I don't know how long had passed, but sunlight spilled over Su Yu's face. The warmth made her stir, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"Hey… wasn't I just struck dead by lightning?" Su Yu murmured in a daze.
The moment she heard her own soft, childish voice, she snapped fully awake.
"Wait—this isn't my voice?!" she exclaimed in shock.
She lifted her small, pale hands into view. A dreadful thought struck her, sending a cold sweat down her back. Hastily, Su Yu glanced down at herself—completely forgetting to mention that she was stark naked.
"Ahhh!" A piercing, adorable scream rang out from beneath the World Tree. If some shady middle-aged man were around to hear it, he'd probably mutter, "What a perfect voice… must be the cutest loli alive." And then, without hesitation: "Don't worry, little one! Uncle's coming to save you!"
Of course, there were no such "uncles" in this newborn world—no humans at all, for that matter. And no, Su Yu wasn't an animal. She was Fantasy—a god. Animals didn't count in that category.
Still trembling, she muttered over and over, "No, no, no… how could this happen?!" She ran to the base of the World Tree, grabbed a branch, and began drawing circles on the ground in hopeless frustration.
Time passed—how much, she couldn't tell.
Finally, she let out a resigned sigh. "Ugh… fine. Better to transform than to die."
Her mood improved—just a little. "So, where is this place? Is it… the legendary 'other world'? It has to be! Hahahaha! To survive a disaster is a blessing in disguise. Now, I'll rise to greatness here! Lolis, elder sisters—wait for me!"
In her excitement, she completely forgot the fact that she was now a loli.
"Sister Fantasy, what are you doing?"
A soft voice floated from behind.
"Who's there?" Su Yu spun around—only to see another natural-born loli standing there.
"I'm Gaia, the will of the earth," the girl said brightly. "Sister Fantasy, you've finally been born! Now we can team up to deal with Alaya in the future." Her voice was full of relief—no more being bullied by Alaya!
"Fantasy? Who's that supposed to be?" Su Yu asked in confusion.
"You are," Gaia replied, tilting her head. "The Third Inhibitor, Fantasy. You seem… a little different from when you were first born."
Su Yu wasn't even listening—her loli-loving heart was exploding. So cute! So cute! I want to take her home and raise her forever!
"Maybe it's because of the fusion of human soul fragments," came a tsundere-sounding voice from above.
Su Yu looked up—and the very first thing she saw was… bloomers. The dreaded, most evil bloomers. Her excitement fizzled instantly. Shifting her gaze higher, she saw the source: a petite 13-meter-tall gothic lolita.
"Damn," Su Yu muttered under her breath.
"Alaya, you're saying there's a human soul here? But how could that be?" Gaia asked, puzzled.
"I'm not certain," Alaya replied seriously. "But as the collective consciousness of human will, I can sense that a human soul has fused into Sister Fantasy's consciousness. To protect the soul's memory from being erased by the vast source memory, the body has sealed the source at the root. We only need to unlock that seal."
The words sounded serious, but from a 13-meter-tall loli, the effect was more "pretending to be a grown-up"—adorable.
"Oh, I don't get all that," Gaia admitted. "But if it just means opening a seal, let's do it!" She eagerly ran to Alaya to discuss the process.
"Uh—excuse me?" Su Yu interrupted.
"What is it, Sister Fantasy?" they both asked at once.
"If you open that seal… what happens to my memory?"
"It'll be erased completely," Alaya answered without hesitation.
"Then don't open it!" Su Yu blurted out. "I've already been reborn once. Sure, the transformation's a bit of a scam, but I'm alive! If I lose my memories, it's no different from dying again. Absolutely not!"
"Why?" Alaya asked, baffled.
"Because I don't want to forget," Su Yu replied simply.
"…I see. It's not impossible to leave it closed, but without opening it, you won't be able to freely use divine power or the laws of reality."
"Fine, then I won't use them," Su Yu said quickly, relieved.
"It's not all-or-nothing," Alaya continued thoughtfully. "We could partially open it—just enough to access your body's instinct."
"My… body's instinct?" Su Yu repeated, confused.
"Yes. The instinct of Fantasy is… fantasy itself. It divides into Fantasy Manifestation—where you bring to life what you imagine, within your power—and Fantasy Imitation—where you recreate imagined characters and use their abilities. If your power surpasses theirs, your version will be even stronger."
"Amazing!" Su Yu's eyes lit up. With that power, I can sweep across the universe… and build my three-thousand-girl harem! She had, of course, completely forgotten she was now a little loli.
"Alright," Alaya said, "I'll help you unlock part of the seal now."
She waved her hand, and a massive flood of information crashed into Su Yu's mind. Su Yu's vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground.
Alaya placed her gently on the white jade stone before running off to play with Gaia.
…The girl lay unconscious…