Chapter 115: The Isekai’s Sacrifice
[Null POV] Year 5, Day 207 (Morning)
Null massaged Bunny's ears. Had been doing it all night. It was morning now after hours of this.
Bunny had woken a few hours ago but just stayed there, melting in Null's lap while using the seed network to command what was needed. Remote work. Efficient.
Null didn't mind. Playing with Bunny's ears was quite nice actually. Soft, pleasant, and calming even.
And Bunny had been productive the entire time. Even in magical world, remote work was possible using seed communication. Orders were given, reports received, and operations managed, all while getting an ear massage. Professional multitasking.
Null had heard about Void. Someone had tried to kill him with a mind attack.
Same attackers? Unknown, but probable.
She tried reasoning who might hate them this much.
Blood Guild? Probably not. Latest they'd heard: members who escaped the country were hunted down by divisions in other nations. Heads delivered to Syndicate in a large basket as apology. Blood Guild clearly wanted to forget everything, move on, and avoid more attention. They wanted this over more than anyone.
Who else then?
[No idea. Probably some Ealdred old feud we ended up in the middle of. He killed a Pope over offense against a maid. Who knows what else he's done over centuries? How many enemies accumulated? How many grudges waiting for opportunity?]
Sitting here playing with Bunny's ears was literally the best thing she could do. Think, wait, and be ready.
The prisoners were all still in psychosis. Nothing useful to learn there yet.
Bunny's ears would do for now.
Null kept life sense active, monitoring and watching for changes, for problems, for anything.
Then felt it.
Ealdred and the Twins had just landed and were approaching the Maid House fast. Very fast. Urgent.
[What happened? Why are they here? Why so fast?]
The door opened.
Ealdred entered. "Oh. Here you are. Follow."
Then he turned and walked out. No explanation. No context. Just a command.
Null stood. Followed. Bunny sliding off her lap with confused expression.
[Ealdred looks strange. Not like his usual self. Something wrong. Something off.]
The Twins were behind him. They looked like they'd been crying, eyes red, distressed, and upset.
Null felt confused. [What's happening? What's wrong with them?]
Ealdred stopped in front of the Maid House. Like just remembering something.
"Where is Alpha?"
She felt even more confused. [Alpha? What's she connected to this?]
But pointed to the structure in the distance. The prisoner processing warehouse. "There. With the researchers. With prisoners."
Ealdred walked that direction. Fast. Determined.
Null followed.
They entered the warehouse.
Same psychosis. Same screaming. About twenty fewer prisoners now. There was literally a pile of corpses in the corner: research casualties and experimentation losses.
Ealdred went straight to Alpha. She was working with the researchers, observing and managing their progress.
"Follow." The command was sharp, with no room for questions.
Alpha looked clearly confused, but followed anyway. [She's confused too. Uncertain. Doesn't understand either.]
22 was there too. She noticed Ealdred's tone and his expression. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
She decided to follow also. Watching. Several times looking between prisoners and Ealdred. Calculating. Probably more scientific value could be extracted from those prisoners. But Ealdred looked really off. Priority shifting.
They walked fast. Ealdred explained nothing and just kept leading them onward with urgent purpose.
Finally arrived at the underground dome.
The courtesans were gathered around the table with Green and Pink, chatting and eating. Pink looked much better — awake, alert, and healing slowly.
Ealdred noticed them. Walked directly to Pink.
He pulled a strange item from his item box and offered it to her. "Do you know where this comes from? Where its creator is?"
Pink studied it, concentrating. "No, sorry. My gifts are barely usable right now. And no oracle could track a heart stone anyway — they have too much protection and shielding around them. It's literally impossible."
"Worth a try. You're dragon. Maybe your rules differ or something."
Pink made embarrassed sound. "Same rules. Oracle doesn't work on heart stones. For anyone. Sorry."
Ealdred turned. Walked back to Null.
"Your training is officially finished."
Null felt really confused. [What? Training finished, just like that? What's happening?]
"I owe you two promises. But first I want one more. You have to promise me this now and here." His voice was serious and heavy. "You will not stop me or try to mess up what I need to do. Clear?"
Null still confused. "Not mess up your plans?"
"Yes. Exactly."
"Okay?"
Ealdred demanded, "CLEARLY."
"I will not mess up your plans. But what are those even?"
Ealdred relaxed slightly. "Good promise then."
He continued. "About magical signature. The Twins will show you the way to fake it. If it works for you, use it. If not, they know where to go. But better avoid that if possible. Avoid this kind of attention."
He looked at the Twins. "Their name. Just name them."
"Eh? Just like that?"
"Yes. Just give them the name you like. Can be something old or new. It's magical—you have one and everyone else will have another. But both are valid. Yours is just more true."
Null was getting more confused by the second.
22 interjected. "You mean Epithet Duality?"
"Yes. You can explain to Null later. Don't have time for days of lectures right now." He looked at Null. "Just give the name. You've done it before. Just do it again."
Null spoke. "Twins."
OWNERSHIP UNLINKING: [????] from Ealdred
OWNERSHIP LINKING: Twins to Null
Something changed. The name Ealdred had used for Twins—it wasn't "Twins." But Null understood it meant Twins while not getting what it actually was.
Also some kind of connection to the Twins now. Was this what Ealdred used? He clearly had some way to reach out to them. Null had seen it before. Now she had it too. Similar but different.
She said it a few times to test the name. "Twins. Twins."
Same name, but it felt different when she said it versus when others would. Same and different. Strange.
Ealdred spoke. "Twins. You get it now? Different, right? When you use it versus when others use it. Same name. Different truth."
"Yes. Somehow. It's like... some string theory level magical thing?" [Best explanation I can come up with. Some super high-level magic that changed something. There was literally world announcement. System-level change. Reality-level shift.]
Ealdred continued, his tone softening, "You may seed them later. I think it should be okay."
[One good news at least. Seed connection with the Twins now possible. But Ealdred still hasn't explained what's wrong. Why he's acting like this. Why everything feels urgent and final.]
Before Null could ask more, she felt it.
Weakness hit her suddenly and hard. A significant portion of her strength had just been transferred away.
And the Twins looked clearly stronger. Healthier, yes. Definitely healthier.
[Never thought the Twins had health issues. But looking at them now versus how they were before—no doubt. There was problem. Now fixed. Just had no reference before. No comparison. Couldn't see it.]
Life sense for the Twins looked different now. They somehow overflowed with Null. Like how she saw herself. Same kind of energy. Same signature. Same nature.
Pink's eyes went wide. Seeing something. "Your shadow. It doubled. All the potential."
Null felt more confusion. [What shadow? What potential? What is she talking about?]
But then felt something else.
All this energy that healed the Twins—literally growing seed inside them. She felt Twins joining the seed network. Initial connection transforming to regular seed connection like any other. Just much fatter. Much stronger. Much more.
Ealdred watched and started laughing — a genuine, joyful sound, relief pouring out of him. "Twins are saved. I can go and die happily now."
Null's confusion spiked. "What do you mean saved? What was wrong with them? What do you mean you can die happily now?"
Ealdred ignored her. Turned to Alpha.
Pulled whip from item box. Similar to one Ealdred himself used. But more feminine design. Probably from same creator. Same quality. Same legendary status.
Gave it to Alpha. "Make me proud."
[I know this one. Ealdred talked about it before. Gifts like that go to students he's proud of. Ones he believes capable of training the next generation. Alpha just got acknowledged. Approved. Trusted.]
Then Ealdred gave Alpha a piece of paper. "Contract to Artemis. If you're ever in trouble, feel free to reach out. She can be trusted. Even with Null's gift if needed. I can guarantee this. Plus you have others around you here. You'll do fine teaching next generation."
Alpha stood there with the whip in one hand and the paper in the other, as confused as Null and everyone else in the room. Ealdred's behavior made no sense. Too final. Too much like goodbye.
Ealdred turned to Null again. "All my valuables and gold in Banking Guild are transferred to Twins' name. Feel free to use them for whatever you wish."
Then turned. Started walking toward the door.
Null grabbed his shoulder. Stopped him.
She also saw 22 at the same time, holding the heart stone Ealdred had given Pink. Her face was not happy at all. Whatever was on that stone was bad news. Very bad news.
22 spoke. Angry. Voice tight. "So this is your big plan? To go and give yourself up to the Church? To get executed there?"
"It's the only way."
22 tried to say something, stopped, started again, and stopped again. Nothing came. No arguments left. No solutions available. Just helplessness.
Null saw Ealdred had stopped for a moment. Stepped a few steps toward 22.
22 gave him the heart stone. Some kind of magical item from what Null could sense.
The moment Null touched it, she understood what it was. Like reading minds, except this item broadcast emotions and meaning through some kind of permanent recorded message.
The message came:
I was behind all attacks against your trained maids. First one was warning to show I can be forceful. Next group was example I have reach. I don't like to kill innocents that much, so take it as my only warning.
You have a choice to make. Hide and next round of attacks will be much worse. And after that, round after round until your legacy is all destroyed.
Or go and give yourself up to Church. Confess your sins to the Pope. How you killed a Pope. Do it fast. Hundredth anniversary of this sin is soon here. If you wait, your legacy will pay the heavy price.
Null looked around. At 22. At Ealdred. At the heart stone in her hand.
"What is this item? The truth in it feels... real. Absolute. How?"
22 answered in a clinical but strained tone. "Heart stone is like a portable truth stone. One can imprint their truth into it, then share it. Just like your truth, it can't lie or be faked. Whatever's recorded is genuine. Verified. Absolute."
She looked at Ealdred. "Where did you get it?"
"It was delivered to me. By brainwashed courier who killed himself the moment delivery was complete."
Null thought, processing.
[Ealdred wants to sacrifice himself to save the maids he trained. His legacy. His students. Everything he built.]
"Okay. Let's go and destroy the Church. They're already weak from inner fighting. Kill everyone until we find someone who knows something. Hunt them down. Make them talk. Solve this."
"You promised." Ealdred's voice was firm and final. "And it won't help."
22 interjected in a matter-of-fact tone. "I have to agree with Ealdred here. It's probably not the Church behind these attacks."
"What?" Null felt her thoughts derail entirely. [Not the Church? But everything pointed there. Who else then?]
22 explained with academic precision. "Divine abilities like Church uses are in direct opposition to mind attacks. All holy power builds on top of free will. It's their biggest weakness. They literally can't even touch mind-attack-related things. If anyone in Church circles tried to order something like what's been done here, they'd die in divine fires before they could finish the command."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. If you don't believe me, call Beta. She uses holy powers for healing. Made contract with them. Use seed to force her to order a mind attack against someone. She'll be dead before she can finish saying it. Every power has a cost. That's the cost for holy."
22 paused for a moment, then continued. "Plus this mind attack was built on top of dragon magic. Another massive opposite for Church powers. I'm quite sure nobody in Church ranks can order this kind of attack. Sure, Church has found ways over time to use some mind-related things. Like when victim agrees—then it's free will. But this attack is too much. Too complex. Too opposed to everything they are."
[No good ideas then. But 22 probably not wrong. She knows things. Understands magic theory. Has experience. If she says Church can't do this, probably accurate.]
Null decided to ask about the other thing. About the Twins' health. "What was wrong with them? What happened?"
Ealdred answered, his voice tired of all this. "Twins are Heavenly Rejections. Not stable. Without bond to stabilize them, they die. When I found them, they were half-dead. My naming connected them. Saved them. But I'm still mortal. Perhaps a bit over average, but that's all. My power just kept them alive. And they kept me alive in return. For long time. A very long time."
He continued after a short pause. "You however share no such limits. Your power and connection healed them instantly. Permanently. They're stable now. They'll live. That's all I needed. That's all that mattered."
[Okay. Makes kind of sense. But raises more questions. How long has he been with them? How long did he keep them alive through pure will and connection?]
After X's revelations in Central, Null had been thinking about time and longevity. And Ealdred raised questions. Especially since some seamstress maids were trained by him thousands of years ago. Meaning he was active thousands of years ago.
"How long have you been with the Twins?"
Ealdred clearly didn't want to answer. Face showing reluctance. Avoidance. Pain.
But he did. "Don't know exactly. But a bit over thirteen thousand years. I wished for a friend when I arrived to this world. Found the Twins then. Been together since."
Null processed that. "Arrived to this world?"
"I was divine child once. Isekai—that's another term for it. Lost all divine specialty long ago. Just regular mortal now. Have been for... very long time."
He paused briefly, letting the weight of it settle.
"And this coca-cola drink. I remembered the taste. Didn't remember the name anymore. Time has its effects. But taste was familiar. From home. From before."
Null had so many questions. Too many, almost overwhelming.
Spy materialized and made himself visible to Ealdred. He had questions too, clearly. Many questions.