any genuine animosity towards him or the other two, but...I’m still really creeped out by these fake memories," She responded with a grimace.
"Yeah, same here," Jaden nodded in agreement.
"Hm? I hear footsteps," Cleo informed us, her ears twitching slightly.
"Mhm, it’s about that time, looks like things really are playing out the same as they did in my fake memories," Replied Aria, right as a handful of Union staff members came into sight, hurrying towards us...
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