Gacha Kingdom Building

I knew for a fact that one or more of the Endless were responsible for Isabella's Event.

The description hit me too close to home, and the chances of this being random, considering the lengths the First Daughter had gone through to force the Infinite Hotel's Event, were zero.

However, the only Endless I knew was the First Daughter, so I had no way of telling which one of them was involved.

My only option was to trust the Hotel Girl's judgment about who was behind everything.

Any doubts I had were immediately dispelled once I entered this building, though.

It just so happens that before I had received Isabella's event notification or even entered the Infinite Hotel for the first time, Claire had asked me to buy her a phone to play a game she had seen online.

This game was interesting in several ways, but the most important thing was that one of the main characters was Isabella herself.

Miwen: "I might not know the other Endless, but you two sure do have a track record of making people experience other lives. Not to mention this building and the games you have displayed."

Provoking someone effectively requires ensuring they'll understand it, which makes it hard to hide and deny it later.

Especially if you're trying to do it to the person you just provoked.

I thought the logic was flawless, and that the Third Son and his sister would stop playing around and, instead of denying, would take me seriously, but to my surprise, they didn't lose their annoying, amused smiles.

Worse yet, I felt like the Third Son grew even more smug than before.

Third Son: "You're conveniently forgetting something quite important. Maybe you hit your head on the way here?"

Miwen: "...What?"

Third Son: "Sabrina, remember? Not the original, but the woman possessing her body. Albeit a different version, she also played the game. Only she played it before the First Contact. Which means... Before you were born."

Fifth Daughter: "Ohh...! He got you there, stupid! We couldn't have been planting the seeds to target you before you even existed!"

They acted like it was some grand 'gotcha,' with the Fifth Daughter throwing out cheap insults and her brother growing even more smug than before.

Weirdly, though, I was disappointed with their comeback.

It didn't make any difference.

Miwen: "I mean... What is that supposed to prove? You're both Endless. You've obviously seen the future and started before-"

Suddenly, the tension in the room spiked.

My words felt heavy.

They stuck to my throat, and I couldn't continue.

Fifth Daughter: "Conspiracy theorist!"

The Fifth Daughter changed the least.

She seemed upset, but like every other expression she showed, it was so fake and forced, I barely gave it a thought.

The Third Son was a little more serious compared to before, but his attention had shifted from me towards his older sister, the First Daughter.

By far, she was the one responsible for making the atmosphere so heavy, something I never expected from her.

She gave the Third Son a sharp death stare, and while he raised his head to answer her in kind, even someone like me could feel his words had become a little weaker.

Third Son: "Unlike you, inferior beings, we can't see into the future."

Even on Earth, several Gifts allow their users to peek into the future.

The effects vary, and sometimes there are various conditions, but still...

I couldn't believe there was something we could do that they could not.

Third Son: "When your kind and those of your level look into the future, all they see is one possibility. Their power and knowledge might bring them closer to the truth, but destiny is always changing."

Fifth Daughter: "If we do it, whatever future we see is guaranteed. That's why, since the First Cycle, we've agreed never to do it. It's dumb for us to limit the limitless future, and you're the only idiot here."

First Daughter: "Miwen, tell me... Do you have any proof?"

I hesitated for a second.

From a single claim, one I thought wasn't absurd, things had escalated to the point where it felt like a fight could start at any point, whatever that meant for beings like them.

Seeing the expression of disbelief on the First Daughter's face, I knew that if I wasn't able to convince her, there was a good chance she might not forgive me and abandon me to my fate.

It was such an impossible game...

The siblings seemed intent on denying everything, no matter the cost, and as long as they could read my thoughts, I couldn't trick or trap them into admitting their actions.

If only I could trade places with Maya.

Facing the impossible with only the truth was her specialty.

I usually did the opposite when it was too much for her.

Thankfully, I learned a thing or two from watching and losing to her so much.

Miwen: "Sure... First, there's Nissa."

When she was young, she received a vision about how three calamities would bring forth ruin to the continent.

Perhaps even an end to her world.

She dedicated her life to stopping it, and a prophecy was born from her warnings.

As time went on, it became increasingly obvious to her, and us as well, who the prophecy referred to.

Especially since I thought a lot about exactly how far I wanted to take my revenge on that land.

Miwen: "Nissa received this vision a few centuries before I had arrived in that world. And while she can use her [Light Magic] to see the truth behind things, at the time, she wasn't as proficient. Even now, she has not had another vision as strong as that one."

Fifth Daughter: "That doesn't prove anything! You didn't even destroy the world like you were supposed to!"

Miwen: "True, but that's only one piece of evidence. When paired with the next, I think it does prove you were messing with that world before I was even born."

Third Son: "Tch. And you think we'll listen after you wasted our time?"

First Daughter: "We will. Continue, Miwen."

...I'm glad the Hotel Girl didn't give up on me.

It might've been better to present the strongest evidence I had first, but I thought that if they somehow denied it, I would only be left with a lesser point, and they might've gotten away with it.

By having them create their excuses against the weakest, their defense should be lower, and they might've made themselves too suspicious for the First Daughter to trust them after hearing what I learned.

It's building up, until it becomes too much for them...

Miwen: "Isabella used her own blood to summon me in the White Room that her father had locked her in. However, there are a few problems with it. First, she was trying to summon a demon, which I'm pretty obviously not. Second, she didn't have a Gift yet, and no access to magic. That ritual shouldn't have worked."

First Daughter: "But you were summoned by it."

Miwen: "Yes. Normally, my Gift connects me to the place I'm to be summoned through a thin thread..."

I know this because the Merchant followed this thread back to the Kingdom, which forcibly selected his Event.

Miwen: "However, this time, I didn't receive any notification about the event forcibly starting, which means the thread was neither followed nor pulled. And yet, we also know Isabella's ritual should not have worked."

First Daughter: "But you started it through your system, right?"

Miwen: "I thought so. But I called the Merchant to the Kingdom recently, and as the Event is still ongoing..."

I asked him to take a quick look at where the thread led this time.

Since it would eventually end in Isabella's world, there was no need for him to go all the way.

All I needed to know was whether or not it went inside a Dungeon.

Miwen: "When we helped Raella defeat her teacher, we found an immense maze-like structure beneath the academy. We couldn't map all of it, as it probably spammed the entire continent, or even the world, but Beatrice discovered two things. First, it was connected to the underground Dungeon Gates. Second, it was, most likely, a circle for [Spatial Magic]."

That thing was built...

Well, we have no idea.

Probably ever since Dungeon Gates first appeared in that world.

However, at the very least, it existed during Raella's time, which was still decades before our arrival.

Miwen: "My Gift's thread is, strangely, not directly connected to their world. Instead, it goes through one of Earth's Dungeons. You two... Can't figure out [Gacha Kingdom Building] entirely, right?"

They can say what they want about the things they can and cannot do.

The only thing I know for sure is that [Gacha Kingdom Building] is too much even for the First Daughter, so she had to find a workaround for it.

So if her ranking above them couldn't completely figure it out, there's no chance for these two losers to-

Fifth Daughter: "What did you call me!? You cocky little insect! I should end you-"

Her mouth continued to move, but I paid her no mind.

Miwen: "Isabella's version of [Gacha Kingdom Building] is not the same as mine. She has access to almost everything I do, but her version feels weaker in crucial points, like the points she generates per citizen, including herself. Crucially, her access to Events, of all things, just so happens to be the most limited."

She can read their description.

But she can't end them.

Which must also mean she can't start one, as it would be ridiculous to start one without being able to finish it.

Now, I know for a fact that the Endless can write different descriptions for Events, so this seems like the simplest part for them to figure out.

Everything else might be a little difficult.

Third Son: "Haha! You really are an idiot. Did you forget that our sister successfully brought you inside the Infinite Hotel? We don't need any other mechanism to summon you."

True.

But even if their capabilities are equal...

Miwen: "The Infinite Hotel is connected to almost everything in creation. It's only a matter of whether she chooses to open the doors or not, so it shouldn't be-"

Third Son: "You don't know-"

First Daughter: "Enough!"

Miwen: "You prepared so much in the past, because you saw the future, and knew you would never fully comprehend-"

First Daughter: "I said enough! I can't protect them if you don't leave them some plausible deniability!

I was astonished.

In my mind, I kept asking why she would protect them, and from whom.

By all means, while they are inferior to her, there shouldn't be many people capable of posing a threat to two of the Endless.

Fifth Daughter: "Ah... So you want to protect us now? What happened with punishing us?"

I hated to agree with her, but I felt the same.

Fifth Daughter: "Life is so convenient for you, huh. You know he won't come, so you can say whatever you want. But I know you. I know that when it matters the most, you'll still be a coward. You are, and you will always be, the most useless."

First Daughter: "..."

In an instant, the situation had seemingly flipped.

The First Daughter was nervous, holding her left arm, while the Fifth Daughter continued to insult her.

It was...

Hard to watch.

I'm not sure, but it was like she was her kryptonite.

Her words cut deep, even though to me they sounded like the Fifth Daughter's usual meaningless abuse.

Fifth Daughter: "Hahaha! Ah... We are doomed. You and him... You were supposed to be much more than the rest of us, and yet... You have only one project to your name, while he... Just look at what he's doing! It's pathetic. Hmph! Your uselessness must've rubbed off on him."

First Daughter: "Don't... I admit I can't compare to you, but he is still..."

Third Son: "What? You're going to pretend that he and you have not run away from your responsibilities? That you're not a coward who refused to-"

First Daughter: "Stop! Please..."

It was her last attempt at regaining control.

She shouted with all of her heart, and her emotions were so strong that my brain was forced to reflect them.

Tears started running down my face as she covered hers.

All the while, her two siblings were laughing at her while also crying.

Fifth Daughter: "Stop pretending like you care. We know that you only really care about that dumb idea of yours."

First Daughter: "It's not true... I care about you just as much..."

Fifth Daughter: "Then why are you still here? What has gone through your heads, that you value this human so much?"

First Daughter: "I don't know... I don't know why he decided on Miwen..."

Miwen: "...Let's go back. It's not worth it-"

Even though I knew I could learn a lot if I just stayed and listened, I couldn't watch the First Daughter suffer anymore.

However, my words didn't reach her.

Before her siblings could hurt her anymore, I tried to reach for her hand, but...

The front door made an incredibly silent sound, opening just enough to let someone enter.

Following it were steps just as quiet.

More than the person being precise, it felt more like the world was adapting to them.

As if being in their presence reminded even inanimate objects of what they were, and what their purpose was.

Before them, everything was forced to act precisely... Perfectly...

Fifth Daughter: "...What are you doing here!?"

Third Son: "How are you here? You're supposed to be working on his Gift."

Never during their exchange did I see the two brats acting this way towards the First Daughter.

There was no trace left of their attitude.

They didn't dare raise their voices, much less their heads.

First Daughter: "No..."

I couldn't see his face.

The moment I tried to lay eyes on him, I felt an immense pressure and knelt on the ground.

As if that was my purpose.

??????: "...Yo!"

His voice was familiar.

But without seeing his face, I couldn't tell who he was.

First Daughter: "Careful, Miwen. I can't guarantee your safety anymore."

I was doing my best to stand up, but seeing as even the Endless brats had their heads lowered before him, I had no hopes of controlling my body anymore.

That is, until he allowed me to.

When my eyes finally landed on him, I immediately remembered where I had seen him before.

It was at the Infinite Hotel.

His face was one I'd never forget.

Even back then, although it should've been the first time I saw him, I already felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Miwen: "Isn't he..."

First Daughter: "He's the closest thing creation has to a true ruler. When we came into existence, we immediately knew that there was us, and that there was him. He's the most loved by our Father. The closest to our Creator... The First Son of The Endless."