NOVEL NEXT Chapter 359
Extra Edition: Exploration of the Holy Realm – 4
Aurora was the first to wake up among the twelve sleeping in the same bed. The chandelier hanging from the extremely high ceiling emitted a soft glow.
From the pillow supporting her head to the bed cradling her body, and the blanket providing warmth, everything was perfect. She wanted nothing more than to lie down again and fall back asleep.
‘…My back hurts.’
However, demonstrating superhuman endurance, Aurora tried to push herself up, only to grimace at the intense lethargy and lower abdominal pain that hit her as soon as she lifted her waist, causing her to flop back down.
‘Everyone has good stamina.’
It was an awkward expression for someone the youngest here to make, but there was a reason for it. Only Aurora had felt the limits of her stamina during the ordeal lasting about a week.
The pain in her lower abdomen was another matter. If it had been anyone else, their physical capabilities would have prevented them from feeling such pain. Conversely, the reason Aurora was the first to wake was also due to her unique condition.
‘…If everyone had been treated the same way, I wouldn’t have survived.’
Delta hadn’t handled her as roughly as he did the others. Though it was primarily because it was Aurora who asked him to. Still, seeing Delta surpass his usual limits would send chills down anyone’s spine.
Especially when compared to how harshly Lize and Nix, who had a masochistic tendency, were treated. Aurora’s treatment could even be deemed overly protective.
‘How can they enjoy that? I don’t get it.’
Aurora glanced at the oblivious Lize and Nix, who were still peacefully sleeping, feeling a bit frustrated. She couldn’t imagine what could cause someone to derive pleasure from such excruciating acts. Even if she had the physical stamina, she felt she wouldn’t be able to endure it.
‘I’m feeling a bit better now.’
Aurora swallowed the cola-flavored candy that Minerva had specially made for her. It was a candy inscribed with healing magic for Aurora, who could no longer handle mana.
As the broken candy slid down her throat, the pain across her body eased. The throbbing in her lower abdomen remained, but it was more of a pleasure than pain, so it didn’t matter.
She rose from the bed, which was covered in naked women.
‘What’s with Minerva? Why is she like that?’
Despite significant time having passed, Minerva sat half-conscious, trembling in the afterglow, biting her tongue. It was something Aurora decided to sweep out of her mind since it was a question she wouldn’t find an answer to.
Stepping out of bed, Aurora immediately headed for the shower. After spending about 30 minutes in the bath and drying her hair with a hairdryer, she changed her clothes.
Of course, she wasn’t in an empress’s dress but rather in a sleeveless top and dolphin shorts.
‘After a week full of sex, I don’t need to worry about appearances.’
Aurora passed by the sleeping Popes without a care, who were deep in slumber, and noticed the battle nuns busy rushing somewhere.
When the nuns saw Aurora, they halted and bowed their heads.
“Honored Empress of the Empire.”
“Forget the greetings. What’s got you all in such a rush? Where are you headed?”
They looked frantically busy, but Aurora couldn’t help but ask. Their bodies were hurried, but their faces bore expressions of sheer ecstasy, igniting her curiosity.
“We’re heading to the treatment room.”
“The treatment room? Who got hurt? No one looks injured.”
The nun shook her head.
“No one is injured. It’s just that the Holy One ascended to the side of the Sun and Moon, and everyone fainted from the overwhelming divine power, leaving us short-handed. So, we’re going to help.”
‘Ah, they must’ve gone to meet the Goddess.’
In the Holy Kingdom, the ascension to the side of the Sun or Moon usually indicates the death of the individual. But Delta was an exception. If he had gone to meet the Goddess, it would have been taken literally.
But there was something odd about it.
‘Did he make such a commotion when he left?’
Considering Delta’s personality, who typically dislikes being the center of attention, it was odd for him to announce his departure so openly.
“Can you explain in more detail? For now, keep doing what you were.”
Since they were short on hands, Aurora sent everyone back except for one, urging the remaining nun to continue.
The nun, maintaining a dazed expression, continued her explanation filled with flowery language, ecstasy, and praise.
Aurora struggled to extract the core of her message. To summarize, although she hadn’t witnessed the ascension directly, as soon as the divine power emanated from the lake, everyone instinctively became aware of it.
“…Is that so? I understand for now.”
Even the summary left Aurora confused about what exactly had happened. But since understanding the Holy Kingdom often meant torture, she decided to let it go, thinking it must have been a grand event.
The nun, her faith and divine power on full display, fluttered her garments and hurried away.
“Why are they so busy since morning?”
“Oh, Aunt! You’re awake!”
Surprisingly, the next person to approach was Kaiquilia. Aurora was genuinely startled that Kaiquilia was already awake.
“How are you feeling? You seemed to have gone through quite a bit.”
She had witnessed the debauchery of the past week.
The proud Kaiquilia had been seen crying and pleading like a child for it to be stopped.
“…Can’t you tell just by looking? My whole body still feels achy.”
Kaiquilia lowered her back slightly against the wall and tried to force her trembling legs to move. It matched perfectly with the statement she had made.
Not wanting to create unnecessary fuss, Aurora simply nodded. Discussing the specifics of what had happened at night would only earn her a smack.
“So, do you not know why they’re in such a hurry?”
“They said Delta went to meet the Goddess. The wave of his ascension caused everyone to faint. It’s not like he witnessed it firsthand, you know.”
“…The Goddess?”
Kaiquilia repeated, leading her shaky legs to collapse onto the sofa beneath the window, letting out a soft moan as soon as her bottom touched the cushion.
“Why did you come out so soon? You could have rested longer.”
“Would you be able to rest properly among those naked bodies, Aurora?”
“…Sorry, I guess not.”
Now that she mentioned it, everyone had been lying around nude. Aurora awkwardly apologized.
“Honestly, it’s better to lie down with them than… fort?!”
“W-What’s wrong?!”
Kaiquilia twisted her body as she spoke.
“…It’s nothing. I just haven’t fully recovered from the aftereffects yet.”
Intentionally being vague about the lingering aftereffects, she sank deeper into the sofa. It was something she couldn’t confess — that just recalling their intimacy had made her lower abdomen quiver.
As Aurora reached for the candy she had set aside, Floretta, Luna, Stella, and Selene rushed out, wrapped in a single blanket.
“What’s the matter, Your Holiness?”
Noticing the unusual appearance, Kaiquilia straightened up. The Popes were panting and scanning their surroundings.
“…Was there nothing unusual?”
“…Was there nothing unusual at all?”
“Other than Delta going to meet the Goddess, no. Calm down and explain.”
“I felt a strange divine power.”
“I feel a tingling sensation throughout my body still.”
“Are you still half-asleep? I would recommend going back in and sleeping more.”
Kaiquilia scoffed at Stella and Selene’s remarks and waved her hand. At that moment, one of the battle nuns sprinted toward them from the corridor.
As she came into view, her outline became clearer and clearer until she was near them.
“Y-your Holiness… Your Holiness…!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Calm down and tell us.”
“Th-that is… th-that…”
But the nun couldn’t catch her breath long enough to speak. It was at that moment when Kaiquilia noticed something strange happening outside the window. The sunlight that had been shining brightly had become darker than before.
Not darkened by clouds covering the sun, but the sky was turning black as if night were falling. Realizing something was off, Kaiquilia turned her head.
And she saw the darkening sky.
“…It seems you were right, Your Holiness.”
Hearing Kaiquilia mutter, Aurora turned to look outside and displayed a similar reaction. Despite it barely being 7 a.m., the sky was darkening.
And it was cut perfectly in half, as if by a knife.
“The Holy Realm… the Holy Realm…”
The battle nun, panting heavily, staggered to speak.
“The Holy Realm’s half has turned to night.”
Aurora couldn’t hold it in.
She bought a ticket to see the making of Brightest Darkness 5, and how could she resist? Honestly, she was also curious how the Goddess created the game.
“Right this way. You can go in first, dear.”
The indicated location was on the second floor. Eclipse stood by the door, gesturing with her eyes. Filled with anticipation, I stepped into the room. Eclipse, who followed closely behind, shut the door.
Thud!
The sound of the door locking echoed.
“…There’s nothing here?”
The room contained nothing at all. To be precise, there was no equipment related to game creation. The only items in the room were furniture one would expect in a common bedroom.
“No, something is definitely here.”
“Where is that?”
“You’ll know if you look back.”
‘……’
With a sense of foreboding, I turned my head, only to realize that my suspicion had been right once again. Eclipse was grinning at me.
“Here it is.”
“…I was sure this was for creating Brightest Darkness 5—”
“I said I’m showing you where it’s being made. It doesn’t mean you were wrong; this is where the game is created.”
Isn’t this a scam? While I was left bewildered, Eclipse leaned closer, flashing a playful smile.
“All the tools, methods, and everything for crafting Brightest Darkness 5… they are all me.”
She held up a golden veil with her fingers, stopping slightly above the point that would reveal it. Despite being accustomed to any situation, the covering seemed to have lost its strength.
“You can check how it works if you’d like…”
Her body moved closer. Eclipse took my left hand and gently guided it toward her abdomen.
“How does it feel, dear? Would you like to make it yourself—”
—Delta! Delta! Are you okay for a moment?
Luna’s voice echoed in my head.
Extra Edition: Divinity
The Sun and Moon rose together in the Holy Realm. At that moment, I looked directly at the Goddess in front of me. In situations like this, it was usually Eclipse who was the cause, so I thought.
But surprisingly, Eclipse looked genuinely flustered. First of all, this situation wasn’t caused by her, so the only remaining possibility…
“…”
It means it’s my fault. The only beings capable of moving the Sun and Moon — symbols of deities in the Holy Kingdom — are either me or Eclipse.
However, I hadn’t done anything.
“Goddess, what’s going on?”
“Just a moment… um, let me see… So… do you understand what’s happening? Are you aware that the faith in the Holy Kingdom has significantly amplified compared to the past?”
“How could I not know?”
It was an event born from my actions, so I couldn’t be ignorant about it.
“If we were to break it down, that could be what caused the current situation.”
Eclipse spread the fingers that had lifted the veil into the air. Then, using her opposite thumb and index finger to bind them, she began to explain.
“First, the faith and divine power of the humans residing in the Raphael Holy Kingdom increased beyond a certain threshold. Second, those humans all know about the existence and the purpose of the Holy Realm. Third, the belief regarding you has skyrocketed in a short amount of time. And fourth, even with the growth of faith regarding you, the faith regarding me hasn’t diminished at all either.”
She cleverly enunciated each point as she pinched her fingers together.
“The fifth and final aspect—faith transforms into belief and divine power. The result of the amplification of faith and divine power caused the location to transform into a true Holy Realm. Of course, it may be less potent than this place, but it means it’s now somewhere divine can reside — because of the faith from those who serve both of us.”
“…Was that even possible?”
I asked, astonished. So, to summarize, the faith of the people in the Holy Kingdom had coalesced and transformed the human realm into something sacred? I never imagined that would be even possible.
“Normally, it wouldn’t be doable. In general terms.”
While Eclipse drew closer to me.
“An extraordinary amount of faith and divine power has to present itself, and the purity of said power multiplies. The object of their faith also must be able to contain the enormous amount of faith being directed to it. If any of the three falls short, it would be entirely impossible.”
The dissipating pressure against my chest as her head leaned on it felt more like a plea for affection.
“Thus, I mentioned it generally being impossible since I wouldn’t have created someone meeting those conditions. Even if the Pope of the Sun and Pope of the Moon joined forces, it still wouldn’t suffice.”
Next, she rubbed her cheek against mine and peeked up at me.
“But you are not ordinary.”
“……”
“You’ve come to possess divine power — meaning godly status; you’re capable of receiving the boundless faith and you boosted the belief of the people. You fit all three categories perfectly.”
“……”
“All this culminated in the foray of immense faith, and because the belief regarding the very concept of the Holy Realm amplified, since you are becoming, in essence, similar to me, this outcome arose. I honestly hadn’t foreseen a future like this, but as usual, it seems there’s never a dull moment around you.”
Of course, the timing of everything happening right before something incredibly amusing was just a bit unfortunate, Eclipse added with a teasing wag of her tongue. As I processed her recent explanation, I posed a question.
“So, you’re saying that the faith and divine power of the Holy Kingdom’s people simply grew too strong, leading to this?”
“Yes, that’s correct. While there are some other complex factors, in a nutshell, that is indeed the essence of it.”
I pondered how far this situation would escalate. I pressed my fingers against my temples as a headache started to build.
“I’m speaking the truth, you’re not to blame.”
Eclipse grasped my face, drew closer, and pressed our foreheads together. Her face filled my vision, and oddly enough, my throbbing head calmed down.
“If anything, you should continue to receive respect and honor for your contribution.”
“Respect? They’ve already overdosed on that.”
Thinking back to how the people of the Holy Kingdom viewed me brought clarity to my mind. If I had to endure even more attention, that was a firm decline.
But instead, Eclipse simply giggled and began nuzzling against my chest. Was she really serious? I hesitated for a moment but soon took in a deep breath.
According to Luna, it was settled that things were at least half my fault. They suspected it had begun once I ascended to the heavens.
Therefore, to deny it now wouldn’t help me in any way.
“I just looked into a few potential futures that existed briefly before vanishing. What happened must have been inevitable at some point. It just happened to arrive now.”
In a soft whisper, Eclipse reassured me.
In retrospect, it was something that would happen eventually. The more the faith of the Holy Kingdom’s people built and my divinity strengthened, the more likely this was to occur. Just as Eclipse says, it was merely now that this moment arrived.
“I, um, if you were to go back down and come back up… you could continue what you were… since it was interrupted…”
“Oh, about that.”
I grabbed Eclipse’s shoulders lightly and gently pushed her back. As she blinked with surprise, I added, “You shouldn’t lie about Brightest Darkness 5.”
“Huh…?”
“Are you prepared for punishment?”
That day, a new legend was etched into the Holy Kingdom. The Holy Realm had truly become a Holy Realm.
When news of the Holy Realm’s birth reached Raphael Holy Kingdom, there was no excitement. The people didn’t succumb to their zealotry to pray for days on end.
The whole Holy Kingdom merely stood still for a week.
All humans present lost consciousness.
“This place…”
Rustle, precisely twelve sets of footsteps traipsed along the earthen paths intricately designed between the flowerbeds and patches of grass. Everyone’s eyes were wide with astonishment as they scanned their surroundings.
A world where the Sun and Moon coexist, a realm where day and night live together, a world where gods and humans coexist. The place where they stepped foot was exactly that.
“Why are you not crying, Your Holiness?”
Kaiquilia questioned Luna, who stood in a daze. Not only Luna but Floretta, Stella, and Selene were likewise affected. All four were entranced, simply standing in silence.
“Wouldn’t it be natural to shed joyful tears or shout with glee upon standing upon the land of the Sun and Moon?”
Though it sounded like sarcasm, Kaiquilia was genuinely curious about their tranquility.
After all, what were the titles of Floretta and Luna? The Pope of the Sun and the Pope of the Moon. It seemed only right that if two such figures had arrived at the land of the Sun and Moon, they should display a more ‘intense’ reaction.
Yet, the Popes merely looked around with expressions filled with emotion and remained composed.
“If it were in the past, the moment we set foot on this land, my heart would have likely burst in joy.”
“Had it been the past? Does that imply it is no longer so?”
“Indeed. Before I was the Moon’s Pope, I am a person, ‘Seraphica Isar’, who has someone to serve.”
“…..”
Realizing the weight of those words, Kaiquilia turned to glance. She spotted a dark-haired man conversing with Minerva.
“I understand.”
A smile broke upon Kaiquilia’s lips as she realized her own connection.
“Being in water isn’t so bad after all.”
Minerva, who had just been conjuring a simple space via magic, flicked her hand. The mana vanished into blue light, twisted against my gaze. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Hehe, it’s simply remarkable how the child is so proactive. I never expected such eagerness from you…”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Now that we’ve mingled on land and in the sky, it’s only right we do so in water—”
“Do you think this realm was made for that purpose?”
“Oh, wasn’t it?”
Seeing me scowl, Minerva burst into laughter, her tone playful and merry.
“But if we want to raise a child, we first need to create one. You understand that, don’t you? After indulging in the Holy Realm for a week—”
“Oh, by the way, it seems you haven’t fully grasped the magic I showed you yet.”
As Minerva attempted to playfully avoid addressing the matter, her cheeks turned red, and she leaned back slightly, perhaps not wanting a repeat.
The magic being discussed had been reduced to just one kind.
“You’ve even taught Parnari expressions like ‘I dislike good feelings’, yet you don’t want that to happen to yourself?”
With no words to counter, Minerva sidestepped the topic. It wasn’t just her who had changed; she clung to the majority next to the Popes.
Welcome, mortals.
From the heavens, a voice resonated. Floretta, Luna, Stella, and Selene all knelt sharply. The others merely stood in a bewildered trance, looking at the source of the voice. Kaiquilia was no exception.
At long last, you have arrived.
Lifting my head, the space between the Sun and Moon twisted, and within, light swirled like a whirlpool, pushing against the surrounding areas.
The very fabric of space twisted and intertwined, creating intricate geometric shapes.
A single beam of light split into dozens, then thousands, each of those segments hugging dimensions. As each dimension swirled in light, it formed merely a single step.
And onto that dimension, someone stepped foot.
Click, click…
The sound of high heels echoed. Someone gracefully made their way down the now grand staircase, reminiscent of a majestic ballroom.
It was too overwhelming; eight out of the twelve could not withstand the divine pressure and knelt. This was not the time for Eclipse’s playful demeanor — a guest was being welcomed.
Overwhelmed by the divine essence seeping through, they succumbed.
Thank you for coming to my realm.
The Popes trembled, their bodies shaking. All except for me were engulfed in the blinding light, lowering their heads in reverence.
As a result, I couldn’t see Eclipse’s attire and face.
…why is she covering up yet looking more embarrassed?
Dressed in a long black formal coat reaching her ankles, a carefully unbuttoned white shirt, encased in black lingerie that framed her chest, tied with a sleek black tie, and clad in tight formal pants.
And yet she seemed far more embarrassed than when she wore just three rags.
…what is going on?
I couldn’t see Eclipse’s expression stowed behind the veil.