Rias Gremory was confused.
Every time she returned to her home world, she appeared in the exact spot where she had been before traveling to any other world. But right now, she was somewhere different. In fact, it wasn't even her world.
If she had to guess, it would be outer space. Now, was this her universe? Or perhaps another universe?
What her eyes saw was a vast darkness surrounding her, punctuated by lights of different colors in the distance. She couldn't see any planets or stars nearby, and that was a good thing, because she would have been far more frightened than she was.
Right now, she didn't know how she could possibly survive outer space without a proper suit. Even a devil, possessing a body superior to that of a human, would eventually perish in space.
But there was something troubling her about this vision of outer space she was witnessing. The concern arose from within her. Then, that concern morphed into a feeling that something was wrong.
Finally, that feeling turned into dismay.
Rias was a devil, a mortal race that couldn't reach certain heights. However, thanks to the chat group, the chains that bound her potential disappeared, and she reached new heights. Sage Mode training granted her the ability to manipulate and understand her power of destruction at a level never before seen. And this same power of destruction, which was linked to the elements of the world, allowed her to better understand the composition of existence.
It is for this very reason that, thanks to this understanding, her power of destruction was transforming into something else.
Destruction...
Destruction in its purest form.
Thanks to the understanding and the sublimation of Rias's soul, the power of destruction was becoming the Law of Destruction, and her normal devil body was becoming a physical seed of destruction.
That's why she could feel things that most mortal races couldn't.
It wasn't that understanding a certain law made you a god, but rather that being a god allowed you to fully understand a law.
Rias was closer to being a god than Harry, which was why she was stronger. Harry had been trying to understand the Law of Blood, which they considered a branch of the Law of Life. But he couldn't grasp as much when compared to Rias's understanding of the Law of Destruction.
Only by being a god could you fully comprehend a Law of the universe.
And what Rias felt at that moment...
It was pure destruction!
The amount of destruction she could sense was so immense that even as a non-goddess, she could easily feel it.
It hadn't been that long since she appeared here, but she had remained still, observing her surroundings with concern and curiosity. But when she sensed so much destruction, she froze, her expression one of dismay.
It took a short time for her to realize that she could move easily in this place. She was floating, but she could move with her wings.
So she decided to fly forward.
But that proved to be exhausting. Moving forward became somewhat frustrating because she wasn't sure if she was actually moving or not. And when she used magic to move faster, she felt like she was traveling more quickly, but it still seemed slow.
For that reason, she decided to move at a normal pace; she didn't want to expend too much energy in case she encountered something dangerous.
Without knowing how much time had actually passed, and also having seen that she couldn't return, she continued on her way. The options for traveling to other worlds weren't working; in fact, the entire chat group seemed to be down, so she could simply move forward and find something.
She didn't want to stay in one place waiting.
And she did find something, but it sent a shiver down her spine. She found and entered what she believed to be a galaxy. The lights were closer all around her; she could see asteroids traveling around her, too many of them.
But the destruction in this place was more intense than before. Rias stopped and stood on a large asteroid, placing one knee on its surface before touching it with her toes.
It felt a little rough, but nothing out of the ordinary. There weren't any of the strange things one might imagine: unknown minerals or stones of unfamiliar colors.
Sighing slightly, Rias jumped and continued flying forward. And it was a good decision, because after another journey of unknown duration, she saw a large figure in front of her. Rias approached and began to circle the planet as she observed.
It was gray... so gray that it appeared as if the planet were dead. She couldn't see continents or islands from where she stood; all she saw was the color gray.
Suddenly, Rias felt heat hit her body, and she also saw a sliver of light in the corner of her left eye. She had been so focused on the planet that she hadn't even looked ahead.
But when she looked toward the source of the heat, her body froze, and she stood motionless, staring in disbelief at what she saw in the distance.
She understood a few things as she looked in that direction.
The first thing she understood was that the planet she had seen was truly enormous. So enormous that even standing right in front of her, it was difficult to imagine. The second thing she understood was that the planet, which had initially been in front of her, had been obscuring a vast number of asteroids floating at a great distance.
The third thing she understood was that if this was her universe, then there were other civilizations beyond Earth. It wasn't so surprising if you understood that the universe was truly enormous, but when you saw something like a star surrounded by what looked like gigantic plates, blocking out some of the light...
"That's... a Dyson sphere?" Rias was stunned.
What were the chances that the first thing she encountered after traveling an immeasurable distance and time would be a Dyson sphere? Because that's what the structure, the size of a planetary orbit, looked like.
While this could be the work of humanity in a universe where Earth existed in the future, Rias doubted that and bet more on another civilization.
Frowning, Rias decided to move closer. She still didn't understand how she was doing so well in outer space, but it definitely wasn't because of her near-divine state.
It was something else...
Once again, without knowing how long it took, she reached a gigantic mass of rock where she stood and looked around, but only saw the titanic planet in the distance.
"How long have I been here?" Rias wondered aloud. Her surroundings were filled with asteroids and large, floating rock formations.
"About ten years, more or less."
Rias turned around when she heard an unfamiliar voice.
"Who are you?" Rias asked, frowning. Standing before her was an incredibly beautiful woman.
This woman's skin was white, almost the color of milk. Her long hair was so dark it blended into the surrounding space, and her cold eyes seemed to swallow any existing light. She wore a long, simple dress that reached nearly to her ankles.
"Who am I?" the woman asked before smiling slightly, but that smile was somewhat cold.
"I'm one of those responsible for that small group of opportunities reaching you," the woman said, pointing at herself as she answered, causing Rias's phone to float before she took it in her hand.
"Is it you? Are you really the one who sent that invitation?"
"Oh? You don't doubt me?... I could very well be an enemy."
"Even if I doubt myself, do I have a chance against you?"
"Why couldn't you fight me?" the woman's smile widened as she asked, fixing her dark eyes on Rias's.
"I could fight, but is it really worth it?"
"...," the woman tilted her head before a small laugh escaped her lips.
"You've really grown up, little one. Tell me honestly, how many plans have you come up with while we've been chatting?"
"12."
"Hmm... Then roughly 23 plans. Though I wonder, how many of them have a chance of success?"
Rias gritted her teeth. This woman seemed to read her with ease, and she didn't like it. It was true, she said 12 plans, but she had created 24 plans while they were having this little quiz. However, none of them seemed to succeed in the end.
There was something she didn't understand, but it caused her plans to crumble around her whenever they reached a certain point.
It was as if escaping this woman's presence was impossible.
The woman stared at her phone for a few moments before smiling and tossing it to Rias, who caught it immediately.
"I think you remember the name and reward of the last mission, right? The Beginning of Truth... And a message as a reward," the woman continued without hesitation.
"Then let's start with some truth," she said, pointing downwards.
"This large piece of rock we're standing on... was once a planet teeming with life."
Rias glanced down unconsciously, her eyes wide with surprise at this.
"A planet?"
"A planet teeming with life, destroyed by energy. A sun encased in a structure, by energy. And a planet devastated, by pure experimentation," the woman said with an impassive expression, the very definition of emotionless, almost like Ophis.
Rias frowned at those words.
"You're saying a civilization destroyed a sector of a galaxy... for energy?"
"Hmm," the woman nodded, then continued, "Another truth: this is your universe. And within this universe, there's the galaxy called the Milky Way and the planet called Earth."
"But... but..." Rias murmured, feeling a little scared. Not because of the destruction of the planet and the Dyson sphere on the distant star.
"Why is there such a strong sense of destruction?"
The woman looked at her before sighing softly.
"That's because it literally is what it is: destruction. The civilization that did this has also done the same to almost every other habitable planet in the universe. Within this universe, the only planets where life exists are Earth and Evie x Etoulde, a planet with spirit gods... and also annihilators."
"Etoulde are the race of high-level spirit gods that exist on that planet, and they are in a continuous war with the Evie, who have purged life from the rest of the universe."
"Are you saying that a single civilization destroyed almost all life in the universe?! If that's the case, then why haven't they come near Earth?!" Rias exclaimed, a little angry at everything she was learning. This woman in front of her was something she couldn't sense, but she was clearly there, just meters away. Besides, she knew she wasn't lying.
"Etoulde are the race of high-level spirit gods that exist on that planet, and they are in a constant state of war with the Evie, who have purged life from the rest of the universe." "Within the Evie, there is a being that can manipulate its existence and time. That's the crux of the matter. As for Earth not being discovered... thank Great Red... and me, too."
"Great Red?" Rias looked at her before tilting her head, her eyes shifting slightly to the side, wondering what Great Red might have to do with this. The words "dimensional rift" flashed through her mind, and she looked at them with suspicion.
"Is it because of the dimensional rift?"
The woman nodded seriously.
"Great Red is a creature considered a True Dragon. He's above all other dragons and is the only one currently in existence. And I left him there to protect that space."
"And about the dimensional rift... it's a space from a higher dimension and serves as a shield for Earth. And because it's a higher-dimensional space, most beings can't remain there without special protection, or they'd be exterminated forever."
"Why didn't anyone know this?"
"Humans can't sense it. When they send their satellites to orbit Earth, they don't actually interact with the dimensional rift, nor do they when they launch similar things much farther out. Those things are still objects that can't interact with higher dimensions."
"And as for other beings on Earth... there was one who knew, another who suspects it, and another who already knows what it is."
Rias frowned, but didn't ask any more questions about it. She could draw her own conclusions.
"What's your name? What are you really? There's also the message in the mission reward, what's it about?"
"My name is Eyrlis. As for what I am, you'll find out in the future, but I'm definitely not your enemy."
"About the message... it's this: When I send you back to Earth, find a secluded spot and begin the process of becoming a god. Your world's time is running out."
Rias became much more serious at this point.
"These Evie... are they going to attack Earth?"
"The Evie leader can manipulate their existence and also has some control over time, I already told you. You can draw your own conclusions about that."
"Fine... now send me to Earth. I don't want to stay here, much less continue this conversation. You're irritating me too much."
Eyrlis simply shook her head before making a movement with her hand, sending Rias to Earth.
" "Well, my work is done. Now I just have to observe..." Eyrlis sighed briefly before disappearing. But only seconds later, a radiant light illuminated the area before a massive ship appeared.
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