A Villainess Should Be Strong

The Absolute giggled, revealing his pearly white teeth as he stared at Estelle's expectant look.

"Aren't you curious? How you got here," The Absolute chuckled. "And don't worry, it really wasn't that child who planned your arrival to this place. He did cause it indirectly, though. By telling his stories, you felt your head hurt terribly, right? That was a reaction that I implanted in order to drag you here one day once you are ready,"

"Your memory has locks on it. By this point, you should already be familiar with that fact. However, do you know what you could do in order to remove those locks? It is actually very simple," The Absolute brought a finger up to his lips as he asked.

"...By triggering mentions of those memories?" Estelle guessed.

"Correct! Very smart. As expected of the Goddess I created. Unless you want to choose the barbaric way of picking your memories' locks, then yes, the safe method is to listen to your memories. You will gradually unlock those memories the more you get exposed to specific parts you can't recall. For example, because Heine mentioned your past with that child Aleksei and their plans, you got transported here. On your way here, Astarte mentioned that you are acting strange because you keep going down to the mortal world, did he not? In other words, you got transported before your downfall, but after you got acquainted with Aleksei- the memories Heine described to you," The Absolute explained.

Estelle thought about it and nodded. Her head tingled with each information she heard from Heine. She thought that it was an adverse reaction, a negative one because she wasn't supposed to unlock her locks through Heine. However, it turned out to be the correct and safe way of achieving her goals.

"Well.. that aside.. you bringing me here, what purpose do you have for me?" Estelle knew that this being couldn't have just brought her here without any significant reasons. Doing something as unexpectable and complex as this, and considering the Absolute's apparent weakening state, it should be taxing for him to perform these tasks.

"To show you this," The Absolute replied, his gaze turning serious as he turned his head to look at a certain tree.

Estelle turned to look at the grand tree. She once saw this in her past memories. Years and years of the Absolute building the world around this particular tree, up until her desired a companion and built the Creation Goddess Estraea.

The tree was majestic, large, and some of its roots even climbed out of the 'ground' and slithered everywhere. It had golden leaves, fluttering about and giving a bright sparkle to the white space.

She remembered that in her memories, this space had already been decorated with various objects and landscapes. However, it was all gone. All that was left was what they started with: a white space, a blank canvas for them to work with.

She wanted to question that matter, but the Absolute began his speech once more.

"If Astarte is your.. sibling, then this tree is technically my sibling. The Tree of Origin, Mother of All Life, The Yggdrasil, whatever you want to call it. Heine was so attached to the miniature Origin Tree of the Surface.. right? You could say that I am the same way. Although this cute tree can't actually move, talk, or do anything, it releases a very comfortable hue for me. I feel soothed when I am around it, do you feel the same?" The Absolute asked.

Estelle raised a brow at the being, confused as to how she should react.

"..I suppose so. I'm not sure, I don't really feel anything," she said.

"You used to tell me that you loved this tree because it stayed with me before you came into existence. You were even kowtowing to it," The Absolute smirked.

Estelle pursed her lips as that memory did not exist inside her head. "What do you want to say?"

"So, I have a question for you. A hypothesis. If this tree is what keeps the entire universe intact, what would happen if it starts to deteriorate and could possibly fall apart in the near future?"

The Absolute lacked emotions, but this time, Estelle felt like she could discern his thoughts. He had a sad smile. A nostalgic look, as if he longed for something that was gone. A pained and distressed look, as if what he had now was about to disappear.

Estelle was stunned as she found no suitable words to reply with. This hypothesis, combined with the look he wore, couldn't have just been a coincidence. The Absolute wouldn't joke about these kinds of things, would he?

[Is the universe about to fall apart?] she thought.

The information she unlocked all pointed to the Absolute starting to lose his power, but Estelle would have never guessed that the degree was this severe. Not just the destruction of a specific realm, like how the Underworld came to be. It was the entire universe. That meant, everything starting from the Surface, the Underworld, this place, down to Reina's realm would be gone. With it, its denizens would be wiped out as well.

It was a terrifying thought. But it was possible. In the first place, the universe was heavily reliant and centered on the Absolute and Yggdrasil's powers. If Yggdrasil was the all powerful tree, then the realms would be its branches. If the tree died, the realms would die as well since the branches would fall down to the ground and eventually be dispersed.

"The realms would.. be gone," Estelle answered carefully, observing the Absolute's expressions.

"..Correct. And, what if I tell you that this hypothesis is already on its way to proving itself in reality?" The Absolute lost his smile, he couldn't hold it back any longer. He grasped Estelle's hands in his as he spoke. "Estelle... No, Rae, you have to hurry. Once you come back, after you defeat your trials, there are duties for you to take care of back here. If you don't, then the universe could be counted as destroyed. It's only a matter of time.. and we don't have that much time left,"

Being dropped with this kind of heavy information, Estelle frowned. Her heartbeat sped up as she opened and closed her mouth without spitting any words.

The Absolute let go of her hand after a few seconds.

"I have set a time limit for your stay here, but a couple of days should be possible. If you want to, you could stay here with me. If you want to explore this world and experience your memories firsthand, then that would be fine too," The Absolute said, suddenly switching the topic around and not mentioning the news anymore.

Presented with the choice, Estelle saw the second option as a way to refresh her mind and digest the information properly.

"..I want to go down to the mortal world. I want to see just where this all started.. Who made this all happen," Estelle had a complicated expression to her as she stood up and prepared to leave from the room.  "I will come back later, or if there is something I want to inquire about," she added.

The atmosphere was just too tense and vexing for her. Knowing that the world will fall apart, and whether or not the destruction succeeds depends on her. This was a scary responsibility that she wouldn't even imagine having.

"Then, I will stay here.. as always. I will gladly offer you my help if it's within my rights to do so,"

With that, Estelle stepped out of the Absolute's personal space, leaving the being alone. She was caught in a trance.

There was somebody who sensed her return, and that particular somebody came to approach her. It was Astarte, the lively Goddess who loved his older sister.

"Sister, you are back! What did the Absolute say? You look worse than before you went inside.. Did he say anything bad?" Astarte worried. "No.. that shouldn't be the case. The Absolute dotes and cares for you more than anyone else,"

Estelle let out a gentle sigh as she patted the younger God's head. "I just.. have some troublesome matters lying inside my head. Not even the Absolute could fix this problem as it concerns no one else but myself. Don't worry, Arte. Come, let's go down to the mortal world. I wish to visit..."

"The mortal world? You.. are going to see that guy again? Sister, you know that you..." Astarte bit his lips as his face changed colors at Estelle's declaration.

"En? I know, I know, I am just going to pay a casual visit," Estelle answered fast.

To tell the truth, she didn't know what Astarte was talking about at all. What was it? The fact that she was exposed to danger down there? Then, could Astarte have known from the first place, but just failed to report it to the naive Goddess Estraea, failed to protect her from the mortal danger?