Luo Shu's loyal God's Servant remained silent, but within his eyes, a scene slowly unfolded.
It depicted a breathtakingly beautiful and sacred silver-haired woman standing in mid-air, dressed in pure white garments resembling a wedding gown.
She hovered in the sky, gazing down at the earth with innocent, naive eyes.
On the ground below, Luo Shu could vaguely make out several figures looking up at this angelic woman.
'Is this... the Spirit of Origin? The moment the Spirit of Origin Mio Takamiya was born?'
Luo Shu vaguely recognised the scene's origin, recalling the Spirit of Origin Mio Takamiya, who was the source of Kurumi's power.
Then in the next instant, the scene changed.
An all-consuming darkness emerged from nowhere, crashing directly into the Spirit of Origin. Amidst the girl's piercing shrieks, it completely devoured her.
In that final moment before being fully consumed, the Spirit of Origin mustered her last strength to send ten beams of light fleeing from the darkness.
Then the scene shifted again.
This time, Luo Shu saw the interior of his Divine Kingdom's Astronomy Club.
He noticed another space had appeared within the previously blank white dome.
Within that space, the Spirit of Origin hung suspended in mid-air, her head drooping, bound by infinite white chains.
[Host, were you asking about this naturally-born deity we accidentally captured?]
Luo Shu's immediate reaction was: "???"
'Startled upright from death's door - the mastermind turns out to be me?!'
'So the Spirit of Origin has been imprisoned in my home all along?'
'Wait, judging from that earlier scene, she was captured the moment she was born, this...'
For a moment, Luo Shu was at a loss for words.
From what he understood, after the Spirit of Origin was born, she accidentally appeared in Japan and was adopted by the Takamiya siblings, thus gaining the name Mio Takamiya. This led to the beginning of all the stories about Spirits in that world.
But now, the Spirit of Origin was imprisoned within his Divine Kingdom, brought to this world by him, never encountering the Takamiya siblings, and without even having her own name.
Well, Luo Shu had completely lost trust in the information he originally knew.
In this situation, who the hell knew what would happen?!
'System, you're just keeping her locked up like this?'
[Host, if you wish to release this natural-born deity, please use the corresponding permissions after advancing to Demigod status.]
[If not yet a Demigod, releasing this juvenile natural-born deity is not recommended to prevent life-threatening risks to the host.]
Hearing this, Luo Shu's lips twitched slightly, but he said nothing. He somewhat wanted to say that Mio Takamiya was a kind-hearted child who posed no danger.
But looking at Mio Takamiya hanging in the Divine Kingdom like cured meat, Luo Shu couldn't bring himself to say such words.
Who knew if she'd slaughter him, her captor, upon release?
So, for now, better keep her locked up.
'So, the reason Kurumi Tokisaki feels fear towards you is...'
[The Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System will autonomously capture any being within the host's planet that reaches the divine realm to replenish its own deficiencies.]
[Spirit Kurumi Tokisaki, due to the nature of her abilities originating from the imprisoned individual, instinctively experiences fear when confronted with the System's direct power. This is a normal phenomenon.]
[However, the God's Servant still recommends reclaiming the Ten Sefirot of Kabbalah to enhance the foundational power of the Divine Kingdom.]
'I see.'
Luo Shu couldn't help but cover his face with his hands, then peeked through his fingers at Kurumi Tokisaki, who was staring at him. After hesitating, he decided to ask directly:
"Kurumi, what's your dream?"
"??"
Kurumi Tokisaki widened her eyes, looking at Luo Shu with an expression of disbelief.
But this reaction lasted only a moment before her face quickly returned to its ladylike smile:
"So Luo Shu-san is also a pure-hearted youth with dreams."
"A hero of justice?" Luo Shu ventured.
Kurumi's expression stiffened slightly, though her smile remained unchanged:
"How mean, joking at a time like this."
"Then... saving the world?" Luo Shu tried again.
Kurumi's composure faltered slightly as she couldn't help but ask:
"I've been meaning to ask—does Luo Shu-kun know me well?"
Luo Shu shook his head. "No, just heard some things through certain channels."
He paused, then continued:
"For example, covering one eye with an eyepatch, believing it seals some terrifying power..."
"Alright, stop. Don't say any more."
Kurumi's face flushed red as she glared at Luo Shu in mild irritation, stomping her feet repeatedly:
"How do you know about these things... An Abyss Artefact? Or some other ability?"
Watching Kurumi's complete loss of composure, Luo Shu said quietly:
"Kurumi-san, you wouldn't want others to know about your chuunibyou phase, would you?"
Kurumi was instantly speechless.
Her eyes widened as she stared fixedly at Luo Shu, her breathing alternating between rapid and calm. Finally, she exhaled slowly:
"What exactly do you want?"
"I want to know what your dream is?" Luo Shu said with utmost sincerity. "I need to verify the authenticity of certain intelligence."
"Hah?" Kurumi Tokisaki stared at him with mismatched eyes, her expression full of disdain.
How could her dream be related to some intelligence?
Wait... could it be that Luo Shu had obtained information about her through some channel, and that intelligence contained details like her dreams? Was he now testing the accuracy of that information?
Harbouring such suspicions, Kurumi Tokisaki opened her mouth hesitantly, then paused before speaking:
"I want to go back thirty years..."
Hearing this, Luo Shu couldn't help but interject to probe her reaction:
"Go back thirty years to change the tragedy caused by the birth of the Spirit of Origin?"
"What Spirit of Origin?" Kurumi Tokisaki looked utterly confused. "I just wanted to go back thirty years to see what changed this world. What's this about a Spirit of Origin?"
Luo Shu's instincts told him Kurumi wasn't lying, though she was likely omitting key details.
Judging by her answer and personality, connecting the dots suggested that Kurumi wanted to return thirty years ago to potentially prevent the initial Abyss Descent incident.
After all, the mystic side generally agreed that the Abyss Descent began thirty years ago.
'So this girl was still thinking about saving the world?'
This realisation made Luo Shu feel somewhat exasperated.
From what he knew, in her original world, Kurumi Tokisaki had wanted to alter the tragedies caused by the Spirit of Origin's birth, hence her plan to accumulate vast amounts of time to travel back using her time-based abilities.
Now, while still focused on returning to the past, her goal had shifted to preventing the first Abyss Descent.
Muttering to himself, Luo Shu said:
"Still a justice-seeking world-saver, but the premise has changed, huh?"
Hearing this, Kurumi's face cycled through pale and flushed shades before settling on deep crimson.
"As expected, Luo Shu-san will never be liked by women. Never, ever!"
The thoroughly provoked Miss Tokisaki delivered her most venomous curse through gritted teeth and a forced smile.