Moonlight Demon (GL LITRPG)

Chapter 228: Vol. 4 – Chapter 27

Kaori was beyond confused.

“The… Higher Powers?” She asked. 

“Yes.” 

“Uh, I may have forgotten who those were. Could you remind me?” 

“Of course,” Yx replied, that polite smile never leaving his face. “The Higher Powers are those who watch over the universe. They oversee the events that unfold under them, mostly for the purpose of regulating those who were placed in charge of your world, and others. To put this in a way you may understand better, they are like the gods to your gods, I suppose you could say.” 

“… Oh.” 

So,  Kaori thought,  what am I doing here? 

“Well, as I said before,” Yx said, and Kaori realized he read her thoughts, “there is currently an ongoing dispute over your soul between Operators: Niven and Lumina. Once this matter is resolved, one of them will take possession of you, and your spirit will be returned to the ‘real world’, you could say. Oh, by the way,” he added, “if you do not like me reading your thoughts, you need only say so and I will stop.” 

“Uh, okay… Don’t do it.” 

“Very well. That function has been paused,” he bowed. 

“… So,” Kaori brought her knees forward, putting her forehead down on them. “I’m stuck here?” 

“Effectively, yes Though, on the bright side, the concept of ‘here’ can be whatever you wish it to be. From a visual standpoint, anyway.”

“Great,” she said, slumping over. 

So… What do I do? 

Yx continued to watch her, as she looked around. 

They couldn’t have picked a better place to put me in?

Eventually, she looked ahead at Yx, and some curiosity bubbled inside of her. 

“And, why are you here?” 

“Well, as I said, I am to be your assistant until the matter is settled.”

“But, what does that mean?” 

“Multiple things,” he replied. “I can alter this space according to your wishes. I can allow you to view any part of the ‘real’ world you wish to see. And, if you have any questions, I will answer them.” 

Immediately, two people came to her mind. 

“Uh, can you show me where my friends are?” She asked, leaning forward. “Ash, and Keiko!” 

“Yes,” Yx replied. “One second.” 

With that, the room around them began to change. So many colors appeared to swirl around her, forcing Kaori to bring a hand up to shield her eyes. Just as it started, though, it was over. 

She was, suddenly, in that small room that she, Keiko, and Ash had been staying in, at the Grey Chamber. On the bed, she saw herself, and next to the bed, she saw Ash looking down at her. 

That’s…  She thought as she looked down at her own body. Ash looked like she was holding back tears, while Keiko was standing aside, equally saddened. 

“… How long is this going to take?” Kaori asked Yx as she watched. 

“You may remain here as long as you’d like.” 

“No, I mean, me being here.”

“Ah, that depends on Lumina and Niven. Whichever way they choose to resolve this issue, is between them.” 

“You don’t know what they’re thinking?” 

“If I may share some truth with you,” Yx responded, “the first would be this: there is no such thing as true omniscience. Outside of realms like these, no one can read thoughts or predict actions with absolute certainty. The Higher Powers can, to some extent, maintain control over the Operators of your world, but they keep their own free will, so long as they act within certain bounds.” 

What Kaori understood from all of that was a simple, “no.” 

“Okay,” she took a deep breath. She was getting uncomfortable now though, as she wanted to reach out and let the two girls know she was alright, but, she couldn’t. “Can we get out of here?” 

“Where would you like to go?” 

“Uh, anywhere.” 

“Hm… Sure.” 

As he said that, they changed locations again, and Kaori felt surprised as they ended up atop clouds in the sky. Still, in her mind, she couldn’t push those images away. Herself, laying on the bed as Ash struggled not to keep herself composed, and Keiko couldn’t find a way to offer comfort. 

If she could just wake up, she’d do it. Instead, she was stuck here. An idea did come to her mind though, and Kaori looked up at Yx again. 

“Can I talk to Lumina?”

“Hm… It depends on the Higher Powers. I could send them a request. Do you want me to?” 

“Yes,” Kaori nodded eagerly. “That would be great, yes.” 

“Very well.” 

He paused for two seconds. 

“Your request has been denied.” 

Kaori blinked. 

“A-Already!?” 

“Yes,” Yx nodded. “However, you are welcome to try again.”

“… Why? Will the answer change?” 

“That depends on them,” Yx shrugged. “The Higher Powers are just as capable of changing opinions as any sentient beings are.” 

“Got it, got it…” Kaori nodded. “I’ll wait a bit, I guess.” 

“Of course,” Yx added, “should you feel like you want time to pass, I am able to put you to sleep. You need only request it.” 

“Really?” Kaori asked. “Is there no chance that Lumina and Niven resolve this whole thing soon?” 

“I can say the likelihood of that is low. I wouldn’t say there is no chance, but it is very unlikely.” 

As Kaori took that information in, she sighed. 

“Okay… Sure, then.” 

“Very well. How long do you want me to wait before I wake you?”

“Uh, a week? Maybe two?” 

“I will wake you in seven days then.” 

“… Sure.” 

With that, Kaori’s eyes closed of their own accord, and she fell to the side, asleep. 

When Kaori’s eyes next reopened, she was still on those clouds. Below her, she could see all of Nova, as she rubbed her eyes. Yx was sitting in front of her, his legs crossed and that polite smile still fixed on his face. 

“Uh, how long was I…?” 

“A week,” Yx replied. “Exactly seven days have passed since you requested to be given your rest.” 

“Oh. Okay.” 

To Kaori, it felt like she’d had her eyes closed for minutes. It was hard to internalize this information. She took a deep breath and laid down on the invisible floor. Above were an endless amount of stars, all of which felt just as far as they would from the ground below. 

… Now what?  She asked herself, before quickly thinking of something.

“Yx,” she said. 

“Yes?” 

“Can you find my parents?” 

“Right away.” 

In an instant, the room changed and Kaori was back at her old home. She and Yx were in the living room, sitting on the floor, while ahead, in the kitchen, were Kaori’s parents. They were in silence, just washing some dishes. 

Kaori looked away as her heart suddenly felt torn. 

I…  She thought.  I almost wish I had never accepted the offer to do this. 

“Would you like to leave?” Yx asked. 

“… Yeah, I just wanted to make sure they were alright,” she replied and Yx nodded. 

“Of course.” 

And, the next second, they were back up in the skies. 

It hadn’t taken too long at all for loneliness to set in, though she figured it would be worse if she didn’t have Yx here. Still, she missed her friends, her family, everyone she’d known. 

If Lumina failed in whatever it was that she was going to do with Niven, the last thing anyone was going to remember about her was how much of a coward she was. Not the hero she’d envisioned herself being when she’d first been chosen, not the hero everyone believed she could be when she didn’t. Not the apprentice Ren had briefly seen her as, before the battle for Onyx. Hell, she couldn’t even be a decent enough girlfriend to Ash and Keiko before having her soul sucked out of her, or whatever. 

I’m just a failure,  Kaori told herself.  In every way. 

“Is there anything else you wish to see?” Yx asked. 

“No… Just put me back to sleep,” Kaori said as she laid down. 

“Until?” 

“… Another week, I guess.” 

“Right away.” 

—

Ash

Now

Putting on Vermia’s black dress, which she still genuinely had not figured out the enchanted effect of, Ash stretched as she prepared herself for the day. With her golden armored boots and gloves, she looked back as Keiko stood at the doorway. 

“What are you going to do?” 

“I… I’m still thinking about it,” Ash let her know. “Before I go out again though, I’m definitely going to go ask the alchemist where I can go find those ingredients… Though I already have an idea where I can find one of them. After that, though, yeah, I don’t know. I might go hunt, I might look for some Sites of Power. I dunno.” 

“… I wish I could head out to fight with you,” Keiko admitted with a sigh. “But, maybe… soon?” 

At that moment, Ash realized that she’d inadvertently gotten Keiko’s hopes up. That wasn’t a bad thing, of course, as she planned on helping her, but… 

Something inside of Ash still felt weird when she thought about this, though she couldn’t really pinpoint what that was. 

“Maybe,” Ash told her. “Wish me luck.”