Pov: General
In a city within America, located within a neighborhood, inside a house on a couch could be seen a small boy no more than 2 years old in profound sleep, the child was particularly beautiful but not enough to be a supermodel.
It would be an adorable, reassuring, hopeful glimpse, and even more so considering the situation happening in the outside world due to the war, if it weren't for what's going on in the boy's mind at that moment.
Naturally, this boy is our protagonist, and if you're wondering what's happening, the answer is simple: after he accepted the system's proposal, the system submerged him into his "mental realm."
Inside its realm, the protagonist is currently doubting his previous knowledge of the novel "Lord of Mysteries." After all, what appears before him is not what he had found on his own while reading the original lore
After all, what lies in front of him where ALL the paths to "Godhood", not the "Old One's" and why doesn't he ask his system? Simple: despite being in a relationship with it, he still doesn't trust it a little bit
To be exact, if a rapist came in at that moment and told him he wouldn't do anything to him, he'd believe the rapist more than the system (and he obviously wouldn't believe the rapist).
But unfortunately, eventually his own doubts won out over his instincts (despite being pure paranoia), so unfortunately for him, he'd be forced to ask his system for the information he never wanted to ask.
"system"
★ "Tell me"
"Why in the name of Hel all the "paths to Godhood" in the novel appear, but not the paths of the complete "Old One's"?"
★ "As I told you before, I was paid to bring the "Lord of Mysteries" universe into this universe."
"I'm clear on that."
★ "So why are you asking?"
".... Let me rephrase the question: Could you tell me why the hell the path of "Mother Goddess of Depravity" is fractured with that of the "Goddess of Origin?"
It wasn't supposed to be that you were "paid" to bring that complete universe into this one?"
★ "And I bring it complete, except I brought the version they asked for, not the main version where all the paths were limited by those of the "old ones."
And before you ask, yes, I could bring them that way."
".... But you didn't do it because...."
★ "They don't pay me enough for that."
".... Of course, your pay... That's the biggest piece of shitty excuse I've ever heard in my life."
★ "Well... it's not my fault that you were raised to apologize for receiving money for what you work for, or better yet, to apologize directly for not being able to work for free."
".... I'll make you pay for this later."
★ "You're free to try."
After that talk with the system, and the protagonist realizing that it would be easier than he thought to control the system, he finally decided on the "path to Godhood" to bring first to this universe
"System, let's start with the path of the "Goddess of Origin" is the perfect fit for the current world situation.
★ "Are you sure about that? We're practically at the beginning of a world war. I think there's a better path for that."
"I know that too, and as such, you'd be right if it weren't for one detail. The path to Godhood in "Calamity of Destruction" is fast, but it would lack faith in this world.
While the path to Godhood in "Goddess of Origin" could literally be worshipped by the entire universe and they'd be right in some form"
★ "I have to agree you have a good point there. I'm surprised you think so long-term."
"Naturally, we're talking about my future universe after all.
Now, what do I have to do for her to come to this universe?"
★ "Nothing else. I'll take care of it from here."
"So what are you going to do?"
★ "To be exact, I plan to create an avatar with a mind of its own from the "Mother Pathway" and the "Moon Pathway."
Then, once they're in "sequence 0" I plan to fuse them together, so I can finish this job quickly."
"That... is that possible? Won't they interfere with each other? After all, they both have very similar "Godhood" "
★ "It's not my problem. I'm not the one controlling those avatars."
"Aren't you supposed to create them? You won't even be in charge of that?"
★ "I don't get paid enough for the burden."
"...."
And once again, the protagonist realized that he had more freedom to act than he thought. After all, if he understood correctly, the system was only paid for the merging of both universes, nothing else.
"In that case, will the avatars have false memories? And if so, can I create them?"
★ "Meh, do whatever you want, even change gender if you want, I'm only interested in filing my report and collecting my payment"
After the protagonist heard this, a smile formed on the his face. After all, he officially had a way of controlling the situation in his favor. And not only that, but he could even create as many plans as he wanted to avoid the worst outcome possible (again, pure paranoia of the protagonist).
He was so happy that he couldn't help but think out loud:
"¡This is better than what you told me it would be!"
★ "That's something only an Asian like you would say. I just see it as overtime work that didn't pay off."
Only to once again get mad about his system's way of thinking.
Pov: "Mother Pathway"
When Elena was born, the wind blew with an almost symbolic fury, as if the world sensed from her first breath that that little girl's life would be marked by tragedy.
Her mother, a woman with trembling hands and a dull gaze, was barely able to hold her before the fever consumed her completely, leaving Elena orphaned by a love she would never know.
Her father, a fisherman who spent more time fighting than within the walls of his home, was deeply broken by the loss.
However, life on the coast does not stop for the sadness of a single man.
One night, when she was barely six years old, her father didn't return. The storm had been relentless, and the sea never returns what it decides to claim.
The little girl was taken to live with an aunt who never wanted to be a surrogate mother.
Her house was full of clocks that seemed to mark the passage of time with more cruelty than precision, and with each tick, Elena learned that there were absences more painful than death.
The aunt wasn't violent, but her indifference was a cold, impenetrable wall against which the girl grew up learning to be silent, not to ask, to exist just long enough to avoid disturbing others.
She spent her afternoons sitting in front of the window, watching the days go by without anything changing, so much so that sometimes she thought she heard the sea in the distance, calling her, reminding her that it all began there and would end there too.
As she grew older, she discovered she carried a void inside that she didn't know how to fill, so she tried to do so with books, with music, with fleeting friendships, but nothing could calm that feeling of always being one step behind the rest of the world
Her aunt died when Elena was sixteen, leaving her a house full of clocks that no longer had anyone to keep time, leaving her truly alone for the first time.
The loneliness was so desperate that she decided to look for answers in the place where it all began: the sea.
She returned to the port, hoping to find some clue, some memory, some comfort in the salty smell and the creaking of the boats.
But the sea remained the same: immense, unfathomable, indifferent, and worst of all, eternally cold
Sitting on the dock, Elena realized she'd been waiting her whole life for someone to come and save her, when in reality she only had her own trembling hands to hold on to
But how could she do it? She asked, since her entire life she'd been eternally alone, deciding to spend the day alone in that area until she found the answer.
But nothing ever happened, and so it ended with more than a day, then a week, then a month, then a year, eating when she was hungry, drinking when she was thirsty.
Years passed, and Elena was already an adult, and despite everything, she still felt empty.
What was missing? What was making her feel empty? Why couldn't she be loved only once?
These were the questions that tormented her until that moment, causing her to end her life
She trough that finally she could fell free, when suddenly, she felt as if her soul had arrived to a place withow form, she saw an eternal void, and she was in nothingness for a while, until suddenly
"Poor little soul,"
She heard a voice from all around her, sounding with deep sorrow and sadness.
"A hollow soul like you, longing to know love, but never being able to find it,"
continued the voice, while Elena felt her head gently stroked, feeling peace for the first time in her life.
"Don't worry, my child. Now you can feel all the love you want. You can be surrounded forever by those who will love you so much that you will never feel your emptiness again."
The voice said before removing its hand from her head, transmitting knowledge she had never had before. After analyzing it, she finally understood what the voice was referring to, as well as how she could find the love she desired.
"Go, little one, grow up in this new world, become a mother to all, and give all the love you want, since that will be what you will have left over a the end of the "Mother Pathway" "