A few minutes passed before anyone moved.
The room was so quiet that the soft hum of the house's lights felt deafening.
The air itself felt tense—heavy, like it refused to relax until someone took the first breath.
Finally, Rias stirred.
Her eyelashes fluttered weakly at first, then again with more strength, and she drew in a trembling inhale as the frost wrapped around her skin evaporated in thin, mist-like wisps.
Her crimson eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the dim light, confusion and relief clashing in her gaze.
Tsubaki woke next, wincing as sensation returned to her limbs.
Akeno blinked several times, shading her eyes with the back of her hand as the Energy Root's warmth spread through her body.
Koneko pushed herself upright in a slow, groggy motion, blinking at the unfamiliar ceiling of my house.
Asia, Irina, and Xenovia woke too—
But "woke" wasn't the right word.
They didn't gasp.
They didn't sit up suddenly.
They didn't look relieved to be alive.
They simply stared ahead with empty, hollow eyes… like someone who had just been told the world they lived in was a lie.
Their faces were pale, completely drained of color.
Their lips trembled.
Their eyes looked lost, unfocused, almost frightened.
Meanwhile, Sona and Kiba remained unconscious but breathing steadily—peaceful in a way that contrasted with the others' feel even sharper.
I pushed myself up, rolled the stiffness out of my shoulders, and walked toward Rias.
Her eyes met mine, swimming with guilt.
"Zevion… I'm sorry. We—"
"Stop."
I raised a hand gently.
"Just tell me what happened."
So she did.
She told me everything—about the fallen angel lurking in the shadows, the exorcist who had completely lost his sanity, Kokabiel's sudden arrival, how everything escalated in seconds, how Sona fell, how Kiba fell.
Every detail, every breath, every thought that passed through her during that nightmare spilled out into the air between us.
Her voice only cracked once—
When she described the moment Sona collapsed.
And that was enough to make a quiet rage tighten my chest.
When she finished, I let out a slow, controlled exhale.
"So… a fallen angel and a crazy exorcist…" I muttered, rubbing my temples.
"What a great combination. Lucky us."
I forced a small, tired smile for her sake.
"It's alright. He's not going to touch you again. Any of you."
But something was still wrong.
The room felt heavier—thicker—than simple exhaustion or shock could explain.
Asia's hands shook violently in her lap.
Irina was clutching her clothes like she needed something physical to hold herself together.
Xenovia looked like she'd just had her faith ripped out of her chest and didn't know how to breathe without it.
I crouched beside them, brow furrowed.
"Hey… what's wrong? You're safe now. I won't let something like this happen again. I swear it."
Irina bit her lip so hard I thought she'd draw blood.
Her voice broke as she whispered:
"It's… not that, Zevion… It's something else entirely."
Her throat bobbed with a shaky swallow.
"Apparently… God is dead."
Her voice cracked.
"The one we believe in… the one we prayed to our whole lives… He's really dead."
Xenovia's breath hitched.
Asia's eyes overflowed instantly, tears falling with no restraint.
And for a split second, my brain simply went—
Oh… so it wasn't God screwing with me this whole time…?
Good to know—
WAIT. If God didn't screw me over… then… WAS ALL OF IT MY FAULT?!
I stared at the floor for a moment, trying to recover from the emotional sucker punch.
Then I spoke gently.
"Hey now… come on. You don't have to believe what an enemy says. Kokabiel isn't exactly the poster child of honesty."
But before my words even finished leaving my mouth…
Serafall spoke.
"No. He wasn't lying."
Her voice, weak but sharp, cut through the air like a blade of ice.
The room fell silent.
She looked exhausted—eyes red from crying, posture slumped, one hand still wrapped around Sona's.
But her voice carried the weight of authority no one could ignore.
"It's the truth," she whispered, each word trembling.
"God died during the last war against the original Four Demon Lords."
My breath caught.
She continued.
"Michael has been running Heaven ever since—maintaining the system God left behind, trying to keep things stable. We kept it a secret. If the other pantheons found out Heaven was weakened, they would attack. Only the leaders of each race were supposed to know."
Asia's hands shook even harder.
Irina's breathing turned uneven.
Xenovia's eyes widened with absolute devastation.
I dragged a hand through my hair.
"Alright… I think you all have a massive misunderstanding."
Every head turned toward me.
Even Serafall—powerful, heartbroken Serafall—looked at me like she had no idea what I was about to say.
Asia sniffled.
"What… do you mean, Zevion?"
I took a moment, pulling my thoughts together.
What I was about to say wasn't a fact.
It wasn't something I knew.
It wasn't even something I was sure I believed.
But logic—pure logic—pushed the words to the tip of my tongue.
"I don't think God is dead," I said quietly.
Then I added:
"Or at least… not permanently."
The room went dead silent.
Serafall frowned.
"That's impossible. The leaders confirmed it. There was no doubt."
"I'm not saying they're wrong," I said.
"But I am saying they might be misunderstanding what 'death' means for a being on God's level."
Asia blinked, confused but listening.
I folded my arms.
"Think logically. In Christian mythology, He isn't some minor deity. He's the 'One True God.' A being who governs divine authority, life, death, souls, miracles—literally everything."
I gestured around the room.
"Yet the systems He created still function. Prayers still work. Holy power still exists. Sacred gears still operate. Blessings still respond."
Their eyes widened.
"If He truly died the way mortals die, everything tied to His authority should have collapsed instantly."
I paused.
"But it didn't."
Serafall opened her mouth—then closed it, stunned.
"So what happened," I continued, "wasn't true death. It was… collapse."
Irina whispered:
"Collapse…?"
"More like a coma," I clarified.
"A god slipping into a deep, powerless state. Too damaged to act or speak or manifest—but not erased from existence. Not gone."
Asia's breath caught.
Xenovia leaned forward unconsciously.
"And as long as prayers and faith still flow into Heaven," I said gently, "His divine presence is… slowly recovering. Bit by bit."
Serafall's eyebrows shot upward.
"That's… actually plausible," she admitted quietly.
I lifted a finger.
"And ask yourselves this—why do evil gods revive so often? Why does a forgotten cult revive a deity no one should've been able to resurrect? Because gods don't die for real. Not easily."
I shrugged.
"They weaken until they can't remain in our reality. That's all."
Irina covered her mouth, tears gathering again—but these were different.
Relieved tears.
Xenovia's shoulders shook with a ragged exhale.
Asia trembled, hope flooding back into her expression.
"So…" Xenovia whispered, "He might still… exist… somewhere?"
"He will," I said with more confidence than I felt.
"Unless He was killed by god-slayer energy—something made specifically to permanently erase deities—He'll recover eventually. It might take centuries. Maybe millennia. But recovery is recovery."
The three girls stared at me.
Then—slowly—they clasped their hands together and bowed their heads.Tears rolled down their cheeks as they prayed—not out of fear this time, but out of hope.
Real hope.
Serafall stared at me like she had never seen me before.
"…How do you even know all that?" she finally asked, stunned.
I blinked.
"When did I say I knew anything?"
She froze.
"But—you just explained—"
I shrugged.
"It's my theory. Just a chain of logic. But if evil gods can revive from cult worship, why can't a good god revive from global faith? He just needs time. A long rest, that's all."
Serafall's jaw hung open.
She looked stunned… then confused… then slightly offended… and finally—
Weirdly impressed.
I smirked.
Sometimes, the best way to heal a broken belief… is to give them one that makes even more sense.
After all, I have practiced theological debates in my past life in case I start my own church arc.
Still, I guess it has its own advantages even in this kind of world?
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