When Death finally decided to throw hands and restarted the timeline, he made the point of divergence for Ars Goetia’s Third Timeline occur in the year 1596 Central Calendar, specifically the first attempt by Roderick and Meteora Roguerider to sire an offspring shortly after their marriage. Unlike the barren first four years of the First and Second Timelines, their blessed fertility in this timeline mirrored Astarte’s favor itself, resulting in a surprising brood by Meteos’ canonical birthday. This time, the once sole child of the couple became the youngest of five siblings, basking in the loving gazes of his four elder brothers and one sister. This newfound abundance of luck, coupled with the choices made by the Four Horsemen, Kagaseo, and others as they walked the world, transformed the Holy Milishial Empire of 1615 into a world so starkly different from where the Second Timeline left off.

Naturally, technology is among the first things that Meteos noticed. The accelerated discovery of the Ancient Sorcerous Empire’s ruins, the reverse engineering of relics, and the invention of innovative technologies all uplifted the country’s capabilities immensely. Even though the Holy Milishial Empire is still overall weaker than the true strongest country of Ars Goetia, the Annonrial Empire, it cemented itself as a country more powerful than anyone else on the planet, known world and beyond, and its ascent shows no signs of slowing.

Now… where to start?

In the Third Timeline, the Roguerider family’s firstborn Adonis actively ‘encourages’ his parents resulting in Roderick and Meteora venturing to the Imperial Capital years ago and establishing the Roguerider Foundation, an upstart that, in a manner similar to the Legendorga family’s renowned Aikon Corporation, ascended with meteoric speed to become a formidable force within the Holy Milishial Empire’s business landscape. Obviously the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse actively used trickery to get the job done, duh, what do you even expect from a primordial being that even gods fear? It’s only because of his own agendas that he deliberately kept the intervention at a bare minimum. Because this world is, after all, Kagaseo and Meteos Roguerider’s stage.

In any case, Adonis shone so much as a young prodigy that his brilliance caught the Order of the Ancients’ attention, and his secret agendas aside, the firstborn thus used their coveted backing to secure Roderick one of the Holy Empire’s most prestigious conglomerates, boasting a diverse portfolio encompassing a wide variety from household goods and food to even cutting-edge magical technology that everyone would drool upon. For Meteos, someone who had never really specialized in navigating the choppy waters of commerce, this effortless platform to launch his dreams of a triumphant Holy Empire felt almost surreal, a privilege requiring a hesitant pause to fully embrace soon after regaining his consciousness in this world.

Peeking into this timeline’s memories, Meteos was relieved to see a life where ambition danced with contentment and was free from unnecessary conflict. It was almost a life too perfect, yet Meteos held it close as a defiant rebuttal to the naysayers who choked on cynicism. Their scathing pronouncements of what was “realistic” were but the whimpers of those too timid to chase even the faintest flicker of Hope.

However, armed with the understanding that not everyone is born lucky – some even struggling for the bare right to exist – the Roguerider Foundation is also known for using its wealth in philanthropic endeavors and a force to be reckoned with in terms of uplifting society, really like a rogue defiantly riding against the harsh streams of reality, opposition be damned.

Roguerider.

Truly, a meaningful name.

❖⟐❖⟐❖

August 15, 1615 Central Calendar, 10:14

Leiden, Enysfal Province, Holy Milishial Empire

Despite the bustling life they led in Runepolis, Roderick and Meteora never forgot their initial years of wedded bliss in Leiden. Both amnesiac and devoid of memories of their true hometown, Leiden became the anchor of their love story. It was the place where their dreams first intertwined as they sought a sanctuary in the vast unknown of their past. As the Roguerider family expanded, returning to Leiden during Meteora’s pregnancies became some sort of tradition. The colorful tourist town held a special place in their hearts, and it was only fitting that their children, each a testament to their enduring love, were brought into the world amidst the comforting embrace of Leiden. This is why the younger siblings of Adonis all took their first breaths in the same town where their parents’ love story had unfolded.

The magenta-painted building that one Meteos Roguerider had known as his home is now the family’s summer villa in this new timeline, looking refurbished with added spaces that made it larger than its First and Second Timeline counterparts.

After giving the mangoes they bought earlier to the also expanded staff and stopping by Meteora’s room to check on her, pregnant and lovely as he remembered, Meteos and Ace decided to go somewhere to perhaps lie down and ponder about things when they ran into Adonis, a tower of short silver hair a head above the now youngest son. Clad in a simple red tee slashed by a stark black band offset to the side and dark brown cargo pants, this firm but affable new older sibling gazed at Meteos’ eyes with a barely noticeable knowing quirk on his lips. He could sense the weight of something unspoken lingering around his youngest brother.

“Hello, Ace and Meteos,” he greeted warmly. “How’s life treating you so far?”

“Life’s… treating us well, Brother Adonis,” Meteos replied with an undercurrent of apprehension. Ace echoed the sentiment with a more relaxed, but still hesitant look. “Just a bit… much, to be honest.”

The former glanced pointedly at their surroundings, the bustling villa teeming with staff and distant chatter filtering through the air.

“Somewhere private, then?” Adonis offered, a knowing glint in his blue eyes. “Let’s take this to my private study if you wish.”

Accepting his offer, the three siblings thus traversed the villa to reach a room next to the library. Barely containing his burgeoning impatience, Meteos grumbled under his breath, “‘Private study,’ he says. I gotta get one of those.”

“Turn seventeen first, Meteos.”

Hearing Death itself to be this friendly, Meteos felt shivers running down his spine until he realized that even in lore among civilizations, the concept of death is not always something to be feared.

…………

The first thing that Adonis did as soon as they arrived at the office room was to reach underneath his desk and place four boxes with black lids—two yellow with exclamation marks on the lid, one white with a red fox insignia, and one navy-blue with a blue horned crocodile insignia—on top, gesturing to Ace and Meteos to open them.

“Please take these as gifts for arriving in this world.”

A curious flicker danced in Meteos’ eyes as Adonis’ clear offer hung in the air, and he couldn’t help but cast a quick glance towards the door behind them and the glowing rectangular screen beside it. Among other protective measures, apparently this office is also a soundproofed room thanks to an array of magic circuits controlled by a G3 Manadriver tech, ensuring that no sound will leak outside. It is certainly a boost to one’s confidence to be so boldly talking about otherworldly matters like this.

Knowing very well what items are stored inside the boxes, Ace shook his head. “These will be a real game breaker for this world.”

“Yes, I brought them along to this timeline. Consider this an apology from me for intruding into Meteos’ world and interrupting your work, Amatsu-Mikaboshi. This is the least I can do.”

“You know… if you really an extremely powerful entity, why not remake the timeline into a utopia instead?” Meteos wondered.

Instead of getting offended, Adonis chuckled at the daring question. “Because that is not my purpose. Pestilence intends to bring happiness to all creation by getting rid of evil, while I opted to encourage beings to seek their happiness by themselves. However… what we lack is the thought to care for the beings who will be involved in our arguments. We were conceited, and it resulted in mishaps. This time, I convinced my siblings to start over and live in this world to find out what future of this world will unfold in the hands of its denizens. Meteos, would you prefer your ideal world handed over to you instead of achieving it by your own hands?”

The memories from this timeline showed the younger Meteos fiddling with magical technology as well, but this time it’s done with active encouragement from his equally brilliant siblings and even greater support from his environment.

“No… I don’t think I will… I always thought that it was my desire to defy fate and shape the future with these hands that allowed my reincarnation in this world…”

Adonis nodded in satisfaction. “Don’t worry, happiness will not be rationed nor limited. The only limit is the length of your wishes will carry you. I want to observe that and learn to care. That is the world you live in, so make sure you find and create happiness.”

“If that’s the case… very well, then.”

On the other hand, a mixture of frustration etched across Ace’s face. “And what about me? You would think my actions as a mistake?”

“No,” Adonis shook his head and spoke plainly. “It is I who made a mistake, and you were dragged by it as a result because I wasn’t caring enough to better prepare you.”

“You know, to be honest I don’t like the very drastic changes that you made. It’s all too sudden even for me,” Ace grumbled, feeling at a loss as to how to handle Death in front of him.

“Oh, for a god hated by all, you would rather sacrifice your happiness for a ‘well-written plot,’ or ‘well-written and engaging struggle and adventure,’ is that what you want? Amatsu-Mikaboshi? I didn’t expect you to actually care about what the Audience of the Civilization Annihilation Game thinks of you.”

“What!? No…! They can go to oblivion for all I care! It’s all their fault that everything…! Everything—grr…! Dammit!”

Having his grievances countered by a sarcastic jab, Ace glowered before settling for an irritated grumble.

“As the first and the only god so far to actually defy the Civilization Annihilation Game, I think it will be a shame for you to die in your rebellion because you weren’t prepared enough,” Adonis continued with a more pointed tone.

Meteos was taken aback. “The first? Wouldn’t other decent gods out there become appalled at the Civilization Annihilation Game too?”

“Sure, but that’s all to it. All talk. In addition, they looked down on Amatsu-Mikaboshi here because one, he’s a foreigner to their worlds, and two, they think what he was doing is incredibly dumb. They are content with sitting back and waiting, doing nothing but throwing meaningless insults until the Civilization Annihilation Game finally comes to them and by then, they will be guaranteed to perish. Their choices made them no better than those who are addicted, and I don’t like it because it will reinforce Pestilence’s views. ‘Unhinged gods make unhinged creations.’ Shame.”

“But I did find allies!” Ace argued heatedly. “Ashir and Mirook of Yggdra, what happened to them?”

“They were rescued and received the same treatment as you. On the day of Priest-King Lapis’ first prophecy, an event will occur where they descend to the world as mortal avatars armed with future knowledge and help him in their struggle against the invading Gra Valkas Empire. It will be a miracle. However, ultimately the Kain Divine Kingdom’s happiness will be decided by their own choices, not the deities,” Adonis explained.

“Tch…”

“So, the Game occurs on their homeworld too…?”

Ace took a moment of thought, letting the news sink in before answering Meteos’ question. “Yes, the Game did occur on Yggdra as well. It was originally a relatively peaceful world under Ashir and Mirook, their Man and Woman of the Beginning, as the only gods ruling it. But everything went to shit the moment a serpent Gamer named Noluthe came.”

He continued, his expression grim. “Noluthe is an entity specializing in deception, so he unleashed chaos and manipulated various factions, sowing discord and strife until the contemporary history of Yggdra knows nothing but war. It was amidst these times that the Gra Valkas Empire was born. At present, Noluthe is known as the god worshipped by the Gra Valkans, and they are engaged in what is basically a disguised religious war against each other to take over the world. That is the reason why the Gra Valkas Empire was summoned in your First Timeline, because Noluthe heard what Shamash was doing and wanted to play in her game because he thought it would be interesting.”

“He thought it interesting to have the civilization of his choice be trounced by the enemy?”

“That was the point. Even if the Gra Valkans somehow unite Yggdra, Noluthe will make them destroy themselves from within anyway, because it’s the Gra Valkans’ own suffering that he used to score points in the Game.”

It was the opposite kind of playstyle from Shamash, who wanted her chosen champion, a nation that adopted a pacifistic stance, to turn 180 degrees in attitude and slaughter its enemies with impunity to become the only country glorious. Because the Civilization Annihilation Game only counts the amount of mortal suffering generated in its scoreboard, any method is valid as long as the Gamer can compete. In fact, these various ways of playing are also the Game’s selling points, with Gamers perfecting their playstyle to garner the Audience’s vote.

“I see.”

“Ironically, by removing Noluthe’s chosen champion, Yggdra will be safe and become a more pleasant place to live because the Gamer’s attention is directed somewhere else. Unfortunately, Meteos, that place is your planet. You, your country, and Amatsu-Mikaboshi are kindred spirits, in that everyone else in the higher dimension despised you for simply existing. Meteos, there’s this one Audience member who said that they never liked the Holy Empire and cheered when the Grade Atlastar shot down your friend Walman’s Pal Chimera, when it was clear which one was openly aggressive and genocidal and the other was just ignorant. If you want to know more about them, your brother Legiel is available.”

The boy’s face contorted in grimace. “That was still unpleasant to think about…”

“Stop it,” Ace warned, his guilt resurfaced for doing the exact same thing once.

“…No, it’s okay. It’s just the outsiders’ hatred of us in another form. I can take it.”

The fifty years of a human’s life is but a fleeting dream to those in the heavens. It’s practically only half a person’s lifespan nowadays. As Meteos pondered about it, who would want to spend their lives with so much negativity?

Seeing his youngest brother’s decision, Adonis steepled his fingers with a gleam in his eyes.

“Their thoughts are indeed irrelevant in your pursuit of happiness. But knowing that, it will be more satisfying if you can live happily in the face of what those higher beings think, don’t you? Now that’s what one would call defying fate,” he nodded, gesturing to the boxes again. “Now, while I’m happy to have a peaceful talk with you… we’re getting off tangent long enough. Open the boxes.”

Deciding that his frustration was getting him nowhere, Ace let out a very weary sigh and reached for his box first. With a flick of his wrist, he slid the latch of the white-colored one, revealing a set of two items sitting on top of a dark gray foam. Immediately, his gaze lost its earlier bite as he lifted the larger item out of the box.

“Yep. It’s a Desire Driver and the Core ID,” Ace commented. Opening one of the yellow boxes, he found the revolver-powered Magnum Raise Buckle. To his side, Meteos also received a Driver and the Zombie Raise Buckle, the equipment that had saved him from godlike entities two times already. However, seeing that the box lacked a Core ID, Meteos rummaged through his pocket to pull Rogue’s crocodile-themed personal terminals. When he woke up in this timeline, it was with him for some reason.

“These are functional… right?” glancing back at Adonis, Meteos confirmed that these were real.

His question was answered mere moments later when they inserted their Core IDs into the dedicated socket on the Desire Driver and the announcement came on.

ENTRY

“…Hmm, I really want this to be real…”

Adonis shrugged as he gestured.

“Why would I give you a set of mere toys?” he quipped. “Even if you don’t use it to transform and defend yourself from something, I reckon that there are so many miracles that you can do with that technology alone.”

“Yes, I would like that…” Meteos nodded in realization.

Among the many results of the decisions that shaped history, there is a timeline which these devices hail from. In a very distant future world, humanity’s technology allows them to transcend the flesh and become digital lifeforms living in the vastness of outer space. They are able to design their world to their hearts’ content: personality, appearance, family, loves, occupations… their lives pan out like a blueprint put together. Even their lifespans are pre-determined, so death is no longer treated with weight. Unfortunately, this made them VERY vulnerable to the Civilization Annihilation Game and as a result their civilization basically committed suicide the moment they chose to watch the Game, despite fully knowing how morally bankrupt the premise was.

The Desire Driver and its related technologies were designed for a specific form of entertainment that never materialized due to that world killed itself after choosing to support the Civilization Annihilation Game, representing a less-advanced piece of technology compared to other products of its era. Nevertheless, it just outperforms anything currently developed, being superior to all that has been, is, and will be created in Ars Goetia. Since it runs on water (or moisture), when not used to power their armors and fight someone or something, the Desire Driver is essentially an extremely powerful hydrogen engine that runs at 96% efficiency, fits in the palm of one’s hand, and has none of the drawbacks associated with hydrogen fuel. If rewired properly, it could be a different kind of driver for highly efficient renewable energy, and combined with the capabilities of the G4 Manadriver, naturally Meteos would covet such a technology to make the more complex engineering plans easier.

Whenever he managed to invent something and that invention was used to great effect, he remembered feeling like the happiest kid in the world. Advancing his country’s civilization not necessarily for the purpose of surviving against the Light-Winged People or the summoned countries, but because seeing the people using his inventions brought him a sense of contentment and pride. This must be happiness that his heart desired deep down. But desires… those are dangerous on their own and must be tempered with compassion for them to be truly beneficial to not only oneself but others.

“Thank you… Brother Ace, Brother Adonis, for everything you’ve done. Know that… I choose not to resent you for causing things beyond my control, but please indulge in my selfishness and guide me as I live in this world…”

“………”

Adonis chuckled, his sound warm and genuine. “Indeed, Ace,” he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he finally addressed the god by his mortal avatar’s name. “We have a very lovely younger brother in Meteos.”

Ace, despite the lingering guilt at the back of his mind, couldn’t help but give a small smile and nod in agreement. With his smile widening as he saw the flicker of hope and acceptance blooming in front of him, Adonis clapped his hand once. “But before we get lost in more technological marvels and brotherly bonding,” he announced, “remember, we have a guest list to attend to. Your friends will be arriving at the villa shortly.”

Meteos perked up and widened his eyes in realization.

“Huh? Oh, right… the Parpaldians and the others…!”

Of course, the vacation group in this timeline is also larger in comparison to the point that this villa can’t accommodate all of them.

“Now, go on and greet your friends. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up on this timeline later.”

“Very well. I’ll be back soon.”

With that, the two older brothers saw him off as Meteos dashed out of the office with the gifts, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. They waited for the door to click shut behind Meteos before Ace turned to Adonis.

“…Pestilence offered that kid godhood,” Ace stated with a low voice.

“After the pantheon of this planet sold their own creation to Civilization Annihilation Game, don’t you think that Ars Goetia needed at least one more compassionate god to replace them and fix their mess?”

“But why would he do that?”

“I suppose it’s to see if it gets a rise from you,” Adonis mused. “You are an exiled god yourself. Deep down, the actions that led you to intervene with Ars Goetia were fueled by the powerful desire for a place you could call home, and you happened to find Hope in Astarte’s acknowledgment. After everything you’ve done and will do for her, do you think that you should be a god in this world instead of a selfish mortal who ‘merely’ tried to elevate his home? Maybe Pestilence wanted to see if such a train of thought started to emerge within you.”

Ace’s fingers tightened around the white box, its smooth surface offering no solace for him as the silence that followed Adonis’ pointed question hung heavy in the air.

“…What he’s doing is no more selfish than what I’m trying to do… It was I who dragged Meteos into all this with my deed. If I were to call out on his actions, would anyone excuse mine?”

“Excusing them is not the exercise, Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Only accepting them. Accepting that you acted based on what you knew then, not on what was to come. Your motivation and their consequences are more complicated than you let yourself believe.”

“Yes… I believe… I handled everything… unskilfully… I believe, had it not for you intervening, then—”

“Then from now on, it’s time for all of us to be better, don’t you think?” Adonis interrupted. Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Star God who was now known as Ace, was about to descend into self-loathing due to his failure in ensuring Astarte’s safety back then, which would result in the ruination of everything.

The Pale Rider wouldn’t want to deal with an angsty god whose mortal avatar happened to be a teenager right now.

“I think perhaps you have more to process.”

“I have.”

“Don’t worry. I will be here whenever you need me.”

With a pat on Ace’s shoulder, Adonis ushered him out of the office. As they reached the staircase, they could hear the clamoring from the younger ones starting to come from the first floor.

❖⟐❖⟐❖

With Meteos, he almost did a double take seeing the scene unfolding before him. Fortunately, his memories provided him with such a mental brake to prevent him from making an embarrassing face.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…! ………Henlo Tristan, how are you today?”

Bolting from one end of the living room like lightning, Meteos’ new older sister Ashera squealed and launched herself at a small boy who had just arrived with the rest of the group. Cyrus, quiet as usual, simply trailed behind in silence, giving a nod and a small smile at Meteos as soon as their gazes met.

‘For the personification of War to be so affectionate to kids is such an irony—wait, NO. I shouldn’t think this way,’ Meteos banished the thought as soon as it appeared.

Tristan, a green-haired whirlwind of six, giggled and cooed under the onslaught of affection. Behind this boy, were his parents.

“Looks like someone’s been practicing their tackling skills, huh?” came the teasing tone from Robin.

“Hee, hee! Just making sure Lil’ Bro knows who the real champion cuddler is around here!” Ashera declared with a mock-serious tone.

And then someone sighed.

Meteos’ memories remembered hearing this exchange several times.

Adonis and his siblings’ presence in this world has something to do with this. His influence hastened the romance between Robin and Arthur which was only starting to blossom by the Second Timeline. Consequently, by 1615 in this world, they were already bound in marriage for six years, their union blessed with a son named Tristan Arkland.

Arthur, once a man with an expression as opaque as a poker chip, seemed to have mellowed under the sun of fatherhood. Robin, meanwhile, had her usual disheveled look replaced by a well-groomed appearance.

Robin still became Meteos and Walman’s mentor, but this timeline’s version of her agreed to train a team of four by taking Nadia Smirnova and Annette Pendragon under her wing. Having their lives influenced by the Roguerider Foundation, the former was scouted not long after enrolling in the RMA while the latter had become Meteos’ other childhood friend, with their families in Runepolis having a close connection for various reasons. Despite a lack of evidence suggesting a blood relationship, Annette thought and treated Meteos as some sort of cousin even more than in the Second Timeline just because they both have silver hair. Unfortunately, Annette was later proven to have been mistaken and their common ancestor is actually quite distant, but even then she didn’t seem to care about such details.

Meteos blurted, “Hmm… this place is becoming quite crowded…”

“But isn’t the villa always like this since the beginning, though?” overhearing his muttering, Walman to his side commented with a raised eyebrow.

“Ah! Umm… yeah, but… I just didn’t pay attention to it too much until now.”

“Sure…”

Even with more friends, the brunette boy’s personality changed the least. ‘I hope it never changes, Walman. Thanks to Pestilence, I find it… displeasing, to fight you in either life or death.’

Speaking of that one Horseman… he’s having an idle talk with the foreigner kids, charming them with his persona.

Within the Foundation, it was Legiel who was the architect behind these foreigners’ presence. In this timeline where even the Rodenius Continent is also within reach of the Holy Milishial Empire’s economic expansion to the east that also gave birth to an alternate Treaty of Evergarden and the Gorgom Company, the Foundation used its assets abroad, both public and covert, to ostensibly promote a cultural exchange and improve the Holy Empire’s standing among the ordinary citizens of the Far Eastern region. Basically it was seen by the country’s decision-makers as the extension of their usual Holy Empire’s noblesse oblige foreign politics supported by the Emperor and his Order of the Ancients, which in this timeline resulted in the earlier establishment of Special Economic Zones in the Third Civilization Area and its periphery countries in connection to the Holy Empire.

As many as 40 foreign students were assembled from various countries as the pioneers, and the six youngest members among them, all around Ace and Meteos’ age, were invited by the Foundation to spend this year’s summer vacation in the Roguerider family’s hometown, Leiden.

Kaios van Deventer and Elto van Dalsen from the Parpaldia Empire had already met him at the harbor earlier. The only Lourian, Gabriel van Helsing (a disguised Prince Hark) is also there, listening to whatever tale regaled by Legiel with quiet fascination. It was Ashera who came up with his pseudonym, thinking it to be an awesome name.

From the Second Civilization Area’s countries, there are a pair of sixteen-year-olds, a boy and a girl. The former is Dio Amundsen from Leiforia, while the latter goes by the name of Adlerheid Sonnenstreiter from Avest, the capital of the Magicaraich Community. For the record, the Muish are cooperating with the Holy Empire in facilitating oil trade with the Far Eastern nations, but at present none of them are among the group of forty.

The last foreign youth is a seventeen-year-old boy from the Altaras Kingdom named Irmiya. Full name Irmiya Mephilas, he’s actually half-Milishian through his father, Ambassador Leonardo from the Milishian noble House of Mephilas. Despite the family’s notable reputation, the elderly patriarch is known to be rigidly conservative and his children are notorious for their rebellious tendencies. When Leonardo, the eldest son, refused to annul his marriage with a local Altaran woman, the Duke Mephilas, disapproving of his heir being a ‘half-barbarian,’ threatened him with disinheritance. However, faced with deliberate bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the government when he tried to do so, the elderly Duke got the hint that the Emperor was displeased with his decision and eventually backed down. Nevertheless, he refused to talk with Leonardo until the end of his life… which in the First Timeline should be happening in the year 1617 Central Calendar. It’s complicated.

Duke Mephilas’ second child is named Cassandra. However, she fell in love with a commoner named Arsene Lippin and subsequently married him, further infuriating the Duke. Princess Lugiel, a member of the Imperial Family who is aware of their messed-up relationship the most, being the head of intelligence and all, couldn’t help but facepalm.

Since Lippin’s predecessor, Minister Bandero Capone, was never fired in this timeline, Arsene Lippin never got appointed to become the leader of the Ancient Ministry. Instead, he was assigned as a liaison to the Foundation and seemed to have a better relationship with his son, Ishmael, as a result of his plentiful free time to interact with him. And that boy is also here, while the rest of Lippin’s family coming the day after tomorrow.

And finally, the last member of this expanded vacation group is a young woman with long wavy golden blonde hair and light blue eyes, clad in a red and white dress with lots of frills and ruffles, a lavender bow, matching red boots and a red cropped jacket over. When this young woman saw Adonis, she walked to him with a bright smile on her face and without hesitation, Adel Legendorga wrapped her arms around Adonis in a warm embrace.

Adonis in turn reciprocated Adel’s hug with a faint smile. “Adel, it’s good to see you.”

“You too, Adonis. Oh! Hello there, Meteos. How are you today?”

“Blessed as usual, Young Lady.”

“He’s as charming as ever, isn’t he?” Adel giggled at the reply, while Adonis gave him a glance and smirked when Meteos turned his head away to roll his eyes.

Oh, right. That.

Adel, Count Benedict Legendorga’s second daughter and fourth child, is Adonis’ fiancée. Their engagement is certainly primarily driven by political considerations between the Legendorga and Roguerider families, and it was something that both of them are well aware of. But there’s the fact that the two had befriended each other since childhood. The result is the apparent ease with which they navigate this arrangement. The mischievous but kind Adel decided to approach the situation with a sense of humor and genuine affection.

With the lively atmosphere in the Roguerider family’s villa, Meteos couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and bewilderment at the diverse group of people gathered. Friends, family, and even foreign acquaintances were all mingling in what seemed like a chaotic but heartwarming cacophony of chatter.

He just hoped that there would be no more random omnipotent beings who come and stop time this late afternoon.

The Available Information from Beyond

THE DESIRE DRIVER’S ORIGIN CIVILIZATION

The Desire Driver and its associated devices are made from the knowledge of a civilization living in a time period very distant in the future where their planet, Earth, has already long been ravaged into ruins. They are an advanced civilization taking the form of digital lifeforms living in the vastness of space, possessing technology that allows them to sculpt their physical forms according to their preferences.

Despite living in a seemingly flawless utopia, the inhabitants seek entertainment. The Civilization Annihilation Game is advertised by Pestilence as a reality show that showcases the destruction of lives across time periods such as ancient Greece, the Warring States period, and the like. Despite the ethically troubling premise of the show and having the free will to reject it, the future people chose to pursue the thrill and supported the show.

Unsurprisingly, their choice became their own undoing. The Civilization Annihilation Game, in reality a[n imperfect] plan to cull the barbaric entities from existence in order to achieve happiness across all creations, ultimately goaded the future people to kill each other to satisfy their desires and ended up wiping out this civilization from existence.