Chapter 368: The Beginning Of The End [XXX]

[Congratulations on reaching the Semi-5✯ True God realm!]

Looking at the panel, Aestrea threw it aside before he took a look around the room and started rummaging through the seemingly countless scrolls.

He didn’t stop until he found the exact ones he needed.

With a satisfied smile, he swept them all into his dimensional storage. Then, a delicate lotus of ice blossomed in his palm, and he placed it in the center of the room.

He vanished from there, and as he did so….

FWOOOOOOOOOM!

The entire chamber froze over in an instant before erupting into glittering shards, the space collapsing on itself until nothing remained.

Seconds later, he appeared right back at his dormitory, where Christina surprisingly wasn’t present.

“…Phew.” His shoulders loosened. “One more faction left in this damned academy. After that, I can finally make a move on the Eternal Tribunal.”

He rubbed his temples.

“Getting into their base is going to be a nightmare…”

There were still plenty of things left for him to do, especially since he needed to prepare his army for the upcoming fights.

As for the Sanctum Division?

Without their true leaders, the whole thing would collapse soon enough, probably taking itself down in a glorious self-destruction.

Those bastards… really were fucking annoying to deal with.

Knock, knock!

A knocking sound came from his door, and Aestrea tilted his head in confusion as he wasn’t expecting anyone today.

And if it were Christina, she would just open it since she had the keys to do so.

His hand reached from the doorknob… but then, he stopped.

’…Wait. What if it’s Selindra?!’

He had made a promise to her, and he honestly didn’t want to fulfill it! After all, she was the Goddess of Lust!

He didn’t want anything to do with her!

“Aestrea, open the door.”

A voice called from the other side, and hearing that cold, mechanical tone made him sigh in relief, but then he frowned.

After all, Lunara had just confessed her love a few days ago, and to do so, she even pinned him down and didn’t let him go until he reluctantly agreed to be her boyfriend!

“Aestrea, I swear if you don’t open the door in the next few seconds…” Her voice trailed off as Aestrea could practically feel the air shaking.

“You’re regret it…”

He didn’t hesitate as he instantly turned the knob and swung the door open.

“Good,” Lunara said with a firm nod.

She grabbed his wrist at once and pulled him toward her.

Click!

The door shut behind them as Lunara dragged Aestrea down the dormitory hallway, ignoring the curious looks from other students.

“Where are we going?” Aestrea finally asked.

“On a date.”

“A date?”

“Exactly. Now be quiet,” she snapped, still pulling him along.

They left the academy grounds and stepped onto the main street of the city, where a giant statue stood watching over the entrance.

It was the statue of the Goddess of Light.

Aestrea stared at it for a moment.

’Her avatar was indeed a little uglier than her original form,’ he couldn’t help but think.

“Are you done admiring?” Lunara’s mechanical voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He turned to her and saw a hint of jealousy on her face.

But before he could say anything, Lunara stepped forward and dragged him across the busy streets.

They walked for several minutes, moving past small shops, food stalls, and groups of students chatting their way through the morning.

Aestrea couldn’t help but notice Lunara seemed unusually focused.

Her eyes, bright but mechanical, turned left and right, calculating something only she understood.

“…You planned this whole thing, didn’t you?” he asked carefully.

Lunara didn’t answer at first. Instead, she came to a sudden stop in front of a tall, glass building with silver doors.

A large sign stood above the entrance, glowing softly in the sunlight:

[THE STARLIGHT OBSERVATION DOME]

“An observation dome? This early?” Aestrea blinked.

Lunara finally turned to him, her expression proud and slightly smug.

“Yes. This is the first location. According to my calculations, visiting this place at this hour gives us the best atmosphere for emotional bonding.”

“…Emotional—what?”

She ignored his confusion and tightened her grip on his wrist, pulling him through the sliding doors before he could argue.

’…This woman…’

The inside of the dome was quiet and cool.

Soft music played in the background, and the walls were painted dark blue with tiny lights that looked like stars.

Aestrea felt his shoulders relax a little despite being annoyed at getting dragged around.

Lunara led him up a short staircase and onto a wide balcony beneath a giant glass ceiling. Above them stretched the whole sky, looking bright, clear, and endlessly blue as always.

The sunlight filtered through the glass, turning the floor into a warm glow.

A single bench sat in the center of the balcony.

Of course, she went straight to it.

“Sit,” she ordered.

He sat… it was easier than resisting.

Lunara took the seat beside him, closer than he expected.

Her shoulder brushed lightly against his sleeve, and she stared up at the sky with a serious expression, as if she were studying the clouds.

“For the first hour of our date,” she began, sounding like she was reading from a script she’d memorized, “we will relax here. According to my data, peaceful surroundings help couples feel comfortable with each other.”

Aestrea raised an eyebrow.

“Did you actually… make a schedule for this?”

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation.

“I planned every minute.”

Then, without looking at him, she added softly:

“I didn’t want to mess anything up.”

The honesty caught him off guard.

He looked at her more carefully. Her posture was stiff, but her fingers that were still holding his wrist were actually trembling ever so slightly.

’…If only she didn’t act so emotionless and mechanical,’ Aestrea shook his head.

But since Aestrea had agreed to be her boyfriend, even if it was to get out of that tiresome situation, he figured that would be okay for him to act like one.

Thinking about Lunara’s cold personality gave him a few ideas on how to warm her up, but since she had clearly put a lot of effort into planning this date, he decided to leave his ideas for later.

Instead, he chose to start with something simple… an emotional, gentle kind of conversation. Maybe it would help her open up, even if only a little.

“Lunara,” he gently called out.

“Yes?” She turned to look at him, but Aestrea continued staring at the clouds.

“Were you born as a god?” he asked curiously.

At his question, Lunara lowered her head a little as if thinking about her past. But shortly after, her lips parted as she replied to him.

“…No. I wasn’t. Just like you, I was born in a lower plane.”

Aestrea turned to her with mild surprise.

“Really? Then… how did you end up in the upper plane?”

Lunara’s eyes softened a little, as if remembering something far away.

“It was not a short journey,” she muttered quietly.

“And not an easy one.”

Encouraged, he shifted a bit closer, just enough that their shoulders brushed. She didn’t move away, and instead… lightly leaned to him.

“I was born in a small world,” Lunara continued.

“Life there was simple. Too simple, maybe. People worked hard, but justice was… rare. Cruel things happened often, and no one stopped them.”

Her voice grew tighter, more human than usual.

“My sister and I lived through many of those moments. Luna… she always tried to help people. Even when it put her in danger.”

“You had a sister?” Aestrea asked gently.

“Yes.” Lunara’s eyes softened again.

“Her name is Luna. She was warm and calm, always looking at the night sky. She loved the moon more than anything. It made her feel safe.”

A small smile appeared on Lunara’s lips.

“One day, something terrible happened in our village,” she continued. “Something that should have been stopped long before it began. But no one acted. No one protected anyone.”

Her breath hitched barely, but Aestrea noticed.

Without saying a word, he gently interlaced his fingers with hers.

Lunara stiffened for half a second… then relaxed.

A faint color rose on her cheeks.

“…Thank you,” she whispered, almost too quiet to hear.

Aestrea gave her hand a small squeeze.

“Go on. I’m listening.”

She nodded slowly.

“My sister and I both awakened powers during that time,” she continued. “But our paths split. Luna… her power grew with the moonlight. She rose to the upper plane first, and they welcomed her as the Goddess of the Moon.”

“And you?” Aestrea asked softly.

“I… awakened differently,” Lunara said. “My strength grew from seeing what was wrong. I could feel injustice like a weight on my chest. I hated it. I wanted to fix it. To balance things.”

She took a slow breath.

“When I ascended, they called me the Goddess of Judgment. Because I see the truth in others. Their choices, their actions… and the price of those actions.”

She turned to him then, her eyes were a little brighter than usual, not containing that usual mechanical shine.

“Sometimes I wonder if I chose this path… or if it chose me.”

Aestrea didn’t look away. Instead, he let out a soft breath, the kind that carried thought rather than frustration.

“Lunara,” he called out, “the world isn’t kind enough to let us choose everything.”

Her eyes widened just a bit.

“Isn’t that exactly the reason why we have a Goddess of Fate?” he chuckled lightly, but then continued expressing his thoughts.

“But that doesn’t make your path wrong,” he continued.

“You judged injustice because someone needed to. You acted when others kept their eyes shut. That alone puts you above most beings.”

Lunara blinked, taken aback by the seriousness in his tone.

Aestrea lifted his gaze to the glass dome, watching the sunlight spill through like scattered gold.

“This world… any world, really,” he said slowly, “moves because of balance. If there is kindness, there will be cruelty. If there is light, then shadows will follow. And if there are people who protect, then there will be people who hurt.”

He looked back down at her.

“The truth of existence is that neither side disappears. Good and evil aren’t enemies. They are practically mirrors… one proves the other exists.”

Lunara’s lips parted slightly.

“Then… what does that make me?”

Aestrea smiled gently at her.

“You?” he murmured. “You are the line drawn between them. Not on the side of good or evil, but the one who sees their weight, measures it, and decides the price.”

Her breath caught.

“And that role… isn’t something to regret,” he added. “Not everyone has the strength to carry judgment. Most people are too afraid to look at the world honestly. But you did… and you still do as you rose to be the Goddess of Judgement.”

Lunara lowered her head for a moment, the softness in her eyes becoming clearer, almost fragile.

“…Do you think I acted correctly?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Aestrea moved closer to her until their shoulders touched each other.

“Lunara,” he spoke calmly, “in a world where people hesitate to do what’s right, the one who moves, even in the face of ugliness, is the one who keeps everything standing.”

He gently brushed his thumb over the back of her hand.

“You judged because someone had to judge. You stepped forward because no one else would. That is not wrong… It’s some kind of responsibility, if I may say.”

Her fingers tightened around his.

“And even if the world twisted your reasons,” he finished softly, “the truth is simple, you just protected what you could when it mattered.”

Lunara finally lifted her gaze to him again. The brightness in her eyes held something strange, but Aestrea couldn’t exactly pick up on it.

“…Thank you,” she whispered.

Aestrea smiled faintly.

“I’m only telling the truth.”

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