Malediction of the Depth – Silence in Judgement

After three days, Lea woke up in a cold sweat. She found herself in a hospital gown once again...

"How many times will I end up here...", she complained.

Her clothes were unusable due to the damage they had taken, and it would be a bother to go back home...

Unconsciously, darkness covered her body as Cursed Constructs formed, the translucent black and gold tendrils binding to her skin. But unlike her hard armor, it was something in between the soft flesh and hard keratin...

She had created clothes, albeit crude, out of her Cursed Construct. It isn't simply just creating tendrils or hardening them; they could take the shape of basically anything.

The problem was imagination; tendrils and horns are simple, they don't require much thought. Just long quiggly bits or long curved bits.

"This is... much better."

After putting her abilities to the limit, she could feel that she could use her abilities much more freely. As if something that had blocked her was washed away.

I think I know why those worshipping war are significantly stronger... she thought.

As a clergy member in the past, she had studied other churches' doctrine. The Church of the Blood God is no exception.

"Through rain of blood and steel, refine oneself in honor and valor."

It was a simple concept, through attrition and brutality, they improve their skills to earn the tomorrow on the battlefield.

"Ugh... my head is pounding..."

She could not forget the conversation with the overly energetic child that is the God of Order. Or the fact that Lady Keter is Charlotte the Heretic. Or that Sinclair pulled a fast one on them.

"All in one night...", it was an eventful night.

She really needs to explain everything to Dawn...

Just then, the door opened, and the familiar face of Auger came in. Lea widens her eyes a bit.

"Auger! You are alright!!"

"Heh, who do you think I am?", he scoffed, "But seriously, even if the Tome of Light is an evil god, isn't weaponizing a god too disrespectful?"

The intervals of Its manifestation are about two minutes to an hour. Every time it vanished, it would just get summoned back.

"That's no way to treat a god, even an evil one, like some sort of weapon of mass destruction...", Lea grumbled.

"Indeed.", he nodded in agreement, "I think the Academy of Infinity folks need to recategorize the Tome of Light to their original angle, a divine weapon."

Indeed, when the Tome of Light was first discovered, it was called a divine weapon before an evil god. Initially thought to be a relic of the God of Knowledge, but through divine revelations, the god denied having anything to do with it.

"So, what did you find this time?", he got straight to the point.

"Well... the most horrifying fact that Lady Keter is—"

Just then, a rift in reality opened up outside of the building, and Charlotte stepped in through the window, combing her silver hair back with a smile, "Yup, I am Charlotte Silvi. You may also know me as the Mother of Mysticism. Oh, and I'm an alien."

"Alien...?", Auger looked at her with suspicion, he was more shocked about that part.

"Yes, I have one single primary heart instead of primary and secondary hearts.", she pointed at her chest, which was big, "My species has better lung capacity, yours have better circulation but not good at spending energy."

She proceeded to point out some more differences, under the shocked eyes of Auger.

In the end, he fell on a chair and sighed, "Not being around you for a long time... hah... I finally remember how much joy you have in shocking people..."

"What do you mean by that?", she gave a teasing, all-knowing smile.

He closed his eyes for a moment, "What about Sinclair?"

"You don't need to worry about that bitch, she might be the most evil thing in the world, but she acts for the sake of this world... I think.", a rift opened, dropping down a book onto her hand, "It should be time for you to hear about a new concept—"

The door burst open, and Dawn came in.

She looked frantic, her hair disheveled, her eyes red from lack of sleep. She rushed to Lea's bedside immediately.

"Lea! You're awake! I heard from Jim that you collapsed and—", she grabbed Lea's shoulders, checking her over, "Are you hurt? Do you need—"

"I'm fine...", Lea said tiredly, "Just exhausted."

Dawn's relief was palpable. Then her eyes shifted to Charlotte, who stood casually by the window, still holding that book.

"Lady Keter?", Dawn asked, confused.

Charlotte spoke casually, "I should introduce myself properly. I am Charlotte Silvi, the Heretic, the Mother of Mysticism herself."

She smiled, more dangerous than ever, "And also an alien from another world called Earth. Nice to properly meet you, Bathory."

Dawn stared. Then stared some more.

"What?"

"I'm Charlotte the Heretic.", Charlotte repeated patiently, "The one from the stories."

Dawn looked at Lea. Lea nodded wearily from under her crude Cursed Construct clothes.

"It's true.", Lea confirmed, "I found out a few days ago on the battlefield."

Dawn's mind visibly raced, her Fifth Step cognition processing implications at incredible speed. "You're... the Heretic. You've been helping me organize my church. You're..."

"The most infamous figure in history, yup.", Charlotte said cheerfully, taking delight in the shock, "But I'm also quite good at administrative work, so it balances out."

Dawn opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again.

Then the questions came rapid-fire.

"How are you still alive? Why are you helping us? What's your real goal? Are you manipulating—"

She stopped, remembering something more important, "Wait. Sinclair. What is she? What is Akasha Monodrama really trying to do?"

Charlotte's expression remained pleasant, but her eyes gleamed with something darker.

"Sinclair is what I call an Ego of the World.", she said simply, "Fighting against Sinclair is akin to fighting against the world itself. She's not just a person, she's a piece of the world's consciousness made manifest."

Lea groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. She was too tired for this.

"That makes no sense...", Dawn said, her voice rising, "If Sinclair is the Ego of the World, if she IS the world in some fundamental way, then she's effectively the primordial god!! The one Akasha Monodrama is supposedly trying to revive!"

Her eyes narrowed, "So what god are they actually trying to revive?"

Charlotte didn't answer with words.

Instead, she walked to the window and pulled back the curtain, letting sunlight stream into the room. She gestured vaguely at the sun shining outside, that same enigmatic smile on her face.

Dawn stared at the sun, then at Charlotte, then at the sun again.

"No...", she said flatly, "That's impossible."

Charlotte just shrugged, still smiling.

"You're saying...", Dawn's voice was barely a whisper, "The sun? They're trying to revive the fucking sun?"

"I didn't say anything~", Charlotte said innocently, "I just pointed at a bright thing in the sky. You're drawing your own conclusions."

From under the blanket, Lea's muffled voice emerged, "Can you two please have this existential crisis quietly? I just met a god who speaks like a child and learned the universe is run by a cosmic eye made of galaxies... I need a nap."

Auger, still sitting in his chair, just rubbed his temples, "I'm too old for this. I fought in wars, I helped found a kingdom, I became a demigod. And somehow, this is the most exhausting conversation I've ever had."

Charlotte laughed, the sound surprisingly genuine, "Oh, you people are so fun when you learn uncomfortable truths. This is why I enjoy visiting this world."

Dawn looked like she wanted to ask a thousand more questions, but Lea's exhausted groaning from under the blanket made her hesitate.

"Later.", Dawn said firmly, "We're discussing this later. All of it. Every single detail."

"Looking forward to it~", Charlotte said pleasantly, already opening another rift to leave, "Oh, and Dawn? The church organizational structure I set up? Still works even knowing I'm the Heretic. Just thought you'd like to know."

She stepped through the rift and vanished, leaving behind three utterly exhausted people.

Auger broke the silence, "I need a drink."

"It's not even noon.", Dawn said automatically.

"I don't care."

Lea pulled the blanket tighter over her head, "Can someone turn off the sun? I'm trying to sleep."

Dawn looked at where Charlotte had pointed earlier, at the sunlight streaming through the window.

They're trying to revive the sun.

What did that even mean?

She decided Lea had the right idea and sat down heavily on the nearest chair.

=0=0=

Dawn's workshop had never felt so cramped.

Four people sat around a table covered in papers, mechanical components, and cake crumbs. Charlotte lounged in a conjured chair, eating yet another slice of chocolate cake as if this were a casual social gathering instead of an interrogation.

"Alright.", Dawn said, pulling out a notebook, "I have questions, many questions. And you're going to answer them."

"I'll answer the ones I feel like answering.", Charlotte corrected cheerfully, "The rest I'll ignore or deflect. Sound fair?"

"No."

"Perfect, let's begin."

Dawn took a breath to steady herself, "First question. Why did you create the mystical system? What's your actual goal here?"

Charlotte took a bite of cake, chewing thoughtfully, "To accelerate my work on this world. The framework you had before was inefficient, and frankly, that thing made the perfect trap before I came. I needed something that would speed up the development process."

"Development of what?" Dawn pressed.

"My work.", Charlotte repeated, smiling, "Next question."

Dawn's eye twitched, but she moved on. Clearly, she wasn't getting more than that.

Auger leaned forward. "The Monochrome Library. The books there, what are they exactly? Are they real records, or..."

Charlotte's smile widened slightly, "That's a good question. So good, in fact, that I'm not going to answer it."

"What—"

"I will say that I mixed in quite a few books from my own world.", Charlotte continued, as if Auger hadn't spoken, "Literature, history, technical manuals. Mostly novels."

An injection of otherworldly culture, one to mold this world to her liking.

"As for what the books fundamentally are...", she shrugged, "That would be telling."

"And Miss Mashhith?", Auger pressed, "What is she?"

"She can answer that herself when the time is right.", Charlotte said firmly, "I won't speak for her."

Jim fidgeted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable being in the same room as Charlotte now that he knew who she was. But he'd witnessed her power in the New World, seen her fight gods, and he had his own questions.

Lea spoke up before Jim could, "The Jester said something different about Sinclair than what you told us. You described her as the Ego of the World, while they said she was another side of you. Two sides of a coin that shouldn't exist."

Her golden eyes narrowed, "Which is it?"

Charlotte stopped eating cake. She set down her fork and looked at Lea directly.

"Who do you trust?", she asked simply, "Me, or the nicest alien god in the universe?"

Lea blinked, "What?"

"It's a serious question. Bashie Mahzala is, objectively, a good person. Kind, caring, genuinely wants to help everyone. They operate on pure benevolence.", Charlotte gave that unsettling smile, "I, on the other hand, am not a good person. I act on whims, I don't care about your lives beyond how much entertainment you can provide."

She leaned forward slightly.

"So who do you trust? The nice one who might be simplifying things to protect your sanity? Or me, who might be lying because it's more convenient?"

Lea opened her mouth, then closed it. She had no answer to that.

Charlotte picked up her fork again, "Exactly, both answers are true in different ways. You'll figure out how eventually."

Jim cleared his throat nervously. "I, uh... I have a question."

Charlotte gestured encouragingly, "Go ahead."

"In the New World. The battle with the Heavenly Demon. You were there with the Sacred Flame and someone named Astrelnoia, a mechanical knight.", Jim looked confused, "What's your relationship with them? The Sacred Flame is... He's one of the major gods. Worshipped across multiple nations in the South. Why would he work with you?"

Lea stiffened. As a former Renlou citizen, the Temple of Fire was practically the unspoken main religion of the empire. The Sacred Flame was important. The idea of Charlotte casually working alongside him was...

"Co-workers, nothing too groundbreaking.", Charlotte said simply, "We work in the same organization but under different bosses. Like... hmm... different departments in a company. He handles his domain, I handle mine, occasionally we collaborate on projects."

She took another bite of cake. Uncaring for their shock, but she definitely enjoys it.

"Astrelnoia is the same. Different boss, different assignment, but we coordinate when our work overlaps. It's quite professional, actually."

"Organization?", Dawn repeated, "What organization?"

"Can't tell ya.", Charlotte said cheerfully, "That would require explaining my actual job, and I'm not doing that today."

She paused, then added casually, "Oh, and the Goddess of Fortune is also one of us."

Everyone stared.

"The... Goddess of Fortune?", Dawn said slowly, "The one that's mostly considered a folk tale? A minor deity at best?"

"Yup.", Charlotte nodded, "She's very real and works in the same organization. Lovely person, really. Aside from her addiction."

Lea felt her worldview cracking further. The Goddess of Fortune was real? And worked with Charlotte?

Dawn rubbed her temples, "One final question. What's your relationship with the Chalk Princess?"

The question hung in the air. Lea noticed something, a subtle shift in the atmosphere. The Divine Throne that had been hovering around Dawn, that empty seat of power, seemed suddenly agitated.

As if it was listening.

Charlotte waved her hand dismissively, "That husk? The Divine Domain of Progress decided to drift toward me, took my form, tried to steal credit for my achievements, and tried to be me. The Chalk Princess just... appropriated it."

"So she's...", Dawn started.

"An empty throne that wants me, but I won't allow it.", Charlotte finished, "Don't worry about it too much. It's harmless... Mostly."

Lea noticed Charlotte didn't explain why the Chalk Princess specifically chose her form, or what that implied about their connection. Another non-answer disguised as an answer.

"Wait...", Jim said suddenly, "If you're so powerful, if you can do all these things... why are you trapped in the Monochrome Library? Why not just leave permanently?"

Charlotte once again answered nonchalantly, "Because I don't want to be a god. I am merely a human."

"Bullshit!!!", Lea and Jim said simultaneously.

Lea continued, "I saw you wipe out an entire army with one shot!! You tore apart reality like it was paper!! That's not human!!"

"And in the New World!!", Jim added, "You fought the Heavenly Demon alongside actual gods!! How is that 'merely human'?!"

Charlotte laughed, genuinely amused, "Oh, you sweet summer children. By my world's standards, even I am an exception. The second strongest entity on the entire planet, in fact."

She leaned back in her chair.

"I'm the exception, not the rule. But I am still the former ruler of a planet, I claimed the throne as the master of mankind on my own terms, and I abdicated on my own terms. Psychotic, incomprehensible, operating on logic that makes no sense to them, yet ultimately I created a paradise where justice and freedom took priority.", her eyes gleamed with pride.

"Sound familiar? It's the same way you view me now. The difference is, on Earth, I'm one of its many monsters, beloved but feared. Here, I'm just your information dispenser."

"For my beloved humanity, I care. But you...", she didn't finish.

The room fell silent.

"So that Monochrome Library...", Auger said slowly.

"Is my choice, born from my ego.", Charlotte finished. "I am a prideful person, I just don't want to accidentally claim godhood."

At that moment, Dawn had a realization...

"You used me...", she stared at her with wide eyes, "The condition for your freedom is to have the Chalk Princess..."

"Connect to someone else.", Lea finished, staring at Charlotte.

"And I thank you for that, so I shall be taking back my title as the Chalk Princess~", the real Chalk Princess said casually.

While Dawn was having a full-on mental breakdown, Charlotte stood up.

Brushing crumbs from her robe, she waved, "You all did very well with your questions, by the way. Very focused. I'm proud."

"We didn't learn anything!!", Lea protested.

"You learned I won't give you straight answers except to feed my ego, which is valuable information in itself.", Charlotte countered. She opened a rift back to the Monochrome Library, "Oh, and Dawn? Keep up the good work as the demigod of Progress."

She stepped through the rift, then paused and looked back.

"One more thing. The sun? The thing I pointed at earlier? Don't worry about it too much."

Then she was gone, leaving four extremely confused and frustrated people behind.

"I hate her.", Dawn said flatly.

Auger stood, heading for the door, "I'm getting that drink now. Anyone joining me?"

"Yes...", Lea, Dawn, and Jim said in unison.

Some truths required alcohol to process.

Even if the truths were mostly non-answers disguised as revelations.