Margrethe opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by life.

Joyous, playful cries bombarded her ears, bright green and rainy colors washing her eyes.

Puzzled and a little curious, Margrethe sat up and looked around, trying to make sense of where she had arrived.

It was a vast land, covered in swaths of grasslands, forests with towering trees, and snowy mountains that never seemed to lose their silvery-whitish appearance.

Then there were creatures.

Some like mice, but with yellow bodies, their cheeks crackling with electricity. Some were as large as dragons, flying mightily in the sky. Some were storming across the land in herds, breathing fire and ice.

This felt more like a dream than either heaven or hell.

So, the Voice was right, Margrethe confirmed, elated.

A smile bloomed on her lips, making her lift her hands involuntarily and look at them.

The Voice had told her that no matter when she died, she was destined to resurrect and begin a new journey — a journey that would lead her to immortality.

If she were being honest with herself, the concept of Immortality held no lure for her. The Ingrid race was already blessed with long life. Being the Queen of an entire Galaxy, she had been blessed with safety and security as well.

However, the Voice had also promised another destination for her new journey.

Him!

The origin of the Voice!

The end of all the truths!

That’s why, instead of calmly stepping down from her royal status by letting the next generation take over the throne of Queen, Margrethe had chosen to... voluntarily cut her life short.

In her world, some would call her a fool for committing suicide, as she had only reached her prime, and had plenty of life force left — worth over a millennium.

But Margrethe didn’t mind that.

If there’s something she had learned in the last few centuries, then it was that such a long life wasn’t a blessing, but a curse. There was nothing as hideous as a monotonous life, lacking the spirit of adventure, struggle, and the unknown.

The Voice had promised that she would find all that and more after her death.

Margrethe had never claimed herself to be trusting of the Voice, which had once randomly begun uttering words in her mind.

Still, if she had to die one day, then she’d better die believing the lie rather than keep on living, waiting for the dreadful truth to play out.

A creature suddenly hopped next to her, attracting Margrethe’s attention.

It was a frog-like creature with a bud on its back.

Smiling, Margrethe reached out to touch him.

But, before that, the bud on the creature’s back bloomed, revealing an origami.

"...?" Puzzled and not believing that this was something innate to the creature, Margrethe picked up the origami, which was shaped like a four-legged beast.

Slowly, with baffling precision, Margrethe unfolded the origami, managing to avoid tearing the delicate paper effortlessly.

And the moment she flattened it on the grass, words began appearing on it.

...

[

Status of Contestant: Margrethe II Ingrid

Code Name: Not Set

System: Chaos

Initiation Mission World: Pokemon

Initiation Mission Status: On hold

Initiation Mission Time Limit: NA

Initiation Mission Grade: X+

Cosmic Authority: Shub-Niggurath (Outer One)

Lore: The Beloved of Hastur

— The Attendant of Primordial

— The Virgin Shadow

— The All Mother

Equipped Title: Not Applicable

Mission Credits: 0

HP: 90

MP: 220

SP: 150

Active Attributes-

— Strength: 10

— Agility: 9

— Stamina: 9

— Perception: 20

— Correspondence: 22

— Breath: 15

Passive Attributes-

— Charisma: 50

— Luck: NA

— Worth: NA

Abilities-

— Origami Genesis

Skills - NA

Items - NA

Pain Factor: 0.5 (Beginner’s Benefit)

Inventory: 1 Cubic Meter-1000 kg

...

Note:

— Your Stamina is a measure of your Life Essence and dictates HP

— Your Correspondence is a measure of your Magical Affinity and dictates MP

— Your Breath is a measure of your Spiritual Affinity and dictates SP

— A Pain Factor of 0.5 means a 50% reduction in the Contestant’s pain stemming from physical sources only

]

...

Margrethe looked at the odd words and numbers.

The Voice...

No.

Hastur, the King in Yellow, had mentioned it to her.

He had also told her about her Cosmic Authority, but the lore attached to it, along with the various epithets, came as a surprise to her.

Beloved?!

Margrethe smiled at that.

Her eyes slightly faltered at her being the Attendant of Primordial, but Hastur had hinted at it... quite vaguely.

She would have to explore the repercussions of this Lore later, though.

First, it was time to heed the call that refused to buzz in her ears.

[Shub-Niggurath... Come...] Another voice, seemingly as mighty as Hastur’s, boomed in Margrethe’s head. [You cannot stay at this place for long.]

Margrethe stood up and nodded.

Space stretched her, an almighty force grabbing hold of her body.

Suddenly, everything darkened, stars of infinite colors streaking past her.

Before Margrethe could lose her bearings to such a raw display of power, she found herself staring at a galaxy.

No...

Not a galaxy.

It was far, far larger and brighter than a mere galaxy; far mightier.

It was a mass of golden brilliance, with the barest hint of an equine outline.

Even without someone introducing the entity to Margrethe, its name appeared spontaneously in her heart and mind.

"Arceus..." Margrethe wondered aloud. "The Original One..."

The golden brilliance pulsed.

[...] The Eldritch Entity stirred as if it had just sighed. [For you to be willing to pay such a price for her... So be it.]

And suddenly, for the first time, Margrethe’s eyes lit up with a dull gray-colored notification.

...

[

Congratulations Contestant Margrethe II Ingrid

Arceus the Original One has bestowed upon you His Blessing

...

Blessing: The Unworthy Spirit

Description:

— Contestant can survive one failed Main Mission

— Once a Main Mission is failed, the Contestant will have to start from the 1st Floor

— The Contestant will have her all original Stats locked until she reaches her failed Main Mission’s Floor again

— Once the Contestant reaches the said Floor, all the gained Stats will compile over the locked ones

]

...

[Go...] Arceus’s voice boomed across Space and Time. [Do your duty... All Mother.]

As Margrethe’s figure blurred, she bowed toward the Original One, a row of words escaping her mouth in the most pious tone.

"May His scalloped tatters hide Yhtill... forever..."

****************

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