The Bond That Even Gods Cannot Break

"Alright, now that you've agreed, I want to offer you as much information as I can. Feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like~"

Dianthus, savoring one of the cakes in front of her, twirled the spoon in her hand with excitement, clearly eager to answer their questions.

"Lady Dia, if you wanted us to work for you, why reveal yourself now and just throwing us into a dungeon?" Melissa asked, her mind still struggling to fully grasp the situation.

"Hmm, I have a few reasons, but the main one is that I didn't want you two to die."

"You didn’t want us to die? But we came close to death so many times back there!"

Dianthus chuckled softly, swallowing a bite of cake before answering.

"Oh, Melissa, you silly girl, I wasn’t talking about the monsters in the dungeon. One of my reasons was indeed that if you couldn’t even get past them, I wouldn’t have chosen you as my Ascendants. But no, that's not what I meant when I said I didn’t want you to die."

Taking another sip of tea, Dianthus simply stared at the two girls. To an outsider, that was all she did, but both girls immediately dropped their teacups.

Dianthus watched their trembling bodies and closed her eyes. With a graceful wave of her fingers, the spilled tea from their shaking hands returned to their cups.

"W-What was that?"

"W-What the hell just happened?"

Sophia began to breathe heavily, her body drenched in cold sweat. Melissa, on the other hand, frantically pulled Sophia close, wrapping an arm around her as she shook uncontrollably.

"The presence of a deity is no small thing, my dears. Right now, I’m reducing my presence to a mere fraction of what it truly is. If you hadn’t evolved during your time in the dungeon, even this diminished presence would have been enough to kill both of you."

The girls, still holding each other tightly, processed the weight of those words. Though the woman before them seemed like an ordinary human, their bodies could still feel the overwhelming pressure of her divine presence, even as she sipped tea casually.

"Alright, what’s your next question?"

Hearing Dianthus return to her cheerful demeanor, Sophia, who decided to remain in Melissa’s embrace, spoke up.

"A little earlier, Lady Dia mentioned something about a mythical skill. What exactly is that?" Sophia asked while checking her status window.

“Oh, I'm sorry, my dear Sophia. To avoid overwhelming you with too much information, I’ve hidden certain details in your status, and I will reveal them when the time is right. Now, to answer your question: in this world, there are five skill levels: [Common], [Specialist], [Advanced], [World-Class], and [Mythical]."

In line with her words, these five terms appeared before Sophia’s eyes as if Dianthus had painted them in the air.

"Only the world system, which is impartial to all, can determine when and how skills evolve—whether through the user’s effort or hundreds of other factors. While one in five people may have a [Common] skill, and only one in a hundred thousand may have a [World-Class] skill, it’s no exaggeration to say that one in a million possesses a [Mythical] skill."

"Is a 10-point boost to an attribute really that impressive?"

Hearing Dianthus’s explanation, Melissa couldn’t help but ask.

“Melissa, often the power of an ability lies not in its offensive capacity. [Love, the Final Fortress] can nullify any kind of abnormal effect, like poisons or mental manipulations. That alone is achievable using [World-Class] healing abilities. In our case, the fact that this is a [Mythical] ability means it can resist any causality.”

Standing from the couch, a sword and shield appeared as if by magic in Dianthus' hands.

“What do you think would happen if a sword that can cut through anything collided with a shield that cannot be broken?”

A gust of wind burst through the room as Dianthus smashed the two objects together, the impact strong enough for Melissa and Sophia to shield their faces. Seconds passed before their eyes adjusted, and when they looked back at Dianthus, both objects had turned to dust.

“They canceled each other out,” Sophia murmured.

“Correct! Very well noted, Sophia!” Dianthus, pleased with the results of her demonstration, sat back down beside the girls and continued her explanation. “Even if someone is poisoned by a [World-Class] ability, a priest can cure it with an [Advanced] skill that removes negative effects, provided their level is higher than the one who applied the poison.”

Her gaze sharpened.

“But if the poison is caused by a [Mythical] skill, it’s impossible to cure—no matter how strong the individual is compared to the one who used the ability. Do you understand? Only [Mythical] abilities can combat other [Mythical] abilities. This fact brings me a little comfort as you move forward on your journey.”

Knowing they wouldn’t have to worry about diseases or attacks that could mess with their minds again brought some relief to Sophia. She tightened her grip on Melissa’s hand, and Melissa returned the gesture with a confident smile.

“Lady Dia, if we may ask, is there any way for Ascendants to receive help from their deity?”

“Good question, Sophia. The straightforward answer is no, but naturally, we all have ways to influence things to a certain degree. As I mentioned before, all living beings in the world you're in now are governed impartially by the system. This system is a consciousness that none of the seven gods can interfere with directly to prevent unfair advantages that could disrupt the development of the war.”

Dianthus then stood up, walking behind Sophia and Melissa and placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

“However, even though I cannot grant you power directly, as long as it’s within the system's possibilities, I can make you my Apostles, shaping your progress in line with my powers.”

As Dianthus pressed her hands on both their shoulders, something clicked for Melissa, almost making her jump in realization.

“Wait, does that mean you’re the reason the system gave us a class that gets stronger by having sex!?”

“Sexual relations are merely one of the many ways to express love, my dear Melissa. After all, I am the goddess of love, so it’s only natural that my little Apostles grow stronger in such a manner~”

Dianthus hummed proudly, paying no mind to Melissa’s irritated surprise or Sophia’s shy shock as she continued speaking.

“With the system shaping your strength towards my powers, your abilities will be enhanced by the innate proficiency that comes from being my Apostles.”

“Lady Dia, wouldn't that be considered cheating?” Sophia asked, her voice uneasy.

“Cheating? Of course not! We’re the last ones entering the battlefield. Due to the rules, we no longer even have permission to use our omniscience in this world. I don’t have much information about the other Ascendants, but it’s obvious the other gods didn’t just sit around waiting.”

Sophia swallowed hard. She quickly realized that being the last to enter the war meant they were already at a disadvantage, but she hadn’t expected it to be this significant.

“Don’t worry,” Dianthus tried to sound reassuring, “As I said, love is the strongest power of all. As long as you keep that in mind, you’ll never be defeated!”

Dianthus’ words were meant to calm them, but instead, both girls found their jaws dropping in disbelief.

Just as Dianthus was about to respond to another question, the ground beneath them began to shake, as though a massive earthquake was enveloping the entire world.

“Are those bastards already pushing me to wrap this up?” Dianthus muttered angrily, looking up as the space around them trembled. She stood up, frustration evident on her face.

“Is something wrong, Lady Dia?” Sophia asked, standing with Melissa as they watched the world quiver.

“It seems one of the other six idiots is timing the conversation we’re allowed with our Ascendants and is rushing me. Due to the rules we imposed on ourselves, I won’t be able to contact you often. But I’ll reach out as soon as I can.”

In the middle of the darkness, a multicolored circular portal appeared. Dianthus gave both girls one final hug before instructing them to enter the portal.

“One last thing,” Dianthus called out quickly, realizing she’d forgotten something important. “Missions only appear when you’re inside dungeons or in very specific cases. I don’t have time to explain everything, but once you’re outside, head north. Trust each other—you’ll both know what to do~”

---

After the girls had crossed through the portal, Dianthus walked back elegantly to the grand luxury sofa. The teapot floated in the air, pouring her another steaming cup of tea.

Smelling the liquid lightly with a smile on her face, Dianthus drank it all in one gulp and placed the cup mid-air before speaking indifferently to no one in particular.

“It seems you have something to say, Bagumi.”

Without making a sound, a small pink light flickered, sending purple sparks around it. Like a calm tide in the ocean, a small creature appeared. It was about a meter tall, with a white beak-like mouth and two fin-like arms. If not for its pink color and  the tiny feathered wings on its back, keeping it floating in the air, the creature could easily be mistaken for a penguin.

“Master…”

The creature, whom Dianthus had called Bagumi, positioned itself on the ground in front of its master, its two eyes fixed on the remnants of the portal the two girls had just passed through.

“Those two girls from Earth as your Ascendants… was that really the best decis—?”

Bagumi didn’t need to finish the sentence. More accurately, he couldn’t. The world seemed to drain of color, no, it had truly turned monochrome.

For the first time since she had appeared before Sophia and Melissa, Dianthus’ ever-present smile vanished.

“You dare question my choice?”

What Melissa and Sophia had felt was nothing compared to this. This wasn’t a pressure any human or monster could release. It wasn’t bloodlust or anger. For a being beyond such superficial emotions, the only word that could describe this was… power.

“I would never dare such a thing!” Bagumi’s entire body lowered to the ground as cold sweat formed. “Please, forgive this lowly servant for not understanding the thoughts of his master.”

Several seconds passed before the overwhelming pressure began to ease, slowly dissipating. The penguin-like creature, though it didn’t need to breathe, internally sighed with relief as its body, previously crushed by an unimaginable force, was finally able to move again.

“When a life reaches its end and its soul enters the Ethereal River, they retain nothing of their previous worlds or existence,” Dianthus’ lilting voice echoed through the space, neither angry nor cheerful, as if she were simply reciting facts from a book. “In a place where time can be as long as eternity or as brief as the tiniest particle, it’s impossible to hold onto anything that connects the before to the now.”

Bagumi blinked, listening to what was common knowledge among beings beyond mortals. He didn’t dare speak again until given permission, so he remained silent, curiosity building in his mind.

“You wanted to know why, out of the trillions of souls available across the multiverse, I chose two girls from Earth, correct?”

It was phrased as a question, but Bagumi knew she didn’t expect an answer. He stayed quiet, consumed by the curiosity that now dominated his thoughts.

Dianthus stood and reached toward the blackened sky. Two small lights descended into her hand, glowing like tiny white fireflies.

“To us deities, souls are just that—no more than glowing lights that form a life,” she said, her eyes narrowing as she delicately played with the two lights. “I’ll reaffirm this once again—no soul should be able to retain its consciousness within the Ethereal River. But as I observed the flow one day, I stumbled upon something that could only be described as absurd.”

Using both hands, Dianthus grasped the two small white lights and pulled them in opposite directions.

The entire space trembled, and reality itself seemed to twist as Dianthus exerted a force capable of erasing entire worlds from existence. Yet, even in the epicenter of such destruction, the two shining lights remained together, unaffected, as if nothing could tear them apart.

“If I say one plus one is three, so it shall be. If I wish for water to burn and fire to quench thirst, it will be done. Sophia Lantana and Melissa Cosmos—two different souls, two separate existences. And yet, no matter how much time passed within the Ethereal River, their souls never separated from the moment of their deaths until now. This goes beyond karmic coincidence; they are so intertwined that even the concept of existence itself treats them as a single entity."

Dianthus sighed, releasing the two glowing orbs, which gradually faded and disappeared into the air.

"Earlier, I told the girls to figure out for themselves why their hands remain together, and that was no lie. But if it falls to me to justify why their souls are so intricately linked…"

A predatory smile spread across her face as she blinked playfully.

"I don't know~☆"

Among all possible answers, this was the one that could cause Bagumi to despair, and he knew exactly why.

"Th-then… couldn’t this mean… If this is something not even Lady Dianthus understands…"

With a snap of her fingers, Dianthus conjured a prismatic portal and began walking toward it, finishing Bagumi's unfinished sentence.

"This is something beyond the seven gods."

Following her, Bagumi felt a shiver run through his entire being as he grasped the gravity of his master's decision.

"I’ve made a gamble, and I’ll wager everything on it."

Crossing the portal, both Dianthus and Bagumi vanished. The only thing left behind in the now-empty space were the fading echoes of her final words.

"I’ll trust my victory to the bond that even Gods cannot break."