Chapter 73: Mission Statement

Grace stared at Eternia, who floated in the white void with a strange mix of casual confidence and… was that guilt? It was weird seeing those expressions on a face that looked so much like her own.

As always, it was surreal to see an image of what was effectively just Grace… but with much, much larger breasts. And taller. And-

Well, just more everything, really.

“So,” Eternia began, crossing her legs mid-air like she was sitting on an invisible chair, “I guess I should explain some things about Linaria and how I made it, just so we can begin properly.”

“That would be nice,” Grace said, trying not to sound annoyed. Every time she talked with Eternia, she got more questions than answers. “Lately, it feels like people keep talking about things and people that I just don’t know anything about.”

Eternia waved her hand, and suddenly they were surrounded by a miniature version of Linaria—continents, oceans, mountains, all floating around them like a magical diorama.

“Creating a world is hard work,” Eternia said, poking at a tiny mountain range with her finger. The miniature landscape stretched between them, complete with oceans, forests, and tiny cities. “Most angels know the part where I got bored with the details and created Azrael to handle things for me.” She shrugged. “I’m not great with long-term projects. Sue me.”

Grace rolled her eyes. Her goddess was right there, discussing cosmic creation, and Eternia somehow managed to sound like a teenager explaining why she hadn’t finished her homework.

“But there’s more to it than that?”

“A lot more.” Eternia’s playful smile faded. “What nobody knows is that during creation, I kept having these… moments. Dark thoughts. Urges to just destroy everything I’d built.”

That made Grace pause.

[What?]

The miniature world around them darkened in places, shadows creeping across the landscape like spilled ink. Grace watched as tiny storms formed over cities, earthquakes split the land, and volcanoes erupted.

“Creating life means creating the potential for suffering,” Eternia continued, her voice unusually serious. “And sometimes, watching that suffering made me… angry. Frustrated. I wanted to wipe it all away and start over.”

“That… doesn’t sound very goddess-like,” Grace said, watching as Eternia’s fingers hovered over the model world.

“Exactly!” Eternia pointed at her. “A goddess of light can’t be having these negative feelings. So I found a solution.”

The shadows in the miniature world coalesced into seven distinct points, pulsing with dark energy.

“The pillars,” Grace whispered.

“Yes. I created seven vessels—the Root, the Tide, the Flame, and others—and I channeled all those negative impulses into them. They became my… emotional dumping grounds, I suppose you could say.”

Grace frowned.

“So you just… what, made them take all your bad feelings?”

Eternia sighed.

“At the time, I didn’t really see a better solution. I was young! And stupid!” Eternia threw up her hands. “I thought I was being clever. I could remain pure and kind while still having somewhere to put all those darker impulses. Win-win, right?”

“Except for the pillars,” Grace said flatly.

Eternia’s shoulders slumped.

“Yeah. Except for them.”

The miniature world shifted, showing the pillars growing darker, spreading corruption into the surrounding areas.

“I realized things had started going poorly early on. The negativity I’d given to them, I’d burdened them with, had begun spreading. Of course it would. I knew it would. But… I figured my angels could handle it better. Besides, I didn’t have the heart to destroy them,” Eternia said quietly. “They were part of me, in a way. So I just… moved on. Created Azrael to manage things, told her to take care of it all, and focused on other projects.”

“And the pillars started creating demons,” Grace said, remembering what the Root had told her.

“Not right away. But eventually, yes.” Eternia nodded. “The corruption affects everything, after all. It originated from me. In that sense, you could say corruption is as ’divine’ as any angel. And that’s where things got really complicated.”

The scene changed to show a silver-haired figure—Azrael—confronting shadowy creatures near one of the pillars.

“Azrael was dedicated to protecting Linaria. She made me proud for a long, long time. Did a wonderful job, AND was amazing in bed.”

Grace cringed, blushing.

“What? As if you weren’t wondering about that.”

“I wasn’t!”

“Yeah, right. Of course you were! You’re me!” Eternia cackled. “Anyway, when demons started appearing, she wanted to understand them to fight them better.” Eternia sighed. “She discovered that angels could draw power from human Sins, just as they could from Virtues.”

“And that’s bad?” Grace asked.

“It’s… complicated. Using Sin energy is akin to fighting fire with fire. To be fair, it is effective, but it changes you.” Eternia gestured, and the miniature Azrael’s aura shifted from gold to a purple-blue. “She and her followers began to corrupt themselves in their quest to fight corruption.”

Grace remembered Isolde at the banquet, her wings tinged with that same purple-blue energy.

“Like Isolde, during the Celestial Banquet.”

“Exactly like Isolde.” Eternia nodded. “And now we have this mess. Pillars creating demons, Azrael’s followers fighting them with methods that corrupt them too, and everyone involved thinking they’re the good guys.”

Grace’s head hurt. This was so much more complicated than “angels good, demons bad” like she’d first thought.

“Are they evil, then?” Grace asked. “The pillars? Azrael?”

Eternia shook her head.

“No. The pillars just contain what I put in them. They’re bitter and angry because I made them to be bitter and angry, and then abandoned them. And Azrael?” She sighed. “She just wanted to protect the world I asked her to manage. She thought using Sin energy was necessary to fight the demons. She still thinks she’s doing the right thing.”

The miniature world faded, leaving them in the white void again.

“So what am I supposed to do about all this?” Grace asked, feeling overwhelmed. “How do I fix this mess?”

Eternia’s lips quirked up.

“Blunt, aren’t we?”

“… Well, you made me that way,” Grace shot back, looking away.

Eternia laughed.

“The truth is, I don’t know how to fix it. That’s why I made you.”

“What?”

“This problem was created by me in the first place, Grace. I don’t think I can solve it.” Eternia looked at Grace with something like hope in her eyes. “But you… you have my power without my baggage. You have a human’s perspective. As much as I can sympathize with my own creations, at the end of the day,” she smiled, tilting her head, “I still see you all as just that. My creations. My toys, all interacting and running into one another.”

“That’s awful.”

“I’m just being honest.” She shrugged. “You, however… You see things differently.”

“So your big plan is… no plan?” Grace couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Well, come on. That’s not quite fair, is it? My plan is you.” Eternia stepped closer, placing her hands on Grace’s shoulders. “You’ve already done something I wasn’t able to. You communicated with the Root. You made a promise to it. You saw it as more than just a source of corruption.”

Grace thought about her encounter with the Root, how ancient and lonely it had felt.

“It was in pain.”

“Exactly.” Eternia nodded. “You saw that. I never did. At least, not until it was too late.”

A map appeared between them, showing Linaria with seven glowing points marked across its surface.

“These are the locations of all seven pillars,” Eternia said. “The Root is just the beginning. There’s also the Tide in the western oceans, the Flame in the volcanic regions to the south, the Tempest in the storm-wracked islands, the Mountain in the northern ranges, the Void in the eastern deserts, and the Bloom in the central forests.”

Grace stared at the map, memorizing each location.

“And what am I supposed to do when I find them?”

“That,” Eternia said with a small smile, “is up to you. Talk to them. Fight them. Heal them. Whatever you think is right.”

“That’s not very helpful,” Grace muttered.

“I know. But I trust you’ll have the Compassion to figure it out.” Eternia’s expression turned serious. “This is your mission, Grace. To right my wrongs. You’ll have to be Brave. And, you’ll need to hold a certain amount of genuine Love in your heart to find solutions I couldn’t see.”

Grace looked at the map, feeling the weight of responsibility settling on her shoulders. Seven ancient, corrupted entities. A faction of angels using Sin energy. And somehow, she was supposed to fix it all.

“Great,” she said. “No pressure or anything.”

Eternia laughed.

“That’s why I like you.” Her form began to fade. “Our time’s almost up. Goodness, I’ve been charging up power for so many years and you’re making me burn through it all in no time. Any last questions?”

Grace had about a thousand, but one felt more urgent than the others.

“Azrael recognized your energy in me. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Of course,” Eternia said with frustrating casualness. “Especially as you keep developing. But, for now, it seems she’s assuming you’re some long-lost descendant of mine or something, rather than my direct creation. Once she figures it out, though, you’ll probably have to fight her.”

“That’s not reassuring!”

“Sorry, not sorry.” Eternia was almost transparent now. “Remember, Grace—you have my power, but you’re not me. That’s your strength.”

And with that cryptic statement, she vanished completely, leaving Grace alone in the white void.

“Wait!” Grace called. “I still have more—”

The void dissolved around her, and Grace jerked awake in her bed, gasping. Sunlight streamed through her window.

She was back in her quarters in the Angelic Dominion, the dream conversation with Eternia still vivid in her mind.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Seven pillars. Eternia’s negative emotions given form. Azrael corrupted by trying to fight corruption.

And somehow, she was supposed to fix it all.

“Thanks a lot, Eternia,” she muttered, falling back onto her pillow. “Real helpful.”

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