Poisoned Rationality

The several weeks after I came into being were a rush.

I spent half of it simply relishing that I had Estelle. She was amazing and beautiful and the best person ever.

The other half was spent with Estelle, her sister Ophelia, and the other girl from before. Even though I remember that I had met her, any memory of meeting her and talking to her was gone.

Except for part of it, which was the advice that she had given me about being a God.

“Simply put, don’t interfere outside of your assigned location,” She had told me. “Don’t break the rules, and use your authorities to keep up the things you need to.”

After that, she disappeared and left me with Estelle.

My three authorities were Stability, Neurodivergence, and the Forest.

The first one was the most important overall, and it gave me control over the balance of life across the world.

The third one was also pretty important because the Forest was a large part of the healthiness of the world. The many plants and animals that lived there supported a huge part of the environment.

My authority of Neurodivergence was a bit… unique.

I could tell the mental state of the people around me, which was interesting. When I looked at someone, I would get a sense of how they were feeling.

I found it interesting to see how other people felt about different things.

I smiled. Especially Estelle.

“What’s got you so happy?” Estelle asked me, pulling me into a hug. I nuzzled against her.

“You,” I told her, grinning. She giggled and kissed me, running a hand through my hair and rubbing my ears.

“Flirt,” She accused.

“Cutie,” I shot back.

Estelle grinned and began to tickle me.

“Say that again!” She demanded.

I was so in love.

…

When I opened my eyes, I found tears in them.

I remembered so much more. The time spent with Estelle. The love I felt for her.

My heart hurt so much, being so far away.

“Nyx?” I heard a voice ask. “Are you okay?”

I looked up to see Ariana and Natalya sitting nearby. They both had a worried look on their face.

I nodded.

“I am now,” I told them.

“What happened?” Ariana asked me. “And what was that kind of magic?”

I looked at the ground.

“It’s called void,” I explained. “It’s kind of a secret that I can use it, though. So please don’t tell anyone.”

“Of course not,” Nat said.

I smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“So, you killed the Devil Leopard?” Ariana asked me.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I got three levels off of it.”

“Three!” Ariana exclaimed. “Wow. What’s your current percentage?”

I looked at my status to check.

Status (Lvl 1):

Name: Nyxandria Arilis

Race: Void Dokukyoku Wendigo (Twintailed)

Age: 16/9/26

Level: 12 (37% EXP)

Statistics:

Str: S Vit: S

Int: S Dex: S

Agi: S Def: S

HP: 100% S

MP: 100% SS

Titles: Divine Blessing of Estelle, Fated One, True Void, One with the Void, Expert Fighter

Skills: Decimation [EX], Consume [EX], Share [EX], Expert Swordplay [B], Communion [NA]

Class: [Void Demigod]

“Thirty-seven percent,” I said. Considering that the amount of experience gained per level during back-to-back level-ups decreased dramatically, I had gained a huge amount of experience.

“The fuck?” Nat exclaimed. “Wow, do you know what level the Leopard was?”

“Uh…” I said as I scrolled back through my system windows. “Level 45.”

“F-forty f-five?” Ariana stuttered. “Holy shit!”

“Yeah…” I muttered. “That’s why I never use my void skills. Except I had to.”

“Thank you,” Ariana said, pulling me into a hug. I smiled and hugged her back.

…

When we got back to the town, I went back to my room right away. I was really tired.

“Nyx?” Mother asked, poking her head into my room. “How are you feeling? I heard from your friends that you made it to Level 10.”

“I’m just tired,” I said. “I think I’m going to sleep for a while.”

“Do you want me to wake you up for dinner?” Mother asked. I nodded and yawned before stretching out on my bed.

Later that day, Mother woke me up, and I had dinner with my parents. Ryla had recently gone off to a school in the capital city, so she wasn’t there.

I missed her.

While growing up, the two of us had been inseparable. And now that she’s gone, my life at home is a lot less exciting.

After dinner, I went back to my bedroom and laid down. I was drained.

As I stretched out on my bed, sleep took me quickly.

…

I opened my eyes to find myself lying on a much softer bed than my own.

I sat up and looked around. The room was bright and sparsely decorated, but it had a homey feel.

“Nyx!?” Someone exclaimed. I turned around to see a blur leap on top of me, and suddenly Estelle was hugging me.

I hugged her back, keeping my arms tight around her.

“I love you,” I whispered in her ear, holding her close to my chest.

“I love you too,” She whispered back. I curled my tails around her as her set of five tails curled around me.

We sat there for around an hour, hugging each other.

When at last we separated, Estelle leaned against me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“I’m so happy you’re back,” She told me. I smiled softly and pulled her into another hug. After a few more minutes, she asked, “How much do you remember now?”

“I remember meeting you,” I replied. “And I remember the first few decades after we met.”

“That’s not a lot…” Estelle mumbled.

“I’m still only [Level 12],” I told her. “It’ll take a while, Stella.”

She pouted and curled against me, her ears flicking back. I smiled and got off the bed, pulling her with me.

“Show me around,” I said. “I’d like to see.”

Her ears perked up as she grabbed my hand and pulled me around through her divine domain, showing me everything she had.

After another hour looking at everything, the two of us ended up back on the bed. Stella was curled up and fit right in next to me, turning me into the big spoon. I didn’t mind.

“Tell me about yourself now,” Stella said.

“There’s quite a lot,” I told her. “For one thing, I have two tails now.”

“I can see that,” Stella giggled, running a hand along the fur down my tails. “Anything else?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure my authorities changed,” I told her. “A god can only have three, right?”

“Yes, that’s the maximum,” Stella said.

“Well, I know I have the authority of void now,” I told her. “Which means one of my three got replaced.”

“Wait, how do you know what your authorities are?” Stella asked.

“I don’t exactly…” I replied. Then I told her the whole thing with Null and the Void Space. After I finished telling the story, she questioned me about lots of different things that had happened during my life.

We spent several hours like that, and soon the sun was rising.

“It’s almost morning,” I noticed, glancing out the window and seeing the light of the sun peeking above the horizon. Despite not existing on the planet, the sky still reflected what was below.

“Aww,” Stella pouted. “Well, I guess goodbye.” I kissed her forehead and got up from the bed as my body began to glow softly.

“We’ll be able to talk with each other now,” I told her. “We won’t be completely isolated.”

“I know,” Stella mumbled. “But I’ll still miss you.” The glow was brightening as the sun started to rise above the horizon.

“Of course,” I said, right as my vision blurred and I found myself lying down in my bed.

That was weird, going from standing to lying down without moving.

Shaking it off, I got up and got ready for the day. It was time.